cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Twenty-year trends in the utilization of Heller myotomy for achalasia in the United States.

Abstract Introduction Trends in the utilization of Heller myotomy for achalasia in the U.S. over time have not been previously described. Materials and methods Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database, we analyzed patients undergoing Heller myotomy for achalasia over a 20-year period (1992–2011) to estimate rates of Heller myotomy, locations where the procedures were performed (rural, urban or teaching) and changes in technique (laparoscopic vs open) as well as outcomes of length of stay and in-hospital mortality. Results Over the last 20 years, the total number of Heller myotomies performed in the U.S. has increased (1576 cases in 1992 to 5046 cases in 2011, p = 0.001). These procedures are now being performed laparoscopically (0.9%–67.0%, p Discussion These data show a trend of increasing utilization of laparoscopic Heller myotomy at teaching institutions with decreased in-hospital mortality and shorter LOS.
Experimental study of leaf wax n-alkane response in winter wheat cultivars to drought conditions

Abstract Leaf wax forms the boundary between plant leaf and atmosphere. The properties of the wax layer reflect physiological and biochemical adaptation and response to environmental stress, including drought. Agricultural field cropping experiments provide an intermediary between complex natural ecosystems and controlled laboratory growth experiments, routinely involving translocation of species, irrigation and the harvest of fully grown plants. Investigation of plant wax traits including leaf n -alkane chain length, total n -alkane concentrations, and compound specific carbon and hydrogen isotopic analyses of n -alkanes as well as bulk leaf carbon isotope response to environment in irrigated winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L . ), a common agricultural monocot, provides a framework for drought-sensitivity tests for biomarker indices used to reconstruct paleoenvironments. We conducted field-growth studies of winter wheat, sampling flag leaves from ten cultivars under full and deficit irrigation (13 and 25% reduction in irrigation) in two regions of Texas, USA (Winter Garden, Uvalde and High Plains, Amarillo). We quantified leaf trait response to environment and isotopic evidence for water use efficiency (WUE) under different irrigation treatments and between sites. Leaf mass per area, bulk leaf δ 13 C values, leaf wax n -alkane concentration and δ 13 C values were responsive to irrigation treatment and environmental variables, whereas leaf wax n -alkane δ D values were relatively insensitive. We found around 50% higher n -alkane concentration at the higher and drier site (Amarillo), leading us to suggest that crop breeding may want to select for high n -alkane concentration for drought-adaptation. Bulk leaf and leaf wax n -alkane δ 13 C analyses yielded broadly similar insights for plant WUE, however the value of n -alkane δ 13 C analyses is towards understanding past drought conditions as recorded by these biomarkers in soils. Our two-location, field-growth experiments tested the drought responsiveness of leaf wax properties in winter wheat, which is an extensive part of the human-modified ecosystem and thus of modern input to soils and sediments.
Prevalence and motives for drugged driving among emerging adults presenting to an emergency department.

Abstract Objectives Drugged driving [DD] is a public health concern, particularly among emerging adults who have the highest rates of drug use. Understanding involvement with DD could inform prevention efforts for this population. We evaluated the prevalence of, motives for, and correlates of past-year DD among emerging adults from an urban, under-resourced community. Methods Emerging adults (N = 586) ages 18–25 years (54% male, 56% African American, 34% European American) seeking care in an urban emergency department completed past-year surveys of demographics, frequency of DD within 4 h of substance use, reasons for DD, and substance use. Results DD was reported by 24% of participants (with 25% of those engaging in high frequency DD). DD after cannabis use was most common (96%), followed by prescription opioids, sedatives, and stimulants (9%–19%). Common reasons for DD were: needing to go home (67%), not thinking drugs affected driving ability (44%), not having to drive far (33%), and not feeling high (32%). Demographics were not associated with DD, but, as expected, those with DD had riskier substance use. Conclusions In this clinical sample, using a conservative measure, DD, particularly following cannabis use, was relatively common among emerging adults. Based on these data, clinical interventions for cannabis and other drug use should include content on prevention of DD, with particular attention to motives such as planning ahead for alternatives to get home safely and weighing benefits and risks of DD.
Religion in the kitchen: cooking, talking, and the making of black Atlantic traditions

Orisa biī ikun ko si: Ojoojumon lo n gba ebo, There is no orixa/orisha as lucky as the stomach, since the stomach receives daily offerings. (John Mason, 1999)Mason’s quote accurately frames the rat...
Prospects for Proliferation in Saudi Arabia

