cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bridging the structural gap of glycoproteomics with ion mobility spectrometry

Over the past two decades mass spectrometry (MS) has enabled high throughput studies on the level of a complex proteome. While it has similarly advanced glycobiology, the level of progress has been more restrained. This is in large part due to the diversity and complexity of carbohydrate structures. While MS is now routinely used for glycobiology, it suffers from a critical limitation, that is the inability to resolve isobaric structures. Since so many structurally and functionally distinct carbohydrates are indistinguishable by MS, additional techniques are needed for detailed structural analysis. Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), with its ability to resolve closely related isobaric structures, presents such a tool for alleviating the current limitations of MS. In the past few years studies have demonstrated the utility and immense potential of combining IMS with MS (IM-MS) for glycomics and it is now approaching the point of enabling comprehensive structural studies on the level of the glycoproteome.
INVESTIGATING INTENSIVE BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL: AN INDIVIDUAL PATIENT DATA ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL DATA

Optimal systolic blood pressure (SBP) targets for minimizing morbidity and mortality remain disputed, especially after randomized control trial data from ACCORD (only diabetics) and SPRINT (non-diabetics) demonstrated conflicting results of targeting SBP to 120. Our study pools individual patient
Sustaining Arts Programs in Public Education.

The purpose of this qualitative research case study was to investigate leadership and funding decisions that determine key factors responsible for sustaining arts programs in public schools. While the educational climate, financial constraints, and standardized testing continue to impact arts programs in public education, Eastland High School, the site of this case study, managed to sustain its visual and perform- ing arts program. The foundation of this research study was shaped around understanding the key factors that sustained the arts program at Eastland High School. A qualitative lens utilized three research questions that investigated arts programs at the school, leadership decisions that supported the arts program, and funding decisions made at the site. Data triangulation was used to identify several emerging themes relevant to the three research questions. The implications of this case study indicated collaborative leadership and resourceful funding decisions sustain viable arts programs in public schools.
Narrative Roles Among Contact Versus Noncontact Sexual Offenders

The current study explored narrative roles among individuals convicted of a sexual offense. Narrative roles in a criminal context are defined as specific personal accounts utilized by offenders to ...
InfoPad: a portable multimedia terminal

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the Infopad, a portable multimedia terminal. The InfoPad terminal, as the most visible portion of the InfoPad system, is being designed to account for multimedia capabilities, ergonomics, size, weight, low price, and long battery life. By taking advantage of modern high-speed networks and wireless technology, a wealth of computing and information services can be provided by a portable terminal with flexible input/output capabilities and minimal compute power. The terminal must be able to tolerate a noisy wireless environment to offer high-speed access to remote databases and computation servers. Ultimately, the InfoPad terminal and related support services must be carefully combined to make a multimedia device that the end user wants to make a part of everyday life.
Effect of Intensive Blood Pressure Lowering on Kidney Tubule Injury: Findings From the ACCORD Trial Study Participants

Rationale & Objective Random assignment to intensive blood pressure (BP) lowering (systolic BP Study Design Longitudinal analysis of a subgroup of clinical trial participants. Settings & Participants A subgroup of 529 participants in ACCORD-BP. Exposures Urine biomarkers of tubular injury (kidney injury molecule 1, interleukin 18 [IL-18]), repair (human cartilage glycoprotein 39 [YKL-40]), and inflammation (monocyte chemoattractant protein 1) at baseline and year 2. Outcomes Changes in eGFR from baseline to 2 years. Analytical Approach We compared changes in biomarker levels and eGFRs across participants treated to an intensive versus less intensive BP goal using analysis of covariance. Results Of 529 participants, 260 had been randomly assigned to the intensive and 269 to the standard BP arm. Mean age was 62±6.5 years and eGFR was 90mL/min/1.73m2. Baseline clinical characteristics, eGFRs, urinary albumin-creatinine ratios (ACRs), and urinary biomarker levels were similar across BP treatment groups. Compared to less intensive BP treatment, eGFR was 9.2mL/min/1.73m2 lower in the intensive BP treatment group at year 2. Despite the eGFR reduction, within this treatment group, ACR was 30% lower and 4 urinary biomarker levels were unchanged or lower at year 2. Also within this group, participants with the largest declines in eGFRs had greater reductions in urinary IL-18 and YKL-40 levels. In a subgroup analysis of participants developing incident chronic kidney disease (sustained 30% decline and eGFR Limitations Few participants with advanced baseline chronic kidney disease. Comparisons across treatment groups do not represent comparisons of treatment arms created solely through randomization. Conclusions Among a subset of ACCORD-BP trial participants, intensive BP control was associated with reductions in eGFRs, but not with an increase in injury marker levels. These findings support that eGFR decline observed with intensive BP goals in ACCORD participants may predominantly reflect hemodynamic alterations.
Landscape, Memory, and Post-Violence in Cambodia by James A. Tyner

