cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
PHOSPHATURIC MESENCHYMAL TUMOR IN THE MANDIBLE WITH ASSOCIATED ONCOGENIC OSTEOMALACIA: A CASE REPORT

Phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor (PMT) is a rare neoplasm that has been associated with oncogenic osteomalacia. This tumor secretes fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23). Although other mesenchymal tumors can cause oncogenic osteomalacia, PMT is the most common mesenchymal neoplasm associated with oncogenic osteomalacia and accounts for 80% of such cases. Most patients are adults and the tumor can affect both men and women. The most common location for the tumor is the lower extremities followed by the head and neck area. Patients typically present with diffuse bone pain, bone fractures, and progressive muscle weakness. The laboratory studies usually reveal increased levels of FGF-23, hyperphosphaturia, increased alkaline phosphatase, normal serum calcium and parathyroid hormone levels, normal to low levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and hypophosphatemia. The four common phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor microscopic subtypes are: phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor mixed connective tissue variant (PMTMCT), osteoblastoma-like variant, ossifying fibroma-like variant, and non-ossifying fibroma-like variant. The small size of this slow growing tumor and the non-specific clinical presentation may present a diagnostic challenge to clinicians. We present a case of a 48-year-old Haitian male who was diagnosed with PMT in the right angle of the mandible. Fewer than 15 cases of PMT presenting in the oral cavity have been reported in the literature. The clinical presentation, the laboratory findings, imaging characteristics, and the histopathologic features for this case are discussed along with the molecular genetic aspects, treatment and prognosis for this rare neoplasm.
ED Assembly: Introducing a Simple Method of Bringing Emergency Department Staff Together to Facilitate Improvement; A Report of a Real Experience.

Introduction: The emergency department (ED) at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (ASPH) is a medium size department which sees around 260-300 patients per day. As a result of sustained demand, we continue to struggle to meet the four hour waiting target and face similar challenges of those of ED’s nationally. Working in a busy ED is challenging and demanding. specific challenges around communication and risks arise directly from the unique contextual demands of the ED environment. Objective: Aim being to improve the productivity of the ED team and find a mechanism to create a more supportive and enjoyable working environment within the department. Method: Our clinical leadership started looking for answer to improve communication among team members and to create a platform where there was no hierarchy and all team members could be directly involved in problem solving. With the support of the quality improvement (QI) team, ED assembly was born. The assembly is a simple method of regularly bringing together staff to facilitate improvement and better team working. It is a platform for effective communication and innovation, in which there is no hierarchy and everyone is encouraged to contribute. Results: The assembly runs to a routine; every other Wednesday at 11am, the team come together for just half an hour. The agenda is set by the team in advance and everyone is encouraged to contribute their ideas and items they wish to contribute to others. Here are some examples of the quality improvement initiatives that have been born out of ED assembly: ED board rounds, coding information, overdose proforma, timely completion of standard investigations, access to fracture clinic appointments, nil-by-mouth communication, safety huddles, patient safety and sepsis, inclusive improvement, adoption of the ED assembly model by other teams and etc. Conclusion: ED assembly has supported many small but effective QI initiatives and regular communications support timely feedback on progress and update on plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles, resulting in changes in the everyday practice and improved pathways of patient care.
Selecting, evaluating, and translating psychophysiological measures into clinical settings: From lab to practice:

Physiological data collection methods are unobtrusive, passive, continuous, and objective. The information afforded by sensors collecting physiological data can be transformed to represent operator...
Integrating Biology With Rat Genomic Tools

Abstract Over the past decade there has been a wealth of resources, tools, and techniques developed for the rat. The availability of the rat genome sequence and the ability to do site-specific genome editing allows researchers to rapidly and accurately link biology to genome. Available gene expression data sets for dozens of commonly used rat strains across many tissues at different ages, and for male and female rats, add enormous power to the reference assembly and annotations. Well-characterized rat strains and panels of strains are providing the foundation for building models for precision medicine and systems genetics for complex traits. Bioinformatics resources, such as the Rat Genome Database, integrate gene, trait, pathway, disease, and drug/chemical interactions and provide software tools for analysis.
Application of Thallium Isotopes: Tracking Marine Oxygenation through Manganese Oxide Burial

Tracking initial ocean (de)oxygenation is critical to better constrain the coevolution of life and environment. Development of thallium isotopes has provided evidence to track the global manganese oxide burial which responds to early (de)oxygenation for short-term climate events. Modern oxic seawater thallium isotope values are recorded in organic-rich sediments deposited below an anoxic water column. An expansion of reducing conditions decrease manganese oxide burial and shifts the seawater thallium isotope composition more positive. Recent work documents that thallium isotopes are perturbed prior to carbon isotope excursions, suggesting ocean deoxygenation is a precursor for increased organic carbon burial. This Element provides an introduction to the application of thallium isotopes, case studies, and future directions.
Evaluating Distinct Sensations by Modulating High-Frequency Electrotactile Pulses for Unobtrusive Communication with IoT Devices

