cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
New applications advisable for gallium nitride

Abstract GaN-based visible light-emitting diodes and laser diodes are already commercialized for a variety of lighting and data storage applications. This materials system is also showing promise for microwave and high power electronics intended for radar, satellite, wireless base stations, and utility grid applications; for biological detection systems; and for a new class of spin-transport electronics (spintronics) in which the spin of charge carriers is exploited. The explosive increase of interest in the AlGaInN family of materials in recent years has been fueled by the application of blue/green/UV light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in full-color displays, traffic lights, automotive lighting, and general room lighting (using so-called white LEDs) 1 . In addition, blue/green laser diodes can be used in high storage-capacity digital versatile disk (DVD) systems 2 . AlGaN-based photodetectors are also useful for solar-blind UV detection and have applications as flame sensors for control of gas turbines or detection of missiles.
An integrated, modular, program-supplemented approach to the teaching of basic health science.

A flexible curriculum at the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry has been designed to accommodate special needs of the students and to acknowledge the change in emphasis in health services education. Basic science courses are offered through a single coordinating authority and are organized into a sequence of levels that correspond with levels of clinical competence; the courses are supplemented with self-study programs that permit progress at a rate determined by the student.
Effects of dispersion on the performance of a refractive beam shaper

Effects of material dispersion are considered for the case of an aspheric lens pair which transforms a collimated laser beam to a collimated beam with a different transverse irradiance profile. When the lenses are used at a wavelength other than the design wavelength, wavefront aberration is the primary consequence, with distortion of the output profile being a minor effect. Using geometric optics, we derive simple expressions for the effects of dispersion on the output wavefront, which depend only on dispersion and the beam shaping transformation under consideration, but which do not require the solution of the full lens design equations. As an example, detailed results are shown for a practical beam shaping design.
The adoption of electronic medical record technology in order to prevent medical errors: a matter for American public policy

This article argues that public policy should address the use of electronic medical records (EMRs) as a way to ensure patient safety in the United States. The article discusses the scope and nature of the medical error problem in the United States, causes of medical errors and the use of EMRs as a solution to the problem. Research has shown that EMRs can be an effective tool in reducing preventable medical error. It is therefore argued that the widespread diffusion of EMRs should be a matter of American public policy given the demonstrated socioeconomic benefits of the technology.
What is the nature of mecamylamine's antagonism of the central effects of nicotine?

Revue bibliographique sur les recepteurs a nicotine existants au niveau du systeme nerveux central et en particulier etude de la nature des interactions entre des antagonistes (mecamylamine, pempidine) et ces recepteurs a nicotine
Phytohemagglutinin alters cell morphology and decreases prolactin production in GH cells

Abstract Phytohemagglutinin (PHA) produced morphological and functional alterations in a clonal strain of rat pituitary tumor cells (GH 4 C 1 ). Addition of PHA (2–5 μg/ml) results in a decrease in the proportion of elongated cells from 20% in control cell cultures to less than 10% in the presence of PHA. This effect can be observed after exposure of cells to PHA for 2–3 h and requires 4 days to be reversed after removing PHA from the culture medium. A specialized cell function, the production of the peptide hormone prolactin (PRL), is also affected by PHA treatment. Exposure of cells to 2 μg/ml PHA results in greater than 50% inhibition of PRL production. The above effects of PHA occur without any apparent alteration in total protein per culture dish, the rate of protein synthesis or the overall growth characteristics of the cells.
Practice guidelines in the management of osteoarthritis

Summary Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common articular rheumatic disease. Practice guidelines have been developed to assist the practitioner in the care of patients with hip and knee OA. The guidelines divide the treatment strategy into nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic modalities. The nonpharmacologic or nonmedicinal approaches include patient education, psychosocial interventions, physical and surgical measures. Each of these are as important as the pharmacologic or medicinal measures. Medicinal measures can be subdivided into symptomatic therapy and disease modifying therapy. Even though all present therapies are aimed at symptoms, experimental therapies are being developed to alter the disease process.
Computer-assisted learning and evaluation in medicine.

The use of the computer in medical education has been in evolutionary development since the early 1960s; its adoption, however, has been less widespread than the promise of the medium should warrant. Computer-assisted instruction enhances learning, allowing the student the discretion of content, time, place, and pace of instruction. Information conveyed can take several forms, some better suited to undergraduate medical education, others more applicable to graduate and continuing education. The use of the computer in certification and licensure could, within a decade, transform the way competence is assessed. Its greatest promise, however, may lie in providing pertinent information at the time when, and in the place where, patient care takes place. New developments in data storage and retrieval forecast applications that could not have been imagined even a year or two ago. (JAMA1988;260:367-372)
Volumetric Oxygen-Absorption Test for Rubber Aging

Abstract A volumetric oxygen-absorption test for aging of rubber has been investigated from the point of view of the effect of cure and the effect of mercapto-benzimidazole on the aging behavior. The test has also been evaluated by comparison with conventional air oven and oxygen bomb aging. A compounded but uncured Hevea black stock is more resistant to oxidation than the vulcanized material, but after a reasonable cure is obtained, further heating produces only a small change in the rate of oxygen absorption. The change in physical properties corresponding to a given amount of oxygen absorbed varies somewhat with time of cure in the initial stages, but after the absorption of 4 or 5 cc. of oxygen per gram of rubber, the changes in most physical properties are a direct function of the amount of oxygen absorbed. Neither time of cure nor the presence or absence of inhibitor has any significant effect on the subsequent rate of change in such properties as tensile strength and ultimate elongation for a given...
The effect of dihydrotestosterone in combination with ovariectomy on intranuclear inclusions in mammotrophs of the Mongolian gerbil.

