cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fracture of Fully Coated Echelon Femoral Stems in Revision Total Hip Arthroplasty

Three cases of fractured uncemented, fully porous Echelon femoral stems (Smith & Nephew, Memphis, Tenn) are examined. Fracture of these components, an uncommon complication of revision hip surgery, is thought to result from cantilever bending after distal bony ingrowth. The stems in these cases fractured at 11, 22, and 28 months after revision surgery. Risk factors include increased body weight, excessive activity, an undersized stem, varus alignment, inadequate proximal femoral bone stock, and metallurgic defects. Extraction can be difficult and is often accomplished with the use of multiple trephines or via tamping through a distal cortical window.
RED-VBR: a renegotiation-based approach to support delay-sensitive VBR video

Previous approaches to supporting video on packet-switched networks include deterministic service, statistical service, predicted service, and feedback-based schemes. These schemes represent different tradeoffs in quality of service (QOS), achievable network utilization, and method of dealing with overload. In this paper, we propose a new service called REnegotiated Deterministic Variable Bit Rate Service (RED-VBR) that attempts to strike an efficient balance with the above tradeoffs. The approach is based on deterministic guarantees with client-controlled renegotiation of traffic and QOS parameters and graceful adaptation during overload periods. We introduce a connection admission control algorithm for RED-VBR which bounds the renegotiation failure probability. We evaluate the scheme using two traces of MPEG-compressed video and show that, even with simple renegotiation polices and relatively low renegotiation frequencies, high network utilization in the range of 50-80% can be achieved. For traffic that is bursty over long intervals, this represents a 100-150% improvement in network utilization compared to deterministic service. Compared to statistical and predicted service, our approach allows more graceful and client-controlled QOS degradation during overload periods.
Clutter suppression using wavelet shrinkage

In this paper we propose a newly developed wavelet shrinkage approach that achieves superior performance in clutter suppression by using discrete wavelet transforms. We utilize the relationship of the magnitudes of the wavelet coefficients and the smoothness of the signal function to address the clutter suppression problem with different thresholding methods. We conclude that in heavily cluttered scenario the wavelet shringkage can provide an excellent preformance for clutter suppression.
Socially responsible modeling: a stakeholder approach to the implementation of ethical modeling in operations research

A common dilemma for modelers in operations research (OR) involves how to construct ethically sensitive models. Concern for ethical modeling has recently become more widespread in the OR literature. Arguably, however, this concern has not manifested into concrete frameworks for analyzing models. This paper presents an approach from the organizational ethics field for evaluating models. After first reviewing the state of ethics in OR--its relevance and current applications--a stakeholder framework for evaluating the social performance of the model is presented. Stakeholder theory is effective for assessing the impacts of models in use. The normative core underlying this theory addresses the ethical concerns in decision support systems and provides a prescriptive solution to ethical issues in modeling.
Experiences of coercion to sterilize and forced sterilization among women living with HIV in Latin America.

Introduction: Forced and coerced sterilization is an internationally recognized human rights violation reported by women living with HIV (WLHIV) around the globe. Forced sterilization occurs when a person is sterilized without her knowledge or informed consent. Coerced sterilization occurs when misinformation, intimidation tactics, financial incentives or access to health services or employment are used to compel individuals to accept the procedure. Methods: Drawing on community-based research with 285 WLHIV from four Latin American countries (El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua), we conduct thematic qualitative analysis of reports of how and when healthcare providers pressured women to sterilize and multivariate logistic regression to assess whether social and economic characteristics and fertility history were associated with pressure to sterilize. Results: A quarter (23%) of the participant WLHIV experienced pressure to sterilize post-diagnosis. WLHIV who had a pregnancy during which they (and their healthcare providers) knew their HIV diagnosis were almost six times more likely to experience coercive or forced sterilization than WLHIV who did not have a pregnancy with a known diagnosis (OR 5.66 CI 95% 2.35� 13.58 p 50.001). WLHIV reported that healthcare providers told them that living with HIV annulled their right to choose the number and spacing of their children and their contraceptive method, employed misinformation about the consequences of a subsequent pregnancy for women's and children's health, and denied medical services needed to prevent vertical (mother- to-child) HIV transmission to coerce women into accepting sterilization. Forced sterilization was practiced during caesarean delivery. Conclusions: The experiences of WLHIV indicate that HIV-related stigma and discrimination by healthcare providers is a primary driver of coercive and forced sterilization. WLHIV are particularly vulnerable when seeking maternal health services. Health worker training on HIV and reproductive rights, improving counselling on HIV and sexual and reproductive health for WLHIV, providing State mechanisms to investigate and sanction coercive and forced sterilization, and strengthening civil society to increase WLHIV's capacity to resist coercion to sterilize can contribute to preventing coercive and forced sterilization. Improved access to judicial and non-judicial mechanisms to procure justice for women who have experienced reproductive rights violations is also needed.
Histopathological effects of type-specific antilymphocyte globulin.

