cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Management of Pediatric Chest Pain Using a Standardized Assessment and Management Plan

WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Chest pain is common in children and is a frequent reason for referral to pediatric cardiologists. Despite the benign nature of the vast majority of pediatric chest pain, extensive and costly cardiac evaluation is common in these patients. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS: Described here is an approach to pediatric chest pain that will reduce unnecessary resource use while maintaining high-quality care. abstract Chest pain is a common reason for referral to pediatric cardiologists and often leads to an extensive cardiac evaluation. The objective of this study is to describe current management practices in the assessment of pediatric chest pain and to determine whether a standardized care approach could reduce unnecessary testing. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed all patients, aged 7 to 21 years, presenting to our outpatient pediatric cardiology division in 2009 for evaluation of chest pain. Demographics, clinical characteristics, pa- tient outcomes, and resource use were analyzed. RESULTS: Testing included electrocardiography (ECG) in all 406 pa- tients, echocardiography in 175 (43%), exercise stress testing in 114 (28%), event monitoring in 40 (10%), and Holter monitoring in 30 (7%). A total of 44 (11%) patients had a clinically significant medical or family history, an abnormal cardiac examination, and/or an abnormal ECG. Exertional chest pain was present in 150 (37%) patients. In the entire cohort, a cardiac etiology for chest pain was found in only 5 of 406 (1.2%) patients. Two patients had pericarditits, and 3 had arrhythmias. We developed an algorithm using pertinent history, physical examina- tion, and ECG findings to suggest when additional testing is indicated. Applying the algorithm to this cohort could lead to an20% reduction in echocardiogram and outpatient rhythm monitor use and elimination of exercise stress testing while still capturing all cardiac diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: Evaluation of pediatric chest pain is often extensive and rarely yields a cardiac etiology. Practice variation and unneces- sary resource use remain concerns. Targeted testing can reduce re- source use and lead to more cost-effective care. Pediatrics 2011;128: 239-245
A megawatt 4.6 GHz RF system for current drive experiments on PBX-M

The lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) system is an RF source for current drive and second stability experiments on the PBX-M tokamak at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab (PPL). The system is presently in final testing and is scheduled for 1992 operation. The authors give a system description, and discuss the RF splitter, safety, high power waveguide considerations, the antennas, and diagnostics. >
XFT: a forensic toolkit for the original Xbox game console

The array of electronic storage devices is staggering in both number and type. The most common of these are in the form of fixed and removable media. Included are cell phones, PDA's and game consoles. These devices not only provide a convenient means to store data of all kinds, but they also provide a way for criminals to possess and hide illegal material. XFT is a utility that will mount an image of a FATX file system, allowing full traversal of the directory structure. Once the Xbox file system is mounted, the analyst can use shell commands to browse the directory tree, open files, view files in hex editor mode, list the contents of the current directory in short or long mode and expand the current directory to list all associated subdirectories and files. XFT will also record sessions for playback in a court of law.
The equivalent dose contribution from high-dose-rate brachytherapy to positive pelvic lymph nodes in locally advanced cervical cancer.

Abstract Purpose Definitive radiation therapy for locally advanced cervical cancer involves external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy. There remains controversy and practice pattern variation regarding the optimal radiation dose to metastatic pelvic lymph nodes (LNs). This study investigates the contribution of the pelvic LN dose from HDR brachytherapy. Methods and Materials For 17 patients with 36 positive pelvic LNs, each LN was contoured on a computed tomography (CT) plan for EBRT and on brachytherapy planning CTs using positron emission tomographic images obtained before chemoradiation. The mean delivered dose from each plan was recorded, and an equivalent dose in 2-Gy fractions (EQD2) was calculated. A Student's t test was performed to determine if the mean delivered dose is significantly different from the mean prescribed dose and EQD2. Results The average prescribed dose from the total EBRT was 54.09 Gy. The average prescribed HDR dose to International Commission on Radiation Units point A was 26.81 Gy. The average doses delivered to the involved LNs from EBRT and brachytherapy were 54.25 and 4.31 Gy, respectively, with the corresponding EQD2 of 53.45 and 4.00 Gy. There was no statistically significant difference (p Conclusions Our study shows that the HDR contribution is 7% (4.00 Gy) of the total EQD2 (57.45 Gy). The HDR contribution should be accounted for when prescribing the EBRT boost dose to pelvic LNs for the optimal therapeutic dose.
Sterility of antibiotic ophthalmic ointment.

A survey was conducted to determine the sterility of antibiotic ophthalmic ointments. Forty-six samples representing nineteen batches were tested. Only 10 per cent of the batches were found contaminated, in contrast to approximately six times that percentage reported by other investigators.
How do glucocorticoids influence stress responses? Integrating permissive, suppressive, stimulatory, and preparative actions.

