cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A phase II trial of paclitaxel and cisplatin in patients with locally advanced metastatic esophageal cancer: A preliminary report

We demonstrated in an earlier trial that paclitaxel (Taxol; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ) has substantial antineoplastic activity, with acceptable toxicity, in patients with advanced metastatic esophageal cancer. Preclinical and clinical data from studies in other tumors indicate substantial additive or even synergistic activity for paclitaxel/cisplatin combination chemotherapy. We encountered substantial toxicity with a cisplatin/paclitaxel/5-fluorouracil combination. To maximize paclitaxel dose, we initiated a phase II trial using cisplatin and paclitaxel alone. This report summarizes preliminary data from that trial. Paclitaxel 200 mg/m2 is given as a continuous, 24-hour infusion on day 1. On day 2, cisplatin 75 mg/m2 is given. Courses are repeated every 21 days. Dose adjustments are based on myelosuppression, neurotoxicity, and (for cisplatin) renal or auditory toxicity. All patients receive recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor to minimize the risk of neutropenic fever. The primary end point of the study is tumor regression. Secondary end points include duration of response and toxicity. Two groups of patients are being studied. Those with advanced metastatic disease receive chemotherapy alone as palliative treatment. The second group has locoregional disease that is potentially resectable. These patients receive combined-modality therapy involving induction paclitaxel/cisplatin chemotherapy followed by surgery. To date, 37 evaluable patients have been treated. Twenty had advanced metastatic disease and 17 were treated before planned surgery. Twenty-seven patients had adenocarcinoma and 10 had epidermoid carcinoma. Major objective responses were seen in 49% of all patients, with similar response rates for patients with metastatic and locoregional disease. The median duration of response for patients with metastases is 4+ months. Among 14 patients treated before surgery, one experienced a complete pathologic response, and the neoplasms of 43% were downstaged. Primary toxicity was neutropenia, which was tolerable. Surgical morbidity or mortality did not increase. Cisplatin plus paclitaxel is an active combination in the treatment of patients with advanced or locoregional esophageal cancer. Further studies with this combination both in metastatic and locally advanced disease are indicated.
The health effects of living near cement kilns; a symptom survey in Midlothian, Texas.

Cement kilns are major sources of toxic air emissions. Regulations based on demonstrated concentrations of specific chemicals, and risk assessments with inherent limitations and uncertainties, are the current methods of preventing exposure to 'unsafe' emission levels. Monitoring data are frequently incomplete. These limitations mandate that residents residing near cement kilns be evaluated for adverse health effects. This study reports findings from a symptom survey conducted in Midlothian, Texas, which adds to the limited but growing body of knowledge showing that persons living near cement kilns are experiencing increased respiratory effects. This cross-sectional study uses randomized sampling and an extensive health questionnaire, covering 12 physiological systems, to determine differences in reported health symptoms between the study community (Midlothian, Texas, n = 58) and the reference community (Waxahachie, Texas, n = 54). Findings indicate significant elevations in reported respiratory symptoms in the study community (p-value 0.002). Although the comparatively small sample size is a limitation, the fact that only 'respiratory effects' were highly significant supports the efficacy of this investigation. Respiratory effects would be the major anticipated outcome from the known exposures under investigation. This specificity of response (i.e., elevation in respiratory symptoms only), indicates that 'response bias' was not a significant factor in this study.
Water: An Essential But Overlooked Nutrient

Water is an essential nutrient required for life. To be well hydrated, the average sedentary adult man must consume at least 2,900 mL (12 c) fluid per day, and the average sedentary adult woman at least 2,200 mL (9 c) fluid per day, in the form of noncaffeinated, nonalcoholic beverages, soups, and foods. Solid foods contribute approximately 1,000 mL (4 c) water, with an additional 250 mL (1 c) coming from the water of oxidation. The Nationwide Food Consumption Surveys indicate that a portion of the population may be chronically mildly dehydrated. Several factors may increase the likelihood of chronic, mild dehydration, including a poor thirst mechanism, dissatisfaction with the taste of water, common consumption of the natural diuretics caffeine and alcohol, participation in exercise, and environmental conditions. Dehydration of as little as 2% loss of body weight results in impaired physiological and performance responses. New research indicates that fluid consumption in general and water consumption in particular can have an effect on the risk of urinary stone disease; cancers of the breast, colon, and urinary tract; childhood and adolescent obesity; mitral valve prolapse; salivary gland function; and overall health in the elderly. Dietitians should be encouraged to promote and monitor fluid and water intake among all of their clients and patients through education and to help them design a fluid intake plan. The influence of chronic mild dehydration on health and disease merits further research.
The role of palliative care in the last month of life in elderly cancer patients.

