cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Patient-centered Information System to Enhance Patient Experience for the Elderly and Provide Strategic Advantage for the Provider

Despite the widespread provider acceptance of health information systems (HIS), there is little empirical evidence and no clear understanding that patient-centered HIS enhance the patient experience. This is especially true for elderly patients, whose involvement in their own care, through the use of a HIS, may have a major impact on their experience. In this study, we review opportunities for developing HIS features that support the integration of services for elderly patients while providing strategic advantages for the provider. We use the customer resource life cycle (CRLC) concept to identify the needs of patients at all stages of dealing with provider throughout the care delivery. To do so, we developed a scale that contained multiple statements for each of the 13 stages of CRLC. Then, using Q-methodology, we asked elderly patients to sort the statements in regard to HIS features that they would find beneficial if they were available to them. Using partial least squares (PLS) analysis, we tested our structural model and hypotheses and found that the perceived benefit of a patient-centered HIS has a direct effect on perceived patient experience when mediated by patient education.
Omniscience and the problem of radical particularity: Does God know how to ride a bike?

Dieu sait-il faire du velo ? Quelque prosaique que paraisse cette question, elle a du moins le merite d'offrir un raccourci saisissant de la problematique que l'A. developpe ici : l'omniscience de Dieu. Le probleme se situe au niveau de la relation entre connaissance et experience. Ce qui fait l'originalite de la connaissance humaine, c'est qu'elle est entierement le fruit de l'experience. En va-t-il de meme pour Dieu ?
Patient-reported toxicity after treatment for cancers of the head and neck.

6135 Background: Patients with cancers of the head and neck (HNC) may be at risk for significant late effects after treatment. Quality of life may be altered significantly as a result. This Interne...
Men With Severe Oligospermia Appear to Benefit From Varicocele Repair: A Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Assisted Reproductive Technology.

Objective To evaluate the outcomes of men who underwent varicocelectomy for total motile sperm count (TMSC) Methods We prospectively collected data of men with TMSC Results A total of 17 men underwent varicocele repair for TMSC Conclusion Varicocelectomy increases TMSC in severely oligospermic patients, thus providing previously ineligible couples an opportunity to elect for IUI, a less invasive and less expensive alternative to in vitro fertilization with intracyctoplasmic sperm injection.
Is Air Pollution Controlled Enough? “Tapered Probabilities” Answer

Air pollution is dangerous sespecially to the residents in cities, as it causes lung, heart, or respiratory illness. Public health professionals ponder whether the air pollution is significantly controilled. The amount of existing air pollution is measurable, but not its regulated level, which is therefore as a parameter in a novel manner in this article. However, there is no suitable methodology in the literature to extract and test whether the an estimated data evidence about the regulated air pollution level is significant. To fulfill the need, this article constructs a methodology based on tapered probability model for the air pollution data. Our new methodology is demonstrated using the air pollution data in African, American, Asian, European and Oceanic continents.
A nonparametric frontier measure of marketing efficiency: An illustration with corn ethanol plants

This article extends nonparametric measures of efficiency to accommodate the concept of marketing efficiency, which measures changes in net revenues brought about by firms’ use of marketing channels other than spot markets. The measure is appropriate for firms operating under atomistic competition with imperfect information. The proposed measure displays two important features: (a) it uses the alternative of a spot price‐based counterfactual to distinguish marketing from allocative efficiency, and (b) it allows for the fact that firms operate in different spot markets and have access to diverse sets of prices. We illustrate this approach with a unique dataset from ethanol plants in the U.S. Corn Belt. [EconLit citations: C61, D2, L2].
Nanotechnology, the Brain, and Personal Identity

Revolution ruptures the status quo and introduces a new era with little room to look back. Whether by way of war and political uprising or via new inventions, this vehicle of change is ever present in history. Today’s technological revolution has allowed scientists and engineers to sprint toward new advancements, but not without pause for ethical concerns. In an age where new knowledge is growing exponentially, it is important to consider the societal implications of up-and-coming innovations. Especially with regard to biomedical devices, progress has been rapid and the possibilities of the future seem boundless. However, with so much potential, it is important to ask, “Just because we can, does that mean we should?”
Introduction to SAS Graphics

Template-based SAS statistical graphics are introduced here using the SAS ODS graphics-based SG (statistical graphics) system. The SAS procedures SGPLOT, SGPANEL, and SGSCATTER are discussed along with key statements available for producing many useful statistical graphics applications. Other SAS procedures such as UNIVARIATE, TTEST, and GLM that produce template-based graphics are also used in various illustrations.
Factor structure and validity of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale – Third Edition (ECERS-3)

