cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract P234: Discharge Medication Status Compares Poorly with Claims-Based Outpatient Medication Exposure Estimates

Background: Discharge medication status is used as a surrogate for chronic therapy, but how well this reflects drug exposure is not clear. Exposure metrics from claims data are widely available and may offer superior quantification. We compared beta-blocker (BB) discharge status (BBdis) to a claims-based BB exposure estimate (BBexp) in heart failure (HF) patients, and assessed the relationship to heart rate and outcomes. Methods: Retrospective study of patients receiving care from a large health system with a primary hospital discharge for HF between 1/2004 and 6/2008 and surviving at least 6 months. BBdis and heart rates were obtained from electronic medical record. BBexp was estimated over the six months after discharge using pharmacy claims; values ranging from 0 (no BB) to 1 (max dose available daily). BB dose was calculated as a proportion of goal dose. Cox regression was used to test the association of BB with death or hospitalization, adjusting for baseline factors. The correlation of BB with heart rate was compared using the Pearson coefficient (CC). Results: A total of 1254 patients were included; 1054 with BB at discharge (84%). There was wide variability in BBexp regardless of BBdis status (figure). BBexp was independently associated with a lower risk of death or hospitalization (HR 0.44, p Conclusion: Discharge BB status correlates poorly with claims-based exposure and BB-related outcomes. Medication exposure methods using pharmacy claims data likely offer a more accurate characterization.
Addressable configurations of DNA nanostructures for rewritable memory

DNA serves as nature's information storage molecule, and has been the primary focus of engineered systems for biological computing and data storage. Here we combine recent efforts in DNA self-assembly and toehold-mediated strand displacement to develop a rewritable multi-bit DNA memory system. The system operates by encoding information in distinct and reversible conformations of a DNA nanoswitch and decoding by gel electrophoresis. We demonstrate a 5-bit system capable of writing, erasing, and rewriting binary representations of alphanumeric symbols, as well as compatibility with 'OR' and 'AND' logic operations. Our strategy is simple to implement, requiring only a single mixing step at room temperature for each operation and standard gel electrophoresis to read the data. We envision such systems could find use in covert product labeling and barcoding, as well as secure messaging and authentication when combined with previously developed encryption strategies. Ultimately, this type of memory has exciting potential in biomedical sciences as data storage can be coupled to sensing of biological molecules.
This is fine: #ResistJam and the 2016 election in gaming

The 2016 US election brought with it a torrent of related media and responses, thanks to the combination of the intense political divide and the turmoil and upheaval of the nation following the surprising results. We will examine selected games from the months preceding and immediately following the historic outcome of November 8, 2016, focusing on the games created during the March event #ResistJam which called for contributors to create "games that resist oppressive authoritarianism in all its forms." Joshua and Karen Tanenbaum proposed a theory of transformative play, which "supports a process of empathic identification with a new point-of-view or lived experience" [59]. Pre- and Post-Trump games, situated in the months leading up to and immediately following the election results, demonstrate not only transformative play but cathartic play, or the use of games as part of a process of emotional release and expression as part of sharing current struggles and challenges. We propose that combining these two types of play (transformative and cathartic) suggests new possibilities for how we understand personal games as providing new mechanisms for shared emotional experiences.
The blacker the ink: constructions of black identity in comics and sequential art

In their introduction to The Blacker the Ink, editors Frances Gateward and John Jennings open by examining the Blaxploitation history of Luke Cage in order to highlight the ways in which ‘comics tr...
Materials science: A tale of two tilings.

What do you get when you cross a crystal with a quasicrystal? The answer is a structure that links the ancient tiles of Archimedes, the iconic Fibonacci sequence of numbers and a book from the seventeenth century.
Study of Impregnating Epoxy Resins for High Field NMR Superconducting Magnets

NMR magnet coils are usually quite long, thick, and tightly wound with thin superconducting wires. The successful vacuum/pressure impregnation of such kind of coils demands the use of epoxy resins with superior properties such as low viscosity, long pot life, and high cracking resistance etc.. In order to find the most appropriate impregnating epoxy resin for the fabrication of high-field NMR magnet coils, we have studied several promising epoxy resins by viscosity, thermal shock, bonding/de-bonding measurements. The results of these measurements are presented. Model coils have been vacuum/pressure impregnated with selected epoxy resins and analyzed with scanning electronic microscope (SEM). It was found that among all of the studies epoxy resins the CTD-101K epoxy resin is most suitable for impregnation of coils. The test results of the model NbTi superconducting coil show that coils potted with CTD-101K do not quench until critical current of the superconductor is reached. This epoxy and the impregnation technique have been successfully applied to the first 400 Mhz/89 mm actively shielded high resolution NMR magnet developed at Houston Advanced Research Center.
Paths and patterns: the biology and physics of swimming bacterial populations

