cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Design of the New York City Macroscope: Innovations in Population Health Surveillance Using Electronic Health Records.

Introduction: Electronic health records (EHRs) have the potential to offer real-time, inexpensive standardized health data about chronic health conditions. Despite rapid expansion, EHR data evaluations for chronic disease surveillance have been limited. We present design and methods for the New York City (NYC) Macroscope, an EHR-based chronic disease surveillance system. This methods report is the first in a three part series describing the development and validation of the NYC Macroscope. This report describes in detail the infrastructure underlying the NYC Macroscope; indicator definitions; design decisions that were made to maximize data quality; characteristics of the population sampled; completeness of data collected; and lessons learned from doing this work. The second report describes the methods used to evaluate the validity and robustness of NYC Macroscope prevalence estimates; presents validation results for estimates of obesity, smoking, depression and influenza vaccination; and discusses the implications of our findings for NYC and for other jurisdictions embarking on similar work. The third report applies the same validation methods to metabolic outcomes, including the prevalence, treatment and control of diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Methods: We designed the NYC Macroscope for comparison to a local “gold standard,” the 2013-14 NYC Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and the telephonic 2013 Community Health Survey. NYC Macroscope indicators covered prevalence, treatment, and control of diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia; and prevalence of influenza vaccination, obesity, depression and smoking. Indicators were stratified by age, sex, and neighborhood poverty, and weighted to the in-care NYC population and limited to primary care patients. Indicator queries were distributed to a virtual network of primary care practices; 392 practices and 716,076 adult patients were retained in the final sample. Findings: The NYC Macroscope covered 10% of primary care providers and 15% of all adult patients in NYC in 2013 (8-47% of patients by neighborhood). Data completeness varied by domain from 98% for blood pressure among patients with hypertension to 33% for depression screening. Discussion: Design and validation efforts undertaken by NYC are described here to provide one potential blueprint for leveraging EHRs for population health monitoring. To replicate a model like NYC Macroscope, jurisdictions should establish buy-in; build informatics capacity; use standard, simple case definitions; establish documentation quality thresholds; restrict to primary care providers; and weight the sample to a target population.
Physiological evidence of DNA damage by carcinogens known to be present in charred and processed meats (PhIP DNA adducts) in a small cohort of patients with prostate cancer.

e580Background: Epidemiologic studies have reported an association between frequent consumption of well-done cooked meats and prostate cancer (PC) risk. Charred red meat and cooked processed meats ...
Observations on the origin of micrite crystals

Abstract The transformation of depositional lime mud to microporous micrite has been the subject of several important papers recently in response to the recognition that micropores are important to the production of carbonate hydrocarbon reservoirs. The origin of micrite has generally been described as a micro dissolution and reprecipitation process (often referred to as Ostwald ripening), with nanometer-sized depositional particles being dissolved and larger crystals (micrite) averaging 2 μm in diameter being precipitated. These conclusions were tested by detailed scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations of micrite and minimicrite crystals found in the mid-Pliocene to upper Miocene section of the Clino core taken on the western edge of the Bahama Bank. Minimicrite in this data set is shown to be composed of both aragonite and calcite with calcite being the dominate mineral. In addition, micrite crystals are composed of cemented nanometer-sized calcite crystals and are not individually precipitated calcite crystals. As a result, the faces of the micrite are anhedral and knobby in appearance rather than being smooth, euhedral crystal faces. Extensive size measurements could find no size selectivity in the dissolution of the calcite minimicrite, indicating that the Ostwald ripening process is not active. Aragonite and calcite crystals are dissolved and some calcite crystals act as nuclei for the precipitation of the dissolved carbonate. The origin of the micropores is also debated. Some authors call upon a dissolution event to increase porosity of a partially cemented micrite, based largely on the anhedral nature of the micrite. Others conclude that porosity is originally inherited from the deposition lime mud and that porosity is lost by overgrowth cementation, which results in euhedral micrite crystals. The observations presented here show that anhedral crystals are due to the inclusion of nanometer calcite crystals rather than to dissolution of euhedral crystals. Lastly, these micrite crystals are formed by calcite and aragonite sediment precipitated from an aragonitic sea, disproving the assertion of some authors that porous micrite only forms from sediments deposited in calcitic seas.
Control Device Thermal Modeling in MRI Receive Coil Q-Spoiling Circuits

Q-spoiling circuits for detuning receive coils during high-power magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) slice-select pulses protect both sensitive electronics as well as the patient from undesired high energy signals and associated heating. These circuits have traditionally used PIN diodes and, more recently, field effect transistors to switch in small values of inductance to shift the coil resonance away from the Larmor frequency. These semiconductor devices can see the full radio frequency (RF) power during operation, and will exhibit significant heating, potentially leading to device failure. Even if the device does not reach a destructive heating level, the resistance of the device can increase and effectively degrade the level of blocking in the RF coil. A useful tool for MRI circuit designers would be a thermal model that predicts this change in resistance, and hence degradation in MRI coil blocking, as device temperature rises. This paper presents a method for modeling thermal effects in MRI Q-spoiling control devices. A PIN diode resistance–temperature model is reviewed, and two approaches for field effect transistors that model the temperature rise and subsequent device resistance variation with temperature using SPICE-compatible equivalent circuit elements are covered. Experimental results are presented that validate the form of the models and show that increased device resistance due to temperature rise will degrade MRI blocking by several decibels. The ability to model the control device's thermal characteristics will lead to improved understanding of circuit operation, aid in the selection of the control device for the specific application, and will lead to more reliable MRI instrumentation.
Was ist Migräne

