cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Radiographic visualization of coronary arteries in postmortem hearts: a simple technic.

Twenty-five hearts obtained postmortem were studied by a simplified technic for radiographic examination of the coronary arteries. The coronary arteries were evaluated with regard to anatomic pattern, incidence and severity of coronary artery disease, incidence and sites of occlusions, relationships of occlusions to infarction, anastamoses, and clinical and pathologic correlation. The accuracy of representation of the arteries, the values of the additional information provided, and the simplicity of the technic should commend this procedure to any department of pathology for routine use.
Synthesis, Processing and Phase Evolution of TiN/TiB2 Composites from Polymeric Precursors

A high yield synthetic route to TiN/TiB2 nanocomposites based upon polymeric precursors has been developed. The phase evolution and microstructural development have been characterized and related to preliminary measurements of properties, i.e. hardness. The observations indicate the existence of TiN-TiB2, TiN-BN, and TiB2-BN subsolidus compatibilities.
PID prevention: clinical and societal stakes.

Pelvic inflammatory disease continues to take its physical, psychological, and financial tolls. Prompt treatment of symptomatic disease and screening of asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic women for the major causative organism—Chlamydia trachomatis—are the keys to preventing serious sequelae, such as chronic pelvic pain, ectopic pregnancy, and infertility.
Using a multiple method and mixed mode approach to examine women entrepreneur negotiating styles

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore an optimal research design for research on women entrepreneurs involved in negotiating term sheets for private equity capital. This research explores new ways for researchers to connect with such current “invisibles” through the use of a mixed method and mixed mode research design to expand sampling options and secure respondent participation. The authors discuss existing data sets that have been used as secondary sources for data on financing of companies and consider their inadequacy for research questions about process issues in negotiation. The authors present process-related findings regarding the efficacy of the research design. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reviews research on research methodology, incorporating a discussion of practices outside of the entrepreneurship discipline to discover effective practices for identifying respondents and data not currently captured in entrepreneurship data sources. The respondents were found through ...
Bridging the Nomothetic and Idiographic Approaches to the Analysis of Clinical Data

The nomothetic approach (i.e., the study of interindividual variation) dominates analyses of clinical data, even though its assumption of homogeneity across people and time is often violated. The idiographic approach (i.e., the study of intraindividual variation) is best suited for analyses of heterogeneous clinical data, but its person-specific methods and results have been criticized as unwieldy. Group iterative multiple model estimation (GIMME) combines the assets of the nomothetic and idiographic approaches by creating person-specific maps that contain a group-level structure. The maps show how intensively measured variables predict and are predicted by each other at different time scales. In this article, GIMME is introduced conceptually and mathematically, and then applied to an empirical data set containing the negative affect, detachment, disinhibition, and hostility composite ratings from the daily diaries of 25 individuals with personality pathology. Results are discussed with the aim of elucidating GIMME's potential for clinical research and practice.
Salt-Stress Regulation of Root System Growth and Architecture in Arabidopsis Seedlings

In order to acclimate to the soil environment, plants need to constantly optimize their root system architecture for efficient resource uptake. Roots are highly sensitive to changes in their surrounding environment and root system responses to a stress such as salinity and drought can be very dynamic and complex in nature. These responses can be manifested differentially at the cellular, tissue, or organ level and between the types of roots in a root system. Therefore, various approaches must be taken to quantify and characterize these responses. In this chapter, we review methods to study basic root growth traits, such as root length, cell cycle activity and meristem size, cell shape and size that form the basis for the emergent properties of the root system. Methods for the detailed analysis of lateral root initiation and postemergence growth are described. Finally, several live-imaging systems, which allow for dynamic imaging of the root, will be explored. Together these tools provide insight into the regulatory steps that sculpt the root system upon environmental change and can be used as the basis for the evaluation of genetic variation affecting these pathways.
Quality Improvement Education for Nurses: We Can Do Better

The results of a national survey of new nurses provide a wake-up call to educators and employers that they must do better in educating nurses in quality improvement.
Kähler-Einstein metrics on algebraic manifolds

It is one of fundamental problems in differential geometry to find a distinguished metric on a smooth manifold. H. Poincare's Uniformization theorem settles this problem for Riemann surfaces. That is, there is a unique metric with constant curvature in each Kahler class on a Riemann surface. Trying to generalize it to higher dimensions, E. Calabi conjectured in the 50s the existence of KahlerEinstein metrics on a compact Kahler manifold with its first Chern class definite. A Kahler-Einstein metric is a Kahler metric with constant Ricci curvature. In the middle of the 70s, this conjecture was solved by S. T. Yau in case the first Chern class is vanishing and Aubin and Yau, independently, in case the Chern class is negative (cf. [Yl]). The uniqueness in these two cases was done by E. Calabi himself in the 50s. Such Kahler-Einstein metrics were then applied to studying projective manifolds. For instance, Yau used these metrics to show the Miyaoka-Yau inequality on surface of general type, its generalized version in higher dimensions and the characterization of the quotients of the complex hyperbolic spaces (cf. [Y2]). We also refer readers to [CY, Ko, Ts, TY1] for the generalizations of these to quasi-projective manifolds. However, this conjecture of Calabi still remains open in general in case the first Chern class is positive. In this paper, we will survey the recent progress on this part of Calabi's conjecture, including the uniqueness and the existence of Kahler-Einstein metrics with positive scalar curvature, the outline of the complete solution for Calabi's conjecture in case of complex dimension two, etc. Some related problems will also be discussed. From now on, we always denote by M a compact Kahler manifold with positive first Chern class C\(M), that is, M is a smooth Fano variety. Then we can choose a Kahler metric g with its Kahler class cog representing C\(M). In local coordinates (z\,'--,zn) of M with dime M = n, if g is represented by positive hermitian metrices {g (z)}i /,y5<H,
How Transnational Activism Undermines Democratization