Tyner, James A. Landscape, Memory, and Post-Violence in Cambodia. London, Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.
Gender Differences in Imaging Studies in Migraine

Migraine is a common neurological disorder that is characterized by recurrent intermittent headaches (1–14 headache days per month in episodic migraine and >14 headache days in chronic migraine) that last 4–72 h. Migraine is considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be in the top 20 causes of disability worldwide [1] and affects patients during their formative and most productive periods of their lives. In the United States, migraine affects 30 million adults, and some 17% of American children have headaches including migraine [2] (Fig. 8.1).
A Case Study of the Dietitian’s Role in Rehabilitation of Stroke Patients through Medical Nutrition Therapy

A registered dietitian is an expert in dietetics and nutrition. Dietitians also monitor the tube feeding and lab values. Registered Dietitians are trained professionals in nutrition and work in many settings such as hospitals, public health facilities, sports nutrition, and research (“Registered Dietitian Career Overview”, n.d.). The scope of practice focuses on the nutrition, food, and dietetics practice, to protect the community and population, but also determining the education, credentials and training levels needed for a registered dietitian. When there is a patient in a coma, the RD recommends the patient receives a nasogastric tube feeding. Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. The cause of stroke is due to hemorrhaging of blood in the brain caused by aneurysms. During a case study on a recent stroke patient, a registered dietitian provided medical nutrition-therapy based on evidence-based science. Patient X received nutrition, hydration and medication through the nasogastric tube. The RD’s interventions were in response to lab values being monitored daily. Residuals in the stomach were used to evaluate the tolerance of the tube feed formula. Protein status was monitored by prealbumin levels. Hydration was measured by specific gravity in the urine output. As the residuals decreased in the stomach, the protein status increased to normal levels. Due to dehydration, the patient became constipated, as evidence by the lack of bowel movement. When fluid levels were increased in the tube feed and specific gravity returned to normal ranges, indicated the patient was hydrated. The data shows that when residuals are low, the prealbumin levels will be high, indicating that the patient is absorbing protein. The data also supports that RD are essential in health care outcomes of stroke patients. The number three cause of death is due to medical errors due to the lack of interprofessional communications. A dietitian working with a stroke patient knows how to collaborate with other departments, by knowing the skills and expertise the other team members do.
Nonlinear relationship between early life stress exposure and subsequent resilience in monkeys.

Retrospective correlational studies of humans suggest that moderate but not minimal or substantial early life stress exposure promotes the development of stress inoculation-induced resilience. Here we test for a nonlinear relationship between early life stress and resilience by comparing varying “doses” of early life stress. Juvenile squirrel monkeys underwent one of five treatment conditions between 17–27 weeks of age: Stress inoculation (SI) with continuous access to mother (SI + Mom; one stress element), SI without continuous access to mother (SI; two stress elements), SI without continuous access to mother and with alprazolam injection pretreatments (SI + Alz; three stress elements), SI without continuous access to mother and with vehicle injection pretreatments (SI + Veh; three stress elements), or standard housing (No SI; zero stress elements). Alprazolam was used to test whether anxiolytic medication diminished SI effects. Subjects exposed to one or two early life stressors subsequently responded with fewer indications of anxiety (e.g., decreased maternal clinging, increased object exploration, smaller cortisol increases) compared to No SI subjects. Subjects exposed to three early life stressors did not differ on most measures from one another or from No SI subjects. These findings provide empirical support for a nonlinear J-shaped relationship between early life stress exposure and subsequent resilience.
Comorbid Conditions and GFR Predict Nonvertebral Fractures in Patients With Diabetes in an Ethnic-Specific Manner.

Context Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with an increased risk of fracture, but it is not clear which diabetes and nondiabetes risk factors may be most important. Objective The aim of the study was to evaluate risk factors for incident major osteoporotic fractures (MOFs) of the hip, wrist, and humerus in African American (AA), Hispanic (HIS), and Caucasian (CA) subjects with DM. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of 18 210 subjects with DM (7298 CA, 7009 AA and 3903 HIS) at least 40 years of age, being followed at a large healthcare system in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Results In a global model in CA with DM, MOF were associated with dementia (HR 4.16; 95% CI, 2.13-8.12), OSA (HR 3.35; 95% CI, 1.78-6.29), COPD (HR 2.43; 95% CI, 1.51-3.92), and diabetic neuropathy (HR 2.52; 95% CI, 1.41-4.50). In AA, MOF were associated with prior MOF (HR 13.67; 95% CI, 5.48-34.1), dementia (HR 3.10; 95% CI, 1.07-8.98), glomerular filtration rate (GFR) less than 45 (HR 2.05; 95% CI, 1.11-3.79), thiazide use (HR 0.54; 95% CI, 0.31-0.93), metformin use (HR 0.59; 95% CI, 0.36-0.97), and chronic steroid use (HR 5.03; 95% CI, 1.51-16.7). In HIS, liver disease (HR 3.06; 95% CI, 1.38-6.79) and insulin use (HR 2.93; 95% CI, 1.76-4.87) were associated with MOF. Conclusion In patients with diabetes, the risk of fracture is related to both diabetes-specific variables and comorbid conditions, but these relationships vary by race/ethnicity.
Strings in the Eta Carinae Nebula: Hypersonic Radiative Cosmic Bullets

