cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Functional Limb Restoration Through Amputation: Minimizing Pain and Optimizing Function With the Use of Advanced Amputation Techniques.

OBJECTIVE To demonstrate the role of advanced orthoplastic techniques in harnessing the full potential of elective amputation as a functionally restorative procedure. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Once considered the unfortunate consequence of failed reconstructive efforts, recent outcomes studies have prompted a re-evaluation of the role of amputation in the management of complex extremity trauma. However, even as amputation is appropriately afforded greater consideration as part of the reconstructive algorithm, reconstructive techniques that are commonly utilized in pursuit of limb salvage are rarely applied to amputation. METHODS The following case demonstrates the successful application of orthoplastic reconstructive techniques to achieve optimal pain and functional outcomes in a 41-year-old active duty soldier who underwent an elective transtibial amputation after prolonged, limb salvage. RESULTS The patient presented with a large osteocutaneous proximal tibial defect secondary to trauma and subsequent osteomyelitis. The patient underwent a free scapular-parascapular fasciocutaneous flap to provide soft tissue coverage and facilitate the skeletal reconstruction necessary for either continued limb salvage or amputation. Due to tibial allodynia and severely limited ankle function, the patient subsequently elected for amputation in favor of continued limb salvage. Thus, a transtibial amputation was performed concurrently with a pedicled vascularized fibula to address the proximal tibial defect. A modified agonist-antagonist myoneural interface procedure was used to maximize post-amputation function, with creation of regenerative peripheral nerve interface constructs to prophylax against neurogenic pain. After the operation, the patient achieved improved function of the extremity with the use of a prosthesis and reported substantially improved pain while remaining on active duty in a warfighting military occupational specialty. CONCLUSIONS By addressing all of the reconstructive components commonly considered in limb salvage, an orthoplastic approach to amputation surgery can minimize pain and maximize the rehabilitative potential of the amputee.
Standard error estimates for rotated estimates of canonical correlation analysis: an implementation of the infinitesimal jackknife method

In applications of canonical correlation analysis (CCA), rotation of the canonical loadings is recommended to facilitate the interpretation of canonical variates. Based on the COSAN modeling approach to CCA proposed by Gu et al. (Multivar Behav Res 54:192–223, 2019), we describe the infinitesimal jackknife (IJ) method in modified COSAN-CCA models to obtain the IJ estimates of standard errors for rotated CCA estimates. Specifically, given two CCA rotation strategies (i.e., concurrent and separate) and two types of rotation method (i.e., orthogonal and oblique), our descriptions of the modified COSAN-CCA models and IJ method cover four rotation strategy-method combinations: concurrent-orthogonal, concurrent-oblique, separate-orthogonal, and separate-oblique. Simulation studies are used to evaluate the IJ estimates of standard errors, and a real data example is analyzed for illustration. We conclude that the IJ method is a trustworthy method for standard error estimation for rotated CCA estimates.
The prognostic significance of lymphovascular tumor invasion in localized high-grade osteosarcoma: Outcomes of a single institution over 10 years.

BACKGROUNDS AND OBJECTIVES Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) has shown evidence of an association with worse survival in high-grade osteosarcoma patients. The purpose of this investigation was to prognosticate LVI as a predictor of survival. METHODS This was a retrospective review of high-grade, localized osteosarcoma patients over a consecutive 10-year period. Proportional hazards regression was used to identify prognostic factors. Cumulative mortality incidence was estimated with recurrence as a competing risk. RESULTS Forty-two cases with a median follow-up of 64 months (range, 6-158 months) were reviewed. LVI was present in 21.4% (n = 9) cases. The five- and ten-year survivals in LVI (+) were 40% and 20%, compared to 93% and 81% in LVI (-), respectively (p < .001). After controlling for confounders, advanced age (hazards ratio [HR], 1.134; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1-1.2; p = .01) and LVI (HR, 21.768; 95% CI, 3-135; p = .001) were negative prognosticators. The cumulative incidence of recurrence was no different between LVI (+) and LVI (-) (p = .811), though the incidence of mortality was significantly higher in LVI (+) (p = .003). CONCLUSION The presence of LVI in the setting of high-grade, localized osteosarcoma is associated with greater rates of mortality and appears to portend a dismal prognosis.
Substance Use, Gambling, Binge-Eating, and Hypersexuality Symptoms Among Patients Receiving Opioid Agonist Therapies.