Transnational human rights mobilization targeting Kenya and Uganda during the 1970s and 1980s empowered domestic allies and delegitimized authoritarian regimes. This mobilization effectively challenged repressive regimes and created the basis for fundamental regime change in Uganda and significant political reforms in Kenya. But challenging authoritarian rule is only the beginning of a process aimed at creating sustainable democratic institutions. As the domestic struggle for democratic reforms progresses, the effects of transnational activism change. Targeted governments adapt quickly to the tastes of international human rights groups and devise strategies of deception and counter-mobilization. While previous strategies of conventional, state-led repression were not entirely dropped, new and more subtle efforts of harassment and threats take a prominent place. This chapter also shows how and why transnational mobilization beyond the initiation of regime change has more ambiguous and often negative effects on the political opposition.
Rights against the State(s): Questioning Rehabilitation, Resisting Restriction

On June 27, 1954, Andrew Wade IV and his wife, Charlotte, returned from an evening out just in time to see an explosion rip through a large section of their new house. The Wades were shaken but not entirely surprised. They were the first black family to move into an all-white neighborhood on the outskirts of Louisville, Kentucky, and they had done so at a particularly inauspicious time: on May 17, within days of their move, the Supreme Court had issued its controversial decision in Brown v. Board of Education . A barrage of threats and harassment followed for the Wades, beginning with shattered windows and culminating in the bombing – a depressingly familiar pattern to black Americans who challenged the color line. More unusual, in the Wades’ case, was the criminal proceeding that followed, in which a local prosecutor rejected the possibility of segregationist terrorism and instead pointed the finger at local civil rights activists: they planted the bomb, the prosecutor alleged, as part of a communist-inspired plot to fuel racial tension. On the surface the story had little to do with public welfare, and yet federal welfare officials were following it closely. Two lesser-known defendants in the ensuing sedition prosecution had caught their eye: Mary Louise Gilbert, a Louisville social worker, and her roommate, Larue Spiker, described in the press as “an unemployed factory worker.” Prior to the bombing, under the auspices of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, both women had sent letters to the Wades’ new neighbors urging tolerance – which in 1954 Louisville was enough to place them under a cloud of suspicion. Four years earlier and 114 miles north, in Indianapolis, federal administrators remembered, these very same women had fallen under a similar cloud – and had ultimately helped spark a national controversy over federal-state welfare administration. That this remote connection merited attention from high-level federal agency officials speaks to the importance of what happened in Indiana in the early 1950s, when conservative Republicans, flanked by southern Democrats, encouraged Indiana officials to defy the federal welfare agency and risk the state's multimillion-dollar federal grant, a game of chicken that ended with Congress nullifying the offending provision of the federal law (the Social Security Act's confidentiality requirement). It also gives a sense of the climate surrounding New Deal public assistance programs in the mid-1950s.
Big data analytics over encrypted datasets with seabed

Today, enterprises collect large amounts of data and leverage the cloud to perform analytics over this data. Since the data is often sensitive, enterprises would prefer to keep it confidential and to hide it even from the cloud operator. Systems such as CryptDB and Monomi can accomplish this by operating mostly on encrypted data; however, these systems rely on expensive cryptographic techniques that limit performance in true "big data" scenarios that involve terabytes of data or more.This paper presents Seabed, a system that enables efficient analytics over large encrypted datasets. In contrast to previous systems, which rely on asymmetric encryption schemes, Seabed uses a novel, additively symmetric homomorphic encryption scheme (ASHE) to perform large-scale aggregations efficiently. Additionally, Seabed introduces a novel randomized encryption scheme called Splayed ASHE, or SPLASHE, that can, in certain cases, prevent frequency attacks based on auxiliary data.
Fast-capacitance for advanced device characterization

Fast-CV measurements are frequently being used to study transient phenomena associated with advanced devices. In this study, we show that many artifacts plague this measurement and then provide a proper method to legitimize fast-CV measurements as trustworthy. We show a remarkably accurate correspondence between a complete fast CV measurement, from accumulation to inversion, and a conventional CV measurement on the same device. The results distinguish fast-CV as a powerful tool for device characterization and reliability measurements.
The Importance of Symmetry in Chemistry