Introduction One major health care issue encountered in elderly cancer patients is the alteration of the quality of life. The purpose of our study is to evaluate the administration of chemotherapy in the last month of life (CLML) and to evaluate the impact of the palliative care consult (PCC) in the elderly patients.
Parenting in Immigration: Experiences of Mothers and Fathers from Eastern Europe Raising Children in the United States

The present study examines the experiences of 50 immigrant mothers and fathers from Eastern European countries raising children in the United States. Qualitative analysis of in-depth personal inter...
The Potential Protective Role of Peer Relationships on School Engagement in At-Risk Adolescents

Negative outcomes associated with adverse childhood experiences are well established, but little is known about protective factors that could promote positive adjustment among high-risk youth. This study examined the potential protective role of positive peer relationships in the association between adverse childhood experiences and school engagement among at-risk adolescents. Data were collected prospectively from birth until age 16 from 831 diverse adolescents (52.6% female; 54% African American, 24% Caucasian) who were at-risk for family violence and their caregivers. The significant and negative associations between adversities and school engagement outcomes at age 16 were mitigated by peer intimacy and companionship and exacerbated by peer conflict. The findings underscore the importance of fostering positive peer relationships for improving school engagement among at-risk adolescents.
Self-Inflicted Wound: On the Paradoxical Dimensions of American Violence

America’s international and domestic paradigms of violence show how monopolies of violence can contradict one another by creating conditions that allow violence to flourish rather than stemming its reproduction. This chapter explores America’s international and domestic paradigms of violence within the context of Elias’s work on civilizing processes, the development of human aggression, monopolies of violence, and social integration and disintegration. This chapter builds upon Elias’s ideas of monopolies of violence and what constitutes civilizing and decivilizing trends within the larger scope of socio-historical developmental processes. The central argument of this chapter is that the historical trajectories of American violence abroad are irrevocably connected with the practice and conjugation of violence occurring within its own borders. The broad and sweeping task of uncovering the complexities of various historical modes and trajectories of American violence is outside the purview of this chapter, which rather concentrates on several key cultural components of American society that have assisted in its historical progressions of violence. These cultural components include America’s deeply held belief of “standing one’s ground”, free-market competition, hyper-masculinity, rugged individualism and an exceptional self-image. The first two sections of this chapter will discuss the international and domestic paradigms of American violence as they relate to the theoretical developments of Norbert Elias and the works of other Eliasian scholars. The final section will explore the paradoxical violence these two paradigms have created, where I draw out the decivilizing trends implicit in both. The significance of this work lies in its critical reflexivity of American violence, including how social, technical and psychological developments have shaped the strategic use of violence in American society, an intellectual endeavour that must adhere to the sociological developments of one of the most under-appreciated thinkers of the twentieth century.
Establishing Linkages Between Distributed Survey Responses and Consumer Wearable Device Datasets: A Pilot Protocol

Background: As technology increasingly becomes an integral part of everyday life, many individuals are choosing to use wearable technology such as activity trackers to monitor their daily physical activity and other health-related goals. Researchers would benefit from learning more about the health of these individuals remotely, without meeting face-to-face with participants and avoiding the high cost of providing consumer wearables to participants for the study duration. Objective: The present study seeks to develop the methods to collect data remotely and establish a linkage between self-reported survey responses and consumer wearable device biometric data, ultimately producing a de-identified and linked dataset. Establishing an effective protocol will allow for future studies of large-scale deployment and participant management. Methods: A total of 30 participants who use a Fitbit will be recruited on Mechanical Turk Prime and asked to complete a short online self-administered questionnaire. They will also be asked to connect their personal Fitbit activity tracker to an online third-party software system, called Fitabase, which will allow access to 1 month’s retrospective data and 1 month’s prospective data, both from the date of consent. Results: The protocol will be used to create and refine methods to establish linkages between remotely sourced and de-identified survey responses on health status and consumer wearable device data. Conclusions: The refinement of the protocol will inform collection and linkage of similar datasets at scale, enabling the integration of consumer wearable device data collection in cross-sectional and prospective cohort studies. [JMIR Res Protoc 2017;6(4):e66]
EMP2 is a novel therapeutic target for endometrial cancer stem cells

Previous studies have suggested that overexpression of the oncogenic protein epithelial membrane protein-2 (EMP2) correlates with endometrial carcinoma progression and ultimately poor survival from disease. To understand the role of EMP2 in the etiology of disease, gene analysis was performed to show transcripts that are reciprocally regulated by EMP2 levels. In particular, EMP2 expression correlates with and helps regulate the expression of several cancer stem cell associated markers including aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1). ALDH expression significantly promotes tumor initiation and correlates with the levels of EMP2 expression in both patient samples and tumor cell lines. As therapy against cancer stem cells in endometrial cancer is lacking, the ability of anti-EMP2 IgG1 therapy to reduce primary and secondary tumor formation using xenograft HEC1A models was determined. Anti-EMP2 IgG1 reduced the expression and activity of ALDH and correspondingly reduced both primary and secondary tumor load. Our results collectively suggest that anti-EMP2 therapy may be a novel method of reducing endometrial cancer stem cells.
Ten Tips for a Reliable and Predictable Deep Plane Facial Rhytidectomy

