cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Do Pharmaceuticals Improve Driving in Individuals with ADHD? A Review of the Literature and Evidence for Clinical Practice

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is defined as a disorder of impaired attention and/or behavioral control. Studies suggest that the condition can dispose individuals to a higher risk of automobile accidents. ADHD symptoms respond to pharmacotherapy in a majority of uncomplicated cases. Evidence on how pharmacotherapies for ADHD impact driving behavior or outcomes could allow clinicians to support on-road safety rationally. We therefore undertook a review to identify the evidence base to date indicating positive or negative effects of pharmacotherapies on driving behavior in individuals with ADHD. Further, we evaluated the level of evidence for these effects, their specificity to ADHD, and how they may inform clinical care. We identified studies involving pharmacotherapy for ADHD that evaluated driving-related activities or outcomes. We then categorized these studies by the mode of measurement used and by the ADHD specificity of the driving behaviors measured. Finally, we extracted themes of interest to clinical practice in pharmacologic intervention. In total, 14 studies, involving 2-61 subjects diagnosed with ADHD, looked at computer-measured, observer-measured, or self-reported driving behavior correlates of pharmacotherapy during simulation or on-road driving. Of these studies, 13 involved psychostimulant agents and two used atomoxetine. All but three investigations (one of methylphenidate, one of mixed amphetamine salts, and one of atomoxetine) found favorable changes in measures such as steering and braking behaviors or reaction to unexpected events. One study found adverse effects on driving at hour 17 following mixed amphetamine salt administration. Four studies compared two pharmacotherapies, and each found differences in measured driving behavior between the therapies. One study explored impact on ADHD-specific driving impairments, and the same study was the only one to explore correlation of clinical measures (ADHD symptoms and self-reported driving behavior) with medication-associated changes-finding dissociation between changes in ADHD symptoms and changes in measured driving measures. While data to date are limited on the ADHD-specific effects of pharmacotherapies used for ADHD on driving, it is clear from our review that these agents have effects on driving-relevant behaviors. Further research is urgently needed to develop an evidence base for clinically predictable effects of pharmacotherapy on driving safety in individuals with ADHD. If possible, clinicians should evaluate the positive and negative effects of pharmacotherapy on driving in their clients.
An FBG Optical Approach to Thermal Expansion Measurements under Hydrostatic Pressure.

We report on an optical technique for measuring thermal expansion and magnetostriction at cryogenic temperatures and under applied hydrostatic pressures of 2.0 GPa. Optical fiber Bragg gratings inside a clamp-type pressure chamber are used to measure the strain in a millimeter-sized sample of CeRhIn5. We describe the simultaneous measurement of two Bragg gratings in a single optical fiber using an optical sensing instrument capable of resolving changes in length [dL/L = (L− L0)/L0] on the order of 10−7. Our results demonstrate the possibility of performing high-resolution thermal expansion measurements under hydrostatic pressure, a capability previously hindered by the small working volumes typical of pressure cells.
The decolonial abyss: mysticism and cosmopolitics from the ruins

In its navigation of theology, continental philosophy, and Caribbean decolonial thought and poetics, An Yountae’s The Decolonial Abyss is a groundbreaking interdisciplinary contribution to the deco...
‘Fading Crimean Flowers’: Spasmodic Sonnets on the War

In their refusal to aestheticise Crimean warfare, as most of their fellow poets and newspapermen had done, Sydney Dobell and Alexander Smith, in the co-authored Sonnets on the War (1855) present a ...
Radiation Oncology Resident Education in Palliative Care

Palliative and supportive care education for radiation oncologists in training is essential to deliver comprehensive care to patients. Surveys on palliative care education among radiation oncology program directors and residents demonstrate a disparity in formal teaching and didactics. Integration of formal didactics, communications skills programs, and teaching modules are being piloted at academic centers. A dedicated palliative radiation oncology service has been implemented and the experience evaluated. Future directions to improve resident education in palliative care include improving access and time dedicated to formal didactics, online and interactive modules, rotation in a palliative care service, emphasis on board examinations, and consideration of an advanced palliative care fellowship for radiation oncologists. This is the first review of the available literature reviewing formal palliative education in radiation oncology training programs in the United States.
The Evolving Role of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Evaluation of Systemic Amyloidosis

Systemic amyloidosis is a serious multiorgan disease with reduced life expectancy, irrespective of type. The impact of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in managing this condition has been immense. ...
Evaluation of the behind-the-meter benefits of energy storage systems with consideration of ancillary market opportunities

Abstract In this study, we analyze behind the meter benefits and resiliency capability of the price-taking energy storage devices in order to understand the impact of the facility's electricity and thermal demand behavior, energy providers pricing structure, DER configuration, storage capacity, and facility criticality on the storage evaluation assessment. We develop an integrated design considering ancillary market opportunities that accounts for different facilities with variant thermal and electrical loads, different DER configurations and energy tariff structures.
“Flu-Floppers”: Factors Influencing Families’ Fickle Flu Vaccination Patterns:

While influenza vaccination in the prior year is a strong predictor of subsequent vaccination, many families do not have static vaccination patterns. This study examined factors guiding influenza vaccination decisions among parents whose children sporadically received the influenza vaccination (flu-floppers). We administered surveys to 141 flu-flopper families. Surveys included 21 factors associated with vaccine decision making. A conceptual framework of "passive" and "active" decision making was used to assess parental motivators behind vaccine decisions. The most common reason for vaccinating was a desire to prevent influenza (45%). The most common reason for not vaccinating was a belief that influenza vaccination is not effective (29%). Most parents (88%) reported an active reason in years when their child was vaccinated, while only 43% reported an active reason when their child was not vaccinated (P < .00001). These findings may guide efforts to increase influenza vaccination rates in children most amenable to vaccination.
Automatic Bounding Box Annotation of Chest X-Ray Data for Localization of Abnormalities

Automatic detection of findings and their locations in chest x-ray studies is an important research area for AI application in healthcare. Whereas for finding classification tasks image-level labeling suffices, additional annotation in the form of bounding boxes is required for detection of findings locations. However, the process of locally marking findings on chest xray images is both time consuming and costly as it needs to be performed by radiologists. To address this problem, weakly supervised approaches have been employed to depict finding locations by looking at attention maps produced by convolution networks trained for findings classification. However, these approaches have not shown much promise so far and raised concerns whether the networks are actually focusing on the right abnormality regions. With this in mind, in this paper we propose an automatic approach for labeling chest x-ray images for findings and locations by leveraging radiology reports. Our labeling approach is anatomically standardized to the upper, middle, and lower lung zones for the left and right lungs, and is composed of two stages. In the first stage, we use a lungs segmentation UNet model and an atlas of normal patients to mark the six lung zones on the image with standardized bounding boxes. In the second stage, the associated radiology report is used to label each lung zone as positive or negative for finding, resulting in a set of six labeled bounding boxes per image. Using this approach, we automatically annotated a dataset of 13911 CXR images in a matter of hours, with an average annotation recall of 0.881 and precision of 0.896 when evaluated on 300 dual validated images. Finally, we used this “silver” bounding boxes dataset to train an opacity detection model using a RetinaNet architecture, and obtained localization results on par with the state-of-the-art.
Liver Ischemia Reperfusion Injury, Enhanced by Trained Immunity, Is Attenuated in Caspase 1/Caspase 11 Double Gene Knockout Mice

Ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) during liver transplantation increases morbidity and contributes to allograft dysfunction. There are no therapeutic strategies to mitigate IRI. We examined a novel hypothesis: caspase 1 and caspase 11 serve as danger-associated molecular pattern (DAMPs) sensors in IRI. By performing microarray analysis and using caspase 1/caspase 11 double-knockout (Casp DKO) mice, we show that the canonical and non-canonical inflammasome regulators are upregulated in mouse liver IRI. Ischemic pre (IPC)- and post-conditioning (IPO) induce upregulation of the canonical and non-canonical inflammasome regulators. Trained immunity (TI) regulators are upregulated in IPC and IPO. Furthermore, caspase 1 is activated during liver IRI, and Casp DKO attenuates liver IRI. Casp DKO maintained normal liver histology via decreased DNA damage. Finally, the decreased TUNEL assay-detected DNA damage is the underlying histopathological and molecular mechanisms of attenuated liver pyroptosis and IRI. In summary, liver IRI induces the upregulation of canonical and non-canonical inflammasomes and TI enzyme pathways. Casp DKO attenuate liver IRI. Development of novel therapeutics targeting caspase 1/caspase 11 and TI may help mitigate injury secondary to IRI. Our findings have provided novel insights on the roles of caspase 1, caspase 11, and inflammasome in sensing IRI derived DAMPs and TI-promoted IRI-induced liver injury.
Histories of Central Himalayan Herbs: Vanaspati Karyalaya in Tehri Princely State c. 1879–1950

This short essay describes how the advent of scientific forestry in the princely state of Tehri-Garhwal in the Indian Himalayas, together with the growth of an urban elite Hindu market for Ayurvedic potions, initiated the transformation of the trade in Himalayan herbs in the early twentieth century. The Tehri Durbar’s attempt to alienate high-altitude meadows (bugyals) for the cultivation of Ayurvedic herbs suggests how associations between the Himalayas and healing herbs were becoming increasingly fetishized. This fetishization not only risked destroying delicate meadow ecosystems but further elided local knowledges about medicinal plants, instead privileging an elite Hindu approach to Ayurveda.
Correlating the Perceptions of Preservice Elementary Teachers and Social Studies in the Elementary Curriculum

Elementary social studies is often viewed as less important than mathematics and reading. Although part of the curriculum, social studies is often overlooked by teachers due to testing demands. The...
4CPS-229 Analysis of clinical pharmacist interventions in the heart failure day hospital