Abstract Intranuclear vacuoles and membranes have been observed in mammotrophs of female Mongolian gerbils. Testosterone injection increases the number of cells containing inclusions (1·77±008 inclusions per field in testosterone-injected animals and 0·38±0·05 inclusions per field in controls). Testosterone may well be converted to some other compound which in turn induces the inclusions. Ovariectomy presumably prevented such a conversion inasmuch as testosterone was ineffective in increasing the number of inclusions in ovariectomized gerbils. Neither did the injection of dihydrotestosterone, the biologically active form of testosterone in some organs, increase the number of cells containing intranuclear inclusions.
Glomerular leukotriene synthesis in Heymann nephritis

Glomerular leukotriene synthesis in Heymann nephritis. The glomerular synthesis of LTB 4 was assessed in glomeruli isolated from rats with passive Heymann nephritis (PHN). PHN was induced by a single intravenous administration of proteinuric doses of immune sera raised in sheep against rat brush border tubular fraction Fx1A. At various time points following induction of the disease glomeruli were isolated and LTB 4 synthesis was assessed under basal and phospholipase A 2 activation conditions. LTB 4 was measured by high pressure liquid chromatography and radioimmunoassay and was identified by UV spectroscopy. The role of complement system in mediating glomerular LTB 4 synthesis was also assessed in a group of decomplemented rats using cobra venom factor and at various time points following administration of immune serum. Following induction of PHN, enhanced glomerular LTB4 synthesis was observed as early as one hour, peaked at five hours and returned toward control levels over the subsequent four days. The peak in glomerular LTB 4 synthesis did not correlate with changes in glomerular neutrophiles or macrophages. A second increment of LTB 4 synthesis occurred at the onset of heavy proteinuria (day 5). Complement depletion reduced proteinuria and the enhancement in LTB 4 synthesis at day 5 but had no effect at earlier time points. The observations indicate that in non-inflammatory forms of glomerular immune injury the glomerular arachidonate 5-lipoxygenation is enhanced. This phenomenon has no apparent relationship with increased glomerular permeability to protein and may reflect the presence or activation of a leukotriene producing cell following intraglomerular interactions of Fx1A antigen, anti-Fx1A antibody and complement.
Basement Membrane: Carbohydrates and X-Ray Diffraction'

The demonstration that epithelial cells of mouse and rat synthesize basement membrane antigens in tissue culture has established the concept that epithelia in general synthesize basement membrane (Pierce et al., 1964; Pierce and Nakane, 1967). Epithelial basement membranes contain hydroxyproline (Mukerjee et al., 1965). In addition, these membranes contain antigens shared by collagen and other antigens distinct from those of the connective tissue. This raises important questions regarding the nature of basement membrane: Is it collagen, a mucoprotein to be distinguished from collagen, or a combination of collagen and a mucoprotein? A major obstacle in determination of the chemical composition of basement membrane has been the difficulty in obtaining it free from connective tissue contamination. Even carefully prepared glomeruli may be heavily contaminated by periglomerular fibrous tissue or by connective tissue elements at the point of entry and exit of arterioles. Thus, the presence of collagenous components in glomerular basement membrane, as determined by chemical analysis (Spiro, 1967; Kefalides and Winzler 1966; Kefalides 1968) and x-ray diflraction, may represent a contaminant and must be confirmed on material free of connective tissue. A parietal yolk sac carcinoma of the mouse has been developed which synthesizes epithelial basement membrane in
THE RELATION OF THE BACTERIOSTATIC ACTION OF CERTAIN DYES TO OXIDATION-REDUCTION PROCESSES

Oxidized indophenols and methylene blue are bacteriostatic for Pneumococcus and hemolytic streptococci of human and bovine origin, while the indigoes, malachite green and litmus are not toxic. 2-Chloroindophenol, the most positive of the indicators of oxidation-reduction potentials used, is also the only one to have a bacteriostatic action on cheese strains of Streptococcus haemolyticus. Methylene blue and the indophenols are no longer bacteriostatic when present in a reduced form in a medium capable of maintaining them in such a condition. A comparison of these results with the growth in plain broth of the organisms studied suggests that the "inhibiting" dyes "poise" the medium at an oxidation potential outside the range in which the inhibited organisms can grow.
A platform for on-chip silica optomechanical oscillators with integrated waveguides