The velocity distribution of swimming micro-organisms depends on directional cues supplied by the environment. Directional swimming within a bounded space results in the accumulation of organisms near one or more surfaces. Gravity, gradients of chemical concentration and illumination affect the motile behaviour of individual swimmers. Concentrated populations of organisms scatter and absorb light or consume molecules, such as oxygen. When supply is one-sided, consumption creates gradients; the presence of the population alters the intensity and the symmetry of the environmental cues. Patterns of cues interact dynamically with patterns of the consumer population. In suspensions, spatial variations in the concentration of organisms are equivalent to variations of mean mass density of the fluid. When organisms accumulate in one region whilst moving away from another region, the force of gravity causes convection that translocates both organisms and dissolved substances. The geometry of the resulting concentration-convection patterns has features that are remarkably reproducible. Of interest for biology are (1) the long-range organisation achieved by organisms that do not communicate, and (2) that the entire system, consisting of fluid, cells, directional supply of consumables, boundaries and gravity, generates a dynamic that improves the organisms' habitat by enhancing transport and mixing. Velocity distributions of the bacterium Bacillus subtilis have been measured within the milieu of the spatially and temporally varying oxygen concentration which they themselves create. These distributions of swimming speed and direction are the fundamental ingredients required for a quantitative mathematical treatment of the patterns. The quantitative measurement of swimming behaviour also contributes to our understanding of aerotaxis of individual cells.
Mechanics of rigid body and structural calculus interconnection in applications

Mechanical structural calculus can be a complex task, considering quality and quantity of treated aspects. Mechanics of rigid body and structural analysis are two mechanical engineering well defined fields. Amazing, and in many cases favorable, calculus aspects of rigid body mechanics and strength of materials are interconnecting one each other, and so they validate the problem formulation and the solution. A complex application, floating crane, illustrates the above mentioned aspects.
Predictive Inference and Scientific Reproducibility

Most statistical analyses use hypothesis tests or estimation about parameters to form inferential conclusions. I think this is noble, but misguided. The point of view expressed here is that observa...
THE DECLINE OF LITERACY AND LIBERAL LEARNING

This paper examines the decline in performance standards on the part of both students and faculty in higher education today a decline which is closely correlated with the rise of the "new practicality" in the college curriculum. The presumptive quest for what Vehlen called "scholastic efficiency" has , the author argues, "transformed professors into 'professional entrepreneurs,' students into credential hustlers, and the curriculum into a wasteland of trivia and pseudo-scientific pretense." The decline of literacy and liberal learning is not, as the conventional wisdom suggests, attributable to voluntarism. Both students and faculty are subject to a variety of external pressures, constraints, and inducements (financial and otherwise) which condition their choices for the expedient, the experiential, or the entrepreneurial. The author goes on to criticize those faculty who, in the name of a radical pedagogy, promote a "benign permissiveness" in the classroom, deflate expectations, and inflate grades. On the contrary, "intellectual discipline is necessary to the development of incisive critique and ultimately radical thought and practice." Authentic radicals "have, to their great credit, consistently understood this." Such a quest for, in effect, "critical literacy" demands exacting criteria of scholarship and a breadth and depth of knowledge found in the bedrock of the liberal arts and sciences curriculum.
Frontline Science: Cytokine-mediated developmental phenotype of mouse eosinophils: IL-5-associated expression of the Ly6G/Gr1 surface Ag.

Eosinophils have broad and extensive immunomodulatory capacity; recent studies have focused on the roles of distinct eosinophil subsets in specific tissue microenvironments. Ly6G is a GPI-linked leukocyte surface antigen understood primarily as a marker of mouse neutrophils, although its full function is not known. Here, we show that Ly6G/Gr1, detected by monoclonal antibodies 1A8 (anti-Ly6G) and RB6–8C5 (anti-Gr1) is detected prominently on a significant fraction of eosinophils from mouse bone marrow and bone marrow-derived culture, with fractions expressing this antigen increasing in IL-5-enriched microenvironments. Among our findings, we identified SiglecF+Gr1+ eosinophils in bone marrow from naive, allergen-challenged and IL-5 transgenic mice; SiglecF+Gr1+ eosinophils were also prominent ex vivo, in bone marrow-derived eosinophils (bmEos) in IL-5-enriched culture. Reducing the IL-5 concentration 20-fold had no impact on the rate of generation of SiglecF+ bmEos but did result in a marked increase in the Gr1− fraction (from 17.4 ± 2 to 30 ± 2.3%, ***p < 0.005). Reducing the IL-5 concentration also enhanced chemotaxis; SiglecF+Gr1− bmEos were considerably more responsive to eotaxin-1 than were their SiglecF+Gr1+ counterparts. These results suggest that (1) IL-5 regulates the expression of Ly6G/Gr1, either directly or indirectly, in cells of the eosinophil lineage, (2) eosinophils generated in response to high concentrations of IL-5 can be distinguished from those generated under homeostatic conditions by expression of the Ly6G/Gr1 cell surface antigen, and (3) expression of Ly6G/Gr1 may have an impact on function, directly or indirectly, including their potential to undergo chemotaxis in response to eotaxin-1.
Mitigating osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) through preventive dental care and understanding of risk factors.