In this introductory chapter we draw on your familiarity with symmetry to examine elements of symmetry. With just this background and your knowledge of chemistry we can see how symmetry applies to orbitals in atoms and molecules. The same symmetry considerations apply to energy states of atoms and molecules and therefore to electronic and vibrational spectroscopy. The detailed treatment of an example can be followed pictorially. Do not be distracted by the terminology and notation used in the example; definitions and explanations will follow in later chapters.
Development and validation of the AFIT scene and sensor emulator for testing (ASSET)

ASSET is a physics-based model used to generate synthetic data sets of wide field of view (WFOV) electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) sensors with realistic radiometric properties, noise characteristics, and sensor artifacts. It was developed to meet the need for applications where precise knowledge of the underlying truth is required but is impractical to obtain for real sensors. For example, due to accelerating advances in imaging technology, the volume of data available from WFOV EO/IR sensors has drastically increased over the past several decades, and as a result, there is a need for fast, robust, automatic detection and tracking algorithms. Evaluation of these algorithms is difficult for objects that traverse a wide area (100-10,000 km) because obtaining accurate truth for the full object trajectory often requires costly instrumentation. Additionally, tracking and detection algorithms perform differently depending on factors such as the object kinematics, environment, and sensor configuration. A variety of truth data sets spanning these parameters are needed for thorough testing, which is often cost prohibitive. The use of synthetic data sets for algorithm development allows for full control of scene parameters with full knowledge of truth. However, in order for analysis using synthetic data to be meaningful, the data must be truly representative of real sensor collections. ASSET aims to provide a means of generating such representative data sets for WFOV sensors operating in the visible through thermal infrared. The work reported here describes the ASSET model, as well as provides validation results from comparisons to laboratory imagers and satellite data (e.g. Landsat-8).
Cytokine Biomarkers of Disease Activity and Therapeutic Response after Initiating Methotrexate Therapy in Patients with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

tudy Objective To evaluate the relationship between plasma cytokine levels with disease activity and therapeutic response in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis after initiating methotrexate (MTX) therapy. Design Single-center, observational, prospective cohort study. Setting Outpatient pediatric rheumatology clinic at a tertiary care academic pediatric hospital. Patients Sixty-one patients diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis who started therapy with standard-dose methotrexate (MTX) 15 mg/m2/week; at 3 months, treating physicians were given the option of maintaining the MTX dose, increasing the MTX dose, or adding etanercept, based on their clinical judgment. Measurements and Main Results Patients were evaluated at baseline, 3 months (51 patients), and 6 months (35 patients). Plasma samples from each visit were analyzed for interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1β, IL-1Ra, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Cytokine concentrations were evaluated for relationships with disease activity using the 71–joint count Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score (JADAS). Therapeutic response was assessed by changes in JADAS. Failure to respond to standard-dose MTX was defined as the need for the addition of etanercept or a MTX dose increase at or before the 3-month visit. Increased disease severity at baseline was associated with increased IL-6 (p=0.01) and TNF-α (p=0.008) levels. Initiation of MTX was associated with reductions in IL-1α (p=0.009), IL-1β (p=0.01), IL-1Ra (p=0.007), and IL-6 (p=0.03) levels; however, reductions in JADAS were only associated with reductions in IL-6 (p=0.009) and TNF-α levels (p=0.02). Compared with responders, patients failing to respond to standard-dose MTX had increased TNF-α levels at baseline (p=0.02) and 3 months (p=0.005). Reductions in JADAS by 6 months were observed following either the addition of etanercept (p=0.009) or an increase in MTX dose (p=0.007), but the addition of etanercept was associated with a median 7-fold increase in TNF-α levels (p=0.003) that corresponded with clinical response. Conclusion Plasma cytokine levels were responsive to MTX therapy in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, but only TNF-α and IL-6 levels were consistently associated with disease activity and therapeutic response. Increased TNF-α levels at baseline were associated with failure to respond to standard-dose MTX and the need for more aggressive drug therapy. Initiation of etanercept resulted in increased TNF-α levels that corresponded with therapeutic response, which suggests a potential clinical benefit of monitoring TNF-α levels as a pharmacodynamic marker of etanercept activity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Continuous IL-15 Signaling Leads to Functional Exhaustion of Human Natural Killer Cells through Metabolic Changes That Alters Their In Vivo Anti-Tumor Activity

