cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Structural Characterization of POSS Siloxane Dimer and Trimer

Ion mobility and molecular modeling methods were used to examine the gas-phase conformational properties of POSS (polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes) siloxane oligomers. MALDI generated the sodiated dimers (Cy7T8)2O·Na+ and (Cp7T8)2O·Na+ and the trimer ion [Cy7T8O−Cy8Si8O11−OCy7T8] Na+ (T = SiO1.5, Cy = cyclohexyl, and Cp = cyclopentyl); their collision cross sections were measured in helium using ion mobility based methods. Experimental results are consistent with one observed conformer for each of the dimers and the exo-exo isomer for the trimer (formed by retention of configuration at silicon during synthesis). For the cyclopentyl dimer, theory predicts two separate conformer families based on whether the substituents on the POSS cages are staggered (σcalc = 357 A2) or eclipsed (σcalc = 365 A2); experiment fits the staggered conformation best (σexpt = 355 A2). For the cyclohexyl dimer, on the other hand, folding of the Cy groups seems to be important: (σexpt = 402 A2 vs unfolded σcalc = 421 A2 or p...
diffReps: detecting differential chromatin modification sites from ChIP-seq data with biological replicates.

ChIP-seq is increasingly being used for genome-wide profiling of histone modification marks. It is of particular importance to compare ChIP-seq data of two different conditions, such as disease vs. control, and identify regions that show differences in ChIP enrichment. We have developed a powerful and easy to use program, called diffReps, to detect those differential sites from ChIP-seq data, with or without biological replicates. In addition, we have developed two useful tools for ChIP-seq analysis in the diffReps package: one for the annotation of the differential sites and the other for finding chromatin modification “hotspots”. diffReps is developed in PERL programming language and runs on all platforms as a command line script. We tested diffReps on two different datasets. One is the comparison of H3K4me3 between two human cell lines from the ENCODE project. The other is the comparison of H3K9me3 in a discrete region of mouse brain between cocaine- and saline-treated conditions. The results indicated that diffReps is a highly sensitive program in detecting differential sites from ChIP-seq data.
MO‐D‐134‐05: Size Specific Dose Estimation in Abdominal CT: Impact of Longitudinal Variations in Patient Size

Purpose: Size specific dose estimates (SSDE) represent the mean dose to a patient of a specific size. However, patient size can vary significantly within the scan range, affecting the choice of conversion factor and, with tube current modulation, CTDIvol. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of patient size variations in the abdomen on SSDE. Methods: Images from 100 consecutive abdominal CT exams (top of liver to top of crest) were evaluated. A Matlab program was used to automatically remove the patient table and calculate water equivalent diameter (Dw). SSDE was calculated in two ways and compared: 1) The mean CTDIvol over the scan range was used with the conversion factor corresponding to Dw at the middle of the scan range. 2) The mean mAs(z) and the CTDIvol/mAs were used to calculate the CTDIvol(z); Dw(z) used to determine the conversion factor(z); SSDE(z) and mean SSDE over the scan range calculated, where z=longitudinal position. Results: A range of body sizes was included, with BMI ranging from 14.9 to 41.5. However, the standard deviation of Dw within each patients' scan range was on average only 1.3cm (range: 0.4–2.9cm), indicating a high degree of uniformity in patient size over the abdomen. The difference between the two groups of SSDE values ranged from −0.3 to 1.9mGy, with root mean square difference of 0.3 mGy. A paired t‐test showed no significant difference between these two groups of SSDE values (p<0.001). Conclusion: For abdominal CT, there was no significant difference between the mean SSDE values calculated using 1) the mean CTDIvol over the scan range and Dw at the middle of the scan range and 2) the CTDIvol and Dw at each position in the scan range. In body regions with greater longitudinal variation in attenuation, this may not be the case. This work was supported in part by NIH grant R01 EB071095 from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.
On the evaluation of air mass factors for atmospheric near‐ultraviolet and visible absorption spectroscopy

The interpretation of UV-visible twilight absorption measurements of atmospheric chemical constituents is dependent on how well the optical path, or air mass factor, of light collected by the spectrometer is understood. A simple single scattering model and a Monte Carlo radiative transfer scheme have been developed to study the effects of multiple scattering, aerosol scattering, surface albedo and refraction on air mass factors for scattered light observations. At fairly short visible wavelengths (less than about 450 nm), stratospheric air mass factors are found to be relatively insensitive to multiple scattering, surface albedo and refraction, as well as aerosol scattering by background aerosols. Longer wavelengths display greater sensitivity to refraction and aerosol scattering. Tropospheric air mass factors are found to be highly dependent on aerosol scattering, surface albedo and, at long visible wavelengths (about 650 nm), refraction. Absorption measurements of NO2 and O4 are shown to support these conclusions.
Calculation of Defect Formation Energy from the Thermal Expansion Data for Lead Fluoride