The secretion of glucocorticoids (GCs) is a classic endocrine response to stress. Despite that, it remains controversial as to what purpose GCs serve at such times. One view, stretching back to the time of Hans Selye, posits that GCs help mediate the ongoing or pending stress response, either via basal levels of GCs permitting other facets of the stress response to emerge efficaciously, and/or by stress levels of GCs actively stimulating the stress response. In contrast, a revisionist viewpoint posits that GCs suppress the stress response, preventing it from being pathologically overactivated. In this review, we consider recent findings regarding GC action and, based on them, generate criteria for determining whether a particular GC action permits, stimulates, or suppresses an ongoing stressresponse or, as an additional category, is preparative for a subsequent stressor. We apply these GC actions to the realms of cardiovascular function, fluid volume and hemorrhage, immunity and inflammation, metabolism, neurobiology, and reproductive physiology. We find that GC actions fall into markedly different categories, depending on the physiological endpoint in question, with evidence for mediating effects in some cases, and suppressive or preparative in others. We then attempt to assimilate these heterogeneous GC actions into a physiological whole. (Endocrine Reviews 21: 55‐ 89, 2000)
A Scalable Model-Free Recurrent Neural Network Framework for Solving POMDPs

This paper presents a framework for obtaining an optimal policy in model-free partially observable Markov decision problems (POMDPs) using a recurrent neural network (RNN), A Q-function approximation approach is taken, utilizing a novel RNN architecture with computation and storage requirements that are dramatically reduced when compared to existing schemes. A scalable online training algorithm, derived from the real-time recurrent learning (RTRL) algorithm, is employed. Moreover, stochastic meta-descent (SMD), an adaptive step size scheme for stochastic gradient-descent problems, is utilized as means of incorporating curvature information to accelerate the learning process. We consider case studies of POMDPs where state information is not directly available to the agent. Particularly, we investigate scenarios in which the agent receives identical observations for multiple states, thereby relying on temporal dependencies captured by the RNN to obtain the optimal policy, Simulation results illustrate the effectiveness of the approach along with substantial improvement in convergence rate when compared to existing schemes
Decision Making in Entrepreneurial Finance: A Behavioral Perspective

Central questions in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial finance are briefly discussed and case is made for the need for applying the behavioral finance theories and models to better understand the decision making dynamics that is involved at each stage of the entrepreneurial process. By dissecting a venture's total risk into a "Resident Risk" component and a "Behavioral Risk" component, attempt is made in this writing to introduce a preliminary risk model for evaluating key retrepreneurial decisions like the decision to launch and fund a new venture. Although the focus here is on individual decision making under highly uncertain entrepreneurial environments, but the suggested risk framework and the related discussions can be extended to decision making processes in all other uncertain environment.
The Researcher and the Manager: A Comparative View of the Need for Mutual Understanding

This paper concerns itself with the problem of managerial implementation of scientific research. It employs a survey technique designed to test the manager's and researcher's reactions to propositions developed by Churchman and Schainblatt [Churchman, C. W., A. H. Schainblatt. 1965. The researcher and the manager: A dialectic of implementation. Management Sci. February B-16--B-87.], Bennis [Bennis, W. G. 1965. Commentary. Management Sci. October B-13--B-16.], and Dyckman [Dyckman, Thomas R. 1967. Management implementation of scientific research: An attitudinal study. Management Sci. June B-612--B-619.]. The sample surveyed reflects opinions derived from groups unlike those studied to date. As with previous studies, the results suggest the respondents viewed the implementation issue as a multi-dimensional problem and refused to accept a single position as being the most effective means of obtaining meaningful researcher-manager cooperation. The primary conclusion accentuates both groups' rejection of the separate functions position and advocacy of mutual understanding and provides a general reinforcement of prior investigations. It is suggested that managers and researchers might do well not only to understand their own self-motivation but also to understand the unique problems of implementation faced by both groups. This appreciation would no doubt assist in developing the trust and valid communication necessary for the effective transfer of theory to practice.
GSM and Wi-Fi textile antenna for high data rate communications

This paper presents the performance of body-worn GSM and Wi-Fi textile antennas fabricated using embroidered conductive fibers (E-fibers). The textile antennas were fabricated onto regular fabrics using automated embroidering, coupled with high density stitching. These textile antennas offer desirable conformality and flexibility, without undermining electrical performance for body-worn high data rate communications at radio frequencies (RF). RF performance was measured both freestanding and on the human body. For the latter, the textile antennas were sewn onto a jacket and connected to GSM and Wi-Fi communication modules to evaluate their performance. These novel E-fiber textile antennas can be integrated into daily garments (shirts, coats, scarves, etc) for convenient wideband and high data rate communications.
Soil moisture estimation in a semiarid rangeland using ERS-2 and TM imagery