J. E. Peterson examines the complex narratives, historic culture, and decisionmaking processes inside Saudi Arabia to formulate his assessment of a low probability that the kingdom will act to acquire nuclear arms in the near term. Peterson identifies triggers within the security threat matrix that may flare Saudi motivation to acquire nuclear capability, including concern over regional disintegration, Israeli provocation, continued Iranian belligerence, and deterioration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or evidence of direct Iranian interference in Gulf States’ domestic affairs; he also argues that the ultimate Saudi reaction will likely hinge on perceptions of the United States as a reliable security partner and its valuation of this relationship. Using his intimate understanding of the royal decisionmaking process and internal operation of policy-building in Saudi Arabia, Peterson offers tailored recommendations to US policymakers concerning the vector points which hold most promise for influence with the Saudis on the nuclear issue.
Role of ADAMTS-12 in Protecting Against Inflammatory Arthritis in Mice By Interacting With and Inactivating Proinflammatory Connective Tissue Growth Factor

Objective It has been reported that ADAMTS-12 is a susceptibility gene for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) development, and its level is significantly increased in RA patients. In addition, ADAMTS-12 is reported to be required for inflammation in otherwise healthy subjects. This study was undertaken to determine the role of ADAMTS-12 and the underlying mechanisms in the pathogenesis of inflammatory arthritis. Methods The collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model was established in ADAMTS-12-deficient mice and their control littermates to determine the role of ADAMTS-12 in vivo. Micro-computed tomography scanning was used to demonstrate the destruction of the ankle joint; histologic analysis illustrated synovitis, pannus formation, and bone and cartilage destruction; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed to measure serum levels of inflammatory cytokines; and protein-protein interaction assays were performed to detect the interactions of ADAMTS-12 and its various deletion mutants with connective tissue growth factor (CTGF). Results Deficiency of ADAMTS-12 led to accelerated inflammatory arthritis in the CIA mouse model. Loss of ADAMTS-12 caused enhanced osteoclastogenesis. In vitro and in vivo protein-protein interaction assays demonstrated that ADAMTS-12 bound and processed CTGF, a previously unrecognized substrate of ADAMTS-12. In addition, deletion of ADAMTS-12 enhanced, while overexpression of ADMATS-12 reduced, CTGF-mediated inflammation. Furthermore, ADAMTS-12 regulation of inflammation was largely lost in CTGF-deficient macrophages. Importantly, blocking of CTGF attenuated elevated inflammatory arthritis seen in the ADAMTS-12-deficient CIA mouse model. Conclusion This study provides evidence that ADAMTS-12 is a critical regulator of inflammatory arthritis and that this is mediated, at least in part, through control of CTGF turnover.
Some properties of Saccharomyces kluyveri

Four isolates of aSaccharomyces species which differed fromS. kluyveri by their ability to use cellobiose were analyzed genetically in relation to the latter species. Isolated single spores had low viability. Spore tetrads segregated mating types 2 ∶ 2, with sexual agglutination occurring between complementary mating types. All single-spore isolates assimilated cellobiose indicating that these isolates were not naturally occurring hybrids betweenS. kluyveri and a cellobiose assimilatingSaccharomyces species.
TRANSITION IN HIGH-SPEED FREE SHEAR LAYERS

The laminar free shear layers considered here are formed by com-binations of the velocities U 1 and U 2 and momentum thicknesses θ 1 and θ 2 of two adjacent parallel flows (Figure 1). Thus, flows of com-mon interest are symmetric wakes (U 1 = U 2,θ 1 = θ 2), asymmetric wakes (U 1 = U 2,θ 1 ≠ O 2), Chapman flows (U 1 ≠ U 2,θ 1 = θ 2 = 0), separated boundary layers (U 2 = θ 2 = 0) and partition flows or mixing layers (U 1 ≠ U 2,θ 1 ≠ θ 2). These flows have a wide variety of velocity profiles and thus, to the extent that the latter are important to stability, should have differing transition characteristics. It is also greatly significant that these flows undergo fundamental profile changes in the flow direction. Their initial profile is usually very different from their asymptotic or “fully-developed” profile — usually a Gaussian or a “Chapman” profile. The latter obtains from the classical viscous asymptote for U 1 ≠ U 2 [1], and characterized the only separate category (“Chapman flows”) of unchanging profile in the streamwise direction.
Aspirin and Other COX-1 Inhibitors

Currently available antiplatelet drugs interfere with the process of platelet activation and aggregation by selectively blocking key enzymes involved in the synthesis of platelet agonists, or membrane receptors mediating activation signals. Pharmacological interference with critical molecular pathways of platelet activation and aggregation may reduce the risk of atherothrombotic complications through mechanisms that are also responsible for an increased risk of bleeding. Acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) represents a prototypic antiplatelet agent. The aim of this chapter is to integrate our current understanding of the molecular mechanism of action of aspirin with the results of clinical trials and epidemiological studies assessing its efficacy and safety. Moreover, the antiplatelet properties of reversible inhibitors of the same drug target will also be reviewed.
Energy-Efficient Human Activity Detection in Smart Spaces

