cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Procedural Times for Ultrasound-Guided Perineural Catheter Insertion in Obese and Nonobese Patients

OBJECTIVES Perineural catheter insertion with ultrasound guidance alone has been described, but it remains unknown whether this new technique results in the same procedural time and success rate for obese and nonobese patients. We therefore tested the hypothesis that obese patients require more time for perineural catheter insertion compared to nonobese patients despite using ultrasound. METHODS Data from 5 previously published randomized clinical trials comparing ultrasound- and stimulation-guided perineural catheter insertion techniques were reviewed, and patients who received ultrasound-guided catheters were divided into 2 groups: obese (body mass index ≥30 kg/m(2)) and nonobese (body mass index <30 kg/m(2)). A standardized ultrasound-guided nonstimulating catheter technique was used with mepivacaine, 1.5% (40 mL), as the initial bolus via the placement needle for the primary surgical nerve block. The primary outcome was the procedural time for perineural catheter insertion. Secondary outcomes included block efficacy, procedure-related pain, fluid leakage, vascular puncture, and catheter dislodgment. RESULTS A sample of 120 patients was identified: 51 obese and 69 nonobese. All obese patients had successful catheter placement compared to 68 of 69 (98%) nonobese patients (P = .388). The time for perineural catheter insertion [median (10th-90th percentiles)] was 7 (4-12) minutes for obese patients versus 7 (4-15) minutes for nonobese patients (P = .732). There were no statistically significant differences in other secondary outcomes. CONCLUSIONS On the basis of this retrospective analysis, perineural catheter insertion is not prolonged in obese patients compared to nonobese patients when an ultrasound-guided technique is used. However, these results are only suggestive and require confirmation through prospective study.
Engaging Students in School and Learning: The Real Deal for School Completion

The most recent Office of Special Education report (2006) showed a persistent school completion gap between general education students and peers identified as having “high-incidence conditions,” including a specific learning disability, behavior or emotional disability, other health impairment under Section 504, or milder levels of intellectual deficiency. This article combines a conceptual model that helps the reader to better understand the process of school dropout with five specific and practical strategies that can be deployed to improve school completion rates in local schools.
Using Confusion Networks for Speech Summarization

For extractive meeting summarization, previous studies have shown performance degradation when using speech recognition transcripts because of the relatively high speech recognition errors on meeting recordings. In this paper we investigated using confusion networks to improve the summarization performance on the ASR condition under an unsupervised framework by considering more word candidates and their confidence scores. Our experimental results showed improved summarization performance using our proposed approach, with more contribution from leveraging the confidence scores. We also observed that using these rich speech recognition results can extract similar or even better summary segments than using human transcripts.
Multimedia delivery on demand: capacity analysis and implications

CATV networks are targeted to provide multimedia services to the home. This paper presents a simulation model aimed at evaluating the capacity of CATV networks. The model is based on the user profile, the service discipline and the CATV bandwidth. The issues addressed include the number of users supported by a single broadcast CATV-tree, the probability of accepting a request for multimedia service, and the number of users served over a period of time. >
The Interannual Relationship between the Latitude of the Eddy-Driven Jet and the Edge of the Hadley Cell

Astrongcorrelationbetweenthelatitudesoftheeddy-drivenjetandoftheHadleycelledge,oninterannual time scales, is found to exist during austral summer, in both the NCEP‐NCAR reanalysis and the models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, phase 3 (CMIP3). In addition, a universal ratio close to 1:2 characterizes the robust connection between these two latitudes on a year-to-year basis: for a 28 shift of the eddy-driven jet, the edge of the Hadley cell shifts by 18. This 1:2 interannual ratio remains the same in response to climate change, even though the values of the two latitudes increase. The corresponding trends are also highly correlated; in the CMIP3 scenario integrations, however, no universal ratio appears to exist connecting these long-term trends. In austral winter and in the Northern Hemisphere, no strong interannual correlations are found.
Speaker verification with low storage requirements

As speaker verification continues to gain acceptance for security applications, the day is drawing near when millions of users worldwide will be using some form of speaker verification system to gain access to secure information. These accesses will most probably be via the telephone network. Within this scenario a huge data flow across long distances is expected, in order to have the speaker's templates available for verification. This paper presents initial work on reducing the data requirements for text-dependent speaker verification. It is shown how data storage and accuracy can be traded off in such systems.
A review of perinatal acute pain: treating perinatal pain to reduce adult chronic pain.