Lead fluoride is a superionic conductor with the fluorite structure. Results of the measurement of linear thermal expansion of lead fluoride (reported earlier in literature) showed a large increase in the thermal expansion coefficient near 700 K where the ionic conductivity has been shown to exhibit a sharp increase. It is believed that thermally-generated defects in a crystal lattice affect the thermal expansion coefficient. This idea was applied in the present analysis to calculate the defect formation energy (Ef) by using the literature values of the coefficient of thermal expansion. It was assumed that the thermal expansion in excess of that produced due to the lattice anharmonicity (δ∝) is proportional to the concentration of defects (n). With this assumption, one may write: δ∝ = c no exp(-Ef/kT), where c is a constant. For lead fluoride, a plot of ln(δ∝) versus (l/T) yielded Ef = 0.56 eV which is lower than the literature values. The assumptions in this analysis and the discrepancy in the result are discussed.
Prevention of cold-associated acute inflammation in familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome by interleukin-1 receptor antagonist

Summary Background Familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome (FCAS) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterised by recurrent episodes of rash, arthralgia, and fever after cold exposure. The genetic basis of this disease has been elucidated. Cryopyrin, the protein that is altered in FCAS, is one of the adaptor proteins that activate caspase 1, resulting in release of interleukin 1. Methods An experimental cold challenge protocol was developed to study the acute inflammatory mechanisms occurring after a general cold exposure in FCAS patients and to investigate the effects of pretreatment with an antagonist of interleukin 1 receptor (IL-1Ra). ELISA, real-time PCR, and immunohistochemistry were used to measure cytokine responses. Findings After cold challenge, untreated patients with FCAS developed rash, fever, and arthralgias within 1–4 h. Significant increases in serum concentrations of interleukin 6 and white-blood-cell counts were seen 4–8 h after cold challenge. Serum concentrations of interleukin 1 and cytokine mRNA in peripheral-blood leucocytes were not raised, but amounts of interleukin 1 protein and mRNA were high in affected skin. IL-1Ra administered before cold challenge blocked symptoms and increases in white-blood-cell counts and serum interleukin 6. Interpretation The ability of IL-1Ra to prevent the clinical features and haematological and biochemical changes in patients with FCAS indicates a central role for interleukin 1β in this disorder. Involvement of cryopyrin in activation of caspase 1 and NF-κB signalling suggests that it might have a role in many chronic inflammatory diseases. Relevance to practice These findings support a new therapy for a disorder with no previously known acceptable treatment. They also offer insights into the role of interleukin 1β in more common inflammatory diseases.
Software process assessment and improvement using production models

With the advent of process assessment and process improvement as key objectives for many software development organizations, it has become important to provide viable mechanisms to do so. This paper suggests to use production models paired with software metrics that quantify key drivers of productivity. We also show capabilities of production models with two examples. Production models must be used with proper parameterization to be successful. This may mean a new look at which metrics are helpful for process assessment. >
On Quantized Multi-User Beamforming in Spatially Correlated Broadcast Channels

We consider a spatially correlated multi-user communication system with Nt antennas at the base station (BS), U users (Nt of whom are serviced), and each user with a single antenna. While the users are assumed to know their channels perfectly, the BS has neither instantaneous channel state information (CSI) nor the spatial statistics corresponding to any of the users. We consider a limited feedback model where each user conveys B bits of partial channel information to the BS. Due to the lack of statistical information at the BS, a codebook based on random vector quantization (RVQ) and tailored to uncorrected Rayleigh fading is used in signaling. Our first contribution is to characterize the impact of spatial correlation (in particular, the eigenvalues of the transmit covariance matrix) on the performance of an RVQ scheme. We also show that spatial correlation has significant consequences on practical aspects of limited feedback systems like storage and construction of codebooks. While independent RVQ codebooks have to be generated for the different users in the i.i.d. case, under certain relaxed assumptions on the correlation, the same codebook can be reused across all the users. This is because the spatial signature induced by the correlation can be exploited to distinguish the quantizers of different users.
Extrinsic Incubation Rate is Not Accelerated in Recent California Strains of West Nile Virus in Culex tarsalis (Diptera: Culicidae)

The efficiency of West Nile virus (WNV) transmission by competent mosquito vectors is driven by temperature and defined, in part, by the extrinsic incubation period, which is the time from a mosquito's consumption of an infected bloodmeal until it becomes capable of transmitting the virus to the next vertebrate host. The extrinsic incubation period can be altered by a variety of factors involved in vector-pathogen interactions, and in North America, the WN02 strain of WNV emerged and displaced the founding NY99 strain reportedly because the duration of the extrinsic incubation period in Culex mosquitoes was shortened by a single positively selected mutation. However, recent work has suggested that this change is not universal and may depend on vector species or strain. In the current study, we estimated the extrinsic incubation periods at 22 and 30°C in Culex tarsalis Coquillett. We found that the time to transmission of the original North American WNV strain, NY99, was not different from two more recent California isolates of the WN02 genotype: one of the earliest California isolates from the southeastern deserts, and a more recent 2011 isolate from a hyperendemic region in the Central Valley. We conclude with a model-based assessment of the epidemiological effects of temperature on the duration of mosquitoes' infectious life, which estimated that most mosquitoes have an infectious life of only a few days, but its duration expands markedly at warmer temperatures.
Isolated Acute Meningococcal Arthritis

Isolated, acute, suppurative meningococcal arthritis is reported in a five-month-old infant. It should be differentiated from arthritis associated with chronic meningococcemia and acute systemic meningococcemia.
Estrogen stimulation of human chorionic gonadotropin binding by luteinized rat ovarian slices.