Wireless sensor networks play an essential role in today's Internet of Things (IoT) systems. One of the most common applications is smart indoor spaces and detecting human activities in such areas. It is crucial for these systems, to collect data, analyze it, and make decisions based on the analysis. Although this is a quite well-defined pipeline of processing, the overall device energy consumption can be significant for wireless sensor systems to ensure the fidelity of data and longevity of the system. In this paper, we first discuss the energy requirements of common IoT applications using sensor networks. We focus on IoT systems for human activity detection in indoor spaces. Then, we propose a method to maximize energy efficiency for these smart spaces. Lastly, we experimentally demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method, both with simulation and with our real smart space deployment. Our smart environment deployment consists of a variety of sensors including ultrasonic, microwave and vibration sensors. We demonstrate that our energy efficiency method does not affect data quality, thereby maintaining the accuracy of human activity detection. Our method shows up to 30% energy efficiency improvement.
Associations between intimate partner violence victimization and employment outcomes among male and female post-9/11 veterans.

Objective Given high rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization among veterans, along with employment-related difficulties, a better understanding of IPV's implications for employment functioning is needed among post-9/11 veterans, especially male veterans. This study aimed to examine the gender-based associations between IPV victimization types (physical, psychological, and sexual) and employment outcomes (absenteeism, presenteeism, and job satisfaction). Method A national sample of male and female post-9/11 veterans completed a survey administered approximately 5.5 years after deployment including IPV victimization and employment measures. This study used data from 407 veterans (52% women) in intimate relationships to examine the associations between IPV victimization and employment outcomes by gender, using regression-based analyses. Results Sexual IPV was significantly associated with absenteeism and presenteeism for women but not men, and physical IPV was significantly associated with presenteeism for men but not women. There were also marginal associations between psychological IPV and both absenteeism and job satisfaction overall, regardless of gender. Conclusion All IPV types were linked to employment functioning for both male and female post-9/11 veterans. These findings can aid in the development of trauma-informed psychosocial intervention efforts for women and men that target employment functioning as well as IPV to help victims of partner violence achieve healthy and stable lifestyles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
The multidimensional brain.

Abstract Brain activity takes place in three spatial-plus time dimensions. This rather obvious claim has been recently questioned by papers that, taking into account the big data outburst and novel available computational tools, are starting to unveil a more intricate state of affairs. Indeed, various brain activities and their correlated mental functions can be assessed in terms of trajectories embedded in phase spaces of dimensions higher than the canonical ones. In this review, I show how further dimensions may not just represent a convenient methodological tool that allows a better mathematical treatment of otherwise elusive cortical activities, but may also reflect genuine functional or anatomical relationships among real nervous functions. I then describe how to extract hidden multidimensional information from real or artificial neurodata series, and make clear how our mind dilutes, rather than concentrates as currently believed, inputs coming from the environment. Finally, I argue that the principle “the higher the dimension, the greater the information” may explain the occurrence of mental activities and elucidate the mechanisms of human diseases associated with dimensionality reduction.
The Invisible Forces in Our Nasal Airway: Air Flow and Cavity Negative Pressure

The sensation of reduced ability to breathe through the nose is very common among patients. Most clinicians consider a laundry-list of etiologies that are the possible causes of these problems. In reality, there may be a more useful differentiation of cause of this sensation between true nasal obstruction due to physical blockage from the nostrils through the nasal cavity, and secondary obstruction, known as nasal disuse or underuse which is due to nocturnal mouth-breathing. This entity known as nasal underuse causes a spectrum of problems that overlaps the diagnosis of nasal allergy, with enlarged/inflamed turbinates and nasal mucosa. The diagnostic differentiation between nasal obstruction and nasal underuse is critical to performing successful surgery, as in the long-term, nasal underuse is not treatable with nasal surgery, despite popular treatments. In contrast, nasal underuse can only be treated with strategies that encourage mouth-closure.
Synthesis of Stilbenes by Rhodium-Catalyzed Aerobic Alkenylation of Arenes via C-H Activation.

Arene alkenylation is commonly achieved by late transition metal-mediated C(sp2)–C(sp2) cross-coupling, but this strategy typically requires prefunctionalized substrates (e.g., with halides or pseu...
Reverse genetic approaches for the development of Zika vaccines and therapeutics.

