cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neuroendocrine tumors with hepatic metastases: A review of evolving treatment options

Abstract Once considered exceptionally rare, neuroendocrine tumors (NET) are increasingly common and therefore of growing relevance to both clinicians and researchers. Most patients with such tumors present with symptoms, and, of those, 90% have secondary liver involvement. In the recent past, individuals with metastatic liver disease were offered little in the way of therapy, or hope. Over the last few years, this fatalist approach has been rapidly replaced with a variety of new strategies for both systemic and loco-regional treatment options. Both sequential and parallel combined therapies, newly available drugs and a multi-disciplinary approach to patient management are all contributing to a revolution in the care and outcomes for this population. In this review, the reader will be oriented to the relevant statistics, nomenclature and diagnostic modalities for this confusing set of diseases. Most important is an update on the rapidly expanding treatment options available for optimizing care among patients with liver involvement.
Radiation Dose and Fractionation for Limited-stage Small-cell Lung Cancer: Survey of US Radiation Oncologists on Practice Patterns.

Abstract Background Thoracic radiotherapy (TRT) with concurrent chemotherapy is standard for limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC). However, the optimal dosing and fractionation remain unclear. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines have recommended either 45 Gy delivered twice daily (BID) or 60 to 70 Gy delivered once daily (QD). However, the current practice patterns among US radiation oncologists are unknown. Materials and Methods We surveyed US radiation oncologists using an institutional review board-approved questionnaire. The questions covered demographic data, self-rated knowledge of key trials, and treatment recommendations. Results We received 309 responses from radiation oncologists. Of the 309 radiation oncologists, 60% preferred TRT QD and 76% acknowledged QD to be more common in their practice. The respondents in academic settings were more likely to endorse BID treatment by both preference (P = .001) and actual practice (P = .009). The concordance between preferring QD and administering QD in practice was 100%. In contrast, 40% of respondents who preferred BID actually administered QD more often. Also, 15% of physicians would be unwilling to switch from QD to BID and 3% would be unwilling to switch from BID to QD, even on patient request. Most respondents (88%) recommended a dose of 45 Gy for BID treatment. For QD treatment, the division was greater, with 54% recommending 60 Gy, 30% recommending 63 to 66 Gy, and 10% recommending 70 Gy. Conclusion Substantial variation exists in how US radiation oncologists approach TRT dosing and fractionation for LS-SCLC. Three quarters of our respondents reported administering TRT QD most often. The most common doses were 60 Gy QD and 45 Gy BID. The results of the present survey have provided the most up-to-date information on US practice patterns for LS-SCLC.
Disparities in first treatment type in breast cancer patients.

e18073Background: Disparities in breast cancer treatment and outcomes are recognized in the literature. We analyzed the association of patient demographics and tumor characteristics on the type of ...
Bandlike Transport in PbS Quantum Dot Superlattices with Quantum Confinement.

Optoelectronic devices made from colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) often take advantage of the combination of tunable quantum-confined optical properties and carrier mobilities of strongly coupled syst...
Identifying structural changes with unsupervised machine learning methods

Unsupervised machine learning methods are used to identify structural changes using the melting point transition in classical molecular dynamics simulations as an example application of the approach. Dimensionality reduction and clustering methods are applied to instantaneous radial distributions of atomic configurations from classical molecular dynamics simulations of metallic systems over a large temperature range. Principal component analysis is used to dramatically reduce the dimensionality of the feature space across the samples using an orthogonal linear transformation that preserves the statistical variance of the data under the condition that the new feature space is linearly independent. From there, $k$-means clustering is used to partition the samples into solid and liquid phases through a criterion motivated by the geometry of the reduced feature space of the samples, allowing for an estimation of the melting point transition. This pattern criterion is conceptually similar to how humans interpret the data but with far greater throughput, as the shapes of the radial distributions are different for each phase and easily distinguishable by humans. The transition temperature estimates derived from this machine learning approach produce comparable results to other methods on similarly small system sizes. These results show that machine learning approaches can be applied to structural changes in physical systems.
Incorporating climate change into invasive species management: Insights from managers

Invasive alien species are likely to interact with climate change, thus necessitating management that proactively addresses both global changes. However, invasive species managers’ concerns about the effects of climate change, the degree to which they incorporate climate change into their management, and what stops them from doing so remain unknown. Therefore, we surveyed natural resource managers addressing invasive species across the U.S. about their priorities, concerns, and management strategies in a changing climate. Of the 211 managers we surveyed, most were very concerned about the influence of climate change on invasive species management, but their organizations were significantly less so. Managers reported that lack of funding and personnel limited their ability to effectively manage invasive species, while lack of information limited their consideration of climate change in decision-making. Additionally, managers prioritized research that identifies range-shifting invasive species and native communities resilient to invasions and climate change. Managers also reported that this information would be most effectively communicated through conversations, research summaries, and meetings/symposia. Despite the need for more information, 65% of managers incorporate climate change into their invasive species management through strategic planning, preventative management, changing treatment and control, and increasing education and outreach. These results show the potential for incorporating climate change into management, but also highlight a clear and pressing need for more targeted research, accessible science communication, and two-way dialogue between researchers and managers focused on invasive species and climate change.
Physician‐office vs home uptake of colorectal cancer screening using FOBT/FIT among screening‐eligible US adults