The effect of estrogen treatment on [125I]hCG binding by luteinized rat ovarian slices was investigated. Immature female rats were primed with PMSG and ovine LH. Daily (10 µg/rat) or a single (50 µg/rat) injection of polyestradiol phosphate to PMS-LH primed rats had two effects on [125I]hCG binding. First, binding was enhanced from a T/M ratio of 22 in the control group (sesame oil injection) to 33 in the estradiol injected group 5 days after treatment. Secondly, estrogen injection maintained binding at the high level for a longer period of time than the control group. The T/M ratio was 20 for the estrogen treated group 19 days after injection, while the ratio was 2.2 for the control group. Ovarian weight and progesterone content in both the ovary and blood was also increased by estrogen administration. It is concluded that estrogen has stimulatory effects on hCG binding and progesterone synthesis by luteinizing rat ovaries (Endocrinology 95: 1691, 1974)
Software bus transceiver

Frameworks such as "software-buses" enable the integration of different software components into a coherent suite of applications. However, the communication and interoperation between these software components are limited by the boundary of the framework. We describe the software bus transceiver as a translation protocol and supporting architecture to facilitate communication and interoperation of software components from different frameworks. This paper describes the model and the design of the software bus transceiver, the construction of an experimental prototype, and a demonstration scenario that shows how two independent software components can be bridged, using the software bus transceiver, to collaborate on a common task, without any code modification. >
Social Network Relationships and Use of Physician Services A Reexamination

The typology of social network relationships proposed by Rundall and Evashwick (1982) is reexamined in light of data from a survey of a random sample of noninstitutionalized elderly. The original f...
Effect of Alterations in Protein Intake on Liver Xanthine Dehydrogenase in the Chick

Protein intake alterations effect on chick body weight, liver weight, liver nitrogen and xanthine dehydrogenase activity
Locus of Control and Its Influence on Hotel Managers' Job Satisfaction

Abstract Studies have demonstrated that internal/external locus of control impacts job satisfaction. Additionally, research indicates that locus of control relates to many other work-related perceptions. However, few studies exist that investigate the relationship between locus of control and job satisfaction for hotel managers. This study investigates hotel managers' job satisfaction (n = 68), internal/external locus tendencies, and the relationship between the two constructs. The results indicate that variables other than the locus personality construct may relate to hotel managers' perception of job satisfaction. Additionally, the results stimulate the ongoing person versus situation debate in job satisfaction research.
Mixed models and reduced/selective integration displacement models for nonlinear analysis of curved beams

Simple mixed models are developed for use in the geometrically nonlinear analysis of deep arches. A total Lagrangian description of the arch deformation is used, the analytical formulation being based on a form of the nonlinear deep arch theory with the effects of transverse shear deformation included. The fundamental unknowns comprise the six internal forces and generalized displacements of the arch, and the element characteristic arrays are obtained by using Hellinger-Reissner mixed variational principle. The polynomial interpolation functions employed in approximating the forces are one degree lower than those used in approximating the displacements, and the forces are discontinuous at the interelement boundaries. Attention is given to the equivalence between the mixed models developed herein and displacement models based on reduced integration of both the transverse shear and extensional energy terms. The advantages of mixed models over equivalent displacement models are summarized. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the high accuracy and effectiveness of the mixed models developed and to permit a comparison of their performance with that of other mixed models reported in the literature.
Breaking Out of Academic Isolation: The Media Odyssey of a Sociologist

The professional development of sociologists involves specialized training through which we acquire and apply numerous skills. However, it is unlikely that our professional socialization includes training in how to inform the public about sociological knowledge and research through media involvement. As a sociologist who did not receive such training and was not prepared for the enormous unanticipated media and public interest given to my research topic, I provide a personal account of my unexpected metamorphosis into a media self and my experiences working with the media. I describe the nature of my professional and media obscurity, provide an overview of my initiation into media culture, and explore a self-transformation process that became necessary to manage the responsibilities associated with the media-assigned role of expert. I identify and examine the lessons I learned through extensive media involvement and the emergent realities of this involvement. Based on my experiences and resulting awareness of media culture, I offer to the discipline some suggestions and guidelines for media involvement and advocate for media training.
The metabolic and toxicological considerations for mTOR inhibitors in the treatment of hepatocarcinoma.