Soil moisture is important information in semiarid rangelands where vegetation growth is heavily dependent on the water availability. Although many studies have been conducted to estimate moisture in bare soil fields with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery, little success has been achieved in vegetated areas. The purpose of this study is to extract soil moisture in sparsely to moderately vegetated rangeland surfaces with ERS-2/TM synergy. We developed an approach to first reduce the surface roughness effect by using the temporal differential backscatter coefficient (Drwet–dry 0 ). Then an optical/microwave synergistic model was built to simulate the relationship among soil moisture, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Drwet-dry . With NDVI calculated from TM imagery in wet seasons and Drwet–dry 0 from ERS-2 imagery in wet and dry seasons, we derived the soil moisture maps over desert grass and shrub areas in wet seasons. The results showed that in the semiarid rangeland, radar backscatter was positively correlated to NDVI when soil was dry (mv 10%). The approach developed in this study is valid for sparse to moderate vegetated areas. When the vegetation density is higher (NDVI>0.45), the SAR backscatter is mainly from vegetation layer and therefore the soil moisture estimation is not possible in this study.
Optimizing heat shock protein expression induced by prostate cancer laser therapy through predictive computational models

Thermal therapy efficacy can be diminished due to heat shock protein (HSP) induction in regions of a tumor where temperatures are insufficient to coagulate proteins. HSP expression enhances tumor cell viability and imparts resistance to chemotherapy and radiation treatments, which are generally employed in conjunction with hyperthermia. Therefore, an understanding of the thermally induced HSP expression within the targeted tumor must be incorporated into the treatment plan to optimize the thermal dose delivery and permit prediction of the overall tissue response. A treatment planning computational model capable of predicting the temperature, HSP27 and HSP70 expression, and damage fraction distributions associated with laser heating in healthy prostate tissue and tumors is presented. Measured thermally induced HSP27 and HSP70 expression kinetics and injury data for normal and cancerous prostate cells and prostate tumors are employed to create the first HSP expression predictive model and formulate an Arrhenius damage model. The correlation coefficients between measured and model predicted temperature, HSP27, and HSP70 were 0.98, 0.99, and 0.99, respectively, confirming the accuracy of the model. Utilization of the treatment planning model in the design of prostate cancer thermal therapies can enable optimization of the treatment outcome by controlling HSP expression and injury.
Assessing the efficacy of targeting the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in endometrial cancer.

Abstract Objective Alterations in the PI3K pathway are prevalent in endometrial cancer due to PIK3CA mutation and loss of PTEN. We investigated the anti-tumor activity of the PI3K inhibitor NVP BKM-120 (BKM) as a single agent and in combination with standard cytotoxic chemotherapy in a human primary endometrial xenograft model. Methods NOD/SCID mice bearing xenografts of primary human tumors with and without PIK3CA gene mutations were divided into two and four arm cohorts with equivalent tumor volumes. BKM was administered alone and in combination with paclitaxel and carboplatin (P/C) and endometrial xenograft tumor volumes were assessed. Tumors from the BKM, P/C, P/C+BKM and vehicle treated mice were processed for determination of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway activation. Results In both single agent experiments, BKM resulted in significant tumor growth suppression starting at days 5–10 compared to the linear growth observed in vehicle treated tumors (p PIK3CA mutation was observed. Acute treatment with BKM led to a decrease in pAKT levels. Conclusion Independent of PIK3CA gene mutation, BKM mediated inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway in endometrial tumors precludes tumor growth in a primary xenograft model. While a pattern of resistance emerges, this effect appears to be mitigated by the addition of conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy.
Training Requirements Of Entry Level Accountants: CA (India) vs. CPA (US)

In the accounting arena, tax returns are increasingly being outsourced to India. Tax returns that are outsourced to India are usually prepared by entry level accountants. Questions are often raised about the quality of education and training of entry level accountants in India. This article compares the training requirements and costs to become an entry level Chartered Accountant (CA) in India with the training requirements and costs to become an entry level Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the US. This topic is important because of the controversy that surrounds the quality of the training received by accountants in India who prepare tax returns for US clients. Section 7216 of the Internal Revenue Code requires written taxpayer consent before a tax return is outsourced to an overseas tax preparer. The article provides relevant information that may be shared with clients.
Complexes of ditopic carbo- and thio-carbohydrazone ligands – mononuclear, 1D chain, dinuclear and tetranuclear examples

Ligands based on carbo- and thio-carbohydrazone cores, modified with pyridine, carboxylate and oxime ends, have been examined. They display a tautomeric versatility based on the flexible nature of the hydrazone linkages, leading to varied coordination motifs. Examples of mononuclear (Co(II), Ni(II)), dinuclear (Co(III)), 1D chain (Cu(II)) and square [2 × 2] grid (Ni(II)) complexes are obtained. Ferromagnetic (Cu(II)) and antiferromagnetic (Ni(II)) exchange is observed, with spin coupling in the Ni(II)4 square grids propagated through the μ-O and μ-S bridges. Weak antiferromagnetic exchange (J = −6.0 cm−1) is observed for the μ-O bridged grid, despite the large Ni–O–Ni angles (137–141°), while for the μ-S bridged grids much stronger exchange is observed (J = −148 cm−1, −198 cm−1). This is much larger than expected based on the Ni–S–Ni bridge angles (151-169°), and is associated with the soft (less polarizing than oxygen) nature of the sulfur bridge, which would allow for much more efficient transmission of spin exchange than observed in the μ-O bridged case. Structures and variable temperature magnetic data are included, and spin exchange is analyzed using normal Heisenberg exchange models. No examples involving oxime (NO) bridging are reported, which reflects the positioning of the N,O and N,S donor combinations in each ligand, and the preferred coordination through these donor atoms.
Streptococcus pyogenes Arginine and Citrulline Catabolism Promotes Infection and Modulates Innate Immunity

