cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Youth Engagement, High School Reform, and Improved Learning Outcomes: Building Systemic Approaches for Youth Engagement

This article explores what it takes to develop systemic strategies and structures that engage youth as coconstructors of their learning environment and experience. It looks at efforts nationwide to engage young people in educational change endeavors, draws on lessons learned from a national high school reform initiative, and addresses some challenges faced by educators and students attempting this work. Finally, it examines groundbreaking youth-engagement work in New York that has successfully motivated students to increase academic achievement and graduation, college-going, and retention rates.
Sources of perceived stress among American medical doctors: a cross‐cultural perspective

Empirical research on the sources of stress among US medical doctors is scarce. Most research studies reported in leading journals were done on doctors from other countries. The present study explored the sources of stress among American medical doctors. Six factors, workload, work environment, hospital, nature of work, external environment and role conflict, were extracted from 30 items on sources of stress. Workload explained the maximum amount of variance followed by work environment. Workload was perceived as the highest source of stress and experience was negatively related to stress. The findings suggest that better management of time may help reduce stress for American medical doctors.
Flash Spectroscopy of Porphyridium.

A current question concerning the role of the 515 m,u absorption change in photosynthesis is its occurrence in various classes of organisms. Duysens (2) first reported a reversible increase in absorption at 515 m,u in Chlorella irradiated with red light. The predominant change in Porphyridium cruentum (3) was a decrease in absorption at 420 m,u, attributed to the photooxidation of cytochrome f or a similar cytochrome; only a minor change was observed in this organism at 515 m,. Witt (7), using the flash technique, observed a fast, reversible increase in absorption at 515 m, in Chlorella and other green plants. Muller et al. (6) summarized evidence indicating that absorption changes at 515 and 475 mu are closely related to the photoreduction of plastoquinone, stating that these changes could be observed only in green plants. They also tabulated various other absorption changes observed in the flash spectroscopy of chloroplasts and algae. Kok (5) used a rotating-disk technique to investigate light-induced absorption changes in various classes of photosynthetic organisms. He reported on an incidental observation with a very dilute suspension of Porphyridium (5). The objective of this study was to investigate flash-induced absorption changes in Porphyridiurn cruentum, especially the occurrence of the 515 mp, change. Materials and Methods
Localized Wave Functions and the Interaction Potential between Electronic Groups

It is shown that the Schr\"odinger equation for electronic wave functions can be modified so that its solutions describe a molecule as a collection of interacting atoms or other units. The interaction potential between electrons localized in different units is the weakest one possible that is consistent with the constraint that the corresponding localized wave function yield upon symmetry projection one solution to the Schr\"odinger equation. The binding energy of the system can be calculated directly.
Le nœud du déni : psychodrame pour les adolescents auteurs d’actes sexualisés sanctionnés ou sanctionnables

Resume Cet article reprend l’essentiel de notre intervention au quatrieme congres international francophone sur l’agression sexuelle a Paris. Nous y decrivons notre dispositif de soins destine aux adolescents auteurs d’agressions sexuelles, qui consiste en un groupe de psychodrame. Illustres de vignettes cliniques, nous y developpons les regles de fonctionnement du groupe et les mecanismes du psychodrame a l’œuvre qui en expliquent l’efficacite.
On the extensibility of extreme UV lithography

In this paper, definition of line/space patterns at 44-, 32-, and 22-nm pitches using extreme-ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) is investigated by aerial image simulation. The results indicate that extending EUVL to the 22-nm pitch requires reducing the mask shadowing effect, which implies reducing the mask absorber thickness as well as maintaining the 6-degree angle of incidence on the mask, if the reduction ratio of the imaging system is to be kept at 4. Reduction of the mask absorber thickness can be realized by implementing attenuated phase-shifting masks. Otherwise, all critical patterns must be laid out in single orientation.
Carcinoid heart disease.

![Figure][1] [![Graphic][3] ][3][![Graphic][4] ][4][![Graphic][5] ][5] A 26-year-old man with a history of carcinoid and small-bowel resection presented with shortness of breath. Physical examination revealed a pulsatile liver, leg edema, and a holosystolic murmur at the
Levodopa replacement therapy alters enzyme activities in striatum and neuropeptide content in striatal output regions of 6-hydroxydopamine lesioned rats.