IoT devices that report information to a user, such as fitness trackers, exhibit a need for user feedback capable of communicating a wide range of messages in an unobtrusive manner. This paper describes the use of high-frequency electrotactile stimulation pulses for producing multiple distinct sensations within a limited messaging window of 0.5s that serve as unobtrusive and discreet feedback messages. Two experiments were conducted on willing participants using a custom electrotactile stimulator. Experiment 1 investigated the effectiveness of producing unique sensations by varying a compound electrotactile stimulation where a 1kHz pulse train is modulated by a frequency between 10Hz and 100Hz (mid-range frequencies). Results indicate that participants can discriminate midrange frequencies utilizing compound electrotactile stimulus composed of 1kHz pulses. Experiment 2 investigated the effectiveness of creating new sensations by modulating high-frequency pulse trains with a mid-range "Bundle" frequency of varying duty cycle. Results show that variations in Bundle frequency duty-cycle produced at least three distinct sensations that may be employed to produce distinct sensations. Such distinct electrotactile sensations permit unobtrusive communication between individuals and wearable IoT device.
Health Outcomes among Adults Initiating Medical Cannabis for Chronic Pain: A 3-month Prospective Study Incorporating Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA)

In response to the need of more rigorous data on medical cannabis and chronic pain, we conducted a 3-month prospective study incorporating ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine the effects of medical cannabis on pain, anxiety/depression, sleep, and quality of life. Data were collected from 46 adults (Mean age=55.7±11.9, 52.2% male) newly initiating medical cannabis treatment for chronic pain. Participants completed a baseline survey, EMA for approximately 1 week pre- and up to 3 weeks post- medical cannabis treatment, and a 3-month follow-up survey. The self-reported EMA data (2535 random and 705 daily assessments) indicated significant reductions in momentary pain intensity (b = -16.5, p < .001, 16.5 points reduction on 0-100 visual analog) and anxiety (b = -0.89, p < .05), and significant increase in daily sleep duration (b = 0.34, p < .01) and sleep quality (b = 0.32, p <.001) after participants initiated medical cannabis for a few weeks. At 3 months, self-reported survey data showed significantly lower levels of worst pain (t = -2.38, p < .05), pain interference (t = -3.82, p < .05), and depression (t = -3.43, p < .01), as well as increased sleep duration (t = 3.95, p < .001), sleep quality (t = -3.04, p < .01), and quality of life (t = 4.48, p < .001) compared to baseline. In our sample of primarily middle-aged and older adults with chronic pain, medical cannabis was associated with reduced pain intensity/inference, lower anxiety/depression, and improved sleep and quality of life.
Native Responses to European Intrusion: Cultural Persistence and Agency among Mission Neophytes in Spanish Colonial Northern California

Archaeological and ethnohistorical data associated with five northern California Spanish missions are synthesized in order to explore postcontact Ohlone native cultural continuity during the first half century (ca. 1775–1825) of Roman Catholic proselytizing and recruitment. Although the vast majority of native converts occupied a marginal position within Spanish colonial society, it is argued that many of them implemented specific strategies in order to benefit from the mission system while still maintaining a semitraditional cultural orientation. The Franciscan order’s practice of granting seasonal leaves (paseos) to neophytes is viewed as a critical factor that facilitated the retention of an aboriginal worldview amidst the confusion and uncertainty of colonization.
Elastic collisions of interstellar helium atoms with solar wind protons

[1] Relative motion of the Sun with respect to the surrounding local interstellar medium results in entering of interstellar helium atoms into the heliosphere. Current models of helium flowing into the solar system do not include elastic collisions of atoms with solar wind ions. It was predicted in 1986, without quantitative elaboration, that such collisions would enhance wings of directional distributions of helium atom fluxes. This paper focuses on a theoretical treatment of elastic collisions of interstellar He atoms with the solar wind protons resulting in increased wing intensities, called the helium flux halo in contradistinction to the flux core. We concentrate on directional distributions of He atom intensities at 1 AU from the Sun for observers at rest and moving with the Earth and confirm the formation of the flux halo. We show that the collision-produced halo would often dominate He atom intensities at angles larger than 30°–35° from the maximum intensity direction in the flux core. A comparison with direct measurements of interstellar helium atom fluxes is beyond the scope of this paper.
Reducing error accumulation effect in multithreaded memory systems

Chip multithreading is exposed to dual challenges of increasing chip complexity and design variations. It is important to develop effective reliability-enhancing schemes to ensure robust computing. In this paper, we propose the immediate write-back and self-recovery schemes to reduce error accumulation effect in multithreaded memory systems. These schemes are built upon the previously proposed dynamic multithreading redundancy technique for improving reliability in multithreaded architectures. The idea of DMR is to exploit self-generated hardware redundancy due to inter-thread variations inherent in multithreaded architectures. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed solutions improve error-control performance with minimal hardware overheads. The proposed immediate write-back and self-recovery schemes also feature good scalability for future process generations.
The Application of a Knowledge-Based Expert System to Chemical Plant Fault Diagnosis