We present a new phosphosilicate glass photonic integrated circuit platform for optomechanical systems. Wafer-scale reflow enables high-Q (1.5×106) resonators and closely-spaced (250nm) waveguides. Optomechanical resonance (71.9MHz) is demonstrated.
Cerebral Microcirculation and Oxygen Tension in the Human Secondary Cortex

The three-dimensional spatial arrangement of the cortical microcirculatory system is critical for understanding oxygen exchange between blood vessels and brain cells. A three-dimensional computer model of a 3 × 3 × 3 mm3 subsection of the human secondary cortex was constructed to quantify oxygen advection in the microcirculation, tissue oxygen perfusion, and consumption in the human cortex. This computer model accounts for all arterial, capillary and venous blood vessels of the cerebral microvascular bed as well as brain tissue occupying the extravascular space. Microvessels were assembled with optimization algorithms emulating angiogenic growth; a realistic capillary bed was built with space filling procedures. The extravascular tissue was modeled as a porous medium supplied with oxygen by advection–diffusion to match normal metabolic oxygen demand. The resulting synthetic computer generated network matches prior measured morphometrics and fractal patterns of the cortical microvasculature. This morphologically accurate, physiologically consistent, multi-scale computer network of the cerebral microcirculation predicts the oxygen exchange of cortical blood vessels with the surrounding gray matter. Oxygen tension subject to blood pressure and flow conditions were computed and validated for the blood as well as brain tissue. Oxygen gradients along arterioles, capillaries and veins agreed with in vivo trends observed recently in imaging studies within experimental tolerances and uncertainty.
Serial-ordering deficits in inferior readers.

To test the hypothesis that reading disorders in children may in part grow out of a more general deficit in serial organization, the performance of average, inferior and pre-readers was compared on two tasks that required them to remember the correct serial position of visual or auditory stimuli. The efficiency with which all groups were able to do this increased markedly as a function of age. In conditions where greater demands were made upon immediate memory processes, the average readers surpassed the inferior readers at all ages studied. Crossed dominance of hand and eye was equally common within these two groups.
Crystal structure of an RNA quadruplex containing inosine tetrad: implications for the roles of NH2 group in purine tetrads.

Abstract Polyinosinic acid has been known to adopt the four-stranded helical structure but its basic unit, inosine tetrad (I tetrad), has not been determined at the atomic level. Here we report the crystal structure of an RNA quadruplex containing an I tetrad at 1.4 A resolution. The I tetrad has one cyclic hydrogen bond N1…O6 with the bond length of 2.7 A. A water bridge is observed in the minor groove side of the base tetrad. Even though it is sandwiched by guanine tetrads (G tetrads), the I tetrad is buckled towards the 3′ side of the tetrad plane, which results from the different interaction strength with K ions on two sides of the tetrad plane. Comparison with both G tetrad and adenine tetrad indicates that lack of NH 2 in the C2 position makes the I tetrad prone to buckle for interactions with ligands. Two U*(G-G-G-G) base pentads are observed at the junction of the 5′ termini of two quadruplexes. The uridine residue in the base pentad is engaged in two hydrogen bonding interactions (N2(G)-H…O2(U) and O2′(G)-H…O4(U)) and a water-mediated interaction (N3(G) and N3(U)) with the G tetrad. We also discuss the roles of amino group in purine tetrads and the inter-quadruplex interactions in RNA molecules. These quadruplexes may interact with each other by stacking, groove binding and intercalation.
Basic hydrolysis of glyceryl nitrate esters. III. Trinitroglycerin

Kinetics of the basic hydrolysis of glyceryl trinitrate (TNG) were investigated in CO2-free aqueous calcium hydroxide solutions. The hydrolysis reactions were carried out in a temperature controlled reactor vessel with provision for continuous N2 sparging of the reaction mixture. TNG hydrolyzed via second-order reaction at 25°C, 18°C, and 10°C. The activation energy of the hydrolysis reaction of TNG was calculated from the kinetic data and found to be equal to 27.53 kcal/mol. The major products of the hydrolysis of TNG in solution of calcium hydroxide were calcium nitrate and calcium nitrite, accounting for approximately 50% of the degradation products. The minor identified products such as calcium oxalate and nitrate esters amounted to approximatey 6% of the products. The remaining 30% of the isolated products was a mixture of calcium formate, a nitrate ester, and unidentified volatiles, polymerlike substances, and other organic residue.
Observations of decadal time scale salinity changes in the subtropical thermocline of the North Pacific Ocean

Abstract Data from Argo floats indicate that significant salinity changes have occurred in the North Pacific thermocline relative to data collected in the previous two decades, including observations obtained as part of the WOCE hydrographic program. Such a salinity decrease on both isopyncals and isobars implies a freshening scenario in the near-surface source region of this water mass. The frequently repeated meridional section P16 supports this inference. The subsurface salinity freshening likely began in the early 1990s, strengthened through 1997, and continued into the 2000s; the surface salinity freshening had commenced by 1984 and continued through the first decade of the 21st century. The spatial distribution of salinity change on the density surface σθ=25.5 is examined through comparisons of Argo and most of the North Pacific WOCE sections (1985-1994) and between Argo and the Hydrobase climatology, largely composed of data from the late 1970s through the mid-1980s. Both comparisons show a large-scale, basin-wide decrease in subsurface salinity through the Argo time period used in this analysis (2003-2006). The salinity difference is maximum in the northeast area and spreads southward and westward, approximately following geostrophic streamlines.
Understanding how the brain perceives alcohol: Neurobiological basis of ethanol discrimination

Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms that regulate how the brain perceives the intoxicating effects of alcohol is highly relevant to understanding the development and maintenance of alcohol addiction. The basis for the subjective effects of intoxication can be studied in drug discrimination procedures in which animals are trained to differentiate the presence of internal stimulus effects of a given dose of ethanol (EtOH) from its absence. Research on the discriminative stimulus effects of psychoactive drugs has shown that these effects are mediated by specific receptor systems. In the case of alcohol, action mediated through ionotropic glutamate, gamma-aminobutyric acid, and serotonergic receptors concurrently produce complex, or multiple, basis for the discriminative stimulus effects of EtOH. These receptor systems may contribute differentially to the discriminative stimulus effects of EtOH based on the EtOH dose, species differences, physiological states, and genetic composition of the individual. An understanding of the receptor mechanisms that mediate the discriminative stimulus effects of EtOH can be used to develop medications aimed at decreasing the subjective effects associated with repeated intoxication. The goal of this symposium was to present an overview of recent findings that highlight the neurobiological mechanisms of EtOH's subjective effects and to suggest the relevance of these discoveries to both basic and clinical alcohol research.
Effects of extracellular fluid volume contraction and expansion on the bicarbonaturia of parathyroid hormone

Effects of extracellular fluid volume contraction and expansion on the bicarbonaturia of parathyroid hormone. To evaluate the effect of extracellular fluid volume alterations on the bicarbonaturia of parathyroid hormone, thyroparathyroidectomized dogs were made alkalotic and volume-contracted or expanded through hemodialysis. Clearance studies were performed before and after infusion of purified bovine parathyroid extract (PTE). Glomerular filtration rate and blood bicarbonate concentrations were kept constant throughout the experiments. A significant increase in fractional bicarbonate excretion was observed following PTE infusion in both the volume-contracted (8.67 ± 3.25 to 14.70 ± 3.63%, P
Planet-bound dark matter and the internal heat of Uranus, Neptune, and hot-Jupiter exoplanets

We suggest that accretion of planet-bound dark matter by the Jovian planets, and by hot-Jupiter exoplanets, could be a significant source of their internal heat. The anomalously low internal heat of Uranus would then be explained if the collision believed to have tilted the axis of Uranus also knocked it free of most of its associated dark matter cloud. Our considerations focus on the efficient capture of non-self-annihilating dark matter, but could also apply to self-annihilating dark matter, provided the capture efficiency is small enough that the earth heat balance constraint is obeyed.
Study of diverse mechanisms of cell-mediated cytotoxicity in gene-targeted mice using flow cytometric cytotoxicity assay.

Abstract Cytotoxic lymphocytes kill tumor or virus-infected target cells utilizing two mechanisms—(1) release of lytic granules (containing perforin and granzymes), and (2) Fas ligand (FasL)/Fas or TNF-initiated apoptosis. We have examined mechanisms of target cell lysis by effector T cells from gene-targeted and mutant mice using a new Flow Cytometric Cytotoxicity Assay (FC Assay). Target cells were labeled with PKH67 dye. Cell death was estimated by 7-AAD inclusion and annexin V-PE binding. A direct correlation has been found between the percentage of dead target cells in FC Assay and the results of 111 In release cytotoxicity assay when effector T cells from either Pfp −/− (perforin knockout) or gld (non-functional Fas Ligand) mice were used. As shown by the 4 h FC assay, the granule-mediated mechanism was utilized by T cells from gld mice. In contrast, T cells from Pfp −/− mice used death receptor-mediated lysis. Therefore, cytotoxic cells from gene-targeted and mutant mice can serve as valuable tools for studying different mechanisms of cell-mediated cytotoxicity, and the FC assay could be applied irrespective of which cytotoxic effector pathway is involved.
Clear cell sarcoma in the era of sentinel lymph node mapping

Clear cell sarcoma of the tendons and aponeuroses (CCSTA) are rare aggressive soft tissue tumors with tendency for lymph nodes dissemination. Lymph node involvement is a correlate for prognosis. We present three patients with CCSTA in whom simultaneous sentinel lymph biopsy (SLNB) and resection was performed. Sentinel lymph node mapping may have a role in clear cell sarcoma from a prognostic standpoint. Further investigations are needed for validation.
Primary ocular sarcomas in the cat

Primary ocular sarcomas were diagnosed following enucleation (12) or necropsy (one) in 13 cats over an eight year period. Twelve of the 13 cats were males; ages of affected animals were seven to 15 years, with a mean of 12. Five of the cats had a history of previous trauma and six others had a history of chronic uveitis. Morphologically the neoplasm was comprised of undifferentiated spindle cells and appeared to arise in the anterior uvea. The cancer was quite aggressive, with extension into adjacent tissues and/or distant metastases commonly encountered. Seven of 12 cats experienced confirmed tumour related deaths within months following enucleation and one was humanely destroyed at the time of original presentation.
Detailed educational pathways among females after very early sexual intercourse.