Abstract The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale – Third Edition (ECERS-3) is the latest version of one of the most widely used observational tools for assessing the quality of classrooms serving preschool-aged children. This study was the first assessment of its factor structure and validity, an important step given its widespread use. An ECERS-3 observation was conducted in 1063 preschool classrooms in three states. In a subset of those classrooms (n = 119), Classroom Assessment Scoring System – Pre-K (CLASS Pre-K) and child assessment data were also collected. Analyses of the ECERS-3 suggested that a single factor does not adequately capture item variability. Of the solutions tested, the four-factor (Learning Opportunities, Gross Motor, Teacher Interactions, and Math Activities) provided the best combination of statistical support and theoretical utility. In general, the ECERS-3 Total Score and the four factors were moderately correlated with the three domains of the CLASS Pre-K. ECERS-3 Total Score, Learning Opportunities, and Teacher Interactions were positively related to growth in executive function, as were all three domains of the CLASS Pre-K. However, all significant associations were small, and most tested associations between ECERS-3 scores and children’s growth, and between CLASS Pre-K and children’s growth, were not significant. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for measuring preschool quality.
Genetic Vulnerability to Eating Disorders and Substance Use Disorders

It is well established that there is substantial comorbidity between eating disorders and substance use disorders. However, it is unclear why these two disorders frequently co-occur. It has been hypothesized that the two disorders may share a common etiology, which could be genetic in nature. There is ample evidence that the eating disorders, specifically anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, and a variety of substance use disorders have a genetic component, yet little research has explored whether these genetic factors are shared. This chapter reviews the current empirical literature indicating that anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa and substance use disorders are influenced by genetic factors, as well as preliminary findings exploring whether these disorders indeed share a genetic architecture. We close with suggestions for future research to further elucidate the shared genetic risk between eating disorders and substance use disorders.
How Many Karma Theories Are There

A very long time ago (specifically, back on the '50s when I was just concluding my Sanskrit studies with Dan Ingalls) I was asked to help lead a project that concerned the theory of karma and rebirth. Several meetings were held with the assistance of such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Rockfeller Institute, and papers were presented at meetings of the Association for Asian Studies and other groups. Two volumes resulted; a third was projected but never came to fruition.1 As an instigator of that project I feel, at this late date, some responsi bility to report on a feature arising from our researches, a feature that seems to me its most remarkable result. That is that there is no such thing as "the" theory or law of karma, and that criticisms launched against "it", as well as generalization offered about it, fail regularly because of this fact. Clarity about karma in India cannot, as a result, be expected until some effort is made to unravel the various different notions conflated in the literature.
There must be a better way: piloting alternate routes around heart failure hospitalizations.

The need for hospitalization is a sentinel event in the life of a patient with heart failure ([1,2][1]). Within 30 days of hospital admission with heart failure, nearly 1 in 10 patients is dead and 1 in 4 has been readmitted, half of these because of recurrent symptoms of heart failure ([3][2]).
Cytological studies inScirpus (Cyperaceae)

Karyotypes and meiosis inScirpus jacobi (2n=28),S. supinus (2n=28),S. lateriflorus (2n=30) andS. juncoides (2n=76) have been investigated. The chromosomes in all these species have been found to possess localized centromeres.
Role of antibody heavy and light chain interface residues in affinity maturation of binding to HIV envelope glycoprotein

The FV region of an antibody consists of the heavy chain (HC) and light chain (LC) variable domains whose association is maintained by a series of conserved, non-polar interactions. During chronic infections, somatic mutations are induced, often in the HC/LC interface. Sequence variation in these interactions allows the HC and LC domains to inhabit a range of orientations relative to one another. Thus, we hypothesize that these interface mutations are critical to orient and rigidify the HC/LC interface to arrange the paratope for optimal interaction with the antigen, thereby affecting antigen binding affinity allosterically. To test this hypothesis, we measured the HC/LC orientation of a set of broad and potent human HIV neutralizing antibodies. The HC/LC interface of these antibodies contained a large number of mutations and achieved unusual relative orientations compared to other human antibodies. We expressed and characterized a panel of recombinant HIV CD4 binding site antibodies as the fully matured variant and compared these with variants mutated to the HC/LC interface of the inferred unmutated common ancestor antibody. We found that HC/LC interface reverted antibodies have a reduced affinity, confirming that introduction of somatic mutations in the HC/LC interface was one of the critical steps in affinity maturation. We then used the Rosetta software suite to examine the mechanisms through which these mutations affect binding affinity. We determined to what extent the mutations were critical in altering the relative orientation of HC/LC domains to a conformation that is competent to bind the antigen. We further determined whether the mutations excluded alternative HC/LC conformations that would be incompetent to bind the antigen. These findings suggest that somatic mutations in the HC/LC interface, distant from the antigen/antibody contact region, play a critical role in affinity maturation of HIV antibodies by preconfiguring the bound conformation of the antibody in the orientation required for high affinity recognition of the antigen. Thus, optimization of HC/LC interface could serve as an important tool for maximizing antibody/antigen binding affinity without altering antigen contact residues.
100.32 Left Ventricular Unloading and Delayed Reperfusion Reduces Infarct Size to a Greater Extent in Women With Large Anterior STEMi. A Substudy From the DTU-STEMI Safety And Feasibility Trial

