cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Screening for Pancreatic Cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force Reaffirmation Recommendation Statement.

Importance Pancreatic cancer is an uncommon cancer with an age-adjusted annual incidence of 12.9 cases per 100 000 person-years. However, the death rate is 11.0 deaths per 100 000 person-years because the prognosis of pancreatic cancer is poor. Although its incidence is low, pancreatic cancer is the third most common cause of cancer death in the United States. Because of the increasing incidence of pancreatic cancer, along with improvements in early detection and treatment of other types of cancer, it is estimated that pancreatic cancer may soon become the second-leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Objective To update the 2004 US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation on screening for pancreatic cancer. Evidence Review The USPSTF reviewed the evidence on the benefits and harms of screening for pancreatic cancer, the diagnostic accuracy of screening tests for pancreatic cancer, and the benefits and harms of treatment of screen-detected or asymptomatic pancreatic cancer. Findings The USPSTF found no evidence that screening for pancreatic cancer or treatment of screen-detected pancreatic cancer improves disease-specific morbidity or mortality, or all-cause mortality. The USPSTF found adequate evidence that the magnitude of the benefits of screening for pancreatic cancer in asymptomatic adults can be bounded as no greater than small. The USPSTF found adequate evidence that the magnitude of the harms of screening for pancreatic cancer and treatment of screen-detected pancreatic cancer can be bounded as at least moderate. The USPSTF reaffirms its previous conclusion that the potential benefits of screening for pancreatic cancer in asymptomatic adults do not outweigh the potential harms. Conclusions and Recommendation The USPSTF recommends against screening for pancreatic cancer in asymptomatic adults. (D recommendation)
Adaptive Immunity: Effector Functions, Regulation, and Vaccination

Innate antigen-presenting cells (APC) inform the adaptive immune that a pathogen is present and indicate the nature of the pathogen. Naive T cells interacting with APCs in secondary lymphoid organs then develop into effector cells depending on the type of pathogen and the cytokine milieu. In some cases the effector T cells function independently, such as the CD8 cytotoxic T cells that kill pathogen-infected host cells. In other cases, they function with innate cells to boost immune responses. One example is the CD4 T helper (Th1) cell that enhances macrophage response against bacteria. The cytokines secreted by the effector cells play critical roles in their functions. Other types of CD4 subsets interact with B cells to help in their activation. Thus, the immune response resembles a relay race: innate cells inform T cells that a pathogen is present, and then T cells interact with B cells to relay the information. The B cells generate antibodies of a class that is most effective against the type of infecting pathogen. Effector T and B cells are short lived; however, long-lived T and B memory cells and long-lived plasma cells are generated. Reinfection with the same pathogen leads to a more rapid and stronger response by activation of memory cells. This is the basis for vaccination. A balanced immune response requires not just activation but also mechanisms for inhibiting and terminating responses in order to clear pathogens and minimize damage to the host.
Preparing teachers for students in juvenile justice settings

In the United States, there is an urgent need to ensure that youth held in correctional facilities are provided with high-quality teachers while in the juvenile justice system. Drawing upon the sch...
Early-stage Automated Identification Tool for Shared Accelerators

The use of application-specific accelerators to improve systems’ energy-efficiency and performance is becoming more prevalent. To overcome the tight area budget on embedded systems we propose an early detection tool that complements existing High-level Synthesis tools by identifying computationally similar synthesizable kernels that are used to build Shared Accelerators (SAs). SAs are specialized hardware accelerators that execute very different software kernels but share the common hardware functions between them. SAs can provide increased coverage if similarities between the dataflow and control flow of seemingly very different workloads are detected. Existing methods use either dynamic traces or analyze register transfer level (RTL) implementations to find these similarities which requires deep knowledge of RTL and the time-consuming RTL design process.
Carboxypeptidase A1 and regenerating islet-derived 1α as new markers for pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma

Summary Acinar cell carcinoma (ACC) is a rare tumor that differentiates toward pancreatic acinar cells and shows evidence of pancreatic enzyme production. Mixed acinar-neuroendocrine carcinoma (MANC) is defined as having more than 30% of both acinar and neuroendocrine cell types as per immunohistochemistry analysis. Trypsin is currently the most commonly used stain for acinar differentiation. In this study, we investigate the utility of two novel markers, carboxypeptidase A1 (CPA1) and regenerating islet-derived 1α (REG1a), in diagnosing ACC/MANC. Immunohistochemical staining for CPA1 and REG1a was performed on 14 cases of ACC and 5 cases of MANC as well as on 80 other pancreatic tumors including 20 cases each of ductal adenocarcinoma, well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumor, mucinous cystic neoplasm, and solid pseudopapillary tumor. All ACCs and MANCs were positive for CPA1 (all diffuse) and REG1a (12 diffuse, 4 patchy, and 3 focal). A diffuse or patchy staining pattern was significantly more common in ACC/MANC cases (100% diffuse/patchy for CPA1 and 84% for REG1a) than in other pancreatic tumors (5% diffuse/patchy for CPA1 and 7.5% for REG1a), with a P-value of
Abstract 1927: Evaluating molecular determinants of elesclomol sensitivity in breast cancer cells: An implication for metastatic properties