We present the results of a numerical study focusing on the propagation of a hypersonic bullet subject to radiative cooling. Our goal is to explore the feasibility of such a model for the formation of ``strings'' observed in the Eta Carinae Homunculus nebula. Our simulations were performed in cylindrical symmetry with the adaptive mesh refinement code AstroBEAR. The radiative cooling of the system was followed using the cooling curve by Dalgarno & McCray (1972). In this letter we discuss the evolution and overall morphology of the system as well as key kinematic properties. We find that radiative bullets can produce structures with properties similar to those of the Eta Carinae strings, i.e. high length-to-width ratios and Hubble-type flows in the form of a linear velocity increase from the base of the wake to the bullet head. These features, along with the appearance of periodic ``ring-like'' structures, may also make this model applicable to other astrophysical systems such as planetary nebulae, e.g. CRL 618 and NGC 6543, young stellar objects, etc.
Acute cerebrovascular effects in juvenile coho salmon exposed to roadway runoff

Urban stormwater is responsible for recurrent mortality events of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) documented in the US Pacific Northwest. Currently, the toxic mode of action is unknown; however,...
Effects of a Multi-Faceted Education Program on Enrollment, Learning and Gender Equity: Evidence from India

The Sustainable Development Goals set a triple educational objective: improve access to, quality of, and gender equity in education. This paper documents the effectiveness of a multifaceted educati...
Watershed-scale landuse is associated with temporal and spatial compositional variation in Lake Michigan tributary bacterial communities

Abstract Populations of stream organisms across trophic levels, including microbial taxa, are adapted to physical and biotic stream features, and are sentinels of geological and hydrological landscape processes and anthropogenic disturbance. Stream bacterial diversity and composition can have profound effects on resident and migratory species in Great Lakes tributaries. Study objectives were to characterize and compare the taxonomic composition and diversity of bacterial communities in 18 rivers of the Lake Michigan basin during April and June 2019 and to quantify associations with stream and watershed physical features and dominant landuse practices. River water was filtered, and genomic DNA was extracted from filtrate using antiseptic techniques. We performed high-throughput amplicon sequencing using the highly variable V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene to characterize microbial community composition and diversity. Effects of landscape-scale landuse, environmental variables and dispersal predictors (e.g., inter-stream distance) on community compositional differences were quantified. Greater than 90% of variation in bacterial relative abundance between rivers and time were attributed to 11 phyla representing 10,800 operational taxonomic units. Inter-stream geographic distance, stream hydrology, and variation in stream properties that were tied to patterns of watershed landuse were significantly associated with differences in bacterial community composition among streams at both sampling time periods. based on Bray-Curtis distances. Understanding how environmental characteristics and watershed-scale landuse influence lower trophic level stream communities such as bacteria will inform managers as biological indicators of ecosystem health, sources of disturbance, and current and future bottom-up trophic changes in coupled tributary-Great Lakes ecosystems.
Intensified concomitant chemoradiotherapy for poor prognosis head and neck cancer

Head and neck cancer presents most commonly as a locoregionally advanced malignant process [1]. Distant metastases are clinically rare, but may be present more frequently at the microscopic level. Patterns of failure following standard surgery and/or radiotherapy indicate the inability of that therapy to successfully eradicate locoregional disease in the majority of patients. Investigational therapy, therefore, must focus on increasing the efficacy of locoregional therapy as its primary goal. Eradication of systemic microscopic disease remains a secondary goal that may gain greater importance in patients whose locoregional disease can be controlled [2]. Finally, the prevention of second malignancies represents an important long-term goal that can help to maintain the cancer-free status in patients cured of their primary disease [3].
An adaptive collision detection and resolution for deformable objects using spherical implicit surface

A fast collision detection and resolution scheme is one of the key components for interactive simulation of deformable objects. It is particularly challenging to reduce the computational cost in collision detection and to achieve the robust treatment at the same time. Since the shape and topology of a deformable object changes continuously unlike the rigid body, an efficient and effective collision detection and resolution is a major challenge. We present a fast and robust collision detection and resolution scheme for deformable objects using a new enhanced spherical implicit surface hierarchy. The penetration depth and separating distance criteria can be adjusted depending on the application specific error tolerance. Our comparative experiments show that the proposed method performs substantially faster than existing algorithms for deformable object simulation with massive element-level collisions at each iteration step. Our adaptive hierarchical approach enables us to achieve a real-time simulation rate, well suited for interactive applications.
THE INFANT WITH HEART DISEASE