A bacterium's ability to acquire nutrients from its host during infection is an essential component of pathogenesis. For the Gram-positive pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes, catabolism of the amino acid arginine via the arginine deiminase (ADI) pathway supplements energy production and provides protection against acid stress in vitro. Its expression is enhanced in murine models of infection, suggesting an important role in vivo. To gain insight into the function of the ADI pathway in pathogenesis, the virulence of mutants defective in each of its enzymes was examined. Mutants unable to use arginine (ΔArcA) or citrulline (ΔArcB) were attenuated for carriage in a murine model of asymptomatic mucosal colonization. However, in a murine model of inflammatory infection of cutaneous tissue, the ΔArcA mutant was attenuated but the ΔArcB mutant was hyperattenuated, revealing an unexpected tissue-specific role for citrulline metabolism in pathogenesis. When mice defective for the arginine-dependent production of nitric oxide (iNOS(-/-)) were infected with the ΔArcA mutant, cutaneous virulence was rescued, demonstrating that the ability of S. pyogenes to utilize arginine was dispensable in the absence of nitric oxide-mediated innate immunity. This work demonstrates the importance of arginine and citrulline catabolism and suggests a novel mechanism of virulence by which S. pyogenes uses its metabolism to modulate innate immunity through depletion of an essential host nutrient.
Solute Regulation by Calcium in Salt-Stressed Plants

An overview is presented on the documented interactions that Ca has with salt stress effects on plants. Significant interactions at the cell level occur in the cell wall, at membranes and membrane transport processes, cytosolic Ca2+ activity, and intracellular solute regulation, all contributing to effects on cell elongation. Recent research links the dynamics of cell growth quantitatively to the spatial distribution of solutes, with Ca playing a major regulatory role.
Electroencephalogram in Dementia

ABSTRACT.In elderly individuals suspected to have dementia, EEG changes are different from those in normal aging. In the early stages of dementia due to degenerative disorders of the CNS (e.g. Alzheimer's disease), the EEG is either normal or shows scattered theta-delta activities and decreasing frequency of the alpha rhythm. As the disease progresses, the EEG is almost always abnormal and the severity of the slowing is increased. In toxic-metabolic causes of intellectual impairment, the EEG abnormalities are more pronounced and include continuous medium-to-high amplitude anterior dominant theta-delta activities. In patients with dementia due to focal CNS insult (e.g. multiple infarcts, neoplasm, etc.), the EEG may show focal slowing and/or suppression of the background rhythms on the involved site. In certain dementing processes, EEG features may be more specific although not pathognomonic; e.g. periodic sharp waves in Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease, low amplitude background activities in Huntington's disease...
Materials Databases Infrastructure Constructed by First Principles Calculations: A Review

First principles calculations, especially calculations based on the high-throughput density functional theory (DFT), have been widely accepted as the major approach in atom scale materials design. First principles calculations performed in a high-performance computing environment have been used to generate hundreds of thousands of crystal and compound records. The exponential growth of computational materials is one of the main drivers to develop an advanced materials database systems to ensure efficient data storage, management, query, presentation, and manipulation. This review covered the most cutting edge materials database systems in materials design and in important applications, such as fuel cells. By comparing the advantages and drawbacks of these high-throughput first principles materials database systems, an optimized computational framework was suggested to meet the specific needs of fuel cell applications. Further development of high-throughput DFT materials databases, which in essence accelerates materials innovation, was also discussed.
The Impact of Vocal Cool-down Exercises: A Subjective Study of Singers' and Listeners' Perceptions.

Summary Objective Using subjective measures, this study investigated singers' and listeners' perceptions of changes in voice condition after vocal cool-down exercises. Study Design A single-subject crossover was designed to evaluate whether there were discernible differences in either singer or listener perceptions from pre (no vocal cool downs) to post (with cool downs) test. Subjective questionnaires were completed throughout the study. Methods Twenty classically trained female singers documented self-ratings and perceptual judgments through the Evaluation of the Ability to Sing Easily survey, the Singing Voice Handicap Index, and Self-Perceptual Questionnaires after a 60-minute voice load. Recordings were made and assessed by four expert listeners. Results The assessed data from the Singing Voice Handicap Index, the Evaluation of the Ability to Sing Easily, and Daily Perceptual Questionnaires show 68%, 67%, and 74% of singers reported improvement, respectively. However, because of significant variability in the underlying scores, the amount of improvement was not deemed to be statistically significant. Expert listeners correctly identified the cool-down week 46% of the time. Conclusions Singers strongly perceived positive impact from the cool-down exercises on both their speaking and singing voices. Even though the objective data were statistically insignificant, the singers' subjective data clearly indicates a perceived sense of vocal well-being after utilizing the vocal cool-down protocol. The variability in the daily life of a singer (eg, stress, menses, reflux, vocal load, and vocal hygiene) makes it difficult to objectively quantify the impact of vocal cool downs.
Simulating a shape memory alloy buoyancy heat engine for undersea gliders

