cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Interaction of Circulating Oestrogens and Androgens in Regulating Mammalian Sexual Differentiation

In mammals males are the heterogametic sex, and the Y chromosome codes for differentiation of the gonads into testes. With the exception of the primary sexual characteristic, gonadal sex, all other differences between males and females are thought to be mediated hormonally via secretions from the testes. In the absence of gonads, mammalian foetuses develop into phenotypic females (Jost 1972). The ovaries of female foetuses differentiate significantly later in development than do the testes, and it appears that the ovaries of female foetuses are not steroidogenic (cf., Gibori and Sridaran 1981). In mammalian species in which the period of gestation is relatively long, sexual differentiation is usually completed by birth. In short-gestation species, such as rats and mice, however, sexual differentiation commences during the last third of pregnancy and continues during the first week to 10 days of postnatal life. Previously, it was erroneously assumed that the differentiation of sexual behaviour in mice and rats began shortly after birth (Barraclough and Leathem 1954, Young et al. 1964). There is a critical coupling of the timing of the secretion of testosterone, the primary androgen secreted by the testes of foetuses and adults, and the development of both neural and peripheral androgen-target tissues. Extrinsic factors that interfere with this normal coupling (such as maternal stress or exposure to exogenous hormones) can radically alter the course of sexual differentiation.
Input observer: measuring text entry and pointing performance from naturalistic everyday computer use

In this paper we describe the Input Observer, a background application that will be capable of measuring a user's text entry and pointing abilities from everyday computer use "in the wild." The application runs quietly in the background of the user's computer and utilizes global Windows Hooks to observe the text entry input stream and use of the mouse, and will yield data equivalent to results from lab-based measures of text entry and target acquisition. A major challenge is the lack of a task model from which researchers can know the intent of the user at every moment. We describe our approach to handling this issue for both text entry and mouse pointing.
Rectifying postures reconstructed from joint angles to meet constraints

Postures are often described and modeled using angles between body segments rather than joint coordinates. Models can be used to predict these angles as a function of anthropometry and postural requirements. Postural representation, however, requires the joint coordinates. The use of conventional forward kinematics to derive joint coordinates from predicted angles may violate task constraints, such as the placement of a hand on a target or a foot on a pedal. Errors arise because the anthropometry or other motion characteristics of a subject, for which the prediction is to be made, may differ from the data from which the prediction model was derived. We describe how to rectify model-predicted postures to exactly satisfy such task constraints. We require that the model used for predicting the angles also produce estimates of the variation in these predictions. We show how to alter the initial angle predictions, with the amount of perturbation at each angle dependent on the accuracy of its estimation, so as to exactly satisfy the joint coordinate constraints. Finally, we show in an empirical example that this correction usually produces better overall predictions of posture than those obtained initially.
Stability analysis of interconnected single-hop random-access networks

The interconnection of two single-hop random-access networks is considered. In each network a station, called the bridge node, receives internetwork packets from the local users and forwards them to the bridge node of the other network via a point-to-point link, for subsequent broadcasting to the users of that network. In each network, the bridge node shares the available broadcast channel with the local users either via contention or via frequency division. Under the infinite population Poisson user model, conditions for the stability of the interconnected system are derived. >
Enzymatic Esterification of Diols in Reverse Micellar Media

With the help of highly dynamic reverse micellar media, lipase-catalyzed esterification reactions can be carried out at ambient conditions without any agitation. Having low water contents in reverse micellar media, these reversible reactions favor the esterification direction instead of the normal hydrolysis catalyzed by lipases. A proposed enzyme kinetic model has successfully predicted the reaction mechanism of lauric acid with 1,3-propanediol in reverse micellar media. However, experiments conducted showed a likelihood of substrate inhibition at higher lauric acid concentrations (>70 mM) and a strong bonding effect among 1,3-propanediol, water, and AOT head groups. The effect of water concentration in the reaction media was shown to be important. The optimal Wo's for achieving the greatest initial reaction rate and final conversion were 9 and 4 for Candida rugosa and Rhizopus delemar, respectively. For both lipases, reverse micellar media experiments showed a lipase localization possibility.
A study of the radiation pattern of a GPS antenna on several vehicle platforms

This paper studies the radiation pattern of a global positioning system (GPS) antenna on a ground plane and five distinct vehicle platforms. The antenna was mounted under the instrument panel (IP) in all vehicle platforms. Vehicle-level radiation pattern of a GPS antenna is measured on the five vehicle platforms in an automotive antenna range. Results are presented to show the impact of the vehicle platform on the GPS antenna radiation pattern. Vehicle-level antenna radiation patterns are compared to the radiation pattern of the same antenna on a ground-plane.
Short-term prolactin administration causes expressible galactorrhea but does not affect bone turnover: pilot data for a new lactation agent

