cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Inositol Phosphate-Calcium Signalling System in Lacrimal Gland Cells

In lacrimal gland cells, receptor-activated Ca2+ mobilization involves two phases: 1) Ca2+ release from an intracellular store, and 2) a more prolonged phase of extracellular Ca2+ entry (Parod and Putney, 1978; Putney, 1987). These two phases of the Ca2+ response can be dissected by stimulating cells with a phospholipase C-linked agonist in the presence or absence of extracellular Ca2+. In the absence of extracellular Ca2+, such stimulation results in a transient increase in Ca2+, originating from the release of a finite intracellular Ca2+ pool. In the presence of physiological (mM) extracellular Ca2+, the elevation in [Ca2+]i is sustained due to the additional component of extracellular Ca2+ influx. Extracellular Ca2+ influx is also the source for refilling of the intracellular Ca2+ pool upon termination of receptor activation.
Intraspecific classification of water-melon under cultivation

The ecogeographical classification of water-melon eliciting the principles governing the development of the above crop is presented. 10 ecogeographical groups were singled out differing in morphologic-anatomical characters and physiological properties of varieties. Based on statistical analysis the groups are included into 3 geographical types: the Russian, the Asiatic and the Eastern types. The idea is suggested on the initial position occupied by the Asiatic type in the evolution of water-melon.
Conceptually categorizing geographic features from text based on latent semantic analysis and ontologies

ABSTRACTCategorizing geographic features from text is a process of assigning a collection of text documents that describe geographic features to predefined categories. This paper presents a new approach to categorize geographic features from text that begins at the level of the individual document. Using latent semantic analysis, similar geographic features are grouped into predefined categories through capturing the semantic context of text. By incorporating ontologies into latent semantic analysis, the domain knowledge can be incorporated into the categorizing process. The proposed approach can allocate each geographic feature into more than one category and is able to identify a set of key concepts to represent each category. The results from an experimental evaluation using the proposed approach showed promise in categorizing geographic features from text.
The changing perspectives of trauma care : the sinkler memorial lecture

Trauma and the management of injuries have changed considerably over the past century. A sound understanding of the factors that generate injuries and sophisticated systems that can be accessed immediately are now in place in most of the United States. The concept of a team approach to the management of multiple system injuries using specialists from all disciplines has resulted in the reduction of morbidity and mortality. Although many of the challenges of managing the trauma patient have been overcome, there are still a number of exciting areas that lend themselves to ongoing research. These changing perspectives allow for many exciting challenges for the trauma team.
Cost comparison of searching the Iowa Drug Information Service index manually and by computer

A cost comparison of searching the Iowa Drug Information Service index manually and by computer is presented. Identical searches were performed on a computer system and by hand. The searches were timed and the results compared. Costs of start-up, maintenance, and operation were calculated for the manual and computer systems. Both systems yielded a similar number of relevant references. Start-up and maintenance costs were found more expensive for the computer system, but operational costs were less expensive (p less than 0.05). Operational costs varied according to the number of uses per year. Operational costs were found to increase faster for the manual system than the computer system. At 980 uses per year, the overall cost of the computer system was less than the manual system. A dedicated microcomputer system to search the Iowa Drug Information Service index was found less costly than, and as effective as, the common manual system.
SU-F-T-241: Reduction in Planning Errors Via a Process Control Developed Using the Eclipse Scripting API

Purpose: Errors found during initial physics plan checks frequently require replanning and reprinting, resulting decreased departmental efficiency. Additionally, errors may be missed during physics checks, resulting in potential treatment errors or interruption. This work presents a process control created using the Eclipse Scripting API (ESAPI) enabling dosimetrists and physicists to detect potential errors in the Eclipse treatment planning system prior to performing any plan approvals or printing. Methods: Potential failure modes for five categories were generated based on available ESAPI (v11) patient object properties: Images, Contours, Plans, Beams, and Dose. An Eclipse script plugin (PlanCheck) was written in C# to check errors most frequently observed clinically in each of the categories. The PlanCheck algorithms were devised to check technical aspects of plans, such as deliverability (e.g. minimum EDW MUs), in addition to ensuring that policy and procedures relating to planning were being followed. The effect on clinical workflow efficiency was measured by tracking the plan document error rate and plan revision/retirement rates in the Aria database over monthly intervals. Results: The number of potential failure modes the PlanCheck script is currently capable of checking for in the following categories: Images (6), Contours (7), Plans (8), Beams (17), and Dose (4). Prior to implementation of the PlanCheck plugin, the observed error rates in errored plan documents and revised/retired plans in the Aria database was 20% and 22%, respectively. Error rates were seen to decrease gradually over time as adoption of the script improved. Conclusion: A process control created using the Eclipse scripting API enabled plan checks to occur within the planning system, resulting in reduction in error rates and improved efficiency. Future work includes: initiating full FMEA for planning workflow, extending categories to include additional checks outside of ESAPI via Aria database queries, and eventual automated plan checks.
Nanoscale lateral displacement arrays for the separation of exosomes and colloids down to 20 nm