There is a growing interest in understanding the nuances of cardiac disease in women. Women suffering from STEMI wait longer to seek treatment, often receive different treatment, and have worse outcomes than men. The recently completed the STEMI Door-To-Unload Pilot Trial (DTU-STEMI) was the first
Late Holocene hydroclimate variability in Costa Rica: Signature of the terminal classic drought and the Medieval Climate Anomaly in the northern tropical Americas

Abstract In the northern tropical Americas (Neotropics), notable hydrological variability has been documented in multi-proxy paleoclimate records between ∼600 and 1200 CE. This interval generally overlaps with the Maya Terminal Classic Drought (TCD: ∼770–1100 CE) and the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA: ∼950–1250 CE). There is, however, limited paleoclimate data that provide reliable estimates of terrestrial thermal variability in southern Central America during this time. In this study, we present chironomid-based temperature reconstructions, developed from sediment cores from two lakes: (1) Lago Morrenas 3C, a high-elevation glacial lake located on the crest of the Atlantic slope of the Cordillera Talamanca, Costa Rica, and (2) Laguna Zoncho, a mid-elevation lake located on the Pacific slope in southern Costa Rica. Distinctive shifts in the chironomid assemblages occurred at both sites between ∼610 and 1230 CE. These changes are inferred to reflect an ∼600-year interval characterized by depressed mean annual temperatures at Lago Morrenas 3C and dry conditions and lake level decline at Laguna Zoncho. Taken together, the multi-proxy paleoclimate records from these two lakes, including stable carbon isotope (δ13C) and charcoal data, suggest that middle elevations on the Pacific slope and high elevations on the Atlantic slope of Costa Rica experienced sustained drought, and possible cooling coeval with the TCD-MCA interval. The timing of hydroclimate variability in these records provides support for the hypothesis that cooling and drought in the northern tropical Americas during the TCD and early MCA were linked to thermal changes in the tropical North Atlantic.
Existence and Uniqueness of Weak Solutions to a Class of Degenerate Cross Diffusion Systems

We consider a class of cross diffusion systems with degenerate (or porous media type) diffusion which is inspired by models in mathematical biology/ecology with zero self diffusions. Known techniques for scalar equations are no longer available here as maximum/comparison principles are generally unavailable for systems. However, we will provide the existence of weak solutions to the degenerate systems under mild integrability conditions of strong solutions to nondegenerate systems and show that they converge to a weak solution of the degerate system. These conditions will be verified for the model introduced by Shigesada {\it et al.}. Uniqueness of limiting and unbounded weak solutions will also be proved.
Plumage manipulation alters the integration of social behavior, physiology, internal microbiome, and fitness.

Signals often covary with physiological and behavioral traits to form an axis of integrated phenotypic variation associated with reproductive performance. This pattern of phenotypic integration could result from intrinsic between-individual differences that are causally related to signal production, physiology, and behavior. Alternatively, signal expression itself might generate dynamic feedback between physiology, behavior, and the experienced social environment, resulting in an integrated phenotype. Here, we manipulated the plumage of female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) to decouple the expression of a social signal from any pre-existing behavioral or physiological differences. We collected a time series of physiological samples, monitored social interactions with a sensor network, and tracked reproductive performance. Relative to sham controls, dulled females experienced an altered social environment; overall, these females were visited more by conspecific females and less by males. Dulled females subsequently changed their own behavior by initiating fewer interactions and increasing nestling provisioning. These differences resulted in an altered internal microbiome and glucose levels and, ultimately, dulled females produced more offspring. Moreover, dulled females produced larger clutches than control females in the year after the manipulation. Thus, signal variation alone--independent from any pre-existing differences--had a sustained causal affect on a suite of integrated traits. This finding suggests that dynamic feedback may play an important role in coordinating an integrated signaling phenotype. Our results have implications for understanding how variation in signal expression arises and is maintained and the extent to which the information encoded in signals is contingent upon their use in a social environment.
Online interventions geared toward increasing resilience and reducing distress in family caregivers.