Changes in neural connections and activity after an acute insult are hypothesised to contribute to chronic pain syndromes in mature experimental animals and humans. Over the last decade, studies have suggested that exposure to repeated painful procedures during the early perinatal period results in profound changes in sensitivity of nociceptive pathways. Both animal and human studies show that early pain experiences increase pain responses beyond the period of infancy. These data suggest a need to increase implementation of guidelines for minimising pain exposures during infancy. In addition, an experimental perinatal pain model may provide a unique opportunity to study the effects on the nervous system of both painful insults and pre–emptive analgesia.
Application of genome-wide expression analysis to human health and disease

The application of genome-wide expression analysis to a large-scale, multicentered program in critically ill patients poses a number of theoretical and technical challenges. We describe here an analytical and organizational approach to a systematic evaluation of the variance associated with genome-wide expression analysis specifically tailored to study human disease. We analyzed sources of variance in genome-wide expression analyses performed with commercial oligonucleotide arrays. In addition, variance in gene expression in human blood leukocytes caused by repeated sampling in the same subject, among different healthy subjects, among different leukocyte subpopulations, and the effect of traumatic injury, were also explored. We report that analytical variance caused by sample processing was acceptably small. Blood leukocyte gene expression in the same individual over a 24-h period was remarkably constant. In contrast, genome-wide expression varied significantly among different subjects and leukocyte subpopulations. Expectedly, traumatic injury induced dramatic changes in apparent gene expression that were greater in magnitude than the analytical noise and interindividual variance. We demonstrate that the development of a nation-wide program for gene expression analysis with careful attention to analytical details can reduce the variance in the clinical setting to a level where patterns of gene expression are informative among different healthy human subjects, and can be studied with confidence in human disease.
Against Conditional Obligation

Lennart Aqvist (1984) explains why most contemporary deontic logics use a primitive binary conditional obligation operator. He then points to an account of prima facie obligation as the primary outstanding problem facing these logics. Solving that problem, I hope to show, also solves the puzzles that motivated such theories in the first place. The crucial feature of obligation sentences to which the puzzles point is that such sentences, and evaluative sentences more generally, are defeasible. They may be warranted, given some information, only to be defeated by further information. A theory that recognizes this no longer needs to see conditional obligation as anything more than a simple combination of unary obligation and the conditional. My title may thus be overly provocative. I do not mean to deny that some obligations hold only if some condition is fulfilled. Nor do I mean to deny that sentences Kant would have called hypothetical imperatives, such as If you like Mexican food, you should try Jorge's, express such obligations. Finally, I do not mean to deny that there is anything wrong with the common strategy of using a primitive conditional obligation operator such as O(qlp) in a logical or philosophical theory of deontic concepts. It usefully avoids commitments about the relative roles of obligation and the conditional. What I do want to attack is the idea that a theory with a primitive conditional obligation operator-a binary theory, as I shall call it-can be afinal logical or philosophical theory about deontic concepts. At the very least, a theorist using a conditional obligation operator owes us an explanation of how the semantics of the operator depends on the semantics for obligation and the conditional simpliciter. Sentences expressing conditional obligations are intelligible to anyone understanding should (or ought to) and if. The combination of these words is no idiom. The meanings of such sentences, therefore, should be explicable in terms
Nonactive antenna compensation for fixed-array microwave imaging. II. Imaging results