Lateral displacement pillar arrays can now be used to separate nanoscale colloids including exosomes, offering new opportunities for on-chip sorting and quantification of biocolloids by size. Deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) pillar arrays are an efficient technology to sort, separate and enrich micrometre-scale particles, which include parasites1, bacteria2, blood cells3 and circulating tumour cells in blood4. However, this technology has not been translated to the true nanoscale, where it could function on biocolloids, such as exosomes. Exosomes, a key target of ‘liquid biopsies’, are secreted by cells and contain nucleic acid and protein information about their originating tissue5. One challenge in the study of exosome biology is to sort exosomes by size and surface markers6,7. We use manufacturable silicon processes to produce nanoscale DLD (nano-DLD) arrays of uniform gap sizes ranging from 25 to 235 nm. We show that at low Peclet (Pe) numbers, at which diffusion and deterministic displacement compete, nano-DLD arrays separate particles between 20 to 110 nm based on size with sharp resolution. Further, we demonstrate the size-based displacement of exosomes, and so open up the potential for on-chip sorting and quantification of these important biocolloids.
Verdant: automated annotation, alignment and phylogenetic analysis of whole chloroplast genomes

Motivation Chloroplast genomes are now produced in the hundreds for angiosperm phylogenetics projects, but current methods for annotation, alignment and tree estimation still require some manual intervention reducing throughput and increasing analysis time for large chloroplast systematics projects. Results Verdant is a web-based software suite and database built to take advantage a novel annotation program, annoBTD. Using annoBTD, Verdant provides accurate annotation of chloroplast genomes without manual intervention. Subsequent alignment and tree estimation can incorporate newly annotated and publically available plastomes and can accommodate a large number of taxa. Verdant sharply reduces the time required for analysis of assembled chloroplast genomes and removes the need for pipelines and software on personal hardware. Availability and implementation Verdant is available at: http://verdant.iplantcollaborative.org/plastidDB/ It is implemented in PHP, Perl, MySQL, Javascript, HTML and CSS with all major browsers supported. Contact mrmckain@gmail.comSupplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Use of Class Facebook Groups to Disseminate Evidence-Based Study Tips

Objective: The purpose of this preliminary project was to determine the effectiveness of college administrators using Facebook® (FB) to disseminate information on study methods. Innovation: Eleven study tips in the format of riddles were posted in class FB groups as memes with links that lead to the riddle answers. Between 3.2-39.7% of students clicked on the links that accessed riddle answers. In a survey, 53.8% of respondents found the memes at least somewhat useful and 57.6% reported that they somewhat liked, liked, or liked them a lot. The average score on a study method knowledge assessment increased from 50% to 64%. Critical Analysis: The ratings of usefulness and likeability varied. However, students’ knowledge about the topic increased. Administrators considering using FB to share academic advice should post sparingly, begin posting when groups are initially formed and post early during the academic term. Conflict of Interest We declare no conflicts of interest or financial interests that the authors or members of their immediate families have in any product or service discussed in the manuscript, including grants (pending or received), employment, gifts, stock holdings or options, honoraria, consultancies, expert testimony, patents and royalties. Type: Note
Association between short and long sleep durations and cardiovascular outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background:A shorter sleep duration has been identified as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and increased mortality. It has been hypothesized that a short sleep duration may be linked to changes in ghrelin and leptin production, leading to an alteration of stress hormone production. Here, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the potential relationship between a sleep duration and cardiovascular disease mortality.Methods:We conducted a comprehensive search of Ovid Medline In-Process and other non-indexed citations, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Ovid Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Scopus from database inception to March 2017. Observational studies were included if the studies reported hazard ratios or odds ratios of the associations between sleep durations (short and long) and cardiovascular disease mortality. Data were extracted by a reviewer and then reviewed by two separate reviewers. Conflicts were resolved through consensus. Using the DerSimonian ...
Behavioral Pattern-Based Customer Segmentation

Customer segmentation is the process of dividing customers into distinct subsets (segments or clusters) that behave in the same way or have similar needs. Because each segment is fairly homogeneous in their behavior and needs, they are likely to respond similarly to a given marketing strategy. In the marketing literature, market segmentation approaches have often been used to divide customers into groups in order to implement different strategies. It has been long established that customers demonstrate heterogeneity in their product preferences and buying behaviors (Allenby & Rossi 1999) and that the model built on the market in aggregate is often less efficient than models built for individual segments. Much of this research focuses on examining how variables such as demographics, socioeconomic status, personality, and attitudes can be used to predict differences in consumption and brand loyalty. Distance-based clustering techniques, such as k-means, and parametric mixture models, such as Gaussian mixture models, are two main approaches used in segmentation. While both of these approaches have produced good results in various applications, they are not designed to segment customers based on their behavioral patterns. There may exist natural behavioral patterns in different groups of customers or customer transactions (e.g. purchase transactions, Web browsing sessions, etc.). For example, a set of behavioral patterns that distinguish a group of wireless subscribers may be as follows: Their call duration during weekday mornings is short, and these calls are within the same geographical area. They call from outside the home area on weekdays and from the home area on weekends. They have several “data” calls on weekdays. The above set of three behavioral patterns may be representative of a group of consultants who travel frequently and who exhibit a set of common behavioral patterns. This example suggests that there may be natural clusters in data, characterized by a set of typical behavioral patterns. In such cases, appropriate “behavioral pattern-based segmentation” approaches can constitute an intuitive method for grouping customer transactions.
Identification of a functional antioxidant response element at the HIF1A locus