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major health problem worldwide. Several molecular pathways involved in HCC growth and progression have recently been identified. Rapamycin analogs are able to inhibit one of the most active oncogenic molecular pathways in HCC cells: the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. Areas covered: In this review, the authors analyze the principal molecular features of the mTOR pathway and the use of rapamycin analogs in the treatment of hepatocarcinoma. The article also looks at the reoccurrence of HCC following liver transplantation as well as after the treatment of de novo neoplasms. Finally, the authors discuss the advantage of using a combined HCC pharmacological therapy to obtain a synergistic effect on tumor mass. Expert opinion: Among the available options for the treatment of advanced-stage HCC, mTOR pathway inhibitors show great promise. Once these agents have their safety and efficacy confirmed, in the treatment of liver disease, their use should ...
Management of an unusual and difficult case of breast carcinoma metastatic to the eyelids

Breast carcinoma is the most common metastatic lesion of the eyelid. A number of previous reports have focused on the presentation, diagnosis and pathology of these lesions. However, very little attention has been directed to the management of the condition. The authors present a case of breast carcinoma metastatic to the eyelid. A brief review of the literature and recommendations regarding management are given.
Using Orem's Theory to Generate Nursing Diagnoses for Electronic Documentation:

If nursing practice is guided by nursing theory, then decision-making processes should be filtered through the theory in such a way that makes the outcomes of the process both unique and useful to nursing. This article presents a discussion of the formulation of a decision-making process based on Orem's self-care deficit nursing theory that produces specific diagnostic statements about the relationship between individuals' therapeutic self-care demand and their self-care agency.
Normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic separations using ethoxynonafluorobutane as hexane alternative. II. Liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry applications with methanol gradients.

Abstract We have reported recently that high-speed normal-phase (NP) HPLC separations of a broad range of organic compounds can be performed on cyano columns using gradients of methanol in hexane-like solvent—ethoxynonafluorobutane (ENFB), available commercially. In this communication, we demonstrate that atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) in combination with mass spectrometry (MS) can be effectively used for detection in such separations. The efficiency of APCI under conditions studied has also been compared to the efficiency of traditional electrospray ionization (ESI) in combination with MS for reversed-phase (RP) HPLC of the same compounds. The compounds included in this study were steroids, benzodiazepines, and other central nervous system-active substances, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, tricyclic antidepressants, and β-adrenergic blocking agents. Non-polar compounds were found to respond stronger when APCI–MS technique was used, whereas APCI and ESI ionization efficiencies were comparable when polar substances were studied. The combination of normal-phase HPLC separation conditions with mass spectral detection may expand the range of LC–MS applications traditionally associated with reversed-phase HPLC and ESI–MS detection.
Effect of Sodium Hypochlorite on Lime Fruit Surface Microflora and Suspensions of XanthomonasCampestris Pv. Citri, as Related to Citrus Bacteriosis in Colima, Mexico

Symptoms of citrus bacteriosis, a presumptive form of citrus bacterial canker disease (Xanthomonas campestris pv. citri = Xcc), occur on leaves and twigs of Mexican lime, Persian lime, grapefruit, sour orange, and other citrus varieties in Colima, Mexico. Immersion of Mexican and Persian limefruit in 200 ppm Cl-, as sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), for two minutes is a prerequisite for movement of the fruit out of the citrus bacteriosis quarantine area in Colima state. The effect of such treatment of lime surface microflora was evaluated. Buffered aqueous suspensions of the Asiatic canker, Cancrosis B, and Mexican lime cancrosis strains of Xcc, as well as an X. campestris isolate from Mexico, containing ca. 108 CFU/ml, did not survive more than 10 ppm of Cl- after treatment for two minutes with NaOCl. In buffered aqueous fruit washings from limes treated with NaOCl (180–900 ppm Cl-) in packing houses or in vitro, total bacteria were reduced 77 to more than 99%, hyphal fungi 99-100%, and yeast-like fungi more than 99%. Nevertheless, total bacteria populations of 6 × 101 to 3 × 103 CFU/cm2 fruit surface survived NaOCl treatments. No bacteriosis lesions have been observed to date on fruit in Colima. No Xanthomonas spp. were recovered from fruit washings on dilution plates containing several standard bacteriological media.
Advances in the management of stable angina.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the approved uses, pharmacology, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, efficacy, safety, and place in therapy of ranolazine, the first new antianginal drug therapy introduced in more than 20 years for the treatment of chronic angina. SUMMARY: The mechanism of action of ranolazine is unknown, but it may involve inhibition of the late sodium current in the myocardium, thereby preventing sodium-induced intracellular calcium overload during ischemia. This mechanism differs from that of other antianginal agents, which primarily affect myocardial oxygen supply or demand through hemodynamic effects. Ranolazine undergoes extensive metabolism, primarily by cytochrome P-450 (CYP) 3A4, so interactions with drugs that are moderate to potent inhibitors of CYP3A4 need to be considered. Ranolazine is also a P-glycoprotein (P-gp) substrate and inhibitor, and it may interact with other P-gp substrates and inhibitors. In patients with an inadequate response to other antianginal agents, the addition of ranolazine to existing antianginal therapy increases exercise duration and the time to angina on an exercise treadmill test, and it decreases the frequency of angina attacks and nitroglycerin use. The drug produces antianginal effects without significantly affecting either heart rate or blood pressure. Ranolazine prolongs the QT interval on the electrocardiogram, but the overall electrophysiologic effects of the drug suggest that it is not expected to cause torsades de pointes. CONCLUSION: Ranolazine has a unique mechanism of action that may be complementary to that of conventional antianginal agents in the treatment of chronic angina. An understanding of the potential for drug interactions, disease interactions, and contraindications is needed to ensure safe and effective use of the drug.
Norepinephrine metabolism in dogs with chronic renovascular hypertension.

