cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Percutaneous needle vs surgical breast biopsy: previous allegations of overuse of surgery are in error.

Purpose A recent paper in the American Journal of Surgery reported that surgery is used for 30% of breast biopsies, an excessive number. The investigators' stated biopsy volume included Current Procedural Terminology ® code 19125 ("excision of breast lesion identified by preoperative placement of radiological marker, open"). However, this code may often be used when a surgeon's primary intention is not biopsy but rather excision of a lesion. Therefore, the reported results may overstate the percentage of biopsies performed as surgical procedures. The aim of this study was to more accurately assess the use of percutaneous core needle biopsy (PNB) compared with surgical biopsy. Methods The nationwide Medicare Part B databases for 2004 to 2009 were used. Trends in use of codes 19100 (PNB without imaging), 19102 and 19103 (PNB with imaging), 19101 (open biopsy), and the aforementioned 19125 were determined. Results From 2004 to 2009, the volumes of PNB with imaging (codes 19102 and 19103) increased substantially, while the volume of code 19125 decreased substantially. If one includes all 19125 claims as biopsies, the 2009 frequency of surgical biopsies was 18%. If one considers all 19125 claims as excisions, the frequency of surgical biopsies was 2%. Conclusions The previously published statement in the American Journal of Surgery that 30% of breast biopsies are done surgically is erroneous. Medicare data indicate that the true surgical breast biopsy figure is somewhere between 2% and 18%. Given that the recommended rate is 10%, it seems that surgeons and radiologists are collaborating well and that surgical breast biopsy is not being overused.
Contact-extended zone-based transactions routing for energy-constrained wireless ad hoc networks

In future wireless ad hoc networks, transactions are expected to become one of the primary types of flows. Transactions require only a small number of packets to complete. Hence, providing optimal (shortest path) routes to such transactions consumes more energy than the actual data transfer. Conventional shortest path routing protocols are, thus, unsuitable for routing transactions. In this paper, we present a novel architecture, called TRANSFER, for transactions routing in large-scale wireless ad hoc networks. In our approach, we aim to reduce the total energy consumption by transactions as opposed to finding shortest path routes. Our architecture uses a hybrid approach, in which each mobile node obtains information about nodes in its proximity (zone), up to R hops away, using a proactive link-state protocol. Beyond the proximity, we introduce the novel notion of contacts that act as shortcuts to reduce the degrees of separation between the source of the transaction and the destination. We propose an efficient on-demand protocol for contact selection that does not assume knowledge of location information. Contacts are used during transactions and queries to discover valid routes in an energy-efficient manner. Extensive simulations are used to evaluate the performance of our protocol in terms of energy consumption and success rate. We compare our architecture to flooding, dynamic source routing (DSR), zone-routing protocol (ZRP), and two power-aware schemes. Our results show substantial power savings for our contact-based protocol, especially for large ad hoc networks.
Predictors of Health Care Use Among Individuals Seeking Therapy for Marital and Family Problems: An Exploratory Study

A number of studies have examined variables associated with health care use. However, no study is known to have considered health care use among people seeking services for marital and family problems. In this study, health care use of persons (N = 110) seeking these services was investigated to determine the strongest psychosocial correlates of health care use. The goal was to identify potential “targets” of clinical intervention that may be driving excessive health care use. “Informational support” and “somatization” were the strongest correlates for the complete sample, with the model explaining 24% of the variance in health care use. For “high users” of health care, “hostility” was the strongest correlate, accounting for more than 36% of the variance in health care use.
Surgical therapy for metastatic disease to the liver

The liver is a common site of hematogenous metastasis. In the past, patients with liver metastases were often deemed inoperable, and medical therapy conferred only minor survival benefit. However, advances in surgical techniques and chemotherapeutic agents during the past two decades have led to effective treatments for selected patients with metastases to the liver. Up to approximately 80% of the liver can be resected, and partial hepatectomy is now routinely performed with a perioperative mortality rate of <5%. Surgical resection of colorectal cancer metastatic to the liver results in a 5-year survival rate of 40%. These results are expected to improve even further with multimodality approaches that include newer chemotherapy regimens. Liver metastases from other primary tumors, such as neuroendocrine carcinoma and genitourinary tumors, are also treated effectively with liver resection. The indications for surgical treatment of liver metastases are broadening as a variety of novel therapies are being developed, including hepatic artery embolization, hepatic artery infusion of chemotherapy, and radiofrequency ablation.
Viewing Intergroup Relations in Europe through Allport's Lens Model of Prejudice

This article employs Allport's (1954) lens model of the causes of prejudice to analyze the articles in this issue of theJournal of Social Issues. The lens model specifies that historical, socio cultural, personality, and situational factors contribute to prejudice. The articles in this issue examine a number of variables at each of these levels of analysis, and many employ multilevel designs in which variables at more than one level are examined within the same study. Suggestions for future research on intergroup relations in Europe are offered including conducting more comparative and multilevel studies and creating comprehensive theories that integrate different levels of analysis. Some implications of the findings of these studies for intergroup relations programs are also discussed.
Multiple sulfur isotopes from Paleoproterozoic Huronian interglacial sediments and the rise of atmospheric oxygen