Die Migrane ist multifaktoriell und heterogen. Die diagnostischen Kriterien der Internationalen Kopfschmerzgesellschaft dienen einer Definition nur unterstutzend. Pathophysiologisch spielen neurogene und vaskulare Phanomene eine Rolle. Zum einen ist die „cortical spreading depression“ das Korrelat der Aura, wahrend eine Aktivierung des Hirnstamms und des Hypothalamus die Schmerzphase charakterisiert. Andererseits findet sich bei Migranikern ein erhohtes Risiko fur kardiovaskulare Ereignisse, eine gestorte Vasoreaktivitat und endotheliale Fehlfunktion. Triptane und Calcitonin-gene-related-peptide-Rezeptor-Antagonisten sind nur relativ migranespezifisch; bis zu 30% der Betroffenen sind Nonresponder. Trotz klarer genetischer Komponente ist die Suche nach spezifischen Genen bisher wenig erfolgreich. Konsistent sind elektrophysiologische Studien, die eine charakteristische „Dyshabituation“ zeigen. Dies passt zu den klinischen Zeichen der gestorten sensorischen Wahrnehmung. Das alters- und geschlechtsspezifische Muster sowie die Beeinflussbarkeit durch externe Faktoren sprechen fur eine Beteiligung epigenetischer Faktoren. Das Verstandnis um die Migrane ist weiterhin begrenzt, so dass eine Definition recht allgemein ausfallt.
Challenges in Materials Discovery – Synthetic Generator and Real Datasets

Newly-discovered materials have been central to recent technological advances. They have contributed significantly to breakthroughs in electronics, renewable energy and green buildings, and overall, have promoted the advancement of global human welfare. Yet, only a fraction of all possible materials have been explored. Accelerating the pace of discovery of materials would foster technological innovations, and would potentially address pressing issues in sustainability, such as energy production or consumption. The bottleneck of this discovery cycle lies, however, in the analysis of the materials data. As materials scientists have recently devised techniques to efficiently create thousands of materials and experimentalists have developed new methods and tools to characterize these materials, the limiting factor has become the data analysis itself. Hence, the goal of this paper is to stimulate the development of new computational techniques for the analysis of materials data, by bringing together the complimentary expertise of materials scientists and computer scientists. In collaboration with two major research laboratories in materials science, we provide the first publicly available dataset for the phase map identification problem. In addition, we provide a parameterized synthetic data generator to assess the quality of proposed approaches, as well as tools for data visualization and solution evaluation.
Scaling Limits of Silicon VLSI Technology

The rapid progress in integration of digital circuits over the last fifteen years has been made possible by continuous reduction of the dimensions of devices and interconnections. The greatly improved density of integrated circuits, combined with growth in size of the silicon chips, has led to very high levels of complexity as measured in logic gates or memory bits per chip. The MOSFET technology is used for the present highest levels of integration known as VLSI, with minimum dimensions of about 1 µm. The progress in miniaturization of devices and interconnections into the submicron regime will lead us inevitably toward dimensions where fundamental limits are encountered.
Galileo Galilei and the Doctores Parisienses

The title of this study translates that of a note published by Antonio Favaro in 1918 in the transactions of the Accademia dei Lincei, wherein he presented his considered opinion of the value of Pierre Duhem’s researches into the ‘Parisian precursors of Galileo.’1 Earlier, in 1916, only a few years after the appearance of Duhem’s three-volume Etudes sur Leonard de Vinci, Favaro had reviewed the work in Scientia and had expressed some reservations about the thesis there advanced, which advocated a strong bond of continuity between medieval and modern science.2 In the 1918 note he returned to this topic and developed a number of arguments against the continuity thesis, some of which are strikingly similar to those offered in present-day debates. Since Favaro, as the editor of the National Edition of Galileo’s works, had a superlative knowledge of Galileo’s manuscripts — one that remains unequalled in extent and in detail to the present day — it will be profitable to review his arguments and evaluate them in the light of recent researches into the manuscript sources of Galileo’s early notebooks. Such is the intent of this essay.
Modeling research universities: Predicting probable futures of public vs. private and large vs. small research universities.