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are a byproduct of oxidative metabolism, serve as signaling molecules in a number of physiological settings. However, if their levels are not tightly maintained, excess ROS lead to potentially cytotoxic oxidative stress. Accordingly, several transcriptional regulatory networks have evolved to include components that are highly ROS-responsive. Depending on the context, these regulatory networks can leverage ROS to respond to nutrient conditions, metabolism, or other physiological signals, or to respond to oxidative stress. However, ROS signaling is complex, so regulatory interactions between various ROS-responsive transcription factors are still being mapped out. Here we show that the transcription factor NRF2, a key regulator of the adaptive response to oxidative stress, directly regulates expression of HIF1A, which encodes HIF1α, a key transcriptional regulator of the adaptive response to hypoxia. We used an integrative genomics approach to identify HIF1A as a ROS-responsive transcript and we found an NRF2-bound antioxidant response element (ARE) approximately 30 kilobases upstream of HIF1A. This ARE sequence is deeply conserved, and we verified that it is directly bound and activated by NRF2. In addition, we found that HIF1A is upregulated in breast and bladder tumors with high NRF2 activity. Taken together, our results demonstrate that NRF2 targets a functional ARE at the HIF1A locus, and reveal a direct regulatory connection between two important oxygen responsive transcription factors.
Shared decision-making about end-of-life care compared among implantable cardioverter defibrillator patients with and without heart failure: a national cohort study

Background Authors of expert guidelines and consensus statements recommend that decisions at the end-of-life be discussed before and after implantation of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), and include promotion of shared decision making. The degree to which these guidelines are followed for patients with and without heart failure (HF) is undocumented in the literature. The purpose of this study was to compare experiences, attitudes, and knowledge about the ICD at end-of-life between ICD recipients with and without HF to determine how well patients could participate in end-of-life decisions. Methods Utilizing a national registry in Sweden of all ICD recipients (n=5355), the End-of-Life and Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Questionnaire (EOL-ICDQ) was sent out and 3,067 recipients participated. This survey also included a measure of anxiety and depression (HADS). Conclusion Initially we assumed that participants with HF would have more knowledge about end-of-life care due to their shortened life expectancy, however, we found this was not true. In order to better prepare patients with HF and an ICD for the end-of-life, shared decision making and open lines of communication between providers, patients, and their families should be encouraged.
Rheological Properties and Age-Related Changes of the Human Vitreous Humor

The vitreous humor is a fragile, transparent hydrogel situated between the lens and the retina, occupying 80% of the eye's volume. Due to its viscoelastic behavior, the vitreous serves as a mechanical damper for the eye, absorbing impacts, and protecting the lens and retina. The vitreous liquefies with age, which compromises its function as a shock absorber and causes complications including retinal detachment, macular holes, and vitreous hemorrhage. Studies on the viscoelastic properties of the vitreous have been limited. Rheological testing of the vitreous has commonly been done on non-primate mammalian species. Human vitreous rheological properties have been previously reported; however, various measurement techniques were used, resulting in data that differed by orders of magnitude. Shear rheometry is commonly used to characterize soft tissues and hydrogels such as the vitreous humor. However, no human vitreous rheological data have been reported using this technique, preventing direct comparison to other published work. Additionally, no age-related changes in the mechanical properties of the human vitreous humor have been reported. Human vitreous samples (n = 39, aged 62 ± 15 years) were tested using a shear rheometer. Small amplitude oscillatory shear and creep experiments were performed. The linear viscoelastic region of the human vitreous was found to be below 1% strain. The solid phase of the old human vitreous was found to be stiffer than the young human vitreous and the porcine vitreous. The stiffness of the human vitreous gel also appeared to be positively correlated with age. Vitreous dehydration due to a decrease in hyaluronic acid concentration with age was proposed to cause the stiffening of the solid phase of the vitreous gel. Vitreous liquefaction, therefore, might be characterized as a simultaneous increase in liquid volume and localized stiffening of the vitreous gel. The phase separation of the vitreous humor with age has been hypothesized as the cause of many vitreous-related complications. This study provides viscoelastic properties and age-related changes of the human vitreous humor, which will aid in the design of biomimetic vitreous substitutes, enhancement in analyzing intravitreal transport of therapeutics, and understanding the pathological conditions of the vitreous humor.
Examination of ankle function in individuals with a history of ACL reconstruction