Background and objectives Patients receiving opioid agonist therapies have high rates of psychiatric comorbidity. Some data suggest that comorbidity is associated with poorer treatment outcomes. The current study assessed predictors of multiple putative addictive behaviors among patients receiving opioid agonist therapies. Methods Adults (N = 176) recruited from an outpatient clinic providing opioid agonist therapy completed self-report measures of depression, anxiety, impulsivity, adverse childhood events, and the Recognizing Addictive Disorders (RAD) scale, which includes seven subscales assessing symptoms related to alcohol use, drug use, tobacco use, gambling, binge-eating, hypersexual behavior, and excessive video-gaming. Linear regression and hurdle models identified significant predictors of RAD subscales. Hurdle models included logistic regression estimation for the presence/absence of symptoms and negative binomial regression for estimation of the severity of symptoms. Results Most patients did not report significant symptoms beyond drug or tobacco use. However, 7% to 47% of participants reported some symptoms of other addictive behaviors (subscale score > 0). Higher impulsivity predicted the presence and/or increased severity of symptoms of drug use, gambling, binge-eating, and hypersexuality. Higher depression significantly predicted increased severity of drug use and binge-eating symptoms. Increased anxiety predicted lower severity of alcohol use and binge-eating and higher severity of smoking symptoms. Conclusion and scientific significance A broader range of potentially addictive symptoms may be present among patients engaged in treatment for opioid use disorder. Few studies have assessed symptoms of binge-eating, hypersexuality, and excessive video-gaming among patients receiving opioid agonist therapy. This study contributes to preliminary findings and highlights important future directions. (Am J Addict 2021;00:00-00).
Carcass Disposal by Composting

Composting is an acceptable method of disposal of cattle carcasses. Composting requires appropriate carbon:nitrogen mix (-30:1), moisture (50-60%), porosity (35-45% open spaces), and temperature (130-150°F) to be successful. This paper describes a procedure used for approximately four years to successfully compost cattle. Adult (-1200 lb) intact cattle carcasses should be placed in a compost windrow for at least 60 days to assure adequate heat production and degradation of carcass before turning, mixing or grinding. Composted intact cattle can be ready for field application in approximately 12 months. Larger bones should be 'recycled' back into more compost for complete deterioration. Grinding of fresh carcasses or carcasses composted at least 60 days could reduce compost time to approximately 6 months and will eliminate major bone structure.
Eye-tracking as a window into assembled phonology in native and non-native reading

Abstract The past 30 years of reading research has confirmed the importance of bottom-up processing. Rather than a psycholinguistic guessing game (Goodman, 1967), reading is dependent on rapid, accurate recognition of written forms. In fluent first language (L1) readers, this is seen in the automatic activation of a word’s phonological form, impacting lexical processing (Perfetti & Bell, 1991; Rayner, Sereno, Lesch & Pollatsek, 1995). Although the influence of phonological form is well established, less clear is the extent to which readers are sensitive to the possible pronunciations of a word (Lesch & Pollatsek, 1998), derived from the varying consistency of grapheme-to-phoneme correspondences (GPCs) (e.g., although ‘great’ has only one pronunciation, [ɡɹeɪt], the grapheme within it has multiple possible pronunciations: [i] in [plit] ‘pleat’, [ɛ] in [bɹɛθ] ‘breath’; Parkin, 1982). Further, little is known about non-native readers’ sensitivity to such characteristics. Non-native readers process text differently from L1 readers (Koda & Zehler, 2008; McBride-Chang, Bialystok, Chong & Li, 2004), with implications for understanding L2 reading comprehension (Rayner, Chace, Slattery & Ashby, 2006). The goal of this study was thus to determine whether native and non-native readers are sensitive to the consistency of a word’s component GPCs during lexical processing and to compare this sensitivity among readers from different L1s.
How the unvaccinated threaten the vaccinated for COVID-19: A Darwinian perspective.

Imai et al. (1) have characterized yet another variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for COVID-19, this one originating in Brazil. The good news is that it appears that vaccines currently available are still expected to provide protection against this variant. However, what about the next variant, one we have not seen yet? Will we still be protected? In 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species (2), in which he outlined the principles of natural selection and survival of the fittest. The world presently has the unwelcome opportunity to see the principles of evolution as … [↵][1]1Email: egoldman{at}njms.rutgers.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Common Mode EMI Analysis in Power Electronics Enabled Power System

This paper investigates the common-mode (CM) electromagnetic interference (EMI) in the largely networked power electronics enabled power system. With the increasingly electrified transportation systems such as electric vehicles, aircraft, and ships, various power converters are tightly packaged within a small space to perform missions. In such a tightly networked architecture, the overall CM EMI emitted into the shared ground substantially increases and shows an extremely non-linear variation, resulting unprecedently noisy environment. This is particularly severe with adopting a wide bandgap (WB) power switch in the power network design. State of the art addresses CM EMI analysis of an individual power converter. However, there is limited study on network CM EMI, filled with many power converters. Thus, in this paper, the limitations of conventional CM EMI standards from the device to a power converter network are addressed. Also, the overall network CM EMI and its non-linear behavior have been attempted to characterize. Finally, a new CM EMI mitigation strategy, virtual network filter, at the power network ground has been investigated. The proposed CM EMI network filter could be applied to broader power circuit systems without any trade-off and has the potential to provides an extra degree of freedom to power electronic network architecture designers. The proposed idea is validated with a Medium Voltage CM EMI testbed with a networked converter with SiC switches.
Romance Languages: A Historical Introduction

