cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Scores Based on Dangerous Responses to Multiple-Choice Items

Scores based on the number of correct answers were compared with scores based on dangerous responses to items in the same multiple-choice test. The dangerous options were identified by content experts as representing responses to items that could cause significant harm to a physician's patients. The results of the study showed evidence for construct validity of both sets of scores. However, the total test scores and the dangerous option scores were completely redundant measures when evaluated by a correlation coefficient, corrected for unreliability. Therefore, unless more reliable dangerous options scores can be developed from afuture test, and unless these scores can be shown not to be redundant with the total test scores, the total test scores must remain the preferred choice for evaluating certification candidates.
Comparative Modification of Antigen-Induced Bronchoconstriction by the Calcium Antagonists, Nifedipine and Verapamil

We compared the effects of the two calcium antagonists, nifedipine and verapamil, on baseline airway function and antigen-induced bronchoconstriction in asymptomatic subjects with ragweed hypersensitivity and a history of bronchial asthma. Twelve subjects received a single oral dose of 20 mg of nifedipine or 160 mg of verapamil before inhalation with ragweed antigen. Mean specific airway conductance, a measurement of airway obstruction, was not affected by either agent; nifedipine caused bronchodilatation in two subjects, and verapamil was followed by slight bronchoconstriction in another subject Nifedipine partially or completely blocked the antigen-induced bronchoconstriction in 67 percent (8/12) of the subjects (p
Expression of Configurational Knowledge of Large-Scale Environments Students' Performance of Cognitive Tasks

The expression of students' configurational knowledge of their university campus was investigated in the context of a direction and distance estimation task using a projective convergence technique, which involved the coordination of estimates made from multiple standpoints. Analyses of results indicated few differences between freshmen and upperclassmen with regard to performance in the environment itself but superior performance by upperclassmen when the task was performed as a perspective-taking task in the laboratory. Issues concerning the basis for sex differences in macrospatial ability and the relationship between spatial knowledge and the experimental tasks used to externalize that knowledge are also discussed.
Selective capture and replay of program executions

In this paper, we present a technique for selective capture and replay of program executions. Given an application, the technique allows for (1) selecting a subsystem of interest, (2) capturing at runtime all the interactions between such subsystem and the rest of the application, and (3) replaying the recorded interactions on the subsystem in isolation. The technique can be used in several scenarios. For example, it can be used to generate test cases from users' executions, by capturing and collecting partial executions in the field. For another example. it can be used to perform expensive dynamic analyses off-line. For yet another example, it can be used to extract subsystem or unit tests from system tests. Our technique is designed to be efficient, in that we only capture information that is relevant to the considered execution. To this end, we disregard all data that, although flowing through the boundary of the subsystem of interest, do not affect the execution. In the paper, we also present a preliminary evaluation of the technique performed using SCARPE, a prototype tool that implements our approach.
Long-term survival of patients with malignant ventricular arrhythmia treated with antiarrhythmic drugs☆

Abstract The protective effect of antiarrhythmic agents for patients with malignant ventricular arrhythmia (defined as noninfarction ventricular fibrillation or sustained hemodynamically compromising ventricular tachycardia) remains uncertain. We have analyzed survival among 123 such patients (98 males, 25 females, average age 53.6 years) dependent on the abolition by antiarrhythmic drugs of salvos of ventricular tachycardia and R-on-T ventricular premature beats (Lown grades 4B and 5). Over an average follow-up of 29.6 months there were 35 deaths (11.2 percent annual mortality rate) of whom 23 patients succumbed suddenly (8.2 percent annual mortality rate). Among 98 patients in whom antiarrhythmic drugs abolished grades 4B and 5 ventricular premature beats, only 6 sudden deaths occurred for a 2.3 percent annual mortality rate. Of the 25 patients in whom advanced ventricular premature beats were not controlled, 17 died suddenly. Seventy-nine patients had left ventricular studies suitable for analysis. Among 44 patients with left ventricular dysfunction, control of ventricular premature beats was a critical element predicting survival. The annual sudden death rate for the 12 noncontrolled patients with left ventricular dysfunction was 41 percent contrasting with only 3.1 percent for the 32 patients with similar abnormalities in ventricular function in whom advanced ventricular premature beats were abolished. It is concluded that antiarrhythmic drugs can protect against the recurrence of life-threatening arrhythmias in patients who have manifest ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia and that abolition of certain advanced grades of ventricular premature beats provides an effective therapeutic objective.
Casting light on 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency in ovarian cancer: a study from the NHANES.