Abstract The lymphoid system develops phylogenetically and ontogenetically as two separate divisions: a gut-dependent population which consists of the line of immunoglobulin producing cells and a thymus-dependent population which is responsible for cell-mediated immune responses. Depending upon the source of lymphocytes used as an immunizing antigen, three types of goat anti-dog lymphocyte globulin have been made, each of which has had characteristic effects on these two populations of lymphocytes in the intact animal. ATLG caused lymphocyte depletion predominantly in thymus-dependent regions of lymph nodes and spleens, whereas AGALG caused destruction of gut-dependent lymphocytes, and ALNG affected both populations. The experiments also suggest that gut-dependent and thymus-dependent lymphocytes possess antigenic determinants which are both specific and common. The therapeutic implications of independent manipulation of these two populations of immunologically competent cells is discussed.
Reconstitution and characterization of the human neutrophil N-formyl peptide receptor and GTP binding proteins in phospholipid vesicles.

Abstract We have developed a unilamellar phospholipid vesicle system which contains the N -formyl peptide receptor and GTP binding proteins. Several detergents were investigated but only two, octyl glucoside (35 mM) and deoxycholate (7.5 mM), were capable of extracting N -formyl peptide receptor from neutrophil membranes in a form which remained functionally active upon reconstitution into phospholipid vesicles. Extracted proteins were reconstituted into phosphatidylcholine vesicles by passage over a Sephadex G-50-80 column. The reconstituted formylpeptide receptor could bind [ 3 H]FMLP ( 3 H-labeled fMet-Leu-Phe) and [ 125 I]FMLPL-SASD ( 125 I-labeled ( 125 I-labeled N -formylmethionylleucylphenylalanyl- N 8 -(2-( p -azidosalicylamido(ethyl-1,3′-dithiopropionyl)lysine) while the endogenous G protein could bind [ 35 S]GTPγS. Furthermore, the functional interaction of the two proteins was preserved. Addition of the nonhydrolyzable guanine nucleotide, GTPγS, shifted the N -formyl peptide receptor from a high- to a low-affinity binding state for ligand. The development of this in vivo reconstitution system should provide a basis to study the mechanism of interaction of the N -formyl peptide receptor and the G protein.
A generalized leading-term approximation of high-energy scattering amplitudes in Yang-Mills theory

Abstract In this paper, the high-energy vector meson-vector meson elastic scattering amplitudes of a Yang-Mills theory of an SU(2) model are calculated in a generalized leading-term approximation ( s →∞ with t fixed). The resulting amplitude, through the 10th order, coincides with the expansion of an eikonal formula. The present method is generalizable to other non-Abelian gauge theories.
Sterically demanding organoindium compounds. Synthesis and molecular structure of bis[(2,6-dimesitylphenyl) indium dichloride], [(Mes2C6H3) InCl2]2 ( Mes = 2,4,6-Me3C6H2)

Abstract The sterically demanding arylindium dichloride bis[(2,6-dimesitylphenyl)indium dichloride] [(Mes2C6H3)InCl2]2 (Mes = 2,4,6Me3C6H2) prepared by reaction of (2,6-dimesitylphenyl)lithium (Me2C6H3Li) with indium chloride and characterized by 1H NMR, elemental analyses and single-crystal X-ray diffraction, crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2,/n (No. 14) with unit-cell parameters a = 11.094 (4) A, b = 16.902 (4) A, c = 13.762 (3) A, β = 96.69 (2)°, V = 2563 A3 for Z = 2 and Dcalc = 1.40 g cm−3. Refinement based upon 1980 observed reflections converged at R = 0.039 and Rw = 0.046. The title compound, residing about a center of symmetry, contains a planar and slightly asymmetric In2Cl2 four-membered ring with an InCl bond distances of 2.519 (2) and 2.514 A. The terminal InCl bond distance is shown to be 2.334 (3) A while the In-C bond distance is 2.138 (8) A. The independent InC bond distance is determined to be 2.138 (8) A. The title compound represents only the second example of a dimeric organoindium halide.
Construction of exact Kohn-Sham orbitals from a given electron density.

This paper prescribes an orbital construction of the exact local effective potential in the Kohn-Sham self-consistent equations, so that from a given electron density the corresponding exact Kohn-Sham potential and orbitals may be found self-consistently. It also shows the convergence of the method if the system is v representable.
Tattooing of the equine eyelid: a retrospective study.

Abstract In this retrospective study, medical records of 26 horses whose eyelids were tattooed were analyzed, and data regarding age, breed, eyelid pigment, eye color, sex, and reproductive status of the horses were compiled. Owners of the horses were contacted by telephone and questioned about their horses. Twenty-six horses were tattooed at Colorado State University (CSU), and one of them was tattooed twice. Records were available for 26 horses, and follow-up results by telephone were completed for 22 of those. Telephone follow-up times ranged from 3 months to 17 years after tattooing. American Paint Horses constituted 62% (16/26) of the cases, followed by Appaloosas (19% = 5/26), and Quarter Horses (8% = 2/26). In 100% (22/22) of cases, the reason for presenting the horse for a tattoo was lack of periocular pigmentation. Only two horses developed ocular or periocular squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) after their tattoos. Although the results of this study suggest that tattooing may be protective against SCC and solar blepharitis, it is by no means conclusive. However it appears to have no deleterious effects, and often owners like the appearance of the tattooed eyelid.
Effects of deuterium oxide and temperature on heart rate in Drosophila melanogaster