Mass-dependently fractionated (MDF) sulfur isotopes in sedimentary sulfides and sulfates can provide information on the past activity of microbial metabolisms and serve as a proxy for the concentration of seawater sulfate. In conjunction with these proxies, mass-independently fractionated (MIF) sulfur isotopes can be used to track the rise of atmospheric oxygen. The anoxic–oxic transition of the surface environment in the Paleoproterozoic has been constrained by MIF sulfur in 2.47 Ga sulfides from Western Australian banded iron-formations, and the absence of MIF in diagenetic sulfides from 2.32 Ga black shales in the Transvaal Supergroup (South Africa). We report new multicollector ion microprobe data for individual sulfides from water-lain sedimentary units in the 2.45–2.22 Ga Huronian Supergroup (Ontario, Canada). The authigenecity of sulfides in these units is interpreted on the basis of host lithology, mode of distribution, sulfide chemistry and MDF sulfur isotopes. Sulfides interpreted to have an authigenicsedimentary origin from the McKim Fm. have a range of 0.7‰ in Δ 33 S values and those in the Pecors Fm. preserve small magnitude MIF Δ 33 S values up to +0.88‰, which we propose represents the last remnants of an anoxic atmosphere. High δ 34 S values (up to +31.2‰) and near-zero Δ 33 S values in authigenic sulfides from the stratigraphically higher Espanola and Gordon Lake Fms. suggest local variations of seawater sulfate concentrations and/or δ 34 Ssulfate, consistent with increased atmospheric O2 levels. MIF sulfur is absent from the marine record after the second Huronian glaciation, which is analogous to the record of the Transvaal Supergroup where MIF is absent from the upper part of the interglacial sequence. Our results suggest that the possible simultaneous demise of MIF sulfur isotopes at these two localities may serve as a useful global geochemical marker to correlate Paleoproterozoic supergroups. We propose a new biogeochemical model where enhanced weathering rates during Paleoproterozoic post-glacial thawing served as a critical stimulus for interglacial blooms of oxygenic photosynthesis, the demise of methane, and ultimately to the irreversible rise in atmospheric oxygen.
Stability constrained optimal rescheduling of generation

An effective approach, based on the transient energy function (TEF) method of power system transient stability analysis, is proposed for stability-constrained rescheduling of the generation and critical line flows for a given initial operating condition and designated contingency. The sensitivities of the energy margin with respect to changes in generation are used in the transient stability constraints, and distribution factors are used to monitor and constrain the critical line flows. The problem is formulated as a multiobjective optimization problem, which is solved using a goal programming algorithm that incorporates an explicit knowledge base. The approach has been successfully tested on two power systems: a 17-generator and a 50-generator test network. >
Multi-label imbalanced data enrichment process in neural net classifier training

Semantic scene classification, robotic state recognition, and many other real-world applications involve multi-label classification with imbalanced data. In this paper, we address these problems by using an enrichment process in neural net training. The enrichment process can manage the imbalanced data and train the neural net with high classification accuracy. Experimental results on a robotic arm controller show that our method has better generalization performance than traditional neural net training in solving the multi-label and imbalanced data problems.
Non-coding RNAs in cancer brain metastasis

More than 90% of cancer death is attributed to metastatic disease, and the brain is one of the major metastatic sites of melanoma, colon, renal, lung and breast cancers. Despite the recent advancement of targeted therapy for cancer, the incidence of brain metastasis is increasing. One reason is that most therapeutic drugs can't penetrate blood-brain-barrier and tumor cells find the brain as sanctuary site. In this review, we describe the pathophysiology of brain metastases to introduce the latest understandings of metastatic brain malignancies. This review also particularly focuses on non-coding RNAs and their roles in cancer brain metastasis. Furthermore, we discuss the roles of the extracellular vesicles as they are known to transport information between cells to initiate cancer cell-microenvironment communication. The potential clinical translation of non-coding RNAs as a tool for diagnosis and for treatment is also discussed in this review. At the end, the computational aspects of non-coding RNA detection, the sequence and structure calculation and epigenetic regulation of non-coding RNA in brain metastasis are discussed.
Frequency dependence of QScS

