cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Direct Versus Video Laryngoscopy Using the C-MAC for Tracheal Intubation in the Emergency Department, a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background Direct laryngoscopy (DL) has long been the most common approach for emergency endotracheal intubation, although the use of video laryngoscopy (VL) is becoming more widespread. Current observational data suggest that VL has higher first-pass success, although randomized trials are lacking. Objectives The objective was to compare first-pass success in patients undergoing emergency intubation with DL or VL using a C-MAC device. Methods This was an open-label, prospective, randomized, controlled trial in an academic emergency department of patients undergoing emergency intubation with a plan of DL for the first attempt. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either DL or VL using a C-MAC device for the first intubation attempt. The primary outcome was first-pass success. Secondary outcomes included time to intubation, development of aspiration pneumonia, and hospital length of stay (LOS). The study was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov, number NCT01710891. Results A total of 198 patients were enrolled and intubated with either DL (n = 95) or VL (n = 103). First-attempt success was 86 and 92% for the DL and VL groups, respectively (difference = −5.9%, 95% confidence interval = −14.5% to 2.7%, p = 0.18). Time to intubation, rates of aspiration pneumonia, and hospital LOS were not different between the two groups. Conclusions In patients undergoing emergency intubation in whom DL was planned for the first attempt, we did not detect a difference between VL or DL using the C-MAC device in first-pass success, duration of intubation attempt, aspiration pneumonia, or hospital LOS.
Communication in Administrative Bureaucracies1

This paper examines the structural constraints on the frequency of both department head and subordinate communication within 44 local government bureaucracies. The effect of organizational size, sh...
Long-term patient satisfaction of gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures.

Background We prospectively assessed patient satisfaction in a Greek Academic endoscopy facility. Methods Consecutive outpatients filled a satisfaction questionnaire right after their endoscopy (D1), 3 days (D3) and 3 months (M3) later. Overall patient satisfaction was measured by their willingness to repeat endoscopy in our facility and to further recommend it. Participant satisfaction regarding pre-procedural, procedural and post-procedural issues was measured using a five-step Likert scale in 19 items with 4 and 5 scores indicating favorable responses. Pareto analysis was used to determine service issues requiring improvement. Late adverse events were recorded at D3 and M3 assessments. Results Over six months, 501 patients participated (89.4% and 87.8% response rate at D3 and M3 assessments, respectively). More than 97% of the participants would repeat the procedure in our facility and would recommend our endoscopy service, at all three assessments. Pareto analysis identified waiting time until the appointment and on the day of the examination, discomfort during and after the endoscopy, time to obtain the pathology report and overall management of the patient problems as the issues requiring improvement. No predictor of high satisfaction score has been identified. No serious late adverse events were reported. Conclusion Despite the overall high levels of patient satisfaction, management of patient discomfort and organizational issues need improvement. Keywords Colonoscopy, endoscopy, gastroscopy, patient, satisfaction Ann Gastroenterol 2016; 29 (2): 188-195 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.20524/aog.2016.0011
Role of Fluorine Interactions in the Self-Assembly of a Functionalized Anthradithiophene Monolayer on Au(111)

Scanning tunneling microscopy studies of the first monolayer of 2,8-difluoro-5,11-(bis)triethylsilylethynyl anthradithiophene on Au(111) reveal two ordered structures with anthradithiophene planes parallel to the substrate. Submolecular resolution STM images demonstrate structures with a close approach of fluorine–sulfur and fluorine–fluorine atoms in the ordered structures. This provides evidence for the importance of noncovalent F–S and F–F in driving 2D self-assembly in the monolayer. Spectroscopic studies indicate a transport gap of 2.4 eV that is insensitive to the local domain structures, as expected for weak intermolecular interactions.
The Applications of Regulations on the External Overhang in Trademark Design

The article elaborates the usual and special requirements of Regulation on Passenger Car Vehicle's External Overhang(GB 11566—2009),analyzes the trademark of an old vehicle of SAIC-GM-Wuling and studies what measures should be taken to salsify this regulation.Meanwhile,it also analyzes the trademark of a new vehicle—"Baojun" of SAIC -GM-Wuling and studies how this trademark' s design satisfies the regulation.
Implementing the Surviving Sepsis Campaign in an Ambulatory Clinic for Patients With Hematologic Malignancies

Background Infectious complications can occur in patients receiving cancer treatment and are the most common cause of death not directly related to malignancy. Established international best practices for recognition and management of early sepsis with bundled interventions reduce sepsis-related morbidity and mortality in many patient populations. Integration of these practices is common in emergency departments but has not been documented in ambulatory oncology clinics, where many patients with cancer present for evaluation of infectious symptoms. Objectives The current quality improvement project embedded sepsis best practices into routine care for ambulatory clinic patients receiving chemotherapy or undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for hematologic disease or malignancies. Methods An interprofessional protocol was implemented that included guideline-based universal screening, nurse-activated standing orders for recommended interventions, and clinician-supported decision making for the first six hours. Findings Evaluation of implementation of the protocol showed improved timeliness and adherence to sepsis practice guidelines. Postintervention adherence to threshold times for obtaining blood cultures and blood lactate and start of antibiotics showed improvement. All recommended interventions were completed within the target time frame for the majority of patients.
The Troublesome Inheritance of Americans in Magna Carta and Trial by Jury