Abstract The effects of striatal dopamine denervation and levodopa replacement therapy on neuronal populations in the rat striatum were assessed by measurement of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) and choline acetyltransferase (CAT) activities in the striatum, dynorphin and substance P concentrations in the substantia nigra, and enkephalin concentration in the globus pallidus. Rats with a unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesion of the nigrostriatal pathway were treated for 21 days with levodopa (100 mg/kg/day, i.p., with 25 mg/kg benserazide) on either an intermittent (b.i.d.) or continuous (osmotic pump infusion) regimen and sacrificed following a three day drug washout. In saline-treated control rats, striatal GAD activity and globus pallidus enkephalin content were elevated and nigral substance P content was reduced ipsilateral to the 6-OHDA lesion. Intermittent levodopa treatment further increased GAD activity, decreased CAT activity, restored substance P to control levels, markedly increased dynorphin content, and had no effect on enkephalin. In contrast, continuous levodopa elevated globus pallidus enkephalin beyond the levels occurring with denervation had no effect on any of the other neurochemical measures. These results indicate that striatal neuronal populations are differentially affected by chronic levodopa therapy and by the continuous or intermittent nature of the treatment regimen. With the exception of substance P, levodopa did not reverse the effects of the 6-OHDA lesion but, rather, either exacerbated the lesion-induced changes (e.g. GAD and enkephalin) or altered neurochemical markers which had been unaffected by the lesion (e.g. CAT and dynorphin). These findings suggest that chronic levodopa treatment may create a new functional state in the striatum which is different from both the normal state and the denervated state and may provide insight into the pathophysiology of the motor response complications which often accompany long-term levodopa therapy in parkinsonian patients.
Data-based modeling and optimization of en route traffic

Air traffic management aims at ensuring safe and efficient movement of aircraft in the airspace. With the predicted growth of air transportation, providing traffic flow managers with the tools to support decision-making is essential. These tools should aid in accommodating the air traffic throughput increase while limiting controller workload and ensuring high safety levels. The objective of this paper is to present a methodology to model and simulate traffic in a given portion of the airspace from data under nominal and perturbed conditions. A new framework for en route traffic flow management and airspace health monitoring is developed. It is based on a data-driven approach for air traffic flow modeling using historical data. This large-scale three-dimensional flow network provides valuable insight on airspace complexity. A linear programming formulation for optimizing en route air traffic is proposed. It takes into account a controller task load model based on flow geometry, in order to estimate airspa...
Quadrilateral meshes with provable angle bounds

In this paper, we present an algorithm that utilizes a quadtree data structure to construct a quadrilateral mesh for a simple polygonal region in which no newly created angle is smaller than $${{18.43}}^{\circ} ({=}\hbox{arctan}(\frac{1}{3}))$$ or greater than $${{171.86}}^{\circ} ({=}{{135}}^{\circ} + 2\hbox{arctan}(\frac{1}{3}))$$. This is the first known result, to the best of our knowledge, on a direct quadrilateral mesh generation algorithm with a provable guarantee on the angles.
Adventitious shoot regeneration of oriental lily (Lilium orientalis) and genetic stability evaluation based on ISSR marker variation

A regeneration system was developed for oriental lily (Lilium orientalis) based on both leaf and bulb scale. Adventitious shoots were regenerated from leaves of in vitro cultures on Murashige and Skoog medium containing thidiazuron (TDZ) or 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) and naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). The highest percent regeneration from leaf explants was 74.2%, being observed on medium containing 10.8 μM TDZ and 0.54 μM NAA. The highest mean number of shoots generated was 4.4 and was obtained from bulb scale explants on medium containing 0.54 μM TDZ and 0.54 μM NAA. Adventitious shoots were successfully rooted at rates ranging from 79.2% to 100%. The rooted plantlets survived after acclimatization in the greenhouse. The effect of kanamycin concentration on adventitious shoot regeneration was also evaluated, a value of 100 mg l−1 being suggested as a lethal dose for lily transformation. Eighteen ISSR markers were employed to determine the genetic stability of the regenerated shoots in comparison to their mother plant. Eleven primers in total produced 70 clear and reproducible bands. Genetic similarity indicators among the clonal derivatives and the mother plant ranged from 0.92 to 1.0. All 15 micropropagated progenies and the mother plant could be grouped together in one major cluster with a similarity level of 92%. The somaclonal variation rate across the plantlets was estimated as 4.2%, indicating that direct shoot formation from explant regeneration is a safe method for multiplication of “true-to-type” plants.
On uniformization of affine dependence algorithms

The paper deals with the problem of transforming irregular data dependence structures of algorithms with nested loops into more regular ones. Algorithms under consideration are n-dimensional algorithms (algorithms with n nested loops) with affine dependences where dependences are affine functions of index variables of the loop. Methods are proposed to uniformize affine dependence algorithms, i.e., to transform affine dependence algorithms into uniform dependence algorithms where dependences are independent of the index variables (constant). Objectives are considered to guide the selection of feasible uniformizations. The first one is to reduce the number of dependences after uniformization. The second one is to maximize parallelism preserved by the uniformization. Some parallelism might be lost due to the uniformization. The parallelism preserved by the uniformization is measured by: the total execution time by the optimal linear schedule which assigns each computation in the algorithm an execution time according to a linear function of the index of the computation; and the size of the cone spanned by the dependence vectors after uniformization.
Minimal time broadcasting in cognitive radio networks