Introduction 1. The evolution of stressed vowels 2. Early changes in syllable structure and consonants 3. Consonant weakening and strengthening 4. New palatal consonants 5. More about vowels: raising, yod effects, and nasalization 6. Verb morphology: the present indicative 7. Verb morphology: systemic reorganization 8. Noun and adjective morphology 9. History and structure of Portuguese: an overview 10. History and structure of Romanian: an overview 11. Formation of the Romance lexicon 12. Emergence of the Romance vernaculars Suggestions for further reading Works cited Index of topics.
TU‐CD‐BRA‐03: Left Ventricle Segmentation with a Coupled Length Regularization and Sparse Shape Prior

Purpose: To perform accurate segmentation on left ventricles from Cine MR images Methods: We have developed a novel variational segmentation method that incorporates prior knowledge on both geometrical relations and shapes of the endocardium and epicardium. In contrast to conventional approaches that preserve a constant distance between the endo- and epicardial contours, we propose to maintain a smoothly varying distance between the endo- and epicardium represented by two separate level set functions, which is more robust to shape variations across slices and phases among different patients. The coupled level set representation further allows us to incorporate a sparse composite shape prior to boost the performance. A robust data fidelity of Gaussian mixture is utilized to represent overlapped intensity distributions of each cardiac region under the condition of insufficient gradient information. We evaluated the proposed method on datasets from MICCAI left ventricle segmentation challenge, and compared our method against other state-of-the-art approaches based on Dice similarity coefficient (DSC). Results: Our method successfully segmented all left ventricles in 15 validation datasets from patients of different pathologies. It achieved competitive if not better DSC accuracy compared to other state-of-the-art methods, with mean DSC of 0.89 and standard deviation of 0.04 on endocardium segmentation, and mean DSC of 0.94 and standard deviation of 0.01 on epicardium segmentation. Conclusion: Introducing anatomy-specific geometric coupling and sparse composite shape priors on endo- and epicardium, in addition to length regularization, into the variational method has demonstrated its advantage in the challenging problem of left ventricle segmentation. A joint left and right ventricle segmentation method is under development.
Resolutions of ADA Title I Cases Involving People Who Are Visually Impaired: A Comparative Analysis

A comparison of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title I case resolutions by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) involving people who are visually impaired with those involving ...
Impact of purification procedures on the viability and infectivity of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts

The development of new technologies for Cryptosporidium oocyst detection as well as inactivation and removal is at the forefront of research objectives for the drinking and wastewater industries. One of the major issues associated with testing new technology is determining oocyst viability and infectivity before and after treatment. Because oocysts must be isolated from feces, preparation and pretreatment procedures may affect oocyst infectivity and potentially confound results obtained during survival and disinfection studies. The principal objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of preparation and pretreatment on C. parvum oocyst (Ames, Iowa isolate) infectivity in an in vitro cell culture assay. In vitro excystation, sporozoite yield, and vital dye exclusion using DAPI and PI were used to test viability. A matrix of purification procedures using two defatting agents (ethyl acetate and ethyl ether), cesium chloride (CsCl) and Sheather9s solution was evaluated. Effects of immuno-magnetic separation (IMS) and bleach treatment were also assessed. Oocysts purified using CsCl alone showed the most consistent infection from experiment to experiment, compared to preparations that were purified using a defatting agent. Defatting agents, IMS and bleach treatment had no detrimental effects on oocyst infectivity, however, considerable variability between oocyst lots was observed. This study determined that both purification processes and age affect oocyst infectivity.
Factors affecting the management of recurrent cervical carcinoma.

Abstract A group of 94 patients with recurrent or persistent cervical cancer following treatment has been analyzed. Only 24, or 25.5 per cent, of the entire recurrent group were operable with hope of cure. Operations performed included 5 radical hysterectomies and 19 exenterative procedures. Half the inoperable group had disease confined to the pelvis while the remainder exhibited evidence of distant spread. Early recognition of recurrence or persistence should increase the operability rate and can best be achieved by close follow-up and agressive diagnostic efforts.
Chapter 11 The enantioselective synthesis of morphine

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the enantioselective synthesis of morphine. Each of the pathways discussed in the chapter has contributed to the area of morphine synthesis. Even though similar tactics appear in several of these approaches, each presents a unique solution to the problem, with varying degrees of elegance and efficiency and their differences imply diverse possibilities for analog synthesis. While the morphine structure appears relatively simple by the standards of many natural products being studied today, the unique challenges posed by the string of five contiguous stereocenters and the relative dearth of active functionality present in the target combine to test synthetic chemist's imagination and capacity for clever strategy. Morphine is the principal alkaloid of the pharmacologically active substance opium, which is derived from the poppy Papaver somniferum L. or P. album Mill, Papaveraceae. The major alkaloids comprising the morphine family, represented by (–)-morphine, (–)-codeine, and (–)-thebaine, still hold important positions in modern pharmacopias. The medicinal importance of these compounds and their analogs is coupled with the formidable synthetic challenges implicit in the pentacyclic morphinan skeleton—five contiguous stereogenic centers at C-6, C-5, C-13, C-14, and C-9, one of which, C-13, is both benzylic and quaternary.
Small Nucleolar RNA Host Genes and Long Non-Coding RNA Responses in Directly Irradiated and Bystander Cells