Undersea gliders are autonomous undersea vehicles (AUVs) that travel the world's oceans in a sawtooth climb-dive pattern. These gliders are driven by buoyancy engines that typically use electrically powered pumps to displace water with an oil bladder and thus enable a buoyancy change. Battery capacity limits the endurance of these types of engines and vehicles. The Argo project uses similar electrical buoyancy engines to help monitor climate change [1]. Increasing the endurance of buoyancy engines could have an impact on sensors deployed in the world's oceans by decreasing the maintenance cost of sensing missions and allowing for studies to be conducted over a longer period of time. Buoyancy heat engines driven by the naturally occurring thermocline that exists over a large expanse of the world's oceans can drastically improve endurance. These engines harness environmental energy as opposed to consuming electrical energy to change vehicle buoyancy. Buoyancy engines have been developed that employ the volume change produced during the phase change of wax [2], but it may also be possible to use the oceanic thermocline to drive a buoyancy heat engine based on shape memory alloys (SMA's) (Fig. 1). Shape memory alloys can recover a large amount of applied strain, up to approximately 10% [3], when heated due to a solid state phase transformation in the alloy. The high strain energy of shape memory alloys can be leveraged to create a lighter and more efficient buoyancy heat engine, but the performance and capability of a solid state SMA based engine is unknown. Previous work has discussed the analysis, design, and testing of such an engine, called the shape memory alloy buoyancy heat engine (SMA-BHE) [4]. This paper will examine the dynamics of the SMABHE by coupling a lumped system heat transfer model and the Brinson model for one-dimensional SMA constitutive behavior to the kinematics of a notional undersea glider in an ocean environment. Including the Brinson model and other known SMA relations in the kinematic simulation of a notional glider led to a model that predicted successful AUV operation with a SMA-BHE at depths past 700 m.
Text-Based Document Similarity Matching Using Sdtext

Forensics examiners frequently try to identify duplicate files during an investigation. They might do so to identify known files of interest, or to allow more rapid review of documents that appear to be similar. Current forensic tools for detecting duplicate files operate over the low-level bits of the file, typically using hashing. While this can be a fast and effective method in many cases, it can fail due to differences in file format. We introduce sdtext, a tool developed to identify similar files based on their textual contents, which is robust to changes in format. We show that sdtext is far more accurate than existing tools in matching files that contain the same text in different formats.
Designing dredge: engaging the sediment landscapes of the Great Lakes Basin

AbstractIn many cities within the Great Lakes region—on the water or next to the old steel mill, water treatment plant, or coal-fired power station—there sits a green behemoth. Likely riddled with invasive biota, these places are sediment dumps; landfills for wet soil. Generally given the name Confined Disposal Facilities (CDFs), these engineered landscapes serve the purpose of containing sediment dredged from an adjacent harbour or ship channel. This process creates landscapes that contain layers of eroded sediment from the surrounding urban watershed. Currently, the Great Lakes have over fortyfive CDFs—some still in operation and others that are at capacity, or otherwise abandoned. This article will examine this process of dredge-land creation in the Great Lakes region as one of incredible ecological and social potential by illuminating key projects and speculating upon the expanded role of the landscape architect in creatively leveraging these potentials.
The Impact of Physically Attractive Models on Advertising Evaluations

A considerable amount of social science research suggests an individual's initial perception of and reaction to another individual are affected by the physical attractiveness of the other person. T...
Development and Implementation of Central China Power Grid Standard Management Information System

This article described the architecture and character of Central China Power Grid standard management information system,provided the key issue and specific technical solution,simply compared similar products and introduced the practical applications of the system.
Determination of Alcohol Content in Alcoholic Beverages Using 45 MHz Benchtop NMR Spectrometer

Alcohol or ethanol is considered the most widely used recreational drug worldwide, and its production, consumption, and sale are strictly regulated by laws. Alcohol content of alcoholic beverages (wine, beers, and spirits) is about 3–50% v/v. Analytical methods to determine the alcohol content must be reliable, precise, and accurate. In this study, the amount of ethanol in several alcoholic beverages was determined using a 45 MHz low-field benchtop NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectrometer. Internal standard and standard addition analytical methods were utilized to quantify ethanol. For both methods, acetic acid or acetonitrile was used as internal standard to quantify alcohol content by using the peak area corresponding to the methyl peaks of ethanol, acetic acid, or acetonitrile. Results showed that internal standard method gave values of percent alcohol that are in close agreement with the indicated label as confirmed by running the samples in a 400 MHz high-field NMR spectrometer using acetic acid as internal standard. This study demonstrates the utility of a benchtop NMR spectrometer that can provide an alternative technique to analyze percent alcohol in alcoholic products.
A new slide latex agglutination test for the diagnosis of acute Candida vaginitis.