abstract Data from HGLP instruments at KIP and MAT and WWSS LP and SP instruments at KIP and GUA have been used to study the amplitude characteristics of ScS and multiple ScS waves from deep-focus earthquakes. The data at low frequencies (0.006 to 0.06 Hz) are consistent with our previously published estimate, Q ScS = 156 ± 13 (Jordan and Sipkin, 1977). However, at high frequencies (>0.1 Hz), Q ScS appears to increase rapidly with frequency. Lower bounds on Q ScS are obtained by assuming a flat source spectrum and ignoring any energy losses due to scattering; we find that Q ScS must be greater than 400 at frequencies between 1 and 2.5 Hz. Correcting for a source spectrum with a corner at 0.16 Hz and an asymptotic roll-off of ω −2 , considered appropriate for these events, raises this estimate to about 750. The increase in Q ScS at frequencies above 0.1 Hz is consistent with a spectrum of strain retardation times which has a high-frequency cutoff in the range 0.2 to 1.0 sec. At very low frequencies Q ScS can be estimated from normal mode data; the best available models yield values of about 230. Comparison of these estimates with our data suggests that Q ScS decreases with frequency in the vicinity of 0.01 Hz. Because the scattering coefficient increases rapidly with frequency, the fact that significant ScS amplitudes are observed at high frequencies implies that any bias in Q ScS measurements due to scattering at low frequencies is probably small. We show that, although our data provide only integral constraints on the variation of Q μ with depth, the regions in which Q μ is frequency dependent occupy a substantial portion of the mantle, probably including at least part of the mantle below 600 km depth.
Beach nourishment impacts on bacteriological water quality and phytoplankton bloom dynamics.

A beach nourishment with approximately 1/3 fine-grained sediment (fines; particle diameter <63 μm) by mass was performed at Southern California’s Border Fields State Park (BFSP). The nourishment wa...
Accuracy of a Single 30-stem Sample for Detecting Alfalfa Weevil Larvae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and Making Management Decisions

Management decisions in many alfalfa integrated pest management programs are based on a single 30-stem sample estimate of the alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Gyllenhal), larval population. Repeated 30-stem samples were taken from five fields under a variety of stand conditions over a 2-yr period to calculate the variance/mean relationship with Taylor’s power law. A computer simulation was used to estimate the proportion of single-sample estimates that underestimate (fail to spray) or overestimate (spray unnecessarily) a known population mean in relation to an economic threshold. Management-decision errors were found to increase significantly as the population mean neared the threshold.
Geometry of the quantum Hall effect: An effective action for all dimensions

We present a general formula for the topological part of the effective action for integer quantum Hall systems in higher dimensions, including fluctuations of the gauge field and metric around background fields of a specified topological class. The result is based on a procedure of integrating up from the Dolbeault index density which applies for the degeneracies of Landau levels, combined with some input from the standard descent procedure for anomalies. Features of the topological action in ($2+1$), ($4+1$), ($6+1$) dimensions, including the contribution due to gravitational anomalies, are discussed in some detail.
Hindsight optimization for probabilistic planning with factored actions

Inspired by the success of the satisfiability approach for deterministic planning, we propose a novel framework for on-line stochastic planning, by embedding the idea of hindsight optimization into a reduction to integer linear programming. In contrast to the previous work using reductions or hindsight optimization, our formulation is general purpose by working with domain specifications over factored state and action spaces, and by doing so is also scalable in principle to exponentially large action spaces. Our approach is competitive with state-of-the-art stochastic planners on challenging benchmark problems, and sometimes exceeds their performance especially in large action spaces.
[Status quo and characteristics of blood pressure among children and adolescents aged 7-17 years at normal weight but with abdominal obesity, in Shandong province].

Objective To study the prevalence and characteristics of blood pressure (BP) among children and adolescents at normal weight but with abdominal obesity.Methods Using data from the ‘Student physical fitness and health surveillance 2010 project' in Shandong province,a total of 38 816 students aged 7-17 years were selected to participate in this study.Stature,body weight,waist circumference (WC),systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of these subjects were measured.Body weight status and abdominal obesity were defined by body mass index (BMI) and WC,respectively.Results In total,the proportions of thinness,normal weight,overweight and obesity defined by BMI were 5.37％,72.47％,12.92％ and 9.24％ respectively.5.86％ of the children and adolescents with normal weight had abdominal obesity,with normal weighted girls (7.19％) having higher prevalence of abdominal obesity than boys (4.33％) (P＜0.01).The Z-scores of SBP and DBP for both boys and girls were all significantly higher in the normal weight but with abdominal obesity groups than in both normal weight and WC groups (P＜0.01).Conclusion Children and adolescents under normal weight but with abdominal obesity had higher BP level need to be identified and considered as high-risk individuals.Related intervention programs should also be targeted to this population. Key words: Abdominal obesity; Normal weight; Blood pressure; Children
The effects of ageing on the disposition of benzodiazepines in man

The benzodiazepines are among the most widely prescribed drugs in the Western world (Greenblatt and Shader, 1974) and are used across the whole adult age range. However, epidemiological data indicate that this usage is not without its problems in the treatment of elderly patients. Central nervous system side effects, of sufficient magnitude to warrant discontinuation of the prescribed dosage regimen, were found to increase significantly with age after the chronic administration of either diazepam or chlordiazepoxide (Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program, 1973). Similar results were found with flurazepam (Greenblatt, Allen and Shader, 1977). Additionally, the benzodiazepines constitute about 50 per cent of the prescription drugs associated with clinical problems of psychotropic origin in elderly patients (Freeman, see pp. 223–229). Such an apparent increase in drug sensitivity may be multifactorial in nature, but the changes involved may be generally classified into those which arise because of (1) alterations in the disposition of the drug within the body and/or (2) alterations in the pharmacodynamics of the pertinent drug-receptor interactions. While there is suggestive evidence that the latter may well occur during the ageing process, the precise definition of its role and importance in any observed change in drug response requires knowledge of any concurrent alterations in the drug’s disposition. Accordingly, over the past several years we have investigated the effect of ageing in adult man on the pharmacokinetics of a number of commonly prescribed benzodiazepines.
Meta-analysis of the performance of ultrathin vs. standard colonoscopes.