It is well established that alterations in phosphate metabolism have a profound effect on hard and soft tissues of the oral cavity. The present-day clinical form of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) was preceded by phosphorus necrosis of the jaw, ca. 1860. The subsequent removal of yellow phosphorus from matches in the early 20th century saw a parallel decline in “phossy jaw” until the early 2000s, when similar reports of unusual jaw bone necrosis began to appear in the literature describing jaw necrosis in patients undergoing chemotherapy and concomitant steroid and bisphosphonate treatment. Today, the potential side effect of ONJ associated with medications that block osteoclast activity (antiresorptive) is well known, though the mechanism remains unclear and the management and outcomes are often unsatisfactory. Much of the existing literature has focused on the continuing concerns of appropriate use of bisphosphonates and other antiresorptive medications, the incomplete or underdeveloped research on ONJ, and the use of drugs with anabolic potential for treatment of osteoporosis. While recognizing that ONJ is a rare occurrence and ONJ-associated medications play an important role in fracture risk reduction in osteoporotic patients, evidence to date suggests that health care providers can lower the risk further by dental evaluations and care prior to initiating antiresorptive therapies and by monitoring dental health during and after treatment. This review describes the current clinical management guidelines for ONJ, the critical role of dental-medical management in mitigating risks, and the current understanding of the effects of predominantly osteoclast-modulating drugs on bone homeostasis.
Iodine nutrition survey of children aged 8 to 10 in coastal and non-coastal areas of Rizhao city Shandong province

Objective To investigate the iodine nutritional status of children aged 8 to 10 in both costal and non-costal areas of Rizhao city Shandong province,and provide a basis for scientific supplementation of iodine.Methods In 2009 and 2010,townships of Lanshan and Donggang were chosen as survey points which situated close to the coast,the counties of Wulian and Juxian that were more than 50 kilometers away from the coast were selected as controls.The iodine concentration of drinking water in every village and water supply point was determined.At the county level,5 to 9 towns were selected according to their sub-area positions of east,west,south,north and center,4 villages were selected in each chosen township,8 - 15 households were selected in each chosen village,edible salt from the households was collected; 5 primary schools were selected in each chosen township,60 students aged 8 - 10 were selected to take thyroid examination in each chosen school.Twenty copies of urine samples were collected from the 60 students to detect the iodine concentration.Iodine in drinking water was tested by cerous sulfate catalytic spectrophotometry,in iodized salt by direct titration,in urine by arsenic-cerium contact method,and thyroids were examined by palpation.Results Totally 3483 copies of drinking water samples,1164 copies of edible salt samples,and 476 copies of urine samples were tested,and a total of 1200 children aged 8 to 10 were investigated; and the ratio of water iodine frequency distribution ≤ 10 μg/L (in costal and non-costal area) accounted for 90.03％ ( 1011/1123 ) and 91.10％ (2150/2360),respectively,the medians of water iodine were 5.6 and 4.2 μg/L,respectively; the iodine medians of edible salt were 29.03 and 29.99 mg/kg,respectively; the consumption rates of qualified iodized salt were 96.77％ (569/588) and 97.05％ (559/576),respectively; total goiter rates were 1.17％(7/600) and 1.33％(8/600),respectively; the medians of urinary iodine were 144.05 and 159.15 μg/L,respectively; the percentages of urinary iodine that bellow 100 μg/L were 26.58％ (63/237) and 22.59％ (54/239),respectively; between 100 - 300 μg/L were 66.75％ (158/237) and 64.02％ (153/239),respectively; above 300 μg/L were 6.75％ (16/237) and 13.39％ (32/239),respectively.Conclusions The costal of Rizhao is an iodine deficient area.The current popularity of household's consumption of qualified iodized salt is suitable.The levels of iodine nutrition of children aged 8 to 10 is appropriate,which met the national standard of elimination of iodine deficiency disorders (IDD).There is no iodine excess.There are no significant differences in levels of iodine nutrition between costal and non-costal areas on the premise that the same iodized salt is supplied in both the areas,and there is no need to make differentiated supply of iodized salt. Key words: Iodine ; Deficiency diseases; Urine; Nutriture surveys
Review, monitor, educate: A quality improvement initiative for sustained chest radiation reduction in pediatric trauma patients

Abstract Background We hypothesize that in pediatric trauma patients, CT scans after normal chest x-rays do not add information that alters clinical decision making. Methods A retrospective review of trauma patients Results From 2013 to 2016, 246 patients met inclusion. 29.5% had a chest CT after a normal x-ray, only 1.8% (1/57) had a significant result. From 2017 to 2019, 188 patients were reviewed post guideline; only 9.4% received a CT after normal x-ray, of which 6.3% (1/16) were significant. Neither changed clinical management. Conclusions Chest CT following normal chest x-ray does not change clinical management in pediatric trauma patients. Monitoring and education following guideline implementation improves long term outcomes.
O29 Development of a Virtual Reality Avatar Software Program to Prevent Obesity in Children From Low-Income Communities