Background and importance Heart failure (HF) affects 15% of the population between 70 and 80 years. It causes 3–5% of hospitalisations, 50% of which could be avoided. Hence a multidisciplinary HF day hospital (HFDH) was recently created in our centre where the clinical pharmacist performs the medication reconciliation (MR) process and identifies, resolves and prevents drug related problems (DRP). Aim and objectives To analyse the interventions carried out by the clinical pharmacist in the HFDH for the first 6 months. Material and methods Every day the clinical pharmacist performs the MR process for one patient, checking the patient´s clinical records, blood tests and all prescriptions from the different specialists and primary doctor. After that, the pharmacist interviews the patient to confirm all the medication they are taking and how they are taking it. We identified medication discrepancies and DRP, and made a medication list with the problems detected and our recommendations. A reconciliation report was added into the patient’s electronic medical record and who will perform the necessary changes in the treatment was discussed with the physician, before the medical appointment. Finally, the pharmacist explained and provided a complete updated medication list to the patient, with all the instructions needed. When discrepancies were found, they are classified as: discrepant dosage, drug omission and/or wrong drug. DRP were classified as wrong dose, wrong frequency, therapeutic duplicity, interaction, lack of adherence, wrong/missed high risk drug and wrong/missed low risk drug. The discrepancies and problems detected were registered in an Excel file. Results Throughout the study period, 162 MR reports were made, 111 directed to cardiology and 51 to internal medicine. A median of two discrepancies per patient were detected (minimum 0 and maximum 14). Regarding DRP, an average of one problem per patient was found: 62% wrong/missed low risk drug, followed by therapeutic duplicity (12%), wrong dose (10%; mostly involving diuretics and statins), wrong/missed high risk drugs (8%), lack of adherence (3%), incorrect frequency (3%) and interaction (2%). Conclusion and relevance The clinical pharmacist plays a key role in the HFDH, performing the MR process and identifying, resolving and preventing DRP. This study showed the importance of working near the HF patient, as a member of the multidisciplinary team. References and/or acknowledgements Conflict of interest No conflict of interest
Epigenetics in blood–brain barrier disruption

The vessels of the central nervous system (CNS) have unique barrier properties. The endothelial cells (ECs) which comprise the CNS vessels contribute to the barrier via strong tight junctions, specific transporters, and limited endocytosis which combine to protect the brain from toxins and maintains brain homeostasis. Blood–brain barrier (BBB) leakage is a serious secondary injury in various CNS disorders like stroke, brain tumors, and neurodegenerative disorders. Currently, there are no drugs or therapeutics available to treat specifically BBB damage after a brain injury. Growing knowledge in the field of epigenetics can enhance the understanding of gene level of the BBB and has great potential for the development of novel therapeutic strategies or targets to repair a disrupted BBB. In this brief review, we summarize the epigenetic mechanisms or regulators that have a protective or disruptive role for components of BBB, along with the promising approaches to regain the integrity of BBB.
NORMAL STRUCTURE, FIXED POINTS AND MODULUS OF n-DIMENSIONAL U-CONVEXITY IN BANACH SPACES X AND X*

Let X and X* be a Banach space and its dual, respectively, and let B ( X ) and S ( X ) be the unit ball and unit sphere of X , respectively. In this paper, we study the relation between Modulus of n-dimensional U-convexity in X* and normal structure in X . Some new results about fixed points of nonexpansive mapping are obtained, and some existing results are improved. Among other results, we proved: if X is a Banach space with U_{ X*}^{ n} ( n +1) > 1 − 1/(n+1) where n ∈ N , then X has weak normal structure.
Electrosurgery Use During Post-Mohs Micrographic Surgery Repair and Complication Rates-How Important is a Dry Field?

BACKGROUND Electrosurgery is used to achieve hemostasis during surgery. There are no studies exploring the effects of the use or avoidance of electrodessication during Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) repair. Given the growing concerns for tissue aerosolization, occupational smoke exposure, and spread of infectious diseases, it is important to determine the importance of electrical hemostasis. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this retrospective study, electronic medical records of a single, tertiary, academic dermatology practice were reviewed. All MMS cases that underwent surgical repair from January 1 to December 31, 2019, by 2 dermatologic surgeons (one who used electrodessication during repair and one who did not) were included. Patient demographic data, information regarding the procedures, and complications occurring 90 days after MMS were recorded. RESULTS One hundred ninety-eight cases of MMS repair used electrodessication, whereas 193 cases did not. There was no significant difference in the demographic makeup, MMS procedure, or 90-day complication rates between the 2 groups. No major adverse events were MMS-related. CONCLUSION The use or avoidance of electrodessication during MMS repair was not associated with increased 90-day postoperative complications, suggesting that a greater tolerance of moderate oozing at a surgical site during MMS repair is reasonable to minimize electrosurgical tissue damage and occupational smoke exposure.
[The first outbreak of dengue fever and molecular tracing in Puyang, 2019]