The future of the American academic research enterprise is considered. Data are presented that characterize the resources available for the 160 best-resourced research universities, a small subset of the 2,285 4-year, nonprofit, higher education institutions. A computational model of research universities was extended and used to simulate three strategic scenarios: status quo, steady decline in foreign graduate student enrollments, and downward tuition pressures from high-quality, online professional master’s programs. Four specific universities are modeled: large public and private, and small public and private. The former are at the top of the 160 in terms of resources, while the latter are at the bottom of the 160. The model’s projections suggest how universities might address these competitive forces. In some situations, it would be in the economic interests of these universities to restrict research activities to avoid the inherent subsidies these activities require. The computational projections portend the need for fundamental change of approaches to business for universities without large institutional resources.
Extra-Hepatic Manifestations of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Review.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is now the leading cause of chronic liver disease worldwide with a strong association with metabolic syndrome. NAFLD is truly a systemic disease and is associated with a plethora of extra-hepatic manifestations or comorbidities. These are either related to secondary effects of associated obesity or from pathophysiological effects of insulin resistance in NAFLD. Three most common causes of increased morbidity and mortality associated with NAFLD are cardiovascular disease, liver disease, and cancer. In this narrative review, we will discuss comprehensively on cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and chronic kidney disease and will also highlight on malignancy especially colorectal cancer, pulmonary disorders including obstructive sleep apnea, endocrine disorders such as hypothyroidism and polycystic ovarian syndrome, dermatological disorders especially psoriasis, and hematological associations including iron overload and susceptibility to thrombosis. In addition to focusing on pathogenesis of these extrahepatic manifestations, we will highlight their clinical implications for physicians in routine clinical practice. Further, there remains an unmet need for safe and effective therapies and examining their benefits on these extra-hepatic manifestations among patients with NAFLD.
Non-myopic dynamic routing of electric taxis with battery swapping stations

Abstract Electric vehicles (EVs) have a key aspect in reducing the greenhouse gas effect, maintenance, and energy expenditures of drivers. A type of integration of the electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure is emerging based on the premise of battery swapping. Drivers can exchange their empty batteries quickly with full batteries from any battery swapping station. The limited battery capacities of electric taxis require visiting the swapping stations during pickup and drop-off tours, which entails choosing the route more effectively to avoid customer delay. We propose the dynamic routing of electric taxis with a look-ahead policy using a Markov decision process (MDP) for assigning an electric taxi fleet to customers with the assumption of elastic demand. This is the first model that focuses on the design of a non-myopic routing of electric taxis that considers the limited battery capacity through serving customers, detours of the taxi drivers to battery swapping stations (BSS), and integration of customers delay and the system cost into a dynamic non-myopic pricing policy under the objective of maximizing social benefit. Using battery recharging locations and taxicab trip data in New York City, we showed an improvement in the average of social welfare, due to use of clean and smart taxi routes based on the proposed dynamic non-myopic routing policy by up to 8% compared to the routing problem without a look-ahead policy.
Long-term dietary flavonoid intake and change in cognitive function in the Framingham Offspring cohort.

Objective To examine the association between long-term intake of total and the six classes of dietary flavonoids and decline in cognitive function over a follow-up period of up to 15 years. Design In this longitudinal study, we evaluated change in eight cognitive domain scores (verbal and visual memory, verbal learning, attention and concentration, abstract reasoning, language, visuoperceptual organisation and the global function) based on three neuropsychological exams and characterised the annualised change between consecutive exams. Long-term intakes of total and six flavonoid classes were assessed up to four times by a validated FFQ. Repeated-measures regression models were used to examine the longitudinal association between total and six flavonoid classes and annualised change in the eight cognitive domains. Setting The Framingham Heart Study (FHS), a prospective cohort study. Participants One thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine subjects who were free of dementia, aged ≥45 years and had attended at least two of the last three FHS Offspring cohort study exams. Results Over a median follow-up of 11·8 years with 1779 participants, nominally significant trends towards a slower decline in cognitive function were observed among those with higher flavanol and flavon-3-ol intakes for global function, verbal and visual memory; higher total flavonoids and flavonoid polymers for visual memory; and higher flavanols for verbal learning. Conclusions In spite of modest nominal trends, overall, our findings do not support a clear association between higher long-term flavonoid intake and slowing age-related cognitive decline.
Density functional study of one- and two-component bottlebrush molecules in solvents of varying quality

Modified inhomogeneous statistical associating fluid theory (iSAFT) density functional theory is extended to bottlebrush polymers in both good and poor solvent. The detailed structures of side chai...
Dynamic Language Use in Bi/Multilingual Early Childhood Education Contexts

The population of bilingual students learning and using more than one language in the United States has more than doubled in the past 30 years. This is especially true in early childhood, which makes it crucial that educators of young emergent bilingual children understand and support these young children’s bi/multilingual development, including critically understanding the implication of adopting different perspectives of bi/multilingualism. Although much is known about classroom practices in support of emergent bilingual children in Kindergarten and beyond, little is known about those practices in the early years. This article provides a systematic review of relevant empirical studies that investigated teachers’ and children’s dynamic language use in bi/multilingual early childhood education settings. The authors identify several strategic languaging practices enacted by both teachers and children, and strategies for fostering these practices; as well as ways in which teachers leveraged their agency through their languaging practices. Implications for future research, practice, professional development, and policy are discussed.
Resource-rational decision making