Many Americans insisted on their traditional rights as Englishmen in the conflict with Britain before and after declaring independence. Magna Carta — particularly the provisions concerning the “law of the land” and “judgment of his peers” — embodied fundamental rights of Englishmen that American revolutionaries were willing to fight to protect. As Edward Coke had found more than a century before, American revolutionaries understood that invoking such an ancient document inspired resistance to authority.Americans cherished Magna Carta most because of its association with jury trial. Juries had proved useful to Americans in their conflict with Britain. Colonial American juries had nullified the law of seditious libel, customs taxes, and debts to British merchants. It was no wonder Americans held the jury in high esteem, at least until they had to run their own governments. Americans filled their constitutions, both federal and state, with rights to jury trial. Several American states even included translations of provisions from Magna Carta in their constitutions, enshrining the “judgment of his peers.” Once Americans had achieved independence and formed the new republics, judges faced the task of interpreting these thirteenth-century provisions as eighteenth- and nineteenth-century law. American judges quoted Blackstone and historical treatises. Through the nineteenth century, however, American enthusiasm for juries waned. The much-repeated phrases from Magna Carta became a flimsy screen, masking the steady decline of jury power.
Tourniquet Deflation Prior to 20 Minutes in Upper Extremity Intravenous Regional Anesthesia.

Background: Bier blocks, or intravenous regional anesthesia (IVRA), are a method of anesthesia for upper extremity surgeries. This study reports our experience with tourniquet deflation prior to 20...
Hematopoiesis in the Elderly: Age-Associated Effects in Frequency, Function, and Gene Expression of Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells.

Abstract Abstract 1505 Poster Board I-528 Aging of the human hematopoietic system is associated with an increase in the development of anemia, myeloid malignancies, and decreased adaptive immune function. While the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) population in mouse has been shown to change both quantitatively as well as functionally with age, age-associated alterations in the human HSC and progenitor cell populations have not been characterized. In order to elucidate the properties of an aged human hematopoietic system that may predispose to age-associated hematopoietic dysfunction, we evaluated and compared HSC and other hematopoietic progenitor populations prospectively isolated via fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) from 10 healthy young (20-35 years of age) and 8 healthy elderly (65+ years of age) human bone marrow samples. Bone marrow was obtained from hematologically normal young and old volunteers, under a protocol approved by the Stanford Institutional Review Board. We determined by flow cytometry the distribution frequencies and cell cycle status of HSC and progenitor populations. We also analyzed the in vitro function and generated gene expression profiles of the sorted HSC and progenitor populations. We found that bone marrow samples obtained from normal elderly adults contain ∼2-3 times the frequency of immunophenotypic HSC (Lin-CD34+CD38-CD90+) compared to bone marrow obtained from normal young adults (p Disclosures: Weissman: Amgen: Equity Ownership; Cellerant Inc.: ; Stem Cells Inc.: ; U.S. Patent Application 11/528,890 entitled “Methods for Diagnosing and Evaluating Treatment of Blood Disorders.”: Patents & Royalties.
SPIRONOLACTONE THERAPY FOR CARDIOMYOPATHY IN DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY

Background: Cardiomyopathy is a leading cause of death in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Eplerenone can prevent progressive left ventricular (LV) dysfunction when added to baseline therapies; however, it is not readily available and has a higher cost point. We, therefore, tested the hypothesis
A Model for Developing and Incorporating a Sports Neurology Program in Neurology Residency Programs (IN5-1.002)

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how neurology residency programs can develop and incorporate a sports neurology program into already existing curriculum. BACKGROUND: The number of recognized sports concussions and other sports neurologic injuries has increased over the past several years with many athletes now being required to attain medical clearance prior to returning to play. As the demand for medical clearance in returning athletes back to play has increased, so has the number of referrals to neurology. DESIGN/METHODS: A sports neurology program model was designed keeping essential features that allow sustainability, education, and most importantly, the safety of athletes. Key features within this model include sports concussion clinics for pediatric and adult athletes, resident and faculty education with incorporated didactics, research opportunities, and community education. RESULTS: This model has been used at the Medical University of South Carolina for nearly 3 years seeing over 200 athletes with various sports neurologic injuries with the majority being sports concussions. Our program has been successful with this model and has grown significantly over the past few years. Didactics and community education allow continual growth in the program and reach out to new areas within the community. Our program also permits further advancements within the field by providing research opportunities to those involved. CONCLUSIONS: As the demand for medical clearance of athletes by neurologists or other health care providers increase, it will be essential that neurologists understand how to diagnose and manage athletes suspected of sustaining sports concussions or other sports neurologic injuries. Incorporating this program into neurology residency programs will not only assist with the increasing demand for medical clearance but will ensure athletes safely return to play without placing them at an increased risk for post-concussive syndrome (PCS), second impact syndrome (SIS), and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Disclosure: Dr. Madey has nothing to disclose. Dr. Williams has nothing to disclose. Dr. Bodle has nothing to disclose. Dr. Williams has nothing to disclose. Dr. Edwards has nothing to disclose.
Refinement types for Haskell