Facial rhytidectomy surgery is a reconstructive/cosmetic procedure to restore anatomic changes to the lower third of the aging face and neck. It is a surgery of planes. Understanding safe dissection planes allows the surgeon to maximize his or her results in a reliable fashion.1,2 Facial rhytidectomy may also be considered a surgery of opportunity and compromise in which soft tissue dissection and redraping take advantage of the facial blood supply while predictable and desirable wound healing provide the rejuvenated appearance. Mastery of facial anatomy and the relationships of the superficial and deep facial layers, muscles, nerves, and vasculature are of paramount importance in performing rhytidectomy surgery safely, effectively, and with confidence.3,4 We have noted 10 areas in which attention to detail offers a predictable and reliable rhytidectomy procedure and avoids some of the stigmata of rhytidectomy surgery.5
Robust Reduced-Order Controller of Transitional Boundary Layers

A framework to derive optimal and robust reduced-order controllers of transitional boundary layers using linear-quadratic-Gaussian (LQG) design, or, in modem terms, H 2 design, is presented. As a test case, two-dimensional Poiseuille flow is considered. A controller based on a reduced model, 8% of the order of the full size system, is designed. Initial conditions creating transient growth of wall-shear stresses are constructed. The controller is tested on a 32 wave numbers simulation. Wall-shear stresses reduction, up to 90%, is obtained. The transferability of the controller to Navier-Stokes simulations and engineering applications is discussed.
Effects of opioids on proliferation of mature and immature immune cells.

A large and growing body of evidence indicates that the use of opioid drugs can alter immune system functioning. It has long been known that opioid addicts suffer from an increased incidence of a variety of infectious diseases (1), as well as alterations in a number of immune parameters. A variety of changes in the immune system has also been observed following administration of opioids to laboratory animals (for review, see (2). However, almost all work on opioid-immune associations to date has focussed on mature immune cells. All circulating cells arise from pluripotent stem cells in the bone marrow, which proliferate and differentiate, by means of a complex process involving several specific lymphokines, into mature immune cells and erythrocytes. Any drug of abuse acting on stem cells therefore might have potent, wide ranging effects on the immune system. As an approach to this question, we treated mice chronically with morphine, then isolated their bone marrow cells and tested their sensitivity to several cytokines that normally induce proliferation and/or differentiation of subpopulations of these cells (3).
Integration of Cancer Data through Multiple Mixed Graphical Model

The state of the art in bio-medical technologies has produced many genomic, epigenetic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data of varied types across different biological conditions. Historically, it has always been a challenge to produce new ways to integrate data of different types. Here, we leverage the node-conditional uni-variate exponential family distribution to capture the dependencies and interactions between different data types. The graph underlying our mixed graphical model contains both un-directed and directed edges. In addition, it is widely believed that incorporating data across different experimental conditions can lead us to a more holistic view of the biological system and help to unravel the regulatory mechanism behind complex diseases. We then integrate the data across related biological conditions through multiple graphical models. The performance of our approach is demonstrated through simulations and its application to cancer genomics.
Investigation of construction techniques used for the foundation of the Taj Mahal in India

The study introduced in this paper confirms that the foundation system of the Taj Mahal in India consists of wells, arches and piers constructed from stone blocks, bricks, watertight mortar and som...
Insulin immobilized PCL‐cellulose acetate micro‐nanostructured fibrous scaffolds for tendon tissue engineering

Use of growth factors as biochemical molecules to elicit cellular differentiation is a common strategy in tissue engineering. However, limitations associated with growth factors, such as short half-life, high effective physiological doses, and high costs, have prompted the search for growth factor alternatives, such as growth factor mimics and other proteins. This work explores the use of insulin protein as a biochemical factor to aid in tendon healing and differentiation of cells on a biomimetic electrospun micro-nanostructured scaffold. Dose response studies were conducted using human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in basal media supplemented with varied insulin concentrations. A dose of 100-ng/mL insulin showed increased expression of tendon markers. Synthetic-natural blends of various ratios of polycaprolactone (PCL) and cellulose acetate (CA) were used to fabricate micro-nanofibers to balance physicochemical properties of the scaffolds in terms of mechanical strength, hydrophilicity, and insulin delivery. A 75:25 ratio of PCL:CA was found to be optimal in promoting cellular attachment and insulin immobilization. Insulin insulin deliveryimmobilized fiber matrices also showed increased expression of tendon phenotypic markers by MSCs similar to findings with insulin supplemented media, indicating preservation of insulin bioactivity. Insulin functionalized scaffolds may have potential applications in tendon healing and regeneration.
Structural analysis of a plant fatty acid amide hydrolase provides insights into the evolutionary diversity of bioactive acylethanolamides.