The irradiated cells communicate with unirradiated cells and induce changes in them through a phenomenon known as the bystander effect. The nature of the bystander signal and how it impacts unirradiated cells remains to be discovered. Examination of molecular changes could lead to the identification of pathways underlying the bystander effect. Apart from microRNAs, little is known about the regulation of other non-coding RNAs (ncRNA) in irradiated or bystander cells. In this study we monitored the transcriptional changes of several small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) host genes and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that are known to participate in a variety of cellular functions, in irradiated and bystander cells to gain insight into the molecular pathways affected in these cells. We used human lymphoblasts TK6 cells in a medium exchanged bystander effect model system to examine ncRNA expression alterations. The snoRNA host genes SNHG1 and SNHG4 were upregulated in irradiated TK6 cells but were repressed in bystander cells. The SNHG5 and SNHG11 were downregulated in irradiated and bystander cells and the expression levels of these ncRNA were significantly lower in bystander cells. The lncRNA MALAT1, MATR3, SRA1, and SOX2OT were induced in irradiated TK6 cells and their expression levels were repressed in bystander cells. The lncRNA RMST was induced in both irradiated and bystander cells. Taken together, these results indicate that expression levels of ncRNA are modulated in irradiated and bystander cells and these transcriptional changes could be associated with the bystander effect.
Frequency Domain Methods for Detection of Rotor Faults in Synchronous Machines under No-Load Condition

Reliable and efficient generation of electricity is of paramount importance in an advanced electric power network. Whether in large synchronous generators that are installed in power plants or for distributed generators in wind farms, survivable performance of these electric machines plays a vital role in accomplishing this goal. The worldwide economical impact of achieving a reliable generation is immeasurable. As a result real time monitoring and just-in-time maintenance of synchronous generators deserves due attention. The present paper deals with this outstanding issue. Synchronous generators are subject to a variety of failures which may occur in various parts of their structure. The present paper deals with a class of failures which may happen in the rotor of a turbo-generator. Since the electromechanical conversion of energy is closely related to magnetic response of the machine any alteration of the excitation and geometry will result in detectable changes in stator quantities such as voltage and current. The present paper is based on a detailed finite element analysis (FEA) of the electromagnetic response of a two pole synchronous generator under various types of rotor faults. In the first step existence of detectable time-domain signatures have been investigated. Next, uniqueness of these signatures is studied. Accordingly, a systematic method for just-in-time detection and classification of various rotor faults has been developed.
Using RF recording techniques to resolve interference problems

The user environment for wireless devices is complex and includes many sources of interference, from the multitude of devices in the wireless landscape or other non-communications-based RF sources. As the RF power is spread over wider bandwidths to improve range resolution, increase data rates, and decrease probability of detections, RF devices encounter a wider bandwidth of interference. As designers look to create robust solutions that can perform in such environments it becomes more important to create those conditions in the lab, or model those environments. This paper discusses the problems of RF Interference associated with the modern wireless channel, and the RF recording techniques that can be used to capture the minutes or hours of data needed to solve interference issues in today's complex RF environments. For the “gapless” recording described in this paper a specific implementation of a dual channel Vector Signal Analyzer is discussed.
FATIGUE STRENGTH DEGRADATION OF E-GLASS FRP COMPOSITES AND CARBON FRP COMPOSITES

Abstract For civil engineering structures subject to cyclic loading, one important limit state in design is fatigue. Previous reviews of existing fatigue data from aerospace, marine, and mechanical applications determined the applicability to civil engineering structures. The objective: to assist in recognizing the fatigue potential of E-glass composite and CFRP composite as an independent structural material for infrastructure application. This comparison will focus on tension-tension axial fatigue without environmental concerns. Test and material parameters which define the data are identified as R ratio, test frequency, load control, specimen shape, type of reinforcement, and resin. Fatigue life diagrams for tension-tension axial fatigue data show normalized stress (maximum fatigue stress divided by ultimate tensile strength) vs. log of fatigue life. These plots, according to fiber reinforcement and resin, reveal distinct lower bounds to the data band, regardless of parameter combination. However, the E-glass FRP composite fatigue data show lower fatigue life for the same normalized maximum stress than the CFRP composite fatigue data. Generally, the lower bounds previously defined can be used in designing both E-glass FRP and CFRP composites as independent structural materials for infrastructure application conservatively estimating tension-tension axial fatigue strength. These lower bounds may be used until further studies refine the effects of individual parameters on fatigue life.
Current and emerging strategies to increase the efficacy of ionizing radiation in the treatment of cancer