Two hundred two slide latex agglutination (SLA) tests were performed on 137 women attending a vaginitis clinic to evaluate the efficacy of this new test in diagnosing acute symptomatic Candida vaginitis. In 77 patients with acute Candida vaginitis, the SLA test revealed a positive reaction in 56 patients, reflecting asensitivity of 72.7%, lower than that observed with the 10% potassium hydroxide microscopic examination (sensitivity 90%). False negative SLA reactions could not be accounted for by lower numbers of yeast cultured from the vagina or by the presence of nonalbicans strains of Candida. Following successful antimycotic therapy, the SLA test promptly became negative in all ideologically negative patients. Application of the SLA test in asymptomatic healthy control women revealed extremely few false positive reactions for Candida (5.6%). This easily performed and rapid slide latex agglutinationtest should provide a useful adjunct to the diagnosis of Candida vaginitis, but only for physicians who do not routinely perform microscopy on vaginal secretions.
Microhabitat Selection and Eyefluke Infection Levels in the Western Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis)

Several trematode species infect the eyes of fish as second intermediate hosts. In most cases the definitive host is a piscivorous bird. Studies of a few species have shown an increase in transmission due to decreased visual acuity of the fish host. However, this may vary depending on trematode microhabitat choice within the eye. Some trematode species are found in the lens, some are found in the vitreous humor, and others have been reported from the retina. Here we report 3 genera of eyeflukes in 3 locations of the eye in the intermediate fish host, Gambusia affinis . Clinostomum metacercariae were found attached to the outer sclera within the eye orbit, and Diplostomum metacercariae were found in the lens. Posthodiplostomum metacercariae were confirmed by histology to reside between the choroid and pigmented retina. Posthodiplostomum metacercariae were found in both eyes of all 20 fish examined and in high intensities (up to 27 metacercariae per eye). High trematode intensities between the choroid and pigmented retina found in this study may disrupt vision in this fish host. Our study is the first to document the microhabitat of all 3 trematode metacercariae within the eye of G. affinis .
Recent Results from the Telescope Array Project

Abstract The Telescope Array Project (TA) is the largest cosmic ray observatory in the northern hemisphere and has entered its eighth year of data collection exploring astrophysical phenomena at the highest ends of the cosmic ray energy spectrum. New additions to TA have expanded its reach down to lower parts of the energy spectrum, thus allowing it to probe over an unprecedented 4.5 decades of energy via hybrid detection techniques. Recent results suggestive of anisotropy in the arrival direction of cosmic rays are presented as well as updated measurements of the spectrum, primary source composition, new measurement of the inelastic proton-air cross section, and the first ever quantitative radar cross section upper limit measurement.
Thrombophilic Factors in Retinal Vessel Thrombosis: A Single Center Experience

Abstract Background: Retinal Vessel Thrombosis (RVT) is an ophthalmologic emergency that can result in permanent vision loss. The retinal vessels are considered a rare site for thrombosis, obligating physicians to evaluate the underlying cause. Classic risk factors include hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and glaucoma. In addition, there is a variable degree of association with inherited and acquired thrombophilia. Our aim is to describe our experience with eleven patients (pts) evaluated for inherited and acquired thrombophilia who presented with RVT. Methods: Retrospective analysis. Results: We reviewed the medical records of 11 consecutive pts seen in our institution between 2001 and 2015 who were referred with the diagnosis of RVT. Eight out of eleven were females and three were males; median age was 47 years, with an age range from 30 to 78. Clinical presentation was transient visual loss in the affected eye in 10 pts and persistent conjunctivitis in 1 pt. Laboratory evaluation of thrombophilia in blood samples showed the following: 1 pt had both factor V Leiden mutation (heterozygous) along with prothrombin-20210A mutation (heterozygous); 3 pts had MTHFR gene mutations (two were heterozygous and one was homozygous); 1 pt had MTHFR gene mutation and positive lupus anticoagulant; 1 pt had antiprothrombin antibodies and homocysteinemia; 1 pt had factor V Leiden (heterozygous); 1 pt had factor V Leiden (heterozygous) and elevated factor VIII; 1 pt had protein S deficiency and elevated factor VIII; 1 pt had anticardiolipin antibodies; and lastly 1 pt had no laboratory abnormalities found. Conclusion: In our limited pt sample, we have found that retinal vessel thrombosis can be associated with inherited and acquired thrombophilia. The clinical implication of these findings remains incompletely understood and merits further research. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Crop yield changes induced by emissions of individual climate-altering pollutants