Abstract Objective To determine the relationship between self-reported ankle and knee function, and to examine differences in ankle function between healthy and injured limbs in individuals with a history of ACL reconstruction (ACLR). Design Cross-sectional. Setting Laboratory. Participants A total of 18 adults with a history of ACLR. Main outcome measures Participants completed four patient-reported outcomes: the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome (KOOS), the Fear-Avoidance Belief Questionnaire, the modified Disablement in the Physically Active Scale, and the Quick-Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (Quick-FAAM). Additional ankle function measures collected bilaterally included plantar cutaneous sensation, dorsiflexion range of motion and dorsiflexion and plantarflexion strength. Results Three KOOS-subscales were significantly, moderately correlated to the Quick-FAAM for the injured limb. There were differences in the uninjured and injured Quick-FAAM scores. No other differences were observed in ankle function measures. Conclusions Self-reported ankle and knee function are correlated in participants with a history of ACLR. Clinicians should be made aware of the influence of this health condition on the distal joint, and treatment strategies to address these perceived impairments should be considered.
Color Snakes

A framework for object segmentation in vector-valued images is presented in this paper. The first scheme proposed is based on geometric active contours moving toward the objects to be detected in the vector-valued image. Object boundaries are obtained as geodesics or minimal weighted-distance curves, where the metric is given by a definition of edges in vector-valued data. The curve flow corresponding to the proposed active contours holds formal existence, uniqueness, stability, and correctness results. The scheme automatically handles changes in the deforming curve topology. The technique is applicable, for example, to color and texture images as well as multiscale representations. We then present an extension of these vector active contours, proposing a possible image flow for vector-valued image segmentation. The algorithm is based on moving each one of the image level sets according to the proposed vector active contours. This extension also shows the relation between active contours and a number of partial-differential-equations-based image processing algorithms as anisotropic diffusion and shock filters.
Work: the first 1,000 years: by A. Komlosy, Vienna, Austria, Verso Books, 2018, 272 pp., US $26.95, ISBN: 9781786634108

In the face of an emerging ‘global precariat’ (4), Andrea Komlosy’s Work: The First 1,000 Years attempts to situate the increasingly vague definitions of work within a wider historical milieu. Her ...
Gestion de la mémoire dynamique pour les systèmes embarqués avec mémoire hétérogène

La reduction de la consommation energetique des systemes embarque est un enjeu majeur de la realisation de l'Internet des Objets. Les memoires emergentes NVRAMs presentent notamment le potentiel de consommer peu et d'etre denses, mais les differentes technologies souffrent encore de desavantages specifiques comme une latence d'ecriture elevee ou une faible endurance. Pour contrebalancer ces desavantages, les concepteurs de systemes embarques tendent a juxtaposer differentes technologies sur une meme puce. Cette these s'interesse aux interactions entre l'allocation memoire dynamique et l'heterogeneite memoire. Notre objectif est de fournir au programmeur d'applications embarquees un mecanisme logiciel transparent pour exploiter cette heterogeneite memoire. Nous proposons un simulateur au cycle pres de plateformes embarquees integrant des technologies memoire variees qui montre que les strategies de placement des objets alloues dynamiquement ont un impact important. Nous montrons egalement que des gains interessants peuvent etre degages meme avec une faible proportion de la memoire utilisant une technologie a faible latence mais uniquement en utilisant une strategie intelligente pour le placement entre les differentes banques memoires. Nous fournissons une strategie efficace basee sur le profilage de l'application dans notre simulateur.
Effective use of oral tofacitinib and phototherapy in a patient with concomitant alopecia areata, vitiligo, and plaque and inverse psoriasis

This case presentation suggests that tofacitinib combined with phototherapy may be an effective treatment option for patients with concomitant alopecia areata, vitiligo, and different phenotypes of psoriasis including plaque and inverse psoriasis.
Simulating the impact of health behavior interventions in the SNAP-Ed population

Abstract In 2020, the US invested $441 million dollars in the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed), a program that encourages a healthy diet and promotes physical activity. Understanding the long-term health outcomes associated with promoting physical activity versus weight loss among the low-income population it serves could help guide the direction of future program efforts. We used the Future Americans Model (FAM), a microsimulation, to model over 10 years the impacts of changes in Body Mass Index (BMI) and exercise interventions on future health outcomes among adults aged 25 and older that could potentially accrue from SNAP-Ed interventions. We applied data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and data collected from 2,323 SNAP-Ed eligible adults in Los Angeles County in 2019. By 2029 interventions that increased vigorous physical activity by 20% would reduce the prevalence of difficulties with activities of daily living (ADL) by 4.72%. Interventions that would reduce BMI by 0.5 could decrease the prevalence of diabetes and heart disease by 5.34% and 0.66%, respectively. Helping people maintain weight loss, even as little as 3–4 lb, results in significant future health benefits. Given continued increases in weight at the population level, weight maintenance should be a focus of future interventions.
2012 – EXCESSIVE R-LOOPS TRIGGER AN INFLAMMATORY CASCADE LEADING TO ABERRANT HEMATOPOIETIC STEM AND PROGENITOR CELL EXPANSION