Medications used to augment lactation increase prolactin secretion but can have intolerable side effects. We examined the biological activity of recombinant human prolactin (r-hPRL) as preliminary data for its use to augment lactation. Healthy, non-postpartum women (n = 21) with regular menstrual cycles underwent a seven day randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of r-hPRL. Expressible galactorrhea, markers of bone turnover, calcium homeostasis and gonadal function were measured and side effects recorded. Prolactin levels increased during r-hPRL administration (20.0 ± 2.8 to 231.7 ± 48.9 μg/L at 6 hours; p < 0.05). Five of nine participants who received r-hPRL developed expressible galactorrhea (p < 0.001). Urinary deoxypyridinoline decreased and bone specific alkaline phosphatase increased in r-hPRL and placebo groups. Menstrual cycle lengths were not altered and side effects were similar between r-hPRL and placebo groups. In summary, r-hPRL can cause expressible galactorrhea. Seven days of r-hPRL administration does not adversely affect bone turnover or menstrual cyclicity. Thus, r-hPRL may be a viable option for short-term lactation augmentation. Clinical Trials.gov NCT00438490
THE EFFICACY OF TRANSURETHRAL BIOPSY FOR PREDICTING THE LONG-TERM CLINICAL IMPACT OF PROSTATIC INVASIVE BLADDER CANCER

Purpose: Involvement of the prostate by bladder cancer directly impacts survival, the risk of urethral recurrence, and treatment decisions concerning the timing of cystectomy and type of urinary diversion. Transurethral lateromontanal loop biopsies are proposed as the most accurate method for evaluating the prostatic urethra. Due to the potential clinical impact on individuals we assessed its accuracy in a large cohort.Materials and Methods: Transurethral lateromontanal loop biopsies were performed in 246 of 416 male patients at our institution between 1989 and 1997. The predictive value and sensitivity of transurethral biopsy, patterns of recurrence, survival and clinical impact were assessed in a cohort with 10 years of followup.Results: The sensitivity of transurethral biopsy for prostatic stromal invasion was 53%, specificity was 77%, positive predictive value was 45% and negative predictive value was 82%. At the 10-year followup 129 patients (52.4%) were dead, 85 (32%) had no evidence of disease, 16 ...
Risk factors for ANA positivity in healthy persons

The finding of antinuclear antibody (ANA) positivity in a healthy individual is usually of unknown significance and in most cases is benign. However, a subset of such individuals is at risk for development of autoimmune disease. We examined demographic and immunological features that are associated with ANA positivity in clinically healthy persons to develop insights into when this marker carries risk of progression to lupus. Biological samples from healthy individuals and patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were obtained from the Dallas Regional Autoimmune Disease Registry (DRADR). Measurements carried out on serum samples included ANA, extractable nuclear antibodies (ENA) and autoantibody profiling using an array with more than 100 specificities. Whole blood RNA samples from a subset of individuals were used to analyze gene expression on the Illumina platform. Data were analyzed for associations of high ANA levels with demographic features, the presence of other autoantibodies and with gene expression profiles. Overall, ANA levels are significantly higher in females than in males and this association holds in patients with the autoimmune diseases lupus and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as well as in healthy controls (HC). Age was not significantly associated with ANA levels and the elevated ANA values could not be explained by higher IgG levels. Another autoantibody, anti- cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP), did not show gender dimorphism in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or healthy individuals. The autoantigen array showed significant elevations of other autoantibodies in high ANA HCs. Some of these autoantibodies were directed to antigens in skin and others were related to autoimmune conditions of kidney, thyroid or joints. Gene expression analyses showed a greater prevalence of significantly upregulated genes in HCs with negative ANA values than in those with significant ANA positivity. Genes upregulated in high ANA HCs included a celiac disease autoantigen and some components of the Type I interferon (IFN) gene signature. Risks for ANA positivity include female gender and organ-specific autoimmunity. Upregulation of skin-specific autoantibodies may indicate that early events in the break of tolerance take place in cutaneous structures. Some of these changes may be mediated by Type I IFN. Blood profiling for expressed autoantibodies and genes has the potential to identify individuals at risk for development of autoimmune diseases including lupus.
Relighting human locomotion with flowed reflectance fields

Overview Wepresentanimage-basedapproachforcapturingtheappearance of a walking or running person so they can be renderedrealistically under variable viewpoint and illumination. Consider-able work has addressed aspects of postproduction control of view-point and illumination of a human performance. Most proposedsystems address only one of those two aspects e.g. [Wilburn et al.2005], [Wenger et al. 2005]. [Theobalt et al. 2005] addressed con-trol both of the viewpoint and illumination, however the approachischallengebylowsamplingofbothlightingandviewdimensions.We take a step toward an image-based approach to obtaining post-production control over both viewpoint and illumination of cyclicfull-body human motion by combining the performance relightingtechnique of [Wenger et al. 2005] with a novel view generationtechnique based on a ﬂowed reﬂectance ﬁeld. By restricting ourconsideration to cyclic motion such as walking and running, we areable to acquire a 2D array of views by slowly rotating the subjectin front of a 1D vertical array of three high speed cameras and seg-menting the data per motion cycle. We then use a combination oflight ﬁeld rendering and view interpolation based on optical ﬂow torender the subject from new viewpoints.(a) (b)(c) (d)Figure1:
Ten‐year follow‐up of pediatric patients with non‐hodgkin lymphoma treated with allogeneic or autologous stem cell transplantation