Climate change damages agriculture, causing deteriorating food security and increased malnutrition. Many studies have examined the role of distinct physical processes, but impacts have not been previously attributed to individual pollutants. Using a simple model incorporating process-level results from detailed models, here I show that although carbon dioxide (CO2) is the largest driver of climate change, other drivers appear to dominate agricultural yield changes. I calculate that anthropogenic emissions to date have decreased global agricultural yields by 9.5 ± 3.0%, with roughly 93% stemming from non-CO2 emissions, including methane (−5.2 ± 1.7%) and halocarbons (−1.4 ± 0.4%). The differing impacts stem from atmospheric composition responses: CO2 fertilizes crops, offsetting much of the loss induced by warming; halocarbons do not fertilize; methane leads to minimal fertilization but increases surface ozone which augments warming-induced losses. By the end of the century, strong CO2 mitigation improves agricultural yields by ∼3 ± 5%. In contrast, strong methane and hydrofluorocarbon mitigation improve yields by ∼16 ± 5% and ∼5 ± 4%, respectively. These are the first quantitative analyses to include climate, CO2 and ozone simultaneously, and hence, additional studies would be valuable. Nonetheless, as policy makers have leverage over pollutant emissions rather than isolated processes, the perspective presented here may be more useful for decision making than that in the prior work upon which this study builds. The results suggest that policies should target a broad portfolio of pollutant emissions in order to optimize mitigation of societal damages.
Abstract 424: Novel Computational Algorithm to Quantify Blood Flow and Vascular Resistance from Contrast Angiography with High Accuracy

OBJECTIVES: Contrast angiography can diagnose arterial occlusive disease but cannot provide hemodynamic data. Past work has attempted to calculate angiographic blood flow but clinical use has been limited by measurement error of >10%. Our hypothesis was that blood flow could be calculated from a contrast angiogram with METHODS: A pulsatile, in vitro hemodynamic simulator with a light-based angiographic imaging system (InfiMed, Inc.) was used as the testing platform. Flow rates were varied through increases in outflow resistance and were directly measured with a Transonic flow meter (+/-4% error). An algorithm was designed to determine instantaneous flow from DICOM images using a combination of automatic vessel detection, segmentation, and time of flight bolus tracking. These calculated flow rates were compared to those directly measured. RESULTS: The calculated flow rates (cc/min) were highly accurate when compared to those directly measured (4.1+/-3% error). Furthermore, time-density curves were accurate enough to detect relative changes in flow of 1.7 cc/sec reflecting changes in distal vascular resistance (Figure 1). CONCLUSION: We conclude that using this approach, blood flow can be angiographically measured with increased accuracy relative to prior work. This may provide clinically reliable hemodynamic data to guide diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.
Two-stage weighted intervened decision systems

This paper deals with the reliability and cost evaluation of a type of weighted voting systems under supervision. Both the input and output for each voting unit are binary, 0 or 1. In particular, the decision behavior of each unit is considered to be influenced and intervened by some control mechanism. In addition, the time for each unit to provide the result is a random variable and the probability that each unit will provide a correct result is a function of time. This system is called intervened decision system with weighted voting mechanism. This type of system can be encountered in many areas such as human decision systems, security systems and software development. The formulation and derivation of this paper is based on a human organization system and can be extended to other applications with some modification.
Laparoscopic Single-Site Inguinal Hernia Repair Using a Self-Fixating Mesh.

Background and objectives Every year ∼20 million inguinal hernia repairs are completed worldwide. Increased patient access to medical information and education has elicited interest in minimally invasive surgical techniques that obtain improved surgical outcomes and cosmesis. Because of these factors, there is a growing interest in single-incision surgery. Laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal (TEP) single-incision hernia repair technique has been reported with different meshes used in a tack fixation system. Recently, self-fixating mesh technology has offered the possibility of avoiding tack fixation and potentially avoiding chronic postoperative pain. Self-fixating mesh technology employs monofilament polylactic acid (PLA) creating a microgrip system that provides self-adherence of the mesh to adjacent tissue. This tack-free fixation system provides coverage over the entire myopectineal orifice and surrounding areas where traditional tacks cannot be placed. Self-fixating mesh has also been safely applied in laparoscopic TEP procedures, but this mesh has not been described in single site TEP surgery; possibly because of the potential difficulty with mesh deployment. We sought to determine the technical feasibility of a single-site laparoscopic TEP repair of inguinal hernias and to discuss our techniques and patient short-term outcomes. Methods Review of a prospectively maintained database of patients who received single-site laparoscopic TEP herniorrhaphy from August 2012 through August 2015. Patient characteristics and demographics and perioperative and postoperative data were analyzed. Results Thirty-four patients (aged 55.2 ±14.2; 17.6% women) with a mean body mass index of 26.2 ± 3.9 were analyzed. Mean operative time was 99.5 ± 30.5 minutes, 41.2% were left-side repairs, and 50% were bilateral. Estimated blood loss was 18.4 ± 14.1 mL. Recurrent hernias accounted for 14.7% of cases; 32.4% of cases were combination surgeries, most commonly a concurrent umbilical hernia repair. The most common short-term postoperative complication was urinary retention (4 patients). The median length of follow-up was 25 days (IQR 18.75-61.75). Complications occurring at >30 days included hydrocele (2 patients) and stitch abscess (1 patient). Eight (23.5%) patients had complications (surgical or during follow-up). No recurrences or deaths were reported. Conclusions With comparable operative times, perioperative outcomes, and safety profile, SS-TEP appears to be a safe and effective surgical approach for the management of inguinal hernias in the short term. Furthermore, SS-TEP with a self-fixating mesh is a feasible approach.
Understanding Regiodivergence in a Pd(II)-Mediated Site-Selective C–H Alkynylation