The architecture of a system for rapid, accurate diagnosis of the cause or causes of upsets in an operating chemical plant is developed. The system combines algorithmic and expert system techniques. An algorithm identifies the primary process variable deviation and an expert system lists the most probable faults that could produce that upset and recommends corrective action. The algorithm is insensitive to alarm level settings, does not depend on pre-defined alarm patterns, utilizes a modular architecture for easy adaptability to new plant settings, accounts for the dynamics of fault propagation, and can diagnose multiple faults occurring simultaneously in the plant. The expert system allows knowledge about the equipment and process to be utilized in diagnosis.
Cardiospasm in association with pregnancy

Abstract A case of cardiospasm of severe degree seen in conjunction with pregnancy is presented. This association should be considered a serious complication and may result in a progressive deterioration of the patient's condition, probably fostered by the pregnancy. The oversight of gastrointestinal conditions occurring with pregnancy has been pointed out and an appeal is made for more careful and detailed studies of pregnant women with gastrointestinal complaints. These studies should include gastrointestinal x-rays, esophagoscopy, gastroscopy, and gastric analysis.
Did FDICIA Enhance Market Discipline? A Look at Evidence from the Jumbo-CD Market

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (FDICIA) forced uninsured creditors such as jumbo-CD holders to bear more of the losses from bank failures. Because no other federal laws affecting loss exposure took effect in the surrounding years, the Act offers a natural experiment for assessing the supervisory returns from greater reliance on debt markets to police bank risk. Accordingly, we examine the sensitivity of jumbo-CD yields and run-offs to risk before and after FDICIA as well as the implied impact of any risk penalties on bank profitability. The evidence indicates that yields and run-offs were risk sensitive in both periods, but that this sensitivity was always economically small and, more importantly, was not significantly higher after the Act. These findings suggest that raising the deposit-insurance ceiling would not - at least in the current institutional and economic environment - exacerbate moral hazard. More importantly, they also suggest that operationalizing debt-market discipline as pillar of bank supervision could prove more difficult than previously thought.
Sensible agent technology improving coordination and communication in biosurveillance domains

Protecting the population from chemical-biological attacks and outbreaks of infectious disease is a fundamental goal of government entities such as the Center for Disease Control (CDC), as well as state and local health agencies. Early warning is critical for saving lives and implementing an effective response, including characterizing disease sources, preventing proliferation, and treating patients. However, such biosurveillance activities are inherently challenging due to a number of complications: • Coordinating participants and disseminating information: Biosurveillance requires coordination between local, state, and federal authorities. Local entities such as treatment facilities must collect information and disseminate to decision-making entities, constrained by communication costs as well as time. • Determining the relevance and reliability of information: The ability of a treatment facility to offer a diagnosis with high confidence is in part a function of resources and expertise at their disposal. Thus, entities receiving symptom and diagnosis information must determine information relevance qualified by source reliability. • Drawing epidemiological conclusions from symptoms and diagnoses: Significant expertise is required to analyze symptoms and diagnoses to assess public risk. Such assessments consider an entire region, drawing together information from all contributing sources. Often few epidemiologists are responsible for monitoring a large area, resulting in analysis and communication overload. To support epidemiologists and increase the effectiveness of biosurveillance activities, the Laboratory for Intelligent Processes and Systems at the University of Texas at Austin (UT:LIPS) is applying its Sensible Agent (SA) multi-agent system (MAS) technology to the biosurveillance domain. Specific SA features and their applicability to the biosurveillance domain follow:
Factors affecting HIV contraceptive decision-making among women

We examined contraceptive decision-making among African American, Latina, and European American women ages 18–50 years. Logistic regressions examined relationships between demographic and religious factors, unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), reasons for sex, and contraceptive decision-making. Women who were older, single, African American, used pregnancy prevention, and had histories of STDs and unintended pregnancies made contraceptive decisions alone. Older and African American women were more likely to choose no contraception. Among contraceptive users, African Americans used effective methods of pregnancy, but not disease, prevention. Women with STD histories, and younger, more educated women were more likely to use methods that prevent against both pregnancy and disease. Theoretical implications about contraceptive choices among ethnically diverse women are discussed.
Double-Scope Stories

Narrative and blending are two of the most central higher order operations of the cognitively modern human mind. This article explores how they work together.
Hadroproduction of Charm and Beauty

Recent results on the hadroproduction of charm and beauty are discussed in the context of the current theoretical and experimental status. The areas covered include production of open charm and beauty particles and charm and beauty quarkonia. Experimental results from both fixed target and colliding beam experiments are presented and compared to theoretical predictions. Predictions based on QCD perturbation theory are generally successful in explaining the shapes of differential cross sections but underestimate the scale of the cross section by factors of 2-3. An exception is production of the vector meson quarkonia which cannot be satisfactorily explained by perturbative processes alone.
Time series methods for forecasting electricity market pricing