This paper addresses time-efficient broadcast scheduling problem in Cognitive Radio (CR) Networks. Cognitive Radio is a promising technology that enables the use of unused spectrum in an opportunistic manner. Because of the unique characteristics of CR technology, the broadcast scheduling problem in CR networks needs unique solutions. Even for single channel wireless networks, finding a minimum-length broadcast schedule is an NP-hard problem. In addition, the multi-channel nature of the CR networks, especially the non-uniform channel availability, makes it a more complex problem to solve. In this paper, we first present an Integer Linear Programming formulation (ILP) to determine the minimum broadcast schedule length for a CR network. We then present two heuristics to construct minimal length broadcast schedules. Comparison of optimal results (found by solving the ILP formulation) with the result of the heuristics through simulation shows that both heuristics produce schedules of either optimal or very closer to optimal lengths.
Survival in a case of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage due to Strongyloides stercoralis hyperinfection

Strongyloides stercoralis is an intestinal nematode endemic to tropical and sub-tropical regions. Although infection is typically asymptomatic or self-limited, immunocompromised individuals can develop a severe form of disease marked by hyperinfection. Pulmonary involvement accompanies hyperinfection in a majority of cases, though manifestations range from asymptomatic infiltrates to diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) and respiratory failure. When complicated by DAH, the hyperinfection syndrome is usually fatal. We report a case of a 65-year-old Guatemalan woman with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) treated with chronic steroids who presented with Escherichia coli urosepsis. She was initially treated with antibiotics and corticosteroids. She subsequently developed DAH due to disseminated strongyloidiasis. She was treated with oral and subcutaneous ivermectin and had complete recovery.
The Stationary Character of Probabilistic Language Models for Text Retrieval

Statistical language modeling is gaining recognition as a viable alternative to the vector space model. In the latter, documents are points in a metric space spanned by the terms, while in the former they are samples from a probability distribution over the terms. The language models proposed to date are overly general, however. They overlook the property that texts are samples from a natural language corpus. In contrast this paper capitalizes on this property to derive an interesting characteristic of language models for texts. First it shows that the general language model can be simplified to a Markov model. Next it shows that for natural language modeling the Markov chain ergodic. The theoretical result is that the joint distribution for language models can be easily obtained. For IR applications this means that language modeling systems need fewer ad hoc assumption to make them practicable.
Broadcast Time Warp

In many distributed computations, it is necessary to ensure that the causal order in which events occur (a partial order) conforms to a total order that is derived from a correctness constraint on the computation. For example, the events of a distributed simulation must appear to be processed in simulation-time order. The Time Warp mechanism uses the notion of global virtual time to schedule the events of a computation to be executed in an appropriate partial order. Under Time Warp, executions are subject to two sources of inefficiency, which we call transitivity delay and incremental rollback. We describe a new virtual-time synchronization protocol called Broadcast Time Warp, which eliminates both of these undesirable phenomena, while retaining the synchronization semantics of Time Warp. >
Adaptive Game-Based Radio Spectrum Allocation in Doubly Selective Fading Channels

For cognitive radio networks, a popular approach to dynamic spectrum allocation (DSA) is game theoretic, which improves spectrum efficiency in a distributed manner. In a doubly selective fading channel, a conventional game-based DSA can be cumbersome to implement due to channel variation, which requires to re-train the channel estimator and re-calculate DSA decisions for every transmission burst within the channel coherence time. To enable DSA intelligence at affordable costs, this paper proposes novel adaptive DSA algorithms based on channel tracking. The locally predicted channels are employed to update DSA decisions, thus reducing signaling and computational overheads. Two algorithms are derived: an extended Kalman filter (EKF) assisted game (EKFG) and an EKF-updated game (EKFUG). Simulation shows that EFKUG is competitive for applications with low rate control channels by saving most communication burden and maintaining small data-rate loss, whereas EKFG is suitable for high data-rate applications that can afford moderate rate control channels.
A theory-based empirical classification of family problem-solving behavior.