Background Guidelines of the American Cancer Society and US Preventive Services Task Force specify that colorectal cancer (CRC) screening using guaiac-based fecal occult blood test (FOBT)/fecal immunochemical test (FIT) should be done at home. We therefore examined the prevalence and correlates of CRC screening using FOBT/FIT in physicians' office vs at home. Methods Analysis of 9493 respondents 50-75 years old from the Cancer Control Supplement of the 2015 National Health Interview Survey was conducted. Weighted multivariable logistic regression was used to identify the determinants of in-office vs home use of FOBT/FIT for CRC screening. Results Of the overall sample of screening-eligible adults (n = 9403), only 937 (10.4%) respondents underwent CRC screening using FOBT/FIT within the past year; among this screening population, 279 (28.3%) respondents were screened in-office. We found that sociodemographic factors alone, not CRC risk factors, determined whether FOBT/FIT would be used in-office or at home. Hispanics had greater odds of being screened in-office using FOBT/FIT (aOR: 2.04; 95% CI: 1.05-3.99). Compared with those 50-59 years old, respondents 70-75 years old were less likely to be screened in-office using FOBT/FIT (aOR: 0.44, 95% CI: 0.25-0.79). Similarly, individuals residing in the Western region of the country had lower odds of in-office FOBT/FIT (aOR: 0.26; 95% CI: 0.11-0.58). Conclusion Amid low overall uptake rates of FOBT/FIT in the United States, in-physician office testing is high, indicative of a missed opportunity for effective screening and poor adherence of physicians to national guidelines. Sociodemographic factors are determinants of uptake of FOBT/FIT at home or in-office and should be considered in designing interventions aimed at providers and the general population.
Projection and rescaling algorithm for finding most interior solutions to polyhedral conic systems

We propose a simple projection and rescaling algorithm that finds most interior solutions to the pair of feasibility problems \[ \text{find} \; x\in L\cap\mathbb{R}^n_{+} \;\;\;\; \text{ and } \; \;\;\;\; \text{find} \; \hat x\in L^\perp\cap\mathbb{R}^n_{+}, \] where $L$ is a linear subspace of $\mathbb{R}^n$ and $L^\perp$ is its orthogonal complement. The algorithm complements a basic procedure that involves only projections onto $L$ and $L^\perp$ with a periodic rescaling step. The number of rescaling steps and thus overall computational work performed by the algorithm are bounded above in terms of a condition measure of the above pair of problems. Our algorithm is a natural but significant extension of a previous projection and rescaling algorithm that finds a solution to the problem \[ \text{find} \; x\in L\cap\mathbb{R}^n_{++} \] when this problem is feasible. As a byproduct of our new developments, we obtain a sharper analysis of the projection and rescaling algorithm in the latter special case.
Rodent arena tracker (RAT): A machine vision rodent tracking camera and closed loop control system

Video tracking is an essential tool in rodent research. Here, we demonstrate a machine vision rodent tracking camera based on a low-cost, open-source, machine vision camera, the OpenMV Cam M7. We call our device the rodent arena tracker (RAT), and it is a pocket-sized machine vision-based position tracker. The RAT does not require a tethered computer to operate and costs about $120 per device to build. These features make the RAT scalable to large installations and accessible to research institutions and educational settings where budgets may be limited. The RAT processes incoming video in real-time at 15 Hz and saves x and y positional information to an onboard microSD card. The RAT also provides a programmable multi-function input/output pin that can be used for controlling other equipment, transmitting tracking information in real time, or receiving data from other devices. Finally, the RAT includes a real-time clock (RTC) for accurate time stamping of data files. Real-time image processing averts the need to save video, greatly reducing storage, data handling, and communication requirements. To demonstrate the capabilities of the RAT, we performed three validation studies: (1) a 4-d experiment measuring circadian activity patterns; (2) logging of mouse positional information alongside status information from a pellet dispensing device; and (3) control of an optogenetic stimulation system for a real-time place preference (RTPP) brain stimulation reinforcement study. Our design files, build instructions, and code for the RAT implementation are open source and freely available online to facilitate dissemination and further development of the RAT.
Evaluation of bone perfusion during open orthopedic surgery using quantitative dynamic contrast-enhanced fluorescence imaging