Aberrant expansion of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) is a major hallmark of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), although the underlying molecular regulation remains poorly understood. DEAD-box Helicase 41 (DDX41) is an understudied MDS-mutated factor whose function in hematopoiesis is unknown. Using an in vivo zebrafish model of Ddx41-deficiency, we unveiled a critical role for this helicase in regulating HSPCs. Mutants for ddx41 have more HSPCs than their siblings as measured by in situ hybridization and quantification by flow cytometry. We determined that in vivo Ddx41 suppresses the accumulation of R-loops, nucleic acid structures consisting of RNA:DNA hybrids and ssDNAs whose equilibrium is essential for cellular homeostasis. Using both global and hematovascular-restricted expression of RNASEH1-GFP to deplete R-loops, we revealed that excess R-loops in ddx41 mutants promote HSPC expansion. To uncover potential mechanisms driving HSPC expansion in ddx41 mutants, we identified elevated inflammatory target gene expression in HSPCs from ddx41 mutants compared to sibling controls using RNA-seq analysis. We established that excess R-loop levels induced by ddx41 deficiency triggered TBK1 phosphorylation and NFκB activation via the cGAS-STING pathway. Moreover, R-loop-triggered HSPC expansion was cGAS/STING-dependent. In human cells with diminished DDX41, blast counts, R-loop levels, and inflammatory signaling were elevated, suggesting a conservation of mechanism. These findings delineate a functional consequence for R-loop imbalance in HSPC biology and establish an in vivo link between R-loops, inflammation, and hematopoiesis.
Inhibition of select actinobacteria by the organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos

ABSTRACT Organophosphorus compounds have an extensive history as both agricultural pesticides as well as chemical nerve agents. Decades of research have demonstrated numerous links between these chemicals and their direct and indirect effects on humans and other organisms. The inhibitory effects of organophosphate pesticides (OPPs) on metazoan physiology, are well-characterized; however, the effects of organophosphorus compounds on soil microbes - essential contributors to key agricultural processes - are poorly understood. Chlorpyrifos (CPF) is an OPP that is used globally for crop protection. Studies of CPF application to soils have shown transient effects on soil microbial communities with conflicting data. Here, we directly test the effect of CPF on a panel of 196 actinobacteria strains, examining the effects of CPF on their growth and in vitro phenotypes on solid media. Strains were grown and replica-plated onto media containing CPF or a vehicle control and grown at 28°C. CPF dramatically inhibited the growth of most strains and/or altered colony morphologies, with 13 strains completely inhibited by CPF. In disk diffusion assays with CPF, its degradation product 3,5,6-trichloropyridinol (TCP), malathion, parathion, monocrotophos and mevinphos, only CPF exhibited direct antimicrobial activity suggesting that the observed effects were due to CPF itself. IMPORTANCE Chlorpyrifos is a globally used pesticide with documented neurological effects on non-target organisms in the environment. Finding that chlorpyrifos can inhibit the growth of some soil microbes in vitro may have implications for the composition, stability, and health of the soil microbiome. Due to the importance of soil microbes to numerous biogeochemical processes in agricultural systems, additional investigations into the non-target effects of CPF on soil microbes are clearly needed.
Equity-Focused, Trauma-Informed Policy Can Mitigate COVID-19’s Risks to Children’s Behavioral Health

Both vulnerabilities to COVID-19 and childhood trauma have deep roots in health inequities. Children of color especially risk severe COVID-19 illness, with long-term effects that amplify existing h...
Modernist Fiction and Vagueness: Philosophy, Form, and Language

Modernist Fiction and Vagueness marries the artistic and philosophical versions of vagueness, linking the development of literary modernism to changes in philosophy. This book argues that the problem of vagueness - language's unavoidable imprecision - led to transformations in both fiction and philosophy in the early twentieth century. Both twentieth-century philosophers and their literary counterparts (including James, Eliot, Woolf, and Joyce) were fascinated by the vagueness of words and the dream of creating a perfectly precise language. Building on recent interest in the connections between analytic philosophy, pragmatism, and modern literature, Modernist Fiction and Vagueness demonstrates that vagueness should be read not as an artistic problem but as a defining quality of modernist fiction.
SU-E-T-97: An Analysis of Knowledge Based Planning for Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy of the Spine