Abstract Objectives Ecological studies have long described a higher incidence of ovarian cancer in more extreme latitudes, where sun exposure, and presumably vitamin D exposure, is lower. Basic science studies have also noted polymorphisms of the vitamin D receptor in ovarian cancers. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship of serum vitamin D to ovarian cancer. Methods A case–control study of 7273 subjects from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) was performed. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels were examined in both ovarian cancer patients and a control population. Logistic regression examined the odds of ovarian cancer for those with vitamin D levels below the median of the U.S. population. Results Ovarian cancer cases were more than three times more likely to have low 25[OH]D levels (OR 3.68, 95% CI 1.03–13.21, p =0.04). In the weighted multivariate model, the relationship persisted after adjusting for potential confounders, including age, body mass index, and diet. Adjusting for significant covariates, which included age and dietary calcium intake, ovarian cancer cases were nearly four times more likely to have low 25[OH]D levels (OR 3.92, 95% CI 1.11–13.85, p =0.03). Conclusions Prevalent ovarian cancer cases have lower serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) than the general population. Deficiency in vitamin D may provide an etiologic link between the long-known ecologic findings regarding latitude and the basic science noting polymorphisms in the vitamin D receptor.
Eighth-Grade Violinists’ Instrument Tuning Ability A Comparison of Pitch Perception and Tuning Accuracy

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between eighth-grade violinists’ pitch perception and instrument tuning skill. The perceptual task was a researcher-developed computer-based Violin Tuning Perception Test. The instrument tuning task involved tuning two violins, one mistuned flat and the other mistuned sharp. Participants (N = 46) were enrolled at three middle schools in the midwestern United States. A moderate relationship was found between participants’ perceptual accuracy and instrument tuning accuracy, with pitch perception scores significantly more accurate than instrument tuning scores. Participants tuned the flat instrument more accurately than the sharp instrument. An overall tendency toward flat tuning was evident on both the perception and instrument tuning tests, with responses to items representing the G string, the least accurate on both the perception and the instrument tuning tests. No relationships were found between participants’ rating of their tuning ability and t...
Impact of Different Standardized Uptake Value Measures on PET-Based Quantification of Treatment Response

PET-based treatment response studies typically measure the change in the standardized uptake value (SUV) to quantify response. The relative changes of different SUV measures, such as maximum, peak, mean, or total SUVs (SUVmax, SUVpeak, SUVmean, or SUVtotal, respectively), are used across the literature to classify patients into response categories, with quantitative thresholds separating the different categories. We investigated the impact of different SUV measures on the quantification and classification of PET-based treatment response. Methods: Sixteen patients with solid malignancies were treated with a multitargeted receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, resulting in a variety of responses. Using the cellular proliferation marker 39-deoxy-39- 18 F-fluorothymidine ( 18 FFLT), we acquired whole-body PET/CT scans at baseline, during treatment, and after treatment. The highest 18 F-FLT uptake lesions (;2/patient) were segmented on PET images. Tumor PET response was assessed via the relative change in SUVmax, SUVpeak, SUVmean, and SUVtotal, thereby yielding 4 different responses for each tumor at mid- and posttreatment. For each SUV measure, a population average PET response was determined over all tumors. Standard deviation (SD) and range were used to quantify variation of PET response within individual tumors and population averages. Results: Different SUV measures resulted in substantial variation of individual tumor PET response assessments (average SD, 20%; average range, 40%). The most extreme variation between 4 PET response measures was 90% in individual tumors. Classification of tumor PET response depended strongly on the SUV measure, because different SUV measures resulted in conflicting categorizations of PET response (ambiguous treatment response assessment) in more than 80% of tumors. Variation of the population average PET response was considerably smaller (average SD, 7%; average range, 16%), and this variation was not statistically significant. Differences in tumor PET response were greatest between SUVmean and SUVtotal and smallest between SUVmax and SUVpeak. Variations of tumor PET response at midtreatment and posttreatment were similar. Conclusion: Quantification and classification of PET-based treatment response in individual patients were strongly affected by the SUV measure used to assess response. This substantial uncertainty in individual patient PET response was present despite the concurrent robustness of the population average PET response. Given the ambiguity of individual patient PET responses, selection of PET-based treatment response measures and their associated thresholds should be carefully optimized.
Techniques and tools for analyzing intrusion alerts