Background Autologous or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (SCT) is often considered in patients with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) but there are limited data on the use of SCT for the treatment of NHL in the pediatric setting. Procedure To evaluate the role of SCT for children with NHL, we reviewed 36 consecutive pediatric patients with NHL who underwent an allogeneic (n = 21) or autologous (n = 15) SCT at our institution between 1982 and 2004. Pathologic classification included: lymphoblastic lymphoma (n = 12), Burkitt lymphoma (BL) (n = 5), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (n = 4), anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) (n = 13), peripheral T cell lymphoma (n = 1), and undifferentiated NHL (n = 1). Donor source for allogeneic-SCT recipients was an HLA-matched related donor (n = 15), a matched unrelated donor (n = 4), or a mismatched donor (related n = 1; unrelated n = 1). Twenty-eight patients (78%) had chemotherapy responsive disease at the time of transplant (either CR or PR). Results Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were 55% and 53% with a median follow-up of 9.75 years. Outcomes were similar in patients receiving autologous and allogeneic-SCT (DFS 53% in both groups). Patients with ALCL had a DFS of 76.9%. In contrast, of five patients transplanted for BL, none survived. DFS among patients with chemotherapy sensitive disease was 61%, compared with 25% among patients with relapsed/refractory disease (P = 0.019). Conclusions Allogeneic and autologous SCT offer the prospect of durable, disease-free survival for a significant proportion of pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory NHL. Survival is superior among patients with chemotherapy sensitive disease. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2013;60:2018–2024. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Wave Propagation in a Two-Layered Medium

Abstract : Elastic wave propagation in a medium consisting of two finite layers is considered. Two types of solutions are treated. The first is a Rayleigh train of waves. For this case, when the wave length becomes short, the waves approach two Rayleigh waves plus a possible Stoneley wave. When the wave length becomes large, there are two waves: a flexural wave and an axial wave. Calculations are presented for this case. The propagation of SH waves is treated, but no calculations are presented. (Author)
Interaction rate informs harvester ant task decisions

Social insect colonies operate without central control, and colony organization results from the ways that individuals respond to local information. We investigated how temporal information, in particular the rate of interaction among workers, stimulates foraging activity in the red harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex barbatus). Patrollers scout the foraging area each morning. Previous work showed that the patrollers’ safe return to the nest stimulates the foragers to leave the nest; if the patrollers do not return, the foragers do not emerge. Here, we tested whether contact with returning patrollers must occur at a particular rate to stimulate foraging. We varied the rates at which we introduced patroller mimics, glass beads coated with an extract of the cuticular hydrocarbons of patrollers. A return rate of 1 patroller mimic every 10 s stimulated the highest level of foraging activity. We found that the onset of foraging depends on the rate of patroller return. Adding beads coated with patroller hydrocarbons at a rate of 1 per 10 s caused otherwise undisturbed colonies to forage 17.9 6 19.7 (standard deviation) min faster than colonies that received blank control beads. These results show that rate is a crucial source of information in the network of interactions among workers. Key words: cuticular hydrocarbons, foraging behavior, interaction rate, social insects, task allocation. [Behav Ecol]
Coupling Microdialysis Sampling to Microchip Electrophoresis in a Reversibly Sealed Device

In this paper, we describe the fabrication and characterization of a reversibly sealed microchip device that is used to couple microdialysis sampling to microchip electrophoresis. The ability to interface microdialysis sampling and microchip electrophoresis in a device that is amenable to reversible sealing is advantageous from a repeated use standpoint. Commercially available tubing coming from the microdialysis probe is directly inserted into the chip and flow from the probe is interfaced to the electrophoresis portion of the device through integrated pneumatic valves. Fluorescence detection was used to characterize the poly(dimethylsiloxane)-based device in terms of injection reproducibility. It was found that the entire system (microdialysis probe and microchip device) has a concentration response lag time of 170 sec. Microdialysis sampling followed by an electrophoretic separation of amino acids derivatized with naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde/cyanide was also demonstrated.
USING COMPUTERS TO FACILITATE VISUAL THINKING: AN ANALOGY BETWEEN VISUAL AND VERBAL PROCESSING

This article explores the potential of computers to facilitate visual thinking. The authors’ thesis is that computers can offer learners powerful assistance in their acquisition of certain visual thinking skills and that the assistance offered can be analogized to the assistance which using a word processor gives to a person involved in the writing process. Strengths and limitations of using computers to facilitate visual thinking as a springboard for classroom writing activities are also addressed.
Geophysical model functions for the sea state bias in satellite altimetry