We present LiquidHaskell (http://goto.ucsd.edu/liquid), an automatic verifier for Haskell. LiquidHaskell uses Refinement types, a restricted form of dependent types where relationships between values are encoded by decorating types with logical predicates drawn from an efficiently SMT decidable theory (of arithmetic and uninterpreted functions.)In this talk, we will describe the key ingredients of LiquidHaskell.First, we will present a rapid overview of refinement types, including SMT solver based (decidable) subtyping, and inference. Decidability is achieved by eschewing the use of arbitrary terms inside types, and the use of indices to encode rich properties of data.Second, we will show how to recover some of the expressiveness lost by restricting the logic, with two new techniques: measures which encode structural properties of values and abstract refinements which enable generalization (i.e. quantification) over refinements.Third, we will discuss the curious interaction of laziness and refinement typing. In a nutshell, the technique of refinement typing can be viewed as a type-based generalization of Floyd-Hoare logics. Surprisingly, we demonstrate that under non-strict evaluation, these logics (and hence, classical refinement typing) is unsound, due to the presence of potentially divergent sub-computations. Fortunately, we show how soundness can be recovered with a termination analysis, itself, circularly bootstrapped off refinement typing.We have used LiquidHaskell to verify safety, functional correctness and termination properties of real-world Haskell libraries totalling mroe than 10,000 lines of code. Time permitting, we will present a demonstration of the tool and a few short case studies illustrating its use.
CATECHOLAMINE RECEPTOR STABILIZATION: A POSSIBLE MODE OF LITHIUM'S ANTI-MANIC ACTION

ABSTRACT Chronic administration of lithium to rats treated with repeated doses of haloperidol prevents the dopamine receptor supersensitivity that normally develops when haloperidol is administered alone. Lithium's prevention of dopamine receptor supersensitivity has been documented by behavioral, neurophysiological, and biochemical receptor binding techniques. Chronic lithium treatment alone in rats has small but reproducible effects: an increase in α-receptor binding, a decrease in β-receptor binding and no alteration in dopamine receptor binding. In preliminary experiments, lithium is able to block the development of the α- and β-receptor sensitivity that normally accompanies brain norepinephrine depletion by 6-hydroxydopamine.
Conclusions and Future Outlook

After being shelved for a rather long time after their initial discovery in the 1970s, radical polymers are currently finding their unique identity in the modern frontiers of organic electronics. The intriguing chemistry associated with the radical sites opens a number of opportunities in a variety of unique and exhilarating directions. Assuredly, open-shell-bearing stable radical polymer structures have their own emerging opportunities in the field of organic electronics. The redox-active radical sites in the polymers allow for reversible redox reactions, opening opportunities in charge storage, which in turn diverges towards the broader opportunities of organic batteries, supercapacitors, and memory devices. The role of organic radical polymers in revolutionizing the field of organic energy storage systems cannot be emphasized enough. The initial reports on the opportunities of organic polymers in such systems have had a literal domino effect, crushing many of conventional prejudices about the versatility of organic materials. That is, they are not only restricted to the proof-of-concept, and radical polymers are proving to be pioneering in the development of large-scale yet cost-effective redox flow batteries. Furthermore, the emergence of flexible device systems is redefining the borders of flexible organic electronics.
Robust state estimation and online outlier detection using eccentricity analysis

Both state propagation and sensor measurements are often corrupted by unmodeled non-Gaussian or heavy-tailed noise. Without dealing with such outliers, the accuracy of a estimator significantly degrades, and control systems that rely on high-quality estimation lose stability. To estimate the states of dynamic systems in which both types of outliers occur, we propose a novel approach that combines a real-time outlier detection technique with an extended version of an outlier robust Kalman filter (ORKF). Unlike the ORKF for only measurement outliers, the technique, the extended ORKF (EORKF), also handles situations in which propagation outliers arise; that is, to approximately compute the optimal precision matrices of process outliers, we derive equations and algorithms using the variational inference method. Hence, the EORKF does not restrict noise at either a constant or Gaussian level. Furthermore, for lower computational effort and memory uses, our approach employs the typicality and eccentricity data analysis (TEDA), which provides information about the time when outliers occur and runs the EORKF whenever the TEDA detects outliers. The results of Monte Carlo simulations show that our approach leads to greater improvement in robustness and lower computational complexity than existing methods.
Evidence-Based and Age-Appropriate Preventive Health Evaluations in Men