Objective: This study retrospectively analyzed an outbreak of dengue fever in Puyang of Henan province in 2019, in order to find the sources of infection. Methods: Dengue virus IgM/IgG and NS1 antigen were tested by colloidal gold method. E gene was amplified by PCR. MegaX was used for sequences alignment to construct evolutionary distance trees. Results: After clinical and laboratory confirmation, there were 81 cases of dengue fever, 17 of which were imported case who were local farmers and worked in Combadia and Thailand, and 64 of which were indigenous cases. The E gene alignment results showed that the pathogen of this epidemic was Vietnamese 1 and highly homologous with the Vietnamese strain. After the local outbreak, dengue virus E gene developed a nucleotide site mutation which can be steadily transmission. Conclusion: The dengue fever outbreak in Puyang was a local outbreak caused by dengue virus type 1, which was associated with imported cases. Gene sequencing showed that the imported pathogen had a relatively stable and transmissible nucleotide mutation after the local epidemic.
Quantifying the economic impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. hotel industry: Examination of hotel segments and operational structures

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has had substantial negative impacts on the global economy. While all sectors of the economy are expected to be adversely affected, the economic implications of this pandemic for the hotel industry have not yet been widely investigated. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the U.S. hotel industry. The results showed that daily room OCC, ADR and RevPAR have plunged about 74%, 47% and 86%, respectively. Although the impact is observed across all hotel segments, economy-scale hotels were more resilient, whereas luxury-scale hotels experienced the largest decline. Also, chain-managed hotels are the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as compared to franchise and independent hotels. Quantifying the magnitude of this impact, we found that the U.S. hotel industry's revenue losses accumulated to over $30 billion between March-2020 and May-2020. Implications for practitioners, policy-makers, and researchers are discussed.
Esophagin cDNA cloning and characterization: a tissue-specific member of the small proline-rich protein family that is not expressed in esophageal tumors.

Cancer may be understood as the net effect of differences in gene expression between normal and
Interaction of Salmonella spp. with host cells

Publisher Summary Salmonella spp. is facultative intracellular pathogens capable of engaging the host in complex interactions resulting in distinct responses in both the bacteria and the host cells. Pathogens that have sustained long standing associations with their hosts have evolved elaborate mechanisms to multiply and survive within the host environment. Such strategies have clearly evolved to ensure the survival of both the host and the microbial pathogen and thus display a high degree of sophistication. Salmonella enterica is an example of this kind of highly adapted pathogen and, as such, is emerging as a paradigm for the study of this type of intimate interaction. This system directs the secretion and subsequent translocation into the host cell cytosol of a number of bacterial effector proteins. These effector proteins in turn stimulate signal transduction pathways that result in a variety of host–cell responses, including the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton and membrane ruffling, activation of transcription factors, and, in some cell types such as macrophages, the initiation of programmed cell death.
Characterization of an Escherichia coli Mutant Deficient in Dihydrolipoyl Dehydrogenase Activity

A mutant of Escherichia coli deficient in dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase (DHL) activity has been isolated and its characteristics have been studied. The activities of the pyruvic dehydrogenase (PDC) and α-ketoglutaric dehydrogenase complexes (KDC) are not present in extracts of the mutant unless purified dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase is added. Experiments with antiserum to DHL have shown that cross-reacting material exists in mutant extracts. This suggests that the dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase mutation (dhl−) is a missense structural mutation. The mutation maps very close to, if not adjacent to, the ace loci, and is not linked to the suc loci. This means the dhl locus is grouped with the genes for the other components of the PDC and not with the genes for KDC. The mutation is also transducible into prototrophic strains, demonstrating that no prior mutation is necessary for the DHL activity deficiency to exist. This evidence is consistent with the idea that there is only one gene for DHL and is supported by previous biochemical studies which have shown that DHL preparations from either enzyme complex are electrophoretically and immunochemically indistinguishable. Possible mechanisms for the genetic and metabolic control of DHL, PDC, and KDC are discussed.
Regulation of retinal hemodynamics in diabetic rats by increased expression and action of endothelin-1.