Pre-clinical and clinical studies employing the experimental therapeutic elesclomol have produced contradictory findings. To better understand the mechanisms of response, we sought to identify molecular determinants that may predict elesclomol sensitivity. After stratifying human breast cell lines (n=8) into elesclomol-sensitive (n=4) and elesclomol-insensitive (n=4) groups, we first evaluated published predictors of elesclomol sensitivity, including lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) expression and various genomic aberrations. Though low levels of LDH have been reported to associate with elesclomol response in clinical samples, our data showed no statistically significant difference in LDHA (p=0.5) or LDHB (p=0.3) expression between elesclomol-sensitive and insensitive groups. Mining a human pan-cancer cell line dataset using the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity Database (GDSC) revealed an association between SMARC4A mutation and elesclomol sensitivity (MWW p=0.01) and between FLT3 chromosomal gain and elesclomol resistance (MWW p=0.00005), but the same investigation in a breast cancer cell line dataset produced no statistically significant genomic aberrations in association with elesclomol sensitivity. Indeed, none of our elesclomol-sensitive breast cell lines carried a SMARC4A mutation according to the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia, nor did they differentially express FLT3 relative to the elesclomol-insensitive lines as determined by expression profile data (p=1). Therefore, LDH expression and GDSC-defined genomic aberrations may not effectively predict elesclomol sensitivity in breast cancer. We then utilized transcriptomic data for each of our elesclomol-sensitive and insensitive cell lines to identify differentially-expressed genes (DEGs) and their functional annotations. A total of 456 DEGs (LFC>2, p Citation Format: Allison Dyevoich, Koran Harris, Lance Miller, Carl D. Langefeld, Elizabeth Alli. Evaluating molecular determinants of elesclomol sensitivity in breast cancer cells: An implication for metastatic properties [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 1927.
Advancing the Design of Resilient and Sustainable Buildings: An Integrated Life-Cycle Analysis

AbstractA holistic evaluation of a building’s environmental impact must include a thorough accounting of both its operating and embodied energies, inclusive of the influence of hazard-induced damag...
An Anthropometrically Parameterized Assistive Lower Limb Exoskeleton.

This paper presents an innovative design methodology for development of lower limb exoskeletons with the fabrication and experimental evaluation of prototype hardware. The proposed design approach is specifically conceived to be suitable for the pediatric population and uses additive manufacturing and a model parameterized in terms of subject anthropometrics to give a person-specific custom fit. The methodology is applied to create computer-aided design models using average anthropometrics of children 6-11 years old and using anthropometrics of an individual measured by the researchers. This demonstrates that the approach can scale to subject weight and height. A prototype exoskeleton is fabricated, which can actuate the hip and knee joints without restricting hip abduction-adduction motion. In order to test usability of the device and evaluate walking assistance, user effort is quantified in an assisted condition where the subject walks on a level treadmill with the exoskeleton powered. This is compared to an unassisted condition with the exoskeleton unpowered and a baseline condition with the subject not wearing the exoskeleton. Comparing assisted to baseline conditions, torque magnitudes increased at the hip and knee, mechanical energy generated increased at the hip but decreased at the knee, and muscle activations increased in the Vastus Lateralis but decreased in the Biceps Femoris. While the preliminary evidence for walking assistance is not entirely convincing for the tested conditions, the presented design methodology itself is promising as it has been successfully validated through the creation of computer-aided design models for children and fabrication of a serviceable exoskeleton prototype.
What's That in the Aorta? A Case of Asymptomatic Dislodged Ostial Right Coronary Artery Stent That Was Noted as an Echodense Material in the Aortic Valve on Transesophageal Echocardiogram.

A 58-year-old female with a history of coronary artery disease (CAD) with remote percutaneous intervention (PCI) to ostial right coronary artery (RCA) with a bare-metal stent represented with unstable angina. Left heart catheterization (LHC) showed 90% stenosis of the previously stented ostial RCA with a moderate disease in the circumflex and left anterior descending arteries (LAD). LHC had also demonstrated that the previously placed ostial RCA stent, 19 years ago, was dislodged with only 3-4 mm within RCA and the remainder 10-12 mm in the ascending aorta. The patient miraculously had remained largely asymptomatic of this dislodged RCA stent for many years. Subsequent transthoracic echo (TTE) showed moderate-severe mitral regurgitation (MR). Therefore, she was worked up for a possible single-vessel coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) with mitral valve replacement/repair. However, on transesophageal echo (TEE), MR was noted to be moderate in severity. Also, an echodense material was noted on the right coronary cusp (RCC) of the aortic valve, which was deemed to be the dislodged RCA stent. As the MR was moderate, the patient underwent successful complex PCI of ostial RCA.
FLOOD-FREQUENCY ANALYSES WITH PRERECORD INFORMATION