Since 1861, the annual physical examination or preventive health evaluation (PHE) has been part of the Western culture’s practice of medicine. Its perceived value stems from the belief that it enhances good health, and the belief that the evaluation can detect subclinical illness thereby leading to improved outcomes with decreased morbidity and mortality. Recent data suggest that the PHE provides little benefit in asymptomatic adults. Some have advocated abandoning this long practice of performing the annual exam and promoting a more evidence-based or focused evaluation. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) was convened by the Public Health Service to rigorously evaluate clinical research in order to assess the merits of preventive measures, including screening tests, counseling, immunizations, and preventive medications. Their recommendations will serve as the foundation in this review of the evidence-based and age-appropriate strategies to the care of men.
Distribution-Independent Hierarchical Algorithmsfor the N-body Problem

The N-body problem is to simulate the motion of N particles under the influence of mutual force fields based on an inverse square law. Greengards algorithm claims to compute the cumulative force on each particle in O(N) time for a fixed precision irrespective of the distribution of the particles. In this paper, we show that Greengards algorithm is distribution dependent and has a lower bound of ­(N log 2 N) in two dimensions and ­(N log 4 N) in three dimensions. We analyze the Greengard and Barnes-Hut algorithms and show that they are unbounded for arbitrary distributions. We also present a truly distribution independent algorithm for the N-body problem that runs in O(N log N) time for any fixed dimension.
Optokinetic and Smooth-Pursuit Response After Adaptive Modification of the Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex

The vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) serves to maintain retinal image stability during rotation by utilizing semicircular canal input to generate conjugate eye movements that are equal but opposite to head movements. The VOR is related to the optokinetic reflex (OKR) which maintains retinal image stability by generating eye movement which follows large field visual motion. Another visual system, that of smooth pursuit (SP), allows accurate tracking of small central retinal targets. The VOR, OKR, and SP systems work together during natural motion to collectively assure stability of the desired visual target image. When VOR performance fails, and image stability is lost during head movements, visual-vestibular interaction is employed to adaptively modify and improve the VOR.
Laparoscopic double cholecystectomy for biliary dyskinesia in a child with duplicated gallbladders

Abstract Gallbladder duplication is an uncommon congenital anomaly with an estimated incidence of 1 in 4000 patients. Here we present a child who underwent a duodenal duplication cyst marsupialization who continued experiencing chronic abdominal pain one year after the initial procedure. She had an incidentally discovered duplicated gallbladder on ultrasound and an ejection fraction of 2% on hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid (HIDA) scanning. Preoperative magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) revealed two gallbladders with individual cystic ducts. She underwent an uneventful laparoscopic double cholecystectomy for biliary dyskinesia and subsequently had resolution of her chronic abdominal pain.
A geometric framework for modeling dynamic decisions among arbitrarily many alternatives

Abstract Multiple-choice and continuous-response tasks pose a number of challenges for models of the decision process, from empirical challenges like context effects to computational demands imposed by choice sets with a large number of outcomes. This paper develops a general framework for constructing models of the cognitive processes underlying both inferential and preferential choice among any arbitrarily large number of alternatives. This geometric approach represents the alternatives in a choice set along with a decision maker’s beliefs or preferences in a “decision space,” simultaneously capturing the support for different alternatives along with the similarity relations between the alternatives in the choice set. Support for the alternatives (represented as vectors) shifts over time according to the dynamics of the belief / preference state (represented as a point) until a stopping rule is met (state crosses a hyperplane) and the corresponding selection is made. This paper presents stopping rules that guarantee optimality in multi-alternative inferential choice, minimizing response time for a desired level of accuracy, as well as methods for constructing the decision space, which can result in context effects when applied to preferential choice.
Impacts of Starch and the Interactions Between Starch and Other Macromolecules on Wheat Falling Number.

Wheat with a low falling number (FN) has been particularly prevalent in recent years and has resulted in a loss of more than $140 million in a single year in the wheat industry in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. FN measurement is a standard method for the evaluation of grain α-amylase activity, and a low FN indicates a reduction in hot wholemeal paste viscosity due to sprouting damage. Recent studies show that a low FN may result from a developmental change of starch and adverse effects of non-α-amylase macromolecules on wheat. In this review, we describe the principles of FN measurement and the relationship between FN and α-amylase. We also discuss the isozymes, locations, and inhibitors of wheat α-amylase. The effects of various aspects of starch, which is the substrate of α-amylase, on wheat FN are also discussed, including starch structural characteristics (for example, starch granule architecture), starch susceptibility to α-amylase, and the interaction between starch and nonstarch macromolecules (for example, lipids). Studies on the effects of planting environments (for example, temperature) and agronomic practices (for example, irrigation and fertilization) on both starch paste viscosity and FN are also reviewed. This paper highlights the importance of considering the impacts of starch and the interactions of starch and other macromolecules, including wheat α-amylase, on wheat FN, which is important for developing strategies to solve the low FN problem.
Veterinary ethics: Navigating tough cases