The sea state bias in altimeter measurements of sea surface height have been investigated by many authors, resulting in several proposed algorithms of the form SSB=/spl epsi/H where H is the significant wave height (SWH) and /spl epsi/ is a non-dimensional function of wind and wave parameters. All known algorithms are presently rated. The most popular, linear model of the form /spl epsi/=a/sub 0/+a/sub 1/U is shown to yield an improvement over the simplest algorithm with a constant /spl epsi/. A three-parameter form /spl epsi/=a/sub 0/+a/sub 1/U+a/sub 2/H produces even better results. However, the accuracy of the polynomial models is below that obtained with a two-parameter, physically-based model relating /spl epsi/ to the pseudo-wave-age /spl xi/: /spl epsi/=M/spl xisup -m/. The /spl xi/ is estimated using altimeter wind U and SWH: /spl xispl ap/A(gH/U)/sup V/ where A and v are constants. By analyzing the performance of different models we conclude that further progress can hardly be achieved by raising the degree of the polynomial for /spl epsi/(U,H). Physically-based approaches employing a small number of adjustable parameters and theoretically justified non-dimensional combinations of external wind and wave factors appear to be more promising. >
In silico prediction of hERG inhibition

The voltage-gated potassium channel encoded by hERG carries a delayed rectifying potassium current (IKr) underlying repolarization of the cardiac action potential. Pharmacological blockade of the hERG channel results in slowed repolarization and therefore prolongation of action potential duration and an increase in the QT interval as measured on an electrocardiogram. Those are possible to cause sudden death, leading to the withdrawals of many drugs, which is the reason for hERG screening. Computational in silico prediction models provide a rapid, economic way to screen compounds during early drug discovery. In this review, hERG prediction models are classified as 2D and 3D quantitative structure-activity relationship models, pharmacophore models, classification models, and structure based models (using homology models of hERG).
Inequity Aversion Differences: Experimental Evidence Among Prospective Teachers and Lawyers

Merit pay for teachers is one of the most contentious issues in the K-12 education policy arena. Proponents of merit pay suggest that rewarding teachers for student gains will improve the quality of the teacher workforce. The literature has focused largely on how merit pay affects teacher motivation, and has not investigated the mechanism through which merit pay would change the composition of the teaching force. Presumably, merit pay systems result in highly effective teachers receiving higher pay than ineffective teachers, encouraging the desired pattern of retention and turnover. In addition, it is argued that tying pay to performance will attract new individuals to enter the profession who would not have otherwise done so under the uniform salary scheme, generating a larger pool of teachers from which to hire. These theoretical predictions rest on the basic assumption that highly effective teachers are neutral when it comes to their preferences for uncertain and competitive pay schemes, and are not averse to unequal outcomes among their peers. In this study, I conduct a controlled behavioral experiment to investigate how risk aversion, inequity aversion and preferences toward competition differed among highly effective prospective teachers and lawyers. I find that prospective female teachers and lawyers do not differ in their level of risk aversion. However, female teachers had a much stronger aversion to inequity and were less likely to generate a competitive environment than female lawyers that were planning a career in private practice. Interestingly, there were no statistical differences between prospective female teachers and lawyers who planned careers in public practice.
On the “Counter-Example” in the Article “Max $^{\prime}$ -Controlled Siphons for Liveness of $S^{3}PGR^{2}$ ” Regarding the Results in “Deadlock Avoidance in Sequential Resource Allocation Systems With Multiple Resource Acquisitions and Flexible Routings”

The main purpose of this correspondence is to establish that, contrary to the claims that are made in the paper by D. Y. Chao in it, the results of the paper by Park and S. A. Reveliotis concerning the liveness characterization of the $S^{3}PGR^{2}$ nets by means of the structural object of deadly marked siphon, are correct and complete.
Timing of Voice Therapy: A Primary Investigation of Voice Outcomes for Surgical Benign Vocal Fold Lesion Patients

Summary Objective This study aims to examine the role of timing of speech-language pathology intervention on outcomes for surgical patients with benign vocal fold lesions as measured by a patient self-reported scale (Voice Handicap Index [VHI]) and objective acoustic measures (jitter %, Dysphonia Severity Index, noise-to-harmonics ratio). For the purpose of this study, interventions were categorized into three groups: preoperative (preoperative counseling session followed by postoperative therapy), pre- and postoperative therapy (multiple therapy sessions preoperatively and postoperatively), and postoperative therapy alone. Study Design Retrospective review of a prospective disease-specific outcomes database. Methods Subjects identified in the database consisted of 12 preoperative counseling participants (six male, six female), 11 pre- and postoperative therapy participants (three male, eight female), and eight postoperative therapy only participants (three male, five female). Preoperative and postoperative VHI, Dysphonia Severity Index, jitter, and noise-to-harmonics ratio scores were compared between groups using paired t tests with a multiple comparison Bonferroni correction ( α = 0.016). Results Despite lack of statistically significant changes in acoustic measures, groups receiving preoperative intervention whether with postoperative therapy or not, had statistically significant improvements in their VHI total scores ( P = 0.001 for preoperative only and P = 0.0002 for pre- and postoperative therapy). Conclusions Patients receiving speech pathology services before surgery for benign vocal fold lesions with or without postoperative therapy demonstrated greater gains in their subjective view of vocal function and quality as measured by the VHI.
The number of olfactory stimuli that humans can discriminate is still unknown