In 2015-2016, the little known Zika virus (ZIKV) caused an epidemic, in which it became recognized as a unique human pathogen associated with a range of devastating congenital abnormalities collectively categorized as congenital Zika syndrome (CZS). In adults, the virus can trigger the autoimmune disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), characterized by ascending paralysis. In February 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared ZIKV to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The global public health problem prompted academia, industry, and governments worldwide to initiate development of an effective vaccine to prevent another ZIKV epidemic that would put millions at risk. The development of reverse genetic systems for the study and manipulation of RNA viral genomes has revolutionized the field of virology, providing platforms for vaccine and antiviral development. In this review, we discuss the impact of reverse genetic systems on the rapid progress of ZIKV vaccines and antiviral therapeutics.
A Quantitative Exploration of Access Point Mobility for mmWave WiFi Networks

mmWave is emerging as an essential technology for next-generation wireless networks due to its capability of delivering multi-gigabit throughput performance. To achieve such a promising performance in mmWave communications, Line-of-sight (LOS) connectivity is a critical requirement. In this work, we explore the strategy of infrastructure mobility to alter the location of an access point (AP) in order to provide LOS connectivity to stations (STAs) in indoor mmWave WiFi networks. Through both simulation-based and theoretical analyses, we make a detailed case for infrastructure mobility by identifying the impact of AP mobile platforms configurations on network performance and propose a ceiling-mounted mobile (CMM) AP model. Then, we compare the performance of a CMM AP with multiple static APs, and we identify that the throughput and fairness performance of a CMM AP is better than as many as 5 ceiling-mounted static APs.
How to keep beef and dairy producers asking for more

Progressive, entrepreneurial beef and dairy producers demand a level of service that is well beyond that which is traditionally described on a list of clinical skills common to practicing veterinarians. It is also known that progressive, entrepreneurial, bovine herd health veterinarians desire to offer services to their clients that are more consultative in nature so that they can become an asset to the herd owner. To become a trusted partner to the beef and dairy producer, the veterinarian must know the goals of the owner and how to communicate recommendations for reaching those goals.
Deformable MRI-US image registration using biomechanically constrained shape matching network for image-guided prostate intervention

MRI and Transrectal Ultrasound (TRUS) prostate images provide essential information for prostate intervention and cancer treatment. It is beneficial to register the MRI with TRUS images for cancer diagnosis and tumor delineation. However, the two imaging modalities have distinct image intensity which makes the registration difficult. A deep learning based image registration framework was proposed to perform MRI-TRUS image fusion. The prostate from the MRI and TRUS was first segmented for prostate shape modeling using point clouds. The network utilizes point cloud matching to perform prostate alignment. Biomechanical modeling was used to regularize the prostate deformation during image registration. The performance of the network was evaluated using dice similarity coefficient (DSC), mean surface distance (MSD), Hausdorff distance (HD) and target registration error (TRE). The calculated DSC, MSD, HD and TRE were 0.94±0.02, 0.90±0.23mm, 2.96±1.00mm and 1.57±0.77mm, respectively. Our results showed that the proposed method can register the prostate on MRI to that on the TRUS accurately
Effects of Beliefs and Values on Wellbeing

This chapter examines research dealing with the effects of beliefs and values on happiness, subjective wellbeing, and positive mental health. In regard to beliefs, the chapter discusses the effects of positive views, trust, forgiveness and gratitude, political persuasion, religious beliefs, and social axioms. Concerning values, the chapter discusses much of the research based on the Schwartz Values theory and specific research programs related to individualism-collectivism, secularism, and materialism.
TOURAJ DARYAEE & KHODADAD REZAKHANI. FROM OXUS TO EUPHRATES: THE WORLD OF LATE ANTIQUE IRAN. ANCIENT IRAN SERIES VOL. 1 IRVINE/LOS ANGELES, CA: JORDAN CENTRE FOR PERSIAN STUDIES/FARHANG FOUNDATION, 2017, XVI + 106P., ISBN 978-1-780835907.

Touraj Daryaee & Khodadad Rezakhani. From Oxus to Euphrates: The World of Late Antique Iran. Ancient Iran Series Vol. 1 Irvine/Los Angeles, CA: Jordan Centre for Persian Studies/Farhang Foundation, 2017, xvi + 106p., ISBN 978-1-780835907.
Posch Experience Integrating Expert Systems and Clinical Data Analyses

POSCH is using expert systems (ES) to automate elements of clinical judgement in data analysis. Simply building an ES that can analyze clinical data does not fully accomplish the task. Many day-to-day problems must be resolved before POSCH can use the ES efficiently to process thousands of cases. Our experiences implementing ES’s; the problems, procedures and solutions are reported.
School burnout: Diminished academic and cognitive performance

Abstract Two studies examined relationships between school burnout (school related strain and stress) and indicators of academic and cognitive performance. Study 1 (N = 790) investigated school burnout and grade point average over three consecutive academic semesters. Hierarchical multiple regression (HMR) findings demonstrated a consistent, negative association between school burnout and academic performance. Study 2 (N = 331) investigated school burnout and individual differences in cognitive functioning through the assessment of problem solving (serial subtraction) and attentional/inhibition processes (word-color matching Stroop task). HMR results indicated that increased school burnout was related to diminished attentional capacity and problem solving success. Limitations of previous school burnout investigations were addressed by extending sampling into American universities and utilizing analyses that controlled for related affective symptoms. These studies are the first to show that school burnout is related to diminished academic and cognitive performance in US tertiary education. Several future lines of research are outlined.
Transparent Monetary Policy