A method for classifying family interaction behavior is presented that underlies several related studies of variation in families' modes of interpreting and interacting with the social environment. Evidence is presented for the existence of three dimensions of family problem-solving behavior that: (a) are consistent with theory of variation in families' orientations to the environment; (b) are useful for interpreting differences within nonclinical as well as clinical samples of families; and (c) have been shown, within current samples' ranges, to be essentially independent of surface markers of family variation and accumulated skills of family members.
Analysis of the "Crack characteristic signal" using a generalized scattering matrix representation

Electromagnetic properties of a system formed by an open-ended rectangular waveguide and a surface crack/slot in a metallic specimen are described in this paper. Scanning a crack on a metal surface changes the reflection coefficient of the incident dominant mode. A model as a function of relative crack location within the waveguide aperture (i.e., crack moving with respect to the waveguide aperture) is desired to describe and optimize practical crack detection applications. Hence, the change in the reflection coefficient for a generalized system encompassing empty, filled, and finite cracks located at an arbitrary position inside the waveguide aperture, is evaluated. A moment solution approach is employed, and a magnetic current density M is introduced over the common aperture formed by the waveguide and the crack. Subsequently, the junction formed by the waveguide and the cracked metallic surface is separated into two systems. A numerical solution employing the method of moments is obtained, and the reflection coefficient at the waveguide aperture is expressed in terms of the generalized scattering matrix. The convergence behavior is studied to determine an optimized set of basis functions and the optimal number of higher order modes for a fast and accurate solution. Numerical results presented in this paper include the evaluation of the field distribution over the waveguide aperture. Finally, the theoretical and measured crack characteristic signals are compared.
Annexins V and XII alter the properties of planar lipid bilayers seen by conductance probes

Annexins are proteins that bind lipids in the presence of calcium. Though multiple functions have been proposed for annexins, there is no general agreement on what annexins do or how they do it. We have used the well-studied conductance probes nonactin, alamethicin, and tetraphenylborate to investigate how annexins alter the functional properties of planar lipid bilayers. We found that annexin XII reduces the nonactin-induced conductance to approximately 30% of its original value. Both negative lipid and approximately 30 microM Ca(2+) are required for the conductance reduction. The mutant annexin XIIs, E105K and E105K/K68A, do not reduce the nonactin conductance even though both bind to the membrane just as wild-type does. Thus, subtle changes in the interaction of annexins with the membrane seem to be important. Annexin V also reduces nonactin conductance in nearly the same manner as annexin XII. Pronase in the absence of annexin had no effect on the nonactin conductance. But when added to the side of the bilayer opposite that to which annexin was added, pronase increased the nonactin-induced conductance toward its pre-annexin value. Annexins also dramatically alter the conductance induced by a radically different probe, alamethicin. When added to the same side of the bilayer as alamethicin, annexin has virtually no effect, but when added trans to the alamethicin, annexin dramatically reduces the asymmetry of the I-V curve and greatly slows the kinetics of one branch of the curve without altering those of the other. Annexin also reduces the rate at which the hydrophobic anion, tetraphenylborate, crosses the bilayer. These results suggest that annexin greatly reduces the ability of small molecules to cross the membrane without altering the surface potential and that at least some fraction of the active annexin is accessible to pronase digestion from the opposite side of the membrane.
Modeling the vegetation–atmosphere carbon dioxide and water vapor interactions along a controlled CO2 gradient

Ecosystem functioning is intimately linked to its physical environment by complex two-way interactions. These two-way interactions arise because vegetation both responds to the external environment and actively regulates its micro-environment. By altering stomatal aperture, and therefore the transpiration rate, plants modify soil moisture and atmospheric humidity and these same physical variables, in return, modify stomatal conductance. Relationships between biotic and abiotic components are particularly strong in closed, managed environments such as greenhouses and growth chambers, which are used extensively to investigate ecosystem responses to climatic drivers. Model-assisted designs that account for the physiological dynamics governing two-way interactions between biotic and abiotic components are absent from many ecological studies. Here, a general model of the vegetation–atmosphere system in closed environments is proposed. The model accounts for the linked carbon–water physiology, the turbulent transport processes, and the energy and radiative transfer within the vegetation. Leaf gas exchange is modeled using a carbon gain optimization approach that is coupled to leaf energy balance. The turbulent transport within the canopy is modeled in two-dimensions using first-order closure principles. The model is applied to the Lysimeter CO2 Gradient (LYCOG) facility, wherein a continuous gradient of atmospheric CO2 is maintained on grassland assemblages using an elongated chamber where the microclimate is regulated by variation in air flow rates. The model is employed to investigate how species composition, climatic conditions, and the imposed air flow rate affect the CO2 concentration gradient within the LYCOG and the canopy micro-climate. The sensitivity of the model to key physiological and climatic parameters allows it to be used not only to manage current experiments, but also to formulate novel ecological hypotheses (e.g., by modeling climatic regimes not currently employed in LYCOG) and suggest alternative experimental designs and operational strategies for such facilities.
Finite‐difference quasi‐P traveltimes for anisotropic media