For pt. I see ibid., vol. 18, no. 6, p. 496 (1999). Model-based imaging techniques utilizing microwave signal illumination rely heavily on the ability to accurately represent the wave propagation with a suitable numerical model. To date, the highest quality images from the authors' prototype system have been achieved utilizing a single transmitter/single receiver measurement system where both antennas are manually repositioned to facilitate multiple illuminations of the imaging region, thus requiring long data acquisition times. In an effort to develop a system that can acquire data in a real time manner, a 32-channel network has been fabricated with all ports capable of being electronically selected for either transmit or receive mode. The presence of a complete array of antenna elements at data collection time perturbs the field distributions being measured, which can subsequently degrade the image reconstruction due to increased data-model mismatch. Incorporating the nonactive antenna-compensation model from Part I of this paper into the authors' hybrid element near field image reconstruction algorithm is shown to restore image quality when fixed antenna-array data acquisition is used. Improvements are most dramatic for inclusions located in near proximity to the antenna array itself, although cases of improvement in the recovery of centered heterogeneities are also illustrated. Increases in the frequency of illumination are found to warrant an increased need for nonactive antenna compensation. Quantitative measures of recovered inclusion shape and position reveal a systematic improvement in image reconstruction quality when the nonactive antenna-compensation model is employed. Improvements in electrical property value recovery of localized heterogeneities are also observed. Image reconstructions in freshly excised breast tissue illustrate the applicability of the approach when used with the authors' two-dimensional microwave imaging system.
Classification of Histology Sections via Multispectral Convolutional Sparse Coding

Image-based classification of histology sections plays an important role in predicting clinical outcomes. However this task is very challenging due to the presence of large technical variations (e.g., fixation, staining) and biological heterogeneities (e.g., cell type, cell state). In the field of biomedical imaging, for the purposes of visualization and/or quantification, different stains are typically used for different targets of interest (e.g., cellular/subcellular events), which generates multi-spectrum data (images) through various types of microscopes and, as a result, provides the possibility of learning biological-component-specific features by exploiting multispectral information. We propose a multispectral feature learning model that automatically learns a set of convolution filter banks from separate spectra to efficiently discover the intrinsic tissue morphometric signatures, based on convolutional sparse coding (CSC). The learned feature representations are then aggregated through the spatial pyramid matching framework (SPM) and finally classified using a linear SVM. The proposed system has been evaluated using two large-scale tumor cohorts, collected from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Experimental results show that the proposed model 1) outperforms systems utilizing sparse coding for unsupervised feature learning (e.g., PSDSPM [5]), 2) is competitive with systems built upon features with biological prior knowledge (e.g., SMLSPM [4]).
MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS SUBSEQUENT TO GESTATIONAL DIABETES MELLITUS DIFFER BY RACE/ETHNICITY.

Introduction The relationship between gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and postpregnancy mental health disorders has been inconsistently reported. Additionally, race/ethnicity data are limited. We sought to elucidate the intersection of these relationships. Methods We analyzed 18,109 women aged 18–40 with self-reported race/ethnicity. Women with (n = 659) and without (n = 14,461) GDM were followed for a median of 4.4 (interquartile range 1.4–6.8) and 4.0 (1.5–6.4) years, respectively, for incident mental health disorders. Multivariable repeated measures analyses were conducted to examine associations between GDM and postpregnancy mental health disorders, race/ethnicity, and the interaction of these factors. Results Women with compared to women without GDM were older (mean ± standard deviation, 32 ± 5 vs. 30 ± 5 years; P < .001) and had higher body mass index (29.0 ± 7.2 vs. 25.3 ± 5.2 kg/m2; P < .001). GDM was associated with increased risk for depression and anxiety after adjusting for age and pregnancy complications; however, loss of significance in the fully adjusted model for depression (odds ratio [95% CI]: 1.29 [0.98, 1.70]; P = .064) and anxiety (1.14 [0.83, 1.57], P = .421) suggested that clinical and socioeconomic factors influence this relationship. Hispanic compared to white women had a greater risk for depression (1.40 [1.15, 1.72]; P = .001), even after multivariable adjustment. The interaction between GDM and race was evident in complication-adjusted but not fully adjusted models. Conclusions The incidence of mental health disorders subsequent to GDM was attenuated after adjustment for clinical and socioeconomic factors. Moreover, race/ethnicity influenced this relationship. Further investigation is warranted to clarify potential underlying mechanisms.
SksOpen: Efficient Indexing, Querying, and Visualization of Geo-spatial Big Data