In 1994 the Federal Reserve System moved to a more transparent reporting of monetary policy. In this paper we first discuss the evolution of Federal Reserve transparency in U.S. and second we test its effectiveness. We assess the empirical impact of monetary policy transparency on the uncertainty about future monetary policy using T-bill rate forecast dispersions from the Survey of Professional Forecasters as a proxy for monetary policy uncertainty. We use three statistical methodologies: descriptive statistics, single regression equations and a vector autoregressive model. The empirical findings confirm that Federal Reserve transparency has reduced the uncertainty of future monetary policy anticipated by market participants.
MILK ALLERGY I. Observations on Incidence and Symptoms in "Well" Babies

During two consecutive calendar years, a series of 403 babies receiving routine well-baby care were followed and records kept of all symptoms and illness occurring during their first 2 years of life. Gastrointestinal disorders and eczematous rash were the symptoms most frequently encountered which appeared to be due to allergy. Many minor digestive, skin and respiratory symptoms were recorded which did not prove to be allergic manifestations during the 2 years of observations. Colic was present in 52 well babies, of whom 2 were sensitive to milk. The incidence of allergy to cow9s milk in this series of infants was 4 in 403 or 1%. Scratch tests were negative in 66 of 72 well babies tested, and no strongly positive reactions were observed. The allergens used were cow9s milk, bovine lactalbumin, casein and egg. No correlation could be made between skin tests and clinical symptoms. Three infants showed a few scattered eosinophils in the stool smear, among 156 from whom stool smears were made. These babies had colic but no symptoms suggestive of allergy later.
Validating security policy conformance with WS-security requirements

Web Services Security (WS-Security) is a technology to secure the data exchanges in SOA applications. The security requirements for WS-Security are specified as a security policy expressed in Web Services Security Policy (WS-SecurityPolicy). The WS-I Basic Security Profile (BSP) describes the best-practices security practices for addressing the security concerns of WS-Security. It is important to prepare BSP-conformant security policies, but it is quite hard for developers to create valid security polices because the security policy representations are complex and difficult to fully understand. In this paper, we present a validation technology for security policy conformance with WS-Security messages. We introduce an Internal Representation (IR) representing a security policy and its validation rules, and a security policy is known to be valid if it conforms to the rules after the policy is transformed into the IR. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our validation technology and evaluate its performance on a prototype implementation. Our technology makes it possible for a developer without deep knowledge of WS-Security and WS-SecurityPolicy to statically check if a policy specifies appropriate security requirements.
Cryogenic tests of the g-2 superconducting solenoid magnet system

The g-2 muon storage ring magnet system consists of four large superconducting solenoids that are up to 15.1 m in diameter. The g-2 superconducting solenoids and a superconducting inflector dipole will be cooled using forced two-phase helium in tubes. The forced two-phase helium cooling will be provided from the J-T circuit of a refrigerator that is capable of delivering 625 W at 4.5 K. The two-phase helium flows from the refrigerator J-T circuit through a heat exchanger in a storage dewar that acts as a phase separator for helium returning from the magnets. The use of a heat exchanger in the storage dewar reduces the pressure drop in the magnet flow circuit, eliminates most two phase flow oscillations, and it permits the magnets to operate at variable thermal loads using the liquid in the storage dewar as a buffer. The g-2 magnet cooling system will consist of three parallel two-phase helium flow circuits that provide cooling to the following components; 1) the four large superconducting solenoids, 2) the current interconnects between the solenoids and the solenoid gas cooled electrical leads, and 3) the inflector dipole and its gas cooled electrical leads. This report describes a cryogenic test of the two 15.1 meter diameter superconducting solenoids using two-phase helium from a dewar. The report describes the cool down procedure for the 3.5 ton outer solenoid magnet system using liquid nitrogen and two-phase helium. Low current operation of the outer solenoids is discussed.
Exactly Solvable Models

Every many-body theorist should be knowledgeable about the available exactly solvable models. First, there are not many of them. Second, they are useful for gaining insight into many-particle systems. If the problem to be solved can be related to an exactly solvable one, however vaguely, one can usually gain some insight.
Quieting the Shareholders' Voice: Empirical Evidence of Pervasive Bundling in Proxy Solicitations