A non-intrusive optical technique has been developed to monitor heartbeat in late third-instar Drosophila larvae. Heartbeat in this insect is an oscillation that is not temperature compensated. Deuterium oxide lengthens the period of a number of high and low frequency oscillators and clocks in a variety of organisms. To determine whether deuterium affects heart rate, flies were raised on proteated and deuterated media and their heartbeat was monitored at four temperatures ranging from 18 to 33°C. The rate of heartbeat increased linearly with increasing temperature, and decreased with increasing concentrations of deuterium. There was a significant interaction between temperature and deuterium: the higher the concentration of deuterium oxide the less temperature-sensitive was the heart rate. Raising temperatures also increased the amount of “noise” in the rhythm: signal-to-noise ratio, which characterizes the amount of power in a rhythmic signal, decreased with increasing temperatures. Deuterium oxide had no effect on signal-to-noise ratio.
Introduction to the Art of Ethnography

The most human side of anthropology is its ethnography, that is, the significant facts an anthropologist gives about a culture, the living events that the researcher needs to relate to convey how that culture works. Where the researcher's participation in the culture has been vigorous and full, the style of ethnography is often magnificent. This article discusses two kinds of writing, the kind that our field friends would themselves appreciate and the kind that university examiners and grant givers would appreciate. I explain the storytelling method as a tool for conveying a picture nearer to the natural tenor of people's lives.
Culturally Congruent End-of-Life Care for Rural Appalachian People and Their Families

While death is a universal human experience, the process of dying amplifies cultural similarities and differences. There is insufficient evidence about providing culturally congruent end-of-life care for rural Appalachians. Such care is satisfying and meaningful, fits with people’s daily lives, and
Who is Making the Decisions? A Study of Television Journalists, Their Bosses, and Consultant-Based Market Research

A controlled experiment studied the effects of decision-makers in the newsroom by studying television journalists from across the country. Participants were presented with three hypothetical stories in one of two conditions; one in which a consultant's market research was relied upon to make news judgments, and another in which a news director's judgments were used to make decisions. The experiment was designed to determine if the newsroom condition motivated participants to choose the consultant or manager as the one in control of story selection. When participants were placed in a situation in which the consultant ruled, they were more likely to agree with consultant decisions versus managerial ones.
Immunohistochemically demonstrated increase of prostaglandin F2-alpha in neurons after reoxygenation in anoxic rats

Immunohistochemical staining for prostaglandin F2-alpha (PG F2 alpha) was conducted to identify PG F2 alpha synthesizing or binding sites in anoxic rat brains. Anoxia was produced in 22 rats to lower the arterial oxygen tension (PaO2) to 21 +/- 4 mmHg by ventilation with a 95% nitrogen and 5% carbon dioxide gas mixture. In 8 animals anoxia was continued for 30 sec, and in 14 rats for 3 min. Prior to decapitation, 5 animals in the 30-sec anoxia group and 8 rats in the 3-min anoxia group were reoxygenated for 5 min, while the remaining 9 were not. Five-min reoxygenation returned the PaO2 to 106 +/- 7. Three non-reoxygenated and 3 reoxygenated rats, all pretreated with indomethacin, and 5 normal rats served as controls. The brains were snap-frozen. The cryosections were stained by the indirect immunofluorescence method. PG F2 alpha was noted mainly in pial vessels in all normal rats. All reoxygenated rats showed a positive reaction not only in blood vessels, but also in neurons, particularly hippocampal neurons and Purkinje cells. The staining of the above neurons was noted to be less in non-reoxygenated rats. The stronger staining was observed in rats reoxygenated after 3-min anoxia than 30-sec anoxia. The indomethacin-pretreated rats showed almost no increase in staining intensity. The above results indicate that reoxygenation after anoxia results in an increase of PG F2 alpha in neurons of both cerebrum and cerebellum.
Membrane current responses to intracellular injections of inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate and inositol 1,3,4-trisphosphate in NG108-15 hybrid cells.

Abstract Iontophoretic injections of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate inside neuroblastoma × glioma NG108-15 hybrid cells evoked an outward K + current across the outer cell membrane, probably activated by the release of intracellular Ca 2+ . No such current was produced by equivalent intracellular injections of inositol 1,3,4-trisphosphate or inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate. Instead, these compounds evoked an inward current with a reversal potential of about −20 mV, and which may therefore be due to a non-specific cation conductance. This suggests that these derivatives are unable to release sufficient Ca 2+ to activate the Ca 2+ -dependent K + current in these cells.
LPOS symbol detection by soft-output combining of dual synchronous servo channels in tape drives