This thought-provoking textbook on veterinary ethics is a refreshing take on issues that plague the veterinary profession. This book is different from other texts on veterinary ethics; no other tex...
Brief communication: A radiology resident's experience with COVID-19 in New York City.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted New York City severely. As a radiology resident, I was unsure how my role would change as the pandemic unfolded. Like many hospital systems in New York City, my department was asked to assist in the clinical care of patients during the dramatic surge of admissions related to COVID-19. I placed invasive central lines for critically ill patients in the intensive care unit to help reduce the workload on already overwhelmed critical care teams. I also performed direct patient care within dedicated COVID-19 inpatient floors.
Non-Autoregressive Transformer for Speech Recognition

Very deep transformers outperform conventional bi-directional long short-term memory networks for automatic speech recognition (ASR) by a significant margin. However, being autoregressive models, their computational complexity is still a prohibitive factor in their deployment into production systems. To amend this problem, we study two different non-autoregressive transformer structures for ASR: Audio-Conditional Masked Language Model (A-CMLM) and Audio-Factorized Masked Language Model (A-FMLM). When training these frameworks, the decoder input tokens are randomly replaced by special mask tokens. Then, the network is optimized to predict the masked tokens by taking both the unmasked context tokens and the input speech into consideration. During inference, we start from all masked tokens and the network iteratively predicts missing tokens based on partial results. A new decoding strategy is proposed as an example, which starts from the most confident predictions to the rest. Results on Mandarin (AISHELL), Japanese (CSJ), English (LibriSpeech) benchmarks show promising results to train such a non-autoregressive network for ASR. Especially in AISHELL, the proposed method outperformed the Kaldi ASR system and matched the performance of the state-of-the-art autoregressive transformer with $7\times$ speedup.
Draft Genome Sequence of a Terrestrial Planctomycete, Singulisphaera sp. Strain GP187, Isolated from Forest Soil.

ABSTRACT Here, we present the draft genome sequence of a novel species of the genus Singulisphaera (phylum Planctomycetes, family Isosphaeraceae) isolated from soil. Singulisphaera sp. strain GP187 has a relatively large mobilome and numerous novel genes that may contribute to the production of bioactive molecules.
Experimental and theoretical insights into the effects of pH on catalysis of bond-cleavage by the lignin peroxidase isozyme H8 from Phanerochaete chrysosporium

Lignin peroxidases catalyze a variety of reactions, resulting in cleavage of both β-O-4′ ether bonds and C–C bonds in lignin, both of which are essential for depolymerizing lignin into fragments amendable to biological or chemical upgrading to valuable products. Studies of the specificity of lignin peroxidases to catalyze these various reactions and the role reaction conditions such as pH play have been limited by the lack of assays that allow quantification of specific bond-breaking events. The subsequent theoretical understanding of the underlying mechanisms by which pH modulates the activity of lignin peroxidases remains nascent. Here, we report on combined experimental and theoretical studies of the effect of pH on the enzyme-catalyzed cleavage of β-O-4′ ether bonds and of C–C bonds by a lignin peroxidase isozyme H8 from Phanerochaete chrysosporium and an acid stabilized variant of the same enzyme. Using a nanostructure initiator mass spectrometry assay that provides quantification of bond breaking in a phenolic model lignin dimer we found that catalysis of degradation of the dimer to products by an acid-stabilized variant of lignin peroxidase isozyme H8 increased from 38.4% at pH 5 to 92.5% at pH 2.6. At pH 2.6, the observed product distribution resulted from 65.5% β-O-4′ ether bond cleavage, 27.0% Cα-C1 carbon bond cleavage, and 3.6% Cα-oxidation as by-product. Using ab initio molecular dynamic simulations and climbing-image Nudge Elastic Band based transition state searches, we suggest the effect of lower pH is via protonation of aliphatic hydroxyl groups under which extremely acidic conditions resulted in lower energetic barriers for bond-cleavages, particularly β-O-4′ bonds. These coupled experimental results and theoretical explanations suggest pH is a key driving force for selective and efficient lignin peroxidase isozyme H8 catalyzed depolymerization of the phenolic lignin dimer and further suggest that engineering of lignin peroxidase isozyme H8 and other enzymes involved in lignin depolymerization should include targeting stability at low pH.
Hair Growth in a Patient with Alopecia Areata on Tocilizumab.

Introduction Tocilizumab (TCZ), a recombinant humanized antihuman monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-6 (IL-6) signaling, is often utilized in the management of autoimmune disease. Few reports have demonstrated hair growth changes in patients on TCZ. Case Presentation Herein, we review the literature and report a 21-year-old woman with progressive alopecia areata (AA) presenting with AA improvement while on TCZ for concomitant posterior uveitis. Discussion Our case demonstrates the potential ability of TCZ to disrupt IL-6 signaling involved in AA, leading to hair loss and regrowth.
Gallbladder Polyps