The first‐arrival quasi‐P wave traveltime field in an anisotropic elastic solid solves a first‐order nonlinear partial differential equation, the q P eikonal equation. The difficulty in solving this eikonal equation by a finite‐difference method is that for anisotropic media the ray (group) velocity direction is not the same as the direction of the traveltime gradient, so that the traveltime gradient can no longer serve as an indicator of the group velocity direction in extrapolating the traveltime field. However, establishing an explicit relation between the ray velocity vector and the phase velocity vector overcomes this difficulty. Furthermore, the solution of the paraxial q P eikonal equation, an evolution equation in depth, gives the first‐arrival traveltime along downward propagating rays. A second‐order upwind finite‐difference scheme solves this paraxial eikonal equation in O(N) floating point operations, where N is the number of grid points. Numerical experiments using 2‐D and 3‐D transversely is...
Optimizing irradiance estimates for coastal and inland water imaging spectroscopy

Next generation orbital imaging spectrometers, with advanced global remote sensing capabilities, propose to address outstanding ocean science questions related to coastal and inland water environments. These missions require highly accurate characterization of solar irradiance in the critical 380–600 nm spectral range. However, the irradiance in this spectral region is temporally variable and difficult to measure directly, leading to considerable variance between different models. Here we optimize an irradiance estimate using data from the NASA airborne Portable Remote Imaging Spectrometer (PRISM), leveraging spectrally smooth in-scene targets. We demonstrate improved retrievals for both PRISM and the Next Generation Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer.
New optics using negative refraction

We summarize the benefits that negative index materials (NIMs), realizable in artificially constructed metamaterials, can have on both geometrical and wave optics. NIMs may lead to novel or improved future optical devices.
Use Of A Real World Business Panel To Assist In MBA Program Outcomes Assessment And Curriculum Refinement

The world of business operates in an extremely dynamic environment. Domestic issues (competition, cultural diversity, regulation/deregulation) global issues (competition, economic, cultural/social, and political), and rapidly changing technologies all require business school curricula that are designed to be flexible and proactive as well as reactive. An ever increasingly important responsibility of schools of business is the assessment of outcomes of their programs. Outcomes may be measured on several dimensions. One such measurement is the assessment of the skills/abilities of its graduates. This work will describe the efforts of a business school to engage the local business community in that undertaking.
Physical Data for, and Theoretical Analysis of, Polyquinanes

The two 3,7-disubstituted diquinanes 510 and 511 have been investigated by single crystal X-ray diffraction techniques and shown to possess the illustrated W conformation [224]. Nonbonded H----H distances of 1.754(4) and 1.713(3) A have been measured by low-temperature neutron diffraction experiments for 512 and 513 [225]. At 2.921(4) A, the distance between the pairs of double bonds in 514 is also quite short [226].
The case for data visualization management systems: vision paper

Most visualizations today are produced by retrieving data from a database and using a specialized visualization tool to render it. This decoupled approach results in significant duplication of functionality, such as aggregation and filters, and misses tremendous opportunities for cross-layer optimizations. In this paper, we present the case for an integrated Data Visualization Management System (DVMS) based on a declarative visualization language that fully compiles the end-to-end visualization pipeline into a set of relational algebra queries. Thus the DVMS can be both expressive via the visualization language, and performant by lever-aging traditional and visualization-specific optimizations to scale interactive visualizations to massive datasets.
Investigation of hyperthermia-induced dominant lethal mutations in male mice

The mutagenic potential of hyperthermia was investigated in a random-bred stock of mice to determine if this is one mechanism by which elevated ambient temperature exerts its deleterious effects on mammalian reproduction. Two dominant lethal assays were conducted to measure mutagenicity during the meiotic and post-meiotic stages of spermatogenesis following various periods of heat stress. Indirect evidence for hyperthermia-induced dominant lethality was obtained in the form of increases in the frequencies of preimplantation loss and sterile matings. However, the large number of sterile matings precluded unambiguous statistical analysis of the incidence of early embryonic mortality that would have provided direct evidence of induced dominant lethality. Control data indicated that the stock of mice used in this experiment is an excellent choice for dominant lethal studies because of the large number of implants and the low frequency of embryonic mortality.
O2-S3.01 Feasibility and acceptability of self-sampling for rectal sexually transmitted infections (STI) among bisexual men in the USA

Introduction Rectal sexually transmitted infections (STI) are a common health concern for men who have sex with men (MSM). Studies have not yet determined the relevance of these pathogens among men who have sex with both men and women (MSMW). Screening for rectal STI is not currently a widespread option for bisexual men in the USA. Methods Qualitative data and self-obtained rectal specimens were collected from a diverse sample of bisexual men. Upon completion of the rectal self-sampling, each participant provided information regarding their overall experience with the process. Results From a total sample of 75 bisexual men, 58 participants provided self-obtained rectal samples. While most men did not test positive, a prevalence (10.3%) of C. trachomoatis infection was found in this sample. Men who collected samples reported overall acceptability and comfort with self-sampling for rectal STI. Privacy was a primary concern for men regarding self-sampling. Of the men who did not provide a rectal self-sample, the most common reason was having been tested in the recent past. Discussion: Self-sampling is a feasible and acceptable option when offered to bisexual men. Research and interventions are needed to ascertain which combinations of STI testing (including self-sampling) and treatment methods are most appropriate for diverse groups of bisexual men.
CORBAMed and DHE: Middleware Service Approach in Healthcare Information Systems