Across many domains of decision making, people seem both rational and irrational. We review recent work that aims to reconcile these apparently contradictory views by modeling human decisions as optimal under a set of cognitive resource constraints. This ‘resource-rational’ analysis connects psychology and neuroscience to ideas from engineering, economics, and machine learning. Here, we focus on an information-theoretic formalization of cognitive resources, highlighting its implications for understanding three important and widespread phenomena: reference dependence, stochastic choice, and perseveration. While these phenomena have traditionally been viewed as irrational biases or errors, we suggest that they may arise from a rational solution to the problem of resource-limited decision making.
Combined ASBT Inhibitor and FGF15 Treatment Improves Therapeutic Efficacy in Experimental Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

Abstract Background & Aims Pharmacological agents targeting bile acid signaling show promise for treating non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). However, clinical findings suggest that new treatment strategies with enhanced therapeutic efficacy and minimized undesired effects are needed. This pre-clinical study investigates if combining an apical sodium-bile acid transporter (ASBT) inhibitor GSK233072 (GSK672) and fibroblast growth factor-15 (FGF15) signaling activation improves anti-NASH efficacy. Methods Mice with high fat, cholesterol and fructose (HFCFr) diet-induced NASH and stage-2 fibrosis are used as a NASH model. GSK672 or AAV8-TBG-FGF15 interventions are administered alone or in combination to HFCFr diet-fed mice. Results The combined treatment significantly enhances therapeutic efficacy against steatosis, inflammation, ballooning, and fibrosis than either single treatment. Mechanistically, the synergistic actions of GSK672 and FGF15 on inhibiting gut bile acid re-uptake and hepatic bile acid synthesis achieve greater magnitude of bile acid pool reduction that not only decreases bile acid burden in NASH livers but also limits intestinal lipid absorption, which, together with FGF15 signaling activation, produces weight loss, reduction of adipose inflammation, and attenuated hepatocellular organelle stress. Furthermore, the combined treatment attenuates increased fecal bile acid excretion and repressed bile acid synthesis, which underlie diarrhea and hypercholesterolemia associated with ASBT inhibition and FGF19 analogue, respectively, in clinical settings. Conclusion Concomitant ASBT inhibition and FGF15 signaling activation produce metabolic changes that partially mimic the bariatric surgery condition whereby lipid malabsorption and increased FGF15/19 signaling synergistically mediate weight loss and metabolic improvement. Further clinical studies may be warranted to investigate if combining ASBT inhibitor and FGF19 analogue enhances anti-NASH efficacy and reduced treatment-associated adverse events in humans.
Measuring disparities in quality of oncology care across oncology practices.

6533Background: Equity is now recognized as an essential aspect of health care quality. Racial inequities in clinical performance diminish overall system performance. We assessed the feasibility an...
Cytologic features of malignant rhabdoid tumor of the liver: A case report and literature review.

As one of the SMARCB1-deficient tumors, malignant rhabdoid tumor (MRT) of the liver is a rare and aggressive malignancy, typically in young children below the age of 3 years. The diagnosis of MRT of the liver is challenging both clinically and pathologically due to the rarity of the tumor and misdiagnosing it as a hepatoblastoma is not uncommon. Although MRT of the liver and hepatoblastoma share some similar clinical and morphological features, their prognosis and the clinical management are significantly different. Therefore, an accurate diagnosis of MRT or hepatoblastoma is critical for patient care. Here we report a case of an 8-month-old female with MRT of the liver diagnosed by fine needle aspiration and core biopsy. The cytologic and histological features, the results of immunohistochemical studies, and clinical follow-up information are presented. Recent literature regarding the diagnosis and treatment of this tumor were reviewed.
From Darwin to Derrida: Selfish Genes, Social Selves, and the Meanings of Life,: by David Haig, Cambridge, MA, MIT Press, 2020, 464 pp., $39.95T/£32.00 (cloth)

David Haig’s From Darwin to Derrida scrutinizes a wide range of historical and contemporary issues embedded in the theory and practice of genetics—from genes to multilevel selection, from prokaryot...
Trachymyrmex septentrionalis ant microbiome assembly is unique to individual colonies and castes

Within social insect colonies, microbiomes often differ between castes due to their different functional roles, and between colony locations. Trachymyrmex septentrionalis fungus-growing ants form colonies throughout the eastern USA and Northern Mexico that include workers, female and male alates (unmated reproductive castes), larvae, and pupae. How T. septentrionalis microbiomes vary across this geographic range and between castes is unknown. Our sampling of individual ants from colonies across the Eastern USA revealed a conserved core T. septentrionalis worker ant microbiome, and that worker ant microbiomes are more conserved within colonies than between them. A deeper sampling of individual ants from two colonies that included all available castes (pupae, larvae, workers, female and male alates), from both before and after adaptation to controlled laboratory conditions, revealed that ant microbiomes from each colony, caste, and rearing condition were typically conserved within but not between each sampling category. Tenericute bacterial symbionts were especially abundant in these ant microbiomes and varied widely in abundance between sampling categories. This study demonstrates how individual insect colonies primarily drive the composition of their microbiomes, and that these microbiomes are further modified by developmental differences between insect castes and the different environmental conditions experienced by each colony.
What Is Spongiotic Dermatitis