In this study, an indocyanine green (ICG)-based dynamic contrast- enhanced fluorescence imaging (DCE-FI) technique was evaluated as a method to provide objective real-time data on bone perfusion using a porcine osteotomy model. DCE-FI with sequentially increasing injury to osseous blood supply was performed in 12 porcine tibias. There were measurable, reproducible and predictable changes to DCE-FI data across each condition have been observed on simple kinetic curve-derived variables as well variables derived from a novel bone-specific kinetic model. The best accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of 89%, 88% and 90%, have been achieved to effectively differentiate injured from normal/healthy bone.
Adrenergic Mechanisms of Audiogenic Seizure-Induced Death in a Mouse Model of SCN8A Encephalopathy

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is the leading cause of death amongst patients whose seizures are not adequately controlled by current therapies. Patients with SCN8A encephalopathy have an elevated risk for SUDEP. While transgenic mouse models have provided insight into the molecular mechanisms of SCN8A encephalopathy etiology, our understanding of seizure-induced death has been hampered by the inability to reliably trigger both seizures and seizure-induced death in these mice. Here, we demonstrate that mice harboring an Scn8a allele with the patient-derived mutation N1768D (D/+) are susceptible to audiogenic seizures and seizure-induced death. In adult D/+ mice, audiogenic seizures are non-fatal and have nearly identical behavioral, electrographical, and cardiorespiratory characteristics as spontaneous seizures. In contrast, at postnatal days 20-21, D/+ mice exhibit the same seizure behavior, but have a significantly higher incidence of seizure-induced death following an audiogenic seizure. Seizure-induced death was prevented by either stimulating breathing via mechanical ventilation or by acute activation of adrenergic receptors. Conversely, in adult D/+ mice inhibition of adrenergic receptors converted normally non-fatal audiogenic seizures into fatal seizures. Taken together, our studies show that in our novel audiogenic seizure-induced death model adrenergic receptor activation is necessary and sufficient for recovery of breathing and prevention of seizure-induced death.
Immunogenomic Intertumor Heterogeneity Across Primary and Metastatic Sites in a Patient With Lung Adenocarcinoma

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, partially owing to its extensive heterogeneity. The analysis of intertumor heterogeneity has been limited by an inability to concurrently obtain tissue from synchronous metastases unaltered by multiple prior lines of therapy. Methods: In order to study the relationship between genomic, epigenomic and T cell repertoire heterogeneity in a rare autopsy case from a young female never-smoker with late-stage lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), we did whole-exome sequencing (WES), DNA methylation and T-cell receptor (TCR) sequencing to characterize the immunogenomic landscape of one primary and 19 synchronous metastatic tumors. Results: We observed heterogeneous mutation, methylation, and T cell patterns across distinct metastases including a set of prevalent T cell clonotypes which were completely excluded from left-side thoracic tumors. Though a limited number of predicted neoantigens were shared, these were associated with homology of the T cell repertoire across metastases. Lastly, ratio of methylated neoantigen coding mutations was negatively associated with T-cell density, richness and clonality, suggesting neoantigen methylation may partially drive immunosuppression. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates heterogeneous genomic and T cell profiles across synchronous metastases and how restriction of unique T cell clonotypes within an individual may differentially shape the genomic and epigenomic landscapes of synchronous lung metastases.
Interconnections between circadian clocks and metabolism

Circadian rhythms evolved through adaptation to daily light/dark changes in the environment; they are believed to be regulated by the core circadian clock interlocking feedback loop. Recent studies indicate that each core component executes general and specific functions in metabolism. Here, we review the current understanding of the role of these core circadian clock genes in the regulation of metabolism using various genetically modified animal models. Additionally, emerging evidence shows that exposure to environmental stimuli, such as artificial light, unbalanced diet, mistimed eating, and exercise, remodels the circadian physiological processes and causes metabolic disorders. This Review summarizes the reciprocal regulation between the circadian clock and metabolism, highlights remaining gaps in knowledge about the regulation of circadian rhythms and metabolism, and examines potential applications to human health and disease.
On the Value of Wild Solanum Species for Improved Crop Disease Resistance: Resistances to Nematodes and Viruses

The genus Solanum includes important crop species and numerous wild species. The wild Solanum species are a genetic diversity treasure trove useful for the improvement of crops, with disease resistance being of critical importance. In this chapter, I review the status of research and breeding efforts for improved nematode and virus resistance in Solanum crops, especially potato and tomato. In total, 33 disease resistance genes are described; virtually all originate from wild relatives of potato and tomato. This observation underscores the utility of wild Solanum species and the need to prioritize their conservation through in situ and ex situ approaches. Trends in research well positioned to impact trait discovery in wild Solanum species and introgression into crop species are outlined. Included are the potential to mine genebank collections for novel disease resistance alleles using target DNA sequencing approaches, visualization of deep evolutionary and allele diversification patterns across the Solanaceae, and streamlined gene mapping and cloning methodologies. The potential impacts of Marker Assisted Breeding, genetic transformation, gene-editing, and conversion of cultivated potato to a diploid species are explored. A growing world population and changing global climate that requires crop plants to tolerate increasingly chaotic production environments present the need for urgent investment in the genetic improvement of crops, with crop wild relatives being critical donors of useful traits.
Parental consent for vaccination of minors against COVID-19.