The objective of this work is to gain understanding of interactions between the predictability of electricity price under new market regulations and the engineering aspects of large scale electric power systems. There are numerous practical difficulties in allowing financial mechanisms to direct investments and operations for the generation and distribution of electricity. The electric commodity must be generated, distributed and consumed in real-time under strict physical laws and extremely high reliability requirements. This process is far more exacting and complex then the distribution of traditional commodities, such as oil or agricultural products. Clearly, assessing the effectiveness of deregulated markets is of extreme importance.
The Genes raw and ribbon Are Required for Proper Shape of Tubular Epithelial Tissues in Drosophila

The products of two genes, raw and ribbon (rib), are required for the proper morphogenesis of a variety of tissues. Malpighian tubules mutant for raw or rib are wider and shorter than normal tubules, which are only two cells in circumference when they are fully formed. The mutations alter the shape of the tubules beginning early in their formation and block cell rearrangement late in development, which normally lengthens and narrows the tubes. Mutations of both genes affect a number of other tissues as well. Both genes are required for dorsal closure and retraction of the CNS during embryonic development. In addition, rib mutations block head involution, and broaden and shorten other tubular epithelia (salivary glands, tracheae, and hindgut) in much same manner as they alter the shape of the Malpighian tubules. In tissues in which the shape of cells can be observed readily, rib mutations alter cell shape, which probably causes the change in shape of the organs that are affected. In double mutants raw enhances the phenotypes of all the tissues that are affected by rib but unaffected by raw alone, indicating that raw is also active in these tissues.
Yukon River Basin long-term (1977–2006) hydrologic and climatic analysis

In this study, long-term discharge data and climate records, such as temperature and precipitation during 1977–2006, have been used to define basin climatic and hydrologic regimes and changes. Discharge analyses at four key gauging stations (Eagle, Stevens Village, Nenana, and Pilot Station) in the Yukon River Basin show that the runoff in the cold season (November to April) is low with small variations, whereas it is high (28 500–177 000 ft3/s; 810–5000 m3/s) with high fluctuations in the warm season (May to October). The Stevens Village Station is in the upper basin and has similar changes with the flow near basin outlet. Flow increases in May (61 074 ft3/s; 1729 m3/s) and September (23 325 ft3/s; 660 m3/s); and decreases in July (35 174 ft3/s; 996 m3/s) and August (6809 ft3/s; 193 m3/s). Discharge in May at the Pilot Station (near the basin outlet) shows a positive trend (177 000 ft3/s; 5010 m3/s). Daily flow analyses show high fluctuation during the warm season and very low flow during the cold season; the 10-year average analyses of daily flow at Pilot Station show a small increase in the peak and its timing shifted to a little earlier date. The annual flow, average of 227 900 ft3/s (6450 m3/s) with high inter-annual fluctuations, has increased by 18 200 ft3/s (or 8%; 520 m3/s) during 1977–2006. From 1977 to 2006, basin air temperature in June has increased by 3.9 °F (2.2 °C) and decreased by 10.5 °F (5.8 °C) in January. A strong and positive correlation exists between air temperature in April and discharge in May, whereas a strong and negative correlation relates August temperature and September discharge. Negative trend during 1977–2006 is observed for precipitation in June (0.6 in.; 15 mm) with a confidence over 93%. Precipitation in August and September has strong and positive correlations with discharge in September and October at basin outlet; the precipitation in other months has weak correlation with the discharge. The mean annual precipitation during 1977–2006 increased by 1.1 in. (or 8%; 28 mm), which contributes to the annual flow increase during the study period. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Über die massenspektrometrische Identifizierung zinnorganischer Radiolyseprodukte

Die wichtigsten einfachen Produkte der Radiolyse von Dimethyldiathylzinn wurden gaschromatographisch getrennt und anschliesend massenspektrometrisch untersucht. Der Vergleich der monoisotopischen Massenspektren mit denen der Verbindungen der Reihe (CH3)aSn(C2H5)4−a zeigt, das die Haupt-Radiolyseprodukte der genannten Verbindung Tetramethylzinn, Trimethylathylzinn und Triathylmethylzinn sind. The most important simple products in radiolysis of dimethyl-diethyltin were separated gas-chromatographically, then investigated by mass spectrometry. A comparison of the monoisotopic mass spectra with the spectra of the compounds of the sequence (CH3)aSn(C2H5)4−a shows, that the most predominant products in radiolysis of dimethyldiethyltin are tetramethyltin, trimethylethyltin and triethylmethyltin.
You Don’t Look Like a Librarian: Shattering Stereotypes and Creating Positive New Images in the Internet Age

So what is it with this obsession librarians have about our image? Iâ€™ve been a librarian for more than thirty years and never felt a compulsion to worry about my image. Of course, although I migh...
Angiotensin II stimulates the autocrine production of transforming growth factor-β1 in adult rat cardiac fibroblasts