Natural Killer (NK) cells represent an exciting immunotherapeutic approach to treat cancer. We have shown that in vivo expansion and activation of donor NK cells supported by administration of IL-2 induces remission in patients with refractory AML. Recent clinical studies by our group have shown that IL-15 is superior to IL-2 to support NK cell persistence 14 days after adoptive transfer. However, only 36% of patients treated with 12 consecutive days of IL-15 had NK cell expansion to the level of ≥100 donor derived NK cells/µL blood compared to 10% in subjects treated with IL-2 (p=0.02). This leads us to conclude that we might not know the optimal route and interval to administer in vivo IL-15. We hypothesized that daily uninterrupted IL-15 dosing could lead to exhaustion or NK cellular stress. Therefore we designed an in vitro model system in which enriched NK cells are treated with three 3-day cycles of continuous IL-15 (IL-15cont) or were rested with a "gap" (skipping the middle cycle [IL-15gap]) before returning to the last cycle of IL-15. IL-15cont treatment yielded more proliferation and higher cell numbers compared to IL-15gap (4.8±0.44 vs. 1.9±0.26 million cells/ml, p Disclosures Cooley:Fate Therapeutics: Research Funding. Miller:Oxis Biotech: Consultancy, Other: SAB; Fate Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding.
A quantitative PCR-based assay reveals that nucleotide excision repair plays a predominant role in the removal of DNA-protein crosslinks from plasmids transfected into mammalian cells.

Abstract DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs) are complex DNA lesions that induce mutagenesis and cell death. DPCs are created by common antitumor drugs, reactive oxygen species, and endogenous aldehydes. Since these agents create other types of DNA damage in addition to DPCs, identification of the mechanisms of DPC repair is challenging. In this study, we created plasmid substrates containing site-specific DPC lesions, as well as plasmids harboring lesions that are selectively repaired by the base excision or nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathways. These substrates were transfected into mammalian cells and a quantitative real-time PCR assay employed to study their repair. This assay revealed that DPC lesions were rapidly repaired in wild-type human and Chinese hamster derived cells, as were plasmids harboring an oxoguanine residue (base excision repair substrate) or cholesterol lesion (NER substrate). Interestingly, the DPC substrate was repaired in human cells nearly three times as efficiently as in Chinese hamster cells (>75% vs ∼25% repair at 8 h post-transfection), while there was no significant species-specific difference in the efficiency with which the cholesterol lesion was repaired (∼60% repair). Experiments revealed that both human and hamster cells deficient in NER due to mutations in the xeroderma pigmentosum A or D genes were five to ten-fold less able to repair the cholesterol and DPC lesions than were wild-type control clones, and that both the global genome and transcription-coupled sub-pathways of NER were capable of repairing DPCs. In addition, analyses using this PCR-based assay revealed that a 4 kDa peptide DNA crosslink was repaired nearly twice as efficiently as was a ∼38 kDa DPC, suggesting that proteolytic degradation of crosslinked proteins occurs during DPC repair. These results highlight the utility of this PCR-based assay to study DNA repair and indicate that the NER machinery rapidly and efficiently repairs plasmid DPC lesions in mammalian cells.
Privacy Lies: Understanding How, When, and Why People Lie to Protect Their Privacy in Multiple Online Contexts

In this paper, we study online privacy lies: lies primarily aimed at protecting privacy. Going beyond privacy lenses that focus on privacy concerns or cost/benefit analyses, we explore how contextual factors, motivations, and individual-level characteristics affect lying behavior through a 356-person survey. We find that statistical models to predict privacy lies that include attitudes about lying, use of other privacy-protective behaviors (PPBs), and perceived control over information improve on models based solely on self-expressed privacy concerns. Based on a thematic analysis of open-ended responses, we find that the decision to tell privacy lies stems from a range of concerns, serves multiple privacy goals, and is influenced by the context of the interaction and attitudes about the morality and necessity of lying. Together, our results point to the need for conceptualizations of privacy lies-and PPBs more broadly-that account for multiple goals, perceived control over data, contextual factors, and attitudes about PPBs.
Lattice Boltzmann simulation of mixtures with multicomponent van der Waals equation of state

We developed a general framework for simulating multicomponent and multiphase systems using the lattice Boltzmann framework. Despite the fact that there is no restriction on the number of components in principle, in this article we focus an application to two-component mixtures, but we also demonstrate that the algorithm works for larger numbers of components. To validate our algorithm we separately minimized this underlying free energy to generate theoretical phase diagrams for mixtures of fluids with a van der Waals--like free energy. Our phase diagrams and lattice Boltzmann simulation results are presented in a density-density plane, which best matches with lattice Boltzmann simulations performed at constant volume and temperature. All the theoretical phase diagrams are well recovered by our lattice Boltzmann method.
Project Ozma: The Birth of Observational SETI

It was an idea whose time had come, but nobody dared admit that out loud. Frank Drake, in particular, was keeping silent. Like many of his generation, he had long speculated about the existence of extraterrestrial life, and pondered how we humans might probe for direct evidence of our cosmic companions. Now, in 1959, the young astronomer was finally in a position to do more than ponder. At 29, he had just completed graduate school, the ink on his Harvard diploma as wet as he was behind the ears. As the new kid on the block at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, he had access to the tools necessary to mount a credible search for radio evidence of distant technological civilizations. Drake knew enough to tread lightly; a publicly announced hunt for Little Green Men would be tantamount to professional suicide, so he approached his superior with understandable trepidation.
Activating sacred objects in public space: Bernini’s angels on the ponte sant’angelo in early modern Rome