For the dermatology practitioner, the term dermatitis refers to a group of disorders that share features of papulovesicles in the acute phase, scaly patches in the subacute phase, and generally lichenified plaques in the chronic stage. For the skin pathologist, it refers to a group of disorders in which pathology is limited to the epidermis and papillary dermis and these are further divided into three main categories (spongiotic, psoriasiform, and interface) based on the most prominent feature of the disorder (epidermal edema, epidermal hyperplasia, and disturbance of the dermo-epidermal junction, respectively). Spongiotic dermatitis refers to a group of disorders that share intercellular edema of the epidermis. This is associated with exocytosis of lymphocytes and a papillary dermal perivascular infiltrate. Spongiotic dermatitis may be: allergic contact, atopic, nummular, stasis, photoinduced, and more. Certain histological clues may point to some forms of dermatitis over others.
Studying Early Film History, on Simon Popple and Jeo Kember's Early Cinema: From Factory Gate to Dream Factory

Simon Popple and Joe Kember _Early Cinema: From Factory Gate to Dream Factory_ London and New York: Wallflower Press, 2004 ISBN 1-903364-58-2 136 pp.
Dynamics of bovine spleen cell populations during the acute response to Babesia bovis infection: an immunohistological study

The spleen is a critical organ in defence against haemoparasitic diseases like babesiosis. Many in vitro and ex vivo studies have identified splenic cells working in concert to activate mechanisms required for successful resolution of infection. The techniques used in those studies, however, remove cells from the anatomical context in which cell interaction and trafficking take place. In this study, an immunohistological approach was used to monitor the splenic distribution of defined cells during the acute response of naive calves to Babesia bovis infection. Splenomegaly was characterized by disproportionate hyperplasia of large versus small leucocytes and altered distribution of several cell types thought to be important in mounting an effective immune response. In particular, the results suggest that the initial crosstalk between NK cells and immature dendritic cells occurs within the marginal zone and that immature dendritic cells are first redirected to encounter pathogens as they enter the spleen and then mature as they process antigen and migrate to T-cell-rich areas. The results of this study are remarkably similar to those observed in a mouse model of malarial infection, suggesting these dynamic events may be central to the acute response of naive animals to haemoparasitic infection.
Ultrastructural basis for interactions between central opioids and catecholamines. I. Rostral ventrolateral medulla

Opioids and some alpha 2-adrenergic agonists are both known for their potent hypotensive actions following local application to the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVL), in particular the region containing the C1 adrenergic neurons. We sought to determine whether coexistence and/or synaptic interactions might account for the commonality of cardiovascular responses to opioids and catecholamines in the RVL. Dual light and electron microscopic (EM) immunoperoxidase labeling of a rat monoclonal antibody against the opioid peptide Leucine5 (Leu5)- enkephalin and immunoautoradiographic localization of a rabbit antiserum against the catecholamine synthesizing enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) were examined in single sections through the RVL of adult colchicine-pretreated rats. Cross-reactivity of the enkephalin antibody was most intense with Leu5-enkephalin. Methionine5-enkephalin as well as dynorphin A, but not beta-endorphin, were also recognized by the antisera. By light microscopy, the Leu5-enkephalin-like immunoreactivity (LE-LI) was identified by peroxidase reaction product in perikarya and processes. Most of the perikarya containing LE-LI were located dorsolaterally or ventromedially to those showing immunoautoradiographic labeling for TH. However, a few perikarya appeared to contain both LE-LI and TH-immunoreactivity (TH-I) which were difficult to differentiate by light microscopy. By EM, perikarya and dendrites immunoreactive for LE, TH, and both LE and TH were readily distinguishable. Perikarya and dendrites immunoautoradiographically labeled for TH alone were more numerous than those containing LE-LI or TH-I and LE-LI. Axon terminals also were immunolabeled either for one or both reaction products. However, the TH- labeled neurons constituted one of the primary (42% from a total of 118) targets of terminals containing LE-LI. Additionally, some of these terminals containing LE-LI shared a common target with TH-labeled terminals. These common target neurons contained either TH-I or TH-I and LE-LI. In most cases, the identified junctions were symmetric and the terminals with LE-LI (0.4–1.2 microns in diameter) contained either (1) a few small clear vesicles (scv9s) and numerous intensely immunoreactive large (100–150 nm) dense-core vesicles (dcv9s); or (2) many scv9s and from 0–6 dcv9s of a somewhat smaller (80–120 nm) diameter. The latter type of terminal was more consistently dually labeled for TH. The remaining terminals containing LE-LI formed synaptic junctions with unlabeled perikarya or dendrites (32%), were in apposition to other unlabeled as well as TH or LE- and TH-containing terminals (4%) or were without recognizable specializations within the plane of section (22%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Urban furniture and user satisfaction: The example of Antalya - Gulluk avenue