With the fast growing use of web-based map services, the performance of indexing and querying of location-based data is becoming a critical quality of service aspect. Spatial indexing is typically time-consuming and is not available to end-users. To address this challenge, we have developed and open-sourced an Online Indexing and Querying System for Big Geospatial Data, sksOpen. Integrated with the TerraFly Geospatial database [1], TerraFly sksOpen is an efficient indexing and query engine for processing Top-k Spatial Boolean Queries. Further, we provide ergonomic visualization of query results on interactive maps to facilitate the user's data analysis.
A Biomedical and Feminist Perspective on Women's Experiences with Weight Management

Weight concerns and dieting have become so normative for U.S. women that weight is the lens through which experience is viewed. The obsession with weight and dieting among women is considered by feminists to be one result of the oppression by women resulting from questionable weight standards and weight control programs that foster a view of overweight as a sign of addiction and lack of control. Feminist critique is used to deconstruct both the literature related to weight standards and health and the research on weight loss/weight management. Feminist and ethnographic methods are used to describe successful and unsuccessful experiences with weight management of 20 Euro-American women who had participated in a 1985 weight study and agreed to be reinterviewed. Success at weight management was examined from a biomedical perspective using Body Mass Index (BMI) norms and from a feminist perspective using participants' subjective definitions of success. Based upon BMI, only 8 members of the study group were defined as successful, whereas based upon the women's perspectives, 11 members were successful. Participants' definitions of successful weight management were divergent from biomedical definitions and could be categorized into three perspectives: biomedical, reframed normal weight, and holistic. Women who ascribed to the biomedical definition of success embodied the cultural ideal of thinness by adhering to an underweight weight norm. Participants using the reframed normal weight definition of success rejected biomedical weight norms and created their own weight norms. The holistic perspective on success involved the use of a broader, health-focused definition of successful weight management and offers some directions for revising current health promotion care relative to weight.
A field-effect GaAs laser diode with controlled carrier distribution in central and satellite valleys

The transient behavior of a field-effect GaAs laser diode is modeled under a controlled carrier distribution in the central ( Gamma ) and satellite (S) valleys. The carrier distribution control is achieved by modulating the applied electric field which heats carriers to energies higher than 0.38 eV for Gamma to S scatterings. The numerical analysis of the rate equations shows that picosecond optical pulses can be produced. >
Reevaluation of Type I Diamonds for Infrared and Raman Spectroscopy in High-Pressure Diamond Anvil Cells

Types Ia, IIa, and IIb diamonds have been compared for their use as anvils in infrared and Raman high-pressure spectroscopy. In the mid-infrared region above 2700 cm−1, type Ia diamonds have better transmission than type IIa diamonds. In the far-infrared region between 600 and 300 cm−1 type IIa diamonds have in general better transmission than type Ia but at lower frequencies the transmissions are comparable. Type IIa diamond anvils, which have been tested for their use in Raman spectroscopy throughout the whole vibrational region and showed large fluorescence in this region when 514.5 nm laser excitation was used, yielded in general extremely low fluorescence with 363.8 nm excitation thus making them ideal for Raman spectroscopy with ultraviolet lasers.
Uncertainty of extreme fit evaluation for three-dimensional measurement data analysis