Introduction: Ionizing radiation (IR) is an important therapeutic modality used in approximately 50% of all cancer patients and is particularly effective against solid tumors that cannot be removed by surgery or that are refractory to standard anticancer agents. IR is often combined with other chemotherapeutic agents with the goal of sensitizing cancer cells to the cytotoxic effects of IR to produce a synergistic cell-killing effect. Areas covered: This review article describes current and emerging therapeutic agents that are designed to increase the therapeutic efficacy of IR. This includes a discussion of how IR causes cell death by damaging nucleic acid. The involvement of various DNA repair pathways, cell-cycle-dependent kinases and apoptotic pathways is also described. This mechanistic information provides the framework to understand how combining therapeutic modalities with IR produces synergistic effects as well as to explain how emerging therapeutic strategies are being designed to inhibit or acti...
TH‐C‐213AB‐01: Spatial and Dose‐Response Analysis of Fibrotic Lung Changes After Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy

Purpose: To evaluate fibrotic lung changes in patients that underwent stereotactic body radiation therapy(SBRT) for lungcancer. Specifically, we contoured volumes visually observed to have fibrotic CT changes, performed a dose‐responseanalysis, and studied the spatial location and movement of the fibrotic volumes. Methods: Our study cohort included 51 SBRT patients and 231 follow up CT scans. The follow up CT scans were binned into intervals of 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, and 48 months post therapy. Areas of visible fibrotic changes were contoured on follow up CTs. Deformable registration was used to align each follow up CT to the pre‐treatment CT scan.Spatial analysis was performed by determining the centroid of the gross tumor volume (GTV) and each fibrosis volume and analyzing the location and motion of the fibrosis volume relative to the GTV. A dose‐responseanalysis was performed by binning each voxel in the fibrosis volume into 1 0Gy dose‐bins and analyzing the CT numbers in each dose‐bin with respect to dose and time after treatment. Results: The distribution of fibrosis volumes was 51%, 39%, and 10% in the superior, middle, and inferior regions of the lung respectively. The average radial travel between the fibrosis volume centroid and GTV centroid was 2.6±0.2cm. The volume of the fibrosis region was greatest at 3 months (47cc) and decreased over time to 18cc at 46 months. Dose‐response data revealed increasing CT numbers as a function of dose (with no decline at higher doses) and increasing CT number as a function of time. Conclusions: The highest concentration of fibrosis volumes was located in the upper third of the lung. Future work will explore the relationship between fibrosis location, fibrosis volume, and dose. Our results show consolidation of the fibrotic volume and increase of CT number with dose and time.
Heat storage in Asian elephants during submaximal exercise: behavioral regulation of thermoregulatory constraints on activity in endothermic gigantotherms

SUMMARY Gigantic size presents both opportunities and challenges in thermoregulation. Allometric scaling relationships suggest that gigantic animals have difficulty dissipating metabolic heat. Large body size permits the maintenance of fairly constant core body temperatures in ectothermic animals by means of gigantothermy. Conversely, gigantothermy combined with endothermic metabolic rate and activity likely results in heat production rates that exceed heat loss rates. In tropical environments, it has been suggested that a substantial rate of heat storage might result in a potentially lethal rise in core body temperature in both elephants and endothermic dinosaurs. However, the behavioral choice of nocturnal activity might reduce heat storage. We sought to test the hypothesis that there is a functionally significant relationship between heat storage and locomotion in Asian elephants ( Elephas maximus ), and model the thermoregulatory constraints on activity in elephants and a similarly sized migratory dinosaur, Edmontosaurus . Pre- and post-exercise ( N =37 trials) measurements of core body temperature and skin temperature, using thermography were made in two adult female Asian elephants at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, LA, USA. Over ambient air temperatures ranging from 8 to 34.5°C, when elephants exercised in full sun, ~56 to 100% of active metabolic heat production was stored in core body tissues. We estimate that during nocturnal activity, in the absence of solar radiation, between 5 and 64% of metabolic heat production would be stored in core tissues. Potentially lethal rates of heat storage in active elephants and Edmontosaurus could be behaviorally regulated by nocturnal activity.
MO‐B‐342‐01: Magnitude of Medical Radiation Exposures to US Population with Focus On CT and Nuclear Medicine Doses