Background and study aims Colonoscopy should reliably intubate the cecum with minimal patient discomfort and without complications. Use of thinner endoscopes to overcome pain during the procedure has shown promise. However, the use of thinner scopes could lead to excess looping and difficulty with therapeutic procedures. The aim of this meta-analysis was to analyze the performance of ultrathin colonoscopes (UTC) and standard colonoscopes for routine colonoscopy. Patients and methods We searched several electronic databases for all randomized controlled trials and nonrandomized (prospective) studies that compared the efficacies of UTC (diameter ≤ 9.8 mm) and standard colonoscopes. We used fixed effect or random effects models to compare cecal intubation rate, cecal intubation time, pain score, and polyp and adenoma detection rates using standard mean differences (SMD) or odds ratios (OR) with 95 % confidence intervals (CI). Results Seven studies (2191 patients) met the inclusion criteria. There was no significant heterogeneity among studies except for pain scores. The cecal intubation rate was higher with UTC (OR 2.30; 95 %CI 1.31 to 4.03). There was no difference in the cecal intubation time between UTC and standard colonoscopes. Pain scores were significantly lower with UTC than with standard colonoscopes (SMD – 0.59, 95 %CI – 0.93 to – 0.25). Polyp and adenoma detection rates were similar for both types of colonoscope. Conclusion Use of UTC appears to improve the cecal intubation rate and reduce abdominal pain but does not affect polyp detection. Future trials are needed to evaluate the therapeutic performance of UTC vs. standard colonoscopes.
Sparsity-promoting dynamic mode decomposition for systems with inputs

The objective of this paper is to address the selection of dominant modes of a system that can be used to construct a reduced-order model. This work is motivated by high-fidelity computational models that capture fluid and/or structural dynamics, which are prohibitively complex for real-time control. A variety of techniques for obtaining simplified control-oriented models have been developed, e.g. proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and dynamic mode decomposition. In this paper, we address the challenge of selecting a few dominant Koopman modes for systems with exogenous inputs. We use a linear channel flow example to demonstrate the utility of our approach and illustrate the advantages relative to alternative techniques for control-oriented modeling.
Thromboembolism in Pregnancy

Pregnancy and the postpartum period are associated with an increased risk for thromboembolic events. Women with thrombophilias particularly are at an increased risk. Treatment often includes use of unfractionated heparin and low-molecular-weight heparin; more rarely fondaparinux and warfarin may be used [1].
Anterior insular thickness predicts speech sound learning ability in bilinguals

A previous fMRI study of novel speech sound learning, tied to the methods and results presented here, identified groups of advanced and novice learners and related their classification to neural activity. To complement those results and better elucidate the role of the entire neural system in speech learning, the current study analyzed the neuroanatomical data with the goals of 1) uncovering the regions of interest (ROIs) that predicted speech learning performance in a sample of monolingual and bilingual adults, and 2) examining if the relationship between cortical thickness from selected ROIs and individual learning ability depends on language group. The ROIs selected were brain regions well-established in the literature as areas associated with language and speech processing (i.e., Transverse Superior Temporal Gyrus, anterior insula and posterior insula, all bilaterally). High-resolution brain scans (T1-weighted) were acquired from 23 Spanish-English bilinguals and 20 English monolingual adults. The thickness of the left anterior insula significantly predicted speech sound learning ability in bilinguals but not monolinguals. These results suggest that aptitude for learning a new language is associated with variations in the cortical thickness of the left anterior insula in bilinguals. These findings may provide insight into the higher order mechanisms involved in speech perception and advance our understanding of the unique strategies employed by the bilingual brain during language learning.
Optimizing Data Logger Setup and Use for Refrigerated Vaccine Temperature Monitoring

Accidental freezing of refrigerated vaccine represents a significant public and private healthcare cost. Freeze-damaged vaccines lose their effectiveness, putting public health at risk. U.S. immuni...
Constitution-making in Asia: Decolonisation and State-building in the Aftermath of the British Empire, edited by H. Kumarasingham

It is a striking and neglected irony of Britain's unwritten constitution that it has, in fact, been written down more times, and in more ways, than any other constitution in history. In three decad...
Vegetarian Diets and Pediatric Obesity