As of May 2021, emergency use authorization (EUA) for Pfizer’s COVID-19 (COVID) vaccine applies to minors at least 12 years of age—some 25 million adolescents across the United States [1], [2]. While this change marks a critical step towards herd immunity and return to normality in everyday life, it also raises a host of questions concerning parental consent for vaccination of minors in pandemic times, most notably: should parental consent be required for COVID vaccine administration?
Framework Plan for Ohio Basin Navigation to 2020

By 2020, the need for transporting cargo on Ohio Region waterways will reach nearly 150 billion ton-miles, five times the region's 1965 waterborne traffic. To meet future needs, a framework plan and development program is formulated as a broad guide to the best use of navigation resources. Demand for navigation on the existing system is estimated for 1980, 2000, 2020, based generally on indices of projected industrial and household demand in basin subareas for five commodity groups representing the bulk of today's waterborne commerce. Projections for transport on potential new waterways are from recent detailed studies. Capabilities of going program facilities to serve the demand is evaluated. Based on future demand which cannot be met with these capabilities, a framework plan for further development of navigation resources is defined. Relating the urgency of need for the various plan elements to the evaluation years, results in a framework development program. Improvements needed to 2020, beyond those in the 1965 program, would cost about $1.81 billion. Framework program investment costs to 1980 would be $486,000,000.
Cohort Effects in the Genetic Influence on Smoking.

We examine the hypothesis that the heritability of smoking has varied over the course of recent history as a function of associated changes in the composition of the smoking and non-smoking populations. Classical twin- based heritability analysis has suggested that genetic basis of smoking has increased as the information about the harms of tobacco has become more prevalent—particularly after the issuance of the 1964 Surgeon General's Report. In the present paper we deploy alternative methods to test this claim. We use data from the Health and Retirement Study to estimate cohort differences in the genetic influence on smoking using both genomic-relatedness-matrix restricted maximum likelihood and a modified DeFries-Fulker approach. We perform a similar exercise deploying a polygenic score for smoking using results generated by the Tobacco and Genetics consortium. The results support earlier claims that the genetic influence in smoking behavior has increased over time. Emphasizing historical periods and birth cohorts as environmental factors has benefits over existing GxE research. Our results provide additional support for the idea that anti-smoking policies of the 1980s may not be as effective because of the increasingly important role of genotype as a determinant of smoking status.
Twenty Years after the Education Apocalypse: The Ongoing Fall Out from the 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill

This essay is an introduction to the 2013 National Conference on Higher Education in Prison, organized by the Saint Louis University Prison Program. It is a primer on the current state of higher education in prison, which provides a social-legal framework for the conference and the symposium essays that follow. Beginning with the recent history of the exponential growth of incarceration in the past four decades, it charts the unprecedented reliance on incarceration that, at present, distinguishes the country as a world-class punisher. It was in the middle of this shift that the 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill was born, which effectively obliterated higher education in prison. In a single blast, hundreds of programs offering college courses to inmates were downsized to less than a dozen. Today, nearly two decades since this education apocalypse, the programs in existence struggle to survive. This essay provides a snapshot of the terrain twenty years after the blast.
Heuristic Search for Model Structure: the Benefits of Restraining Greed

Inductive modeling or “machine learning” algorithms are able to discover structure in high-dimensional data in a nearly automated fashion. These adaptive statistical methods — including decision trees, polynomial networks, projection pursuit models, and additive networks — repeatedly search for, and add on, the model component judged best at that state. Because of the huge model space of possible components, the choice is typically greedy; that is, optimal only in the very short term. In fact, it is usual for the analyst and algorithm to be greedy at three levels: when choosing a 1) term within a model, 2) model within a family, and 3) family within a wide collection of methods. It is better, we argue, to “take a longer view” in each stage. For the first stage (term selection) examples are presented for classification using decision trees and estimation using regression. To improve the third stage (method selection) we propose fusing information from disparate models to make a combined model more robust. (Fused models merge their output estimates but also share information on, for example, variables to employ and cases to ignore.) Benefits of fusing are demonstrated on a challenging classification dataset, where the task is to infer the species of a bat from its chirps.
'Financial Expert': A Subtle Blow to the Pool and Current Pipeline of Women on Corporate Boards