Purpose: Creating high quality SBRT treatment plans for the spine is often tedious and time consuming. In addition, the quality of treatment plans can vary greatly between treatment facilities due to inconsistencies in planning methods. This study investigates the performance of knowledge-based planning (KBP) for spine SBRT. Methods: Treatment plans were created for 28 spine SBRT patients. Each case was planned to meet strict dose objectives and guidelines. After physician and physicist approval, the plans were added to a custom model in a KBP system (RapidPlan, Varian Eclipse v13.5). The model was then trained to be able to predict estimated DVHs and provide starting objective functions for future patients based on both generated and manual objectives. To validate the model, ten additional spine SBRT cases were planned manually as well as using the model objectives. Plans were compared based on planning time and quality (ability to meet the plan objectives, including dose metrics and conformity). Results: The average dose to the spinal cord and the cord PRV differed between the validation and control plans by <0.25% demonstrating iso-toxicity. Six out of 10 validation plans met all dose objectives without the need for modifications, and overall, target dose coverage was increased by about 4.8%. If the validation plans did not meet the dose requirements initially, only 1–2 iterations of modifying the planning parameters were required before an acceptable plan was achieved. While manually created plans usually required 30 minutes to 3 hours to create, KBP can be used to create similar quality plans in 15–20 minutes. Conclusion: KBP for spinal tumors has shown to greatly decrease the amount of time required to achieve high quality treatment plans with minimal human intervention and could feasibly be used to standardize plan quality between institutions. Supported by Varian Medical Systems
Derivative Properties of Directional Technology Distance Functions

Properties of the directional technology distance function have been given in a paper by Chambers, Chung, and Fare (1998). This function, \( \vec D \) (x,y;g x ,g y ), is an implicit representation of an M-outptit, N-input production technology. An input-output vector, (x, y), is feasible if and only if \( \vec D \), where (g x , g y ) is a “direction” vector to be described later. An important antecedent of the directional technology distance function is the shortage function, introduced by Luenberger (1992, 1995).
"Mi exterior no te engaña...": La mirada en "De Villahermosa a la China" por Nicomedes Pastor Díaz

En su estudio acerca de la optica en el siglo xix Jonathan Crary comenta que a principios del siglo el modo de percibir y de observar se hallaba en un momento de transicion y redefinicion. El nota que los cambios mas relevantes comienzan en las decadas de 1820 y 1830 cuando ocurre “a repositioning of the observer, outside the fixed relations of interior/exterior...and into an undemarcated terrain on which the distinction between internal sensation and external signs is irrevocably blurred” (Crary 24). Crary indica que esta “nueva” tendencia se diferencia mucho de la interpretacion de la percepcion del siglo xviii que solia satisfacerse con dos planos fijos y definibles. Segun el critico, la percepcion decimononica consta de una “notion of visual experience as instrumental, modifiable, and essentially abstract... that never allowed a real world to acquire solidity or permanence. Once the vision became located in the empirical immediacy of the observer’s body, it belonged to time, to flux, to death” (24). Esta fluidez de la percepcion hace posible un contacto mas entranable entre lo que se percibe en el exterior y lo que se siente en el interior. El juego que ocurre entre estas dos esferas es fundamental a la comprension de la psique de los romanticos en Espana del siglo xix. Es precisamente esta dimensionalidad abstracta y mutable entre lo tangible y lo intangible, lo visible y lo invisible, que hace posible una reconsideracion de la tension existencial que afectaba los modos de percibir y de interpretar su mundo. Dentro de este paradigma no existe contrastes definitivos entre lo real y lo imaginario. La visualizacion del mundo llega a ser un conjunto de percepciones que abarcan lo intangible, lo emocional, lo psicologico y lo social. Crary concluye:
A process model on P2P lending

Online peer-to-peer lending (P2P lending) is booming as the popularity of e-finance. To develop a conceptual model for the P2P lending process is great valuable for managers to tack the issues of marketing, management and operation. In this paper, we focus on the P2P lending process model and provide a comparative analysis comparing with traditional bank loan process. Firstly, our model shows that the information flow in P2P lending is more frequent and transparent. Secondly, the model reveals that P2P lending uses a quite different credit audition method, which relies on information and the decision model in the P2P systems. Thirdly, the loan management is not complete normally in P2P lending, because most P2P companies do not have the post-loan records of borrowers. These findings inspire future studies and practices on P2P lending process and key technologies.
Improving WCET by optimizing worst-case paths

It is advantageous to perform compiler optimizations to lower the WCET of a task since tasks with lower WCETs are easier to schedule and more likely to meet their deadlines. Compiler writers in recent years have used profile information to detect the frequently executed paths in a program and there has been much effort to develop compiler optimizations to improve these paths in order to reduce average-case execution time. In this paper we describe our approach to reduce WCET by adapting and applying optimizations designed for frequent paths to the worst-case paths in an application. Our compiler uses feedback from our timing analyzer to detect the WCET paths through a function that will be subject to aggressive optimizations, reflect subsequent effects on the WCET of the paths due to these optimizations, and to also ensure that the worst-case path optimizations actually improve the WCET before committing to a code size increase. We evaluate a number of WC path optimizations and present results showing the decrease in WCET versus the increase in code size.
Malignant transformation of infantile hemangioma to angiosarcoma: Response to chemotherapy with bevacizumab