IN SPITE OF great surgical advances, congenital heart disease is still a major cause of death in children, and this is particularly true in the infant age group. The magnitude of the problem may be appreciated by viewing some data on mortality from congenital heart disease collected by Carlgren in Gotenberg, Sweden. He reviewed the history of all individuals born with congenital heart disease in a 10-year period in that city. Within 15 years after birth, 40% of these individuals had succumbed. The really important factor which emerged, however, is that 30% of these patients died in the first 6 months after birth. In reviewing the causes of death in this group, I have estimated that at least 50% of these infants died of lesions which can be cured or relieved by procedures presently available. It is thus obvious that it is incumbent on us, as pediatricians, to recognize and treat the child with heart disease at the earliest possible age. Recognition of heart disease, and particularly of specific congenital lesions, is considerably more difficult in the infant than in the older child. One problem is that the lesions encountered in infancy may be much more complicated than in older children, because after the first year many of the infants with complicated lesions may have already succumbed. More important though, is the fact that many congenital heart lesions do not present the classical clinical features we have come to recognize with specific lesions in the older child. For example, the presence of only a systolic murmur or even an absence of murmur may occur in an infant with patent ductus arteriosus, rather than the typical continuous machinery murmur seen in the older youngster.
The Diffusion of Modern Manufacturing Practices: Evidence from the Retail-Apparel Sectors

Like many consumer product industries, the apparel industry is being affected by information technology-based changes in the manufacture and retailing of products. Based on detailed business-unit level data, we show that observed heterogeneity in the adoption of modern manufacturing practices by apparel business units can be explained by changes in retail customer requirements for rapid replenishment of products. The incentive to adopt new practices is further increased by complementarities between manufacturing practices. Finally, sequential rather than simultaneous adoption of complementary practices occur as firms respond to changes in product demand.
Rear-Guard Actions against an "Impoverishing Delusion": Anmerkungen zur Situation der Auslandsgermanistik in den Americas.

This contribution responds to the previous three articles by highlighting common concerns across the Americas. It also offers suggestions for how the field of German might want to move forward in an inclusive fashion. Key principles of orientation are EU language policy and transcultural education as a transformative experience in shaping productive citizens.
Reexamining the Arguments in Owen M. Fiss, Against Settlement

You may think that I have been added to this panel to cause trouble. Owen is Jimmy Stewart in Destry Rides Again1 and I’m Brian Donlevy, and I’m here to cause trouble.2 That’s not true. My goal is to get Owen to go back to Yale and write a sequel to this seminal article.3 And I’m not sure what the sequel should be. It might be Still Against Settlement. It might be, by the end of the day, Against Settlement Sometimes. Or it might be, just like The Godfather I and II, Against Settlement II. That’s up to Owen as author. But I think he should update what has proven to be one of the handful of law review articles that have truly been precedent setting. There is the article by Louis Brandeis and Samuel Warren about privacy,4 and Hans Zeisel’s works, those fabulous University of Chicago Law Review articles about how juries behave.5 We all have our favorites. Against Settlement is one of those articles that is critically important for everybody to read because of what it says and how it says it. But I think, as a practical matter, twenty-five years later, the best way to look at Owen’s article is as an article that is aspirational. It’s a benchmark, food for thought. How close can we get to the benchmark? What we have learned in the last twenty-five years since that article was written is that Owen’s thesis, and the way he develops that article, have run up against two hard, practical realities that undercut his aspirational objective.
Hierarchical geostatistics and multifacies systems: Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site, Boise, Idaho

[1] The geostatistical structure of a heterogeneous coarse fluvial aquifer is investigated with porosity data derived from neutron logs at a research well field (Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site, or BHRS) that was designed, in part, to support three-dimensional geostatistical analysis of hydrologic and geophysical parameters. Recognizing that the coarse fluvial deposits include subdivisions (units between bounding surfaces), we adopt a hierarchical approach and examine the porosity geostatistics of the aquifer at three scales. At the BHRS, the saturated fluvial deposits as a whole (maximum interwell spacing ∼80 m, thickness ∼16–18 m) are at hierarchical level 1; five subhorizontal units within these deposits (four cobble-dominated units and a channel sand) can be traced across the central area of the BHRS and are at hierarchical level 2; and subunits (patches or lenses) in one of the level 2 units (Unit 4), are at hierarchical level 3. We use variography and porosity statistics to recognize nonstationarity at hierarchical level 1 and in one of the level 2 units (Unit 4) where the means and variances of porosity differences as a function of lag are not constant between distinct units and subunits, respectively. The geostatistical structure at level 1 is modeled with different horizontal and vertical structures that have different sills (vertical sill greater than horizontal sill). The difference in sills can be explained quantitatively by the summing of weighted sills from all individual units and combined units (i.e., a given pair of different units), where the weights are the proportions of data pairs contributing to the sills at each lag from the individual and combined units. Extension of this analysis leads to a weighted, multistructure form of the variogram function whereby a global experimental variogram in a hierarchical system can be decomposed quantitatively into weighted component individual- and combined-unit (or facies) structures for any number of units or hierarchical levels. Such decomposition of the global horizontal variogram from the BHRS indicates that short-range periodicity in that structure is due to both (1) combined-unit structures associated with patches or lenses at hierarchical level 3 in Unit 4 and (2) variations in thickness of Unit 2. For hierarchical multifacies systems, structure models fit to global horizontal and vertical experimental variograms may not be useful for subsequent stochastic modeling if the system on which the structure models are based is nonstationary.
High Altitude Observatories for Cosmic Rays and Other Purposes