Background Many families from low-income communities lack access to evidence-based nutrition education opportunities. Thus, we developed a virtual reality avatar program to provide parents and children with tailored nutrition education on healthy snacking. Objective To assess the effectiveness, usability, and applicability of an innovative virtual reality avatar software to improve healthy snacking behaviors in children. Study Design, Setting, Participants Qualitative methods were used for product development user testing. The research focused on children (ages 5-10) from low-income communities in North Carolina. First, children from a youth food summit provided anonymous written feedback on their reactions to the program. Second, this initial feedback was used to modify the program, which was then given to parent-child dyads (n = 15) who were observed using the program and then completed an in-depth semi-structured interview about their experiences. Eligibility for the second phase included being English speaking, low-income (federal benefit eligible), and having a child between ages 5-10. All participants for the observations/interviews were African American and received a gift card for their participation. Measurable Outcome/Analysis Interest in using the program, usability, and overall perceptions were determined with a Thematic analysis approach in Atlas Ti. Results The anonymous written feedback from children was mostly positive. Most children found the program to be “cool,” “fun,” and “helpful.” Children suggested changing the voice of the avatar, adding more pictures and interaction (eg, gamifying), and allowing personalization of the avatar. In the interviews, children stated they were excited about interacting with the avatar and parents liked that it modeled healthy behaviors. The program helped to foster dialogue between children and parents, and the avatar's probes helped parents learn new information about their children's preferences/behaviors. Conclusion The virtual reality avatar program appears to be a promising nutrition education approach for children. Evaluation of impact on dietary behaviors is needed. Funding Health Resources and Services Administration.
An Ecosystem of Applications for Modeling Political Violence

Conflict researchers face many challenges, including (1) how to model conflicts, (2) how to measure them, (3) how to manage their spatio-temporal character, and (4) how to handle a potential abundance of information and explanation. In this paper, we describe an ecosystem of tools designed for use by subject matter experts that addresses these challenges. Three case studies show workflows that are facilitated by this ecosystem.
Zone Refining of Ultrahigh-Purity Sodium Iodide for Low-Background Detectors

There has been a growing interest in ultrahigh-purity low-background $\mathrm{Na}\mathrm{I}$($\mathrm{Tl}$) crystals for dark-matter direct searches. Past research indicates that zone refining is an efficient and scalable way to purify $\mathrm{Na}\mathrm{I}$. In particular, $\mathrm{K}$ and $\mathrm{Rb}$---two elements with radioisotopes that can cause scintillation backgrounds---can be efficiently removed by zone refining. However, zone refining has never been demonstrated for ultrahigh-purity $\mathrm{Na}\mathrm{I}$, which has become commercially available recently. In this paper, we show that many common metallic impurities can be efficiently removed via zone refining. A numerical model for predicting the final impurity distribution is developed and used to fit the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) measurement data to determine the segregation coefficient and the initial concentration. Under this scheme, the segregation coefficient for $\mathrm{K}$ is estimated to be $0.57$, indicating that zone refining is still effective in removing $\mathrm{K}$ from ultrahigh-purity $\mathrm{Na}\mathrm{I}$. As zone refining tends to move the impurities to one end, elements with concentrations too low to be measured directly in the unprocessed powder can potentially be detected in the end due to the enrichment. We also present an analysis technique to estimate the initial concentrations of impurities with partial data, which effectively enhances the sensitivity of the spectrometer. Using this technique, the initial concentration of ${}^{85}\mathrm{Rb}$ is estimated to be between 5 parts per trillion (ppt) and 14 ppt at the 90% confidence level (CL), at least 14 times lower than the detection limit of ICPMS and 7 times lower than the current most stringent limit set by the DAMA collaboration by direct counting of radioactive ${}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$. These results imply that zone refining is a key technique in developing next-generation $\mathrm{Na}\mathrm{I}$-based crystal scintillators for dark-matter direct detection.
Age adjusted D-dimer cutoffs for pulmonary embolism in a geriatric population utilizing a D-dimer unit assay.

BACKGROUND Age adjusted serum d-dimer (AADD) with clinical decision rules have been utilized to rule out pulmonary embolism (PE) in low-risk patients; however, its use in the geriatric population has been questioned and the use of d-dimer unit (DDU) assay is uncommon. OBJECTIVE The present study aims to compare the test characteristics of the AADD (age × 5) measured in DDU with the standard cutoff (DDU < 250) and study hospital laboratory's d-dimer cutoff (DDU < 600) in geriatric patients presenting with suspected PE. METHODS This retrospective study enrolled patients ≥65 years old with suspected PE and d-dimer performed between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019 who presented to the emergency department (ED). Charts were reviewed for CTA chest and ventilation perfusion imaging results for PE. Diagnostic parameters for each cutoff were calculated for the primary outcome. RESULTS 510 patients were included, 20 with PE. There was no significant difference between the sensitivities of AADD (100%, 95% CI: 80-100), standard cutoff (100%, 95% CI: 80-100), and hospital cutoff (90%, 95% CI: 66.9-98.2). The hospital cutoff specificity (22.7%, 95% CI: 17.1-29.3) was significantly greater than the AADD (13.4%, 95% CI: 9.1-19.2) and standard cutoff (10.8%, 95% CI: 7.0-16.3) specificities. CONCLUSIONS In geriatric patients presenting to the ED with suspected PE, the AADD measured in DDUs maintained sensitivity with improved specificity compared to standard cutoff. In this population, the AADD would have safely reduced imaging by 19% without missing any PEs. AADD remains a valid tool with high sensitivity and negative predictive value in ruling out PE in geriatric patients.
Muerte segura: Violencia étnica en la era de la globalización