Most small gallbladder polyps are benign and do not change significantly over time. They are usually incidental findings on ultrasound. Therefore, these polyps should be checked periodically with routine percutaneous ultrasonography. In the asymptomatic patient, gallbladder polyps that are greater than 1 cm in diameter should be treated with cholecystectomy. The size of the polyp and the patient greater than 50 years are important risk factors for malignant potential. Patients who have biliary pain and small gallbladder polyps without gallstones present a difficult management decision for the clinician. If the physician is confident that the polyps are the source of thepain, patients should be referred for cholecystectomy. Endoscopic ultrasound and positron emission tomography may prove to be useful in assessing the malignant potential of large gallbladder polyps. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the treatment of choice for most gallbladder polyps. If a malignant polyp is suspected, patients should undergo an open cholecystectomy.
Accurate Small-Signal Modeling for Charge-Controlled LLC Resonant Converter

In comparison with PWM converters, LLC resonant converters are gaining increasing popularity for cases in which efficiency and power density are at a premium. The regulation can be achieved by simple frequency control that changes the resonant tank impedance according to loading conditions. This control experiences a strong beat-frequency oscillation located at the difference between the switching frequency and resonant frequency, and therefore is difficult to compensate. The capacitor voltage is a good indicator of resonant tank energy at the instant where switching is taking place. This additional feedback effectively reduces the system order. However, the small-signal model is lacking. The recent breakthrough in resonant converter modeling is based on the extended describing function method, which takes into account all important contribution from harmonics. This paper extends this modeling for the capacitor-voltage-controlled LLC resonant converter. The corresponding equivalent circuit model is provided, and the comparison with the frequency control is discussed in detail.
A Tutorial Dialogue System for Real-Time Evaluation of Unsupervised Dialogue Act Classifiers: Exploring System Outcomes

Dialogue act classification is an important step in understanding students’ utterances within tutorial dialogue systems. Machine-learned models of dialogue act classification hold great promise, and among these, unsupervised dialogue act classifiers have the great benefit of eliminating the human dialogue act annotation effort required to label corpora. In contrast to traditional evaluation approaches which judge unsupervised dialogue act classifiers by accuracy on manual labels, we present results of a study to evaluate the performance of these models with respect to their performance within end-to-end system evaluation. We compare two versions of the tutorial dialogue system for introductory computer science: one that relies on a supervised dialogue act classifier and one that depends on an unsupervised dialogue act classifier. A study with 51 students shows that both versions of the system achieve similar learning gains and user satisfaction. Additionally, we show that some incoming student characteristics are highly correlated with students’ perceptions of their experience during tutoring. This first end-to-end evaluation of an unsupervised dialogue act classifier within a tutorial dialogue system serves as a step toward acquiring tutorial dialogue management models in a fully automated, scalable way.
Thermal reliability of copper alloy-diamond composites produced by field-assisted sintering technology

This paper highlights the thermal properties of copper–diamond composites fabricated by field assisted sintering technology. The samples were fabricated using a matrix of copper alloyed with silver and zirconium. Previous reports have shown that these samples possess high thermal conductivity. This work examines the thermal conductivity of the samples after being subjected to thermal cycling. Coefficient of thermal expansion is also reported in this work.
Genome-wide association study for rotator cuff tears identifies two significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms.

Background The precise etiology of rotator cuff disease is unknown, but prior evidence suggests a role for genetic factors. Limited data exist identifying specific genes associated with rotator cuff tearing. The purpose of this study was to identify specific genes or genetic variants associated with rotator cuff tearing by a genome-wide association study with an independent set of rotator cuff tear cases. Materials and methods A set of 311 full-thickness rotator cuff tear cases genotyped on the Illumina 5M single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) platform were used in a genome-wide association study with 2641 genetically matched white population controls available from the Illumina iControls database. Tests of association were performed with GEMMA software at 257,558 SNPs that compose the intersection of Illumina SNP platforms and that passed general quality control metrics. SNPs were considered significant if P −7 (Bonferroni correction: 0.05/257,558). Results Tests of association revealed 2 significantly associated SNPs, one occurring in SAP30BP (rs820218; P = 3.8E-9) on chromosome 17q25 and another occurring in SASH1 (rs12527089; P = 1.9E-7) on chromosome 6q24. Conclusions This study represents the first attempt to identify genetic factors influencing rotator cuff tearing by a genome-wide association study using a dense/complete set of SNPs. Two SNPs were significantly associated with rotator cuff tearing, residing in SAP30BP on chromosome 17 and SASH1 on chromosome 6. Both genes are associated with the cellular process of apoptosis. Identification of potential genes or genetic variants associated with rotator cuff tearing may help in identifying individuals at risk for the development of rotator cuff tearing.
Ultrastructure and Histological Analyses of Cardiac Injury in Ciona intestinalis

Ciona intestinalis is a well-characterized invertebrate model system presenting many advantages to understanding evolutionarily conserved regulatory mechanisms in chordates. Interestingly, the Cion...
Cannabinoids for pediatric epilepsy? Up in smoke or real science?