The original proof that cosmic radiation was of extra-terrestrial origin came from balloon flights made by Hess and others, in the early years of this century. Since the cosmic radiation was attenuated by the atmosphere, it was clear that to study this radiation one should go up as high as feasible. From the first, balloon flights were used, but these can carry only limited loads and have hard-to-control trajectories and flight characteristics. We discuss these below. Aircraft could not attain high altitudes in the early years and only since about 1940 have been much used for high altitude studies. For example, a flight made by the present author in 1936, in the original DC-2, broke the then South American altitude record, reaching over 30000 feet, and this record stood for a number of years.
Odor production and utilization under conditions of nonreward and small reward

Abstract A series of five experiments was conducted to examine odor production and utilization under conditions of contrasting large and small reward. Using daily, eight-trial double-alternation sequences of reward (L)-nonreward (N) or small reward (S), i.e., LLNNLLNN and LLSSLLSS, appropriate patterning was shown only when an empty goalbox was initially encountered on N or S trials (Experiments 1–5). Manipulations designed to increase frustration, for example, preceding double-alternation training with a block of large-reward trials in Experiment 2, or increasing the L vs S ratio in Experiment 3, failed to yield patterning when small reward was presented at the start of the S-trial confinement period. Patterning was shown when small reward was presented at the end of the S-trial confinement (Experiments 4 and 5). Immediate vs delayed (30 sec) S or N trial goalbox removal failed to result in differences in patterning (Experiments 1 and 2). To distinguish odor production from odor use, subjects trained on an LLSSLLSS pattern preceded subjects trained on an LLNNLLNN pattern (Experiment 5). Because patterning failed to develop in the LLSSLLSS subjects and the first subject in the LLNNLLNN group, it was concluded that a discriminably different cue was not produced on S trials under the LLSSLLSS sequence when small reward was delivered at the beginning of the goalbox confinement period. Shifting small-reward delivery to the end of goalbox confinement resulted in the immediate display of patterning by the first LLNNLLNN subject, and the subsequent development of patterning by the LLSSLLSS subjects.
Laminar heat transfer in a rectangular duct with a non-Newtonian fluid with temperature-dependent viscosity

Abstract The present study investigates the effect of the temperature-dependent and shear-thinning viscosity of a non-Newtonian fluid on the behavior of the laminar heat transfer and friction coefficients in a 2:1 rectangular duct. The H1 thermal boundary condition, corresponding to an axially-constant heat flux and a peripherally-constant temperature, was adopted for a top-wall-heated configuration. The present numerical results of local Nusselt numbers for a polyacrylamide (Separan AP-273) solution show 70–300% heat transfer enhancement over those of a constant-property fluid and give excellent agreement with recent experimental results. The heat transfer enhancement from the heated top wall is due to an increased velocity gradient near the wall, which is attributed to the combined effect of the temperature-dependent and shear-thinning viscosity. Two new correlations for the friction factor and the local Nusselt numbers in the 2: 1 rectangular duct are proposed; these correlations cover both thermally-developing and thermally-fully-developed regions. This study also proposes the use of a temperature-dependent shear-thinning fluid in a rectangular duct in the design of a liquid cooling module for the computer industry.
The Dynamics of Plate Tectonics and Mantle Flow: From Local to Global Scales

Plate tectonics is regulated by driving and resisting forces concentrated at plate boundaries, but observationally constrained high-resolution models of global mantle flow remain a computational challenge. We capitalized on advances in adaptive mesh refinement algorithms on parallel computers to simulate global mantle flow by incorporating plate motions, with individual plate margins resolved down to a scale of 1 kilometer. Back-arc extension and slab rollback are emergent consequences of slab descent in the upper mantle. Cold thermal anomalies within the lower mantle couple into oceanic plates through narrow high-viscosity slabs, altering the velocity of oceanic plates. Viscous dissipation within the bending lithosphere at trenches amounts to ~5 to 20% of the total dissipation through the entire lithosphere and mantle.
COMPARATIVE ULTRASTRUCTURE OF THREE SPECIES OF CHLOROSARCINA (CHLOROSARCINACEAE, CHLOROPHYTA) 1,2