This presentation will examine the current trends in medical x‐ray imaging procedures in the United States. It will also examine the magnitude of radiation doses for various x‐ray imaging procedures. Special emphasis will be given to CT and nuclear medicine procedures. The results are based on the work done within the framework of National Council of Radiation of Protection Scientific Committee 6.2 formed to work on the estimation of radiation exposure to the US population from all sources. The intended goal of the Committee is to update the NCRP report 93 published in 1987. The subcommittee examined variety of data sources including commercial surveys, Medicare, Veterans Administration and insurance carrier data. Radiation exposure to the US population from medical exposures was then estimated based on the number of medical procedures grouped by modality and body parts and the radiation doses associated with each procedure. According to the preliminary results, the medicalradiation exposure to US population has increased by nearly 5.5 times compared to the previous NCRP publication (NCRP 93). The largest contributor to the collective dose to US population is seen with CT and Nuclear Medicine procedures. It is found that the CT procedures accounts for 14% of all medical x‐ray imaging procedures but contribute to nearly 49% of collective dose to US population. Similarly, the nuclear medicine procedure accounts to only 4% of all procedures but contribute to nearly 26% of collective dose to US population. Educational Objectives: 1. To familiarize with the types and distribution of medical imaging procedures in US. 2. To learn the magnitude of medicalradiation exposure to US population. 3. To examine the magnitude and distribution of procedures and doses from CT.
Evaluating potential brand associations through conjoint analysis and market simulation

A novel method for evaluating the benefits of a potential brand association is presented. The uniqueness of the method is considering brand association as just another product attribute, subject to the usual analysis used to determine the attributes desired by consumers in a new product. The method was illustrated using automobile tires as the product, and designation of the tire as the “Official” tire of NASCAR as the brand association. A set of tire profiles was created, describing hypothetical tires as combinations of levels of five attributes. Subjects ranked these profiles for preference, and this preference was decomposed through conjoint analysis to yield part‐worths for each attribute level for each subject. Association with NASCAR had an average impact of 14.8 percent on consumer preference, comparable with that of speed rating (13.8 percent), and not much below that of brand (20.5 percent). Rudimentary market simulation suggested that associating the underdog tire brand with NASCAR would result in dramatically improved market share. Evaluating potential brand associations by their simulated effects on market share may be a useful managerial tool.
Dominant negative effect of the extracellular domain of CASR

The role of the calcium-sensing receptor (CASR) in the skeleton is unclear. CASR null mice (CASR -/- ), created by deletion of exon 5 and disruption of the extracellular domain (ED), have no bone phenotype after rescue of hyperparathyroidism. In contrast, the conditional deletion in osteoblasts of exon 7 (CASR ∆exon7 ), which encodes the 7-transmembrane and C-terminal domains, results in severe skeletal abnormalities. The disparities between these models could be explained by a hypomorphic mutation in CASR -/- mice or by the secretion of a dominant negative ED by CASR ∆exon7 mice. A hypomorphic mutation seems unlikely, since deletion of exon 5 disrupts CASR function in vitro and results in a prenatal lethal phenotype in vivo. We tested the alternative possibility that the ED of CASR acts as dominant negative secreted protein. Transfection of CASR 1-464 (encoding exons 2-5) cDNA into HEK293 cells resulted in the secretion of the predicted N-terminal CASR protein. Recombinant CASR 1-464 resulted in a dose-dependent and specific inhibition of extracellular calcium-mediated CASR signaling in vitro and increased serum PTH levels in vivo. These results suggest that the extracellular domain of CASR has biological activity in vitro and in vivo and may contribute to off target effects in conditional CASR ∆exon7 mice.
Sequential multifocal electroretinogram findings in a case of purtscher-like retinopathy

Abstract PURPOSE: To report the multifocal electroretinographic findings of a patient with pancreatitis-associated Purtscher-like retinopathy. DESIGN: Observational case report. METHODS: A 20-year-old man with a history of alcohol abuse and acute pancreatitis underwent multifocal electroretinography (mfERG; 103-scaled hexagons, 8-minute recording time) at 1 week, 4 weeks, and 6 months after the onset of the retinopathy. RESULTS: At 1 week, the patient had extensive cotton- wool spots in the posterior pole bilaterally, and visual acuity was significantly reduced. Both the A-waves and B-waves of the mfERG were depressed in the corresponding areas. At 4 weeks, neither visual acuity nor mfERG showed improvement, although the cotton-wool spots had resolved. Interestingly, at 6 months, visual acuity had improved significantly in the left eye, consistent with increased ratios of mfERG responses for the central area. CONCLUSION: There was no selective reduction of b-waves of the mfERG as anticipated in isolated inner retinal pathology. In this case, both the A-waves and B-waves were reduced, suggesting damage to both outer and inner retinal layers.
Analytical theory of an unloaded rectangular microstrip patch

A graphical method for determining the size of a resonant rectangular microstrip patch for a specified frequency is given. Using an expression obtained from the reflection coefficient of a transverse electromagnetic (TEM) wave in a semi-infinite microstrip patch, the resonance condition of a given mode for a patch of finite size is derived in a manner analogous to that of a rectangular, waveguide cavity. Radiation is shown to be in the form of both surface waves and space waves and is dependent on the angles of incidence for waves impinging onto the edges of the patch. By varying the aspect ratio, it is also possible to modify the Q factor of a resonant path. Analytical expressions for the resonant frequency and the Q factor are then derived under the assumption of a very thin substrate slab, encountered frequently in the application. Design curves in the form of the "Argand diagram" are then presented for microstrip patches with fixed aspect ratios.
microRNAs and cholesterol metabolism