On tape media, longitudinal position (LPOS) information is normally encoded in dedicated servo bands to allow rapid and accurate positioning of the tape medium and correct data placement on the tape, which is typically several hundred meters long. Robust detection of the longitudinal position of the tape is important to guarantee reliable placement of data as well as rapid navigation to a target tape location. We introduce a method for improving the LPOS symbol detection reliability based on the weighted combining of soft information provided by two independent servo channels. The soft information for each servo channel is generated from metrics computed using a matched-filter detector for the two hypotheses corresponding to the binary LPOS symbols. The weights are derived from a signal-to-distortion ratio measure that is obtained at the output of each servo channel to optimally combine the available information from the two servo channels.
Interaction between surface adsorption and transport of gases in porous media

Abstract Transient solutions are presented for nonlinear, partial differential equations describing simultaneous gas-phase diffusive transport and the kinetics of physical adsorption and desorption within an idealized pore. The influence of heat of adsorption upon rate of desorption and its dependence on extent of surface coverage has been accounted for in the equations. Surface diffusion has been assumed negligible in the formulation. The solutions suggest that rates of sorption into porous materials and transient rates of transport through porous media may be significantly increased by adsorption. Also evident is significant dependency of these increases upon the form of variation of heat of adsorption with extent of surface coverage. In light of these findings it appears that transient transport rates in porous media may be influenced significantly by adsorption as well as by surface diffusion. Care must be taken in interpreting experimental results, therefore, to properly allocate the effects of adsorption as well as surface diffusion.
Postexposure prophylaxis for human immunodeficiency virus at San Francisco General Hospital.

S an Francisco General Hospital (SFGH) is a center of excellence for the care of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients. For the past decade, the proportion of patients with HIV on the adult medical and surgical services has been 2535%. In addition, >2,500 patient visits for HIV care occur each month in the out-patient clinics. The high prevalence of HIV in this institution and the corresponding high risk of occupational exposure was recognized very early on in the AIDS epidemic and motivated the development of a comprehensive plan for coordinating occupational HIV exposure prevention and postexposure care. The components of the plan are developed and implemented by a multidisciplinary team, the Occupational Infectious Diseases Program (OIDP).‘,’ The specific protocols we use for treatment, follow-up, and drug toxicity monitoring are available on our website: http://epi-center.ucsf.edu. At SFGH, the exposure management program is designed to be generic and to accommodate all potential exposures to bloodborne pathogens.’ The first component is exposure prevention, the highest priority for exposure management. The prevention program includes (1) policy development and implementation, procedure reviews, and staff training; (2) exposure surveillance; and (3) targeted prevention interventions (including safety devices and sharpsdisposal programs). The second program component is individual postexposure care (the focus of this review), including (1) facilitated exposure event reporting; (2) wound care and prophylactic treatment; (3) diagnostic monitoring and follow-up; and (4) counseling and support. A simple three-step paradigm is used to instruct workers about postexposure interventions at SFGH (Table I). The Needlestick Hotline is designed to facilitate access to expertise for all occupational exposures. Expert counseling and advice as well as quick triage to prophylaxis for HIV and hepatitis B virus (HBV) exposures are provided 24 hours a day,
Contribution of early glycemic status in the development of severe retinopathy of prematurity in a cohort of ELBW infants

Contribution of early glycemic status in the development of severe retinopathy of prematurity in a cohort of ELBW infants
Cholinergic receptors in corpora cavernosa

In a group of 13 patients who underwent penile surgery, a small amount of cavernosal tissue was removed and examined for content of cholinergic receptors. Three patients did not display any amount of cholinergic receptors. Values in the other 10 patients ranged from 34 to 136 femtomols. In another group of 61 impotent patients with some degree of preserved erectile capacity, cholinergic stimulation was administered to the patients and the response monitored. Preliminary data displayed improved erectile capacity in 41 per cent. Further studies are needed to identify impotent patients who might respond favorably to cholinergic stimulation.
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF CAL3QHC ROADWAY INTERSECTION MODEL

Emissions from vehicular sources are a major contribution to air pollution in every country. Air quality models are being used to study the impact of such emissions. The CAL3QHC emissions model was developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency based on California's CAL3Q model. One area of concern with modeling results is uncertainty in input data, in model calculations, and in natural atmospheric processes. The focus of the study is uncertainty in input data for the CAL3QHC roadway model. Two practical methods-the ASTM approach and the least rigid approach-are used to perform the sensitivity analysis on the input parameters. The two important areas in which CAL3QHC requires sensitivity discussions are the emissions source strength of the vehicles in the queue and the link length (which represents the number of vehicles in a queue). The variability of these two parameters results in a nonlinear relationship between the source strengths and the predicted concentrations. Sensitivity analysis of the ...
Design and Control Approaches for a Novel Planar Biped With Nearly Linear Dynamics

In this paper, we propose the design of a planar biped for which the model is nearly linear, i.e., the inertia matrix is a constant and the gravity terms in the equations of motion are still nonlinear, but simplified. The legs are designed such that the inertia matrix is independent of the joint variables. As a result, the nonlinear terms in the centrifugal and Coriolis terms disappear. In this design, each leg has two links that are connected by a revolute joint at the knee. The two legs are connected to each other at the hip. The center of mass (COM) of each leg is located at the hip using counterweights. We assume that the stance leg is locked at the knee during the support phase. For this system, the dynamic model for the swing phase is considered. The stability of these designs is analysed by considering these as linear systems with nonvanishing perturbations. The paper discusses issues of ultimate stability bounds of the system and tracking of desired trajectories.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Polyhedral shaped gold nanoparticles with outstanding near-infrared light absorption