Abstract Three-dimensional measurement is the process of obtaining information about a measured object in the form of surface coordinates. Of course this information must be accompanied by a data analysis procedure that evaluates geometric dimensions from the measured data. Currently extreme fits, that are based on an L∞ norm estimation, are widely applied to analyze these data. The extreme fit results reflect the functionality of the part, and they are more consistent with standard definitions. However, they are subject to sampling uncertainty as they are sensitive to measurement sampling density. Previous studies focused on the evaluation methodology of the extreme fits; however, the uncertainty of the extreme fits has not been thoroughly addressed. In this paper, we investigate the uncertainty of extreme fits, and propose a statistical approach to evaluate it. We employ the bootstrap method to determine the confidence interval of the extreme fit evaluations. The proposed method is independent of the geometry and evaluation method; thus, it can be easily generalized for various extreme fit evaluations and geometries.
Inhibition of coronary atherosclerosis by propranolol in behaviorally predisposed monkeys fed an atherogenic diet.

We studied the effect of propranolol on the diet-induced coronary artery atherosclerosis (CAA) in 30 adult male cynomolgus monkeys living in social groupings of five animals each. Animals in the "treated" segment (n = 15) consumed propranolol, which was mixed into an atherogenic diet. Animals in the "untreated" group (n = 15) consumed only the atherogenic diet. Finally, the social groupings were subjected to disruption through monthly redistribution of monkeys among the groups within each treatment segment. The experiment lasted 26 months, following which all animals underwent autopsy during which the coronary arteries were evaluated for atherosclerosis. Regarding atherosclerosis, we observed a significant interaction between social status and experimental condition (p less than .03). Socially dominant animals had (as in previous studies) significantly exacerbated CAA, but only in the untreated segment; the effect of social dominance on CAA was abolished by long-term administration of propranolol. The antiatherogenic effect of propranolol on dominant animals was independent of the influences of serum lipid concentrations, blood pressure, and resting heart rate. We conclude that treatment with beta-adrenergic-blocking agents may confer a degree of protection against CAA among individuals behaviorally predisposed to coronary heart disease.
Efficient high-fidelity simulation of HF communications systems and networks

Harris Corporation is conducting a series of investigations in which network simulations are used to characterize and analyze the performance of existing HF communications waveforms and protocols, and to develop and optimize innovative techniques realizing improved network throughput, capacity, and user experience. The work reported in this paper includes development of HF physical layer models providing high-fidelity simulation of modem error statistics as a function of the channel attributes of the widely-used Watterson ionospheric channel model; implementation and validation of a simulation model of the NATO STANAG 5066 data link protocol; and integration of these models with the OMNeT++ network simulation framework and its INET library of Internet protocol models. The integrated simulation model is used to characterize the impacts of different STANAG 5066 configuration settings on bulk data throughput, to characterize system performance in conjunction with the TCP transport layer protocol, and to investigate performance improvements realizable over HF links with TCP performance enhancing proxy (PEP) techniques.
An Upper Bound for the Expected Difference between Order Statistics

It is well known that the order statistics of a random sample from the uniform distribution on the interval [0, 1] have Beta distributions. In this paper we consider the order statistics of a rando...
The Effect of Class Size on Student Performance

Does a correlation exist between class size and student performance at the law school level? If so, is it a positive or negative one? The author compared class size with grades received in two first-year courses and one third-year course over a five-year period (a total of 24 classes). The results support the conclusion that a correlation does exist, and that student grades decline as class size increases. Particularly in first-year courses, larger classes seem to adversely affect overall class performance and contribute to a higher rate of student failure.
T Cell/Histiocyte-Rich Large B Cell Lymphoma of the Thymus: A Diagnostic Pitfall.