In 1667, Pope Clement IX commissioned Gian Lorenzo Bernini to design 10 sculptures of angels to decorate the Ponte Sant’Angelo in Rome. Contemporary accounts record that the faithful experienced Bernini’s statues as animated celestial figures at the heart of the city. The ability of the marble angels to persuasively move beholders fulfilled the aims of the papal commission to expand the reach of the Church into the urban space of Rome. This paper examines how these religious objects were activated in a public space, a setting composed of sacred and profane elements. In the early modern era, the Ponte Sant’Angelo connected Rome’s city center to St. Peter’s Basilica while also serving as a setting for civic processions, spectacular fireworks displays, and public executions. While angels were ubiquitous in the city’s sacred spaces, like church interiors, Bernini’s sculptures materialized a flock of angels at an outdoor, urban nexus of theology, spectacle, and justice. Drawing on theories of performan...
Prepregnancy diabetes and breastfeeding cessation among Black women in the United States.

Abstract Background: The incidence of diabetes is rising, and with it, the number of pregnancies affected by diabetes. U.S. black women have a disproportionately high prevalence of diabetes and low...
Collapsed bifurcated modular infrarenal endograft.

Abstract Bilateral acute limb ischemia after endovascular aneurysm repair is extremely rare. We present the case of a 70-year-old man treated by endovascular aneurysm repair for a 7.9-cm asymptomatic infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm using a bifurcated modular GORE EXCLUDER endoprosthesis (W. L. Gore & Associates, Flagstaff, Ariz). The initial recovery was uneventful, but 14 days later, the patient presented with bilateral acute limb ischemia caused by collapse and thrombosis of the endograft, requiring emergency axillobifemoral bypass, fasciotomies, and subsequent endograft removal with open aneurysm repair. The patient had no other complications at 7 months of follow-up. Oversizing of a GORE EXCLUDER graft because of a conical neck, a small bird-beak configuration, and a long angulated neck with aortoiliac tortuosity were potential contributing factors to endograft infolding and collapse.
Why Customer Service Frustrates Consumers: Using a Tiered Organizational Structure to Exploit Hassle Costs

Tiered customer service organizations are common and their tiered structure can frustrate customers so that they seek lower levels of redress.
Gas transport characteristics of fluorinated polystyrene-b-polybutadiene-b-polystyrene (F-SBS)

Abstract Fluorinated polymers exhibit unique gas separation properties. However, the effect of the degree of fluorination in polymers on gas transport properties has not been elucidated. Herein, the alkenyl groups in the polybutadiene (PB) block of polystyrene-b-polybutadiene-b-polystyrene (SBS) were modified with gem-difluorocyclopropanation via difluorocarbene (∶CF2). The F content in the fluorinated PB (FPB) phase ranges from 0 to 27 wt%, which was confirmed using 1H NMR spectroscopy, and physical properties of the polymers were determined, including density, fractional free volume (FFV), and glass transition temperature (Tg). The Maxwell and additive models are used to estimate gas permeability and solubility in the FPB phase, respectively. Increasing the F content from 0 to 27 wt% in the FPB phase increases the CO2 solubility from 0.58 to 1.1 cm3 (STP)/cm3 atm and CO2/C2H6 solubility selectivity from 0.45 to 1.1 at 35 °C, suggesting that the F groups have induced favorable interaction with CO2 and unfavorable interaction with C2H6 in these partially fluorinated polymers. However, a further increase of the F content in the perfluoropolymer (such as polytetrafluoroethylene) decreases CO2 solubility and CO2/gas solubility selectivity, indicating the unique CO2/gas separation properties in partially fluorinated polymers. The introduction of the F groups to the polymer also increases Tg and decreases FFV and gas diffusivity, which can be satisfactorily described using a free volume model.
A Quality Improvement Initiative: Improving Time-to-Antibiotics for Pediatric Oncology Patients with Fever and Suspected Neutropenia