Angiotensin II (Ang II) has been implicated in the development of cardiac hypertrophy and myocardial fibrosis. While recent in vivo and in vitro studies performed in cultured cardiac myocytes and fibroblasts support this role for Ang II, the mechanisms of Ang II action at the cellular level remain unclear. In the present study, we postulated that Ang II action in adult cardiac fibroblasts may stimulate the autocrine production and release of transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1), a known regulator of cardiac fibroblast and myocyte function. We examined the ability of Ang II to regulate the gene expression, biological activity, and protein production of TGF-beta 1 in cultured adult rat cardiac fibroblasts. Treatment of fibroblast cultures with Ang II (10(-9) M) induced a two-fold increase in TGF-beta 1 mRNA levels within 4 h that was sustained through 24 h (P < 0.01). TGF-beta 1-like activity in Ang II-treated cultures was significantly increased compared with control as measured by bioassay (P < 0.001). Specificity for TGF-beta 1-like activity was confirmed through its neutralization with a TGF-beta 1 specific antibody (100 micrograms/ml). Total concentration of TGF-beta 1 (latent plus active forms) in conditioned media from Ang II-treated cardiac fibroblasts was also found to be greater than control (P < 0.01). These findings suggest that the effects of Ang II in the adult myocardium may be mediated in part by autocrine/paracrine mechanisms, including the production and release of TGF-beta 1 by cardiac fibroblasts.
Effect of lasalocid or monensin on lactate production from in vitro rumen fermentation of various carbohydrates

Abstract Lasalocid and monensin effectively reduced the lactate produced during in vitro fermentation of various sugars and ground grains with rumen fluid from either hay- or grain-fed cattle. The minimum effective dose was 6 μ g/ml. Both lasalocid and monensin at 6 μ g/ml reduced the fermentation rate of glucose, fructose, galactose, sucrose, lactate, mannose, ground corn, ground sorghum, and ground wheat, and raised the pH and substantially lowered lactate concentration compared with controls. Although both antibiotics decreased total lactate production, the proportion of D(−) lactate to L(+) lactate increased. Apparently both antibiotics were less inhibitory to the formation of D(−) than to L(+) lactate isomer. Lasalocid was more effective than monensin in inhibiting lactate production except when rumen fluid from grain-fed cattle was used in fermentation.
Factors Associated With Caregiver Reports of Sleep Disturbances in Persons With Dementia

Objective: This investigation examined the relationship between caregivers’ reports of sleep disturbances in persons with Alzheimer disease (AD) and actigraphic records of patients’ sleep–wake activity, and explored the factors associated with discrepancies in this relationship. Method: Forty-six patients with AD living with their caregivers participated. Before study entry, all caregivers reported poor patient sleep quality using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) Nighttime Behavior Scale. Patient sleep–wake activity was recorded for one week using an Actillume wrist-movement recorder. Results: Although all patients were reported by caregivers to have multiple sleep disturbances, 41% of patients had actigraphic sleep efficiencies in the normal range and 43% averaged eight or more hours of sleep nightly. In bivariate analyses, greater patient percent nighttime sleep (indicative of more discrepancy between subjective reports and objective outcomes) was associated with less patient cognitive, physical and functional impairment, lower self-rated depression, higher self-rated quality of life, and less daytime sleepiness. No patient variable significantly predicted total patient nocturnal sleep time. In both bivariate and multivariate analyses, greater patient percent sleep and total sleep time were also associated with caregiver factors, particularly greater use of criticism as a behavior management strategy. Conclusion: The study suggests that both patient and caregiver factors contribute to reported sleep problems in community-dwelling patients with AD, and that caregiver reports and objective sleep assessments frequently may not agree. Treatments should consider these dyadic contributions rather than focusing on caregiver reports of patient symptoms alone. (Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2006; 14:112–120)
Mass resolution of 11,000 to 22,000 with a multiple pass quadrupole mass analyzer

CO+ and N2+ are separated with resolution of 11,000 [full width half maximum (FWHM)] using a conventional quadrupole mass spectrometer by applying square wave voltages to the entrance and exit lenses to trap or reflect the ions for multiple passes. A resolution of 22,000 (FWHM) with 63% of the total signal remaining is attained using multiple passes when ions are stored between injection pulses. Gated ion extraction also reduces the mass shift and number and intensity of artifact peaks and permits better resolution compared to the performance obtained when the ions are injected continuously.
Dobutamine echocardiography in predicting improvement in global left ventricular systolic function after coronary bypass or angioplasty in patients with healed myocardial infarcts

The aim of this study was to determine whether low-dose dobutamine echocardiography (DE) could predict quantitative improvement in global left ventricular (LV) systolic function after coronary revascularization. Low-dose DE was performed in 71 consecutive patients with coronary artery disease and LV dysfunction. Successful coronary bypass surgery or angioplasty was performed in 44 patients, 37 of whom had a resting echocardiogram 1 to 3 months afterward. Group A consisted of 20 patients with contractile reserve during DE, and group B consisted of 17 patients without contractile reserve. As expected, regional wall motion score index (mean +/- SD) improved in group A (1.62 +/- 0.39 to 1.38 +/- 0.31, p < 0.01) but not group B (1.56 +/- 0.42 to 1.57 +/- 0.41, p = NS). In addition, LV ejection fraction (LVEF) improved after bypass surgery or angioplasty in group A (38 +/- 5% to 42 +/- 5%, p < 0.01), but not in group B (38 +/- 7% to 39 +/- 8%, p = NS). In group A, a significant linear correlation was observed between the number of segments with contractile reserve and the improvement in LVEF (r = 0.91, p < 0.0001). A good correlation also existed between the improvement in regional wall motion score index during dobutamine infusion and the improvement in LVEF after bypass surgery or angioplasty (r = 0.90, p < 0.0001). In conclusion, low-dose DE can be used to predict quantitative improvement in global LV systolic function after coronary bypass or angioplasty.
Special methods for problems whose oscillatory solution is damped