Governmental laws and regulations play critical roles and have impacting influences and consequences on corporations and their management and stakeholders as well as the public at large. Sometimes legislative initiatives and administrative actions have detrimental effects on groups of persons, which impacts may or may not be the intended consequences of the governmental protectionism. In the wake of the corporate scandals of the early 2000s, including Enron, WorldCom and Tyco International (the “Enron-type Scandals”), the President of the United States of America signed into law a bi-partisan initiative called the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”) in an attempt to restore investor confidence in the U.S. securities market following devastating corporate scandals that rocked the investment community and depleted worker savings. Section 407 is part of SOX (the “Expert Law”), which, in short, required the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) to promulgate rules obligating certain security issuers to disclose if the applicable organization’s audit committee has at least one person who is a financial expert (as the term would be defined specifically by the SEC) and if no such person, the reason of such absence. The SEC met its regulatory obligation with Section 229.407(d)(5) of the Code of Federal Regulations (Item 407) (the “Expert Regulation”). However, the title and definition for the audit committee expert contain a gender bias and have negative inadvertent consequences against women on public company boards of directors. In this Article, “Financial Expert”: A Subtle Blow to the Pool and Current Pipeline of Women on Corporate Boards (this “Article”), the author addresses this bias and its negative inadvertent consequences and provides proposals that may curtail such bias and consequences, while achieving the goal of investor and public protection.
Structure of the Chromatium Sulfur Particle and Its Protein Membrane

Sulfur particles extracted from Chromatium vinosum strain D were found to be bounded by a unique proteinaceous membrane. Ultrastructural examination of the membrane in Epon sections and bovine serum albumin sections and examination of negatively stained, sulfur-free membrane ghosts revealed a monomolecular sheet composed of 2.5-nm globular components. The internal sulfur was found to bind large amounts of a variety of negative stains and to form myelin-like structures upon rupture of the surrounding membrane.
Technology as the Driver of Knowledge, Belief, and Culture

A technology-driven society is in constant flux, and subject to accelerating change. In that environment, traditions, values, social institutions, and even complete cultures become obsolete at an increasing rate, and lose their value as inter-generational learning tools. More importantly, since traditions, values, and social institutions are critical to human judgment and learning, when technology undermines our institutions, it also threatens our knowledge and beliefs. This article describes the problem with numerous examples, and investigates possible solutions. A dynamic society with flexible and diverse social institutions is suggested as a possible solution. The solution itself requires an extensive technology infrastructure, and fundamental changes to the existing social institutions.
“It Has Been a Long Journey From First Knowing”: Narratives of Unplanned Pregnancy

Unplanned pregnancies come with risks of various health and financial consequences for women. Understanding such experiences is vital to aiding women in this health context; however, there is little research in this vein, particularly for college-aged young women. Narratives of unplanned pregnancy may help to shed light on the experiences of these women, leading to greater understanding and more congruent and helpful support communication, prevention, and education resources. The present study aimed to identify themes in unplanned pregnancy narratives. Stories for women who had continued their pregnancies differed from those of women who did not continue their pregnancies, and overall, narratives seemed to work toward positively reappraising and making sense of the experience, especially in terms of autonomy, as well as seeking affirmation and support for decisions made. Implications of these results will be discussed in terms of future narrative work in the unplanned pregnancy context.
Impact of data distribution, level of parallelism, and communication frequency on parallel data cube construction

Data cube construction is a commonly used operation in data warehouses. Because of the volume of data that is stored and analyzed in a data warehouse and the amount of computation involved in data cube construction, it is natural to consider parallel machines for this operation. We have developed a set of parallel algorithms for data cube construction using a new data structure called aggregation tree. Our experience has shown that a number of performance trade-offs arise in developing a parallel data cube implementation. We focus on three important issues, which are: (1) data distribution, i.e., how the original array is distributed among the processors; (2) level of parallelism, i.e., what parts of the computation are parallelized and sequentialized; and (3) frequency of communication, i.e., does the implementation require frequent interprocessor communication (and less memory) or less frequent communication (and more memory). We present a detailed experimental study evaluating the above trade-offs. We consider parallel data cube construction with different cube sizes and sparsity levels. Our experimental results show the following: (1) In all cases, reducing the frequency of communication and using higher memory gave better performance, though the difference was relatively small. (2) Choosing data distribution to minimize communication volume made a substantial difference in the performance in most of the cases. (3) Finally, using parallelism at all levels gave better performance, even though it increases the total communication volume.
Effects of mental challenge on neurovascular responses in healthy male subjects

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of mental challenge on total antioxidant capacity (TAC), forearm blood flow (FBF), vascular reactivity (VR), and the release of norepinephrine (NE). Furthermore, this study also examined the possible relationships of NE with FBF and VR following the mental challenge. Twenty healthy male subjects participated in twenty minutes of mental stress task (Stroop Color-Word Task [SCW] and mental arithmetic task [MA]). Our results showed that HR and NE increased significantly immediately following the mental challenge, whereas total antioxidant capacity did not change. Furthermore, the area-under-the-curves (AUCs) for both FBF at baseline and during reactive hyperemia, and VR elicited a significant change across time immediately post-stress. The percent change in the HR was partially correlated with the percent change in the VR immediately post-stress (p=0.08). Additionally, the percent change in the NE was positively correlated with TAC immediately post-stress, whereas NE only demonstrated a partial relationship with FBF at baseline immediately following the mental challenge (p=0.10). These findings suggest that forearm vasodilation following the mental challenge may be mediated by the antioxidant defense and sympathetic activation. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the mechanisms that explain the responses and relationships presented in this investigation.
Phosphorus-31 two-dimensional solid-state exchange NMR. Application to model membrane and biological systems