Purpose. To investigate the role of endogenous endothelin-1 (ET-1) expression and its interaction with the ET A receptor in the physiologic regulation of vascular tone as well as in the development of abnormal retinal hemodynamics in diabetes. Methods. Retinal blood flow, using digitized video fluorescein angiography recordings, was quantitated after intravitreous injections of ET-1 ; BQ123, an ET A receptor antagonist ; and phosporamindon, an endothelin converting enzyme inhibitor in the eyes of diabetic and nondiabetic rats. A total of 154 rats were used for these experiments. Message levels of preproendothelin-1 (preproET-1) were measured from the retina of diabetic and nondiabetic rats using competitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques. Results. Retinal blood flow was reduced (33%, P < 0.001) in diabetic rats compared to nondiabetic rats. BQ-123, an ET A receptor antagonist, but not saralasin, an angiotensin receptor antagonist, increased retinal blood flow in a dose-dependent manner in diabetic (EC 50 of 8 X 10 -7 M) and in nondiabetic rats (EC 50 of 8 X 10 -8 M). Besides being resistant to BQ-123, the maximal response in diabetic animals occurred 20 minutes later than in nondiabetic animals. Decreasing ET-1 levels by inhibiting endothelin-converting enzyme with phosphoramidon normalized retinal blood flow in diabetic rats. In nondiabetic rats, the intravitreous injection of exogenous ET-1 (10 -8 M) resulted in retinal blood flow decreases comparable to those measured in diabetic animals, and the subsequent injection of 10 -4 M BQ-123 produced retinal blood flow changes comparable to those measured in BQ-123 injected diabetic rats. Comparison of preproET-1 messenger RNA expression in the retina, brain, and lung of control and diabetic rats using quantitative PCR and Northern blot analysis showed 2.0- and 1.7-fold increases in the retina and the brain, respectively, without changes in the lung. Conclusions. These data suggest that ET-1 is involved in the regulation of retinal blood flow in normal physiologic outcome, and an increase in the endogenous expression of ET-1 contributes to the reduction of retinal blood flow reported in the early stages of diabetes mellitus.
Troubling the canon: bisexuality and queer theory.

SUMMARY This essay explores the notion that bisexuality and contemporary bisexual political movements both align and trouble canons of queer theories of sexuality and gender. This project provides an historical review and assessment of recent bisexual theorizing to highlight key themes in its evolution as well as a discussion of how these themes have shaped the relationship of bisexuality and queer theory. Drawing on this assessment and a wider discussion of GLBT scholarship, we invite critical inquiry regarding the implications of bisexual theorizing on queer theory and vice versa. We address questions of bisexual epistemologies, its discursive roles within queer theory, and its impact on queer politics and organizing. Noting bisexuality's absence in much of this research and scholarship, we suggest these projects have been limited in their ability to fully and effectively address sexual subjectivity both in theory and in its everyday lived experience.
Finding instance names and alternative glosses on the web: wordnet reloaded

This paper presents an approach to extending existing lexical resources with instance names and alternative definitions acquired from textual documents. The experiments involve WordNet and approximately 300 million Web documents, but the method is more generally applicable. We leverage formally-structured, human-validated resources, on one hand, and data-driven instance names and definitions on the other, which opens the path to new applications of the reloaded resources.
High-speed hybrid silicon microring lasers

We report on low power consumption, high direct modulation speed performance of compact hybrid silicon microring lasers. By integrating a novel thermal shunt, device joule heating is significantly reduced, leading to low threshold, high continuous wave (cw) lasing temperature as high as 105 °C. A 3 dB bandwidth of 7.8 GHz is measured and 12.5 Gbps eye diagram is obtained.
Lower extremity muscle activation and knee flexion during a jump-landing task.

Context: Decreased sagittal-plane motion at the knee during dynamic tasks has been reported to increase impact forces during landing, potentially leading to knee injuries such as anterior cruciate ligament rupture. Objective: To describe the relationship between lower extremity muscle activity and knee-flexion angle during a jump-landing task. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Research laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: Thirty recreationally active volunteers (15 men, 15 women: age ¼ 21.63 6 2.01 years, height ¼ 173.95 6 11.88 cm, mass ¼ 72.57 6 14.25 kg). Intervention(s): Knee-flexion angle and lower extremity muscle activity were collected during 10 trials of a jump-landing task. Main Outcome Measure(s): Simple correlation analyses were performed to determine the relationship between each knee-flexion variable (initial contact, peak, and displacement) and electromyographic amplitude of the gluteus maximus (GMAX), quadriceps (VMO and VL), hamstrings, gastrocnemius, and quadriceps : hamstring (Q : H) ratio. Separate forward stepwise multiple regressions were conducted to determine which combination of muscle activity variables predicted each knee-flexion variable. Results: During preactivation, VMO and GMAX activity and the Q : H ratio were negatively correlated with knee-flexion angle at initial contact (VMO: r ¼� 0.382, P ¼ .045; GMAX: r ¼ � 0.385, P ¼ .043; Q : H ratio: r ¼� 0.442, P ¼ .018). The VMO, VL, and GMAX deceleration values were negatively correlated with peak knee-flexion angle (VMO: r ¼� 0.687, P ¼ .001; VL: r ¼� 0.467, P ¼ .011; GMAX: r ¼� 0.386, P ¼ .043). The VMO and VL deceleration values were negatively correlated with knee-flexion displacement (VMO: r ¼� 0.631, P ¼ .001; VL: r ¼ � 0.453, P ¼ .014). The Q : H ratio and GM activity predicted 34.7% of the variance in knee-flexion angle at initial contact (P ¼ .006). The VMO activity predicted 47.1% of the variance in peak knee-flexion angle (P ¼ .001). The VMO and VL activity predicted 49.5% of the variance in knee-flexion displacement (P ¼ .001). Conclusions: Greater quadriceps and GMAX activation and less hamstrings and gastrocnemius activation were correlated with smaller knee-flexion angles. This landing strategy may predispose an individual to increased impact forces due to the negative influence on knee-flexion position.
On the infinite server shortest queue problem: Non-symmetric case