Monte Carlo experiments were performed on each of several procedures for treating prerecord flood information in flood-frequency analyses. The performance of each method was judged by how well the 100-yr peak discharges determined by each method approximate the true value of the 100-yr peak discharge of the Pearson Type III distribution underlying the generated data. Results indicate that when sample skew is adjusted for historic information before weighting with a generalized skew coefficient, it is better to use historic record length (length of record extended to include historic information) rather than systematic record length (length of record in which annual discharge information is routinely collected) in computation of the weighting factor. Also, adjusting for historic information after weighting sample skew and generalized skew coefficients was the optimal method tested.
Angle sensitive single photon avalanche diode

An ideal light sensor would provide exact information on intensity, timing, location, and angle of incoming photons. Single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) provide such desired high (single photon) sensitivity with precise time information and can be implemented at a pixel-scale to form an array to extract spatial information. Furthermore, recent work has demonstrated photodiode-based structures (combined with micro-lenses or diffraction gratings) that are capable of encoding both spatial and angular information of incident light. In this letter, we describe the implementation of such a grating structure on SPADs to realize a pixel-scale angle-sensitive single photon avalanche diode (A-SPAD) built in a standard CMOS process. While the underlying SPAD structure provides high sensitivity, the time information of the two layers of diffraction gratings above offers angle-sensitivity. Such a unique combination of SPAD and diffraction gratings expands the sensing dimensions to pave a path towards lens-less 3-D imaging and light-field time-of-flight imaging.
Conservation Research in the Cloud Forest of Central America with Lessons from Maderas Volcano, Ometepe, Nicaragua: A First-Person Narrative About Very Tough Fieldwork, Unfinished Data, and Climate Justice While Running Out of Time

The occurrence of clouds—fog and humidity in the atmosphere—makes for a unique environmental characteristic. It is a feature that most of us have a difficult time understanding and coming to grips with. Like with temperature, it is quite fuzzy, diverse, three dimensional, and highly dynamic; we can virtually not describe or manage it well, nor really control it (unless the climate of the earth is changed in its entirety by man through carbon release, etc.; a situation we and our children now have to live with for centuries to come). We still lack a meaningful climate and cloud legislation and governance scheme.
Abstract 11838: The Hospital Volume-Outcome Relationship in Aortic Valve Surgery in the Elderly: An Analysis of Medicare-Fee-for-Service Patients From 2000-2009

Introduction: The effect of volume on outcomes in cardiovascular and other surgeries has been documented. Still, there remains a lack of current data describing this effect in aortic valve replacement (AVR) on a national level. We examined outcomes among Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries between 2000-2009 stratified by annual hospital procedural volume. Methods and Results: We used the Medicare database to identify 277,928 patients who underwent AVR from 2000-2009. Operative mortality and use of mechanical prostheses were analyzed according to hospital annual procedural volume. Mechanical valves were used in 64.5% of AVRs in hospitals with annual AVR volume 70. In general, mechanical valve use decreased with increasing hospital volume. After adjustment, the use of mechanical valves was independently associated with increased operative mortality HR=1.20 (95% CI 1.16-1.24) and reduced long-term survival (HR 1.05; 95% CI 1.04-1.06). The overall observed operative mortality rate was 7.3%, while for those undergoing isolated AVR the operative mortality rate was 5.5%. Lower volume hospitals exhibited increased adjusted operative mortality: ≤10 cases/year OR=1.51 (95% CI 1.36-1.68), 11-20 cases/year OR=1.31 (95% CI 1.20-1.43), 21-40 cases/year OR=1.13 (95% CI 1.04-1.23), 41-70 cases/year OR=1.08 (95% CI 1.00-1.19), relative to those hospitals performing >70 cases/year. The discrepancy in operative mortality between low and high-volume hospitals diverged during the course of the study. Conclusions: Low volume centers were characterized by increased adjusted operative mortality and greater use of mechanical prosthesis, a trend that persisted during the 10-year course of the study. These data would support the center of excellence concept for AVR and this may be particularly relevant in the elderly.
Assertions and Recursions

We provide an algebraic description of subtypes and the way they propagate through recursive functions. By abstracting from the concrete domain of functions or relations we obtain a framework which is independent of strict or non-strict, deterministic or non-deterministic semantics. Applications include efficiency increasing simplification of recursions as well as proofs about recursions by noetherian induction, such as termination proofs.
Proton stripping to 8- stretched states in 52Cr.