N-Acylethanolamines (NAEs) are fatty acid derivatives that in animal systems include the well-known bioactive metabolites of the endocannabinoid signaling pathway. Plants use NAE signaling as well, and these bioactive molecules often have oxygenated acyl moieties. Here, we report the three-dimensional crystal structures of the signal-terminating enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) from Arabidopsis in its apo and ligand-bound forms at 2.1- and 3.2-Å resolutions, respectively. This plant FAAH structure revealed features distinct from those of the only other available FAAH structure (rat). The structures disclosed that although catalytic residues are conserved with the mammalian enzyme, AtFAAH has a more open substrate-binding pocket that is partially lined with polar residues. Fundamental differences in the organization of the membrane-binding "cap" and the membrane access channel also were evident. In accordance with the observed structural features of the substrate-binding pocket, kinetic analysis showed that AtFAAH efficiently uses both unsubstituted and oxygenated acylethanolamides as substrates. Moreover, comparison of the apo and ligand-bound AtFAAH structures identified three discrete sets of conformational changes that accompany ligand binding, suggesting a unique "squeeze and lock" substrate-binding mechanism. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we evaluated these conformational changes further and noted a partial unfolding of a random-coil helix within the region 531–537 in the apo structure but not in the ligand-bound form, indicating that this region likely confers plasticity to the substrate-binding pocket. We conclude that the structural divergence in bioactive acylethanolamides in plants is reflected in part in the structural and functional properties of plant FAAHs.
Hospitality and tourism career fairs: how important are they and how well do they work?

Hospitality and tourism career fairs help recruiters identify prospective hires through face-to-face interactions with students. Moreover, students can learn more about different employment...
Networked Service Robots Control and Synchronization with Surveillance System Assistance

This paper proposes an efficient navigation control and synchronization mechanism of multiple networked robots for operation in large confined areas. An adaptable grid based navigation and control strategy is adopted to eliminate potential collisions among robots. Unexpected obstacles are handled and the speed of individual robot is maintained using the node-ordering technique. The proposed navigation control and synchronization mechanism is scalable and can be easily extended for multi-cell large environment. The obstacles information is gathered through local information by the robots for better planning of the navigation. The system collaborates with the existing surveillance systems in case of additional visual information is necessary. The interaction with the surveillance system is minimized to reduce potential overhead. The proposed methodology is evaluated for a large-scale simulation with multiple robots.
Fabrication and characterization of arc melted Si/B co-doped boron carbide

Abstract Boron carbide undergoes stress-induced amorphization when subjected to large non-hydrostatic stresses that exceed its elastic limit. This has been proposed as the source for the abrupt loss of shear strength in boron carbide which limits its engineering applications. Si/B co-doping was suggested as one of the means to suppress stress-induced amorphization but this has not been experimentally verified. Here, by utilizing arc melting, we prepared Si/B co-doped boron carbide with increased Si content as compared to conventional methods. Through Raman analysis in conjunction with indention and elemental analyses based on SEM and STEM (ζ-factor microanalysis), it is suggested that Si/B co-doping is a promising avenue for suppressing stress-induced amorphization. A comprehensive characterization of microstructure, chemistry, and structural change of boron carbide as a result of Si/B co-doping was elucidated.
Effects of Sexual Orientation, Disability, and Gender Identity on Others’ Prosocial Behavior:

The theory of intersectionality posits that people possess multiple identities varying in the level of privilege and oppression. The current study assesses participants’ prosocial behavior toward a...
Hearing in a world of light: why, where, and how visual and auditory information are connected by the brain.

Keynote by Jenny Groh (Duke University) at the 20th European Conference on Eye Movement Research (ECEM) in Alicante, 19.8.2019 Video stream: https://vimeo.com/356576513 Abstract: Information about eye movements with respect to the head is required for reconciling visual and auditory space. This keynote presentation describes recent findings concerning how eye movements affect early auditory processing via motor processes in the ear (eye movement-related eardrum oscillations, or EMREOs). Computational efforts to understand how eye movements are factored in to auditory processing to produce a reference frame aligned with visual space uncovered a second critical issue: sound location is not mapped but is instead rate (meter) coded in the primate brain, unlike visual space. Meter coding would appear to limit the representation of multiple simultaneous sounds. The second part of this presentation concerns how such a meter code could use fluctuating activity patterns to circumvent this limitation
A Review of: “Ott, Riki. Sound Truth and Corporate Myths: The Legacy of Exxon Valdez Oil Spill.”: Cordova, AL: Dragonfly Sisters Press, 2005. 561, pp. $24.95 (paper). ISBN 0-9645-22667.