The integrity of shareholder voting is critical to the legitimacy of corporate law. One threat to this process is proxy “bundling,” or the joinder of more than one separate item into a single proxy proposal. Bundling deprives shareholders of the right to convey their views on each separate matter being put to a vote and forces them to either reject the entire proposal or approve items they might not otherwise want implemented. This practice negates the possibility of meaningful shareholder consent, which is central to the modern view of a corporation. In this paper, we provide the first comprehensive evaluation of the anti-bundling rules adopted by the SEC in 1992. While we find that the courts have carefully developed a framework for the proper scope and application of the rules, the SEC and proxy advisory firms have been less vigilant in defending this instrumental shareholder right. In particular, we note that the most recent SEC interpretive guidance has undercut the effectiveness of the existing rules, and that, surprisingly, proxy advisory firms do not have well-defined heuristics to discourage bundling. Building on the theoretical framework, this Article provides the first large-scale empirical study of bundling of management proposals. We develop four possible definitions of impermissible bundling, and, utilizing a data set of over 1,500 management proposals, show that the frequency of bundling in our sample ranges from 6.2 percent to 28.8 percent (depending on which of the four bundling definitions is used). It is apparent that bundling occurs far more frequently than indicated by prior studies. We further examine our data to report the items that are most frequently bundled and to analyze the proxy advisors’ recommendations and the voting patterns associated with bundled proposals. This Article concludes with important implications for the SEC, proxy advisors, and institutional investors as to how each party can more effectively deter impermissible bundling and thus better protect the shareholder franchise.
High-dose chemotherapy for relapsed and refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: mediastinal localization predicts for a favorable outcome.

PURPOSEThis study was performed to evaluate the outcome of high-dose chemotherapy and autologous transplantation in patients with diffuse B-cell large-cell lymphoma, and, specifically, to evaluate the impact of primary mediastinal localization on the outcome of high-dose chemotherapy.PATIENTS AND METHODSA retrospective review was performed of all patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who underwent autologous marrow or peripheral-blood stem-cell transplantation at our institution between January 1 986 and December 1995.RESULTSNinety patients were identified, of whom 31 (34%) had a primary mediastinal B-cell large-cell lymphoma (PML). Cumulative probabilities of disease-free survival, overall survival, and disease progression are 40% (95% confidence interval [CI], 29 to 51), 42% (95% CI, 31 to 53), and 52% (95% CI, 40 to 64), respectively. By univariate analysis, low lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level and low Ann Arbor stage at transplant were associated with improved survival and disease-free survival...
Correction for Errors in Measuring Adherence to Prenatal Multivitamin/Mineral Supplement Use among Low-Income Women

Adherence to prenatal multivitamin/mineral supplement use is often measured by self-reports or pill counts. Although both measures were shown to overestimate adherence, measurement error is rarely considered. In this study, we examined measurement error in adherence to prenatal supplement use among pregnant women and demonstrated a calibration method to adjust for error. In a validation subsample (n = 51) from a larger clinical study of supplementation, adherence was assessed by self-reports, pill counts, and a Medication Event Monitoring System (MEMS) bottle cap that recorded the date and time of each opening of the pill bottle. Mean adherence in the validation sample as measured by the MEMS (the gold standard) was 68%; thus, adherence measured by self-report (77%) and pill count (84%) reflected overestimation. The Pearson correlation coefficients of self-reports and pill counts to MEMS were 0.35 and 0.62, respectively. When adherence was defined as taking ≥75% of the pills prescribed, sensitivity and specificity were greater for pill counts (93 and 52%, respectively) than for self-reports (88 and 44%). The regression coefficient for pill count adherence from a linear regression on MEMS adherence was applied to pill counts from a larger sample (n = 244). The adjustment significantly lowered the estimate of adherence from 74 to 64% (P < 0.001) in this larger sample. In conclusion, our data show that both self-reports and pill counts overestimate adherence and that linear regression in comparison to an external standard such as MEMS can be used to correct for measurement error in adherence.
Penicillium peritonitis in a patient receiving continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis

Infection is a common complication in patients who receive continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Fungi causing peritonitis in these patients is less common compared with bacterial peritonitis. Fungal peritonitis accounts for less than 10% of cases in chronic CAPD, which usually follows either bacterial peritonitis or earlier exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics. Most of these cases are caused by Candida albicans or other Candida species. There are only two case reports of Penicillium species peritonitis in patients with CAPD in the literature. We report the known third case of Penicillium species-related peritonitis in a patient receiving CAPD. The patient's condition improved dramatically after catheter removal.
Evolutional Dynamism and Theoretical Model of Environmental and Operational Transformation in Vending Machine Retailing In USA and Japan

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Comment on “Unified compact theory of tunneling gate current in metal–oxide–semiconductor structures: Quantum and image force barrier lowering” [J. Appl. Phys. 92, 3724 (2002)]

Quan, Kim, and Cho [J. Appl. Phys. 92, 3724 (2002)] have proposed a compact model to evaluate the tunneling current across the insulator of metal–oxide–semiconductor structures and have claimed to have “shown conclusively that image force lowering of the oxide barrier is negligible for the oxide as thin as 1 nm.” Unfortunately, the model is based on a questionable approximation for the “transparency factor.” Most importantly, the argument brought forward to explain the negligible effect of the image-induced barrier-lowering ignores simple concepts of electrostatics.
Are performance measures based on automated medical records valid for physician/practice profiling of asthma care?