Kentler kuruldugu gunden gunumuze kadar surekli bir degisim icindedir. Bu degisim ile birlikte kentler icerisinde yer alan yapisal ve bitkisel unsurlarda degismektedir. Boylece kent icerisinde yasayan bireyler uzerinde gerek fiziksel gerekse de duygusal farkliliklar meydana gelmektedir. Bu farki kentin butunu olusturabildigi gibi kentte yer alan her hangi bir donati elemani da olusturabilmektedir. Bu calismanin amaci. kentlerde yer alan kentsel donati elemanlarinin estetik ve fonksiyonel yonden kullanicilar uzerindeki etkisini belirlemek ve kent kimligini yansitmasi acisindan kullanicilarin beklentisini ortaya koymaktir. Bu kapsamda, Antalya kenti icerisindeki Gulluk Caddesi uzerinde ve cevresinde yer alan kentsel donati elemanlari kullanici gorusleri dogrultusunda degerlendirilmistir. Kullanicilarin gorusleri ve gozlemler ile elde edilen verilerin analizi sonucunda kullanicilarin kentsel donati elemanlarini begeni duzeylerinin ortalama duzeyde oldugu belirlenmistir. Cop kutularinin. sanatsal objelerin ve ust ortu elemanlarinin yeterli sayida olmadigi tespit edilmistir. Ayrica kullanicilarin % 58.6’si mevcut kentsel donati elemanlarinin kent kimligini yansitacak sekilde kent kimligi ile uyumlu olmadigini ifade etmistir.
Drugs and gastric damage.

The effects of aspirin, salicylate formulations and substitutes, smoking (nicotine), indomethacin, corticosteroids, phenylbutazone, ethanol, caffeine and reserpine on the gastric mucosa are discussed. The damaging effects of the drugs are considered in terms of the gastric mucosal barrier, gastric erosions, microbleeding and haematemesis and melaena and finally whether they cause peptic ulcer. There is suggestive evidence that unbuffered aspirin is a cause of haematemesis and melaena and of gastric ulcer but the incidence rates for hospital admission are low, being 10 to 15 per 100,000 heavy users per year. Aspirin in solution as acetylsalicylate buffered to maintain a neutral pH protects against gastric damage. Newer aspirin substitutes (mefenamic acid, fenoprofen, naproxen, tolmetin and ibuprofen) appear to cause less faecal blood loss than aspirin but their long-term effects have not been fully evaluated. Smoking is definitely associated with peptic ulcer but the mechanism is unknown. Corticosteroids are probably not ulcerogenic despite clinical bias that they are. Indomethacin and phenylbutazone may be ulcerogenic but there is insufficient evidence to make firm judgements. Ethanol, caffeine and reserpine, on available evidence, are probably not ulcerogenic.
A decentralized probabilistic approach to articulated body tracking

We present a novel decentralized probabilistic approach to visual tracking of articulated objects. Analyzing articulated motion is challenging because (1) the high degrees of freedom potentially demands tremendous computation, and (2) the solution is confronted by the numerous local optima existed in a high dimensional parametric space. To ease these problems, we propose a decentralized approach that analyzes limbs locally and reinforces the spatial coherence among them at the same time. The computational model of the proposed approach is based on a dynamic Markov network, a generative model which characterizes the dynamics, the image observations of each individual limb, as well as the spatial coherence among them. Probabilistic mean field variational analysis provides an efficient computational diagram to obtain the approximate inference of the motion posteriors. We thus design the mean field Monte Carlo (MFMC) algorithm, where a set of low dimensional particle filters interact with one another and solve the high dimensional problem collaboratively. We also present a variational maximum a posteriori (MAP) algorithm, which has a rigorous theoretic foundation, to approach to the optimal MAP estimate of the articulated motion. Both algorithms achieve linear complexity w.r.t. the number of articulated subparts and have the potential of parallel computing. Experiments on human body tracking demonstrate the significance, effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed methods.
bcl-2 Antagonizes the combined apoptotic effect of transforming growth factor-β and dihydrotestosterone in prostate cancer cells

BACKGROUND We previously demonstrated that dihydrotestosterone (DHT) enhances transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) -induced apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells (Endocrinology 2001;142:2419–2426). METHODS In this study, the ability of the apoptosis suppressor bcl-2 to directly antagonize the combined apoptotic effect of TGF-β and DHT in the androgen-sensitive LNCaP TβRII prostate cancer cells was examined. The previously cloned TGF-RβII receptor LNCaP cells, responsive to both TGF-β and androgens, were engineered to overexpress the bcl-2 oncoprotein and the profile of apoptosis induction was analyzed in response to TGF-β alone (5.0 ng/ml) or in combination with DHT (1 nM). RESULTS Biological characterization of cloned LNCaP TβRII hygromycin/bcl-2 transfectants demonstrated that bcl-2 overexpression resulted in a significant inhibition of the combined TGF-β and DHT apoptotic effect in prostate cancer cells (P < 0.01). Furthermore, molecular analysis indicated that this antagonistic effect of bcl-2 on apoptosis was due to partial suppression of TGF-β and DHT-mediated induction of caspase-1 expression and activation in LNCaP TβRII-hygro/bcl-2 transfectants. These results support a potential bcl-2 interference with the TGF-β and androgen apoptotic signaling in prostate cancer cells by means of an antagonistic effect on caspase-1 activation. CONCLUSION This evidence may have mechanistic significance in understanding the contribution of bcl-2 overexpression in the development of androgen-independent prostate cancer by means of conferring resistance to TGF-β–mediated apoptosis. Prostate 53: 133–142, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Recent Results of a New Microwave SQUID Multiplexer