CONTEXT: Although studies have shown that early sex is negatively associated with high school graduation and college enrollment, no recent study has examined the extent to which early sex affects educational attainment, and the mediating mechanisms have not been established. METHODS: Data from 4,613 female participants in the National Educational Longitudinal Study were used to examine the relationship between early sexual intercourse (i.e., first sex prior to age 15) and educational attainment. Logistic regression analyses that controlled for background characteristics, school performance, behavioral factors and academic aspirations were conducted to assess this association, as well as to explore the potential mediating role of early marriage and childbearing. RESULTS: Young women who had had early sex had reduced odds of having graduated from high school (odds ratio, 0.4) and from college (0.5). Postsecondary enrollment was positively associated with expectations of postsecondary education (1.5) and levels of academic achievement (1.4–1.5), but not with early sex. Respondents who had married before their expected high school graduation date had reduced odds of having graduated from high school (0.1), enrolled in postsecondary school (0.4) or completed college (0.1); those who had a child before their expected high school graduation date had reduced odds of having graduated from high school (0.3) or college (0.1). CONCLUSIONS: Programs that target early parenthood and marriage, and that provide hope for future educational opportunities, could lessen the impact of early sex for young women.
Effect of 5-bromodeoxyuridine on appearance of cell-surface saccharides in organ cultures of embryonic pancreas.

Abstract Rat pancreatic rudiments from Day 15 embryos cultured for 11 days with 20 μM 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) show selective suppression of acinar cell cytodifferentiation with production of fluid-filled vacuoles lined by undifferentiated cells. Using a battery of lectin-ferritin conjugates (Con A, RCA I, WGA, SBA, and Ulex lectin) we have shown that the majority of these cells express cell-surface glycoconjugate patterns reminiscent of both protodifferentiated cells from Day 15 rudiments and of adult centroacinar (i.e., duct-like) cells. A smaller population of the undifferentiated cells which contain abundant elements of the rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum expresses surface saccharide patterns equivalent to those of acinar cells in Day 19 rudiments. These cells, however, lack zymogen granules characteristic of acinar cells in Day 19 rudiments and are similar morphologically to presumptive acinar cells in Day 17 rudiments. Culture of Day 14 pancreatic rudiments with BrdU leads to growth only of undifferentiated cells with duct-like cell-surface saccharide patterns. We interpret these results to indicate that (1) the differentiation program for the acinar cell plasmalemma is established earlier than that for its intracellular organelles; (2) these two developmental programs are independently regulated; and (3) the progenitor of the acinar cell in the protodifferentiated rudiment may be related to the centroacinar or duct-like cell.
Safeguarding Being: a bioethical principle for genetic nursing care

This philosophical inquiry examines the nature of the technology of genetic predisposition testing and its relation to patients as whole persons. The bioethical principles of non-maleficence, beneficence, autonomy and justice are judged insufficient to resolve issues associated with use. A new principle of 'sustained being', drawn from philosophical propositions of Pellegrino, is suggested. The new principle is suited to an evolving practice and is compatible with consequentialist, deontological and relational ethics theories. The notion of 'taking care' is related to nursing in genetic health care to form a standard of conduct and a moral imperative to 'safeguard being'.
IMPLEMENTATION AND EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS OF A CHIP FOR THE SEPARATION OF MIXED AND FILTERED SIGNALS

We describe an algorithm and chip implementation for separating a mixture of unknown, but independent, temporal signals in static and dynamic environments. The proposed algorithm, which is a simple modification of the Herault and Jutten (HJ) algorithm, proved to be robust to parameter variations in both cases. We present chip test results to quantify the performance of the modified algorithm in static and dynamic (mixing and filtering) environments. Moreover, experiments of separating two speech or two music signals in English-English, English-Japanese, and English-Arabic have demonstrated successful performance.
Normal boiling points of haloalkanes from electrotopological state indices

Electrotopological state indices have successfully predicted a variety of physical, chemical, and biological properties of substances. Since these indices are easy to calculate, they offer an advantage for large datasets over descriptors more difficult to calculate, and also for regulatory applications where time constraints may not allow extensive computations. Here, we show their utility in predicting normal boiling points of a variety of halogenated alkanes, using more diverse sets of molecules than previously published studies. The best model produced in this work had r 2 = 0.97 and an absolute mean error of 9.98 K for a robust validation set.
Minimally Invasive Cystectomy Is Associated With Improved Perioperative Patient Safety Outcomes Compared With Open Cystectomy in a National Cohort