T cell/histiocyte-rich large B cell lymphoma (THRLBCL) is predominantly a nodal disease, with extranodal involvement, such as bone marrow, spleen, and liver. However, primary THRLBCL has never been reported in the thymus in the English literature. Here we report a case of THRLBCL presenting as mediastinal mass and lymphadenopathy. Based on the frozen section diagnosis of “thymoma,” a 12 cm mass was excised. A year later she developed multiple enlarged lymph nodes and pulmonary nodules. Consultant review of the excised mediastinal mass showed scattered large atypical cells that were CD20+ and PAX-5+ and negative for pan-cytokeratin, AE1, and AE3, compatible with THRLBCL and excluding thymoma. The excised lymph nodes were replaced by diffuse infiltrate of small CD3+ lymphocytes and histiocytes with intermingled large CD20+ B lymphoma cells scattered throughout the section. A diagnosis of THRLBCL was made in lymph node, similar to previous thymic lesion. A clonal rearrangement of immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) gene was detected, further supporting the diagnosis. This is the first reported case of THRLBCL in thymus. Correct recognition of this entity is critical, because of the difference in therapeutic impact on these patients.
Using local operator fluctuations to identify wave function improvements

A method is developed that allows analysis of quantum Monte Carlo simulations to identify errors in trial wave functions. The purpose of this method is to allow for the systematic improvement of variational wave functions by identifying degrees of freedom that are not well described by an initial trial state. We provide proof of concept implementations of this method by identifying the need for a Jastrow correlation factor and implementing a selected multideterminant wave function algorithm for small dimers that systematically decreases the variational energy. Selection of the two-particle excitations is done using the quantum Monte Carlo method within the presence of a Jastrow correlation factor and without the need to explicitly construct the determinants. We also show how this technique can be used to design compact wave functions for transition metal systems. This method may provide a route to analyze and systematically improve descriptions of complex quantum systems in a scalable way.
Ultrasensitive Measurement of MEMS Cantilever Displacement Below the Photon Shot Noise Limit

Microcantilever (MC) displacement detection below the backaction noise level is now possible, but sensitivity below the shot-noise-limit has remained elusive. We demonstrate sub-shot-noise sensitivity in MC sensing applications using differential measurements with multi-spatial-mode squeezed light.
Formation of Silicon on Insulator (Soi) With Separation by Plasma Implantation of Oxygen (Spimox)

Buried oxide layers in Si were fabricated using non-mass analyzed plasma immersion ion implantation (PHI). We call this process of making separation by implantation of oxygen (SIMOX) with implantation by PIII as separation by plasma implantation of oxygen (SPIMOX). The implantation was carried out by applying a large negative bias to a Si wafer immersed in an oxygen plasma and a nominal dose of 2 × 1017 cm”2 of oxygen was obtained in less than three minutes. Cross section transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) were used to characterize the wafers. Three distinct modes of microstructure development were observed after post implantation annealing. With a low oxygen dose ( 3 × 1017 cm”2 ), however, a single buried oxide layer was observed. By optimizing the concentration ratio of 0+ and 02+ in the plasma and the implant dose, a double oxide layer (Si/oxide/Si/oxide/Si) structure, was produced in a single implantation step.
Use of a Point-of-Care Tool to Improve Nurse Practitioner BRCA Knowledge

Background Women who have been identified with a BRCA mutation benefit from a multidisciplinary, individualized medical evaluation to reduce their risk of developing cancers. Identifying women who would gain from testing for BRCA mutations is essential. Nurse practitioners (NPs) as primary care providers are important members of the healthcare team and are instrumental in identifying and referring women for testing. However, studies have shown that NPs lack knowledge about and confidence in identifying women at risk. Objectives This project was undertaken to increase NP knowledge about assessing women at risk for the BRCA mutation and determining whether such testing is appropriate. This was accomplished through a BRCA risk assessment tool developed as a mobile health technology (MHT) application using the Ontario Family History Assessment Tool, one of the tools recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in its guidelines on BRCA-related cancer risk assessment, genetic counseling, and genetic testing to assist primary care providers in the assessment of women. Methods NPs attending an NP conference in the midwestern United States completed pre-test, post-test, and satisfaction surveys regarding use of the MHT application. The application included a point-of-care tool and educational information. Findings The participants demonstrated increased knowledge from pre- to post-test after use of the MHT application, with an overall positive evaluation.
So Do You Really Want to Pursue Research