Purpose of review Family caregivers of patients with cancer often spend a great deal of effort on physically and emotionally demanding work while taking care of patients. However, the majority of caregivers are not properly equipped for their role as caregivers, which may lead to increased distress in both caregivers and patients. Herein, we reviewed the recent literature (last 3 years) examining online interventions that seek to support caregiver resilience and decrease distress. Recent findings Our search identified interventions involving three main themes: informational support, positive activities, and social support. These are mostly in the form of web-based tools and mobile apps targeting both usability and quality of life. Social network services are also considered in this review as a new environment for caregivers to connect with other individuals with lived experience in similar circumstances. Summary Existing studies on online interventions to support caregivers is still at a formative development stage and pilot tests of feasibility, rather than a substantive body of randomized controlled trials to assess the impact in different user populations, or to determine specific factors that impact caregiver distress level or resilience. More research is needed to further assess the long-term effects of online interventions on caregiver stress and resilience. Also, the role of different types of social network services and new forms of interaction, such as conversational agents, has not yet been fully investigated in caregiver populations. Future research should strive to seek new modes of providing services that may present novel opportunities to enhance caregiver resilience and reduce distress.
Point of no return: COVID-19 and the U.S. healthcare system: An emergency physician's perspective.

In medicine, we examine our errors closely. Since the publication of “To Err is Human” by the Institute of Medicine at the end of the last century, patient safety and quality are priorities ( 1 ). One core principle is that we cannot improve care if we do not examine our errors and use them to change our processes. Errors are destined to be repeated and risk to patients further magnified when we do not learn from mistakes. The last few months have tragically left us with ample opportunities to improve. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified pre-existing deficiencies and inequities of our healthcare system. US healthcare is incentivized to react to sickness rather than proactively focus on health maintenance. As an emergency physician, I witness the impact of this approach daily. Far more money and effort are expended on minimally impactful interventions than addressing social determinants of health such as housing, food security and safety from violence. Collectively, these have a greater impact on healthcare outcomes than any pill. Procedures to manage illness are well-compensated, but public health systems to improve population health are underfunded and understaffed. On any given day, emergency departments (EDs) operate near or over capacity. A lack of inpatient beds forces EDs to hold admitted patients until space is available. ED care is then shunted to suboptimal conditions, leaving us to care for patients in waiting rooms, chairs, and hallways ( 2 ). Such reactionary systems fail spectacularly in the face of time-sensitive emergencies, because they lack the plasticity to respond quickly ( 3 ). Our healthcare and public health systems have faltered in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The question remains, will we learn from our mistakes? COVID-19 is a slow-moving mass casualty incident (MCI). An MCI occurs when the available …
Re)Categorizing Defamation

This Article makes a tort-based argument for reassessing modern defamation law. It opens by considering the role that defendant agency plays in the search for wrongfulness throughout the intentional torts, negligence, and strict liability. While a defendant’s control over his behavior is a crucial precondition for intentional tort or negligence liability, the piece suggests that it is the knowing and purposeful forfeiture of control over risk-insensitive instrumentalities that justifies the assignment of liability on a strict basis for select undertakings. Building on this insight, the piece suggests that the original media defamation defendants, job printers, were subject to strict liability because they duplicated for mass consumption, by remote readers, words whose capacity to harm they could not control. However, as the media evolved throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, publishers exercised increasingly greater control over the words they distributed and the audiences who would read them. Consequently, when the Supreme Court decided in 1964 to treat tort law as an instrument of speech policy, publisher control made it convenient and theoretically attractive to incentivize bold coverage of government and society by shifting away from strict liability and requiring plaintiffs to prove some media fault. Ironically, almost immediately after the Court shifted the basis for holding media defendants liable for defamation, publisher control over financial decisions, distribution technology, and content generation began to recede. Most notably, the modern media increasingly uses algorithms to produce news stories that are posted directly to the Internet with no human oversight. In other words, the theoretical justification for the Court’s modern fault requirement no longer exists. Moreover, the instrumental self-governance benefits of the modern fault requirement that the Court envisioned have not come to fruition. In fact, absent the quasi-warranty function performed by a strict rule that assigned liability for even inadvertent errors, and the introduction of a regime that excuses errors not arising from intent or negligence, consumers no longer equate “news” with “truth.” This disconnect has arguably contributed to public despair about the possibility of self-educating and self-governing by consuming news. The piece concludes by asking whether, for both theoretical and instrumental reasons, it is worth reconsidering a default rule of strict liability for the defamation tort.
Minimally invasive radical nephrectomy: a contemporary review

Minimally invasive renal surgery has revolutionized the surgical management of renal cancer since the initial report of laparoscopic nephrectomy in 1991. Laparoscopic nephrectomy became the mainstay of management in surgically resectable renal masses since the 1990s. The growing body of literature supporting nephron-sparing surgery over the last two decades has meant that minimally invasive radical nephrectomy (MI-RN) is now the preferred treatment for renal tumors not amenable to partial nephrectomy. While there is a well-described experience with complex radical nephrectomy using standard laparoscopy, robot-assisted surgery has shortened the learning curve and facilitated greater uptake of minimally invasive surgery in difficult surgical scenarios traditionally performed open surgically. Increased experience and expertise with robot-assisted renal surgery has led to expansion of the indications for MI-RN to include larger masses, locally advanced renal masses invading adjacent tissues or regional hilar/retroperitoneal lymph nodes, cytoreductive nephrectomy (CN) in metastatic disease, and concurrent venous tumor thrombectomy for renal vein or inferior vena cava (IVC) involvement. In this article, we review the various surgical techniques and adjunctive procedures associated with MI-RN.
Whole‐exome sequencing identified novel compound heterozygous variants in a Chinese neonate with liver failure and review of literature