In this article, written in 1998, the anthropological studies made in the nineties about ethnic violence are revised. These studies identified that social uncertainty was the catalyst for this kind of violence. This conclusion is used for this globalization analysis, being this phenomenon which creates uncertainties; the ethnic violence that was unleashed in this context is brutal.
Modeling the dependence of properties of ferroelectric thin film on thickness

We present a segregated strain model that can describe the thickness-dependent dielectric properties of epitaxial ferroelectric films. Using a phenomenological Landau approach, we present results for two specific materials, making comparison with experiment and with first-principles calculations whenever possible. We also suggest a ``smoking gun'' benchtop probe to test our model.
Using ant colony optimization to find low energy atomic cluster structures

Over the past 20 years atomic cluster structures have been intensively studied because of their importance in physics, chemistry and recently material science. Unfortunately finding the lowest energy structure, which is the most stable configuration, is NP-hard. In this paper, we present preliminary results on an ant colony optimization algorithm used in conjunction with a Monte Carlo sampling method to find low energy configurations of small silicon atomic clusters.
Essential Roles of c-Rel in TLR-Induced IL-23 p19 Gene Expression in Dendritic Cells

IL-23 plays crucial roles in both immunity against pathogens and autoimmunity against self. Although it is well recognized that IL-23 expression is restricted to the myeloid lineage and is tightly regulated at the transcriptional level, the nature of transcription factors required for IL-23 expression is poorly understood. We report, in this study, that murine dendritic cells deficient in c-Rel, a member of the NF-kappaB family, are severely compromised in their ability to transcribe the p19 gene, one of the two genes that encode the IL-23 protein. The p19 gene promoter contains three putative NF-kappaB binding sites, two of which can effectively bind c-Rel as determined by chromatin immunoprecipitation and EMSA. Unexpectedly, mutation of either of these two c-Rel binding sites completely abolished the p19 promoter activity induced by five TLRs (2, 3, 4, 6, and 9) and four members of the NF-kappaB family (c-Rel, p65, p100, and p105). Based on these observations, we conclude that c-Rel controls IL-23 p19 gene expression through two kappaB sites in the p19 promoter, and propose a c-Rel-dependent enhanceosome model for p19 gene activation.
Burrowing saves Lake Erie clams

Freshwater unionid clams in North America have been virtually eliminated from waters that are colonized by zebra mussels. Near total mortality has been reported in western Lake Erie1,2,3,4, but we have now discovered a large population of native clams in a Lake Erie wetland that shows little sign of infestation. Field observations and laboratory experiments show that warm summer water temperatures and soft, silt-clay sediments trigger burrowing by clams. This discourages infestation and physically removes any attached zebra mussels.
Management of incomplete abortion on an outpatient basis

Abstract There are many patients with incomplete abortion who can be managed on an outpatient basis. Recently, there have been several reports of curettage in the office and emergency room for menometrorrhagia and incomplete abortion. Three hundred patients with incomplete abortion were managed in the emergency room as outpatients on the Obstetrics-Gynecology Service of the University of Miami School of Medicine from December, 1961, to June, 1965. The patients received bilateral paracervical blocks with mepivacaine hydrochloride and analgesia with a single intramuscular injection of piminodine ethanesulfonate. Management of patients in this way shortened hospital stay and outpatient curettage was found to be both safe and effective. There were no serious complications as a result of this procedure.
The Implicit Volition Model: On the Preconscious Regulation of Temporarily Adopted Goals