The /sup 59/Co(..cap alpha..,t)/sup 60/Ni reaction was used to populate states known to be of spin 8/sup -/ by inelastic electron scattering measurements. Single-nucleon stripping spectroscopic factors obtained by comparison to exact-finite-range distorted-wave Born approximation calculations are compared to the fractions of M8 single-particle strength found from electron scattering for 10 transitions. Distributions of T = 3 8/sup -/ strength were found to be rather similar in the two studies, with about 34% of the T = 3 single-particle 8/sup -/ stripping strength located.
Selective Attention as a Mediator Between Food Motivation and Disposition to Act

In this chapter, we present a framework for understanding how selective attention can mediate the influence of food motivation on food-related action, taking into account current research and perspectives from psychology and neuroscience. Subcortical and cortical mechanisms allow for flexible determination of food preferences and goals. The recent shift in thinking about mesolimbic dopamine function from pleasure-based explanations to ones based on reward learning, incentive salience, and behavioral effort makes clearer how mechanisms underlying motivation can produce not only relatively direct action, but also great flexibility by recruiting selective attention mechanisms, such as the forebrain acetylcholine system. Recent work with behavioral tasks, electrophysiology, and functional imaging provide evidence for attentional biases toward food-related stimuli, modulated in some cases by food deprivation and hunger conditions. Such biases may increase disposition to act via a positive feedback loop in which motivation directs attention and behavioral approach toward food-related stimuli, increasing exposure to them and thus further heightening motivational salience, and ultimately producing eating behavior. This may occur both via subcortical circuits and via modulation of cortical regions comprising the mirror neuron system which, by representing both self-executed action and action observed in others, may increase the propensity to eat when in the presence of others doing the same. Focusing on the relationship between motivation, attention, and action systems provides a goal-directed cognitive perspective on eating, with abnormalities in these interactions serving as potential risk factors for eating disorders.
Coherence measures of cardiac arrhythmias from intra-cardiac and epicardial leads

The magnitude-squared coherence (MSC) spectrum is introduced as a dimensionless frequency-domain measure of rhythm organization from pairs of intracardiac and/or epicardial leads. The MS spectrum is simply defined as the magnitude of the complex cross-power-spectrum normalized to the product of the two individual auto-power-spectra. In this way, two linearly related signals (in the absence of uncorrelated additive noise) will have MSC values of unity at all signal frequencies present in both signals in any amount. Mean MSC values are shown to discriminate fibrillatory from nonfibrillatory rhythms. Speed/accuracy tradeoffs in estimation of the MSC are considered. >
Rejoinder to Millar and Kruk (2014): Who Assumes the Burden of Proof When There Is No Neutral Null Hypothesis?

We welcome the chance to respond to Millar and Kruk's (2014) comment primarily because this gives us an opportunity to expand on an issue that we think deserves broader consideration: Where does the burden of proof lie when there is no neutral null hypothesis? Tests of statistical significance continue to rely on the null hypothesis testing premise. Scientists do not reject the null hypothesis unless statistically significant (pVehement debates have erupted among child custody experts and advocates about whether it is potentially harmful or beneficial for very young children to spend frequent overnights away from the residential parent with their nonresident parent, typically overnights spent with a father away from a mother (e.g., Lamb & Kelly, 2001; Sroufe & McIntosh, 2011). To date, arguments have been based largely on interpretations of attachment theory or studies of attachment security in relation to other topics (e.g., child care). With only three, limited prior studies on the specific issue, we conducted a secondary analysis using the Fragile Families data set, which had the advantages of including (a) a representative sample (albeit only of 20 major U.S. cities with a population over 200,000), (b) measures of overnight contact and attachment security (assessments rarely obtained in large-scale demographic studies), and (c) data collected for the purposes other than testing a highly charged issue that might be influenced by experimenter bias. Our own interpretation of attachment theory, research, and clinical experience led us to hypothesize that frequent overnights would, in fact, predict an increased risk for attachment insecurity among infants and toddlers.Consistent with our hypothesis, a statistically significant univariate analysis found that attachment insecurity was highest among infants (birth to age 1) who had frequent overnights with their nonresident parents (43% insecure) compared to infants with some overnights (16% insecure) or day contact only (25% insecure). Of course, families were not randomly assigned to contact groups, so we used multivariate analyses to control for multiple, potentially relevant selection variables (while noting throughout that correlation does not mean causation). In this analysis, the comparison between the frequent- and some-overnights groups remained statistically significant in the predicted direction (frequent overnights were associated with higher rates of attachment insecurity), even though fathers in the frequent-overnights group were rated by mothers as being better fathers and as having a better relationship with the mother.In their critique, Millar and Kruk reiterate some methodological limitations of our research, make two clear misstatements in interpreting statistical results, and repeatedly misrepresent how we presented our findings. Let us address each of these issues. …
A Source of Realia for French Classes

O N SEVERAL trips to French Canada I have always been interested in reading and saving the labels on all sorts of commodities sold in the region. The items are made to sell to both English and French customers and are therefore printed in both languages. My students, even those in the elementary classes, have shown decided interest in the labels and advertising materials I have brought back with me or which have been sent me by a relative who has a summer home in French Canada. They seem to make the language more real and vital, to say nothing of giving a practical vocabulary and one not usually seen in texts or word-lists.
Justices, Political Actors, or Both: An Exploration of the Brandenburg Line Through the Regime Theory Lens