We consider two parallel M/M/? queues. All servers in the first queue work at rate ?1 and all in the second work at rate ?2. A new arrival is routed to the system with the lesser number of customers. If both queues have equal occupancy, the arrival joins the first queue with probability ?1, and the second with probability ?2 = 1??1. We analyze this model asymptotically. We assume that the arrival rate ? is large compared to the two service rates. We give several different asymptotic formulas, that apply for different ranges of the state space. The numerical accuracy of the asymptotic results is tested.
A seminested RT-PCR assay for HER2/neu: Initial validation of a new method for the detection of disseminated breast cancer cells

Background: Initial validation of a seminested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay for HER2/neu for use in detecting circulating tumor cells in the peripheral blood or bone marrow of breast cancer patients is described. RT-PCR assays for other epithelial markers, including the cytokeratins and carcinoembryonic antigen frequently lack specificity, sensitivity, or both. Thus, there is a need for an assay that is both sensitive and specific to be used to monitor breast cancer patients for micrometastatic or minimal residual disease. Method and Results: Assay conditions were optimized using the MCF7 breast cancer cell line and the Raji B-cell lymphoma cell line. The assay can detect as little as 3 μg of MCF7 RNA within a background of 3 μg of Raji RNA. The assay was positive in 12 of 12 breast tumors. None of the 33 peripheral blood or stem cell samples form patients without evidence of breast cancer were positive. Peripheral blood from 17 breast cancer patients was collected immediately before surgery and evaluated. The assay was positive in five of six patients with Stage II, four of eight patients with Stage I and one of three patients with Stage 0 disease. Conclusions: The seminested HER2/neu RT-PCR assay compares favorably with RT-PCR assays for other epithelial cell markers in terms of both sensitivity and specificity as a method to detect disseminated breast cancer cells. In breast cancer patients, the higher the disease stage, the more frequently was the assay positive.
Analytical Solution to Nonlinear Thermal Diffusion: Kirchhoff Versus Cole–Hopf Transformations

The Kirchhoff transformation is the classical method of solution to the nonlinear thermal diffusion problem with temperature dependent properties. It essentially converts the nonlinear problem into a linear one if the thermal diffusivity is approximately constant. Unfortunately, with the only exception of an exponential dependence of the thermal conductivity on temperature, all other thermal conductivity functions produce an inconvenient form for the inverse transform. This paper shows that the Kirchhoff transformation is a particular consequence of the more general Cole-Hopf transformation. However, the classical presentation of the Kirchhoff transformation in terms of a definite integral is more restrictive than the result obtained from the Cole-Hopf transformation and it is this restrictiveness that causes the practical inconvenience in the form of the inverse transform. It is shown that a more compact and practically convenient form of the inverse transform can be obtained by using directly the result from the Cole-Hopf transformation, hence, making its application more attractive.
A Matter of Being: Developing Sustainability-minded Leaders

In a world that is in need of more individuals acting with the social and environmental impact of their decisions in mind, what would it take to develop sustainability-minded leaders? This article shares the findings of a qualitative descriptive exploratory study where 16 leaders championing sustainability initiatives were interviewed in order to learn from them, understand what information played a role in their actions, how they thought, and what motivated or inspired them to act in a “business-as-unusual” way. In this article, the results of the original study are briefly summarized, and new findings related to the particular role spirituality played for these business leaders are presented. Following the innovative approach of this journal in addressing the question “now what?”, this author then provides suggestions for adult educators, corporate trainers, and coaches on how they could develop the sustainability mindset by incorporating activities that engage the higher self of the audience.
Studies of ischemia-reperfusion injury in skeletal muscle: efficacy of 21-aminosteroids on microcirculation and muscle contraction after an extended period of warm ischemia.

The present study was conducted to elucidate the effects of tirilazad mesylate (U-74006F), a potent inhibitor of lipid peroxidation, on vessel diameter, capillary perfusion, and contractile function of rat cremaster muscle during a 90-minute reperfusion period that followed 4 hours of warm ischemia. Two groups of 32 animals were treated with either 3 mg/kg U-74006F or the vehicle (citrate buffer) alone 30 minutes before. ischemia, 90 minutes after ischemia, and immediately before reperfusion. With use of intravital videomicros-copy, the internal luminal diameters of preselected vessels were measured prior to ischemia and during reperfusion The area that filled with fluorescein was determined at 15-minute intervals for as long as 90 minutes of reperfusion, and contractile function was examined in vitro in an organ bath at that point. In the U-74006F group, after 90 minutes of reperfusion the vessel diameters returned completely to baseline and the diameters of all three categories of vessels at every time point from 10 to 90 minutes of reperfusion had significantly more rapid recovery than the controls. Although some evidence of more rapid fluorescence was noted in the U-74006F group, the two groups did not differ significantly at any time period of reperfusion. In response to tetanic stimulation, the muscles treated with U-74006F had a significantly greater contractile force at all stimulation frequencies than the control musclss. Our findings indicate that pretreatment with U-74006F can effectively decrease the rise of vascular resistance and preserve the contractile function of skeletal muscle during early reperfusion, thereby attenuating ischemia-reperfusion injury.
Intellectual, neurocognitive, and academic achievement in abstinent adolescents with cannabis use disorder