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on preconscious triggering and pursuit of temporarily adopted goals. It introduces seeming paradoxes of preconscious control, such as the notions of unintended intentions and uncontrolled control, and examines the theory and evidence that provides the rationale and support for the preconscious regulation of temporary goals. There are three theoretical points that provide the basis for implicit volition model: goals are knowledge structures that can be triggered by relevant cues in the environment without the person's awareness that any given knowledge structure has attained a state of heightened fluency or accessibility; goal can come to be automatically activated through frequent and habitual pairing of specific goals with specific features of the environment; and an aversive state is experienced when a goal has not been met. The chapter determines that a goal can be consciously selected but trigger implicit processes regulating movement toward successfully attaining the goal. The goal itself can be implicitly triggered and lead to both explicit and implicit operations aimed at goal attainment.
The value of the pretreatment neutrophil lymphocyte ratio vs. platelet lymphocyte ratio in predicting the long-term survival in colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: The neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have been well studied as inflammatory markers and predictors for outcomes in colorectal cancer patients. Our aim was to determine the predictive value of both above ratios in colorectal cancer patients. METHODS: This is a longitudinal retrospective study of a prospectively maintained database, included 580 patients, who had a complete blood count recorded before treatment (surgery or chemotherapy). We excluded patients presented with obstruction, infection, active hematological disease or those receiving steroid. The primary outcome (4-year cancer-related mortality) was obtained from our cancer registry. RESULTS: The 4-year cancer-related mortality rate in the 3 rd tertile of NLR was 37% in comparison with 13% and 19% in lower tertiles, P value < 0.001. Similarly the 3 rd tertile of PLR was 32% with 18% and 19% in lower tertiles, P value < 0.0005. In the multivariate survival analyses, elevated NLR was associated with higher mortality (a hazard ratio of 2.31(1.4–3.8) for the highest tertile and 5% increase in mortality for each unit increase in NLR, p< 0.001). Similarly, elevated NLR was a significant predictor for a worse disease-free survival. However, PLR was not significant predictor of mortality when adjusted for other confounding variables. CONCLUSION: Elevated pretreatment NLR is an independent predictor of both worse overall and disease free survival in colorectal cancer, whereas PLR was not after adjusting for confounding variables.
Review of Biotreatment of Industrial Effluents by M. Doble and A. Kumar

There is significant need for a unified text focusing on biological treatment of industrial effluents. Knowledge of the vast metabolic capabilities of microbes and plants has grown rapidly in recent years, and there is a need to synthesize this information in the context of the treatment and removal of toxic chemicals. This will help to move the field forward by helping to develop and apply sound engineered approaches for cost-effective treatment of a variety of industrial by-products. Biotreatment of Industrial Effluents takes an important step in accomplishing this by providing a practical and concise overview of the field. This book would be especially useful as a reference for practicing environmental engineers, graduate students, and researchers. One example of biotreatment of industrial effluents is depicted in Fig. 1. The 322 page book could be divided into three main subsections:
Seasonal variation in Na+-K+-ATPase in tissues of field acclimatized woodrats, Neotoma lepida.

1. 1. Woodrats, Neotoma lepida, were captured in the field over a 12 month period. 2. 2. The masses of the liver, kidney and intrascapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT) were lowest during the latter part of the summer as was the specific activity of Na+-K+-ATPase in the liver and kidney. 3. 3. With cooling temperatures in the fall, liver mass and the Na+ -K+-ATPase activity of both liver and kidney increased significantly. 4. 4. During the coldest months, December and January, the mass of IBAT increased above the low summer values and remained elevated through the following spring. 5. 5. N. lepida acclimated to 5° and 21°C in the laboratory had 2–4 times more IBAT than did field acclimatized animals at any time of the year. 6. 6. Only with 35°C acclimated animals was IBAT reduced to the minimal levels seen in the field acclimatized animals at the end of summer.
New mechanism for resonant dt micro formation and epithermal effects in muon-catalyzed fusion.

A recent muon catalysis experiment with a low-density D-T target saw a pronounced transient in the appearance of fusion neutrons. We propose that this transient is due to resonant molecular formation at epithermal energies. This effect is calculated, including the contribution of direct (as opposed to dipole) mesomolecule formation. The direct process is the dominant one, but has not previously been considered. The results agree well with experiment.
Asthma: Recent trends in diagnosis and management

Abstract Asthma is an inflammatory disease of the airways that results in airway hyperreactivity and episodic airway narrowing. The prevalence of asthma in the United States is increasing, as are the rates of morbidity and mortality associated with the disease. Environmental and psychosocialfactors may be responsible for these disturbing trends and should be modified when possible. Psychiatrists should be able to diagnose and to manage uncomplicated cases of asthma because of certain risk factors such as cigarette smoke, emotional distress, and severe psychiatric illness. Anti-inflammatory and bronchodilator medications are the foundation of pharmacologic treatment. To increase compliance, patient education is critical. The clinician should encourage careful self-monitoring and use of a home peak flow meter. Every attempt should be made to modify adverse environmental factors. Recent cellular and molecular research has led to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of asthma. As a result of this increasing understanding, newer medications are being developed and tested. The new “antimediator” agents, which appear to be effective and safe for the treatment of asthma, are particularly promising.
Internationalization of the World’s Securities Markets: Economic Causes and Regulatory Consequences

Not long ago, Americans traded in New York, British traded in London, and Japanese traded in Tokyo. It was a simple world in which the flow of securities transactions respected political geography.
GOVERNMENT OBJECTIVES AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS: A STAKEHOLDER VIEW OF PRIVATIZATION EFFECTIVENESS

The privatization of State Owned Enterprises (SOE) has significant implications for SOE stakeholders. However, the effects on stakeholders will vary depending on characteristics of the privatization process and the structure of the SOE. This paper identifies privatization process characteristics of wealth creation and wealth distribution, and describes SOE structures on a continuum between government corporation and government agency. The privatization effectiveness for stakeholders is discussed and examples provided for each classification of privatization.
Antidirected Hamiltonian paths in tournaments