Au/Ag nanoparticles which absorb radiation near the infrared zone have been synthesized with the expectation that they will be employed in photothermal cancer diagnosis and treatment. The material exhibited two main morphologies, triangular shapes and nanostars, which in both cases presented two extra very bright peaks ending in a triangular face in a plane parallel to the electron beam direction. The particles have been characterized by weak beam dark field (WBDF) transmission electron microscopy, STEM-HAADF, SEM, and the composition was confirmed by point EDX analysis. HRTEM was used to analyze the defects observed in the microstructure.
SA-REST: Semantically Interoperable and Easier-to-Use Services and Mashups

Services based on the representational state transfer (REST) paradigm, a lightweight implementation of a service-oriented architecture, have found even greater success than their heavyweight siblings, which are based on the Web Services Description Language (WSDL.) and SOAP. By using XML-based messaging, RESTful services can bring together discrete data from different services to create meaningful data sets; mashups such as these are extremely popular today.
Purification and Characterization of Phosphatidylglycerolphosphate Synthase from Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Abstract The enzyme CDP-diacylglycerol:sn-glycerol-3-phosphate 3-phosphatidyltransferase (phosphatidylglycerolphosphate synthase; PGPS4; EC 2.7.8.5) is located in the mitochondrial inner membrane and catalyzes the committed step in the cardiolipin branch of phospholipid synthesis. Previous studies revealed that PGPS is the most highly regulated enzyme in cardiolipin biosynthesis in bothSaccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe. In this work, we report the purification to homogeneity of PGPS from S. pombe. The enzyme was solubilized from the mitochondrial membrane of S. pombe with Triton X-100. The solubilized enzyme, together with the associated detergent and intrinsic lipids, had a molecular mass of 120 kDa, as determined by gel filtration. The enzyme was further purified using salt-induced phase separation, gel filtration, and ionic exchange, hydroxylapatite, and affinity chromatographies. The procedure yielded a homogeneous protein preparation, evidenced by both SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and agarose isoelectric focusing under nondenaturing conditions. The purified enzyme had an apparent molecular mass of 60 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE. The enzyme showed a strong dependence on lipid cofactors for activity in vitro. While both phosphatidic acid and CDP-diacylglycerol appeared to be activators, the most significant activation was observed with cardiolipin. The possible physiological significance of the lipid cofactor effect is discussed. This is the first purification of a eucaryotic PGPS enzyme to date, and the first purification of a phospholipid biosynthetic enzyme fromS. pombe.
Closing the gap between the laparoscopic and open approaches to abdominal wall hernia repair: a trend and outcomes analysis of the ACS-NSQIP database

To assess trends in utilization and perioperative outcomes of laparoscopic and open abdominal wall hernia repair. Using the ACS-NSQIP database between 2009 and 2012, patients were identified as having an ICD-9 diagnosis of an umbilical, ventral, or incisional hernia as well as a CPT code for a laparoscopic or open abdominal wall hernia repair. A coarsened exact matching procedure was utilized to create a matched cohort to mitigate selection bias. Thirty-day outcomes analysis was done for the aggregate and matched cohorts. Subcategory analysis was performed for inpatient/outpatient status, strangulated/incarcerated hernias, initial/recurrent repairs, and hernia type (umbilical, ventral, incisional). Chi-square analysis was performed to determine the statistical significance of each comparison. In total, 112,074 qualifying patients were identified, 86,566 (77.24 %) open and 25,508 (22.76 %) laparoscopic. Patients undergoing laparoscopic repair were more likely to have preexisting comorbidities, but less likely to experience any postoperative morbidity (11.74 vs. 7.25 %, P < 0.0001), serious morbidity (4.55 vs. 3.02 %, P < 0.0001), or mortality (0.36 vs. 0.24 %, P = 0.0030). Creation of the matched cohort produced 17,394 patients in both the laparoscopic and open groups and resulted in a loss of advantage for the laparoscopic approach in terms of morbidity associated with umbilical hernia repairs (P = 0.0082 vs. P = 0.3172). Patients undergoing laparoscopic repair were still less likely to experience any postoperative (9.57 vs. 4.92 %, P < 0.0001) or serious morbidity (3.37 vs. 1.70 %, P < 0.0001). Hospital length of stay in the matched cohort supported initial primary repairs done by an open approach. The laparoscopic approach is used in a minority of abdominal wall hernia repairs, though utilization increased by 40 % from 2009 to 2012. The laparoscopic approach continues to be safer on many fronts, but not all, and is arguably not better for umbilical or primary hernia repairs on the basis of overall morbidity and length of stay.
Should Doctors Own Hospitals