Riki Ott, who had earned her doctorate in fisheries and marine toxicology from the University of Washington, was working in Alaska in the late 1980s on chronic air and water pollution problems that...
A structural model of purchases, returns, and return-based targeting strategies

Despite the importance of product returns, several less well understood issues still remain. In this paper, we propose a dynamic structural model that characterizes consumers’ sequential shopping trips for purchases and/or returns. We calibrate our proposed model to individual panel data in which we observe each consumer’s sequential shopping trips, including the number of products purchased and/or returned at each trip. Through our simulations, we find that product returns can also lead to desirable outcomes for retailers and that the ability to return purchased products incentivizes consumers to make more shopping trips and thus purchase more. Motivated by these observations, we also examine two possible return-based targeting policies: (1) targeted reduction of return cost and (2) targeted price promotion on return trips.
COVID-19 and the changes in daily streaming behavior of consumers in the United States

In response to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, many aspects of day-to-day life were considerably altered. Professional sports leagues, educational institutions, public worship, and workplace closures were commonplace. Quarantines and lockdowns put public life on hold due to social distancing requirements. As a result, internet users increased their web activity as a way of staying connected and passing the time. In this manuscript, streaming activity on Facebook Gaming, YouTube Gaming, Mixer, and Twitch is analyzed to discover changes in consumption. It is compared to school closures and stay-at-home orders in US states to better understand changes in social media platform utilization during the global pandemic. This helps to provide insights into user patterns that firms can consider in planning their future social media efforts. © 2021, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
Epitaxial re-solidification of laser-melted Ni-Mn-Ga single crystal

Abstract Additive manufacturing (AM) of magnetic shape-memory alloys (MSMAs) allows fuller use of geometry in the design of MSMA parts and avoids the segregation and high cost associated with single crystal production. While most research effort in AM of MSMAs pursues functional foams or polycrystals, epitaxial growth during liquid-phase AM may enable fully-dense single-crystalline MSMA parts, with associated availability of the full blocking stress. We melted a Ni51Mn24.4Ga24.6 single crystal with a moving laser spot under several process parameter combinations of laser power and velocity. While tracks created with lower laser travel velocity were almost entirely epitaxial, the track created with highest velocity (10 mm/s) included non-epitaxial columnar grains and grains at the top of the track. Synchrotron-based high-energy diffraction microscopy (HEDM) experiments revealed that mosaic spread of epitaxial material was slightly higher than that of surrounding non-re-solidified material. Our results demonstrate epitaxial growth of Ni-Mn-Ga with minimal grain content using full-melting laser processing.
Recipe Representation Learning with Networks

Learning effective representations for recipes is essential in food studies for recommendation, classification, and other applications. Unlike what has been developed for learning textual or cross-modal embeddings for recipes, the structural relationship among recipes and food items are less explored. In this paper, we formalize the problem recipe representation learning with networks to involve both the textual feature and the structural relational feature into recipe representations. Specifically, we first present RecipeNet, a new and large-scale corpus of recipe data to facilitate network based food studies and recipe representation learning research. We then propose a novel heterogeneous recipe network embedding model, rn2vec, to learn recipe representations. The proposed model is able to capture textual, structural, and nutritional information through several neural network modules, including textual CNN, inner-ingredients transformer, and a graph neural network with hierarchical attention. We further design a combined objective function of node classification and link prediction to jointly optimize the model. The extensive experiments show that our model outperforms state-of-the-art baselines on two classic food study tasks. Dataset and codes are available at https://github.com/meettyj/rn2vec.
Review of Control Methods in Grid-Connected PV and Energy Storage System

This paper presents a comprehensive review of the present control techniques used in integrated grid-tied PV and Energy Storage (ES) system. With the recent exponential increase in PV deployment, coupled with continuing cost decline of battery technology, integration of ES to the grid has become prevailing, and in many places is a mandate. In this paper, we will provide an overall review of the current state-of-art of the PV smoothing techniques, microgrid (MG) control with conventional converters and novel multiport converters in terms of battery energy management and different grid operation modes. In addition, a summary of these control methods with merits, demerits, and future research directions is presented. Finally, emerging grid-forming control methods for future grid comprising of numerous distributed energy resources are also discussed.
Permeametry and gas diffusion

The original work on the flow of fluids through packed beds of powders was carried out by Darcy [1], who examined the rate of flow of water from the local fountains through beds of sand of various thickness. He showed that the average velocity, as measured over the whole area of the bed, was directly proportional to the driving pressure and inversely proportional to the thickness of the bed, i.e. $$u = K\frac{{\Delta p}}{L}$$ (15.1) Equation (15.1) may be compared with the expression for the mean velocity u m of a fluid of viscosity η, flowing in a pipe of circular cross-section and of diameter d: $${u_m} = \frac{{{d^2}}}{{32\eta }}\frac{{\Delta p}}{L}\\$$ (15.2) This expression was derived by Hagen [2] and independently by Poiseuille [3].
A “Fluid” Truism: Dr. Strangelove’s Confrontation of the Malleability of Knowledge and Truth