In this paper we present a short proof of Grunbaum's theorem concerning the existence of antidirected Hamiltonian (ADH) paths in tournaments. We also prove that, in every tournament Tn with n ≥ 12, there is an ADH path starting at any vertex.
Paleolimnology and taphonomy of some fish deposits in “Fossil” and “Uinta” Lakes of the Eocene Green River Formation, Utah and Wyoming

Abstract In four sections in the lacustrine Eocene Green River Formation in Utah (“Lake Uinta”), fish are preserved on carbonate mudflats, along high-energy carbonate shorelines, in the littoral zone, and in deeper profundal areas. Scattered bones and scales are found throughout, dropped from disintegrating floating carcasses. Gar scales typify shallow-water deposits, partly due to habitat preference. Beach concentrations of greatly abraded bones and scales grade offshore into storm lag layers and lenses, which grade to loosely packed horizons or patches of unworn remains. Littoral fish fossils range from dropped bones to good skeletons, with much floating, lifting, and scavenging. Preservation improves away from the waterline, not only into deep and cold profundal waters (where the carcasses are protected from scavenging by anoxia and prevented from floating by temperature and pressure), but also onto mudflats, where stranding and burial of carcasses can also protect them. A section through an isolated part of the Green River Formation in Wyoming (“Fossil Lake”) also ranged from profundal to littoral with minor emergence. Dropped body parts were found throughout, but preservation quality of the best specimens improved with presumed depth. The beds with the best specimens seem to have accumulated at the bottom of a deep, stratified, warm-monomictic lake. Our Lake Uinta sections were generally shallower and suggest more fluctuations in water level, but this is not relevant to broad paleolimnological interpretations because they represent marginal zones, which are necessarily more sensitive to changes in depth. Overall, fish fossils are especially informative in deeper waters, where sedimentary distinctions fail.
The Gibbs free energy of mixing of natural silicate liquids; an expanded regular solution approximation for the calculation of magmatic intensive variables

The compositions of liquids coexisting with experimentally grown crystals of olivine, plagioclase, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, leucite, spinel, rhombohedral oxide, melilite and potassium feldspar are used to define, through mass action expressions of liquid/solid equilibrium, compositional derivatives of the Gibbs free energy of mixing of naturally occuring silicate liquids as a function of temperature, pressure and the fugacity of oxygen. The available experimental data describe these derivatives over a range of compositions which includes basic magmas. Therefore, for silicate liquids in this composition range, the topology of the Gibbs free energy of mixing can be approximated from experimental determinations of its derivatives. The majority of the existing thermodynamic data on the liquid phase is consistent with the application of regular solution theory to model the free energy of mixing. Strictly symmetric, temperature and pressure independent, regular solution interaction parameters are calibrated from this phase equilibrium data using regression techniques which have their basis in inverse theory. These techniques generate numerically stable interaction parameters which incorporate inter-variable correlation and account for experimental uncertainty. The regular solution model fits the available data on anhydrous silicate liquids to within the accuracy of the thermodynamic database +/−550 cals). Extensions to regular solution theory allow water solubility in more silica rich liquids to be modelled somewhat less accurately (+/−750 cals).
SIGNAL SEQUENCES FOR EARLY EVENTS IN PROTEIN SECRETION AND MEMBRANE ASSEMBLY

Signal sequences for the transfer of proteins across membranes are usually found at the NH2-terminus of nascent secretory and transmembrane proteins. The functionally equivalent signal sequence of chicken ovalbumin however, is localized in the middle of the molecule. The implication of this surprising finding for biogenesis of membrane proteins is discussed.
Precipitation behavior of the ß phase in Al-5083

The formation and growth of the magnesium-rich s phase, Al3Mg2, in Al-5083 has been studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The s phase forms heterogeneously both at grain boundaries, and on preexisting particles which are enriched in manganese. The s precipitates at grain boundaries, containing a high density of very fine faults, thicken faster than the rate estimated assuming volume diffusion controlled growth of planar interfaces. It is suggested that pipe diffusion through dislocations contributes to the enhanced growth rate.
Cyclical processes in personality and psychopathology

Both the understanding of psychopathology and the ability to intervene therapeutically are enhanced by an appreciation of the central role of vicious circles in the development and maintenance of psychological disorder. It is usually possible to discern a structure to people's difficulties in which internal states and external events continually re-create the conditions for the re-occurrence of each other in all too real psychological version of the mythical perpetual motion machine. The present article illustrates how such circular processes work in a number of representative types of psychological difficulty and discusses the implications of this conception for understanding psychopathology and for therapeutic intervention.
SCAX: Measuring Organizational Readiness to Embrace Supply Chain Analytics