Rationale The active component of cannabis, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), has a long half-life and widespread neurocognitive effects. There are inconsistent reports of neurocognitive deficits in adults and adolescents with cannabis use disorders (CUD), particularly after a period of abstinence. Objectives This study aims to examine neurocognitive measures (IQ, academic achievement, attention, memory, executive functions) in abstinent adolescents with CUD, while controlling for demographic, psychopathology, and polysubstance confounders. Methods We investigated neurocognitive performance in three groups: adolescents with CUD after successful first treatment and in full remission (n=33); controls with psychiatric disorders without substance use disorder history (n=37); and healthy adolescents (n=43). Results Adolescents with psychiatric disorders, regardless of CUD status, performed significantly worse than the healthy adolescents in academic achievement. No group differences were seen in IQ, attention, memory, or executive functions. Lower academic achievement was positively associated with younger age of CUD onset, regular cannabis use, and maximum daily use. In the CUD group, lifetime nicotine use episodes were negatively associated with IQ. Lower overall neurocognitive function was associated with younger age of onset of regular cannabis use and relapse within the 1 year follow-up. Conclusions Verifiably, abstinent adolescents with CUD history did not differ from the two comparison groups, suggesting that previously reported neurocognitive deficits may be related to other factors, including residual drug effects, preexisting cognitive deficits, concurrent use of other substances (e.g., nicotine), or psychopathology. Adolescents with CUD may not be vulnerable to THC neuropsychological deficits once they achieve remission from all drugs for at least 30 days.
Interactive processes in gasification and combustion—II. Isolated carbon, coal and porous char particles

Most combustion systems use dense sprays of liquid fuels or pulverized fuel suspension for combustion. Thus the interactive processes between the drops/particles play a crucial role in the ignition and combustion behavior and pollutant formation and destruction. A comprehensive review is presented of the interactive transport processes in the gasification and combustion of a cloud of drops and solid particles. The review originally intended to be in two parts is now divided into three parts. Part I (Prog. Energy Combust. Sci., 18, 1992) is concerned with the interactive processes for arrays, streams and clouds of drops, Part II presents a review of isolated coal/char particles as an introductory material to interactive processes and finally Part III deals with the interactive processes for solid particle arrays, streams and clouds. While drops are totally gasifying, coal is a partially gasifying solid which yields char on gasification. As such there exists separate studies for the pyrolysis of coal and combustion of char particles. The kinetics modeling of pyrolysis, oxidation of volatiles and CO, carbon reactions, heterogeneous and homogeneous ignition and combustion of carbon and coal are reviewed. Because of strong analogy of the group ignition and combustion to porous char ignition and combustion, the literature on porous char combustion is also included. In order to maintain the continuity, new results are presented on the internal ignition of porous char particles using a Frank-Kamenetskii type of analysis. The ignition and combustion results of porous char are later used in Part III of the review which deals with group ignition and combustion of char clouds.
The effects of chronic maternal absorption of nicotine or hypoxic episodes upon the life span of the offspring

The offspring of rats subjected to either chronic hypoxic episodes (H) or injections of 3.0 mg/kg of nicotine twice daily throughout pregnancy (N) or injected throughout pregnancy and the nursing period (N-N) had significantly shorter life spans than did control offspring (S) of dams injected with a similar amount of isotonic saline twice daily. H animals died earliest, followed by N-N, N, and S rats. These results paralleled those found in our previous studies which involved the use of reinforcement schedules, discrimination problems, and performance in activity wheels. In the latter case, group performance levels increased in the order of H, N-N, N, and S. Tentative explanatory hypotheses for these differences among offspring groups include undernutrition in utero and maternal neglect following birth.
Reactions of dimethyl sulfide with oxidized polypropylene

Abstract The reaction of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) vapour with solid films of γ- and photo-oxidized polypropylene and high density polyethylene is found to involve the extensive decomposition of sec. and tert. hydroperoxide groups rather than the destruction of peracids alone as reported previously. Film of oxidized PP were extremely stable to further oxidation at 60°C after DMS exposure and also lost their ability to generate nitroxide from secondary amines. Both sec. and tert. hydroperoxide groups reacted with DMS by dual kinetics. The fast-reacting hydroperoxide groups may result from catalysis of the DMS attack by other oxidation products such as carboxylic acids.
An echocardiographic approach to the assessment of aortic stenosis

An accurate echocardiographic assessment of aortic stenosis is critical for the cost-effective diagnosis and management of patients with the clinical suspicion of this diagnosis. Although the concepts involved in the echocardiographic determination of aortic pressure gradients and valve areas are relatively simple, acquisition of the data required to perform these calculations can at times be technically challenging. After reviewing the clinical signs and symptoms and the hemodynamics of aortic stenosis, this article reviews in detail the technical aspects involved in obtaining accurate gradients and valve areas emphasizing potential pitfalls.
Support vector machines for spatiotemporal tornado prediction