Ultrastructural studies revealed that Chlorosarcina stigmatica Deason differs from C. brevispinosa and C. longispinosa Chantanachat and Bold because the vegetative cells possess a pyrenoid, and the zoospores have chlorophycean characteristics. Zoospores of the latter species exhibit pleurastrophycean characteristics including counterclockwise absolute orientation of the flagellar apparatus components. Nuclear division in C. longispinosa, like that of Friedmannia israelensis Chantanachat and Bold, is metacentric. It is suggested that a new genus, Desmotetra, be erected for Chlorosarcina stigmatica, and that it, along with Chlorosarcinopsis Herndon, be placed in the Chlorococcales, Chlorophyceae. Chlorosarcina brevispinosa and C. longispinosa belong in the Pleurastrales, Pleurastrophyceae.
The dynamics of vein graft remodeling induced by hemodynamic forces: a mathematical model

Although vein bypass grafting is one of the primary options for the treatment of arterial occlusive disease and provides satisfactory results at an early stage of the treatment, the patency is limited to a few months in many patients. When the vein is implanted in the arterial system, it adapts to the high flow rate and high pressure of the arterial environment by changing the sizes of its layers, and this remodeling is believed to be a precursor of future graft failure. Hemodynamic forces, such as wall shear stress (WSS) and wall tension, have been recognized as major factors impacting vein graft remodeling. Although a wide range of experimental evidence relating hemodynamic forces to vein graft remodeling has been reported, a comprehensive mathematical model describing the relationship among WSS, wall tension, and the structural adaptation of each individual layer of the vein graft wall is lacking. The current manuscript presents a comprehensive and robust framework for treating the complex interaction between the WSS, wall tension, and the structural adaptation of each individual layer of the vein graft wall. We modeled the intimal and medial area and the radius of external elastic lamina, which in combination dictate luminal narrowing and the propensity for graft occlusion. Central to our model is a logistic relationship between independent and dependent variables to describe the initial increase and later decrease in the growth rate. The detailed understanding of the temporal changes in vein graft morphology that can be extracted from the current model is critical in identifying the dominant contributions to vein graft failure and the further development of strategies to improve their longevity.
Assessment of functional impairment in human locomotion: A fuzzy-motivated approach

Many neurological disorders result in disordered motion. The effects of a disorder can be decrease by an appropriate rehabilitation. To make rehabilitation efficient, we need to monitor the patient and check how well he or she improves. In our previous papers, we proposed a fuzzy-based semi-heuristic method of gauging how well a patient improved. Surprisingly, this semi-heuristic method turned out to be more efficient that we expected. In this paper, we provide a justification for this efficiency. In the future, it is desirable to combine this fuzzy-assessment approach with results by Alavarez-Alvarez, Trivino, and Cordon who use fuzzy techniques for modeling human gait.
Thermometric and other titrations of sparingly soluble compounds in aqueous micellar media

Abstract Several organic acids and bases that are very sparingly soluble in water have been determined by acid-base and redox titrimetry after solubilizing them in micellar suspensions of sodium dodecylsulfate or cetyltrimethylammonium bromide. Thermometric titrations are much more rapid, convenient, accurate, and precise than the corresponding potentiometric ones. Titrations in such media can effect some differentiations that cannot be made in water and are also much more economical than titrations in non-aqueous solvents.
Lignin-Derived Quinones as Pulping Additives

Abstract Quinones, which may be generated from lignin and lignin-related materials, and their Diels-Alder derivatives were evaluated as delignification promoters. Compared to anthraquinone at a 0.1% addition level, benzoquinones and oxidized lignin showed little or no effect. However, some naphthoquinones were found effective at higher addition levels, and a mixture of dimethyl-anthraquinone isomers was found to be superior to anthraquinone. The substituted anthraquinones, phenanthrenequinones, and fully aromatized naphthoquinones appear to function in a reduction/oxidation cycle such as that proposed for anthraquinone.
Correction of Irregular Astigmatism with the Excimer Laser

Background: Correction of irregular astigmatism has not been possible using available keratorefractive technology. Methods: The authors used a topographic map as a guide and created a custom excimer ablation program, designed to create a more regular surface. The program consisted of a combination of phototherapeutic and photorefractive ablation patterns. The amount of tissue to be removed was calculated on the basis of the diameter and steepness of the irregular areas of the corneal surface. Results: A more regular surface, as evidenced by topographic analysis, reduced astigmatism, and improved uncorrected visual acuity, was produced. Conclusion: Using the corneal topographical map as a guide, excimer laser ablation can be used to create a more regular optical surface with improved visual function.
Stress response signaling and virulence: insights from entomopathogenic fungi