Copy right Idea Grou p Inc . Copy right Idea Grou p Inc . The healthcare organizational structure is often naturally distributed. In order to improve the quality of care, the adoption of standards to allow the effective and robust networking of the various centers for clinical, epidemiological, administrative information management purposes has been widely recognized as an urgent and strategic need in the healthcare community. This chapter analyzes the status and challenges that todays healthcare informati n systems have, and introduces two middleware service frameworks for information systems, namely CORBAMed and DHE, in detail. The middleware service can address heterogeneous problems and significantly assist interoperability and integrity of information systems by providing common services and a set of standard interfaces that enable different applications to interact with each other.
The Maturing Law of Divorce Finances: Toward Rules and Guidelines

The economic consequences of divorce are affected by the law of property division, spousal support, and child support. They are also affected by social facts not treated directly by the law of divorce, especially the parties' relative earning capacities, their relative opportunities to realize their earning capacities, and whether--and to whom--divorcing parties remarry. This essay reviews the significant law and the relevant social facts that have changed during the second half of the twentieth century.
A level set approach to segmenting a deforming myocardium from dynamically acquired spect projection data

Dynamic cardiac single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) offers an effective way for observing fundamental physiological functions of organs and could aid in the early diagnosis of cardiovascular disease, in particular, for those patients with minimal disease. This would improve the chances of recovery by initiating appropriate therapy and an altered life style. To make dynamic cardiac SPECT viable with present clinical scanners methods need to be developed that reconstruct time activity curves from dynamically moving organs representing the change of tracer concentration as a function of time from projection data acquired from slowly rotating gamma cameras. This type of data analysis faces the challenge of modeling both rigid and non-rigid body deformation as well as modeling of a time varying tracer concentration. In the work presented here, we develop methods for segmenting the beating heart using an approach based upon level sets, which can deal naturally with topological changes. A variational formulation of the level set method was implemented. This allowed the inclusion of a priori information and was computationally efficient. The algorithm was first evaluated with simulated dynamic cardiac image data. The MCAT phantom was used to generate data containing 32 time frames over one cardiac cycle. Each frame had a matrix size of 64×64×32 voxels with a resolution of 6.25 mm. Starting with an initial estimate of the boundary, the algorithm then converged to an accurate segmentation of the deforming heart. The initial estimate was not important and we could segment simultaneously both interior and exterior boundaries. This algorithm forms the foundation for the segmentation of the boundary of the deforming myocardium directly from projection data.
THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF DNA REPLICATION, DNA SEQUENCE AND CHROMATIN STRUCTURE IN SIMIAN VIRUS 40 CHROMOSOMES

ABSTRACT. The interdependence of DNA replication, DNA sequence, and chromatin structure is readily seen in SV40 chromosomes where a unique DNA sequence is organized into nucleosomes whose structure and histone composition are indistinguishable from those of the host. During replication, SV40 DNA synthesis is carried out by DNA polymerase α in a semidiscontinuous manner via repeated initiation of Okazaki fragments that originate predominantly, if not exclusively, from retrograde templates. The metabolism of Okazaki fragments involves at least five transient intermediates, synthesis and excision of RNA primers, DNA polymerase α, and at least one protein co-factor. Following initiation of Okazaki fragments, nucleosomes rapidly appear on both arms of replication forks at about 125 bp from the 3′- and 5′ ends of long nascent DNA strands. Initiation of Okazaki fragments is promoted at many preferred DNA sequences within an “initiation zone” on the retrograde template. The size of this zone correlates with the average spacing of nucleosomes which are phased in a near-random fashion with respect to DNA sequence throughout the genome. Preferred DNA sequences are also involved in arresting the progress of replication forks in the termination region of the genome. These sites can account for the observed accumulation of DNA at 90% replication and may promote separation of sibling molecules. Purified DNA polymerase α is also arrested at preferred DNA sequences which may contribute to its ineffective-ness at completing synthesis of Okazaki fragments on purified DNA. These properties demonstrate that α-polymerase is sensitive to the structure of its template. Taken together, these observations support a functional role for DNA organ-ization and chromatin structure in the events at eukaryotic replication forks.
Neurological consequences of obesity