Scientists are interested in the number of colors, sounds and smells we can distinguish because this information can shed light onto how our brains process these senses both in health and disease. It is relatively straightforward to determine how many colors we can see or sounds we can hear because these stimuli are well defined by physical properties such as wavelength. We know the range of wavelengths that the eye can see or the ear can hear, and we can also understand how two such stimuli (e.g., red and blue) are arranged perceptually (think of a color wheel). It is harder, however, to do the same for smell because most ‘olfactory stimuli’ consist of mixtures of different odor molecules. Moreover, we understand much less about how olfactory stimuli are arranged perceptually. In 2014 researchers at Rockefeller University reported that humans can distinguish more than one trillion smells from one another. To calculate this number the researchers tested the ability of human subjects to discriminate between mixtures of different odor molecules. Each mixture consisted of 10, 20 or 30 molecules selected from a chemical library of 128 different odor molecules. Since each mixture of 10 molecules could contain any 10 of the 128 molecules, more than 200 trillion combinations were possible; the number of possible combinations for the 20- and 30-molecule mixtures were even higher. The aim of the experiment was to identify—by sampling from this very large number of combinations—the number of molecules that two mixtures could have in common and still be distinguishable to the typical person. The Rockefeller team used this number and a geometrical analogy to conclude that humans could discriminate at least 1.72 trillion odors, which was much higher than expected from previous reports and anecdotes. Now Gerkin and Castro report that the claims made in the Rockefeller study are unsupported because of flaws in the design of the analytical framework used to make sense of the data. In particular, Gerkin and Castro report that the results are extremely sensitive to some parameters of the experimental and analytical design, such as the number of subjects tested, whereas the results of a robust analysis would not be so sensitive to such factors. By modestly varying any of these parameters it is possible to obtain almost any value for the number of smells that can be discriminated. Moreover, the geometrical analogy used set an upper bound on the final answer, rather than a lower bound: in other words, even assuming that the rest of the analysis was robust, the result should have been that humans can discriminate ‘no more than’ 1.72 trillion smells rather than ‘at least’. In a separate paper Meister also reports that the 1.72 trillion smells claim is unjustified.
Evaluation Control and Recursion

In the last chapter we described the four-step evaluation procedure used by Scheme to evaluate procedure applications: Evaluate operator. Evaluate operands to produce arguments. Replace parameters by arguments in the body. Evaluate body.
Synthetic thyrotropin-releasing hormone. A potent stimulator of thyrotropin secretion in man.

Abstract Synthetic thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) was administered by single intravenous injection to 79 healthy male volunteers and seven patients with secondary hypothyroidism. Plasma thyrotropin (TSH), growth hormone (GH), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and cortisol concentrations were measured before and after TRH administration. In the normal subjects, the mean base-line TSH concentration was 4.5 μU per milliliter. Plasma TSH rose promptly to a peak of 14.0 μU per milliliter 30 minutes after TRH injection. No rises were observed in the other plasma hormones measured. In the patients with secondary hypothyroidism, TRH failed to elevate TSH. No evidence of toxicity and no serious side effects were seen after TRH administration. TRH is a potent and nontoxic stimulator of TSH release in man and is a useful diagnostic compound in testing pituitary TSH reserve. The availability of TRH now makes possible the recognition of "hypothalamic" hypothyroidism.
Aristotle: the desire to understand: Understanding the broad structure of reality

Man is not only a political animal. He also has within his breast the desire to understand. And there is a serious question as to how man can both fulfill his nature as a political animal and fully satisfy his innate desire to understand. The conflict is one which takes time to develop. For to a certain extent the desire to understand helps man to live the life of an active citizen. For man comes to understand that the ethical life within society is a way to achieve genuine human happiness; and when man comes to understand what happiness is, he is more likely to achieve it. However, if man pursues his desire to understand to the full he will find himself drawn outside the ethical life. It seems that it is man's nature to transcend his nature. Man is by nature a political animal, but he is also an animal who by nature desires to understand the world. And in coming to understand the world, he will leave the ethical life behind. His nature will take him beyond (or outside) his natural life as a political animal. How are we to understand such a paradoxical conception? One way is to investigate the structure of theoretical understanding. For if we grasp what the desire to understand is a desire for, we may be able to see how satisfying the desire – achieving theoretical understanding – takes one outside the ethical life in society.
Ethics and Religion