Objective To compare perioperative patient safety outcomes of minimally invasive cystectomy (MIC) with open cystectomy (OC) in a national cohort. Comparative outcomes data based on validated metrics are sparse for MIC, an emerging treatment for bladder cancer. Methods We identified patients undergoing MIC and OC for bladder cancer from 2005 to 2010 using the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample. We compared perioperative outcomes using Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs), validated metrics developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and used multivariate regression analyses to generate adjusted odds ratios. Results Between 2005 and 2010, 42,919 patients underwent cystectomy. During this period, the prevalence of MIC increased from 0.8% to 10.3% of all cystectomies. Compared with OC, MIC patients were more likely to be male ( P = .019) and treated at large teaching hospitals ( P P P = .038). Although the occurrence of any PSI was associated with increased mortality ( P Conclusion The prevalence of MIC has substantially increased in recent years. Patients undergoing MIC had superior perioperative patient safety outcomes as measured by PSIs. Further study is needed to explain these patterns and to promote the continued safe diffusion of this technology.
Management of postoperative infections after spinal instrumentation

The authors retrospectively reviewed 452 consecutively treated patients who underwent a spinal instrumentation procedure at a single institution to establish which patients and which surgical approaches might be associated with an increased risk of developing deep wound infections and to determine the efficacy with which the institution's current treatment strategy eradicates these infections. Wound infections occurred in 17 patients (10 men and seven women) with spinal instrumentation (incidence 3.8%). All infections occurred after posterior spinal instrumentation procedures (7.2%); there were no infections after anterior instrumentation procedures regardless of the level. Each patient was assigned an infection risk factor (RF) score depending on the number of RFs identified in an individual patient preoperatively. The mean RF score of patients who developed infections was 2.18, whereas the mean RF score for a procedure-matched, infection-free control group was 0.71. The mean number of days from surgery to clinical presentation was 27.6 days (range 4-120 days), and the mean increase in hospitalization time for the subset of patients who developed infections was 16.6 days. The most common organism isolated from wound cultures was Staphylococcus aureus (nine of 17 cases). Of the 17 patients, five had infections involving multiple organisms. All patients were infection free at a minimum of 8 months follow-up review. The current treatment regimen advocated at this institution consists of operative debridement of the infected wound, a course of intravenous followed by oral antibiotic medications, insertion of an antibiotic-containing irrigation-suction system for a mean of 5 days, and maintenance of the instrumentation system within the infected wound.
The optimal relaxation parameter for the SOR method applied to the Poisson equation in any space dimensions

The finite difference discretization of the Poisson equation with Dirichlet boundary conditions leads to a large, sparse system of linear equations for the solution values at the interior mesh points. This problem is a popular and useful model problem for performance comparisons of iterative methods for the solution of linear systems. To use the successive overrelaxation (SOR) method in these comparisons, a formula for the optimal value of its relaxation parameter is needed. In standard texts, this value is only available for the case of two space dimensions, even though the model problem is also instructive in higher dimensions. This note extends the derivation of the optimal relaxation parameter to any space dimension and confirms its validity by means of test calculations in three dimensions.
The Structure of Interest Rates

I. Assumptions, 36. — Five propositions concerning the relationship between short and long rates, 37. — II. Influence of the costs of investment, 41. — Shiftability on the lenders' side, 43. — Two complications: many maturities, 44; the function of banks as changers of maturities, 45. — III. The influence of risk, 46. — IV. Expectations: the rational investor's decisions, 48; possible inconsistencies, 49. Effect of divergent expectations among members of the market, when the majority expect rising interest rates, 51; when "the market" expects rates to fall, 54. — V. Verification: movement of interest rates over time, 55; structure of yields on different maturities, 56. — VI. Bearing of this analysis on: influence of the discount rate on investment, 60; interest and the marginal efficiency of capital, 60; influence of wide gaps between short and long rates, 61; the "liquidity theory of interest," 62.
Different Roles of GNAS and cAMP Signaling During Early and Late Stages of Osteogenic Differentiation

Progressive osseous heteroplasia (POH) and fibrous dysplasia (FD) are genetic diseases of bone formation at opposite ends of the osteogenic spectrum: imperfect osteogenesis of the skeleton occurs in FD, while heterotopic ossification in skin, subcutaneous fat, and skeletal muscle forms in POH. POH is caused by heterozygous inactivating germline mutations in GNAS, which encodes G-protein subunits regulating the cAMP pathway, while FD is caused by GNAS somatic activating mutations. We used pluripotent mouse ES cells to examine the effects of Gnas dysregulation on osteoblast differentiation. At the earliest stages of osteogenesis, Gnas transcripts Gsα, XLαs and 1A are expressed at low levels and cAMP levels are also low. Inhibition of cAMP signaling (as in POH) by 2′,5′-dideoxyadenosine enhanced osteoblast differentiation while conversely, increased cAMP signaling (as in FD), induced by forskolin, inhibited osteoblast differentiation. Notably, increased cAMP was inhibitory for osteogenesis only at early stages after osteogenic induction. Expression of osteogenic and adipogenic markers showed that increased cAMP enhanced adipogenesis and impaired osteoblast differentiation even in the presence of osteogenic factors, supporting cAMP as a critical regulator of osteoblast and adipocyte lineage commitment. Furthermore, increased cAMP signaling decreased BMP pathway signaling, indicating that G protein-cAMP pathway activation (as in FD) inhibits osteoblast differentiation, at least in part by blocking the BMP-Smad pathway, and suggesting that GNAS inactivation as occurs in POH enhances osteoblast differentiation, at least in part by stimulating BMP signaling. These data support that differences in cAMP levels during early stages of cell differentiation regulate cell fate decisions. Supporting information available online at http:/www.thieme-connect.de/ejournals/toc/hmr
Vapor permeabilities by dynamic sorption