Summary The high prevalence of obesity is associated with an enormous medical, social, and economic burden. The metabolic dysfunction, dyslipidaemia, and inflammation caused by obesity contribute to the development of a wide variety of disorders and effects on the nervous system. In the CNS, mild cognitive impairment can be attributed to obesity-induced alterations in hippocampal structure and function in some patients. Likewise, compromised hypothalamic function and subsequent defects in maintaining whole-body energy balance might be early events that contribute to weight gain and obesity development. In the peripheral nervous system, obesity-driven alterations in the autonomic nervous system prompt imbalances in sympathetic–parasympathetic activity, while alterations in the sensory–somatic nervous system underlie peripheral polyneuropathy, a common complication of diabetes. Pharmacotherapy and bariatric surgery are promising interventions for people with obesity that can improve neurological function. However, lifestyle interventions via dietary changes and exercise are the preferred approach to combat obesity and reduce its associated health risks.
Management of locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at a community hospital: A retrospective analysis.

e17506 Background: The optimal management of stage IIIA NSCLC has not been clearly defined. Much of this controversy is due to the heterogenity of this group. The current standard for unresectable ...
Reduced Graphene Oxide on Nickel Foam for Supercapacitor Electrodes

The focus of this paper is the investigation of reduced graphene oxide (GO)/nickel foam (RGON) samples for use as supercapacitor electrodes. Nickel foam samples were soaked in a GO suspension and dried before being subjected to two different methods to remove oxygen. Atmospheric pressure annealed (APA) samples were treated with a varying number (10–18) of nitrogen plasma jet scans, where sample temperatures did not exceed 280 °C. Furnace annealed (FA) samples were processed in an atmosphere of hydrogen and argon, at temperatures ranging from 600 °C to 900 °C. Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) data indicated that the carbon to oxygen (C:O) ratio for APA samples was minimized at an intermediate number of plasma scans. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopic (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopic data supported this finding. ESEM analysis from FA samples showed that with increasing temperatures of annealing, GO is transformed to reduced graphene oxide (RGO), with C:O ratios exceeding 35:1. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) data indicated the formation of RGO with an increasing annealing temperature until 800 °C, when oxygen reincorporation in the surface atomic layers becomes an issue. Supercapacitors, constructed using the FA samples, demonstrated performances that correlated with surface atomic layer optimization of the C:O ratio.
Clinical information extraction applications: A literature review.

Abstract Background With the rapid adoption of electronic health records (EHRs), it is desirable to harvest information and knowledge from EHRs to support automated systems at the point of care and to enable secondary use of EHRs for clinical and translational research. One critical component used to facilitate the secondary use of EHR data is the information extraction (IE) task, which automatically extracts and encodes clinical information from text. Objectives In this literature review, we present a review of recent published research on clinical information extraction (IE) applications. Methods A literature search was conducted for articles published from January 2009 to September 2016 based on Ovid MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, and ACM Digital Library. Results A total of 1917 publications were identified for title and abstract screening. Of these publications, 263 articles were selected and discussed in this review in terms of publication venues and data sources, clinical IE tools, methods, and applications in the areas of disease- and drug-related studies, and clinical workflow optimizations. Conclusions Clinical IE has been used for a wide range of applications, however, there is a considerable gap between clinical studies using EHR data and studies using clinical IE. This study enabled us to gain a more concrete understanding of the gap and to provide potential solutions to bridge this gap.
Facing loss of dreams: a special kind of grief.

Loss of dreams refers to grief experiences that do not easily fit into the images which colour an individual's preconceived ideas of life. The notion encompasses the loss of the imagined future as well as the loss of assumptions. For many persons receiving palliative care, and their families, attention to loss of dreams can be necessary before new dreams can be created and pursued, whereas grieving the old dream can be essential for acceptance, healing or recovery. This paper will consider some of the perspectives on – and strategies of response useful to – palliative care.
The rise of hospitalists: an opportunity for infectious diseases investigators.

Introduction: Despite the essential role played by infectious diseases specialists in patient care, public health, cost-containment, and biomedical research, the field has a substantially higher pe...
Numerical Simulation of Plunging Wing Section at High Angles of Attack

In the near-stall regime, the shedding of coherent structures can result in large unsteady aerodynamic loads. Under such conditions, high-aspect-ratio wings will experience some degree of structura...
Laparoscopic Distal Pancreatectomy

Benign/malignant tumor of the pancreatic body or tail. Pseudocyst of the tail of the pancreas.
Property and Transitional Justice