Traditional intrusion detection systems (IDSs) focus on low-level attacks or anomalies, and raise alerts independently, though there may be logical connections between them. In situations where there are intensive attacks, not only will actual alerts be mixed with false alerts, but the amount of alerts will also become unmanageable. As a result, it is difficult for human users or intrusion response systems to understand the alerts and take appropriate actions. This paper presents a sequence of techniques to address this issue. The first technique constructs attack scenarios by correlating alerts on the basis of prerequisites and consequences of attacks. Intuitively, the prerequisite of an attack is the necessary condition for the attack to be successful, while the consequence of an attack is the possible outcome of the attack. Based on the prerequisites and consequences of different types of attacks, the proposed method correlates alerts by (partially) matching the consequences of some prior alerts with the prerequisites of some later ones. Moreover, to handle large collections of alerts, this paper presents a set of interactive analysis utilities aimed at facilitating the investigation of large sets of intrusion alerts. This paper also presents the development of a toolkit named TIAA, which provides system support for interactive intrusion analysis. This paper finally reports the experiments conducted to validate the proposed techniques with the 2000 DARPA intrusion detection scenario-specific datasets, and the data collected at the DEFCON 8 Capture the Flag event.
Mathematical Morphology and Its Application in Machine Vision

Mathematical morphology provides an efficient tool for image analysis. We study the problem of flaw detection in materials which are represented by very poor contrast digital images. An algorithm for flaw detection in the case of glass matte surfaces has been developed. The object skeletons within the binary images are obtained and directional connectivity information in the skeletons is used to discriminate noise patterns from flaws according to a specified criteria. After the discrimination process, the remaining skeletons correspond to flaws and can be employed to recover the shape of flaws. An alarm flag may be turned on if the sizes of the detected flaws are found to exceed industrial standards. In the case of a grayscale image, the image is converted to a binary version by using an adaptive threshold algorithm, then the algorithm for binary images is applied. Experimental results have been obtained for both binary and grayscale digital image data.
GPU-completeness: theory and implications

This paper formalizes a major insight into a class of algorithms that relate parallelism and performance. The purpose of this paper is to define a class of algorithms that trades off parallelism for quality of result (e.g. visual quality, compression rate), and we propose a similar method for algorithmic classification based on NP-Completeness techniques, applied toward parallel acceleration. We will define this class of algorithm as "GPU-Complete" and will postulate the necessary properties of the algorithms for admission into this class. We will also formally relate his algorithmic space and imaging algorithms space. This concept is based upon our experience in the print production area where GPUs (Graphic Processing Units) have shown a substantial cost/performance advantage within the context of HPdelivered enterprise services and commercial printing infrastructure. While CPUs and GPUs are converging in their underlying hardware and functional blocks, their system behaviors are clearly distinct in many ways: memory system design, programming paradigms, and massively parallel SIMD architecture. There are applications that are clearly suited to each architecture: for CPU: language compilation, word processing, operating systems, and other applications that are highly sequential in nature; for GPU: video rendering, particle simulation, pixel color conversion, and other problems clearly amenable to massive parallelization. While GPUs establishing themselves as a second, distinct computing architecture from CPUs, their end-to-end system cost/performance advantage in certain parts of computation inform the structure of algorithms and their efficient parallel implementations. While GPUs are merely one type of architecture for parallelization, we show that their introduction into the design space of printing systems demonstrate the trade-offs against competing multi-core, FPGA, and ASIC architectures. While each architecture has its own optimal application, we believe that the selection of architecture can be defined in terms of properties of GPU-Completeness. For a welldefined subset of algorithms, GPU-Completeness is intended to connect the parallelism, algorithms and efficient architectures into a unified framework to show that multiple layers of parallel implementation are guided by the same underlying trade-off.
A comparative study of DCOM and SOAP

The simple object access protocol (SOAP) is a recent technology, which is aimed at replacing traditional methods of remote communications, such as the RPC-based Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM). Designed with the goal of increasing interoperability among a wide range of programs and environments, SOAP allows applications written in different languages and deployed on different platforms to communicate with each other over the network. While SOAP offers obvious benefits in the world of interoperability, it comes at the price of performance degradation and additional development efforts required for implementation of features missing from SOAP, such as security and state management. This paper reports the outcome of a comparative study of SOAP and DCOM in terms of features, development effort, and application performance. The results indicate that SOAP performance on a homogeneous platform is consistently worse than that of DCOM. Depending on the operation and amount of data transferred, SOAP performance degradation can range from minor (e.g. two or three times slower than DCOM) to major (e.g. twenty or more times slower). Based on lines of code statistics, SOAP application development effort should be slightly (/spl sim/10%) higher. If an application has to rely on the features such as state management or security, which are missing from SOAP, then SOAP implementation will require substantial design efforts and, in certain cases, may not be feasible at all. We recommend application developers to consider these issues when preparing to move their applications to SOAP.
Harmonic Structure of Modulated Light Beams

This paper treats the modulation of light by means of electro-optic modulators and the detection and analysis of the modulation by means of photocell detectors. The problem of electro-optic modulators is formulated in terms of the anisotropic materials used to create the modulation effects. This formulation is used to derive the harmonic structure for a variety of electro-optic modulators. Comparisons are then made between the frequency and power responses of the various modulators.
Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection Effects in Infertile azh Mutant Mice