Power serves, at its most basic, as a fundamental force that shapes the world we live in. Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) aptly captures the play between power and resistance under the lens of the Cold War. Unlike previous examinations of Dr. Strangelove, this essay is founded on Foucault’s power/truth regime in which reality is bent through the dispersal or confinement of knowledge and choice. The ability ofpower to mold subjective truths is explored in an attempt to distinguish between true truths and ideological manipulation not only during the Cold War era, but in modern life.
A technique for revealing scale‐dependent patterns in fracture spacing data

Data on fracture spacing along scan lines have been widely analyzed for the purposes of characterization. Most of these studies, however, either consider the cumulative frequency of spacing data without regard to the actual sequence of the spacing values or compute an average spacing that may not work for clustered fractures. The coefficient of variation parameter is often used to differentiate between clustered, random, and anticlustered fractures in a scan line but does not address the issue of scale-dependent variations in spacing. Lacunarity is a parameter that has been previously used for delineating scale-dependent clustering in fracture networks with similar fractal dimensions. This technique has the further capability of identifying scales at which different patterns emerge within the same data set. Lacunarity can also delineate possible fractal behavior. This paper tests the ability of lacunarity to find patterns (fractal/uniform/random) within synthetic and natural fracture clusters. A set of four model scan lines (uniformly spaced fractures, periodically spaced fracture clusters, fractal fracture clusters, and random fractures) was considered. The first derivative of the lacunarity curves of these models was used to find the intercluster distance and organization of fractures within the clusters. The same technique was then applied to a set of two natural fracture scan line data, one with fracture clusters with fractal organization within and the other with randomly spaced fractures. It was found that the proposed technique could discriminate between the random and clustered patterns, find the intercluster distance, and identify the type of spatial organization within the clusters.
Wearable Technologies and Telehealth in Care Management for Chronic Illness

Telehealth is the use of technology for remote patient monitoring and care. Wearables are small electronic devices that can seamlessly collect data about a patient for prolonged periods of time and support the implementation of telemedicine in the patient’s natural environment. In a reality where patients are becoming older and sicker, medicine is becoming more and more a multidisciplinary team work and healthcare resources are limited, telehealth holds promise as a way to improve patient care while cutting on costs. It may improve coordination between care providers, allow for bringing top notch expertise to remote, rural settings, provide a more complete picture of the patient’s condition and support independent living of the elderly and patients with chronic diseases. In this chapter, we review some of the related technology and application and portrait how they may be integrated in the near future in the healthcare delivery system.
Hydrogenation-enhanced low temperature activation of boron in silicon

In this work, we report on our study the effect of hydrogen plasma treatment by an ECR plasma on the activation and diffusion of boron in silicon at ultra-shallow depths. Hydrogenated and unhydrogenated samples were implanted with boron, followed by rapid thermal annealing for 20 seconds, at 450, 550, 650 and 850/spl deg/C. Spreading resistance profiling (SRP) was carried out on all the samples to determine the profile of the electrically active boron. It was seen that there was enhanced activation of boron at the lower annealing temperature of 450/spl deg/C. However no significant difference was observed at the higher annealing temperatures. The enhancement in boron activation at lower temperature was attributed to the creation of vacancies in the boron-implanted region, in addition to the lattice-relaxation effect by the presence of atomic hydrogen.
The gene encoding rat insulinlike growth factor-binding protein 1 is rapidly and highly induced in regenerating liver

Abstract The liver is an epithelioid organ that can regenerate following partial hepatectomy. Although it is composed mainly of hepatocytes, it has a complex, multicellular architecture, implying that intercellular communications must exist during regeneration. As in other mitogen-stimulated cells, immediate-early growth response genes induced in the absence of prior protein synthesis are likely to play an important regulatory role in the regenerative process. Through differential screening of regenerating liver cDNA libraries, we found that one of the most highly expressed immediate-early genes in liver regeneration encodes the rat homolog of the low-molecular-weight insulinlike growth factor (IGF)-binding protein (IGFBP-1). This protein has been implicated in enhancing the mitogenic effect of IGF on tissues. IGFBP-1 gene induction is transcriptionally mediated and specific to regenerating liver, as the gene is not expressed in mitogen-stimulated fibroblasts. IGFBP-1 expression has been shown to increase under low-insulin conditions such as diabetes, and the complex regulation of expression is indicated by our finding that insulin treatment of H35 rat hepatoma cells, which induces proliferation, also causes a rapid decrease in transcription and expression of the IGFBP-1 gene. Of note, IGFBP-1 mRNA is abundant in fetal rat liver, implying that it participates in normal liver growth and development. Although regenerating liver cells continue to produce IGF-I, we did not detect IGF-I receptor mRNA during the first 24 h after hepatectomy. However, some IGFBPs may act to enhance the activity of IGF-I independently of IGF-I receptors. Thus, IGF-1 and IGFBPs may interact with hepatocytes or nonparenchymal liver cells, through either IGF-I or novel receptors. In this way, IGFBP-I and IGF-I could act in a paracrine and/or autocrine fashion in maintaining normal liver architecture during regeneration.
Integration of hand-written address interpretation technology into the United States Postal Service Remote Computer Reader system