Financial incentives for physician owners can work against patients’ best interests In the United States, nearly four out of five hospitals are private. As of 2010, more than 200 of these private hospitals were owned by doctors. In that same year the US Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act, a comprehensive package of healthcare reforms that prohibited (with limited exceptions) further development of “physician owned hospitals” (POHs). The American Hospital Association supported this prohibition, stating: “When a doctor self-refers a patient to a hospital in which he or she is invested, that is fundamentally the wrong incentive and leads to the wrong behavior.”1 From this critical perspective, the linked paper by Blumenthal and colleagues (doi:10.1136/bmj.h4466) examines the performance of POHs in the US in 2010.2 Specifically, the authors compared the quality of care, cost of care, and patient population at POHs with those at non-POHs located within the same hospital referral regions. Overall, POHs look largely benign in this study. In terms of quality, POHs were indistinguishable from non-POHs in the same region in a publicly reported patient satisfaction survey, and in the provision of appropriate care for patients with heart attack, heart failure, and …
Ultra-low voltage circuits and processor in 180nm to 90nm technologies with a swapped-body biasing technique

A low-voltage swapped-body biasing technique where PMOS bodies are connected to ground and NMOS bodies to Vcc is evaluated. Available measurements show more than 2.6x frequency improvement at 0.5V Vcc and the ability to reduce Vcc by 0.2V for the same frequency compared to no body bias in 180 to 90nm CMOS technologies.
Symptoms in medical patients: an untended field.

Abstract Somatic symptoms are one of the leading reasons for medical outpatient clinic visits, with the most common symptoms having a prevalence of 10% or more. However, the usual diagnostic workups are often unproductive, with 70% state that some type of treatment has been helpful, whereas
Pyrite-driven reactive oxygen species formation in simulated lung fluid: implications for coal workers’ pneumoconiosis

The origin of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis (CWP) has been long debated. A recent epidemiological study shows a correlation between what is essentially the concentration of pyrite within coal and the prevalence of CWP in miners. Hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radical, both reactive oxygen species (ROS), form as byproducts of pyrite oxidative dissolution in air-saturated water. Motivated by the possible importance of ROS in the pathogenesis of CWP, we conducted an experimental study to evaluate if ROS form as byproducts in the oxidative dissolution of pyrite in simulated lung fluid (SLF) under biologically applicable conditions and to determine the persistence of pyrite in SLF. While the rate of pyrite oxidative dissolution in SLF is suppressed by 51% when compared to that in air-saturated water, the initial amount of hydrogen peroxide formed as a byproduct in SLF is nearly doubled. Hydroxyl radical is also formed in the experiments with SLF, but at lower concentrations than in the experiments with water. The formation of these ROS indicates that the reaction mechanism for pyrite oxidative dissolution in SLF is no different from that in water. The elevated hydrogen peroxide concentration in SLF suggests that the decomposition, via the Fenton mechanism to hydroxyl radical or with Fe(III) to form water and molecular oxygen, is initially inhibited by the presence of SLF components. On the basis of the oxidative dissolution rate of pyrite measured in this paper, it is calculated that a respirable two micron pyrite particle will take over 3 years to dissolve completely.
Best asymptotic normality of the kernel density entropy estimator for smooth densities

In the random sampling setting we estimate the entropy of a probability density distribution by the entropy of a kernel density estimator using the double exponential kernel. Under mild smoothness and moment conditions we show that the entropy of the kernel density estimator equals a sum of independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) random variables plus a perturbation which is asymptotically negligible compared to the parametric rate n/sup -1/2/. An essential part in the proof is obtained by exhibiting almost sure bounds for the Kullback-Leibler divergence between the kernel density estimator and its expected value. The basic technical tools are Doob's submartingale inequality and convexity (Jensen's inequality).
Science stories: flies, planes, worms, and lasers

“Tell a story,” my mother instructs her graduate students as they prepare their talks. I will make use of her advice here, and will tell several short stories. The themes revolve around the practice of science—what motivates us to go into science and how we choose questions once we get there. I also touch on progress in scientific tools, teaching, good mentors, and good colleagues, all of which contribute to making a career in science constantly compelling.
Unilateral adrenal hyperplasia causing primary aldosteronism: limitations of I-131 norcholesterol scanning

Primary aldosteronism is a disorder that is commonly considered in patients referred to the hypertension clinic. The ease of measuring the random aldosterone-to-renin ratio in conjunction with an elevated serum aldosterone level has led to an increased screening for this disorder. Typically, patients undergo a confirmatory test after a positive screening test. However, once primary aldosteronism is confirmed, subtype delineation is critical to decide on the optimal treatment. We report a patient with resistant hypertension and primary aldosteronism with a normal computed tomographic scan of the adrenal glands, a left-sided uptake on adrenal scintigraphy, and a right-sided lateralization of aldosterone after adrenal vein sampling. A repeat adrenal vein sampling confirmed the aldosterone lateralization to the right adrenal gland, which was then removed laparoscopically. The patient had a good clinical and biochemical response, and unilateral adrenal hyperplasia was discovered at histology. Excessive reliance on adrenal scintigraphy without adrenal vein sampling may lead to serious errors in patient management.
Papillary tumors of the bladder.