The use of support vector machines (SVMs) for predicting the location and time of tornadoes is presented. In this paper, we extend the work by Lakshmanan et al. (Proceedings of 2005 IEEE international joint conference on neural networks (Montreal, Canada), 3, 2005a, 1642–1647) to use a set of 33 storm days and introduce some variations that improve the results. The goal is to estimate the probability of a tornado event at a particular spatial location within a given time window. We utilize a least-squares methodology to estimate shear, quality control of radar reflectivity, morphological image processing to estimate gradients, fuzzy logic to generate compact measures of tornado possibility and SVM classification to generate the final spatiotemporal probability field. On the independent test set, this method achieves a Heidke's skill score of 0.60 and a critical success index of 0.45.
Analytic evaluation of target detection in heterogeneous wireless sensor networks

In this article, we address the problem of target detection in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). We formulate the target detection problem as a line-set intersection problem and use integral geometry to analytically characterize the probability of target detection for both stochastic and deterministic deployments. Compared to previous work, we analyze WSNs where sensors have heterogeneous sensing capabilities. For the stochastic case, we evaluate the probability that the target is detected by at least k sensors and compute the free path until the target is first detected. For the deterministic case, we show an analogy between the target detection problem and the problem of minimizing the average symbol error probability in 2D digital modulation schemes. Motivated by this analogy, we propose a heuristic sensor placement algorithm, called DATE, that makes use of well-known signal constellations for determining good WSN constellations. We also propose a heuristic called CDATE for connected WSN constellations, that yields high target detection probability.
Rethinking theoretical approaches to stigma: A Framework Integrating Normative Influences on Stigma (FINIS)

A resurgence of research and policy efforts on stigma both facilitates and forces a reconsideration of the levels and types of factors that shape reactions to persons with conditions that engender prejudice and discrimination. Focusing on the case of mental illness but drawing from theories and studies of stigma across the social sciences, we propose a framework that brings together theoretical insights from micro, meso and macro level research: Framework Integrating Normative Influences on Stigma (FINIS) starts with Goffman's notion that understanding stigma requires a language of social relationships, but acknowledges that individuals do not come to social interaction devoid of affect and motivation. Further, all social interactions take place in a context in which organizations, media and larger cultures structure normative expectations which create the possibility of marking "difference". Labelling theory, social network theory, the limited capacity model of media influence, the social psychology of prejudice and discrimination, and theories of the welfare state all contribute to an understanding of the complex web of expectations shaping stigma. FINIS offers the potential to build a broad-based scientific foundation based on understanding the effects of stigma on the lives of persons with mental illness, the resources devoted to the organizations and families who care for them, and policies and programs designed to combat stigma. We end by discussing the clear implications this framework holds for stigma reduction, even in the face of conflicting results.
Amine Nitrosation via NO Reduction of the Polyamine Copper(II) Complex Cu(DAC)2

The reaction of the fluorescent macrocyclic ligand 1,8-bis(anthracen-9-ylmethyl)-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane with copper(II) salts leads to formation of the Cu(DAC)2+ cation (I), which is not luminescent. However, when aqueous methanol solutions of I are allowed to react with NO, fluorescence again develops, owing to the formation of the strongly luminescent N-nitrosated ligand DAC-NO (II), which is released from the copper center. This reaction is relatively slow in neutral media, and kinetics studies show it to be first order in the concentrations of NO and base. In these contexts, it is proposed that the amine nitrosation occurs via NO attack at a coordinated amine that has been deprotonated and that this step occurs with concomitant reduction of the Cu(II) to Cu(I). DFT computations at the BP/LACVP* level support these mechanistic arguments. It is further proposed that such nitrosation of electron-rich ligands coordinated to redox-active metal centers is a mechanistic pathway that may find great...
Induction of Elastase in a Zoophytophagous Heteropteran, Lygus hesperus (Hemiptera: Miridae)

One potential biochemical adaptation to mixed feeding habits, or zoophytophagy, is enzyme induction/enzyme repression. We investigated the potential of the highly polyphagous mirid Lygus hesperus Knight to increase its production of the specialized proteolytic enzyme, elastase (E. C. 3. 4. 31.36). Efforts to induce elastase production were made by feeding L. hesperus on an artificial diet spiked with elastin. Short-term (less than one generation) and long-term (three generations) tests were conducted to determine the effect of acute versus chronic exposure to elastin, a protein that may be present in extra cellular matrix of prey. Elastase activity was much greater in the salivary gland complex (SGC) of individuals fed elastin-containing diet than it was in those fed the control diet. The elevated elastase activity in the elastin treatment group indicated the inducibility of this proteolytic enzyme, especially in the SGC. The results also indicated that the SGC, rather than the gut, is the principal site of elastase production.