Two-dimensional solid-state 31P NMR has been used to investigate the orientational exchange of phospholipids in gel and liquid-crystalline aqueous multilamellar dispersions and oriented multibilayers, and in biological membranes. In liquid-crystalline L alpha multilamellar dispersions, orientational exchange originates from the lateral diffusion of phospholipid molecules over the curved surface of the liposomes and is manifest by an increase in off-diagonal intensity, which correlates the 90 and 0 degrees orientations of the membrane normal with respect to the magnetic field when the system is fully exchanged. Spectral simulations of the time evolution of exchange allowed determination of the correlation times tau d for lateral diffusion. For DMPC and DPPC at comparable reduced temperatures, tau d values of 44 and 8 ms were obtained, respectively. The nature and rate of exchange observed for POPE at 30 degrees C is similar to that of DMPC at the same temperature. The measured correlation times are consistent with diffusion rates obtained by FRAP for liposomes with radii in the 1 micron range. In the gel phase of DPPC (30 degrees C), little orientational exchange is observed at mixing times up to 200 ms, demonstrating that the lateral diffusion is very slow. The correlation time for orientational exchange obtained from spectral simulations was approximately 900 ms; thus, exchange in the gel state is at least two orders of magnitude slower than in the liquid-crystalline state. In the P beta (ripple) phase, at temperatures between 34 and 39 degrees C, significant exchange is observed for mixing times between 50 and 200 ms. Exchange is also observed in oriented samples of DPPC in the P beta phase for mixing times of 50 ms, but not for oriented liquid-crystalline samples for mixing times up to 100 ms. The exchange observed in the ripple phase could originate from rapid lateral diffusion of "fast" diffusing phospholipid within defect structures, and/or from "slow" lateral diffusion of ordered phospholipid over the ripples. 2D experiments were also performed on pig erythrocyte ghosts and on intact pig spinal cord. Significant orientational exchange was observed with the erythrocyte ghosts at a mixing time of 200 ms, but almost no exchange was observed with the spinal cord at the same mixing time. Spectral simulations suggest tau d values of approximately 400 ms and 1.3 s for the erythrocyte ghosts and spinal cord at 30 degrees C.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Asthma Patients' Knowledge, Perception, and Adherence to the Asthma Guidelines

Asthma patients' knowledge and perceptions about asthma management regimens have been shown to correlate with the quality of their asthma management and outcomes. This study addresses adult ambulatory asthma patients' knowledge and perception of the asthma management guidelines issued by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program. We interviewed 76 patients at three adult medicine outpatient clinics. Of 37 patients who knew about peak flow monitoring, 21 found it to be useful, only 10 were using it regularly, and 7 had a notation about it in their chart. Eight patients knew about patient self-assessment forms, 6 found them useful, 3 had used one recently, and only 1 patient had one in the chart. Six patients knew about asthma action plans, 4 of them thought that these plans were useful, but only 1 patient was actively using it. This study demonstrates major gaps in the asthma patients knowledge, perceptions, and their adherence to recommendations and also with the documentation in the medical re...
Vectorial charge displacement

The consequences are examined of recognizing an extreme symmetry between the nucleon and cascade (Ξ) particle. The simplest formalism for expressing this symmetry is to take the charge displacement numbera = q - Iz for heavy particles as thez-component of a second, independent vectorA in charge space. This scheme makes evident the possibility of two independent charge conjugation operatorsC andC′ for heavy particles : it also has suggestive applications to the θ1, θ2 scheme and the π-e decay problem. Experimental tests for vectorialA appear remote; the scheme appears mainly as an ideal limiting case, which may be useful for comparison and contrast with the real situation.
Design-manufacturing interface for 0.13 micron and below

Over the years, the increase in IC functionality has been achieved by a continuous drive towards smaller feature sizes. Due to the decreasing dimensions of semiconductor structures, the sensitivity to critical design and manufacturing parameters has risen dramatically. Vertical integration techniques and multi-level interconnect, which are becoming more common in modern technologies, have driven up the number of critical processing steps to several hundreds. These trends are expected to continue for the next several decades. The .13 micron technology is around the corner, as well as 300mm wafers. The increase in IC functionality has come with a skyrocketing capital spending (more than $2 billion per fabrication facility). Moreover, the product life cycles for leading edge IC's have become very short (less than 2 years).
Release of immunoreactive [Met5]enkephalin and cholecystokinin from the spinal cord by β-endorphin administered intraventricularly in the pentobarbital-anesthetized rat

Abstract β-Endorphin (4 μg) injected i.v.t. induced the release of immunoreactive [Met 5 ]enkephalin and sulfated cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8s) from the spinal cord in the pentobarbital-anesthetized rat. The inhibition of the tail-flick response induced by β-endorphin given i.v.t. was antagonized by i.t. injection of CCK-8s and potentiated by i.t. administration of the antibody to CCK-8s. The findings give support to the hypothesis that endogenous CCK-8s in the spinal cord may play a negative feedback role in modulating β-endorphin-induced antinociception.
Procedures taught in family nurse practitioner programs in the United States.