Public interest in the use of “medical marijuana” for the treatment of childhood epilepsy has burgeoned in the last few years. This has occurred in parallel with a growing interest in “medical marijuana” in general. Physicians and pediatricians must balance their patients’ desire for immediate access to these products with the tenets of evidence-based medicine. This review discusses the biochemistry of cannabis products (the phytocannabinoids ) setting this in the context of the endogenous endocannabinoid system. The differing and potentially modulating effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are reviewed. The evidence-base supporting or not the use of cannabis products for the treatment of neurological disease and specifically epilepsy is explored. The potential for adverse effects and particularly of neurotoxicity is addressed. Finally, public health and sociocultural implications are touched upon. Specific recommendations for interested physicians are provided including advocacy for patients and for a change in the “scheduling” of cannabis in order to better foster much-needed high-quality scientific research in this important area.
Spectral Clustering and Block Models: A Review and a New Algorithm

We focus on spectral clustering of unlabeled graphs and review some results on clustering methods which achieve weak or strong consistent identification in data generated by such models. We also present a new algorithm which appears to perform optimally both theoretically using asymptotic theory.
Carbon dioxide accumulation and flushing in potato storage bins

Carbon dioxide levels were measured in a commercial-size research bin, a model bin, and laboratory chambers during suberization and reconditioning periods. Patterns and magnitudes of CO2 accumulation in the commercial bin differed from those in the laboratory chambers due to wind and locational effects that were present in the bin. Higher accumulations were measured in the chambers than in the storage.
An experimental study of large finite plastic deformation in annealed 1100 aluminum during proportional and nonproportional biaxial compression

Abstract A new nonproportional biaxial compression experiment has been developed where a rectangular block first undergoes uniaxial compression and then, after finite deformation, it is subjected to large deformations (up to 45% strain) under biaxial compression. Experimental results on rectangular specimens of annealed 1100 aluminum subjected to uniaxial and biaxial compressive loadings are presented. The experiments include proportional and nonproportional loading paths. Stress and strain measures, directional changes of plastic strain increment, and existence of the von Mises equivalent stress-strain relation at large finite strains are discussed. Small volume changes were computed from the measured strains; however, density measurements after unloading indicate negligible change in density or volume. The classical Prandtl-Reuss equations are shown to predict acceptable results when the true or logarithmic strain loading paths are approximately proportional; however, many constitutive models can predict the experimental results during proportional loading paths. On the other hand, during sharp directional changes in loading paths, the predictions using Prandtl-Reuss equations in terms of deviatoric stress ratios and incremental strain ratios do not agree with experimental data for nonproportional loading paths, especially in the neighborhood of loading path change.
The Determinants of New Venture Success: Strategy, Industry Structure, and the Founding Entrepreneurial Team

New ventures are an important part of a healthy economy (Birch [1979]; Birley [1986]; Cooper Willard, and Woo [1986]). They are vital to the U.S. economy, with most of the net new jobs created by new ventures (Birch [1979]; Timmons [1994]). The formation of new ventures in the United States is increasing (U.S. Small Business Administration [1986]). However, the failure rate of new ventures is substantial, with the majority of the ventures failing prior to their third year (Ibrahim and Goodwin [1986]).
A calorimetric study of binary mixtures of saturated and monounsaturated mixed-chain phosphatidylethanolamines.

Abstract In this study, we have semisynthesized the following three molecular species of mixed-chain phosphatidylethanolamine: C(22):C(12)PE, C(16):C(18:1Δ9)PE, and C(10):C(24:1Δ15)PE. These lipids share a common structural characteristic, that is,t they all have the same total number of carbon atoms in their acyl chains. Aqueous dispersions prepared from three sets of binary lipid mixtures, C(16):C(18:1Δ9)PE/C(22):C(12)PE,C(10):C(24:1Δ15)PE/C(22):C(12)PE, and C(16):C(18:1Δ9)PE/C(10):C(24:1Δ15)PE, were studied by high-resolution differential scanning calorimetry, leading to the construction of three temperature-composition phase diagrams. A computer program developed on the basis of the thermodynamic equations for non-ideality of mixing (or Brigg-Williams approximation) was applied to fit the calorimetric data, yielding the non-ideality parameters of mixing in the gel and the liquid-crystalline bilayers (ϱG and g9L). Based on the shapes of these phase diagrams and the values of ϱG and ϱL, it is concluded that any two of the three molecular species of phosphatidylethanolamines under study can mix nearly ideally in the bilayer plane of the liquid-crystalline bilayer. However, these binary lipid mixtures do exhibit the gel-gel phase immiscibility over an extensive compositional region in the gel-state bilayer. By comparison with experimental data obtained with binary mixtures of saturated identical-chain phospholipids, we can conclude that mixed-chain cis-monounsaturated lipid molecules and saturated lipid molecules are highly demixed in the same two-dimensional plane of the gel-state bilayer, although the bilayer thickness difference between the lipid bilayer composed of cis-monounsaturated lipids and that of saturated lipids may be only one or two C C bond lenghts at T
Spatial and temporal patterns in mercury contamination in sediments of the laurentian Great Lakes