Abstract Several reports in the literature describe men with infertility resulting from abnormal sperm head shape or decapitation defects of their spermatozoa. These defects are similar to those shown for the spermatozoa from azh (abnormal spermatozoon head shape) mice. The present study examines the efficiency and effects of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in successive generations of azh mice generated with this method. Three successive generations of azh mice were produced with ICSI. In all three ICSI series, more than 80% of 2-cell embryos were obtained, and more than 35% of embryos transferred gave rise to normal live offspring. In addition, ICSI was used to cross homozygous azh/azh males with homozygous azh/azh females, and live offspring were obtained. The ICSI-derived males were tested for their fecundity and abnormalities of sperm morphology. Spermatozoa from ICSI-derived azh/+ males did not show any impairment of fecundity in in vitro fertilization. These spermatozoa successfully fertili...
Ligand-independent dimerization of oncogenic v-erbB products involves covalent interactions.

Mutant v-erbB products of avian c-erbB1 have previously been used to correlate structural domains of the receptor encoded by this proto-oncogene with tissue-specific transformation potential. In these studies, deletion of the ligand-binding domain of the receptor has been shown to be required for transformation of erythroblasts, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells. It has, therefore, been postulated that deletion of this domain results in an allosteric change in the receptor analogous to the ligand-bound state of the epidermal growth factor receptor; i.e., it induces a receptor conformation that is constitutively active with respect to mitogenic signaling. While oncogenic v-erbB products have been shown to be expressed on the cell surface of both fibroblasts and erythroblasts, no comprehensive analysis of the oligomeric potential of these products has been conducted. Since the first event known to follow epidermal growth factor binding to its receptor is oligomerization, and receptor dimerization has been correlated with mitogenic signaling, we have carefully analyzed the ability of several v-erbB products to oligomerize in the three target cell types transformed by these oncogenes. In this report, we demonstrate the v-erbB products can efficiently homodimerize in all three target tissues, that this dimerization is ligand independent and occurs at the cell surface, and that there is no apparent correlation between v-erbB dimerization and transformation of avian fibroblasts. Furthermore, both oncogenic and nononcogenic v-erbB products can heterodimerize with the native c-erbB1 product in chicken embryo fibroblasts, suggesting that heterodimerization between v-erB and native c-erbB1 is not sufficient to result in c-erbB1-mediated sarcomagenesis.
Optimizing Frequency Queries for Data Mining Applications

Data mining algorithms use various Trie and bitmap-based representations to optimize the support (i.e., frequency) counting performance. In this paper, we compare the memory requirements and support counting performance of FP Tree, and Compressed Patricia Trie against several novel variants of vertical bit vectors. First, borrowing ideas from the VLDB domain, we compress vertical bit vectors using WAH encoding. Second, we evaluate the Gray code rank- based transaction reordering scheme, and show that in practice, simple lexicographic ordering, obtained by applying LSB Radix sort, outperforms this scheme. Led by these results, we propose HDO, a novel Hamming-distance-based greedy transaction reordering scheme, and aHDO, a linear-time approximation to HDO. We present results of experiments performed on 15 common datasets with varying degrees of sparseness, and show that HDO- reordered, WAH encoded bit vectors can take as little as 5% of the uncompressed space, while aHDO achieves similar compression on sparse datasets. Finally, with results from over a billion database and data mining style frequency query executions, we show that bitmap-based approaches result in up to hundreds of times faster support counting, and HDO-WAH encoded bitmaps offer the best space-time tradeoff.
Origin of Class 1 and 2 Integrons and Gene Cassettes in a Population-Based Sample of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli

The prevalence of urinary tract infections (UTI) caused by trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX)-resistant Escherichia coli is increasing and varies geographically in the United States. Recent community-based UTI studies have demonstrated geographic clustering of an Escherichia coli clonal group, suggesting occurrence of a community outbreak of UTI. A large proportion of this clonal group (designated CgA) isolated from women in a California college community was found to be resistant to TMP-SMX. We wished to determine if the acquisition of TMP-SMX resistance by CgA occurred before or after the CgA strains were introduced into this community. Between October 1999 and January 2000 and between October 2000 and January 2001, 482 E. coli isolates were consecutively collected from the urine samples of women with UTI at a student health clinic and analyzed for determinants of TMP-SMX resistance. In particular, the distribution of integrons harboring resistance cassettes for TMP-SMX (dfr) was examined. Among 95 TMP-SMX-resistant isolates, 68 and 27 isolates carried class 1 and class 2 integrons, respectively. A class 1 integron was found in 25 (93%) of 27 TMP-SMX-resistant CgA isolates but in only 43 (63%) of 68 TMP-SMX-resistant non-CgA isolates (P < 0.001) and in none of 44 TMP-SMX-susceptible E. coli isolates (P < 0.0001). CgA strains carried only a single arrangement of class 1 gene cassettes (dfrA17-aadA5), while the non-clonal group strains carried nine different cassette arrangements. These results support the idea that CgA strains acquired their resistance at a common site prior to their spread to the college community.
Regulation of Polysaccharide Utilization Contributes to the Persistence of Group A Streptococcus in the Oropharynx