We describe a child initially diagnosed with multi-focal infantile hemangioma (cutaneous, hepatic, pulmonary), a benign vascular lesion, which underwent malignant transformation to angiosarcoma. The use of anti-angiogenic agents, such as bevacizumab, an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibody, has been reported in adults with angiosarcoma. Treatment with chemotherapy (gemcitabine and docetaxel) and bevacizumab resulted in disease response with progression free survival of 12 months. This report describes the response to chemotherapy and bevacizumab in a child with angiosarcoma and highlights the potential for malignant transformation of benign vascular lesions and the need for careful monitoring.
"'For Such a Time as This:' Pastoral Theology in the Crucible of Contemporary North American Experience

An prospective exploration of emerging critical contextual issues in church, academy, and public life calling for the response of pastoral theologians through research, theoretical construction, writing, and pedagogy.
Hydrological and biogeochemical controls on watershed dissolved organic matter transport: pulse-shunt concept

Hydrological precipitation and snowmelt events trigger large "pulse" releases of terrestrial dissolved organic matter (DOM) into drainage networks due to an increase in DOM concentration with discharge. Thus, low-frequency large events, which are predicted to increase with climate change, are responsible for a significant percentage of annual terrestrial DOM input to drainage networks. These same events are accompanied by marked and rapid increases in headwater stream velocity; thus they also "shunt" a large proportion of the pulsed DOM to downstream, higher-order rivers and aquatic ecosystems geographically removed from the DOM source of origin. Here we merge these ideas into the "pulse-shunt concept" (PSC) to explain and quantify how infrequent, yet major hydrologic events may drive the timing, flux, geographical dispersion, and regional metabolism of terrestrial DOM. The PSC also helps reconcile long-standing discrepancies in C cycling theory and provides a robust framework for better quantifying its highly dynamic role in the global C cycle. The PSC adds a critical temporal dimension to linear organic matter removal dynamics postulated by the river continuum concept. It also can be represented mathematically through a model that is based on stream scaling approaches suitable for quantifying the important role of streams and rivers in the global C cycle. Initial hypotheses generated by the PSC include: (1) Infrequent large storms and snowmelt events account for a large and underappreciated percentage of the terrestrial DOM flux to drainage networks at annual and decadal time scales and therefore event statistics are equally important to total discharge when determining terrestrial fluxes. (2) Episodic hydrologic events result in DOM bypassing headwater streams and being metabolized in large rivers and exported to coastal systems. We propose that the PSC provides a framework for watershed biogeochemical modeling and predictions and discuss implications to ecological processes.
Pharmacological activities of optically pure enantiomers of the κ opioid agonist, U50,488, and its cis diastereomer: evidence for three κ receptor subtypes

De Costa et al. (FEBS Lett. 223, 335; 1987) recently described the synthesis of optically pure enantiomers of (±)-trans-3,4-dichloro-N-methyl-N-[2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-cyclohexyl]benzeneacetamide (U50,488). In the present study we examined the in vitro opioid receptor selectivity of (−)-(1S,2S)-U50,488, (+)-(1R,2R)-U50,488 and (±)-cis-3,4-di-chloro-N-methyl-N-[2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-cyclohexyl]benzeneacetamide (the cis diasteromers of U50,488), as well as their pharmacological activities in rhesus monkeys. Using [3H]5α,7α,8β-(−)-N-methyl-N-[7-1-pyrrolidinyl)-1-oxaspiro (4,5)dec-8-yl]-phenyl-benzeneacetamide([3H]U69,593) to label κ binding sites of guinea pig membranes, the apparent dissociation constants of the enantiomers hadU50,488 were 0.89 and 299 nM, for the (S,S) and (R,R) enantiomers, respectively. The (−)-cis and (+)-cis diastereomers had apparent Kds of 167 and 2715 nM, respectively. Binding surface analysis of the interaction of (−)-(1S,2S)-U50,488 with κ binding sites labeled by [3H]bremazocine resolved two binding sites at which (−)-(1S,2S)-U50,488 had Kds of 30 and 10485 nM, respectively. The (±)-cis, (−)-cis and (+)-cis diastereomers of U50,488 (1 μM) did not inhibit [3H]bremazocine binding. Rhesus monkeys were trained to discriminate ethylketocyclazocine (EKC) and saline. All compounds tested substituted completely for EKC. The order of potency was (−)-(1S,2S)-U50,488 > (±)-U50,488 > (±)-cisdiastereomerofU50,488 > (+)-(1R,2R)-U50,488. In tests of analgesia, (−)-(1S,2S)-U50,488 was 2–4 times more potent than (±)-U50,488, while (±)-cis diastereomer of U50,488 and (+)-(1R,2R)-U50,488 were inactive at the highest doses tested (32 mg/kg). Taken collectively, these data indicate that the pharmacologically active enantiomer of U50,488 is (−)-(1S,2S)-U50,488, and provide preliminary evidence for three subtypes of κ binding sites in guinea pig brain.
Sex addiction as a mental health diagnosis: Coming together or coming apart?