The Ascomycete fungal insect pathogens, Beauveria and Metarhizium spp. have emerged as model systems with which to probe diverse aspects of fungal growth, stress response, and pathogenesis. Due to the availability of genomic resources and the development of robust methods for genetic manipulation, the last 5 years have witnessed a rapid increase in the molecular characterization of genes and their pathways involved in stress response and signal transduction in these fungi. These studies have been performed mainly via characterization of gene deletion/knockout mutants and have included the targeting of general proteins involved in stress response and/or virulence, e.g. catalases, superoxide dismutases, and osmolyte balance maintenance enzymes, membrane proteins and signaling pathways including GPI anchored proteins and G-protein coupled membrane receptors, MAPK pathways, e.g. (i) the pheromone/nutrient sensing, Fus3/Kss1, (ii) the cell wall integrity, Mpk1, and (iii) the high osmolarity, Hog1, the PKA/adenyl cyclase pathway, and various downstream transcription factors, e.g. Msn2, CreA and Pac1. Here, we will discuss current research that strongly suggests extensive underlying contributions of these biochemical and signaling pathways to both abiotic stress response and virulence.
Evaluating continuous nearest neighbor queries for streaming time series via pre-fetching

For many applications, it is important to quickly locate the nearest neighbor of a given time series. When the given time series is a streaming one, nearest neighbors may need to be found continuously at all time positions. Such a standing request is called a continuous nearest neighbor query. This paper seeks fast evaluation of continuous queries on large databases. The initial strategy is to use the result of one evaluation to restrict the search space for the next. A more fundamental idea is to extend the existing indexing methods, used in many traditional nearest neighbor algorithms, with pre-fetching. Specifically, pre-fetching is to predict the next value of the stream before it arrives, and to process the query as if the predicted value were the real one in order to load the needed index pages and time series into the allocated cache memory. Furthermore, if the pre-fetched candidates cannot fit into the cache memory, they are stored in a sequential file to facilitate fast access to them. Experiments show that pre-fetching improves the response time greatly over the direct use of traditional algorithms, even if the caching provided by the operating system is taken into consideration.
Interannual Variability in Millennial Climate Proxy Data

Abstract Annual records of ice core δD values from the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 core define a temporally ordered normal distribution over an interval of 686 yr (AD 1300–1985) about a mean value of \documentclass{aastex} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{bm} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{pifont} \usepackage{stmaryrd} \usepackage{textcomp} \usepackage{portland,xspace} \usepackage{amsmath,amsxtra} \usepackage[OT2,OT1]{fontenc} \newcommand\cyr{ \renewcommand\rmdefault{wncyr} \renewcommand\sfdefault{wncyss} \renewcommand\encodingdefault{OT2} \normalfont \selectfont} \DeclareTextFontCommand{\textcyr}{\cyr} \pagestyle{empty} \DeclareMathSizes{10}{9}{7}{6} \begin{document} \landscape $-270.3\mbox{\textperthousand} \pm 8.41\mbox{\textperthousand} $ \end{document} (standard mean ocean water) and suggest that a significant component of year‐to‐year variation may exist as an unrelated series of ice compositions comprising Gaussian white noise. Importantly, while rates...
Isosorbide dinitrate for the relief of severe heart failure after myocardial infarction.

Abstract Severe congestive heart failure secondary to myocardial infarction remains a difficult management problem. Although intravenous vasodilators and mechanical assist devices have been reported to improve the depressed hemodynamic function, these interventions are limited to the intensive care unit and cannot be used for long-term management. This study evaluates the hemodynamic and symptomatic response to sublingual administration of isosorbide dinitrate (5 to 10 mg) in seven consecutive patients with severe congestive heart failure after anterior wall myocardial infarction. Serial measurements of mean right atrial and pulmonary arterial end-diastolic pressure, mean blood pressure, heart rate and cardiac output were obtained during the control period and during the 4 hours after administration of isosorbide dinitrate. The peak response occurred approximately 30 minutes after drug administration with an 83 percent reduction in mean right atrial pressure (from 6 to 1 mm Hg, P P P 2 and stroke work index (from 26 to 32 gm/beat per m 2 ). The total systemic vascular resistance was reduced by 5 percent from 1,605 to 1,518 dynes sec cm −5 ( P P P
A rhetorical reboot: Technical writing ethics in the age of digital media

Theories of technical writing ethics have traditionally emphasized rhetoric's deliberative and formative role in a writer's decision-making process. In contrast to such disciplinary conceptions, this work-in-progress paper examines how new digital writing technologies complicate and revise rhetoric's relationship to technical writing ethics. Following digital writing's influence on industry writing conventions and contexts, this paper first describes how these technologies highlight rhetoric's dynamic and heuristic role in ethical decision making processes. It then examines how rhetoric's new role affects theories, practical applications, and pedagogies of technical writing ethics. The paper concludes by analyzing potential problems facing a dynamic and heuristic theory of technical writing ethics and suggests areas for future research.
Thermal-hydraulics and safety analyses of the Solid Core-Sectored Compact Reactor (SC-SCoRe) and power system