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) genes that encode proteins putatively involved in polysaccharide utilization show growth phase-dependent expression in human saliva. We sought to determine whether the putative polysaccharide transcriptional regulator MalR influences the expression of such genes and whether MalR helps GAS infect the oropharynx. Analysis of 32 strains of 17 distinct M protein serotypes revealed that MalR is highly conserved across GAS strains. malR transcripts were detectable in patients with GAS pharyngitis, and the levels increased significantly during growth in human saliva compared to the levels during growth in glucose-containing or nutrient-rich media. To determine if MalR influenced the expression of polysaccharide utilization genes, we compared the transcript levels of eight genes encoding putative polysaccharide utilization proteins in the parental serotype M1 strain MGAS5005 and its ΔmalR isogenic mutant derivative. The transcript levels of all eight genes were significantly increased in the ΔmalR strain compared to the parental strain, especially during growth in human saliva. Following experimental infection, the ΔmalR strain persistently colonized the oropharynx in significantly fewer mice than the parental strain colonized, and the numbers of ΔmalR strain CFU recovered were significantly lower than the numbers of the parental strain CFU recovered. These data led us to conclude that MalR influences the expression of genes putatively involved in polysaccharide utilization and that MalR contributes to the persistence of GAS in the oropharynx.
Recent developments in thin film adhesion measurement

Interfacial fracture energies of thin films may be calculated using many different techniques. Nanoindentation and stressed overlayers are by far the most common and more reliable of the testing techniques. They depend on mechanics-based models to calculate the interfacial fracture energy of an interface using only the site specific material properties and the dimensions of the delaminated region, either in spontaneous buckle or indentation-induced blister form. This study will focus on four adhesion measurement techniques: spontaneous buckles, stressed overlayer-induced buckles, and nanoindentation-induced blisters with and without stressed overlayers, to demonstrate that the techniques will produce similar results for the measurement of adhesion energy. Films of tungsten (W), platinum (Pt), and titanium (Ti) on SiO/sub 2/ (amorphous glass) substrates are examined and values of interfacial fracture energies reported. Results of interfacial fracture energy calculated from spontaneous buckles and indentation-induced blisters compare well to one another and values are reported for the aforementioned films.
Plasma triglyceride level is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease independent of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level: a meta-analysis of population-based prospective studies.

Objectives Despite nearly 40 years of research, the role of plasma triglyceride as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease remains elusive. The objectives of the present study were to quantify the...
OverCite: a distributed, cooperative citeseer

CiteSeer is a popular online resource for the computer science research community, allowing users to search and browse a large archive of research papers. CiteSeer is expensive: it generates 35 GB of network traffic per day, requires nearly one terabyte of disk storage, and needs significant human maintenance. OverCite is a new digital research library system that aggregates donated resources at multiple sites to provide CiteSeer-like document search and retrieval. OverCite enables members of the community to share the costs of running CiteSeer. The challenge facing OverCite is how to provide scalable and load-balanced storage and query processing with automatic data management. OverCite uses a three-tier design: presentation servers provide an identical user interface to CiteSeer's; application servers partition and replicate a search index to spread the work of answering each query among several nodes; and a distributed hash table stores documents and metadata, and coordinates the activities of the servers. Evaluation of a prototype shows that OverCite increases its query throughput by a factor of seven with a nine-fold increase in the number of servers. OverCite requires more total storage and network bandwidth than centralized CiteSeer, but spreads these costs over all the sites. OverCite can exploit the resources of these sites to support new features such as document alerts and to scale to larger data sets.
Inflammatory skin diseases of the head and neck

Skin diseases can be broadly categorized into three groups: neoplastic, inflammatory, and infectious. Inflammatory diseases are those in which there is no proliferation of cells and the inflammatory cell infiltrate is not a direct response to a pathogenic organism. This article provides an overview of common inflammatory skin diseases that have a predilection for the head and neck or involve the head and neck as part of a generalized skin condition. Dermatology relies heavily on the physical examination and, in certain circumstances, on characteristic histology from biopsies for diagnosis. In examining the skin, not only is the distribution important but also the arrangement and morphology of lesions.
The BLUES database: A health disparities registry for pregnant mothers