ABSTRACT Background There is a high risk for adverse outcomes in immunocompromised, neutropenic pediatric oncology patients with fever if antibiotics are not received in a timely manner. As the absolute neutrophil count is typically unknown at the onset of fever, rapid antibiotic administration for all pediatric oncology patients with fever and suspected neutropenia is critical. Local Problem Despite efforts over the years to meet the standard of time-to-antibiotic delivery to within 60 minutes of arrival, audits revealed a prolonged and wide-ranging time-to-antibiotics in our pediatric emergency department. Methods We conducted a quality improvement initiative to reduce the time to antibiotic delivery for this high risk patient population. The setting was a pediatric emergency department in an academic tertiary care hospital. We assembled a multidisciplinary team to apply quality improvement methods to understand the problem, implement interventions, and evaluate the outcomes. Interventions We targeted delays in patient triage, delays in antibiotic ordering, delays in antibiotic choice, and delays in bedside indwelling Port-a-Cath accessing procedure. Among other interventions, we instituted three unique measures: ceftriaxone was administered to all pediatric oncology patients with suspected neutropenia and fever; a system of ordering antibiotics that was driven by the ED pharmacist obtaining a verbal order from the ED attending; and a nurse-driven order set triggered by a unique triage category which empowered nurses to access a patient’s central line, draw and send specified blood work, and deliver an intravenous antibiotic, all potentially before an ED provider sees the patient. Results Over a sustained 3 year period of time, the percentage of febrile oncology patients with suspected neutropenia who met the target time-to-antibiotic delivery rose from 51% to 96%. The mean time-to-antibiotic delivery fell from 58 minutes in the pre-intervention period to 28 minutes in the post-intervention period. Conclusions The interventions implemented by the multidisciplinary team, using quality improvement methodology, successfully improved the percentage of febrile oncology patients receiving antibiotics within 60 minutes of arrival to a pediatric emergency department.
Technical Note: FLASH radiotherapy monitor chamber signal conditioning

Purpose Recent studies of ultra-high dose rate FLASH radiotherapy show a substantial reduction of damage to normal tissue cells when compared with conventional radiotherapy. Most, if not all, of these FLASH studies have taken place using either custom research equipment or heavily modified linacs with external dosimetric control. To simplify our preclinical research efforts, we wish to deliver FLASH with a minimally modified linac using the internal dosimetric system. Methods To enable the built-in monitor chambers to terminate a FLASH beam, we reversibly modified an Elekta linear accelerator previously fit with a high dose rate electron (HDRE) system to include additional resistance in the signal path from the monitor chambers to the dose control system. To produce the FLASH beam, we altered the energy calibration tables of a decommissioned HDRE beam to functionally produce a photon mode beam current exiting through the electron window of the linac. We then used the machine modifications to assist in beam tuning and to calibrate the monitor chambers for FLASH delivery. We employed a radiochromic film for external dosimetry and preliminary tests of monitor chamber dosimetric stability. Results We identified attenuation values and distributions that reduced the overall signal from the monitor chambers to the dose control system such that the system could terminate the beam without input from external monitoring circuits. Calibration of the control system resulted in 12 MU per second, constituting roughly 180 Gy at the mylar window. Preliminary tests indicate a linear MU to dose relationship at FLASH dose rates, but we encountered challenges in both dose resolution and repeatability of beam termination. Conclusions The addition of attenuation in the control system path from the monitor chambers is fundamentally identical to current HDRE system design and was achieved without significant modification of the accelerator. Preliminary results indicate that current-generation monitor chambers could potentially govern FLASH radiotherapy, but overall beam and monitor chamber stability issues may necessitate machine modifications to achieve desired dosimetric accuracy.
Combined Effects of Geometric Rotation and Antenna Calibration Patterns on GNSS Phase Windup

This article examines global navigation satellite system (GNSS) phase windup, which we define to be the combined effects of 3-D rotation and antenna phase patterns on carrier-phase measurements. Specifically, phase windup equations are presented for antennae with spatially varying phase patterns, for instance, phase patterns defined as a function of the satellite line-of-sight direction, as might be characterized by azimuth and zenith angles. We observe that a description both of the geometric rotation and, also, of the antenna phase pattern are needed to accurately evaluate phase windup for a general antenna. Furthermore, we show that there is not a unique approach for computing phase windup; in fact, correctly computing phase windup requires adjusting the model to match the calibration method used to obtain the antenna phase pattern.
Central neurogenic hyperventilation in an adult with multisystem Langerhans cell histiocytosis

Abstract We present a case of a 46-year-old male with a history of biopsy-proven pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) who presented with shortness of breath and progressive neurologic decline. Neurologic examination suggested both posterior fossa and bilateral supratentorial dysfunction without papilledema and arterial blood gas revealed a respiratory alkalosis. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain was suggestive of central nervous system (CNS)-LCH. The patient was diagnosed with central neurogenic hyperventilation (CNH) secondary to CNS-LCH. He was treated with intravenous morphine and lorazepam without improvement in his respiratory alkalosis. He received two doses of immunoglobulin and empiric chemotherapy with vinblastine and prednisone for the LCH. This case illustrates one of a few reported cases of CNH due to suspected CNS LCH.
Intrauterine growth restriction causes abnormal embryonic dentate gyrus neurogenesis in mouse offspring that leads to adult learning and memory deficits