Background: The use of physician profiles in “pay for performance” initiatives depend on their reliability and accuracy. Objectives: To evaluate whether health care delivery units (practices) can be reliably differentiated using the Health Employers Data Information System (HEDIS) performance measure. Research Design: Simulation was used to describe the relationship between practice size (number of children with persistent asthma) and precision of practice measures to estimate performance. Subjects: Children enrolled in 1 of the 39 practice groups from 1 of 3 managed care organizations participating in the Pediatric Asthma Care Patient Outcomes Research Team (PAC PORT). Measures: The main outcome was reproducibility of 4 performance measures, the HEDIS measure and 3 additional measures available from automated claims data: the proportion of children with asthma related-hospitalization, emergency department visits and oral steroid dispensings for asthma. Results: The ability to reproducibly rank a practice is dependent on the performance measure, practice size, and the reproducibility threshold chosen. Of measures evaluated, none achieved a reproducibility >85% for practice size of 50 or less. At a practice size of 100 subjects, the HEDIS measure reproducibly ranked practices 89% of the time, compared with 85% for emergency department visits and 83% for hospitalizations. Only at a practice size of 100 children with persistent asthma, was reproducibility of ranking greater than 85% with all performance measures evaluated. Conclusions: The reliability of ranking medical practices depends on practice size. Only at the level of the health care organization can asthma measures, available within claims data, be used to rank performance reliably.
Rapid perchloric acid digestion methods for analysis of phosphorus and sulfur in aquacultural wastewater and biosolids by ion chromatography

Abstract Ion chromatography (IC) is one of the most efficient analytical techniques available for the determination of ions in solution. However, there is a need for an equally efficient organic matter destruction procedure which does not lengthen run times due to matrix effects. Rainbow trout manure (RTM) was digested with 1.0 mL each of nitric acid (HNO3) and perchloric acid (HClO4) and subsequently cleared with 1.0 mL hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for a total digestion time of 30 min. Rainbow trout effluent (RTE) was lyophilized and then digested with 50 μL of HClO4 and 100 μL H2O2 for 15 min. Phosphate (PO4) and sulfate (SO4) were separated and quantified with a Dionex IonPac‐AG4A guard column in less than 10 min. Digestion of RTM gave complete recovery of phosphorus (P) and sulfur (S); digestion of RTE gave complete recovery of P and 86% recovery of S. By combining the rapid IC method with the HClO4 digestion procedure developed in this paper, ion chromatography can rapidly quantitate P and S in rainbow t...
Systemic lupus erythematosus in a man with Noonan syndrome

Noonan syndrome is a multiple congenital anomaly condition characterized by craniofacial anomalies, short stature, cardiac malformations, and normal peripheral blood karyotype analysis. Prior reports of individuals with Noonan syndrome have revealed an association with several autoimmune diseases, including vasculitis and anterior uveitis, but no reports of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Here we present the first case report of a 21-year-old man with a clinical diagnosis of Noonan syndrome and a recent history of mitral valve dysfunction and systemic lupus erythematosus. We discuss his findings in the context of known features of Noonan syndrome and propose that individuals with Noonan syndrome be regularly monitored for associated autoimmune phenomena.
Participatory modeling of endangered wildlife systems: Simulating the sage-grouse and land use in Central Washington

Abstract The Greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ) occupies the sage brush habitats of Western North America. Large population declines in the last several decades have made it a candidate for possible listing under the Endangered Species Act. Listing was recently avoided in part because local working groups are developing long-range management plans in conjunction with federal and local agencies. The Foster Creek Conservation District, a working group in Douglas County, Washington, saw the potential for system dynamics to synthesize known sage-grouse dynamics and local land use patterns to support development of their Habitat Conservation Plan and subsequent land management decisions. This case study highlights the integration of science, local knowledge and social concerns into a participatory process that uses system dynamics as a forum for the exploration of the impacts of land management decisions upon the sage-grouse population and the landowners of Douglas County, Washington.
A lightweight I/O scheme to facilitate spatial and temporal queries of scientific data analytics