Hand-written address interpretation (HWAI) technology has been recently incorporated into the processing of letter mail by the US Postal Service. The Remote Bar Coding System, which is an image management system for assigning bar codes to mail that has not been fully processed by postal OCR equipment, has been retrofitted with a Remote Computer Reader (RCR), into which the HWAI technology is integrated. A description of the HWAI technology, including its algorithms for the control structure, recognizers and databases, is provided. Its performance on more than a million hand-written mail-pieces in a field deployment of the integrated RCR-HWAI system is indicated. Future enhancements for a nationwide deployment of the system are indicated.
Specific Inhibition of Gastric Pepsin in the Treatment of Gastric Ulcer

The effect of a sulfated polysaccharide (SN-263) inhibitor of gastric pepsin on the healing rate of gastric ulcer was studied by inpatient double blind and sequential trials. Healing rate was determined from changes in the surface area of ulcers estimated by serial radiography. Ten patients treated with SN-263 in the double blind trial had a mean decrease in ulcer size of 9.14 mm2 per day while nine ulcers in control patients had a mean decrease of 2.21 mm2 per day (P
Revisiting Normative Influences on Impulsive Buying Behavior and an Extension to Compulsive Buying Behavior

Abstract Social norms and networks are important to understand consumer behavior. Here, we reexamine normative influences on impulsive buying (Rook and Fisher 1995) within a different cultural context, South Korea. Results of Study 1, with a general consumer sample from South Korea, confirms prior findings in the United States that the relationship between buying impulsiveness and impulsive purchase decisions is moderated by subjective norms. Study 2 extends the concept of subjective norms to compulsive buying tendencies in South Korea. Our results show that a positive relationship between compulsive buying tendencies and compulsive buying decisions exists, but does not appear to be moderated by subjective norms.
On Complete Systems and Finite Automata

A production on T* is a rewriting rule σα→σ' for all aϵ T*, where σ, σ' are strings in T* with a' lexicographically earlier than σ. Any finite collection of productions is called a system. This note shows that any system that is consistent, complete, and has the nonprefix property uniquely represents an automaton. This formulation characterizes automata as recognition devices in terms of a set of rewriting rules, similar to the characterizatibn of automata as generating devices by grammars.
A preliminary report on a biological fluid transfer system for the treatment of hydrocephalus.

SUMMARY Existing shunting procedures in the management of hydrocephalus may reduce the ventricular size undesirably, and make the child dependent on the shunt. To avoid these complications an implantable pump 3-2 cm. in diameter has been developed which is based on volume control instead of intraventricular pressure. The pump is magnetically coupled to an external driving unit. It is possible to reverse the flow of fluid through the pump, which should enable the tube to be cleared without surgical intervention. RESUME Rapport preliminaire sur un systeme de transfert de liquide biologique dans le traitement de 'hydrocephalic Les procedes actuels de derivation dans le traitement de l'hydrocephalie peuvent reduire la taille du ventricule de facon indesirable, et rendre l'enfant dependant de la derivation. Pour eviter ces complications une pompe implantable de 3,2 cm. de diametre a ete construite, basee sur le controle du volume au lieu de la pression intraventriculaire. La pompe est couplee magnetiquement a une unite motrice externe. 11 est possible de renverser le courant du liquide a travers la pompe, ce qui permettrait de debloquer le tube sans intervention chirurgicale. RESUMEN Una notification preliminar de un sistema de transferencia de fluido boilogico en el tratamiento de la hidrocefalia Las tecnicas corrientes de ‘shunt’ en el tratamiento de la hidrocefalia pueden reducer hasta un punto no deseable el tamano del ventriculo, con la consecuencia que el nino debe depender del ‘shunt’. Para evitar tales complicaciones, se ha perfeccionado una bomba que se planta en el cuerpo, de un diametro de 3-2 cm. y basada sobre el control del volumen en vez de la presion intraventricular. La bomba se conecta magneticamente a un motor externo. Es posible invertir el flujo de fluido por la bomba, lo cual deberia permitir que el tubo se limpie sin intervention cirurgica. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Ein vorlaufiger Bericht uber ein biologisches Flussigkeitsubertragungs-System zur Behandlung von Hydrozephalus Bestehende Shunt-Prozeduren in der Behandlung von Hydrozephalus kann die ventrikulose Grosse auf eine unerwunschte Art reduzieren und das Kind vom Shunt abhangig machen. Um diese Komplikationen zu verhindern, wurde eine zu implantierende Pumpe mit einem Druchmesser von 3,2 cm entwickelt, die auf Volumenkontrolle anstelle intraventrik-ulosem Druck beruht. Die Pumpe ist magnetisch mit einer externen Betriebseinheit ver-bunden. Es ist moglich, den Flussigkeitsstrom durch die Pumpe umzuschalten, was die Reinigung der Tube ohne chirurgischen Eingriff ermoglichen sollte.
Color and translucency changes during and after curing of esthetic restorative materials.