Background Liver failure caused by TRMU is a rare hereditary disorder and clinically manifests into metabolic acidosis, hyperlactatemia, and hypoglycemia. Limited spectrum of TRMU pathogenic variants has been reported. Methods Whole-exome sequencing was employed for the diagnosis of a 5-day-old female who suffered from severe neonatal hyperlactatemia and hypoglycemia since birth. Sanger sequencing was performed to confirm the origin of the variants subsequently. Variants classification was followed to ACMG guideline. Results A compound heterozygosity of a frameshiftc.34_35dupTC (p.Gly13fs) and a missense c.244T>G (p.Phe82Val) in TRMU was detected, both variants are novel and pathogenic. Analysis of clinical and genetic information including patients reported previously indicated that there is no significant correlation between the genotype and the phenotype of TRMU-caused liver failure. Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of TRMU-caused liver failure in China. Whole-exome sequencing is effective for conclusive diagnosis of this disorder and beneficial for its clinical management.
Gravel inlet hydrology and trends of contaminant concentration and loading

In Le Sueur County Minnesota the hydrology of a gravel inlet system was explored using curves of water height surface velocity rainfall rate for major rainfall events in The stage discharge relationship of the gravel inlet was presented based on water height and discharge rate measured in the field Three types of flow were identified in the gravel inlet system ponded edge and sidewall The first type of flow dominated in most of rainfall events This location had a surface inlet system before being converted to a gravel inlet system The difference of flow capacity between the two systems was evaluated with average flow rate from two similar events in June of and June of The flow system of the surrounding area influenced the flow capacity more than the equipment field setup for either surface or gravel inlet by generating back pressure in the outlet pipe Contaminant loadings were examined by monitoring their above and below gravel concentrations The gravel inlet reduced to some extent the concentrations of total solids chemical oxygen demand particulate phosphorus and total phosphorus Trapping efficiency of the gravel inlet ranged from to with respect to previously listed contaminants Concentration of soluble contaminants such as soluble phosphorus and nitrate increased over the duration of each rainfall event Ponding of water in the depression played a major role in releasing soluble phosphorus via oxygen depletion and decreased redox potential Nitrate concentration increased significantly toward the end of one rainfall event An estimation of gravel longevity was attempted based on the assumed uniform deposition of total solids over the void volume in the gravel trench and on the quantity of total solids deposited The gravel matrix was filled with sediment at compared to its initial void volume following the rainfall events of summer
Pyridostigmine improves cardiac function and rhythmicity through RyR2 stabilization and inhibition of STIM1‐mediated calcium entry in heart failure

Heart failure (HF) is characterized by asymmetrical autonomic balance. Treatments to restore parasympathetic activity in human heart failure trials have shown beneficial effects. However, mechanisms of parasympathetic-mediated improvement in cardiac function remain unclear. The present study examined the effects and underpinning mechanisms of chronic treatment with the cholinesterase inhibitor, pyridostigmine (PYR), in pressure overload HF induced by transverse aortic constriction (TAC) in mice. TAC mice exhibited characteristic adverse structural (left ventricular hypertrophy) and functional remodelling (reduced ejection fraction, altered myocyte calcium (Ca) handling, increased arrhythmogenesis) with enhanced predisposition to arrhythmogenic aberrant sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca release, cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2) hyper-phosphorylation and up-regulated store-operated Ca entry (SOCE). PYR treatment resulted in improved cardiac contractile performance and rhythmic activity relative to untreated TAC mice. Chronic PYR treatment inhibited altered intracellular Ca handling by alleviating aberrant Ca release and diminishing pathologically enhanced SOCE in TAC myocytes. At the molecular level, these PYR-induced changes in Ca handling were associated with reductions of pathologically enhanced phosphorylation of RyR2 serine-2814 and STIM1 expression in HF myocytes. These results suggest that chronic cholinergic augmentation alleviates HF via normalization of both canonical RyR2-mediated SR Ca release and non-canonical hypertrophic Ca signaling via STIM1-dependent SOCE.
Questioning the Comma in Verse 13 of the Word of Wisdom