Transitional justice is the study of the mechanisms employed by communities, states, and the international community to promote social reconstruction by addressing the legacy of systematic human rights abuses and authoritarianism. The transitional justice literature discussing how states can address past civil and political rights violations through truth commissions and international and domestic prosecutions is well-developed compared to the transitional justice literature concerning the redress of past property rights violations. Nevertheless, history is ripe with examples of states and private actors that have systematically and unjustly taken real property from one group and given it to another. The goal of this Article is to further an important conversation about how transitional states can address these past property rights violations to promote social reconstruction. I discuss the strengths and weaknesses of a state’s three main options: (1) maintaining the present property status quo, (2) fully or partially returning to a prior property status quo, or (3) creating a new property status quo altogether. I argue that a state should decide which option to choose through an inclusive public dialogue in which participants are well-informed rather than through a process involving only elites, which, despite being less time-consuming and less costly, would be inadequate in the long run.
Practice Issues in the Hospital-Based Rehabilitation Unit

Physiatric practice in a hospital-based rehabilitation unit is different than practicing in a freestanding rehabilitation center. There are different legal requirements for the medical director; units are usually smaller than centers, and rehabilitation is usually not the principal activity of the hospital in which the unit is located. This requires the physiatrist in the rehabilitation unit setting to educate the administration about rehabilitation, help protect the rehabilitation staff from “sicker” patients, market the rehabilitation unit within the hospital, and learn to use the acute care potential of the hospital to physiatric patient care and marketing advantage.
What’s Next? The Future of Digital Entertainment

This special issue of Communication Research Reports showcases state-of-the art research on digital entertainment. In recent years, digital media have evolved to include bandwidth-rich, smart, and ...
Different Isoforms of the Neuronal Guidance Molecule Slit2 Directly Cause Chemoattraction or Chemorepulsion of Human Neutrophils.

The movement of neutrophils between blood and tissues appears to be regulated by chemoattractants and chemorepellents. Compared with neutrophil chemoattractants, relatively little is known about neutrophil chemorepellents. Slit proteins are endogenously cleaved into a variety of N- and C-terminal fragments, and these fragments are neuronal chemorepellents and inhibit chemoattraction of many cell types, including neutrophils. In this report, we show that the ∼140-kDa N-terminal Slit2 fragment (Slit2-N) is a chemoattractant and the ∼110-kDa N-terminal Slit2 fragment (Slit2-S) is a chemorepellent for human neutrophils. The effects of both Slit2 fragments were blocked by Abs to the Slit2 receptor Roundabout homolog 1 or the Slit2 coreceptor Syndecan-4. Slit2-N did not appear to activate Ras but increased phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-triphosphate levels. Slit2-N–induced chemoattraction was unaffected by Ras inhibitors, reversed by PI3K inhibitors, and blocked by Cdc42 and Rac inhibitors. In contrast, Slit2-S activated Ras but did not increase phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-triphosphate levels. Slit2-S–induced chemorepulsion was blocked by Ras and Rac inhibitors, not affected by PI3K inhibitors, and reversed by Cdc42 inhibitors. Slit2-N, but not Slit2-S, increased neutrophil adhesion, myosin L chain 2 phosphorylation, and polarized actin formation and single pseudopods at the leading edge of cells. Slit2-S induced multiple pseudopods. These data suggest that Slit2 isoforms use similar receptors but different intracellular signaling pathways and have different effects on the cytoskeleton and pseudopods to induce neutrophil chemoattraction or chemorepulsion.
Invasive Disease Due to Group A β-Hemolytic Streptococci: Continued Occurrence in Children in North Carolina

BACKGROUND We have previously reported a significant increase beginning in the late 1980s in the incidence of invasive disease due to group A beta-hemolytic streptococci (GABS) in children admitted to our hospital. To determine subsequent trends in epidemiology, we have continued to monitor cases. METHODS We prospectively monitored cases of invasive disease due to GABS at Brenner Children's Hospital during the 5 1/2 years (July 1, 1990, to December 31, 1995) since our last report. RESULTS Twenty-five patients had GABS isolated from normally sterile sites. Their presentations were varied. One patient had necrotizing fasciitis and one had toxic shock-like syndrome. The one death was that of a newborn infant with sepsis and meningitis. The proportion of GABS infections associated with varicella was significantly greater during this period (7/25, 28%) than during the period 1983 to 1990 (1/22, 5%). Isolates were available tor study from 24 patients. Serotypes were M1 (4), M3 (4), M6 (2), M12 (3), M22 (3), M75 (1) and M-nontypeable (7). The number of cases of invasive disease seen annually from 1983 through 1995 also is reviewed. CONCLUSIONS The resurgence of invasive disease due to GABS in children noted in the late 1980s continues through the first half of the 1990s. The clinical manifestations are varied as are the causative M-types. As almost one third of cases in this series were associated with varicella infection, widespread use of the varicella vaccine may lead to a decrease in the incidence of invasive GABS disease.