Many people question whether God is the source of morality. Under divine command theory, God's will creates the moral order, and therefore ethical truths are true because of God's will. Under natural law, on the other hand, some ethical truths do not depend on God's will, and yet perhaps they depend on his reason or creation. Ethics and Religion develops strong, defensible, and original versions of both divine command theory and natural law. The book also discusses ethics and atheism: how atheists object on ethical grounds to belief in God and how they view ethics. The book defends belief in God from criticisms and analyzes related concepts, such as practical reason, the golden rule, ethics and evolution, the problem of evil, and the fine-tuning argument.
Occult Lung Cancer Occluding a Pulmonary Vein with Suspected Venous Infarction, Mimicking Pneumonia and a Pulmonary Embolus

Abstract Background Patients with lung cancer present to the emergency department (ED) in a variety of ways. Symptoms are often nonspecific and can lead to a delay in diagnosis. Here, a lung cancer mimicked two illnesses, adding to the diagnostic complexity. This case highlights diagnostic pitfalls as well as advantages and limitations of imaging utilized in the emergency setting. Case Report We report a case of an occult lung cancer occluding a pulmonary vein, which at first mimicked pneumonia and later a pulmonary embolism (PE) and arterial lung infarction. The patient presented to the ED with cough and a lung opacity on chest radiograph that was treated with antibiotics. However, recurrent visits to the ED with similar complaints were further investigated with computed tomography angiogram (CTA). At first the scan was considered positive for PE. Further inspection revealed that the CTA findings were not typical for PE, but rather a slow flow state likely caused by an occult mass occluding a pulmonary vein with venous infarction. Biopsy revealed a lung adenocarcinoma. In addition to the case presentation, the typical signs of PE on CTA with correlating images and diagnostic pitfalls are discussed. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? This case report raises two themes that can be of interest to emergency physicians. The first is that lung cancer has many guises. Here it mimicked two distinctly different diseases, pneumonia and PE. The second is that, although CTA is highly sensitive and specific for diagnosing PE, it has limitations that may lead to false positive readings. When clinical signs and symptoms fail to correlate with the imaging diagnosis, alternative explanations should be sought.
Physician Assistants Improve Efficiency and Decrease Costs in Outpatient Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Purpose To determine the effects on time, cost, and complication rates of integrating physician assistants (PAs) into the procedural components of an outpatient oral and maxillofacial surgery practice. Materials and Methods This is a prospective cohort study of patients from the Department of Plastic and Oral Surgery at Boston Children's Hospital who underwent removal of 4 impacted third molars with intravenous sedation in our outpatient facility. Patients were separated into the “no PA group” and PA group. Process maps were created to capture all activities from room preparation to patient discharge, and all activities were timed for each case. A time-driven activity-based costing method was used to calculate the average times and costs from the provider's perspective for each group. Complication rates were calculated during the periods for both groups. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and significance was set at P Results The total process time did not differ significantly between groups, but the average total procedure cost decreased by $75.08 after the introduction of PAs (P Conclusions The addition of PAs into the procedural components of an outpatient oral and maxillofacial surgery practice resulted in decreased costs whereas complication rates remained constant. The increased availability of the oral and maxillofacial surgeon after the incorporation of PAs allows for more patients to be seen during a clinic session, which has the potential to further increase efficiency and revenue.
Massive donor transfusion potentially increases recipient mortality after lung transplantation

Objective Donor blood transfusion has been identified as a potential risk factor for primary graft dysfunction and by extension early mortality. We sought to define the contributing risk of donor transfusion on early mortality for lung transplant.
Lifelong Machine Learning

Lifelong Machine Learning (or Lifelong Learning) is an advanced machine learning paradigm that learns continuously, accumulates the knowledge learned in previous tasks, and uses it to help future learning. In the process, the learner becomes more and more knowledgeable and effective at learning. This learning ability is one of the hallmarks of human intelligence. However, the current dominant machine learning paradigm learns in isolation: given a training dataset, it runs a machine learning algorithm on the dataset to produce a model. It makes no attempt to retain the learned knowledge and use it in future learning. Although this isolated learning paradigm has been very successful, it requires a large number of training examples, and is only suitable for well-defined and narrow tasks. In comparison, we humans can learn effectively with a few examples because we have accumulated so much knowledge in the past which enables us to learn with little data or effort. Lifelong learning aims to achieve this capability. As statistical machine learning matures, it is time to make a major effort to break the isolated learning tradition and to study lifelong learning to bring machine learning to new heights. Applications such as intelligent assistants, chatbots, and physical robots that interact with humans and systems in real-life environments are also calling for such lifelong learning capabilities. Without the ability to accumulate the learned knowledge and use it to learn more knowledge incrementally, a system will probably never be truly intelligent. This book serves as an introductory text and survey to lifelong learning.
Monitoring and assessment of tumor hemodynamics during pleural PDT