A new method of measuring the permeability of plastic films to vapors is described. The method is simple and convenient, uses general-purpose equipment, and gives good results in a short time. It is easily adapted to vapors other than water vapor. This method is recommended for measurements of permeability where the expense of specialized equipment is not justified. Further studies on effects of parameters such as temperature, humidity, solvation of polymer, etc., are under way.
Additive Invariants on Quantum Channels and Regularized Minimum Entropy

We introduce two additive invariants of output quantum channels. If the value of one these invariants is less than 1 then the logarithm of the inverse of its value is a positive lower bound for the regularized minimum entropy of an output quantum channel. We give a few examples in which one of these invariants is less than 1. We also study the special cases where the above both invariants are equal to 1.
Core formation in the shergottite parent body and comparison with the Earth

Abundances of elements in shergottite, nakhlite, and Chassigny meteorites which originated on a single planet, the shergottite parent body (SPB), were examined with the aim of elucidating the chemical conditions of metal separation and core formation in the SPB and of testing present models of planetary core formation. Using partition coefficients and the SPB mantle composition determined in earlier studies, the abundances of Ag, Au, Co, Ga, Mo, Ni, P, Re, S, and W were modeled, with free parameters being oxygen fugacity, proportion of solid metal formed, proportion of metallic liquid formed, and proportion of silicate that is molten. It is shown that the abundances of all elements (except Mo) could be reproduced using models with these four free parameters. In contrast to the SPB, an equivalent model used to predict element abundances in the earth's mantle was shown by Jones and Drake (1986) to be inadequate; there is at present no hypothesis capable of quantitatively reproducing the elemental abundances of the earth's mantle. The contrast suggests that these two terrestrial planets (assuming that the SPB is Mars) may have accreted or differentiated differently.
Impairment of Thiamine Absorption in Alcoholism

T HIAMINE-DEFICIENCY SYNDROMES lfl the United States occur almost exclusively in alcoimolic patients (1-2) anti can usually be attributeti to poor dietary intake of the vitamin (3). However, it seemed to the authors that some alcoholics may manifest thiamine deficiency while consunming a�)parently adequate quantities of thiamine-containing foods. The possibility of impairetl thiamine absorption in alcoholism diti not appear to imave been investigated. Time present controlled study was, therefore, undertaken to determine the absorption of radioactive timiamine in a hospitalized group of severely alcoholic patients.
Polymerization of aromatic nuclei. XVIII. Polymerization of benzene to poly-p-phenylene by aluminum chloride-air-water

Although the reaction of benzene with aluminum chloride has been quite thoroughly examined by prior investigators, the present report is the first one on formation of poly-p-phenylene in this system. Optimum conditions, which gave low yields, involved 7 days at 49–51deg;C. The presence of oxygen (oxidant) and presumably water (cocatalyst) was necessary in order for polymerization to occur. Physical and chemical properties, e.g., behavior toward Br2 and H2O2–CH3CO2H, indicate that the polymer structure is slightly different from that of the material from C6H6–AlCl3–CuCl2. The polymer from C6H6–AlCl3 may possess a lower molecular weight and exhibits a greater degree of structural irregularity in the form of dihydrobenzene, p-quinoid, or polynuclear regions. In the chemical studies, various compounds were used as models (tetrahydroquaterphenyl, triphenylene, and lower p-polyphenyls).
Stream handlers: application-specific message services on attached network processors

This paper presents a software architecture that enables the application-specific processing of messages on network processors attached to cluster machines. Such processing is performed by stream handlers executed on such attached network processors (ANPs) and able to manipulate both message headers and their data content. Handler execution can be associated with the ANPs' receive side, its transmit side, or both. Using Intel's IXP1200 boards as sample ANPs, the paper evaluates performance advantages and tradeoffs in stream handler execution. Results indicate that while receive-side stream customization is useful for simple stream handlers, it becomes a bottleneck and results in degraded performance with increased handler complexity or with increased amounts of data manipulated by handlers. In comparison, transmit-side handler execution exhibits more constant and acceptable performance levels and can therefore, support richer ANP functionality.
Design Parameter Optimization for Perpendicular Magnetic Recording Systems