Regime theory seeks to explain decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States by noting that justices tend to decide cases in ways that align with the prevailing political ideology. The theory emerged from political science literature and has not been explored regarding communication law. This article tests regime theory against the progression of seven Supreme Court precedents that led to the threatening speech test established in Brandenburg v. Ohio. The test is traditionally viewed as the fruit of about a half-century of deliberate judicial evolution. The analysis found regime theory helped explain the Court's progression and decisions in this line of cases, but contained some notable weaknesses.
Conformational propensities and residual structures in unfolded peptides and proteins

Ample evidence gathered over the last ten years indicates that unfolded and naturally disordered proteins and peptides can show local order in that short segments can adopt turn or polyproline II-like conformations. These findings show that unfolded states cannot be described by the so-called random coil model which assumes that individual amino acid residues sample the entire sterically accessible parts of the Ramachandran with very similar probabilities. This article reviews the experimental evidence for the notion that amino acid residues have different propensities for polyproline II, β-strand, helical and turn conformations in water. These propensities are changed by interactions with nearest neighbours. We show that for a substantial number of residues the conformational propensities in the unfolded state correlate with values for helix propagation and the Chou–Fasman propensities for β-strands. Based on the presented results we hypothesize that the conformational distributions of a representative set of short peptides could be used for predicting structural distributions of disordered peptides and proteins in the future.
Position Sensing By Coupling And Detecting Light In Lossy Waveguides

A new class of contactless optical position sensors is presented. These sensors are low cost, easy to fabricate and have wide applications. The sensing mechanism consists of injecting a light beam into a lossy waveguide at the position to be sensed. The coupled light divides equally into two guided waves that attenuate as they propagate in opposing directions towards the extremities of the guide. The ratio of the detected signals is a monotonic function of the position to be sensed. Two prototype sensors were tested. The first sensor consists of a fluorescent strip where external light is actively captured by absorption and reemission at the fluorescence wavelength. The second sensor is a surface-roughened polymer waveguide where light is passively coupled by scattering at the surface irregularities. Both sensors exhibited linear responses over their respective ranges of 10 and 12 centimeters.
Loading capacity and chromatographic behavior of a porous graphitic carbon column for polychlorinated biphenyls

Abstract A porous graphitic carbon column (Hypercarb) was used for the fractionation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into classes of 2-4 ortho chlorines, 1 ortho chlorine and 0 ortho chlorine congeners. A method was developed that combined the fractionation of PCBs, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans in a variety of biotic environmental samples. Many of these samples have high concentrations of PCBs which cause fractionation problems as adsorption sites on the graphitic surface are occupied. The loading capacity of the column for PCBs was determined by injecting up to 1 mg of total PCBs and monitoring changes in chromatographic behavior of tetra-/di-ortho, mono-ortho and non-ortho substituted PCBs. Effective loading capacities were 1 mg for tetra-/di-ortho PCBs, but only 3–5 μg for non-ortho PCBs and about 2 μg for mono-ortho PCBs. Loading capacity of the PGC column for environmental fish and avian egg samples was determined to depend on the mono-ortho and non-ortho PCB levels found in these samples.
Feature decomposition architectures for neural networks: algorithms, error bounds, and applications.

In recent years, systems consisting of multiple modular neural networks have attracted substantial interest in the neural networks community because of various advantages they offer over a single l...
An Investigation of Customer Experiences with Professional Services

Abstract This paper investigates the differences in the perceived customer experiences (service quality, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions) with different professional services (accounting, financial, legal, medical, pharmaceutical, real estate, and staffing agencies). This study reveals that customers' service quality perception may not translate directly or equally into their behavioral intentions in different types of professional services. Second, it appears that customers have more memorable experiences with certain professional services such as CPA and pharmaceutical services than with the other studied professional services. However, despite these differential memorable experiences, this study does not support the existence of any significant differences among the different types of professional services in customers' propensity to switch services when there is service failure. This presents a challenge for professional service providers, especially for those services (e.g., staffing agencies...
ROLE OF ARACHIDONIC ACID IN NUTRITIONAL ENCEPHALOMALACIA: INTERRELATIONSHIP OF ESSENTIAL AND NONESSENTIAL POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS.