SummaryAnalysis of several tissues (kidney, right ventricle, left ventricle, aorta spleen, liver) of dogs with renovascular hypertension revealed significantly less endogenous and tritiated norepinephrine in the soluble cytoplasm of the kidneys and in the right and left ventricle, but a higher specific activity of the tritiated compound in the soluble cytoplasm of the kidney. There was no deficit in the ability of the storage granules to bind norepinephrine. These findings indicate that changes in norepinephrine dynamics play only a secondary role in the pathogenesis of experimental renovascular hypertension.The authors wish to acknowledge the excellent cooperation of Dr. Nuzhet O. Atuk and the Catecholamine Laboratory at the University of Virginia.
Elevated Insulin, Norepinephrine, and Neuropeptide Y in Hypertension

To investigate the relationship between insulin and sympathetic activity, plasma norepinephrine, neuropeptide Y, serum glucose and insulin concentrations were measured in ten age-, weight-, and sex-matched normotensive and untreated hypertensive subjects at fasting and 2 h following ingestion of a 75 g oral glucose dose. Hypertensives had higher fasting serum insulin (27 +/- 6 v 12 +/- 2 microU/mL; P = .02) and plasma norepinephrine (356 +/- 38 v 235 +/- 35 pg/mL; P = .03) concentrations than normotensives. Glucose load increased serum insulin (P less than .001) and plasma norepinephrine concentrations (P = .001) in both groups and hypertensives had still higher postglucose insulin (P = .003) and norepinephrine levels (P = .003) than normotensives. Fasting neuropeptide Y was higher in hypertensives than in normotensives (P = .03) and correlated with age in both groups (r = 0.7; r = 0.77). Postglucose serum insulin correlated positively with plasma norepinephrine (r = 0.75; P = .013) in normotensives, but these parameters correlated negatively in hypertensives (r = -0.7; P = .036). We hypothesize that elevated plasma norepinephrine and neuropeptide Y levels reflect an increased level of sympathetic nervous activity in hypertensives, which in turn may be responsible for the abnormal relationship between plasma NE and insulin levels.
Effect Evaluation of Resistance-reducing Transformation for Ground Grid of Urban Substation

To solve the common difficulty in precisely evaluating the state of ground network caused by the difficulty in accurately measuring the ground resistance of urban substation ground grid in recent years,the resistance-reducing transformation for ground grid of 110 kV Fuhao Substation under Zhongshan Power Supply Bureau of Guangdong Power Grid Corporation is taken for example,the shunt coefficient of 10 kV cable sheath to measuring current is centered around,and the evaluation means of indirectly reflecting the ground-grid resistance-reducing effect via the changes in shunt coefficient of 10 kV cable sheath before and after the resistance-reducing transformation is discussed.A referential method for measuring and evaluating the ground network state of urban substation is proposed to solve the limitation in urban ground grid assessment due to merely adopting ground resistance measuring means.
Oligosaccharides as signals for plant defensive genes

Fragments of fungal and plant cell walls including β-glucans, chitin and chitosan fragments and oligogalacturonides have been shown by a number of researchers to act as signals to activate plant defensive responses. Oligogalacturonide fragments can be generated from plant cell walls by the action of PGases and PC-lyases secreted by fungi and bacteria, and by PGases already present in plants. Our research on the role of oligouronide fragments in the wound induction of proteinase inhibitor genes in leaves of tomato plants has shown that α-1,4-oligouronides as small as the dimer can activate these genes. The unsaturated dimer, a product of PC-lyase, is also a potent inducer of proteinase inhibitor genes. The role of oligosaccharides as possible systemic signals in activating transcription of proteinase inhibitor genes for defense against insects is discussed.
Migration, Human Development, and the Life Course

Every year and at every age humans move. They move from one house to another, from one school to another, from one job to another, from one state to another, and, in moves that rouse the notice of nation states, they move from one country to another. In moving, they are displaying the hallmarks of the human condition. Impelled by fundamental forces of survival and human development, keen to attain the ends for which they were made, they search for a better country, make plans for a new life, and move to undertake that new life.
Fourier Correlation Method for Simulating Mutual Diffusion Coefficients in Condensed Systems at Equilibrium