Although C–H functionalization is now established as a powerful tool for chemical synthesis, achieving site selectivity can be challenging, especially in complex systems. Here, we report regiodivergence in a Pd(II)-mediated C(sp2)–H alkynylation of substrates with β-carbolinamide and picolinamide as N,N-bidentate chelating groups on the basis of the identity of the TIPS alkyne halide coupling partner: TIPS alkyne bromides give δ-C(sp2)–H alkynylation products while TIPS alkyne iodides give γ-C(sp2)–H alkynylation products. Using an integrated experimental and computational approach, we examine the C–H alkynylation mechanism and determine the factors leading to the observed selectivity in great detail. We show that δ-palladation is kinetically favored over γ-palladation, whereas the latter is thermodynamically favored. However, equilibration of the palladacycles makes them both accessible as reactive intermediates. TIPS alkyne bromides react selectively with the six-membered palladacycle (from δ-palladatio...
Shift from stochastic to spatially-ordered expression of serine-glycine synthesis enzymes in 3D microtumors

Cell-to-cell differences in protein expression in normal tissues and tumors are a common phenomenon, but the underlying principles that govern this heterogeneity are largely unknown. Here, we show that in monolayer cancer cell-line cultures, the expression of the five metabolic enzymes of serine-glycine synthesis (SGS), including its rate-limiting enzyme, phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH), displays stochastic cell-to-cell variation. By contrast, in cancer cell line-derived three-dimensional (3D) microtumors PHGDH expression is restricted to the outermost part of the microtumors' outer proliferative cell layer, while the four other SGS enzymes display near uniform expression throughout the microtumor. A mathematical model suggests that metabolic stress in the microtumor core activates factors that restrict PHGDH expression. Thus, intracellular enzyme expression in growing cell ecosystems can shift to spatially ordered patterns in 3D structured environments due to emergent cell-cell communication, with potential implications for the design of effective anti-metabolic cancer therapies.
Nervous system disorders in prematurely born children with an extremely low body weight (clinical and magnetic resonance imaging comparisons)

Background . Today, a problem of the premature delivery remains the relevant in the whole world. The birth of children with extremely low weight increases the risk of mortality and incidence of cerebral palsy, cognitive delay and epilepsy . The aim of research is to evaluate the clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of the nervous system in children born with an extremely low body weight. Materials and methods. From January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2014, in Kherson region 209 children were born with an extremely low body weight, and 150 children died despite the timely implementation of the modern reanimation measures. In all survived children (n = 59), neurological status was evaluated, Denver Developmental Screening Test, MRI of the brain were performed. Results. Children born with extremely low body weight made up 0.21 % of all newborns and 5.24 % of preterm infants. The incidence of death cases among children with extremely low body weight remains high — 71.77 %. Cerebral palsy was diagnosed in 30 (50.85 %) children, epilepsy — in 11 (18.64 %), language and self-service delay was detected in 59 (100 %) children. According to the magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, 13 (22.03 %) children had the cystic lesions of the white matter of the brain, 37 (62.71 %) — focal pathological changes, 54 children (91.53 %) — ventricular dilation. Conclusions. Indicators of the brain volume of children born with an extremely low body weight are significantly lower than those of healthy children of the corresponding age. Timely standardized MRI of the brain provides early diagnosis of damage to the nervous system and prediction of future development of the child.
HOH: The Keystone of Earth’s Climate

Water has the structure HOH, whereby the hydrogen atoms are separated by about 104°; as a result the water molecule is more electrically positive on one side, negative on the other. This makes water molecules ‘stick’ and gives this common substance many unique properties. Water exists in three phases, gas (vapor), liquid (water), and solid (ice) on and near the surface of the Earth. Very large amounts of energy are involved in the change from one phase to another. Most of the water on Earth contains salt. Fresh and sea water behave differently as their temperature changes. Fresh water reaches its maximum density at about 4 °C, and becomes less dense as it approaches the freezing point. At a salinity of 27.4 ‰ the temperature of maximum density and the freezing point coincide. The average salinity of ocean water is about 34.5 ‰, so it gets denser and denser as it approaches the freezing point. Sea ice forms by snowflakes diluting a tiny amount of seawater so it can float and freeze. Ice, the sold phase, is less dense than water, the liquid phase. Ice covers the polar regions of Earth and is a powerful stabilizer of climate. Ice cores from Greenland and Antarctic contain not only an isotopic record of climate change, but bubbles containing the ancient atmosphere. Ice cores in Greenland go back about 100,000 years, in Antarctica about 700,000 years.