The 1921 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants included an additional comma, which was inserted after the word “used” in D&C 89:13: “And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.” Later authors have speculated that the addition of the comma was a mistake that fundamentally changed the meaning of the verse. This article examines this “errant comma theory” and demonstrates why this particular interpretation of D&C 89:13 is without merit. In 1921, a committee of five apostles who had recently completed a new edition of the Book of Mormon began preparing a new edition of the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C). Elder James E. Talmage, a member of the committee, noted that previous editions of the D&C contained “many errors by way of omission.”1 The most significant change in this new edition was the removal of the “Lectures on Faith,” but the committee also expanded the headnotes, revised the footnotes, and divided the pages into double columns.2 Numerous smaller changes were also made. As one of the many changes published in the revised 1921 edition, a new comma appeared in verse 13 of section 89, 1 Richard E. Turley Jr. and William W. Slaughter, How We Got the Doctrine and Covenants (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2012), 101. 2 Turley and Slaughter, How We Got the Doctrine and Covenants, 105. Questioning the Comma in Verse 13 of the Word of Wisdom
Is it time to offer elective percutaneous treatment of the unprotected left main coronary artery

As the techniques for catheter-based intervention continue to be refined, up to 35% of patients who undergo diagnostic catheterization are referred for such therapy, while only roughly 25% are referred for bypass surgery. Much of this growth in the use of catheter-based intervention has come from
The Threatened Constitutionalization of the Internal Affairs Doctrine in Corporation Law

The social stress attendant on the recent merger, takeover, and buyout wave understandably has led to state efforts to impose some regulatory controls on these corporate processes and, in turn, to federal efforts to control the state regulatory developments.' The Supreme Court's 1982 decision in Edgar v. MITE Corp. 2 signalled a shift of direction in federal judicial scrutiny of state regulatory efforts. That decision moved away from the potentially preemptive effects of the Williams Act under supremacy clause principles and towards the less controllable and more freewheeling use of dormant commerce clause doctrine. The particular use or misuse of traditional commerce clause balancing tests in that case can be criticized;3 in addition, some courts since 1982 reverted to a Williams Act preemption argument4 despite its failure to command a Supreme Court majority in Edgar. Most courts, however, used the
Compensation of frequency dispersion in time reversal techniques for ultra-wideband electromagnetic waves

The time reversal (TR) invariance of Maxwell's equation is broken in a lossy dispersive medium. Although phase shift induced by the dispersion is automatically compensated by the TR process (via phase conjugation), attenuation during both forward and back-propagation in dispersive media is inevitable. A method based on short-time Fourier to compensate small losses due to dispersive attenuation due to has been proposed here. Numerical results were used to illustrate the effectiveness of the approach. Extension of the method to random medium and optimal windowing schemes are possible future research directions
Effects of epidural morphine on gastrointestinal transit in unmedicated horses

Abstract Objective To evaluate the effect of epidural morphine on gastrointestinal (GI) motility in horses. Study design Randomly ordered crossover design. Animals Six healthy adult horses weighing 585 ± 48 kg (mean ± SD). Methods Horses were randomly assigned to receive either 0.2 mg kg −1 morphine or an equal volume (0.04 mL kg −1 ) of saline epidurally (the first inter coccygeal space) with 2 weeks between treatments. The horses were stabled, fed a standardized diet and allowed water ad libitum throughout the duration of the study. Radiopaque spheres were administered by stomach tube. Xylazine 0.2 mg kg −1 intravenously was administered prior to epidural injection. Heart rate, respiratory rate, GI sounds score and behavior score were recorded before drug administration and after epidural injection at 4, 8, 12, 18, 24 hours and every 12 hours thereafter for 6 days. Feces were weighed, radiographed and the number of spheres counted. Data were analyzed using a mixed effect model. Results At no time did horses exhibit signs of colic or show significant differences between treatments regarding heart rate, respiratory rate, GI sounds score, behavior score, or cumulative number of spheres. The concentration of spheres per kg of feces was significantly lower ( p −1 plotted versus time) the average transit time after saline epidural was 38 hours and after morphine it was 43 hours. The weight of feces hour −1 was significantly lower ( p Conclusions and clinical relevance Epidural morphine, at a dose of 0.2 mg kg −1 , temporarily reduced GI motility but did not cause ileus or colic in this small group of healthy unfasted horses. Care should be taken when extrapolating these data to situations in which other factors may also affect GI motility.
Optical guiding and electron acceleration in the laser wakefield accelerator

The laser wakefield acceleration concept is studied using a general 2D formulation based on relativistic fluid equations. Simulations of an intense laser pulse propagating in a plasma address both optical guiding and wakefield generation issues. It is shown that relativistic guiding is ineffective in preventing the diffraction of short pulses and long pulses are broken up into beamlet segments due to wakefield effects. The use of preformed plasma density channels or tailored pulse profiles allows intense laser propagation over many Rayleigh lengths. The ponderomotive force associated with the laser pulse envelope generates large amplitude accelerating and focusing wakefields over long distances to achieve electron trapping, acceleration and focusing.
Five Days in London, May 1940