Summary The clinical literature on the phenomenon of out of control sexual behavior has been described in various ways including: a compulsion, impulsive disorder, or an addiction. Although sexual addiction is the terminology that has been most accepted by the general public, researchers and clinicians still debate about the nature of out-of-control sexual behaviors and what to name it. There was an unsuccessful effort to add “Hypersexual Disorder” to the appendix (not the main list of official diagnoses) of the DSM-5. This article addresses the controversy within the mental health community and among researchers that has stifled progress. Thousands of clients seek treatment because of the insufferable consequences of their uncontrollable sexual behaviors. Mental health providers are desperate for clear symptom descriptors and diagnostic guidelines to establish treatment modalities that are empirically based. Until such time, clinicians will do their best to treat clients who suffer from a disorder that has neither a name nor an established diagnosis.
The ergodic infinite measure preserving transformation of boole

G. Boole proved that the transformation φ of the real line, defined by φ(x)=x−1/x, preserves Lebesgue measure. A general method is applied to proving that φ is ergodic. Some further applications of the method are also indicated.
Integrating the centennial vision into an evidence-based fieldwork-learning experience.

ABSTRACTOccupational Therapy's Centennial Vision includes the concept of evidence-based practice (EBP) as a core mechanism to move the profession forward. The literature reveals that although EBP has become an expected norm by occupational therapy consumers and payers, it is difficult to implement secondary to a variety of issues. The implementation and use of an EBP fieldwork experience within the physical disabilities context require problem-based and collaborative learning approaches. Fieldwork students complete 15 practitioner-facilitated EBP modules regarding performance approaches specific to the fieldwork site. The response of the participants suggests that EBP can have a positive impact on new knowledge acquisition and its application to new clinical skills. Future program goals include the development of more in-depth outcome measures to ascertain the effectiveness of a fieldwork clinical-learning module program.
Sol-air heating and cooling degree-days

Abstract A set of relationships is developed which allow the estimation of sol-air heating and cooling degree-days at any base temperature. The method makes use of existing relationships for hourly utilizability and degree-days, and the only input required is the monthly-average solar radiation and ambient temperature. Solar radiation which is absorbed on outside surfaces and solar radiation which is transmitted through glazings are accounted for in the analysis. Estimated sol-air degree-days are compared with sol-air degree-days determined using longterm hourly data, and good agreement is observed. Sample calculations for a simple structure illustrate the use of sol-air degree days.
Stalled slab dynamics

Recent seismic imaging of the mantle beneath western North America reveals complexities interpreted as structures ranging from plumes to lithospheric drips and slab fragments. A prominent high-velocity "curtain" beneath Idaho has been interpreted as a remnant of the subducted Farallon plate left dangling within the upper mantle since >40 Ma. Consequently, using numerical models, we explore the rheological, chemical, geometrical, and dynamic conditions under which a slab fragment might persist in the mantle for tens of millions of years. With thermal buoyancy alone, stalled slabs extending to 500 km depth tend to detach and sink vertically within ∼17 m.y. for the slab age and rheologic conditions explored here, and shorter slabs 40 m.y. An increase in upper- to lower-mantle viscosity contrast (1.4× to 100×) can slow sinking velocities and extend slab dangling time by up to 5 m.y. Dynamic effects such as those arising from active nearby subduction only slightly delay or do not affect stalled slab detachment timing but do affect the geometry of the slabs as they respond to suction pressures within the wedge. Overall, a combination of buoyant, viscous, geometric, and dynamic factors may allow cases of extended slab stalling, and conditions we explore here within realistic ranges can so far account for a delay of up to 28 m.y.
Beam-plasma instabilities in a strongly coupled plasma

Abstract We adopt a model hydrodynamic-like dispersion relation to describe the interaction of a low density electron beam with a high density strongly coupled electron plasma. Growth rate expressions are derived and stability-instability boundaries are established.
Factors Relating to Misanthropy in Contemporary American Society

Abstract Misanthropy is higher among those with lower socioeconomic status, subgroups toward the social periphery such as racial and ethnic minorities and Southerners, people suffering recent negative life events, those who do not attend church and fundamentalists, and members of more recent cohorts. For blacks, misanthropy is decreased by more social contact with whites, but the misanthropy of whites is not affected by contact with blacks. There has been some recent increase in misanthropy, but claims that misanthropy has shown a large and long-term rise are not well supported by the time series.
Hierarchical simulation of large system

The main problem facing current CAD tools for VLSIs is the large amount of memory required when dealing with large systems, primarily due to the circuit representation used by most current tools. This paper discusses an approach for hierarchical switch-level simulation of digital circuits. The approach exploits the hierarchy to reduce the memory requirements of the simulation, allowing the simulation of circuits that are too large to simulate at one flat level. The approach has been implemented in a hierarchical switch-level simulator, CHAMP, which runs on a SUN workstation. The program performs mixed mode simulation: parts of the circuit can be simulated faster at a behavioral level by supplying a high level software description. CHAMP allows assignable delays, and bidirectional signal flow inside circuit blocks that are represented as transistor networks as well as across the boundaries of higher level blocks. CHAMP is also unique in that it simulates directly from the hierarchical circuit description without flattening to a single level.