Purpose To determine the most frequently taught procedures and how important it is to teach these procedures in Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) programs in the United States according to FNP program directors. Data Sources Each of the 178 directors of FNP programs in the United States was mailed a survey to complete anonymously. The survey, designed for this study, listed 78 procedures. Directors were asked to indicate whether or not the procedure is taught in their FNP program and how important they think itis that FNP programs in the United States should teach that procedure. A total of 114 (64%) responded. Conclusions A total of 10 of the 78 procedures were taught in 50% or more of the FNP programs. These procedures were; obtaining Papanicolau smears, testing visual acuity, audiometry, tym-panometry, splinting of extremities, interpret-ing 12-Lead electrocardiograms, interpreting blood gases, local infiltration of anesthetics, single layer wound closure, and fluorescein staining of the eyes. The directors believed that six of these were very important to teach in FNP programs. Implications for Practice The findings of this study can be used to plan course content related to procedures in new FNPprograms or to revise course content in existing programs. The study results are helpful to individuals who develop continuing education courses to target skills that NPs may find valuable or may need for their current employment setting but were not taught in their educational programs.
Counter-Regulatory Hormone Responses to Insulin-Induced Acute Hypoglycemia in Hypopituitary Patients

Patients with hypopituitarism are predisposed to fasting hypoglycemia and are considered unusually sensitive to insulin-induced acute hypoglycemia. However, whether impaired response of counter-regulatory hormones, such as glucagon, epinephrine (E), and nor-epinephrine (NE) contribute to the susceptibility to acute hypoglycemia in hypopituitary patients has not been systematically evaluated. Therefore, we compared counter-regulatory hormone responses to insulin-induced acute hypoglycemia in 9 patients with hypopituitarism who were off hormone replacement therapy and 13 normal healthy subjects. All subjects received aa prime-continuous intravenous infusion of insulin (0.1 Unit/kg body weight.h) till plasma glucose declined to less than 2.5 mmol/l or occurrence of hypoglycemic symptoms. All normal subjects and 7 out of 9 hypopituitary patients recovered spontaneously from hypoglycemia. Two hypopituitary patients with hypothalamic pathology however needed intravenous glucose, glucagon and hydrocortisone to assist recovery from hypoglycemia. Overall, patients with hypopituitarism showed a slower rate of recovery of plasma glucose after hypoglycemia than normal subjects (0.78 +/- 0.33 mmol/l.h vs. 1.72 +/- 0.15 mmol/l.h, respectively; p = 0.02). The responses of key counter-regulatory hormones, glucagon, E and NE, to hypoglycemia however were essentially similar in both the groups. We conclude that the lack of cortisol (secondary to ACTH deficiency) and GH in hypopituitary patients may be primarily responsible for the slow recovery of plasma glucose after acute hypoglycemia; and plasma glucagon, E, and NE responses are not impaired.
Butyrylcholinesterase levels and subjective effects of smoked cocaine in healthy cocaine users

AbstractBackground: Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is beginning to attract attention as a possible target for cocaine abuse treatment because of its role in metabolizing cocaine. Objective: The purpose of this analysis was to assess whether endogenous BChE levels are associated with the subjective effects of cocaine. Methods: Data from 28 participants in five inpatient cocaine self-administration studies were included in the present analysis. Four minutes after each smoked cocaine dose, participants rated their drug-related effects from 0–100 using a computerized self-report Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The main outcome measures were nine change-in-VAS ratings between a baseline placebo dose and a 25-mg smoked cocaine dose. Results: After controlling for age, sex, total years of cocaine use, total milligrams of cocaine administered before the 25-mg dose being analyzed, and baseline diastolic blood pressure, endogenous BChE was not significantly associated with any of the nine change-in-VAS ratings. Conclusi...
Performance considerations for efficient multimedia streaming in wireless local area networks

This paper presents investigates multimedia streaming over wireless local area networks. Physical layer sigmoid analytical models are presented for 802.11a/g and for 2x3 MIMO 802.11n MIMO-based systems are presented. Performance results in a wireless LAN environment are presented for traffic using UDP and TCP transport mechanisms. Packet losses are observed in WLAN environments which affects the overall throughput available. Possibilities for performance improvements with the use of 802.11e and MIMO technologies are discussed. System platform architecture performance issues for wireless video conferencing between Intel® PXA27x processor-based handheld platforms are presented and results with retry-limit adaptation are also presented.
Molecular cloning of the human histamine H2 receptor