This paper introduces methods tailored especially for problems whose solution behaves like e^@l^x, where @l is complex. The shallow water equations with topography admit such solution. This paper complements the results of Pratt and others on exponential- fitted methods and those of Gautschi, Neta, van der Houwen and others on trigonometrically-fitted methods.
An alternative extraction procedure for the isolation of sporidesmin from Pithomyces chartarum

Abstract An alternative bulk extraction method has been developed for the isolation of sporidesmin from ryecorn cultures of Pithomyces chartarum (Berk. & Curt.) M. B. Ellis. Based on 32 consecutive extractions, an average yield of 165.5 mg sporidesmin-benzene solvate per kg ofculture material was achieved, representing a 28-65% increase in yield over previously published results. Furthermore, the extraction process is rapid and can be conducted under normal laboratory conditions without significant loss of sporidesmin through degradation.
Soil Water Sensor Accuracy for Predicting Seedling Emergence Using a Hydrothermal Time Model

Hydrothermal time models are used to predict seed germination over time in seedling establishment models. Soil matric potential data from three resistance-type sensors (Colman cells [Soiltest, Inc. Lakebluff, Illinois, USA], Watermark brand sensors [Irrometer Co., Riverside, California, USA], and Delmhorst gypsum blocks [Delmhorst Instrument Company, Towaco, New Jersey, USA]), from a time-domain reflectometry (TDR) probe (Campbell Scientific 615 [Campbell Scientific, Inc., Logan, Utah, USA]), and from gravimetric sampling of the seed zone were input into a hydrothermal time model to determine if we could accurately predict seedling emergence over time in a growth chamber experiment for six desert grass species. Seeds were sown in a structureless sandy loam soil which received four different irrigation amounts and was allowed to dry in a growth chamber programmed to simulate spring soil temperatures in Provo, Utah. Cells and gypsum blocks were more sensitive to soil surface drying than Watermark sensors an...
Democratic Consolidation: Participation and Attitudes Toward Democracy in Taiwan and South Korea

AbstractIn this paper, I consider the transitions of Taiwan and South Korea to democracy. Specifically, I study why citizens in these newly democratic systems engage in conventional forms of participation as an indicator of consolidation. Using much of the existing literature on participation, I test hypotheses that frame the decisions to participate through conventional forms as a function of internal feelings of efficacy, or political engagement, mobilization by parties and social capital. I use a series of hierarchical linear models to assess Waves 2 and 3 data from the 2005–2010 Asian Barometer and find considerable support for political engagement, party attachment, and social connections in spurring on participation. In addition, while respondents offer limited support for democratic institutions, they espouse liberal attitudes; this reflects the large presence of “critical citizens” in these places (Norris 1999; Chu and Huang 2010). Though fragile, there are indications of meaningful democratic pro...
A solid-phase fluoroimmunoassay for the quantitation of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii.

Abstract A solid-phase fluoroimmunoassay (FIAX®) for the detection and quantitation of human antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii is described. The method is a modification of the procedure of Walls and Barnhart [1] which differs from the earlier test in that it uses a dual rather than single surface StiQTM Sampler, having both an antigen and a control surface. Each sampler is carried through four steps: reaction with diluted serum, a buffer wash, reaction with FITC-labeled goat anti-human IgG, and a final buffer wash. The fluorescence of each surface is measured using a dedicated surface-reading fluorometer. Serum titers are interpolated from a standard curve. The antibody titers of 233 sera were determined by both the indirect immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) and the FIAX® assays. The titers determined by the two tests agreed within one four-fold dilution for 226 (97%) of the sera. For replicates (n = 21) of the sera with low, mid and high antibody titers the coefficients of variation were 13.6, 10.0, and 12.3% respectively.
Heterogeneity of collagen synthesis in normal and systemic sclerosis skin fibroblasts. Increased proportion of high collagen-producing cells in systemic sclerosis fibroblasts.

OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to quantitatively analyze the distribution of collagen synthesis in normal and systemic sclerosis (SSc) fibroblast populations in order to determine the extent of activation in SSc populations. METHODS We used quantitative in situ hybridization to assess the population distribution of type I collagen synthesis. Fibroblast cultures were derived from both clinically involved and uninvolved skin regions of patients with SSc, and from healthy adults, and assessed for levels of alpha 1(I) procollagen messenger RNA (mRNA). RESULTS Dermal fibroblasts from both patients with SSc and normal adults were heterogeneous for distribution of alpha 1(I) procollagen mRNA when assessed by in situ hybridization, with a wide range of grains per cell. In contrast, clones of neonatal fibroblasts showed a relatively homogeneous distribution of grain counts. Involved SSc skin fibroblasts had a larger proportion of cells in the high collagen-producing mRNA subpopulation (mean +/- SEM 28.4 +/- 6.85%), compared with normal fibroblasts (1.75 +/- 1.44%) and uninvolved fibroblasts (9.6 +/- 6.73%). Conversely, within the low collagen-producing mRNA subpopulation, involved fibroblasts had a smaller proportion of cells (mean +/- SEM 14.0 +/- 5.63%) than did uninvolved fibroblasts (37.8 +/- 13.69%), while normal fibroblasts had a majority of the cells in this subpopulation (53.5 +/- 8.68%). CONCLUSION These results suggest that only a specific subset of fibroblasts are activated in SSc, as evidence by an increased proportion of cells with high levels of alpha 1(I) procollagen mRNA. Differences between the SSc and normal fibroblast populations appeared to be quantitative rather than qualitative. This may be a result of either clonal selection or selective activation in the pathogenesis of SSc.
Protection from O,O,S-trimethyl phosphorothioate-induced immune suppression.

Abstract Acute administration of nontoxic doses of an impurity in technical malathion, O,O,S-trimethyl phosphorothioate (OOS-TMP), was able to block the in vitro generation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) to alloantigen and antibody-secreting cells (Ab) to sheep red blood cells (SRBC). The effects of an antagonist of the delayed toxicity and lung damage of OOS-TMP, O,O,O-trimethyl phosphorothionate (OOO-TMP), and pretreatment of tolerance-inducing doses of OOS-TMP on OOS-TMP-induced immune suppression were examined. Treatment groups included (A) acute administration of OOO-TMP, (B) coadministration of OOO-TMP with OOS-TMP (at concentrations which have been shown previously to block lung toxicity), (C) repeated (4 × on consecutive days) administration of OOS-TMP (which was shown previously to block a lung toxicity which occurs following a challenge with OOS-TMP) and (D) repeated administration of OOS-TMP followed by a challenge dose of OOS-TMP 24 h before death. There was no change in lymphoid organ size following any of these treatments. However, splenocytes from animals that were exposed to treatment regimes A, B and D had significantly elevated proliferative responses to mitogens concanavalin A (ConA) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The ability of splenocytes to generate an Ab response to SRBC was significantly elevated following treatment regime A and at the lower dose in treatment regime D. All other treatment protocols did not alter this immune parameter. There was no difference in the ability of splenocytes to generate a CTL response following these treatment regimes. In conclusion, the degree of protection from immune suppression by these treatments which have been shown to protect against lung toxicity varied with the sensitivity of the immune parameters to suppression by acute administration of OOS-TMP.
Damping of System Oscillations with a Hydrogenerating Unit

Stabilization of the initial interconnection across Utah and Arizona between the Northwest and Southwest power systems has been aided by damping torques generated through special control of a unit in Grand Coulee powerplant in Washington. The special control is derived from local frequency, using the phase advance of the first derivative to offset the inherent lags of the hydro unit. The scheme is proving capable in augmenting the stabilizing effort from the limited amount of suitable fast response steam capacity available.
Cause for controversy? Infliximab in the treatment of ulcerative colitis: an update

Infliximab is a monoclonal antibody against tumor necrosis factor (TNF) which has become an established therapy for Crohn’s disease over the last 10 years. Given the similarities between Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (UC), it is no surprise that gastroenterologists have used infliximab in patients with UC who have failed other therapies. Although the initial controlled trials with infliximab in steroid-refractory disease were unimpressive, subsequent controlled trials have demonstrated the efficacy of infliximab in both moderate to severe disease, and as rescue-therapy to avoid colectomy. The long-term remission rates, colectomy-sparing effects, and the impact of concomitant immunomodulator therapy, remain to be determined in these patients. Whether infliximab is a superior strategy to cyclosporine in patients with steroid-refractory disease is controversial. This review examines the data on the efficacy and safety of infliximab as an induction and maintenance agent for UC.
AOP as a formal framework for runtime monitoring

Creating instrumentation for runtime monitoring has typically required expertise in some low-level capabilities and how to integrate them into an application program. This thesis proposes that runtime monitoring would be much easier if it could be performed at a high level, and furthermore that aspect-oriented programming (AOP) is a good abstraction to raise runtime monitoring to a more abstract level. Our thesis will extend the ideas and implementations of AOP to show that AOP is the ideal high level abstraction for effectively and efficiently meeting the needs of runtime monitoring.
Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy leads the U.S. utilization of bariatric surgery at academic medical centers