We introduce here the Fourier correlation (FC) method for obtaining bulk diffusion coefficients in simulations of condensed, nonideal mixtures. The method in particular allows a Fickian mutual diffusion coefficient to be calculated directly in a molecular dynamics simulation and provides for a correction of errors due to finite system sizes. It is an equilibrium method that may be performed at the same time as standard thermodynamic computations. The method is tested by simulating a binary system of LJ particles meant to approximate a nonideal liquid mixture of methane and carbon tetrafluoride. Results are validated by comparison to Green–Kubo and nonequilibrium methods and simulation at multiple system sizes.
A Rare Case of Primary Amyloidosis, Presenting with Severe Pulmonary Hypertension and Bilateral Pleural Effusion.

Abstract Pulmonary arterial hypertension secondary to vascular deposition is a rare presentation of Primary Amyloidosis. The natural history of pulmonary hypertension and concomitant right-sided cardiac failure is not very well understood and is associated with a very short median survival. This syndrome is a marker of advanced Amyloidosis Persistent pleural effusion is another much rarer presentation of pulmonary involvement in Primary Amyloidosis and is secondary to pleural infiltration, which sometimes is difficult to distinguish from the cardiomyopathic causes. The incidence of pleural effusion in primary Amyloidosis is 1–2%. This syndrome also has a very poor prognosis, and has limited response to treatment, however, pleurodesis has been temporarily useful in some cases. Case report: A 74 year old African American female, non-smoker, with history of hypertension, who presented with shortness of breath and persistent productive cough and 18 pounds weight loss for the last six months. The initial chest x-rays showed bilateral pleural effusion and a transudate fluid on analysis. Cardiac workup for an atypical chest pain revealed moderate to severe pulmonary hypertension without myocardial infiltration on 2-D echocardiogram, and normal coronary arteries on cardiac catheterization. Extensive workup did not show any secondary cause of pulmonary hypertension, however, the patient gradually developed nephrotic range proteinuria and kidney biopsy showed infiltration of 10 nm fibrils, involving 3+ segmental mesangium, and 2+ segmental glomerular basement membranes. This was consistent with renal Primary Amyloidosis, AL Lambda type. A random urine and serum sample for immunofixation also revealed an M- spike of 23 mg/dl in gamma region. A concomitant bone marrow biopsy revealed presence of monoclonal IgG lambda plasma cell (CD38 bright) population, without any B-cell or T-cell markers. Conclusion: Pulmonary hypertension and pleural effusion are two rare and lethal presentations of pulmonary involvements in Primary Amyloidosis, and it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of any patient presenting with pulmonary symptoms. There is no definite treatment of these syndromes, although combinations of steroids and melphalan, along with colchicines, vincristine, adriamycin, and thalidomide have been used with minimum satisfactory outcomes. Autologous stem cell transplantation (SCT) provides the opportunity to give higher doses of chemotherapy and may be of benefit in some cases.
Individual Identities in Organizations

In this article, recent changes in the ways social scientists conceptualize both individuals and organizations are explored. On the one hand, the decline of the traditional essentialistic treatment of the individual is considered. On the other hand, recent developments in the rapidly growing literature on organization identity are reviewed. The literature on identity seems to be leading to a parallel challenge to the essentialistic organization. The value of the identity concept as a bridge between levels of analysis and as a practical tool for managers of today's organic structures is explored. In this context, the idea of identity seems to be emerging as a potent concept for organizational studies. Organization studies in the twentieth century featured two main levels of inquiry: (a) a sociological one emphasizing organization systems as macrosocial units and (b) a micro or psychological level that emphasized individuals and groups. Although these two strands often informed each other, seldom did they come together fully to provide important insights into organizational processes. However, late in the century, two concepts: individual identity (micro) and organization identity (macro) appeared to be on the verge of doing so. These concepts continue to develop in ways that blur traditional boundaries, each one beginning to change fundamental concepts at the other level. Together they appear to be on the verge of providing a basis for a promising fusion. The article reviews these developments. Two major topics are addressed: (a) trends in the study of the individuals and (b) conceptual developments concerning organizational identity.
Dysphagia with second-generation antipsychotics: A case report and review of the literature.