Childhood obesity can persist through adulthood with adverse lifelong consequences. Prevention of unnecessary weight gain and overweight/obesity during childhood could mitigate the difficulty of treating adult obesity and its comorbidities. Exposing children to plant-based or vegetarian diets at a relatively young age is a judicious approach that may have long-term beneficial effects in maintaining a healthy weight. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics states that “appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases” for all life cycle stages. Vegetarian children are relatively leaner and less susceptible to cardio-metabolic risks compared to their non-vegetarian counterparts due to the nature of the foods that comprise their diet. Vegetarian diets are characteristically plant-based, allowing a synergy between nutrients and phytochemicals that confer health benefits. This chapter looks into how vegetarian diets can address pediatric obesity and how to ensure adequate nutrition for vegetarian children.
Evangelical Christian Education in the Mid-20th Century: Cooperation in Parachurch Ministries:

The second of three brief articles addressing the development of evangelical Christian education in the 20th century. The middle part of the century saw an explosion of parachurch educational minis...
Competition for blood donations

Abstract In this paper, we focus on the blood services industry in the US, which is undergoing major changes, including a rise in competition, and we develop a novel game theory model for blood donations among blood service organizations in which the organizations seek to maximize their transaction utilities and compete on the quality of service that they provide at the blood collection sites in different regions. The governing equilibrium concept is that of Nash Equilibrium. We formulate the equilibrium as a variational inequality problem and prove the existence of the equilibrium quality level service pattern. We also provide conditions for uniqueness and present a Lagrange analysis and interpretation associated with the lower and upper bounds on the quality service levels. An algorithm with nice features for computations is proposed and then applied to numerical examples of increasing complexity. The results demonstrate that enhanced competition can improve the quality service level and that blood service organizations can also benefit from having collection sites in multiple regions.
The Strategic Effects of State-Dependent Consumer Preferences: The Roles of Habits and Variety Seeking

In this chapter, we examine the strategic effects of state-dependent consumer preferences, including effects of habits and variety seeking. We begin by discussing how habits and variety seeking have been modelled in the quantitative marketing and economics literatures. We then discuss the various ways that these state-dependent preferences affect pricing, which is the most studied strategic effect of habit and variety seeking. We also consider the impact of these preferences on different members of the retail channel, as well as considering how these preferences affect which products firms will offer and the optimal advertising levels, among other topics. While habits and variety seeking are often modelled as being the opposites of each other in models, they sometimes have similar impacts on prices and other strategies.
Do Product Warnings Increase Safe Behavior? A Meta-Analysis:

In a meta-analysis of warnings literature, the authors examine empirical studies containing no-warning control groups to address the question of whether the presence of on-product warnings increase...
WDR92 is required for axonemal dynein heavy chain stability in cytoplasm

WDR92 associates with a prefoldin-like cochaperone complex and known dynein assembly factors. WDR92 has been very highly conserved and has a phylogenetic signature consistent with it playing a role in motile ciliary assembly or activity. Knockdown of WDR92 expression in planaria resulted in ciliary loss, reduced beat frequency and dyskinetic motion of the remaining ventral cilia. We have now identified a Chlamydomonas wdr92 mutant that encodes a protein missing the last four WD repeats. The wdr92-1 mutant builds only ∼0.7-μm cilia lacking both inner and outer dynein arms, but with intact doublet microtubules and central pair. When cytoplasmic extracts prepared by freeze/thaw from a control strain were fractionated by gel filtration, outer arm dynein components were present in several distinct high molecular weight complexes. In contrast, wdr92-1 extracts almost completely lacked all three outer arm heavy chains, while the IFT dynein heavy chain was present in normal amounts. A wdr92-1 tpg1-2 double mutant builds ∼7-μm immotile flaccid cilia that completely lack dynein arms. These data indicate that WDR92 is a key assembly factor specifically required for the stability of axonemal dynein heavy chains in cytoplasm and suggest that cytoplasmic/IFT dynein heavy chains use a distinct folding pathway.
Application of passive wedge absorbers for improving the performance of precision-science experiments

A scheme is discussed for momentum selection and momentum-spread reduction for muon-based experiments. The concept relies on placing a wedge absorber at a point along a beam transport system with nonzero dispersion. The technique has direct relevance to precision-science experiments such as the Fermilab Muon g-2 Experiment as it can enhance the muon beam intensity and therefore minimize the statistical uncertainty of the anomalous magnetic moment measurement. This paper presents a theoretical and numerical study about the orientation, material, geometrical parameters, and performance of this wedge. Results suggest a considerable increase in muon intensity for the Muon g-2 Experiment, when the optimal wedge is introduced along the beam path.
2-D Shear wave dispersion images using the reverberant shear wave field approach: application in tissues exhibiting power law response

Within the field of elastography, a relatively new approach analyzes the limiting case of shear waves established as a reverberant field. In this framework, it is assumed that a distribution of shear waves exists, oriented across all directions in 3D and continuous in time. The simultaneous multi-frequency application of reverberant shear wave fields can be accomplished by applying an array of external sources that can be excited by multiple frequencies, for example 50, 100, 150,…500 Hz, all contributing to the shear wave field produced in the target organ. We report a Monte Carlo analysis simulation for the validation of the main theoretical principles, and a preliminary study on breast and liver tissues using the multi-frequency reverberant shear wave technique, employing frequencies up to 700 Hz in breast tissue, and robust reverberant patterns of shear waves across the entire liver and kidney in obese patients. Dispersion images are shown to have contrast between tissue types and with quantitative values that align with previous studies.
Detection of Silver and TiO 2 Nanoparticles in Cells by Flow Cytometry