In the era of petascale computing, more scientific applications are being deployed on leadership scale computing platforms to enhance the scientific productivity. Many I/O techniques have been designed to address the growing I/O bottleneck on large-scale systems by handling massive scientific data in a holistic manner. While such techniques have been leveraged in a wide range of applications, they have not been shown as adequate for many mission critical applications, particularly in data postprocessing stage. One of the examples is that some scientific applications generate datasets composed of a vast amount of small data elements that are organized along many spatial and temporal dimensions but require sophisticated data analytics on one or more dimensions. Including such dimensional knowledge into data organization can be beneficial to the efficiency of data post-processing, which is often missing from exiting I/O techniques. In this study, we propose a novel I/O scheme named STAR (Spatial and Temporal AggRegation) to enable high performance data queries for scientific analytics. STAR is able to dive into the massive data, identify the spatial and temporal relationships among data variables, and accordingly organize them into an optimized multi-dimensional data structure before storing to the storage. This technique not only facilitates the common access patterns of data analytics, but also further reduces the application turnaround time. In particular, STAR is able to enable efficient data queries along the time dimension, a practice common in scientific analytics but not yet supported by existing I/O techniques. In our case study with a critical climate modeling application GEOS-5, the experimental results on Jaguar supercomputer demonstrate an improvement up to 73 times for the read performance compared to the original I/O method.
Electrical properties of fluorinated gel electrolytes using high ionic conducting solution and its application to secondary battery

Lithium ionic electrolytes of fluorinated gel materials have been found to show high ionic conductivity. We proposed to apply this gel electrolyte to a secondary battery. Non-crosslinking fluorinated gel materials were prepared by reacting fluoroalkanoyl peroxides with 2-acrylamid-2-methyl-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) oligomer containing fluoroalkylated end-capped units ( [-R F -(AMPS) q ] P -}. Four kinds of lithium salts were used for ionic electrolyte of fluorinated gel materials. The ionic conductivity of gel electrolytes depended on the chain length of R F , the lithium salt material and its concentration. The maximum conductivity was 2.1 x 10 -2 S/cm when used by the ionic solution, the lithium salt with LiN(CF 3 SO 2 ) 2 and the concentration of 5.7 mmol/ g, respectively. We also measured the charge and discharge characteristics of secondary batteries that were fabricated by a carbon negative electrode, fluorinated gel electrolyte and a positive electrode of LiCoO 2 .
CLPs find their inner T-cell potential.

It has recently been debated whether CLPs possess significant amounts of thymocyte progenitor activity. In this issue of Blood , Serwold and colleagues demonstrate that Flk2+CD27+CLP are the major T-cell source. The clonogenic common lymphoid progenitor (CLP) was originally defined as a population
Elevated carbon monoxide in the exhaled breath of mice during a systemic bacterial infection.

Blood is the specimen of choice for most laboratory tests for diagnosis and disease monitoring. Sampling exhaled breath is a noninvasive alternative to phlebotomy and has the potential for real-time monitoring at the bedside. Improved instrumentation has advanced breath analysis for several gaseous compounds from humans. However, application to small animal models of diseases and physiology has been limited. To extend breath analysis to mice, we crafted a means for collecting nose-only breath samples from groups and individual animals who were awake. Samples were subjected to gas chromatography and mass spectrometry procedures developed for highly sensitive analysis of trace volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the atmosphere. We evaluated the system with experimental systemic infections of severe combined immunodeficiency Mus musculus with the bacterium Borrelia hermsii. Infected mice developed bacterial densities of ∼107 per ml of blood by day 4 or 5 and in comparison to uninfected controls had hepatosplenomegaly and elevations of both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines. While 12 samples from individual infected mice on days 4 and 5 and 6 samples from uninfected mice did not significantly differ for 72 different VOCs, carbon monoxide (CO) was elevated in samples from infected mice, with a mean (95% confidence limits) effect size of 4.2 (2.8–5.6), when differences in CO2 in the breath were taken into account. Normalized CO values declined to the uninfected range after one day of treatment with the antibiotic ceftriaxone. Strongly correlated with CO in the breath were levels of heme oxygenase-1 protein in serum and HMOX1 transcripts in whole blood. These results (i) provide further evidence of the informativeness of CO concentration in the exhaled breath during systemic infection and inflammation, and (ii) encourage evaluation of this noninvasive analytic approach in other various other rodent models of infection and for utility in clinical management.
Hydrodynamic interactions in floating cylinder arrays—I. Wave scattering

Abstract The hydrodynamic interactions due to wave scattering between the numbers of an array of stationary, truncated circular cylinders simulating the columns of an idealized tension-leg platform (TLP) are investigated. The method of solution for the fluid velocity potential involves replacing scattered waves by equivalent plane waves together with non-planar correction terms. This technique is, therefore, essentially a large spacing approximation. Use of this approach makes it possible to determine the hydrodynamic interactions between the array members utilizing only the diffraction characteristics of an isolated cylinder. Numerical results are presented for six array configurations consisting of 2–6 cylinders representing the legs of idealized TLPs. Calculations of the wave loads on these cylinders have been performed for a range of wave and structural parameters. It is found that, for certain parameter combinations, the influence of neighbouring bodies on the total wave field leads to hydrodynamic loading on individual columns which is significantly greater than the loading they would experience in isolation. The presented results demonstrate the significance of hydrodynamic interactions between TLP columns and clearly indicate that these effects should be considered by the designers and researchers associated with TLPs.