Background For more than a decade, Tennessee has been consecutively ranked nationally in the top 5 for Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), and in 2012 ranked 3rd with an IMR of 8.3 where the national rate is at 5.98. Some of the primary risk factors for IMR include low birth weight, education, social support, prenatal care, nutrition and exercise, and effective use of community resources, services. An underlying racial and economic component can be found within these statistics. Within Tennessee, Hamilton and Shelby counties have African American IMRs that are two and three times that of whites.
A method of moments approach for the efficient and accurate modeling of moderately thick cylindrical wire antennas

This paper introduces a moment-method formulation, which is capable of accurately modeling moderately thick cylindrical wire antennas. New algorithms are presented for the efficient computation of the cylindrical wire kernel and related impedance matrix integrals. These algorithms make use of exact series representations as well as efficient numerical procedures and lead to a significant reduction in overall computation time for thicker wires. Another major advantage of this moment-method technique is that it is no longer restricted by the segment length-to-radius ratio limitations inherent in past formulations, thereby making it possible to achieve solution convergence for a much wider class of wire antenna structures. Several examples illustrating the superior convergence properties of this new moment-method formulation are presented and discussed.
Like a Scholar: Gaining Hands-On Experience with Specialized Music Tools and Resources

Shaw relays her experience of designing a hands-on library instruction activity for students in music history topics courses at DePauw University—an endeavor that was spurred by a request from music history professor Matthew Balensuela. The activity enables them to learn how to use—and when to use—specialized music tools and resources, including thematic catalogs and composer works lists. Searching for sound recording reviews and scholarly digital archives helps them to hone their evaluative skills in a relaxed environment with a librarian’s guidance. A detailed description of the activity is included.
Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter Ultrasound and the Diagnosis of Increased Intracranial Pressure

Ultrasound has been used for almost 30 years in a wide variety of clinical applications and environments. From the austerity of battlefields to the labor and delivery ward, ultrasound has the ability to give clinicians real-time, noninvasive diagnostic imaging. Ultrasound by emergency physicians (and all nonradiologists) has become more prevalent and has been used for examinations such as the transcranial Doppler to evaluate for stroke, cardiac function, FAST and EFAST examinations for trauma, and now increased intracranial pressure (ICP) via Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter Ultrasound (ONSD). The ONSD is a valid and reliable indicator of ICP.
Choices Under Constraint: Agency, Autonomy, and Emancipation Beyond Citizenship

Guarantees for social and economic rights, political recognition, and freedom to self-determination are often discussed in the context of citizenship and legal membership in a political community. Contestation, re-negotiation and amendments to rights and services also presuppose a prior formal recognition of belonging. How do the non-belonging, the uncounted – such as a large majority of (im)migrants - negotiate and claim rights? This paper examines select (im)migrants’ practices that deliver on notions of self-identification and rights outside the framework of international and state conventions. It argues that (im)migrants themselves, by maintaining certain cultural differences and autonomy of movement, have the ability not only to claim rights but also to challenge the pre-set institutional environment. This, in turn, allows them to actively contribute to the re-constitution of social and legal norms of the political community. As such, (im)migrants’ agency extends not merely to personal protection and empowerment, but also to the possibility to engage in extra-institutional emancipatory acts of self-determination, and autonomy.
Granulocyte colony stimulating factor. 3. Effect of alkylating agent induced granulocytopenia.

SummaryAt intervals following a single injection of cyclophosphamide, groups of rats were tested for the presence of an in vitro granulocyte colony stimulating factor (CSF). Increased serum CSF activity was demonstrated on days 5 through 7 after injection, corresponding to a phase of marked peripheral granulocytopenia. The CSF returned to base line levels as peripheral blood granulocytes returned to normal. Increased elaboration of CSF in conjunction with granulocytopenia is in accord with a possible role of this material as a regulator of granulopoiesis.
AM last page: Hospice and Palliative Medicine (HPM).

How interesting did you find this clinical reasoning course? Verbally label each response option Labeling each response option increases consistency in the conceptual spacing between response options and increases the likelihood that all respondents will interpret the response options similarly. Additionally, the response options have comparable visual weight, so the respondents’ eyes are not drawn to certain options.
Chemosterilant Activity of Oils, Especially Oil of Sterculia foetida, in the House Fly

Oils containing cyclopropene acids and epoxy groups were tested as chemosterilants of the adult house fly, Musca domestica L. The most effective oil, derived from seeds of Sterculia foetida L., sterilized only the female. Flies fed diets containing 2.5 and 5% of this oil produced no eggs, even though both sexes were present throughout the test period. Oil from S. foetida nuts aged 10 months retained its activity, an indication that the active principle is quite stable prior to extraction. The oil is reported to be edible. Therefore, it may be possible to use it in areas where aziridine sterilants cannot be used. This female sterilant may also buttress the action of the more effective sterilants that are active against both sexes.
Crystal structures of 4-methyl-2-oxo-2H-chromene-7,8-diyl di-acetate and 4-methyl-2-oxo-2H-chromene-7,8-diyl bis-(pent-4-ynoate).