Abstract Combining 8% reconstituted cod liver oil with 8% reconstituted corn oil in a tocopherol-free diet prevented the appearance of nutritional encephalomalacia in chicks. Adding 8% reconstituted cod liver oil to a diet containing 1% ethyl arachidonate enhanced the incidence of encephalomalacia in tocopherol-deficient chicks and resulted in lower tissue arachidonate levels than in the group fed 1% ethyl arachidonate alone. Adding 8% reconstituted cod liver oil, from which tocopherol was removed, to a diet containing 8% reconstituted corn oil depressed arachidonate and higher essential fatty acids in tissues, and markedly increased the levels of the nonessential unsaturated fatty acids of the linolenic series. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that fatty acids of the linolenic series, found in cod liver oil, can readily displace essential fatty acids in tissues, even in brain, and inhibit the conversion of linoleic to arachidonic acid.
Enhancing general-purpose tools with multi-state previewing capabilities

General-purpose design tools can be applied to a wide variety of design problems, but the large number of unique states they are able to produce makes it difficult to find results most relevant to a specific design problem. Current interfaces exacerbate this problem by offering only a single preview of one potential future state. We introduce multi-state previewing tools to facilitate the process of generating, displaying, navigating, and evaluating multiple, potential future states simultaneously. Multi-state previewing tools specifically encode and automate higher-level design practices, such as exploring multiple alternatives, better aligning computer-based tools with design. In this paper, we synthesize a framework for this class of tools by combining and generalizing existing instantiations, then show how this framework can be used to guide the design, implementation, and further research of these tools.
PS3-12: VDW Dashboards to Assure the Quality and Stability of Monthly Updates: The Heart and Vascular Health (HVH) Study Experience

Background/Aims Since the 1980s, the HVH study, run at Group Health (GH) and University of Washington, has used computerized billing and hospital-discharge data to identify potential cases of myocardial infarction (MI). Recently, HVH adopted the local implementation of the VDW as a replacement for the legacy system. Monthly dashboards that compare the yields and subjects identified by the two systems were enacted to monitor the transition and assure comparable ascertainment over time.
Comparison of the Properties of SnCl3- and SnBr3- Complexes of Platinum(II)

The complexes M3[Pt(SnX3)5] (M = Bu4N+, PhCH2PPh3+; X = Cl, Br), cis-M2[PtX2(SnX3)2] (M = Bu4N+, PhCH2PPh3+, CH3PPh3+, Pr4N+; X = Cl, Br), and [PhCH2PPh3]2[PtBr3(SnBr3)] have been prepared and characterized by 119Sn and 195Pt NMR, far-infrared, and electronic absorption and emission spectroscopies. In acetone solutions the [Pt(SnX3)5]3- ions retain their trigonal bipyramidal structures but are stereochemically nonrigid as evidenced by 119Sn and 195Pt NMR spectroscopy. For [Pt(SnCl3)5]3- spin correlation is preserved between 183 and 363 K establishing that the nonrigidity is due to intramolecular tin site exchange, probably via Berry pseudorotation. Whereas, [Pt(SnCl3)5]3- does not undergo loss of SnCl3- or SnCl2 to form either [Pt(SnCl3)4]2- or [PtCl2(SnCl3)2]2-, [Pt(SnBr3)5]3- is not stable in acetone solution in the absence of excess SnBr2 and forms [PtBr2(SnBr3)2]2- and [PtBr3(SnBr3)]2- by loss of SnBr2. Similarly, [PtCl2(SnCl3)2]2- is stable in acetone at ambient temperatures but disproportionates at ...
Comorbid symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing and behavioral sleep problems from 18-57 months of age: a population-based study by Moore and Bonuck.

In this issue, Moore and Bonuck provide evidence that, in young children, symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing and behavioral sleep problems are both common and disproportionately comorbid. This ...
Breath Tests in the Diagnosis of Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth

Analysis of breath specimens for volatile metabolites of orally administered substrates offers a simplified detection method for the presence of an abnormal small-intestinal flora. This technique is not only simpler and more acceptable to patients than jejunal aspiration, but also gives quicker information to the clinician than microbiologic culture of the jejunal aspirate. Experience with a probe which is usually completely absorbed before the colon is reached (1 g 14C-xylose) has demonstrated better test sensitivity (separating normal from abnormal) and test specificity (separating bacterial overgrowth from small-bowel malabsorption) than that seen with a probe which normally has substantial passage of substrate to the colonic bacteria (as seen with the 14C-bile acid breath test). Ongoing evaluation of nonradioactive probes (H2 generation from fermentable carbohydrate, 13CO2 generation from 13C-labeled substrate similar to the principle of the 14C-xylose breath test) offers promise for use of bacterial overgrowth breath tests in children and reproductive-age females.
Alpha-adrenergic regulation of splanchnic volume and cardiac output in the dog.