We utilized the technique of polymerase chain reaction with oligonucleotide primers based upon the nucleotide sequence of the canine H2 histamine receptor gene which we recently isolated to clone its human homologue. Transfection of a construct of this gene in Colo-320 DM cells led to the expression of a receptor that bound to [methyl-3H] tiotidine and was linked to 3′,5′ cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) generation in response to histamine. Both cAMP generation and [methyl-3H] tiotidine binding were inhibited with the H2 histamine receptor selective antagonist cimetidine but not diphenhydramine or thioperamide which are, respectively, H1 and H3 histamine receptor antagonists. These data confirm that we have successfully cloned a novel gene encoding the human H2 histamine receptor.
Preparation and X-ray structure of [H3O+18-crown-6]-[(H5O 2 + )(Cl?)2], a compound containing both H3O+ and H5O 2 + crystallized from aromatic solution

The title compound was synthesized by the reaction of [H3O+·18-crown-6][Cl-H-Cl−]·3.8 C6H5Me with two equivalents of H2O. Colorless crystals, which slowly deposited from the corresponding liquid clathrate, belong to the monoclinic space group P21/n witha=10.648(6),b=9.571(2),c=20.801(6) A,β=98.67(5)°, andD c=1.24 g cm−3 forZ=4. Refinement based on 1609 observed reflections led to a finalR value of 0.072. In the crystal structure the [H3O+·18-crown-6]+ cations are packed in layers separated by puckered sheets of [(H5O 2 + )(Cl−)2]−.
Adolescent depression: Significant issues in diagnosis and treatment of constricted adolescents

This article examines depression in those adolescents who are constricted emotionally. Specific elements of ego organization are discussed with particular emphasis on loss, grieving, identification, and ego ideal. The authors examine characteristics of such adolescents from a socio-developmental-psychological perspective, utilizing data from the cases of two patients who presented remarkably differing profiles. In terms of treatment, differences in therapeutic style are illustrated to reflect the distinct levels of personality organization achieved by each of the patients. Constricted youth are distinguished from those youngsters who are depressed but are more typically oppositional and negativistic, and reveal a long standing history of chronic acting out.
Non-uniform in vivo deformations of the human Achilles tendon during walking.

Abstract The free Achilles tendon (AT) consists of distinct fascicles arising from each of the triceps surae muscles that may give rise to non-uniform behavior during functional tasks such as walking. Here, we estimated in vivo deformations of the human AT during walking using simultaneous ultrasound and motion capture measurements. Ten subjects walked at three speeds (0.75, 1.00, and 1.25 m/s) on a force-measuring treadmill. A custom orthotic secured a linear array transducer in two locations: (1) the distal lateral gastrocnemius muscle-tendon junction and (2) the free AT, on average centered 6 cm superior to calcaneal insertion. We used motion capture to record lower extremity kinematics and the position and orientation of the ultrasound transducer. A 2D ultrasound elastography algorithm tracked superficial and deep tissue displacements within the free AT. We estimated AT elongation (i.e., change in length) relative to the calcaneal insertion by transforming the orthotic, transducer, and calcaneus kinematics into a common reference frame. Superficial and deep regions of the free AT underwent significantly different longitudinal displacements and elongations during walking. For example, we found that the superficial AT exhibited 16–29% greater peak elongation than the deep AT during the stance phase of walking ( p p
A molecular beam optical Stark study of nickel monohydride, NiH

Abstract The optical Stark effect in the B 2 Δ 5/2 ← X 2 Δ 5/2 (1–0)Q e/f (5/2) and P e/f (7/2) lines of nickel monohydride, 58 NiH, was recorded and analyzed to produce values for the permanent electric dipole moment, μ , of 2.44 ± 0.02 D and 0.36 ± 0.02 D for the X 2 Δ 5/2 and B 2 Δ 5/2 states, respectively. The values are in agreement with the previously determined values [J.A. Gray, S.F. Rice, R.W. Field, J. Chem. Phys. 82 (1985) 4717] and with the experimental error approximately a factor of five smaller. A comparison with theoretical predictions and other first-row transition metal monohydrides is given.
Simultaneous translation: Idiom interpretation and parsing heuristics

This paper presents a model of interpretation, parsing, and error recovery in simultaneous translation. Two experts and two amateur German—English bilingual translators orally translated written English texts into German while their eye fixations and oral translations were recorded. The text contained phrases such as hit the nail right on the head that have different syntactic parsings and translations depending on whether they are interpreted literally or idiomatically. The eye fixation patterns on these phrases differed for the two interpretations and depended on the preceding context. It was argued that the subject first comprehends the text in English and attempts to chunk it into a meaningful unit before accessing the German to translate it. The unit depends upon both syntactic and semantic cues. The study also investigated how mistranslations are detected and corrected.