The most common neoplasms of the urinary bladder are papillary tumors that vary histologically and cytologically from very well differentiated to highly anaplastic patterns. Biologic behavior of these tumors is closely correlated with morphology, so that cytologically benign tumors (papillomas) are benign in behavior, and increasing anaplasia is associated with increasing clinical aggressiveness. By this definition, 20% or more of bladder tumors should be classified as papillomas. The development of carcinoma occurs in a series of steps, progressing through atypia and carcinoma in situ to invasion. Finally, evidence is presented to show that invasive carcinoma often begins from areas of flat carcinoma in situ associated with, but not within, co-existing papillary tumors. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The impact of renal fusion and ectopia on aortic surgery

This article is concerned with observations in 17 patients with renal fusion and ectopic abnormalities: horseshoe kidney in 13 patients, crossed ectopia with fusion in two, pancake kidney in one, and pelvic kidney in one. Three patients had occlusive disease, one may have had renal artery occlusion, and 13 had aneurysms--three thoracoabdominal and 10 infrarenal. Rupture of aneurysm had occurred in one patient at each level and six patients had had one or more previous attempts at aneurysmal removal. Diagnosis and evaluation were made with the aid of intravenous pyelography, retrograde pyelography, CT scanning, and at operation (three patients). Three patients had two normally located right and left renal arteries. Twelve patients had one to three additional aberrant arteries arising from the aorta and iliac arteries. One patient's renal blood supply arose from multiple aberrant arteries. Ureters crossed the midline in two patients. Treatment of occlusive disease consisted of endarterectomy in one patient and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty in two. Aneurysms were treated by graft replacement with retroperitoneal exposure in seven patients and transabdominal exposure in six. One patient was treated medically. Renal isthmus division was employed in only two patients and involved accessory arteries were reattached to the grafts in all cases. Death from myocardial infarction occurred in two patients (12%). Eleven patients subjected to operation were alive 6 months to 14 years later.
Coping Strategies and Interpersonal Support in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background & Aims: Coping strategies are used to manage conflict and illness and can have adaptive or maladaptive effects on health status. Perceived availability and quality of social support also influences health status. Coping strategies and social support have not been well studied in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). To understand their role better, coping strategies, social support, and psychiatric distress were assessed in patients with IBS and IBD and in controls. Methods: Participants completed the Ways of Coping Questionnaire, the Interpersonal Support Evaluation, Symptom Checklist-90-revised, IBS-Quality of Life (QOL), and IBD-QOL. Participants also completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and Somatosensory Amplification Scale. Results: The study population included 55 controls, 74 IBS patients, and 48 IBD patients. The IBS and IBD patients had higher scores on measures of psychiatric distress, alexithymia, and somatosensory amplification than controls, but did not differ from one another. QOL scores did not differ between patients with IBS and IBD. Patients with IBS and IBD reported significantly less interpersonal support than controls. Controls identified planful problem solving as the dominant coping strategy whereas patients with IBS and IBD relied significantly less on planful problem solving and positive reappraisal and more on escape-avoidance strategies. Conclusions: Compared with controls, IBS and IBD patients had increased levels of psychiatric distress, a poorer QOL, less interpersonal support, and greater reliance on passive coping strategies. These data suggest that psychosocial disturbances are common in IBD and IBS and suggest that the observed differences reflect illness behavior rather than a disorder-specific process.
Association between school climate and attitudes supporting violence among colombian students

Resumen En el presente estudio se explora si los estudiantes que atienden instituciones con ambientes escolares de cuidado, en orden y abiertos a la participacion estu-diantil, demuestran tener menos actitudes de apoyo a la violencia que los estu-diantes que atienden instituciones educativas con ambientes que exhiben poco orden, poco cuidado y poca apertura a la participacion, despues de contro-lar por variables demograficas e institucionales. Se usan los datos piloto de la prueba Saber 2012 en competencias ciudadanas y modelos de regresiones mul-tinivel con interceptos aleatorios para predecir las actitudes de apoyo a la vio-lencia de 253 estudiantes a partir de los ambientes escolares en que estudian, tal y como fueron descritos por un grupo independiente de 274 pares en 39 institu-ciones educativas. Los resultados indican que las actitudes de apoyo a la violen-cia tienen una relacion negativa, moderada y estadisticamente significativa con los ambientes de cuidado (p<.001), positiva, moderada y estadisticamente signi-ficativa con los ambiente en orden (p=.01) y ninguna relacion aparente con los ambientes escolares abiertos a la participacion estudiantil. Despues de construir una tipologia de cuatro ambientes prototipicos cruzando las caracteristicas de cuidado y orden, se observa que los estudiantes en ambientes autoritarios exhi-ben las actitudes mas altas de apoyo a la violencia del grupo, seguidos por los estudiantes en ambientes negligentes, autoritativos, y por ultimo, con el puntaje mas bajo, los estudiantes en ambientes permisivos. Se discuten las implicacio-nes de estudio para la practica, asi como limitaciones e investigaciones futuras.
Mirrored line-of-sight input nodes for embedded optical waveguides