We are developing a proof-of-concept microwave SQUID multiplexer containing four SQUIDs coupled to GHz frequency resonant circuits and fed with a single microwave readout line. The resonators are half-wave coplanar waveguide sections and are similar to the structures used for the microwave kinetic inductance detectors developed in our group. Optimal values for the interdigital gap capacitors were determined to maximize the sensitivity of the transmitted and reflected microwave signal with respect to changes in the dynamic resistance of the SQUID. The dc current-bias line for the SQUID has an in-line inductive high frequency filter to minimize coupling between the bias line and resonator. A high frequency modulation scheme is proposed to eliminate the need for individual flux biasing of the SQUIDs, which extends the dynamic range of the readout. In this scheme a common modulation signal is imposed on each SQUID and the received signal is demodulated at one and two times the modulation frequency to maintain sensitivity at any flux state. We present the recent results of the microwave SQUID multiplexer system operating at a readout frequency range of 10 - 11GHz.
The economic and quality-of-life impact of symptomatic gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is one of the most common complaints in general medical practice. Symptoms of GERD have a high prevalence, which greatly affects health economics and patient health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The majority of patients who present with reflux symptoms lack esophageal mucosal injury and thus have symptomatic GERD. There appear to be no differences in either symptoms or HRQOL measures between patients with or without positive endoscopy. Although most pharmacoeconomic and HRQOL assessments have focused on erosive GERD patients, available data suggest that the impact of symptomatic GERD on HRQOL is significant and equivalent to that associated with erosive disease. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) improve HRQOL to a greater extent than either histamine2-receptor antagonists or prokinetics in patients with GERD, with PPI-based step-down or “on-demand” strategies yielding the most cost-effective benefit to health. Additional HRQOL and outcomes research focused on patients with symptomatic GERD, ideally using disease-specific assessment tools, is needed. Furthermore, these management strategies must be implemented in real world settings to validate their effectiveness and firmly establish claims of reduced need for diagnostic testing and decreased direct medical costs.
A novel preparative regimen for autologous transplant in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: Long-term experience with etoposide and thiotepa

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the preparative regimen of thiotepa and etoposide in patients undergoing autologous transplantation for relapsed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The study involved 65 consecutive patients who underwent autologous transplantation using the thiotepa/etoposide regimen for relapsed intermediate-grade NHL at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics (UWHC) between 1987 and 2001. The regimen consisted of thiotepa 300 mg/m(2)/day and etoposide 700 mg/m(2)/day on days -6, -5, and -4. The median age at the time of transplant was 49 years. A total of 50 patients (76%) had diffuse large-cell lymphoma. A total of 50 (77%) patients had chemosensitive disease, and 15 (23%) were chemoresistant. With a median follow-up of 34 months (range, 3-163), 28 patients (43%) remain in CR and 33 (51%) have developed recurrent or progressive disease. The overall survival and event-free survival at 3 years are 40% (95% CI 26-53%) and 32% (95% CI 20-45%), respectively. There was one death attributed to regimen-related toxicity (RRT). Reversible gastrointestinal toxicity was the major RRT, and there was minimal pulmonary and cardiac toxicity. We conclude that the combination of thiotepa and etoposide is an effective preparative regimen with acceptable RRT.
Does low self-control explain voluntary disclosure of personal information on the Internet?

Low self-control predicts voluntary disclosure of personal information on Facebook.Age, education, gender, and race do not have significant effects on self-disclosure.The six subscales of self-control are highly correlated.The one-factor model could be more suitable for measuring self-control. In this study we explore the relationship between self-control and self-disclosure of personal information. As proposed by Gottfredson and Hirschi in self-control theory, low self-control is believed to lead to a variety of criminal behaviors as well as other risk-taking behaviors. Research suggests revealing personal information on the Internet to the public entails many risks. Our study found such self-disclosure can be adequately accounted for by low self-control. Although the dimensionality of self-control has been debated in the literature, our study found that self-control, either as a unidimensional or as a multidimensional measure, has a strong relationship with self-disclosure, even after controlling for age, gender, race, and education.
Carbon regulation of ribosomal genes in Neurospora crassa occurs by a mechanism which does not require Cre-1, the homologue of the Aspergillus carbon catabolite repressor, CreA.