Cholesterol metabolism is tightly regulated at the cellular level. In addition to classic transcriptional regulation of cholesterol metabolism (e.g. by SREBP and LXR), members of a class of non-coding RNAs termed microRNAs (miRNAs) have recently been identified to be potent post-transcriptional regulators of lipid metabolism genes, including cholesterol homeostasis. We and others have recently shown that miR-33 regulates cholesterol efflux and HDL biogenesis by downregulating the expression of the ABC transporters, ABCA1 and ABCG1. In addition to miR-33, miR-122 and miR-370 have been shown to play important roles in regulating cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism. These new data suggest important roles of microRNAs in the epigenetic regulation of cholesterol metabolism and have opened new avenues for the treatment of dyslipidemias.
The UDP-Glucuronate Decarboxylase Gene Family in Populus: Structure, Expression, and Association Genetics

In woody crop plants, the oligosaccharide components of the cell wall are essential for important traits such as bioenergy content, growth, and structural wood properties. UDP-glucuronate decarboxylase (UXS) is a key enzyme in the synthesis of UDP-xylose for the formation of xylans during cell wall biosynthesis. Here, we isolated a multigene family of seven members (PtUXS1-7) encoding UXS from Populus tomentosa, the first investigation of UXSs in a tree species. Analysis of gene structure and phylogeny showed that the PtUXS family could be divided into three groups (PtUXS1/4, PtUXS2/5, and PtUXS3/6/7), consistent with the tissue-specific expression patterns of each PtUXS. We further evaluated the functional consequences of nucleotide polymorphisms in PtUXS1. In total, 243 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified, with a high frequency of SNPs (1/18 bp) and nucleotide diversity (πT = 0.01033, θw = 0.01280). Linkage disequilibrium (LD) analysis showed that LD did not extend over the entire gene (r2<0.1, P<0.001, within 700 bp). SNP- and haplotype-based association analysis showed that nine SNPs (Q <0.10) and 12 haplotypes (P<0.05) were significantly associated with growth and wood property traits in the association population (426 individuals), with 2.70% to 12.37% of the phenotypic variation explained. Four significant single-marker associations (Q <0.10) were validated in a linkage mapping population of 1200 individuals. Also, RNA transcript accumulation varies among genotypic classes of SNP10 was further confirmed in the association population. This is the first comprehensive study of the UXS gene family in woody plants, and lays the foundation for genetic improvements of wood properties and growth in trees using genetic engineering or marker-assisted breeding.
Probability of guessing, not precision, changes in mixture models of visual working memory during cognitive control of attentional guidance

The contents of visual working memory (WM) have been found to guide visual attention towards memory-matching objects, but only sometimes (see Olivers, Peters, Houtkamp, & Roelfsema, 2011; Soto, Hod...
A build-down scheme for linear programming

We propose a “build-down” scheme for Karmarkar's algorithm and the simplex method for linear programming. The scheme starts with an optimal basis “candidate” setΞ including all columns of the constraint matrix, then constructs a dual ellipsoid containing all optimal dual solutions. A pricing rule is developed for checking whether or not a dual hyperplane corresponding to a column intersects the containing ellipsoid. If the dual hyperplane has no intersection with the ellipsoid, its corresponding column will not appear in any of the optimal bases, and can be eliminated fromΞ. As these methods iterate,Ξ is eventually built-down to a set that contains only the optimal basic columns.
Arachidonic acid-induced platelet aggregation and malondialdehyde production in dogs of various ages and in dogs affected with canine ceroid lipofuscinosis

The arachidonate pathway of canine platelets was assessed in dogs of varying ages by examination of platelet aggregation to arachidonic acid and by measurement of arachidonic acid-induced platelet malondialdehyde production. As age increased, arachidonic acid-induced platelet aggregation showed a progressive prolongation in the lag phase before aggregation. The production of malondialdehyde by canine platelets significantly decreased with increasing age. Dogs affected with ceroid lipofuscinosis showed similar declines in platelet aggregation and malondialdehyde production, but at an earlier age. This suggests that changes occur in canine platelet reactivity during natural aging and in a disease of “premature” aging. The lack of change in platelet numbers and volume suggests that the alterations reported were related to the aging process rather than to advancing vascular disease. The findings support the free radical theory of aging.
Convergent evolution of alternative developmental trajectories associated with diapause in African and South American killifish