Evaluation of the potential hazard of man-made nanomaterials has been hampered by a limited ability to observe and measure nanoparticles in cells. A FACSCalibur™ flow cytometer and a Stratedigm S-1000 flow cytometer were used to measure changes in light scatter from cells after incubation with either silver nanoparticles (AgNP) or TiO2 nanoparticles. Within the range of between 0.1 μg/mL and 30 μg/mL the nanoparticles caused a proportional increase of the side scatter and decrease of the forward scatter intensity signals. At the lowest concentrations of TiO2 (ranging between 0.1 μg/mL and 0.3 μg/mL), the flow cytometer can detect as few as 5-10 nanoparticles per cell. The influence of nanoparticles on the cell cycle was detected by nonionic detergent lysis of nanoparticle incubated cells that were stained with DAPI or propidium iodide (PI). Viability of nanoparticle treated cells was determined by PI exclusion. Surface plasmonic resonance (SPR) was detected primarily in the far-red fluorescence detection channels after excitation with a 488 nm laser.Our results suggest that the uptake of nanoparticles within cells can be monitored using flow cytometry. This uptake of nanoparticle data was confirmed by viewing the nanoparticles in the cells using dark-field microscopy. The flow cytometry detection of nanoparticles approach may help fill a critical need to assess the relationship between nanoparticle dose and cellular toxicity. Such experiments using nanoparticles could potentially be performed quickly and easily using the flow cytometer to measure both nanoparticle uptake and cellular health.
Machine learning algorithm for early mortality prediction in patients with advanced penile cancer

ABSTRACT Penile cancer remains a rare cancer with an annual incidence of 1 in 100,000 men in the United States, accounting for 0.4-0.6% of all malignancies. Furthermore, to date there are no predictive models of early mortality in penile cancer. Meanwhile, machine learning has potential to serve as a prognostic tool for patients with advanced disease. We developed a machine learning model for predicting early mortality in penile cancer (survival less than 11 months after initial diagnosis. A cohort of 88 patients with advanced penile cancer was extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program. In the cohort, patients with advanced penile cancer exhibited a median overall survival of 21 months, with the 25th percentile of overall survival being 11 months. We constructed predictive features based on patient demographics, staging, metastasis, lymph node biopsy criteria, and metastatic sites. We trained a multivariate logistic regression model, tuning parameters with respect to regularization, and feature selection criteria. Upon evaluation with 5-fold cross validation, our model achieved 68.2% accuracy with AUC 0.696. Criteria for advanced staging (T4, group stage IV), as well as higher age, white race and squamous cell histology, were the most predictive of early mortality. Tumor size was the strongest negative predictor of early mortality. Our study showcases the first known predictive model for early mortality in patients with advanced penile cancer and should serve as a framework for approaching the clinical problem in future studies. Future work should aim to incorporate other data sources such as genomic and metabolomic data, increase patient counts, incorporate clinical characteristics such as ECOG and RECIST criteria, and assess the performance of the model in a prospective fashion.
REVIEW OF OPHTHALMIC AND BREASTFEEDING MEDICINE EVIDENCE: Real and Theoretical Risks of Intravitreal Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Administration in Lactating Women.

Background/purpose There is limited research regarding the consequences of treating lactating mothers with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents. Balancing the need for vision-saving treatment, the benefits of breastfeeding, and the concern for affecting the newborn can present a conflict for both mothers and ophthalmologists. This review summarizes the state of the literature regarding the use of intravitreal anti-VEGF agents during breastfeeding along with details about their pharmacology. Results Bevacizumab and aflibercept have Fc domains subjecting them to FcRn recycling and extending their half-life compared with ranibizumab which is an antibody fragment and lacks the Fc domain. Case reports and small studies have shown that ranibizumab has the lowest serum concentration after intravitreal injection and the least effect on plasma-free VEGF concentrations and breastmilk VEGF levels. Conclusion Clinical and pharmacologic data suggest that ranibizumab has less systemic circulation and effect on maternal serum and breastmilk VEGF levels when compared to bevacizumab and aflibercept. However, there is significant need for further research on the degree and duration to which intravitreal agents circulate systemically, what fraction is transferred into breastmilk and is absorbed, and whether this results in any functional adverse effects to the infant. Other factors to consider in the medical decision-making of lactating mothers necessitating intravitreal anti-VEGF treatment include the gestational and post-natal age of the child and whether it is feasible to avoid breastfeeding for the half-life duration of the intravitreal agent rather than ceasing breastfeeding altogether.
Protocol for using fluorescent sensors targeted to endogenous proteins (FluoSTEPs) to measure microdomain-specific signaling events.