Abstract Data from recent sediment surveys have been collated and mapped in order to determine the spatial distribution of mercury in sediments across the entire Great Lakes basin. Information from historical surveys has also been collated in order to evaluate temporal trends. Lake Huron (2002) exhibited the lowest mercury concentrations (lakewide average concentration, 0.043 μg/g); Lakes Michigan (1994–1996) and Superior (2000) also exhibited relatively low levels (lakewide averages of 0.088 and 0.078 μg/g, respectively). The western basin of Lake Erie (1997–1998, 0.402 μg/g) and Lake Ontario (0.586 μg/g) exhibited the highest levels. Sources of mercury contamination in Lakes Erie and Ontario are primarily attributed to loadings from historical sources, including chlor-alkali production in the Detroit, St. Clair, and Niagara Rivers. The spatial distributions of mercury in sediments of Lakes Huron and Superior suggest that natural geochemical factors are an influence. Surficial sediment mercury contamination was found to have decreased markedly since the late 1960s and 1970s. Decreases in lakewide average sediment concentrations of mercury over this time period ranged from approximately 25% for Lake Ontario to 80% for Lake Huron.
Generation of trans-dioxoruthenium(VI) porphyrins: A photochemical approach

Abstract trans -Dioxoruthenium(VI) porphyrin complexes have been developed as one of the best-characterized model systems for heme-containing enzymes. Traditionally, this type of compounds can be prepared by oxidation of ruthenium(II) precursors with peroxyacids and other terminal oxidants under different conditions, depending on the porphyrin ligands. In this work, a new photochemical generation of trans -dioxoruthenium(VI) porphyrins has been developed by extension of the known photo-induced ligand cleavage reactions. Refluxing ruthenium(II) carbonyl porphyrins [Ru II (Por)(CO)] in carbon tetrachloride afforded dichlororuthenium(IV) complexes [Ru IV (Por)Cl 2 ]. Facile exchange of the counterions in [Ru IV (Por)Cl 2 ] with Ag(ClO 3 ) or Ag(BrO 3 ) gave the corresponding dichlorate [Ru IV (Por)(ClO 3 ) 2 ] or dibromate [Ru IV (Por)(BrO 3 ) 2 ] salts. Visible-light photolysis of the photo-labile porphyrin–ruthenium(IV) dichlorates or dibromates resulted in homolytic cleavage of the two O–Cl or O–Br bonds in the axial ligands to produce trans -dioxoruthenium(IV) species [Ru VI (Por)O 2 ] bearing different porphyrin ligands.
The seed oil of the highbush cranberry

The seed oil of the American variety of the highbush cranberry is, apparently, of unusual composition in that it contains only small amounts of saturated acids. It consists almost entirely of the glycerides of oleic and linoleic acids. Its calculated composition has been found to be oleic acid 58 per cent; linoleic acid 35.8 per cent; saturated acids 1.6 per cent; unsaponifiable matter 1.65 per cent.
Src family kinase oncogenic potential and pathways in prostate cancer as revealed by AZD0530.

Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in American men. We have previously demonstrated that Src mediates androgen-independent proliferation in prostate cancer. We sought to investigate the Src-mediated oncogenic pathways and tumor biology using AZD0530, a novel Src family kinase/Abl dual-kinase inhibitor that is entering phase II clinical trials. We show that while both Src and Abl are expressed in all prostate cancer cell lines, Src but not Abl is activated in the prostate. Furthermore, Src activation is inhibited by AZD0530 in a rapid and dose-dependent manner. We show that Src mediates cell proliferation in DU145 and PC3 cells at the G1 phase of cell cycle. Src inhibition resulted in decreased binding of β-catenin to the promoters of G1 phase cell cycle regulators cyclin D1 and c-Myc. C-Myc may also be regulated at the protein level by extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and GSK3β. Cell motility factors focal adhesion kinase, p130CAS and paxillin activation in DU145 and PC3 cells were also inhibited. Administration of AZD0530 in mice reduced orthotopic DU145 xenograft growth by 45%. We have further delineated the Src-mediated oncogenic growth and migration pathways in prostate cancer and established mechanistic rationale for Src inhibition as novel therapy in the treatment of prostate cancer.
Methods for reconstructing acoustic quantities based on acoustic pressure measurements

This paper presents an overview of the acoustic imaging methods developed over the past three decades that enable one to reconstruct all acoustic quantities based on the acoustic pressure measurements taken around a target source at close distances. One such method that has received the most attention is known as near-field acoustical holography (NAH). The original NAH relies on Fourier transforms that are suitable for a surface containing a level of constant coordinate in a source-free region. Other methods are developed to reconstruct the acoustic quantities in three-dimensional space and on an arbitrary three-dimensional source surface. Note that there is a fine difference between Fourier transform based NAH and other methods that is largely overlooked. The former can offer a wave number spectrum, thus enabling visualization of various structural waves of different wavelengths that travel on the surface of a structure; the latter cannot provide such information, which is critical to acquire an in-depth understanding of the interrelationships between structural vibrations and sound radiation. All these methods are discussed in this paper, their advantages and limitations are compared, and the need for further development to analyze the root causes of noise and vibration problems is discussed.