In the structures of the two title coumarin derivatives, C14H12O6, (1), and C20H16O6, (2), one with acetate and the other with pent-4-ynoate substituents, both the coumarin rings are almost planar. In (1), both acetate substituents are significantly rotated out of the coumarin plane to minimize steric repulsions. One acetate substituent is disordered over two equivalent conformations, with occupancies of 0.755 (17) and 0.245 (17). In (2), there are two pent-4-ynoate substituents, the C C group of one being disordered over two positions with occupancies of 0.55 (2) and 0.45 (2). One of the pent-4-ynoate substituents is in an extended conformation, while the other is in a bent conformation. In this derivative, the planar part of both pent-4-ynoate substituents deviate from the coumarin plane. The packing of (1) is dominated by π–π stacking involving the coumarin rings and weak C—H⋯O contacts link the parallel stacks in the [101] direction. In contrast, in (2) the packing is dominated by R22(24) hydrogen bonds, involving the acidic sp H atom and the oxo O atom, which link the mol­ecules into centrosymmetric dimers. The bent conformation of one of the pent-4-ynoate substituents prevents the coumarin rings from engaging in π–π stacking.
The Crankshaft Machining Process Optimization

When the production line for each station beat uneven,will cause the production efficiency of the.Through the method of optimizing process to balance the work rhythm,the purpose of improving production efficiency.The crankshaft is the heart of the engine crankshaft,optimization of the processing parameters have significant effects on the quality.
Laboratory study of the Natto Capsule on reducing blood Lipid in hyperlipemia model rats

Objective:To explore the effect of the Natto Capsule on reducing blood lipid in hyperlipemia model rats.Methods: The model of metabolic disturbance of lipid-preventive tested sample was adopted.After being given apocynum tea extract in dosages of 235 mg/kg,470 mg/kg,940 mg/kg BW respectively for 30 days,the contents of total cholesterol(TC),triglyceride(TG) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels(HDL-C) in serum of rats were tested.Results: The contents of TC,TG and HDL-C in high dosage group were(2.315±0.491),(0.888±0.214)and(0.984±0.256)mmol/L respectively,were lower than the TC content(2.829±0.440) mmol/L and TG content(1.106±0.140) mmol/L and higher than HDL-C concentration of(0.750±0.172) mmol/L in high-fat control group,the differences were significant(P0.05).Conclusion: The concentrated tea of apocynum venetum leaf can reduce the contents of serum total cholesterol,serum triglyceride and increase high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.It suggests that the sample has a hypolipidemic effect.
The effects of consumer education on women's health: a pilot study.

This prospective quasi-experimental pilot study investigated the effects of a consumer education program on women's health and related attitudes. Variables addressed were health status, self-care practices, health value, health locus of control, community involvement and health-related consumer and political attitudes. A sample of 25 women were studied over a one-year period. Fifteen of the subjects received an experimental 16-week consumer education program. Analysis of variance of repeated measures suggested that the consumer education produced limited effects. There were no statistically significant changes over time in either the experimental or control groups in relation to any of the outcome variables, except health status. The mean number of reported health problems declined by 59.7% over the year of study in the experimental grou while the control mup reported a 16.9% increase in health problems. These pilot data appear to lend some support to the therapeutic and social value of health education e...
Do Improvement Programs Complement Each Other

Improvement programs of various types have been adopted by many corporations and other organizations. In some cases, multiple programs have been implemented. An important question is whether such programs are complements to each other? In other words, is the value added of a pair of programs larger than value generated by the sum of each instituted separately. This chapter studies that question for some common improvement programs. Complementarity is studied for three program types: uncertainty reduction about customers’ values for service, accounting programs like ABC that eliminate biased cost estimates, and operations efforts. Three kinds of operations improvements are considered: reducing variable cost, reducing capacity cost and reducing non-value added time. Research by Milgrom and Roberts (Am Econ Rev 80(3):511–528, 1990) argue that many modern improvement programs are complementary. But in this theoretical work the conclusion is a direct result of the technical assumptions made. Specifically, their assumption of supermodularity properties directly leads to the results. Missing from this analysis, but explored here, is whether realistic, well understood cost functions lead to complementary properties. Initially we assume that cost is driven by queuing-like production technology. Because batching/lot sizing and fixed charge problems have costs like queuing, the results apply broadly. In this case, the first two programs can be either complements or substitutes. But they are both complementary to direct cost savings and capacity cost reduction. The situation with reduction of cost estimate bias is more complex: it is complementary to direct cost savings and the reduction in non-value added time but is a substitute to reducing capacity cost. Complementarity properties are also studied for general demand and cost functions, with sufficient conditions presented. The managerial conclusion is that care must be taken in assuming the complementarity of real programs, and that more central oversight of improvement efforts probably is warranted to better estimate the value of programs.
Venus in the Museum: Women’s Representations and the Rise of Public Art Institutions