Abstract Objectives. This study was conducted to evaluate various types of contemporary resin composites and glass ionomer restorative materials for color differences that occur during light curing and after submersion in water. Additionally, translucency was evaluated through the use of a translucency parameter for each of these materials at these times. Methods. A translucency parameter was calculated from observed colors of 2 mm thick layers of light, medium and dark shades of popular restorative materials on black and white backings. The colors of these materials were also calculated, based on Kubelka-Munk theory, for layers on a B2 shade backing. Repeated measures analyses of variance were used to identify statistically significant factors for color differences and translucency parameters. Results. A statistically significant interaction was found between the products, shades and time intervals or times studied for both color difference and translucency parameter. There is relatively high variability in both lightness and translucency changes among these popular products, with some products increasing and others decreasing in these parameters with curing and subsequent water submersion. Significance. Kubelka-Munk theory can be used to calculate the color of a layer of material on a backing other than those used to determine the Kubelka-Munk coefficients, thereby increasing the efficiency of research into the optical properties of esthetic restorative materials. The relatively large optical changes which occur as popular esthetic restorative materials are cured and subsequently submersed in water indicate that these changes should be taken into account during any initial clinical appearance match at placement of the unset material.
Economic‐based projections of future land use in the conterminous United States under alternative policy scenarios

Land-use change significantly contributes to biodiversity loss, invasive species spread, changes in biogeochemical cycles, and the loss of ecosystem services. Planning for a sustainable future requires a thorough understanding of expected land use at the fine spatial scales relevant for modeling many ecological processes and at dimensions appropriate for regional or national-level policy making. Our goal was to construct and parameterize an econometric model of land-use change to project future land use to the year 2051 at a fine spatial scale across the conterminous United States under several alternative land-use policy scenarios. We parameterized the econometric model of land-use change with the National Resource Inventory (NRI) 1992 and 1997 land-use data for 844 000 sample points. Land-use transitions were estimated for five land-use classes (cropland, pasture, range, forest, and urban). We predicted land-use change under four scenarios: business-as-usual, afforestation, removal of agricultural subsidies, and increased urban rents. Our results for the business-as- usual scenario showed widespread changes in land use, affecting 36% of the land area of the conterminous United States, with large increases in urban land (79%) and forest (7%), and declines in cropland (� 16%) and pasture (� 13%). Areas with particularly high rates of land- use change included the larger Chicago area, parts of the Pacific Northwest, and the Central Valley of California. However, while land-use change was substantial, differences in results among the four scenarios were relatively minor. The only scenario that was markedly different was the afforestation scenario, which resulted in an increase of forest area that was twice as high as the business-as-usual scenario. Land-use policies can affect trends, but only so much. The basic economic and demographic factors shaping land-use changes in the United States are powerful, and even fairly dramatic policy changes, showed only moderate deviations from the business-as-usual scenario. Given the magnitude of predicted land-use change, any attempts to identify a sustainable future or to predict the effects of climate change will have to take likely land-use changes into account. Econometric models that can simulate land-use change for broad areas with fine resolution are necessary to predict trends in ecosystem service provision and biodiversity persistence.
Moving towards individualized medicine with pharmacogenomics

Individuals respond differently to drugs and sometimes the effects are unpredictable. Differences in DNA that alter the expression or function of proteins that are targeted by drugs can contribute significantly to variation in the responses of individuals. Many of the genes examined in early studies were linked to highly penetrant, single-gene traits, but future advances hinge on the more difficult challenge of elucidating multi-gene determinants of drug response. This intersection of genomics and medicine has the potential to yield a new set of molecular diagnostic tools that can be used to individualize and optimize drug therapy.
Goodness of Fit Tests for Logistic GEE Models: Simulation Results

Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) have become a popular regression method for analyzing clustered binary data. Methods to assess the goodness of fit of the fitted models have recently been developed. However, published evaluations of these methods under various scenarios are limited. Research conducted for the ordinary logistic regression model provided the basis for a newly computed mean and variance for the Pearson statistic and the unweighted sums of squares statistic for the GEE case. A simulation study was conducted to evaluate the performance of these statistics under various scenarios. The factors that were varied were the number of clusters, the number of observations within a cluster, the magnitude of the correlation, and the number and type of covariates included in the model. Overall, the Pearson and unweighted sums of squares statistics had a satisfactory performance of a type I error rate and are potentially effective in evaluating goodness of fit under certain conditions.