Supply chains today amass huge amounts of data. To remain competitive in a global economy, organizations need to constantly derive meaningful information from this plethora of data to make critical business decisions. The process of gaining meaningful and actionable knowledge from supply chain related data is referred to as Supply Chain Analytics SCA. As a result of demonstrated benefits from SCA, organizations are spending considerable amount of resources to develop these analytical capabilities. However, due to complexities of such undertakings, many SCA projects fail to achieve the desired results. It is argued that a major reason for such failures is lack of organizational readiness to embrace analytics. This paper presents an index for measuring the readiness of organizations to successfully implement SCA. The Supply Chain Analytics Index, henceforth referred to SCAX, was developed by surveying 112 SCA professionals from 7 countries and from various industries and professional backgrounds. Using this index, organizations can tangibly assess their readiness to take full advantage of the power of SCA.
Droplet Behavior on a Rotating Surface for Atomization-Based Cutting Fluid Application in Micromachining

The droplet behavior on a rotating surface has been studied to better understand the physics underlying atomized cutting fluid application. To this end, microturning experiments are carried out and the cutting performance evaluated for varying cutting fluids and at different droplet speeds. Microturning experiments indicate that a cutting fluid with low surface tension and low viscosity generates lower cutting temperatures, whereas a fluid with low surface tension and high viscosity generates lower cutting forces. Single-droplet impingement experiments are also conducted on a rotating surface using fluids with different surface tension and viscosity values. Upon impact, the droplet shape is observed to be a function of both the droplet speed and the surface speed. The spreading increases with increased surface speed owing to the tangential momentum added by the rotating surface. Spreading is observed to also increase with a decrease in fluid surface tension and does not change with the fluid viscosity. The evaporation rate is observed to increase for a rotating surface owing to convective heat transfer. Low surface tension and low viscosity are observed to increase the evaporation rate. It is concluded that a fluid with low surface tension and low viscosity is an effective coolant of the cutting zone, whereas a fluid with low surface tension and high viscosity is effective for lubrication.
The hemagglutinating and neuraminidase protein of a paramyxovirus: interaction with neuraminic acid in affinity chromatography.

Abstract The two glycoproteins of paramyxoviruses can be separated and purified by affinity chromatography on fetuin which is covalently linked to Sepharose. The glycoproteins are solubilized with Triton X-100 and applied to the column in the Triton-containing solution. The large glycoprotein (HN protein) of Simian virus 5 (SV5) which possesses both hemagglutinating and neuraminidase activities is retained by fetuin-Sepharose at 0° and elutes when the temperature is raised to 25°. The small glycoprotein passes through the column at 0°. This procedure provides a simple and effective means of obtaining high yields of paramyxovirus glycoproteins in pure form. The HN protein can be displaced from the fetuin by the neuraminidase inhibitor 2-deoxy-2,3-dehydro-N-trifluoroacetylneuraminic acid. This indicates that a site on the HN protein binds specifically to the neuraminic acid moieties of the fetuin. This finding is compatible with the hypothesis that the same active site is involved in the neuraminidase and the hemagglutinating activities of the HN protein of paramyxoviruses.
Outcomes research: myths and realities.

Outcomes research is growing in visibility and stature, yet misconceptions persist. Many people remain unfamiliar with outcomes research and what distinguishes it from other research areas that study patient outcomes. Although I have previously framed the scope and purpose of outcomes research,1 I would like to provide further clarification about the field. Although the exact origins of the term “outcomes research’ are unclear, Ellwood2 coined the term “outcomes management” in his 1988 Shattuck Lecture, in which he envisioned a future in which patient management would be driven by the experience of how similar patients fared as a consequence of alternative treatments. Clancy and Eisenberg3 marked the entry of outcomes research into the scientific lexicon in 1998 with a classic article in Science that stated that “outcomes research—the study of the end results of health services that takes patients’ experiences, preferences, and values into account—is intended to provide scientific evidence relating to decisions made by all who participate in health care.” This elegant definition is both simple and profound. Outcomes research seeks to inform decisions and to hold pre-eminent the perspective of patients and the public. By saying that the research should assist those who participate in health care, they emphasize the needs of those who receive, provide, organize, and pay for health care, including the public. Eisenberg, as Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, often quoted Representative John Porter’s remarks from a 1998 Congressional appropriations hearing. Porter stated, “What we really want to get at is not how many reports have been done, but how many people’s lives are being bettered by what has been accomplished.”4 Eisenberg frequently used the quote to emphasize the need for questions about what research has accomplished, and by extension, what our efforts in health care and …
De-hazing of multi-spectral images with evolutionary computing

We developed an algorithm that allows for removing haze from a digital picture by numerically subtracting the contribution of optical scattering by aerosols. 12The scene is modeled by defining a reflectance function for each pixel, which describes the angular dependence of light scattering at the surface, and by describing the scattering from aerosols with a set of models of varying complexity. An optimization algorithm that mixes downhill methods with evolutionary computing approaches was used to fit the observed image to the model of the scene. The contribution of the aerosol scattering is then removed to obtain a de-hazed image. We present results for multispectral images taken by NASA's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer and we discuss the efficiency of the algorithm implemented on a multi-node quadcore cluster computer.