The present study examined whether α-adrenergic stimulation causes a change in splanchnic intravascular volume in the anaesthetized animal with an intact circulation, which region(s) mediate the volume change, and whether the splanchnic volume change influences cardiac output. In order to ascertain that a radionuclide imaging technique could be used to assess total splanchnic volume changes, drugs known to increase or decrease splanchnic volume were infused on 21 occasions in eight dogs studied under conditions of selective perfusion and drainage of the splanchnic vasculature with erythrocytes labelled with 99Tcm and a gamma camera placed over the abdomen. For these 21 infusions, volume and radionuclide count changes were related: r≥ 0.90 (n= 20), r= 0.76 (n= 1). After ascertaining tissue attenuation and blood radioactivity in four of the animals, the standard error for a single estimate of the absolute volume change using the radionuclide technique was determined to be 75 ml. In six animals with intact circulations, phenylephrine (40–80 μg min-1) for 20 min was associated with an increase in cardiac output of 12 ± 2% (P < 0.001) and a decrease in total splanchnic volume estimated to be 431 ± 95 ml (P < 0.001). The splanchnic volume decrease was due entirely to decreases in splenic and intestinal volume. In eight eviscerated animals, cardiac output decreased by 30 ± 2% (P < 0.001) during phenylephrine. With 40–160 μg phenylephrine boluses in the splenic artery in three dogs, splenic volume decreased by 11 ± 2% (P < 0.001)and cardiac output increased by 18 ± 4% (P < 0.01), but neither parameter changed with left atrial boluses. Thus, a-adrenergic stimulation is associated with a decrease in splanchnic volume in the animal with an intact circulation, and this decrease acts to increase cardiac output.
Propagation effects of filtering incongruent information

Abstract This report proposes for a simple individual-based model of information filtering, while focusing in particular on some of its implications for the attitude toward an object. The model assumes that a filter selects only important features, with a higher threshold of importance when the attitude toward the feature is incongruent with the global attitude toward the object. Individuals transmit only features that are congruent with their global attitude. This article considers two variants of the model. To both applies that different orders of feature reception can lead to different attitudes. For instance, a positive attitude toward an object can at a certain point become negative, even though the object is globally neutral (the sum of the feature attitudes is zero). The interactions among individuals can significantly increase the probability of such non-rational attitudes.
An Analysis of the Negotiations for the 1995 Mekong Agreement

The article examines negotiations for the 1995 Mekong Agreement, signed by Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. A ``negotiation analysis'' approach is used, which is based on understanding interests and ``no agreement'' alternatives. The article draws upon interviews by the author with approximately 25 principals in the negotiations. Thailand and Vietnam, the regional powers, wanted to build cordial relations in the aftermath of the Cold War, and needed the Agreement to help contain conflict and promote cooperation on water resources. Laos and Cambodia were motivated to reach an accord to help procure aid. Planned Chinese hydropower reservoirs may increase the dry season flow – allowing the lower Mekong countries to share future increments of dry season flow. Negotiation assistance by UNDP was necessary to overcome a legacy of mistrust. Key articles of the Agreement deal with maintaining dry season flows, notification procedures, and a Basin Development Plan.
Boundary integral formulation of the two-dimensional symmetric model of dendritic growth

Abstract Selection of steady needle crystals in the symmetric model of dendritic growth is considered. The diffusion equation and associated kinematic and thermodynamic boundary condition are recast into a nonlinear equation through the use of boundary integral methods. The equation is solved numerically and for the range of Peclet numbers considered it is found that a smooth solution exists only if anisotropy is included in the capillarity term of the Gibbs-Thompson condition. The behavior of the selected velocity and tip radius as a function of undercooling is also examined. A linear integral equation is also derived to examine the stability of the steady state.
Analysis of effects of the state of charge on the formation and growth of the deposit layer on graphite electrode of pouch type lithium ion polymer batteries

Abstract The breakdown of the protective solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer formed on lithium ion battery anodes can initiate further electrolyte decomposition and the formation of non-uniform and electronically insulating reaction products on the surface of the graphite particles. The results from this study indicate that raising both the lower and upper ends of the state of charge (SOC) increased the rate of the electrolyte decomposition side reaction to form a thick deposit surface film. This deposit layer contained lithium that can no longer participate in the reversible electrochemical reaction. In addition, the high cycling potential coupled with high charge rate created a large lithium concentration gradient that led to some particles detachment from the current collector and isolation in the electrochemical process.
Oxygen-Centered Hexatantalum Tetradecaimido Cluster Complexes

The syntheses and characterization of several octahedral hexatantalum cluster compounds of formula (ArN)14Ta6O are described (Ar = Ph, p-MeC6H4, p-MeOC6H4, p-t-BuC6H4, p-BrC6H4, m-ClC6H4). Treatment of Bn3TaN-t-Bu (Bn = CH2C6H5) or pentakis(dimethylamido)tantalum with an excess of the appropriate aniline and stoichiometric water or tantalum oxide afforded varying yields of arylimido clusters. The structures of two species were confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), while the identity of the central oxygen atom was elucidated by electrospray mass spectrometry (MS) using 17O/18O-enriched material. The title species are very air- and moisture-sensitive but quite thermally stable in solution. Experimentally determined optical properties and oxidation/reduction potentials, as well as some computational results, indicate that they possess an electronic structure wherein the highest occupied molecular orbitals are ligand-centered, while the lowest unoccupied orbitals are metal-centered and delocalized throughout ...
DON'T ASK ME, I'M JUST A GIRL”: FEMINISM, FEMALE IDENTITY, AND THE SIMPSONS