A novel method for passive coupling of light to optical communication links embedded in composite structures has been explored. The use of 45-deg-angled mirrors integrated directly in poly-(methylmethacrylate) fibers as an input node coupling technique was characterized under conditions of varying refractive index. Mirrors were integrated into the fiber through polishing of the endface to a 45-deg angle and then thermal evaporation of Ag metal. To explore angular tolerances and sensitivity to alignment errors, the efficiency of the node was characterized as a function of source position and angle of incidence. Coupling loss as low as -0.39 dB was measured for normal incidence while the input node was immersed in a fluid with refractive index of 1.33. Ray tracing simulations were used to model the coupling of light to fabricated input nodes and showed good agreement with experiments.
Phase II study of a multidisciplinary approach with induction chemotherapy, followed by surgical resection, radiation therapy, and consolidation chemotherapy for unresectable malignant thymomas: Final report

Summary Purpose: To evaluate tumor resectability after induction chemotherapy and to determine disease-free and overall survival rates of patients with locally advanced unresectable thymoma that received a multimodal treatment regimen. Patients and methods: Twenty-two patients (9 men, 13 women) with histologically confirmed invasive thymoma were treated with a multidisciplinary regimen consisting of three courses of induction chemotherapy, surgical resection, and radiation therapy, followed by three courses of consolidation chemotherapy. The median age was 47 years (range, 25—70). Eleven patients had stage III disease, 10 patients, stage IVA, and one patient, IVB. The most common histologic type was lymphocytic. Induction chemotherapy consisted of 500 mg/m 2 of cyclophosphamide on day 1; doxorubicin (20 mg/m 2 per day) on days 1—3 via continuous infusion (a total of 60 mg/m 2 ); cisplatin (30 mg/m 2 per day) on days 1—3 (a total of 90 mg/m 2 ); and prednisone (100 mg per day) on days 1—5. This cycle was repeated three times at 3—4-week intervals. Patients then underwent surgery for tumor resection and received radiotherapy. Consolidation chemotherapy given at 80% of the induction chemotherapy doses of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and cisplatin and 100% of the dose of prednisone was then repeated every 3—4 weeks for a total of three courses. Results: Induction chemotherapy
Nature and significance of alterations in myocardial compliance

There is evidence that most alterations in inotropic state occurring under normal circumstances do not substantially influence diastolic compliance, except perhaps in the rapid phases of cardiac filling. Nevertheless, recent studies have clearly shown that left ventricular compliance can be markedly altered in chronic disease states, acute myocardial infarction, chronic ventricular hypertrophy and failure and chronic dilatation influencing diastolic compliance in an important manner. The large shift to the right of the pressure-volume relation observed in the chronically dilated left ventricle allows the ventricle to operate from a large radius and to deliver a normal or increased stroke volume without a great increase in end-diastolic pressure. On the other hand, the decrease in compliance without a shift to the right that appears to occur in acute myocardial infarction may increase filling pressure without this mechanical advantage and be detrimental. The question of when and by what mechanism changes in heart size and compliance appear to become irreversible seems to be amenable to experimental study and could have important clinical implications. It is suggested that one appropriate way to evaluate chronic changes in cardiac compliance is to assess the diastolic pressure-volume relation or the pressure-circumference relation over a range of pressures up to end-diastolic pressure, or over the range of volume accompanying the stroke volume. This approach, encompassing a normal cardiac filling cycle, and defined as “functional compliance,” should offer useful clinical information on the filling characteristics of the ventricle relative to pressures transmitted in retrograde manner to the lungs or the systemic venous circulation. The assessment of the passive stress-strain relation of the myocardium itself in the whole heart remains a difficult and challenging problem.
Highly compressed Aho-Corasick automata for efficient intrusion detection

We develop a method to compress the unoptimized Aho-Corasick automaton that is used widely in intrusion detection systems. Our method uses bitmaps with multiple levels of summaries as well as aggressive path compaction. By using multiple levels of summaries, we are able to determine a popcount with as few as 1 addition. On Snort string databases, our compressed automata take 24% to 31% less memory than taken by the compressed automata of Tuck et al. [23]. and the number of additions required to compute popcounts is reduced by about 90%.
The Effect of the Cultural Revolution on Educational Homogamy in Urban China

This article demonstrates that the Cultural Revolution led to a temporary decline in educational homogamy in urban China, which was reversed when the Cultural Revolution ended. Previous studies on educational homogamy in China have paid incomplete attention to China’s shifting institutional structures. This research applies institutional theory to the trend of educational homogamy in urban China. During the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) state policies lowered educational legitimacy, educational homogeneity and mating opportunities in school in the urban marriage market while enhancing them before and after. From the institutional perspective I hypothesize that the strength of educational homogamy in urban China during the Cultural Revolution was weaker than before and after. I use log-multiplicative layer effect models to analyze data representative of urban residents in 20 cities. I find moderate but significant evidence for the institutional hypotheses. Educational assortative mating is subject to political intervention in urban China.