Annual killifish adapted to life in seasonally ephemeral water-bodies exhibit desiccation resistant eggs that can undergo diapause, a period of developmental arrest, enabling them to traverse the otherwise inhospitable dry season. Environmental cues that potentially indicate the season can govern whether eggs enter a stage of diapause mid-way through development or skip this diapause and instead undergo direct development. We report, based on construction of a supermatrix phylogenetic tree of the order Cyprinodontiformes and a battery of comparative analyses, that the ability to produce diapause eggs evolved independently at least six times within African and South American killifish. We then show in species representative of these lineages that embryos entering diapause display significant reduction in development of the cranial region and circulatory system relative to direct-developing embryos. This divergence along alternative developmental pathways begins mid-way through development, well before diapause is entered, during a period of purported maximum developmental constraint (the phylotypic period). Finally, we show that entering diapause is accompanied by a dramatic reduction in metabolic rate and concomitant increase in long-term embryo survival. Morphological divergence during the phylotypic period thus allows embryos undergoing diapause to conserve energy by shunting resources away from energetically costly organs thereby increasing survival chances in an environment that necessitates remaining dormant, buried in the soil and surrounded by an eggshell for much of the year. Our results indicate that adaptation to seasonal aquatic environments in annual killifish imposes strong selection during the embryo stage leading to marked diversification during this otherwise conserved period of vertebrate development.
The emerging role of IT leadership in local government: challenges, realities, and recommendations

This experience paper sets forth a look at the emerging role of local government IT leaders, namely IT Directors and CIOs, and presents challenges and opportunities as local governments navigate with these leadership professions within their own context. Much of the research to date on the role of CIO has been conducted in larger governments (i.e. state and federal) but as counties and cities continue to appoint IT leaders, there is a need to look at how the context of local government CIO is different. Based on data collected from New York State Local Government IT Directors, experiences of working with hundreds of local government leaders from across the world over the past 20 years, and a review of practitioner and scholarly literature, this paper also sets forth findings and a set of recommendations for local government IT leaders and elected officials as they work together maximize their investments to generate the most value for their constituents.
Regulated expression of foreign genes in vivo after germline transfer.

Tight transcriptional control of foreign genes introduced into the germline oftransgenic mice would be ofgreat experimental value in studies of gene function. To develop a system in which the spatial and temporal expression of candidate genes implicated in cardiac development or function could be tightly controlled in vivo, we have generated transgenic mice expressing a tetracycline-controlled transactivator (tTA) under the control of a rat alpha myosin heavy chain promoter (MHCa-tTA mice), as well as mice harboring a candidate target gene implicated in the control of differentiation, Idl (tet-Idl mice). No expression of the target transgene was detected in any tissues of hemizygous tet-Idl mice. Genetic crosses with MHCa-tTA mice resulted in transactivation of the Idl transgene, but expression was restricted to heart, where tTA was expressed. Furthermore, transactivation of the target gene was tightly and reversibly controlled by systemic therapy with tetracycline, both in utero and postnatally. These studies demonstrate the feasibility of such a binary approach for tightly controlling the timing and extent of expression of transgenes in vivo. This approach should be generally useful for the ectopic expression of candidate genes in selected tissues during delineated developmental stages. (J. Clin. Invest. 1994. 94:2421-2425.)
The efficacy of a voluntary summer book reading intervention for low-income Latino children from language minority families.

The effects of a voluntary summer reading intervention with and without a parent training component were evaluated with a sample of low-income Latino children from language minority families. During the last month of 4th grade, 370 children were pretested on a measure of reading comprehension and vocabulary and were randomly assigned to (a) a treatment group in which children received 10 self-selected books during summer vacation, (b) a family literacy group in which children received 10 self-selected books and were invited with their parents to attend 3 summer literacy events (2 hr in length), and (c) a control group. Although children in the treatment group and the family literacy group reported reading more books than the control group, there was no significant effect on reading comprehension and vocabulary. Recommendations for improving the efficacy of the intervention are discussed, including efforts to improve the match between reader ability and the readability of texts and the instructional goals of the family literacy events.
Activin type II receptors in embryonic dorsal root ganglion neurons of the chicken.

Activin induces neuropeptide expression in chicken ciliary ganglion neurons. To determine if activin might also influence neuropeptide expression in developing sensory neurons, we examined whether type II activin receptors are expressed during embryonic development of the chicken dorsal root ganglia (DRG), and also examined the effects of activin on neuropeptide expression in cultured DRG neurons. Using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rtPCR), we detected mRNAs for both the activin receptors type IIA (ActRIIA) and type IIB (ActRIIB) in DRG from embryonic day 7 through posthatch day 1. With in situ hybridization, we found that morphologically identifiable neurons express mRNAs for both ActRIIA and ActRIIB. With developmental age, a subset of neurons that hybridizes more intensely with riboprobes to these receptor mRNAs becomes evident. A similar pattern of expression is observed with immunocytochemical staining using antisera against activin type II receptors. To examine whether embryonic DRG cells respond to activin we treated dissociated cultures of DRG with activin A and assessed the expression of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) mRNAs using semiquantitative rtPCR. Activin treatment results in an increase in VIP mRNA, but does not affect CGRP mRNA levels. These observations indicate that neurons in the embryonic chicken DRG can respond to activin and suggest that activin has the potential to play a role in the development and function of DRG sensory neurons. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Neurobiol 47: 93–108, 2001