Summary Fluorescence-based sensors are powerful molecular tools for studying the spatiotemporal regulation of cell signaling, which is often organized into discrete microdomains. Here, we present a protocol for using fluorescent sensors targeted to endogenous proteins (FluoSTEPs), a new class of fluorescent sensors in which the functional probe is exclusively reconstituted at an endogenously expressed protein of interest associated with a specific microdomain. FluoSTEPs allow microdomain-specific signaling activities to be measured with high selectivity without perturbing the native stoichiometry of signaling components. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Zhang et al. (2020) and Tenner et al. (2021) .
Cardiovascular function during early development is suppressed by cinnamon flavored, nicotine-free, electronic cigarette vapor.

Objectives Vaping products continue to remain popular among teens and young adults despite an overall lack of research regarding their potential health effects. While much research focuses on respiratory effects associated with electronic cigarette use, their effects on other systems, including embryonic cardiovascular function and development due to maternal use during pregnancy, also needs to be evaluated. Here, we assessed the impact of nicotine-free, cinnamon and chocolate flavored, electronic cigarette vapor on cardiovascular function during early development by exposing wild-type zebrafish embryos to electronic cigarette vapor. Methods Vapor was produced from a second-generation style vape pen and was incorporated into dechlorinated water at 0.6, 12, and 25 puffs/L, where one puff equals 55 ml of vapor. Vapor infused water was distributed among flasks to which zebrafish embryos were added. Exposures lasted for 24 hours and cardiovascular videos were recorded. Videos were analyzed and end systolic volume, end diastolic volume, stroke volume, heart rate, cardiac output, red blood cell density, and arterial and venous blood vessel diameters were measured. Results Here, it was found that embryonic exposure to nicotine free, cinnamon, and not chocolate, flavored electronic cigarette vapor at 25 puffs/L significantly decreased all cardiovascular parameters measured, with the exception of blood vessel diameter. No significant effect on any measured parameter was observed at 0.6 or 12 puffs/L with either flavor. Conclusion These results indicate that cinnamon flavored electronic cigarette vapor can affect cardiovascular function during early development, even in the absence of nicotine, particularly at elevated exposure concentrations.
Temperature dependence of source specific volatility basis sets for motor vehicle exhaust

Recent work on emissions testing has focused on developing source specific volatility distributions which could be used to improve emissions inventories. One problem about these volatility profiles is that they are evaluated only at one temperature which is usually 298 K. This study uses a simple statistical model to evaluate the temperature dependence of the source-resolved volatility basis set, considering gasoline and diesel vehicle exhaust. The steps involved (a) fitting a distribution to the emissions data (b) evaluating the goodness of fit using a statistical test (c) updating the volatility bins using the Clausius–Clayperon equation; calculating the heats of vaporization of each volatility class using a regression model (d) assessing how the volatility of different VOC classes-Extremely Low Volatile, Low Volatile, Semi-Volatile, Intermediate Volatile and Volatile Organic Compounds – are affected by temperature. The results indicated that there could be significant changes in gas-particle partitioning of these emissions. For diesel exhaust at 298 K, the fractions are 5.4 × 10−4 (ELVOC), 0.074 (LVOC), 0.76 (SVOC), 0.17 (IVOC) and 10−5 (VOC) respectively. Looking at a window of ∓20 K, the partitioning for 278 K is 3 × 10−3 (ELVOC), 0.26 (LVOC), 0.67 (SVOC), 0.07 (IVOC) with no VOC fraction; while at 318 K it is 1.5 × 10−7 (ELVOC), 9 × 10−3 (LVOC), 0.64 (SVOC), 0.35 (IVOC) and 2 × 10−5 (VOC); demonstrating a significant change with temperature. The parameterizations developed in this work could be used to improve motor vehicle emissions inventory models such as MOVES.
Mechanical Response Anisotropy in Hot‐Pressed Silicon Carbide

Abstract : Property anisotropy can exist in sintered ceramics and composites formed by pressure-assistance. Being that hot-pressed silicon carbide (SiC) is a utilized armor ceramic, and its fracture and damage multiaxially occurs in a ballistic impact, interest exists to measure the quasi-static mechanical (fracture and indentation) responses as a function of orientation to identify anisotropy. Flexure strength, fracture toughness, Knoop hardness, and spherical indentation were studied as a function of orientation with respect to the pressing axis in a 40-mm-thick hotpressed SiC tile. Flexure strength and fracture toughness were 25% and 10% lower, respectively, in the plane perpendicular to the pressing axis while hardness was isotropic and the responses from spherical indentation were different but inconclusive.
The concept and practice of brain death