Human infants who suffer from intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), which is a failure to attain their genetically pre-determined weight, are at increased risk for postnatal learning and memory deficits. Hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) granule neurons play an important role in memory formation, however it is unknown whether IUGR affects embryonic DG neurogenesis, which could provide a potential mechanism underlying abnormal postnatal learning and memory function. Using a mouse model of the most common cause of IUGR, induced by hypertensive disease of pregnancy, we first assessed adult learning and memory function. We quantified the percentages of embryonic hippocampal DG neural stem and progenitor cells and developing glutamatergic granule neurons, as well as hippocampal volumes and neuron cell count and morphology 18 and 40 days after delivery. We characterized the differential embryonic hippocampal transcriptomic pathways between appropriately-grown and IUGR mouse offspring. We found that IUGR offspring of both sexes had short-term adult learning and memory deficits. Prenatally, we found that IUGR caused accelerated embryonic DG neurogenesis and Sox2+ neural stem cell depletion. IUGR mice were marked by decreased hippocampal volumes and decreased doublecortin+ neuronal progenitors with increased mean dendritic lengths at postnatal day (P) 18. Consistent with its known molecular role in embryonic DG neurogenesis, we also found evidence for decreased Wnt pathway activity during IUGR. In conclusion, we have discovered that postnatal memory deficits are associated with accelerated NSC differentiation and maturation into glutamatergic granule neurons following IUGR, a phenotype that could be explained by decreased embryonic Wnt signaling.Significance StatementPostnatal learning and memory deficits are common in infants born with IUGR. However, the embryonic cellular and molecular hippocampal changes are elusive compared to the many postnatal studies in the literature. Using a translationally relevant mouse model with short-term memory deficits, we discovered that IUGR accelerated embryonic hippocampal DG neurogenesis along with NSC depletion. Decreased postnatal hippocampal volumes with altered neuronal progenitor development were noted. Transcriptomic analysis revealed decreased Wnt signaling as a strong candidate for embryonic cellular changes after IUGR. To our knowledge, this is the first investigation linking IUGR-induced embryonic hippocampal DG alterations with postnatal neuronal developmental aberrations. This model provides a framework to investigate other hippocampal domains and cell types that modulate neuronal maturation and memory function.
Whistle Blowing: An Economic Analysis of the False Claims Act

Whistle blowing, remuneration and immunity are effective tools whenever law enforcement is impeded by information asymmetries. The U.S. False Claims Act (FCA), which allows private individuals to litigate fraudulent claims on behalf of the government, has been instrumental in combating government fraud. In this paper we reveal a number of limitations and weaknesses of rewards as an alternative to punishment-based deterrence. The main findings can be summarized as follows. The gap between social and private incentives negatively affects the decision to file a qui tam case and the timing of whistle blowing. First, the divergence between private and social incentives of whistle blowing generates sub-optimal amounts of whistle blowing litigation in at least two instances. Whistle blowing is underprovided in all cases where free riding by the government discourages potential whistle blowers from initiating a socially valuable case. Whistle blowing is overprovided whenever qui tam private incentives conflict wi...
IciA protein, a specific inhibitor of initiation of Escherichia coli chromosomal replication.

Specific binding of IciA protein to the 13-mers in the origin of a minichromosome (oriC) inhibits initiation of replication in vitro by blocking the opening of this region effected by the initiator DnaA protein (Hwang, D.S., and Kornberg, A. (1990) Cell 63, 325-331). Isolation of the iciA gene (Thony, B., Hwang, D.S., Fradkin, L., and Kornberg, A. (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88, 4066-4070) has made possible the construction of an IciA-overproducing strain, which in turn has simplified the isolation of a large quantity of the protein, indistinguishable from that of the wild-type strain. Based on sedimentation and gel filtration, the IciA protein is an elongated dimer of a 33.4-kDa subunit. The specific binding of IciA protein to the 13-mers was stable for 2 h at 30 degrees C. The amounts of IciA protein, detected by immunoassays, increased 4-fold compared with levels (about 100 dimers) in log-phase cells whereas levels of DnaA protein decreased upon entry of cells into the stationary phase.
Optimization of targeted therapies to inhibit smooth muscle cell invasion in vitro

Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation and migration has been correlated with intimal hyperplasia (IH) after vascular interventions such as angioplasty, stenting, and vascular graft surgery. Therefore, therapies targeting inhibition of VSMC migration may lead to higher patency rates in vascular grafts and reduced IH in other vascular interventions. This study tested three targeted therapies and their combinations: hyperfunctional /spl alpha//sub v//spl beta//sub 3/integrin expression, cyclic-RGD release and tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease (TIMP)-1 release. It was found that a combination of 1.0 mM cyclic-RGD and 10 ng/mL TIMP-1 maximally inhibited smooth muscle cell invasion over individual or other combinations of treatments over 72 hours.
Ca2+/Calmodulin-dependent Protein Kinase (CaMK) Regulates Cell Cycle Progression in Osteosarcoma