In a perpendicular magnetic recording system, advanced read/write transducers, magnetic media, and signal processing techniques are combined to achieve the highest possible storage density, subject to severe constraints on reliability. This paper proposes a quasi-analytic methodology for exploring the complex design tradeoffs among these system components. We use a simple channel model, characterized by three parameters: isolated voltage pulse width, transition jitter noise variance, and additive electronic/replay head noise power. The system incorporates generalized partial-response equalization and maximum-likelihood detection, along with a Reed-Solomon error-correcting code characterized by its code rate. We calculate a family of "design curves" from which we can determine, for a given set of channel parameters, the maximum user density that can be achieved with a specified codeword error rate, along with the corresponding code rate. The design curves can also be used to determine the acceptable range of channel parameters consistent with a target user density and codeword error rate
Age-Related Differences in Doctor-Patient Interaction and Patient Satisfaction

Background. Relatively little is known about patient characteristics associated with doctor-patient interaction style and satisfaction with the medical visit. Objective. The primary study objectives are to assess: whether doctors interact in a more or less patient-centered style with elderly patients and whether patient age moderates the relationship between interaction style and satisfaction, that is, whether elderly patients are more or less satisfied with patient-centered medical encounters. Methods. We collected pre- and post-visit questionnaire data from 177 patients at a large family medicine clinic. We audiotaped the encounters between doctors and patients. Patient-centered interaction style was measured from coding from the audiotapes of the doctor-patient interactions. Patient satisfaction was measured using the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire. Results. We found physicians were more likely to have patient-centered encounters with patients over age 65. We also found patient age moderated the association between interaction style and patient satisfaction: older patients were more satisfied with patient-centered encounters. Conclusion. Patient age is associated with style of interaction, which is, in turn, associated with patient satisfaction. Understanding the factors and processes by which doctors and patients interact has the potential to improve many facets of health care delivery.
Selective estrogen receptor modulators inhibit growth and progression of premalignant lesions in a mouse model of ductal carcinoma in situ

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a noninvasive premalignant lesion and is considered a precursor to invasive carcinoma. DCIS accounts for nearly 20% of newly diagnosed breast cancer, but the lack of experimentally amenable in vivo DCIS models hinders the development of treatment strategies. Here, we demonstrate the utility of a mouse transplantation model of DCIS for chemoprevention studies using selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs). This model consists of a set of serially transplanted lines of genetically engineered mouse mammary intraepithelial neoplasia (MIN) outgrowth (MIN-O) tissue that have stable characteristics. We studied the ovarian-hormone-responsiveness of one of the lines with a particular focus on the effects of two related SERMs, tamoxifen and ospemifene. The estrogen receptor (ER) status and ovarian-hormone-dependence of the mouse MIN outgrowth tissue were determined by immunohistochemistry and ovarian ablation. The effects of tamoxifen and ospemifene on the growth and tumorigenesis of MIN outgrowth were assessed at 3 and 10 weeks after transplantation. The effects on ER status, cell proliferation, and apoptosis were studied with immunohistochemistry. The MIN-O was ER-positive and ovarian ablation resulted in reduced MIN-O growth and tumor development. Likewise, tamoxifen and ospemifene treatments decreased the MIN growth and tumor incidence in comparison with the control (P < 0.01). Both SERMs significantly decreased cell proliferation. Between the two SERM treatment groups, there were no statistically significant differences in MIN-O size, tumor latency, or proliferation rate. In contrast, the ospemifene treatment significantly increased ER levels while tamoxifen significantly decreased them. Tamoxifen and ospemifene inhibit the growth of premalignant mammary lesions and the progression to invasive carcinoma in a transplantable mouse model of DCIS. The inhibitory effects of these two SERMs are similar except for their effects on ER modulation. These differences in ER modulation may suggest different mechanisms of action between the two related SERMs and may portend different long-term outcomes. These data demonstrate the value of this model system for preclinical testing of antiestrogen or other therapies designed to prevent or delay the malignant transformation of premalignant mammary lesions in chemoprevention.
Drosophila Germline Stem Cells

Adult stem cells are capable of generating differentiated cell types for maintaining tissue homeostasis. They usually reside in a defined locale called ­‘stem-cell niche’, which supports and maintains the stem-cell fate. Within the niche, cell-cell interactions between stem cells, interactions between stem cells and neighboring differentiated cells, as well as interactions between stem cells and exterior factors, such as adhesion molecules, extracellular matrix components, growth factors, cytokines, have all been found to be important for maintaining the stem cell fate. In addition, adult stem cells and their niche may induce each other during development and reciprocally signal to maintain each other during adulthood. Drosophila ovaries and testes have been used as excellent models for understanding the mechanisms underlying adult stem cell maintenance. Studies of the Drosophila model have provided insights into mammalian stem cell maintenance. This chapter summarizes the advances gained in studies of Drosophila male and female germline stem cells.
Secure Transportation Management

Secure Transport Management Course (STMC) course provides managers with information related to procedures and equipment used to successfully transport special nuclear material. This workshop outlines these procedures and reinforces the information presented with the aid of numerous practical examples. The course focuses on understanding the regulatory framework for secure transportation of special nuclear materials, identifying the insider and outsider threat(s) to secure transportation, organization of a secure transportation unit, management and supervision of secure transportation units, equipment and facilities required, training and qualification needed.