Abstract The paper presents results of thermal-hydraulics and safety analyses of the S olid C ore- S ectored Co mpact Re actor (SC-SCoRe) and the power system that could nominally provide 38 kW e continuously for ∼ 21 years to a lunar outpost. The power system employs static components and has no single point failures in reactor cooling and energy conversion. The monolithic-core reactor operates nominally at a thermal power of 1.0 MW th and comprises six sectors cooled with circulating liquid NaK-56 at inlet and exit temperatures of 850 K and 900 K. The sectors that are neutronically and thermally coupled each has a separate pair of primary and secondary loops with thermoelectric (TE) powered electromagnetic pumps, a TE power conversion assembly, and heat-pipes radiator panels. Performed are 3-D thermal-hydraulics and safety analyses of the SC-SCoRe during nominal operation and following the unlikely event of a loss of coolant (LOC) or a loss of cooling (LOCo) in one of the reactor core sectors. Calculated results include the flow velocity and temperature fields in the core sectors, inlet and exit ducts and upper and lower plenums. Results demonstrate that with a core sector experiencing a LOC or a LOCo, the power system could continue to operate safely at a reduced reactor power of 323 kW th , and generate four kW e for critical life support functions at the lunar outpost.
Assessment of Admission Criteria for Predicting Students' Academic Performance in Graduate Business Programs

Abstract This study is concerned with quantitative measures currently used or having the potential to be used in the student admission processes for graduate schools of business to produce the best academic performance by admitted students. Methods used to assess the importance of various admission criteria were classified into traditional (linear and nonlinear regression methods) and nontraditional (neural network) multivariate data analysis techniques. In the results for comparing methods, one familiar test, measuring the residual error on a common data set, suggests that neural networks may provide a better predictive model of admitted students' academic performance than traditional quantitative methods of data analysis.
Evidence against an antiaphrodisiac role for cis-vaccenyl acetate in Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract The male lipid of Drosophila melanogaster, cis-vaccenyl acetate, is transferred to females during mating, and reduces the attractiveness of virgin females when applied topically. This has led to the hypothesis that cis-vaccenyl acetate functions as a mated-female antiaphrodisiac. Using gas chromatography, we measured the cis-vaccenyl acetate recovered from female reproductive tracts and cuticular washes at various times after mating to investigate whether cis-vaccenyl acetate meets criteria that would be expected of an antiaphrodisiac pheromone in this species. Our results do not indicate a direct antiaphrodisiac role for cis-vaccenyl acetate. Specifically, cis-vaccenyl acetate is not transferred to females within the first 3 min of copulation, even though the first 3 min are sufficient to induce the post-mating loss of attractiveness characteristic of D. melanogaster females. Furthermore, the cis-vaccenyl acetate on the female's cuticle at any time after mating is probably not sufficient to effectively inhibit courtship, and no detectable transfer to the cuticle occurs during exposure to courting males. These results suggest that cis-vaccenyl acetate plays a limited role, if any, as a D. melanogaster antiaphrodisiac.
Measuring dynamic economic effects under the constant-technology versus varying-technology assumptions

This study measures the time-period-specific industrial price and output effects of cost-related variables (transportation cost, wage rate, and interest rate) by utilizing the Dynamic Variable Input-Output (VIO) model. The Dynamic Variable Input-Output (VIO) model extends the static single regional version of the MultiRegional Variable Input-Output (MRVIO) model which is a partial general equilibrium model that incorporates the input-output model.
Predicting survival of patients with hypocellular myelodysplastic syndrome: development of a disease-specific prognostic score system.

While most patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) exhibit bone marrow hypercellularity, a subset of them presents with a hypocellular bone marrow. Specific factors associated with poor prognosis have not been investigated in patients with hypocellular MDS. We studied a cohort of 253 patients with hypocellular MDS diagnosed at MD Anderson Cancer Center between 1993 and 2007 and a cohort of 1725 patients with hyper/normocelluar MDS diagnosed during the same time period. Patients with hypocellular MDS presented more frequently with thrombocytopenia (p 600 IU/l) as adverse independent factors for survival. A new prognostic model based on these factors was built that segregated patients into three distinct risk categories independent of IPSS score. Such model is independent from IPSS, further refines IPSS-based prognostication, and may be used to develop of risk-adapted therapeutic approaches for patients with hypocellular MDS.
Automated Perfusion Imaging for the Evaluation of Transient Ischemic Attack

Background and Purpose—Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is recommended for the evaluation of transient ischemic attack. Perfusion imaging can increase the yield of MRI in transient ischemic attack. We evaluated automated bolus perfusion (the time when the residue function reaches its maximum [TMax] and mean transit time [MTT]) and arterial spin labeling (ASL) sequences for the detection of ischemic lesions in patients with transient ischemic attack. Methods—We enrolled consecutive patients evaluated for suspicion of acute transient ischemic attack by multimodal MRI within 36 hours of symptom onset. Two independent raters assessed the presence and location of ischemic lesions blinded to the clinical presentation. The prevalence of ischemic lesions and the interrater agreement were1410 assessed. Results—From January 2010 to 2011, 93 patients were enrolled and 90 underwent perfusion imaging (69 bolus perfusion and 76 ASL). Overall, 25 of 93 patients (27%) were DWI-positive and 14 (15%) were perfusion-positiv...