The second wave of feminist movement in the United States helped usher in many significant changes in American culture and women’s everyday experience, and it provided many women with increased social, political, and economic power. In short, it created a much greater equality between men and women, in both the public and private spheres. However, another consequence of such changes, as well as of the shifts in theoretical perspective since the height of second-wave feminism, is that many women’s lives are now marked by ambivalence and ambiguity. As Katha Pollitt flatly states in “Feminism at the Millennium,” the introduction to her essay collection Subject to Debate: Sense and Dissents on Women, Politics, and Culture (2001), “[an] ambivalence marks even the attempt to evaluate how powerful women are.”2 Pollitt’s view was shared by many other feminist academics and commentators whose similar claims about the contradictory messages offered to women were well supported by the varied articulations of female “empowerment” in American culture at the turn of the century.3
Associations among pain, PTSD, mTBI, and heart rate variability in veterans of Operation Enduring and Iraqi Freedom: a pilot study.

Objective. The objective of the study was to determine if there is dysregulated autonomic nervous system activity as manifested by depressed heart rate variability (HRV) among veterans of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF). Participants and Setting. The study used a convenience sample of OEF/OIF veterans (n = 28) seen at a Level II Polytrauma Network Site at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. Participants were similar to other OEF/OIF veterans who received care at this site. Design. Cross sectional study. Measures. Time domain analysis (standard deviation of beat-to-beat intervals [SDNN]) of HRV, diagnoses of mild traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and pain ratings from medical records. Results. As a group, the sample evidenced markedly depressed HRV (as reflected by SDNN) as compared with available age and gender corrected normative data. Pain (71%), PTSD (57%), and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) (64%) were prevalent. Thirty-six percent had all three measures (P3). Pain and P3 were significantly and negatively associated with SDNN (r = -0.460, P = 0.014; r = -0.373, P = 0.05, respectively). Conclusions. These preliminary findings support the high prevalence of depressed HRV and P3 among veterans seen in a level II Polytrauma Center. The findings also suggest a possible synergistic effect of pain, PTSD, and mTBI on depressed HRV. The nature and implications of these relationships require additional research to elucidate. Language: en
Source coding bounds using quantizer reproduction levels (Corresp.)

Constraining the reproduction alphabet to be of small size in encoding continuous-amplitude memoryless sources has been shown to give very small degradation from the ideal performance of the rate-distortion bound. The optimum fixed-size reproduction alphabet and its individual letter probabilities are required in order to encode the source with performance approaching that of theory. These can be found through a somewhat lengthy, but convergent, algorithm. Given reasonably chosen fixed sets of reproduction letters and/or their probabilities, we define new rate-distortion functions which are coding bounds under these alphabet constraints. We calculate these functions for the Gaussian and Laplacian sources and the squared-error distortion measure and find that performance near the rate-distortion bound is achievable using a reproduction alphabet consisting of a small number of optimum quantizer levels.
Differential supraspinal control of spinal centers

Abstract The effect of eliminating suppressor system control upon responses or afterdischarge evoked by activation of motor cortex or long and local spinal reflex arcs has been compared simultaneously in motoneuron recordings at cervicothoracic and lumbosacral levels. Tonic cerebellar control of motor pool activity along the cord becomes attenuated at successively lower levels, but there is no evidence of a comparable gradient of tonic facilitatory forces. By local destruction of the anterior lobe of cerebellum the difference in supraspinal control at the widely separate spinal levels can be eliminated. The tonic inhibitory forces emanating from cerebellum are considerably more powerful than those ascending from the lower spinal cord (Schiff-Sherrington), as tested upon cervicothoracic segmental reflex responses. Slight neck ventroflexion inhibits the motor pool activity evoked by motor cortex stimulation and local or long spinal reflex activation, particularly at cervicothoracic levels. This control of the segmental reflex activity is maintained entirely by local spinal connections, but supraspinal circuits are also involved in controlling the long spinal reflex activity elicited by vestibular stimulation. The more potent supraspinal domination of motor activity at cervicothoracic than lumbosacral levels is demonstrable even after excluding the neck proprioceptor control.
Classification of Structural MRI Images in Alzheimer's Disease from the Perspective of Ill-Posed Problems

Background Machine learning neuroimaging researchers have often relied on regularization techniques when classifying MRI images. Although these were originally introduced to deal with “ill-posed” problems it is rare to find studies that evaluate the ill-posedness of MRI image classification problems. In addition, to avoid the effects of the “curse of dimensionality” very often dimension reduction is applied to the data.
On the generation of dual polar spaces of unitary type over finite fields

Abstract It is demonstrated that the generating rank of the dual polar space of typeU2n(q2) is ( ??? n 2n ) when q > 2. It is also shown that this is equal to the embedding rank of this geometry.