Abstract Background Analysis of a recent single state bariatric surgery registry revealed that laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy was the most common bariatric procedure starting in 2012. The objective of this study was to examine the trend in utilization of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy performed at academic medical centers in the United States. Methods Using ICD-9 diagnosis and procedure codes, clinical data obtained from the University HealthSystem Consortium database for all bariatric procedures performed for the treatment of severe obesity between October 1, 2011, and June 30, 2014. Quarterly trends in utilization for the 4 most commonly performed bariatric operations were examined, and comparisons between procedures were performed. Results A total of 54,953 bariatric procedures were performed. Utilization of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy increased from 23.7% of all bariatric procedures during the fourth quarter of 2011 to 60.7% during the second quarter of 2014 while laparoscopic gastric bypass decreased from 62.2% to 37.0%, respectively. Utilization of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy surpassed that of laparoscopic gastric bypass in the second quarter of 2013 (50.6% versus 45.8%). During the same time period, utilization of open gastric bypass fell from 6.6% to 1.5%, and the use of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding decreased from 7.5% to .8%. Conclusions Within the context of U.S. academic medical centers, there has been a significant increase in the utilization of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, which has surpassed laparoscopic gastric bypass utilization since 2013. Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is now the most commonly performed bariatric procedure at the national level within academic centers.
Second-order cone programming

Second-order cone programming (SOCP) problems are convex optimization problems in which a linear function is minimized over the intersection of an affine linear manifold with the Cartesian product of second-order (Lorentz) cones. Linear programs, convex quadratic programs and quadratically constrained convex quadratic programs can all be formulated as SOCP problems, as can many other problems that do not fall into these three categories. These latter problems model applications from a broad range of fields from engineering, control and finance to robust optimization and combinatorial optimization. On the other hand semidefinite programming (SDP)—that is the optimization problem over the intersection of an affine set and the cone of positive semidefinite matrices—includes SOCP as a special case. Therefore, SOCP falls between linear (LP) and quadratic (QP) programming and SDP. Like LP, QP and SDP problems, SOCP problems can be solved in polynomial time by interior point methods. The computational effort per iteration required by these methods to solve SOCP problems is greater than that required to solve LP and QP problems but less than that required to solve SDP’s of similar size and structure. Because the set of feasible solutions for an SOCP problem is not polyhedral as it is for LP and QP problems, it is not readily apparent how to develop a simplex or simplex-like method for SOCP. While SOCP problems can be solved as SDP problems, doing so is not advisable both on numerical grounds and computational complexity concerns. For instance, many of the problems presented in the survey paper of Vandenberghe and Boyd [VB96] as examples of SDPs can in fact be formulated as SOCPs and should be solved as such. In §2, 3 below we give SOCP formulations for four of these examples: the convex quadratically constrained quadratic programming (QCQP) problem, problems involving fractional quadratic functions ∗RUTCOR, Rutgers University, e-mail:alizadeh@rutcor.rutgers.edu. Research supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation grant CCR-9901991 †IEOR, Columbia University, e-mail: gold@ieor.columbia.edu. Research supported in part by the Department of Energy grant DE-FG02-92ER25126, National Science Foundation grants DMS-94-14438, CDA-97-26385 and DMS-01-04282.
Prenatal opiate exposure attenuates LPS-induced fever in adult rats: Role of interleukin-1β

Much is known about the immunomodulatory effects of opiate exposure and withdrawal in adult rats. However, little research has delved into understanding the immunological consequences of prenatal opiate exposure and postnatal withdrawal. The purpose of the current study was to measure changes in responding to immune stimulation in adult rats following prenatal opiate exposure. Further, we sought to characterize the role of interleukin (IL)-1β in these changes. Following prenatal exposure to the long-acting opiate l-alpha-acetylmethadol (LAAM), adult male and female rats were assessed for their fever response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Blood and tissue samples were collected to measure circulating IL-1β and IL-1β protein in the hypothalamus and spleen. Prenatal LAAM exposure resulted in a blunted fever response to LPS injection without any changes in basal body temperature or in response to saline injection. Circulating IL-1β was not affected by prenatal LAAM exposure, nor was IL-1β protein in the spleen. Interestingly, mature IL-1β protein was elevated in the hypothalamus of prenatally LAAM-treated rats. These results indicate that prenatal opiate exposure blunts the fever response of adult offspring. Direct action of IL-1β is likely not the cause of the dysfunction reported here. However, alterations in signaling mechanisms downstream from IL-1β may play a role in the altered fever response in adult rats treated prenatally with opiates.
Sky color near the horizon during a total solar eclipse

A theory for the color of the sky near the horizon for an observer in the umbral region of a total solar eclipse is presented. The model uses a Rayleigh scattering atmosphere, and the light reaching the observer is a beam of singly scattered sunlight, which, in turn, has suffered depletion by scattering in its passage from outside the shadow region. The model predicts both the red color observed in the lowest 8° of the sky for the total solar eclipse of 30 June 1973 and the enriched blue color of the sky at any elevation angle greater than the solar elevation angle. The model is also adapted to explain the reddening of the horizon sky observed during such times as when a dark cloud passes overhead or when the light from a large city is seen from the distance at night.