Intrapleural photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been used in combination with lung sparing surgery to treat patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. The light, photosensitizers and tissue oxygen are the three most important factors required by type II PDT to produce singlet oxygen, 1O2, which is the main photocytotoxic agent that damages the tumor vasculature and stimulates the body’s anti-tumor immune response. Although light fluence rate and photosensitizer concentrations are routinely monitored during clinical PDT, there is so far a lack of a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved non-invasive technique that can be employed clinically to monitor tissue oxygen in vivo. In this paper, we demonstrated that blood flow correlates well with tissue oxygen concentration during PDT and can be used in place of [3O2] to calculate reacted singlet oxygen concentration [1O2]rx using the macroscopic singlet oxygen model. Diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) was used to monitor the change in tissue blood flow non-invasively during pleural PDT. A contact probe with three source and detectors separations, 0.4, 0.7 and 1.0-cm, was sutured to the pleural cavity wall of the patients after surgical resection of the pleural mesothelioma tumor to monitor the tissue blood flow during intraoperative PDT treatment. The changes of blood flow during PDT of 2 patients are found to be in good correlation with the treatment light fluence rate recorded by the isotropic detector placed adjacent to the DCS probe. [1O2]rx calculated based on light fluence, mean photosensitizer concentration, and relative blood flow was found to be 32% higher in patient #4 (0.50mM) than that for patient #3 (0.38mM).
Risk for Clostridium difficile Infection After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Remains Elevated in the Postengraftment Period

BACKGROUND Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a frequent cause of diarrhea among allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients. It is unknown whether risk factors for CDI vary by time posttransplant. METHODS We performed a 3-year prospective cohort study of CDI in allogeneic HCT recipients. Participants were enrolled during their transplant hospitalizations. Clinical assessments were performed weekly during hospitalizations and for 12 weeks posttransplant, and monthly for 30 months thereafter. Data were collected through patient interviews and chart review, and included CDI diagnosis, demographics, transplant characteristics, medications, infections, and outcomes. CDI cases were included if they occurred within 1 year of HCT and were stratified by time from transplant. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine risk factors for CDI. RESULTS One hundred eighty-seven allogeneic HCT recipients were enrolled, including 63 (34%) patients who developed CDI. 38 (60%) CDI cases occurred during the preengraftment period (days 0-30 post-HCT) and 25 (40%) postengraftment (day >30). Lack of any preexisting comorbid disease was significantly associated with lower risk of CDI preengraftment (odds ratio [OR], 0.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.1-0.9). Relapsed underlying disease (OR, 6.7; 95% CI, 1.3-33.1), receipt of any high-risk antimicrobials (OR, 11.8; 95% CI, 2.9-47.8), and graft-versus-host disease (OR, 7.8; 95% CI, 2.0-30.2) were significant independent risk factors for CDI postengraftment. CONCLUSIONS A large portion of CDI cases occurred during the postengraftment period in allogeneic HCT recipients, suggesting that surveillance for CDI should continue beyond the transplant hospitalization and preengraftment period. Patients with continued high underlying severity of illness were at increased risk of CDI postengraftment.
RNA-Seq Validation of RNAi Identifies Additional Gene Connectivity in Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae).

RNA interference (RNAi) is a functional genomics tool to correlate genotype and phenotype by delivering targeted, gene-specific, and complementary dsRNA into a host via injection, feeding, or other means in order to reduce gene expression. In the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, RNAi has been successful via injected dsRNA at all life stages. Traditionally, successful transcript knockdown has been quantified by qPCR on a gene-by-gene basis, where only expression of the target gene and normalization genes are evaluated. In this study, RNA-Seq was used to quantify transcript expression in larvae injected with dsRNA for aspartate 1-decarboxylase (ADC), which gives a reliable phenotype of an adult with a black cuticle instead of the wild-type red-brown. ANOVA of control, mock-injected, and ADC-dsRNA injected larvae indicated that target gene expression was significantly (P = 0.002) reduced 4-fold, and the black phenotype was achieved in all adults injected with ADC-dsRNA as larvae. In a pairwise analysis, significant (P < 0.05) differential expression of other genes in ADC-injected larvae suggested connections between gene pathways. One gene, dopamine receptor 2, was increased in expression 227-fold (P = 0.025), presumably connected to previous data that showed a reduction in expression of ADC results in increased levels of dopamine. To evaluate the hypothesis that increased dopamine levels can affect mobility, T. castaneum adults injected with ADC-dsRNA as larvae were significantly impaired in movement tests compared to controls, similar to black mutants in Drosophila melanogaster. The data demonstrate that RNA-Seq can reveal gene connectivity and provide more complete data validation and analysis compared to qPCR.
Seasonal forcing in stochastic epidemiology models

The goal of this paper is to motivate the need and lay the foundation for the analysis of stochastic epidemiological models with seasonal forcing. We consider stochastic SIS and SIR epidemic models, where the internal noise is due to the random interactions of individuals in the population. We provide an overview of the general theoretic framework that allows one to understand noise-induced rare events, such as spontaneous disease extinction. Although there are many paths to extinction, there is one path termed the optimal path that is probabilistically most likely to occur. By extending the theory, we have identified the quasi-stationary solutions and the optimal path to extinction when seasonality in the contact rate is included in the models. Knowledge of the optimal extinction path enables one to compute the mean time to extinction, which in turn allows one to compare the effect of various control schemes, including vaccination and treatment, on the eradication of an infectious disease.
EROSION Study (Effective Anti-Thrombotic Therapy Without Stenting: Intravascular Optical Coherence Tomography–Based Management in Plaque Erosion): A 1-Year Follow-Up Report