Abstract Background: All antipsychotics are associated with extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS). These can present as dysphagia, esophageal dysmotility, or aspiration, all of which may not be recognized as EPS. Case Report: A 62-year-old with schizophrenia, prescribed olanzapine 5 mg daily, presented agitated and endorsed difficulty swallowing. Speech therapy suggested her complaints were related to either reflux or dysmotility. Esophageal manometry showed her lower esophageal sphincter was not fully relaxing, and identified an esophagogastric junction outflow obstruction. Despite therapeutic dilation, oral intake remained poor. Following an increase in olanzapine, she developed EPS, her dysphagia worsened, and she was choking on food. Following a switch to aripiprazole her EPS and appetite improved, and she ceased complaining of dysphagia. Discussion: Dysphagia has been reported with first- and second-generation antipsychotics. A review of the second-generation antipsychotic literature identified case reports ...
Approximation Algorithms for Online User Association in Multi-Tier Multi-Cell Mobile Networks

The constantly growing wireless bandwidth demand is pushing wireless networks to multi-tier architectures consisting of a macrocell tier and a number of dense small cell deployment tiers. In such a multi-tier multi-cell environment, the classic problem of associating users to base stations becomes both more challenging and more critical to the overall network performance. Most previous analytical work is focused on designing static user-cell association algorithms, which, to achieve optimality, are periodically applied whenever there are new user arrivals, thus potentially inducing a large number of re-associations for previously arrived users. On the other hand, practical online algorithms that do not allow any such user re-association are often based on heuristics and may not have any performance guarantees. In this paper, we propose online algorithms for the multi-tier multi-cell user association problem that have provable performance guarantees, which improve previously known bounds by a sizable amount. The proposed algorithms are motivated by online combinatorial auctions, while capturing and leveraging the relative sparsity of choices in wireless networks as compared with auction setups. Our champion algorithm is a $\frac {1}{2-a^{-1}}$ approximation algorithm, where $a$ is the maximum number of feasible associations for a user and is, in general, small due to path loss. Our analysis considers the state-of-the-art wireless technologies, such as massive and multiuser MIMO, and practical aspects of the system such as the fact that highly mobile users have a preference to connect to larger cell tiers to keep the signaling overhead low. In addition to establishing formal performance bounds, we also conduct simulations under realistic assumptions, which establish the superiority of the proposed algorithm over existing approaches under real-world scenarios.
The New Nashville: Reimagined, Revised, Retold

Nashville’s places of performance, production, and preservation create a narrative that connects the history of country music with the current industry that is occurring outside of museum and venue walls. This chapter will explore and comment on the continued dialogue between dualities: past/present, backstage/frontstage, and real/fabricated, illustrating that the manifestation of Nashville as a Music City is not based in the complete story, but instead the story which is told. By exploring what has been added to the tourist narrative and what has been eliminated, Nashville as space to perform the imagined becomes clear, highlighting the hyperreal production and presentation of the country-music tradition.
Acquisitions: core principles and practices 2nd Edition, by Jesse Holden: Chicago, Illinois: Neal Schuman, 2017, 132 pp., ISBN: 978-0-8389-1460-1, $85.00.

This revised edition of Holden’s Acquisitions in the New Information Universe: Core Competencies and Ethical Practices begins with a preface in which Holden expresses his desire to provide a theore...
Neurodevelopmental Malformations: Etiology and Clinical Manifestations

Neuropsychologists frequently work with patients who have specified brain lesions that produce well-documented cognitive or behavioral effects. However, for those clinicians working with school-age children or adolescents who suffer developmental disorders, the pathogenesis of cognitive and behavioral deficits may be poorly understood. It should be noted, however, that considerably more is now known about neurological anomalies than in decades past. Consequently, it is more widely recognized that knowledge of neurodevelopmental processes should underscore clinical practice (Riccio & Pizzitola-Jarratt, 2005). This chapter reviews the anomalies of neurological development that not infrequently are seen in children and adolescents with developmental disorders. Most typically the neuropsychological manifestations of these anomalies impact on widely distributed functional systems, thus producing generalized and severe impairment. However, there are exceptions, especially with regard to anomalies of neuronal migration. Some basic understanding of these effects should aid neuropsychologists in a better conceptualization of how disorders of neurological development produce different effects than do discrete lesions of the central nervous system. There is wide variability in neuroanatomical development and, unfortunately, there is still incomplete understanding of neurodevelopmental anomalies. Our ability to define these anomalies by pathogenesis or prognosis is greater than our ability to relate them to functional or behavioral deficits. However, it is increasingly clear that a better understanding of the brain enhances the appreciation as to relations between brain functioning and the processes and behaviors we typically assess (Reynolds & French, 2005). Essentially three categories of anomalies can be specified: (1) those incompatible with life, (2) those not necessarily incompatible with life but that severely impair functioning, and (3) those of variable consequences such that they can be asymptomatic or associated with subtle cognitive and behavioral deficits. In this chapter, five general types of neurodevelopmental anomalies, as defined by pathogenesis, will be addressed: (1) bulk brain growth abnormalities, (2) cerebral hemisphere dysplasias, (3) cerebral cortex malformations, (4) hydrocephalus and associated anomalies, and (5) neural tube abnormalities and fusion deficits.
Nurse Practitioners as Disruptive Innovators in Palliative Medicine