(2000). Five Days in London, May 1940. History: Reviews of New Books: Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 22-23.
Intrinsic Membrane Properties Underlying Spontaneous Tonic Firing in Neostriatal Cholinergic Interneurons

Neostriatal cholinergic interneurons produce spontaneous tonic firing in the absence of synaptic input. Perforated patch recording and whole-cell recording combined with calcium imaging were used in vitro to identify the intrinsic membrane properties underlying endogenous excitability. Spontaneous firing was driven by the combined action of a sodium current and the hyperpolarization-activated cation current (I(h)), which together ensured that there was no zero current point in the subthreshold voltage range. Blockade of sodium channels or I(h) established a stable subthreshold resting membrane potential. A tetrodotoxin-sensitive region of negative slope conductance was observed between approximately -60 mV and threshold (approximately -50 mV) and the h-current was activated at all subthreshold voltages. Calcium imaging experiments revealed that there was minimal calcium influx at subthreshold membrane potentials but that action potentials produced elevations of calcium in both the soma and dendrites. Spike-triggered calcium entry shaped the falling phase of the action potential waveform and activated calcium-dependent potassium channels. Blockade of big-conductance channels caused spike broadening. Application of apamin, which blocks small-conductance channels, abolished the slow spike afterhyperpolarization (AHP) and caused a transition to burst firing. In the absence of synaptic input, a range of tonic firing patterns are observed, suggesting that the characteristic spike sequences described for tonically active cholinergic neurons (TANs) recorded in vivo are intrinsic in origin. The pivotal role of the AHP in regulating spike patterning indicates that burst firing of TANs in vivo could arise from direct or indirect modulation of the AHP without requiring phasic synaptic input.
Biometrics IRB best practices and data protection

The collection of data from human subjects for biometrics research in the United States requires the development of a data collection protocol that is reviewed by a Human Subjects Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB reviews the protocol for risks and approves it if it meets the criteria for approval specified in the relevant Federal regulations (45 CFR 46). Many other countries operate similar mechanisms for the protection of human subjects. IRBs review protocols for safety, confidentiality, and for minimization of risk associated with identity disclosure. Since biometric measurements are potentially identifying, IRB scrutiny of biometrics data collection protocols can be expected to be thorough. This paper discusses the intricacies of IRB best practices within the worldwide biometrics community. This is important because research decisions involving human subjects are made at a local level and do not set a precedent for decisions made by another IRB board. In many cases, what one board approves is not approved by another board, resulting in significant inconsistencies that prove detrimental to both researchers and human subjects. Furthermore, the level of biometrics expertise may be low on IRBs, which can contribute to the unevenness of reviews. This publication will suggest possible best practices for designing and seeking IRB approval for human subjects research involving biometrics measurements. The views expressed are the opinions of the authors.
Rhesus rotavirus VP4 sequence-specific activation of mononuclear cells is associated with cholangiopathy in murine biliary atresia.

Biliary atresia (BA), a neonatal obstructive cholangiopathy, remains the most common indication for pediatric liver transplantation in the United States. In the murine model of BA, Rhesus rotavirus...
Callous-unemotional traits and empathy deficits: Mediating effects of affective perspective-taking and facial emotion recognition.

Although empathy deficits are thought to be associated with callous-unemotional (CU) traits, findings remain equivocal and little is known about what specific abilities may underlie these purported deficits. Affective perspective-taking (APT) and facial emotion recognition may be implicated, given their independent associations with both empathy and CU traits. The current study examined how CU traits relate to cognitive and affective empathy and whether APT and facial emotion recognition mediate these relations. Participants were 103 adolescents (70 males) aged 16–18 attending a residential programme. CU traits were negatively associated with cognitive and affective empathy to a similar degree. The association between CU traits and affective empathy was partially mediated by APT. Results suggest that assessing mechanisms that may underlie empathic deficits, such as perspective-taking, may be important for youth with CU traits and may inform targets of intervention.
Persistence of equilibria under weight variation of feedback continuous-time neural network

For binary patterns, the authors consider the variation of equilibria of the Hopfield-type feedback continuous-time neural network due to perturbations. They show that the equilibria of the feedback continuous-time neural network and its perturbed network are very close as long as the variation of weights is relatively small. The variation of the equilibria can be estimated given the upper bound of the variation of weights. >
Hearing genes and cisplatin deafness: a pilot study.