Abstract Transcription of the ribosomal protein and 40S rRNA genes is coordinately regulated during steady state growth and carbon shifts in Neurospora crassa. Recognition sequences for the Aspergillus nidulans carbon catabolite repressor, CreA, overlap transcriptional elements of a 40S rRNA gene and the crp-2 ribosomal protein gene. They also occur in similar locations in the promoters of several other ribosomal protein genes. Substitutions encompassing the −74 and −167 CreA consensus sequences in the crp-2 promoter result in a decrease in transcription. A cDNA encoding the N. crassa homologue of CreA was cloned and designated Cre-1. The Cre-1 protein is 45% identical to CreA from A. nidulans. Cre-1 protein produced in Escherichia coli binds to the CreA sites in the promoters of the 40S rRNA and crp-2 genes. An amino acid change from histidine (92) to threonine changed the Cre-1 binding specificity from (5′G/CC/TGGG/AG3′) to (5′G/CC/TGG C G3′). Base substitutions in the Cre-1 binding sites of the crp-2 promoter disrupted binding of wildtype Cre-1 in vitro but had no effect on transcription during steady state growth or carbon shifts, indicating that regulation of ribosomal genes by carbon source is not mediated by Cre-1, but via different proteins binding the Cre-1 sites and the Dde boxes.
Determinants of hormone therapy discontinuation among female veterans nationally.

ABSTRACT Purpose: The growing presence of female veterans within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system highlights the need to assess the quality of and access to gender-specific care for menopause. We assessed the use of hormone therapy (HT) among female veterans before and after the release of the Women's Health Initiative clinical trial results and evaluated whether the structure of women's health care services within the VA system affects the use of HT. Methods: We identified all female veterans using HT in 2001 by using the VA pharmacy benefits management database and administrative data. Subjects identified as using HT in 2001 were evaluated to determine estrogen use status in 2003 and 2004. We calculated the change in HT use over time and performed multivariate analyses to identify patient and utilization determinants of HT discontinuation. Results: In 2001, 36,222 female veterans used HT. By 2004, 23,924 (66%) had discontinued HT. Subjects who had used a VA women's clinic or we...
Synthesis of 1-Aza-8-thiabicyclo[4.2.1]nona-2,4-diene 8,8-dioxide and its conversion to a strained spirocycle via photoinduced SO2-N bond cleavage.

A route to the doubly unsaturated bridgehead sultam 12 has been developed. When irradiated at 350 nm, this conjugated diene is isomerized via a two-photon process to the structurally novel spiro he...
Kinetics and rate constants for the reaction of tri‐n‐butylgermanium hydride with methyl iodide and carbon tetrachloride. The combination of methyl and trichloromethyl radicals in solution.

The kinetics of the photoinitiated reductions of methyl iodide and carbon tetrachloride by tri-n-butylgermanium hydride in cyclohexane at 25°C have been studied and absolute rate constants have been measured. Rate constants for the combination of CH3ċ and CCl3ċ radicals are equal within experimental error and are also equal to the values found for the self-reactions of most non-polymeric radicals in low viscosity solvents, i.e. ∼1–3 × 109 M−1 sec−1. Rate constants for hydrogen atom abstraction by CH3ċ and CCl3ċ radicals are both ∼1−2 × 105 M−1 sec−1. Tri-n-butyltin hydride is about 10–20 times as good a hydrogen donor to alkyl radicals as is tri-n-butylgermanium hydride. The strength of the germanium–hydrogen bond, D(n-Bu3Ge–H) is estimated to be approximately 84 kcal/mole.
Lesion detection in radiologic images using an autoassociative paradigm: Preliminary results

An area of artificial intelligence that has gained recent attention is the neural network approach to pattern recognition and classification. The use of neural networks in radiologic lesion detection is explored by employing what is known in the literature as the "novelty filter." This filter uses a linear algebraic model, whereupon in neural network terms, images of normal patterns become "training vectors" and are stored as columns of a matrix. An image of an abnormal pattern is introduced and the abnormality or the "novelty" is extracted. A noniterative technique has been applied. In a preliminary experiment, autoassociative recall was tested using alphabetic characters as training vectors. The second experiment used sections of transverse magnetic resonance (MR) images (TR = 3000 ms, TE = 40 ms) of normal patients as the training vectors. A section of a transverse MR brain image with multiple sclerosis lesions was introduced to the filter and the abnormalities were extracted. In conclusion, a neural network based lesion detector may have great promise in medical pattern recognition.
Conidioogenous cell differences among mutant and wild-type pathotypes of Hirsutella thompsonii var. thompsonii

Abstract Two mutants with different conidiogenesis were isolated from wild phatotypes of Hirsutella thompsonii var. thompsonii collected from the citrus rust mite in Florida. One mutant ( WSI ) produces more typical single-neck phialides and conidia than the wild type. The other mutant ( SS ) was developmentally altered in producing condiogenous cells earlier than the wild type as well as phialides with multiple neck capable of conidiogenesis. The mutant ( SS ) appeared more virulent than mutant ( WSI ) and the wild type when bioassayed using the citrus rust mite as a host.