4913 Osteosarcoma is the predominant primary malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents and is characterized by uncontrolled cell proliferation which when left untreated will progress to metastasis usually to the lungs or other bones. Overexpression of c-fos and subsequent alterations in the cell cycle have been suggested to be involved in the neoplastic transformation of osteoblasts. We have previously shown that CaMK is expressed in osteoblasts and regulates c-fos expression. The purpose of this work is to examine the role of CaMK in the growth of osteosarcoma. Here we show by immunofluorescence that α-CaMKII is expressed in all osteosarcoma cell lines and in primary human tumor tissue tested. Pharmacologic inhibition of CaMK by 10μM KN93 resulted in an 80% inhibition of the proliferation of osteosarcoma cells as determined by an MTT assay and cell counting. Furthermore, the inhibition of CaMK caused a 133% increase in the number of cells that are in the G1 phase of the cell cycle suggesting a role for CaMK in cell cycle progression. These results are confirmed by demonstrating a dramatic decrease in the number and size of colonies formed by osteosarcoma cells grown in growth factor reduced Matrigel supplemented with 10 μM KN93. In addition, KN93 dramatically decreased the size of tumor growth resulting from subcutaneous injection of osteosarcoma cells in a nude mice in vivo model. Mechanistically, we show that KN93 decreases protein levels of cyclin D2, c-Myc and the phosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein and increases p21. These results strongly suggest that inhibition of CaMK decreases the proliferation of osteosarcoma cells and promotes cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase.
Relationships in Time and the Life Course: The Significance of Linked Lives

Life’s strongest storylines are punctuated by and enmeshed with other people. The principle of “linked lives”—that the lives of individuals affect and are affected by the lives of others—is repeated as a mantra in life course literature. And yet this stands in direct contrast to the state of research, which largely treats individuals as if they exist in isolation of others. This author’s wish for the study of human development is to take more seriously the interdependence of lives. To say that lives are “linked” says nothing about their nature, length, purposes, or consequences. The author illustrates the significance of social relationships in time—probing the beginnings, middles, and ends of relationships—and in shaping the life course. It is the author’s hope that developmental science will get better at revealing the intensity and complexity of human life as a social experience.
Insights to slip behavior on rough faults using discrete element modeling

[1] We simulate a range of fault slip behaviors using the discrete element method (DEM) to examine the controls on different slip modes on rough faults. Shear strain is imposed upon a 2-D bonded particle assemblage that contains a predefined fault. Slip modes on the fault vary from creep, to slow-slip, to stick-slip behavior, both spatially and temporally. The mode of slip is controlled largely by the local stress field along the fault, which depends on the local fault roughness. Portions of the fault that fail in relatively low normal stress regimes tend to slide continuously, whereas areas with high clamping stress produce stick-slip events. During stick-slip events, regions within the rupture zone that experience high slip are associated with physical asperities on the fault; ruptures terminate at barriers and through dissipation of the stored elastic energy. The simulated events show stress drops between 0.2–50 MPa, a slightly larger range than is inferred for natural earthquakes. Simulated events also have higher slip magnitudes than are observed during earthquakes for a given rupture length. The simulation produces many characteristics of fault behavior and is shown to be a successful avenue for future studies on the mechanics of fault slip.
Quantitation of fetal heart function with tissue Doppler velocity imaging-reference values for color tissue Doppler velocities and comparison with pulsed wave tissue Doppler velocities.

Quantitative assessment of fetal heart function has been difficult. Increasingly, tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) is used to measure fetal cardiac function noninvasively. There are two principal techniques, spectral pulsed wave (PW) TDI and color TDI (CTDI). Published reference values for fetal myocardial velocities are based on spectral PW TDI only. However, previous phantom, adult, and animal studies have shown that PW TDI velocities are systematically higher than CTDI velocities. There are no fetal studies so far. We hypothesized that myocardial velocities derived by PW TDI and CTDI are significantly different in the fetus. This prospective observational study included 91 fetuses (gestational age 28.6 ± 6.6 weeks; range 19-40 weeks) seen for routine prenatal ultrasound. From apical 4-chamber views, tricuspid ring (right ventricle), lateral and septal mitral ring were sampled by PW TDI and CTDI. Bland-Altman analysis was used for comparisons. PW and CTDI S' velocities correlated strongly in all three cardiac segments (r = 0.6 to 0.9; P < 0.01). There was a systematic bias toward higher velocities with PW TDI versus CTDI (bias 0.96 cm/s; 95% CI 1.08-0.85 cm/s). However, the strength of the correlation and bias varied depending on the region of the fetal heart sampled. PW TDI and CTDI velocity measurements are feasible in the fetus and correlate well. However, PW TDI velocities are higher than CTDI velocities with significant regional variation. This precludes a mathematical conversion of PW to CTDI in vivo. As PW TDI and color TDI vary, different reference values for fetal CTDI velocities were generated.
The Three Paradigms of Mass Media Research In Mainstream Communication Journals

Scholars who write about the paradigms influencing mass media research differ in their speculations. This study was conducted to provide an empirical analysis by examining six characteristics of mass media research articles published in eight major communication journals. The social science paradigm was found to account for over 60% of the studies, while the interpretive paradigm accounted for about 34% and the critical paradigm less than 6%. It was concluded that the social science paradigm, while being the majority paradigm in the mainstream journals, could not be considered a dominant paradigm in the research field. Also, even though most of the research emulated the social science paradigm in purpose, it failed to meet scientific standards of theoretical orientation leading to quantitative data gathered by probabilistic sampling methods.