As the population ages, the corresponding rise in people living with life-limiting illnesses will lead to a greater need for clinician experts in palliative medicine. There are not enough physicians available to care for the growing number of patients, however. We believe that nurse practitioners are well positioned to meet this demand. In this paper, we will use the concept of disruptive innovations to provide support for our belief that nurse practitioners can, and should, take a larger role in palliative medicine. First, we will describe how 2 general types of business models-solution shops and value-adding processes-can be applied to health care in general and palliative medicine specifically. Second, we will describe the concept of disruptive innovations. Finally, we will use these business models to explain how nurse practitioners are particularly well suited to disrupt the current business model of palliative medicine, thereby allowing more patients with life-limiting illness to receive the high-quality care they need.
Creation of a Computer Self-Efficacy Measure: Analysis of Internal Consistency, Psychometric Properties, and Validity

Abstract Computer self-efficacy is an often studied construct that has been shown to be related to an array of important individual outcomes. Unfortunately, existing measures of computer self-efficacy suffer from several deficiencies, including criterion contamination, outdated wording, and/or inadequate psychometric properties. For this reason, the current article presents the creation of a new computer self-efficacy measure. In Study 1, an over-representative item list is created and subsequently reduced through exploratory factor analysis to create an initial measure, and the discriminant validity of this initial measure is tested. In Study 2, the unidimensional factor structure of the initial measure is supported through confirmatory factor analysis and further reduced into a final, 12-item measure. In Study 3, the convergent and criterion validity of the 12-item measure is tested. Overall, this three study process demonstrates that the new computer self-efficacy measure has superb psychometric proper...
What is Waste

An Arendtian approach to waste is offered which suggests that three common senses of waste refer to products of labor, work, and action, as explained in The Human Condition (1958). The paper offers examples of ecological, utilitarian and moral-political senses of waste, and argues that they are not incommensurable, but form part of a continuum with respect to their relative freedom from constraint. For this reason, different senses of waste offer distinct political dimensions for waste scholars that relate to boundaries between the human/non-human and critiques of oppression and injustice more broadly.
Anesthesia in Action at a Global Health Site

Guadalupe is a 72-year-old Honduran woman with a long history of right lower abdominal pain that has worsened over the past 4 months. Her past medical history is significant for diet-controlled diabetes and high blood pressure for which she takes hydrochlorothiazide and atenolol. She has never had surgery and has no family history of problems with anesthesia.
Preen Gland and Scent Gland Lipids

It seems likely that all vertebrates possess specialized elaborations of the integument which produce lipids. The locations, structures, and possible functions of such glands in members of each of the vertebrate classes have been described by Quay (1976). The lipid products of these organs are synthesized within the glands and are not significantly affected by dietary or circulating lipids. The species-specific lipid compositions appear to be under tight genetic control and are highly conserved over evolutionary time. Nevertheless, as with sebaceous gland lipids, it has rarely been possible to specify biological functions that would justify the observed specificity in composition. An exception to this is the established sex pheromone function of the scent gland secretions of certain mammals and reptiles.
Simulation of sequential pathology images for the virtual clinical trials with rad-path correlation.

A simulation of sequential breast pathology images is proposed, as a prerequisite for the development of virtual clinical trials (VCTs) with radiology-pathology (rad-path) correlation. The rad-path correlation of breast cancer findings is performed clinically to confirm concordance and increase confidence in diagnoses. VCTs have been used for optimization of breast imaging systems, based upon computer simulation of breast anatomy, imaging modalities, and image interpretation. Today, VCTs are used to optimize breast imaging at the “radiology” spatial scale, by simulating tissue structures seen in radiological images, namely, skin, adipose or dense tissue compartments, fibrous ligaments, and major ducts and blood vessels. We have extended this simulation to the microscopic (i.e., “pathology”) spatial scale, to allow for virtual rad-path correlation. Previously, we developed a manual simulation of adipose and dense tissue regions in pathology images, corresponding to a small region selected within a breast phantom simulated at the radiological scale. In this paper, we describe an automated simulation of adipocytes, epithelial and myoepithelial cells, collagen fibers, and fibroblasts. Adipocytes are simulated by recursive partitioning. Epithelial and myoepithelial cells are simulated radially around ductal or acinar lumen. Fibers and fibroblasts are simulated by an analogy with the electrostatic field. Our approach models the volumetric distributions of cells and various breast tissues, which allows the simulation of sequential pathology images at clinical inter-slice distances. The proposed simulation method has been evaluated by a clinical pathologist and medical physicists. The effect of the simulation approaches on the visual appearance of simulated pathology images has been evaluated.
Structural Identification for the Reaction of Chlorosulfonic Acid with Tertiary N-Donor Ligand – Ionic Liquid or Zwitterionic Compound?

Acid catalysts derived from a well-known reaction of 1-methylimidazole and chlorosulfonic acid system are considered very important, but sufficient details are lacking on their structure information. We studied and report the structural characterization of products from a reaction of 1-methylimidazole and chlorosulfonic acid. Our results from crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) indicate the formation of a unique reaction mixture of zwitterion-type salt [C1im-SO3] and ionic liquid [C1im-SO3H]Cl at a 7:3 ratio instead of only ionic liquids as proposed by others.