Objective: Cisplatin commonly is used to treat pediatric solid tumors. A major dose-limiting toxicity is sensorineural hearing loss. Which patients experience ototoxicity after treatment with cisplatin must reflect individual susceptibility, since it is not seen in all similarly treated patients. We hypothesized that mutations or polymorphisms in hearing genes are more common in patients who experience ototoxicity than in the general population. Study Design: We completed retrospective mutation screening of GJB2 and SLC26A4 and screened for three mtDNA mutations in patients with a history of childhood cancer who developed severe hearing loss at cumulative cisplatin doses of less than 400 mg/M2. Materials and Methods: Patients younger than 21 years of age who experienced severe hearing loss after cisplatin were identified using the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study database. Archival DNA from buccal washes of 11 patients was used for mutation screening and detection. Results: With the exception of one patient (9.1%) who was a carrier for the 35delG mutation, no mutant alleles were found. Given the reported prevalence of the 35delG mutation in the general population of 2.5%, this result is not significant (P = .35). Conclusions: It is not likely that any of the five hearing genes we examined contribute to cisplatin ototoxicity. Further study may be warranted to look at other hearing genes as possible predictors of cisplatin ototoxicity.
Vineyard δ15N, nitrogen and water status in perennial clover and bunch grass cover crop systems of California's central valley

Abstract Perennial cover crops offer a wide range of agronomic and environmental benefits to agroecosystems. Two such cover crops, a perennial legume (strawberry clover) and a perennial native bunch grass mix, were analyzed for water and nitrogen status in a California central valley vineyard. Soil in the rhizomatous clover cover crop system had high water content, total N, soluble N, and vegetative cover as well as low weed density compared to the soil in the bunch grass cover crop system. Similarly, grape leaves in the clover system had higher percent N and δ 15 N than those in the bunch grass system. High δ 15 N in the clover system may be due to increased rates of anaerobic denitrification and other fractionating processes associated with N turnover in the wet, N-rich system. The strawberry clover appears to be a more effective cover crop in this vineyard, where the increased N could mitigate the need for chemical fertilizers and reduce nitrate leaching into surrounding watersheds.
Unreliability of the rat stomach fundus as a predictor of hallucinogenic activity in substituted phenethylamines

A series of three isomeric 2,4,5-substituted monoethoxy dimethoxy phenylisopropylamines were compared for their contractile effect in the rat fundus as potential antagonists to the effect of serotonin in the fundus. The three isomers were also evaluated for their discriminative stimulus properties in rats that had been trained to discriminate injections of saline from LSD tartrate (0.08 mg/kg). The drug discrimination studies revealed that the 2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethoxy substitution was most potent in rats, consistent with the reported clinical activity of this isomer in man. By contrast, of the three isomers examined, this was the weakest in eliciting a contraction in the fundus. None of the compounds antagonized serotonin induced contractions, and it was not possible to determine pA2 values. Questions are raised about the determination of pA2 values for partial agonists and it is concluded that the fundus is not a reliable model for prediction of hallucinogenic activity of phenethylamines.
Expected MSE of errors-in-variables and omitted variables models

Abstract In regression analysis, should one include or exclude a proxy for an unobservable if interest is on another regressor? We consider expectations of a loss function for several priors for unobserved parameters in errors-in-variables models.
Sororin, the cell cycle and sister chromatid cohesion.

Sister chromatid cohesion is essential for the maintenance of genome integrity. Errors in regulation of cohesion result in increased sensitivity to DNA damage, mis-segregation of chromosomes, and loss of genetic information. We recently showed that sororin is an essential regulator of sister chromatid cohesion in vertebrates. Interestingly, we identified sororin in a screen for proteins whose levels are controlled by the Anaphase Promoting Complex (APC), a cell cycle –regulated ubiquitin ligase. Ubiquitination by the APC and the resulting degradation ensure that sororin levels are low throughout G1 and only rise during S phase. We speculate that this regulation is an essential part of the mechanism that ensures that cohesion is established only after there are in fact two sister chromatids to tie together. Cohesion thus established can then be used both to mediate recombinational DNA repair, as well as to ensure accurate sister chromatid segregation in anaphase. Both of these roles are essential to genome...
Dependence of the Performance of Single Photon Avalanche Diodes on the Multiplication Region Width

The dependence of the performance of separate-absorption-multiplication (SAM) single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) on the width of the multiplication region is theoretically investigated. The theory is applied to SAM SPADs with InP homojunction multiplication regions and InAlAs-InP heterojunction multiplication regions. In both cases the absorber layer is InGaAs. Two scenarios for the dark counts are considered: (i) low-temperature operation, when the number of dark carriers is dominated by field-assisted mechanisms of band-to-band tunneling and tunneling through defects; and (ii) room-temperature operation, when the number of dark carriers in the multiplication region is dominated by the generation/recombination mechanism. The analysis utilizes a generalized theory for breakdown probability, which takes into account the random locations where dark and photogenerated carriers are produced in each layer. Depending upon the detector temperature, as the width of the multiplication region is increased the effects from the reduction in the number of dark carriers due to field-assisted generation mechanisms are counteracted by the effects from the elevation in the number of generation/recombination dark carriers. Thus, there exists an optimal width of the multiplication region that achieves the best performance of the SPAD.