Background—The initial EROSION study (Effective Anti-Thrombotic Therapy Without Stenting: Intravascular Optical Coherence Tomography–Based Management in Plaque Erosion) demonstrated that patients w...
Assessment of RPT calibration need during microalgae culturing and other biochemical processes

The calibration maps relating counts with the position of the radioactive particle is essential to reconstruct the instantaneous positions of the particle and consequently measurements in a 3D manner of the local velocity field and turbulent parameters in the split photobioreactor for the microalgae system by using advanced radioactive particle tracking (RPT) technique. The calibration experiments should perform at the same operating conditions of an actual test. No studies in literature account for the effect of the growth of microalgae on the physical properties of the culturing medium by employing the calibration curves operations. This work used a Plexiglas split column of 5.0 inch (12.7cm) diameter and 59 inches (150 cm) high with a Plexiglas plate that divides the column into two equal areas. As a result, there is no significant change in counts of gamma ray (calibration system) through deference growth steps, then the experiments show that the one calibration experiment and one isotope tracer particle are enough to perform RPT operations even if the medium of the culturing becomes highly dense at this microorganism system. This knowledge and findings will help to reduce the cost and the efforts of the RPT experiments including air-water-microalgae cell systems during the culturing process.
Investigating belief falsehood. Fear appeals do change behaviour in experimental laboratory studies. A commentary on Kok et al. (2018).

In an interesting, provocative piece, Kok, Peters, Kessels, ten Hoor, and Ruiter’s (2018) point to a conclusive lack of evidence demonstrating the efficacy of fear appeals. Chief among their variou...
Primary care physicians' perceptions of practice improvement as a professional responsibility: a cross-sectional study.

Continuous quality improvement is a component of professionalism. Maintenance of Certification (MOC) is a mechanism in the USA for physicians to keep current with medical knowledge and contribute t...
Finitely presented systems of modules and Lazard's lemma

According to the fundamental lemma of Lazard, any module can be expressed as the limit of a direct system of finitely presented modules. In this paper, we propose a generalization of the (C, D)-subquotient systems in Lazard's lemma and set up a framework to study the universal property of the Lazard lenna. We prove this property for some direct systems and pose questions for the general case.
The Chemiluminescence of Acyl Hydrazides

Most hydrazides of fluorescent carboxylic acids are chemiluminescent on oxidation in basic media. Probably the best known hydrazide in this class of compounds is luminol (5-amino-2,3dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione, I), and much of our early work on hydrazides was carried out with this compound Since the early work on the chemiluminescence of luminol and other cyclic hydrazides has been thoroughly reviewed,1 this article will cover only the more recent work.
The influences of sibling relationships in adolescence

ix CHAPTER 1 „ INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 3 Overview 3 Sibling Relationships in Adolescence 5 Effects of Sibling Constellation Variables 9 Sibling Relationships and Adolescent Developmental Outcomes 13 Direct effects of sibling relationship quality 14 Indirect effects of sibling relationship quality 16 Buffering effects of sibling relationship quality 22 Conceptual Models 24 Stress-suppressing model 25 Counteractive model 26 Buffering models 27 CHAPTER 3. METHODS 29 Participants 29 Procedure 30 Measures 31 Sibling relationship 31 Friendship 32 Academic achievement 32 Self-esteem 33 Adolescent developmental outcomes 33 CHAPTER 4. RESULTS 3 7 Factor Analysis 37 Sibling relationship 37 Friendship 41 Academic achievement 42 Self-esteem 43 Adolescent developmental outcomes 44 Structural Equation Modeling Analyses 46
Structure and behavior of organic analytical reagents : Dimethylglyoxime and its oxygen monomethyl ether

Abstract The titration procedure described in previous papers of this series has been applied to a study of some metallic chelates of dimethylglyoxime and of its O-monomethyl ether. Evidence is presented for the existence of dimethylglyoxime chelates with Zn (II), Pb (II), Cd (II), and La (III) in addition to the known Cu (II), Ni (II), and Co (II) complexes. Formation constants are calculated for these complexes, and for those of dimethylglyoxime O-monomethyl ether, on the basis of their most probable structures. The results indicate that the famed specificity of dimethylglyoxime fur nickel does not lie in any special stability of this chclate. but in some other factor, possibly solubility. A comparison of the chelates of dimethylglyoxime with those of its O-ether is discussed in terms of such structural factors as hydrogen bonding and steric hindrance. Heat content and entropy changes have been calculated for the chelation of dimethylglyoxime with Cu (II) and Ni (II) ions.