During the late nineteenth century, the role of the museum and art gallery in constituting British national identity became increasingly evident. The Museum Acts of 1845 and 1850, which allowed towns to use taxes to fund municipal museums, fuelled a massive increase in numbers. In 1850 there were fewer than sixty public museums; by 1887 there were more than 240, and by 1928, more than 500. Public funding aligned these museums with the national interest. So, too, did anxiety about the ‘art drain’, which emerged in the late 1890s as changing tax laws moved aristocrats to sell off their artwork to German and American collectors and museums. As art experts and connoisseurs called on the nation to protect its artistic patrimony, they constructed a new kind of imagined community: a nation defined through its communal ownership of great art.
Emerging role of immunotherapy in urothelial carcinoma—Future directions and novel therapies

Tremendous advances in our understanding of the tumor immunology and molecular biology of urothelial carcinoma (UC) have led to the recent approval of immunotherapy as a novel option for patients with UC with advanced disease. Despite the promising data of novel immune checkpoint inhibitors, only a small subset of patients with UC achieves durable remissions. Because an optimal antitumor response requires coordination of multiple immune, tumor, and microenvironment effector cells, novel approaches targeting distinct mechanisms of action likely in combination are needed. In addition, discovery of reliable immune biomarkers, understanding of mechanisms of resistance, and novel clinical trial designs are warranted for maximum benefit of UC immunotherapy.
Creation of an injectable in situ gelling native extracellular matrix for nucleus pulposus tissue engineering

Abstract Background Context Disc degeneration is the leading cause of low back pain and is often characterized by a loss of disc height, resulting from cleavage of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) present in the nucleus pulposus. Intact CSPGs are critical to water retention and maintenance of the nucleus osmotic pressure. Decellularization of healthy nucleus pulposus tissue has the potential to serve as an ideal matrix for tissue engineering of the disc because of the presence of native disc proteins and CSPGs. Injectable in situ gelling matrices are the most viable therapeutic option to prevent damage to the anulus fibrosus and future disc degeneration. Purpose The purpose of this research was to create a gentle decellularization method for use on healthy nucleus pulposus tissue explants and to develop an injectable formulation of this matrix to enable therapeutic use without substantial tissue disruption. Study Design Porcine nuclei pulposi were isolated, decellularized, and solubilized. Samples were assessed to determine the degree of cell removal, matrix maintenance, gelation ability, cytotoxic residuals, and native cell viability. Methods Nuclei pulposi were decellularized using serial detergent, buffer, and enzyme treatments. Decellularized nuclei pulposi were solubilized, neutralized, and buffered. The efficacy of decellularization was assessed by quantifying DNA removal and matrix preservation. An elution study was performed to confirm removal of cytotoxic residuals. Gelation kinetics and injectability were quantified. Long-term in vitro experiments were performed with nucleus pulposus cells to ensure cell viability and native matrix production within the injectable decellularized nucleus pulposus matrices. Results This work resulted in the creation of a robust acellular matrix (>96% DNA removal) with highly preserved sulfated glycosaminoglycans (>47%), and collagen content and microstructure similar to native nucleus pulposus, indicating preservation of disc components. Furthermore, it was possible to create an injectable formulation that gelled in situ within 45 minutes and formed fibrillar collagen with similar diameters to native nucleus pulposus. The processing did not result in any remaining cytotoxic residuals. Solubilized decellularized nucleus pulposus samples seeded with nucleus pulposus cells maintained robust viability (>89%) up to 21 days of culture in vitro, with morphology similar to native nucleus pulposus cells, and exhibited significantly enhanced sulfated glycosaminoglycans production over 21 days. Conclusions A gentle decellularization of porcine nucleus pulposus followed by solubilization enabled the creation of an injectable tissue-specific matrix that is well tolerated in vitro by nucleus pulposus cells. These matrices have the potential to be used as a minimally invasive nucleus pulposus therapeutic to restore disc height.