Brain death, the colloquial term for the determination of human death by showing the irreversible cessation of the clinical functions of the brain, has been practiced since the 1960s and is growing in acceptance throughout the world. Of the three concepts of brain death--the whole-brain formulation, the brain stem formulation, and the higher brain formulation--the whole-brain formulation is accepted and practiced most widely. There is a rigorous conceptual basis for regarding whole-brain death as human death based on the biophilosophical concept of the loss of the organism as a whole. The diagnosis of brain death is primarily a clinical determination but laboratory tests showing the cessation of intracranial blood flow can be used to confirm the clinical diagnosis in cases in which the clinical tests cannot be fully performed or correctly interpreted. Because of evidence that some physicians fail to perform or record brain death tests properly, it is desirable to require a confirmatory test when inadequately experienced physicians conduct brain death determinations. The world's principal religions accept brain death with a few exceptions. Several scholars continue to reject brain death on conceptual grounds and urge that human death determination be based on the irreversible cessation of circulation. But despite the force of their arguments they have neither persuaded any jurisdictions to abandon brain death statutes nor convinced medical groups to change clinical practice guidelines. Other scholars who, on more pragmatic grounds, have called for the abandonment of brain death as an anachronism or an unnecessary prerequisite for multi-organ procurement, similarly have not convinced public policy makers to withdraw the dead-donor rule. Despite a few residual areas of controversy, brain death is a durable concept that has been accepted well and has formed the basis of successful public policy in diverse societies throughout the world.
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma containing both B and T cell clones.

We describe a patient in whom two lymph node biopsies removed 18 months apart disclosed histologic and immunophenotypic evidence of a non- Hodgkin's lymphoma containing neoplastic lymphocytes of both B and T type. Analyses of immunoglobulin and T cell receptor genes confirmed the presence of separate B and T cell clones. In addition, immunogenotyping revealed the possibility of a second B cell clone within the patient's tumor. Development of a multiclonal lymphoma in this patient may relate to the carcinogenic effects of chemotherapy or to a predisposition for neoplastic transformation of lymphocytes due to a previously diagnosed autoimmune condition. Another possible explanation is that the lymphoma implies the existence in this patient of a transformed lymphocyte-committed stem cell that is capable of generating both B and T lineage clones.
Interlibrary Loan Outreach to a Prison: Access Inside

Research has shown that college courses in prisons can reduce recidivism, but inmates in correctional facilities who are taking college courses often have difficulty accessing research materials. Academic libraries can develop interlibrary loan programs with prisons that will allow inmates access to research materials from their collections. Such programs need not detract from services to constituent students and can be managed so that the program has very little impact on the college library staff's work load. An interlibrary lending relationship between Taft Correctional Institute and California State University, Bakersfield, is described.
Water-soluble copolymers, XXIII. Copolymers of acrylamide with N-(1,1-dimethyl-3-oxobutyl)-N-(n-propyl)acrylamide: Synthesis and characterization

The copolymerization of acrylamide (AM) with N-(1,1-dimethyl-3-oxobutyl)-N-(n-propyl)acrylamide (PDAAM) has been studied in the range from 5 to 20% PDAAM in the feed. The copolymer compositions have been determined from elemental analysis and 13C-NMR. Reactivity ratio studies have been performed and the value of r1 r2 determined to be 2.20. The molecular weights of the copolymers were found to decrease with increasing PDAAM content in the feed. The copolymer microstructures were predicted from the experimentally determined reactivity ratios. These model structures are utilized for assessment of structure/dilute solution property relationships reported in a subsequent paper in this series. Die Copolymerisation von Acrylamid (AM) mit N-(1,1-Dimethyl-3-oxobutyl)-N-(n-propyl)acrylamid (PDAAM) wurde im Bereich von 5 bis 20% PDAAM in der Ausgangsmischung untersucht. Die Copolymerenzusammensetzungen wurden mit Hilfe der Elementaranalyse und der 13C-NMR-Spektroskopie ermittelt. Untersuchungen des Reaktivitatsverhaltnisses wurden durchgefuhrt und der Wert des Produktes r1 r2 zu 2,20 bestimmt. Die Molekulargewichte der Copolymeren sinken mit steigendem PDAAM-Gehalt in der Ausgangsmischung. Die Mikrostruktur der Copolymeren wurde aus den experimentell bestimmten Reaktivitatsverhaltnissen ermittelt. Diese Modellstrukturen wurden zur Abschatzung der Beziehung zwischen Struktur und Eigenschaften in verdunnter Losung verwendet, die in einer nachfolgenden Veroffentlichung vorgestellt wird.
Aluminum Antimonide (AlSb)

Publisher Summary It is noted that the refractive index, n, and the extinction coefficient, k, of aluminum antimonide (AlSb) is measured for a limited number of samples. The two main reasons for this: (1) large high-quality single crystals are difficult to grow, and (2) the surface of AlSb reacts rapidly with the atmosphere to produce a relatively thick contaminated layer. One method for measuring the optical properties of semiconductors, especially for the ultraviolet and visible regions, is spectroscopic ellipsometry. Using the wet-chemical etching procedures have helped in obtaining AlSb surfaces of sufficient quality for ellipsometric measurements at room the temperature from 5.8-1.4 eV. They also report that n and k values are calculated from the measured pseudo-dielectric function. This is called the “pseudo-dielectric function” because no corrections are made for any surface overlayers. Strossner et al measured the dependence of the energy gap absorptance of AlSb at room the temperature for hydrostatic pressures from atmospheric up to the phase change at about 8 GPa.