I am not a psychiatrist, psychologist, or social worker. But if you speak with any person deeply involved in research, I can guarantee you that they will tell you that he will view himself as “atypical” in his approach to his interests, career, and long-term life goals. Admittedly, none of us think of ourselves as typical or average, yet I do believe that most people who pursue biomedical research are not content with having a job where the day-to-day work is at all predetermined or in any way mundane. Accordingly, I believe that there are a number of personality traits common to many researchers. The degree to which any of these traits predominate, of course, varies considerably among people and is undoubtedly one of the factors that leads to a rich and varied group of people involved in scientific research. It is also one reason why there are so many arguments, dislikes, petty controversies, big controversies, and occasional intentionally malevolent acts.
Banishment in Public Housing: Testing an Evolution of Broken Windows

Banishment policies grant police the authority to formally ban individuals from entering public housing and arrest them for trespassing if they violate the ban. Despite its widespread use and the social consequences resulting from it, an empirical evaluation of the effectiveness of banishment has not been performed. Understanding banishment enforcement is an evolution of broken windows policing, this study explores how effective bans are at reducing crime in public housing. We analyze crime data, spanning the years 2001–2012, from six public housing communities and 13 surrounding communities in one southeastern U.S. city. Using Arellano-Bond dynamic panel models, we investigate whether or not issuing bans predicts reductions in property and violent crimes as well as increases in drug and trespass arrests in public housing. We find that this brand of broken windows policing does reduce crime, albeit relatively small reductions and only for property crime, while resulting in an increase in trespass arrests. Given our findings that these policies have only a modest impact on property crime, yet produce relatively larger increases in arrests for minor offenses in communities of color, and ultimately have no significant impact on violent crime, it will be important for police, communities, and policy makers to discuss whether the returns are worth the potential costs.
Quantification of highly selective sigma-1 receptor antagonist CM304 using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and its application to a pre-clinical pharmacokinetic study

An ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for quantification of CM304, a novel and highly selective sigma-1 receptor antagonist that has recently entered into human clinical trials. A structural analogue of CM304, SN56, was used as the internal standard (IS). Chromatographic separation was achieved on an Acquity UPLC™ BEH C18 (1.7 μm, 2.1 mm × 50 mm) column using a mobile phase [water:methanol (0.1%v/v formic acid; 50:50, %v/v)] at a flow rate of 0.2 mL/min. Mass spectrometric detection was performed in the positive ionization mode with multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) using m/z transitions of 337 > 238 for CM304 and 319 > 220 for the IS. The method was found to be linear and reproducible with a regression coefficient consistently >0.99 for the calibration range of 3 to 3000 ng/mL. The extraction recovery ranged from 91.5 to 98.4% from spiked (7.5, 300 and 2526 ng/mL) plasma quality control samples. The precision (%RSD; 1.1 to 2.9%) and accuracy (%RE; -1.9 to 1.8%) were within acceptable limit. The validated method was successfully applied to a single dose oral and intravenous (I.V.) pharmacokinetic study of CM304 in rats. Following I.V. administration, the compound exhibited adequate exposure along with high extravascular distribution and insignificant amount of extra hepatic metabolism. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A thermophysical battery for storage-based climate control

Abstract Climate control applications in the form of heating and cooling account for a significant portion of energy consumption in buildings and transportation. Consequently, improved efficiency of climate control systems can significantly reduce the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. In particular, by leveraging intermittent or continuous sources of waste heat and solar energy, thermally-driven energy storage systems for climate control can play a crucial role. We demonstrate the concept of a thermophysical battery, which operates by storing thermal energy and subsequently releasing it to provide heating and cooling on demand. Taking advantage of the adsorption-desorption and evaporation-condensation mechanisms, the thermophysical battery can be a high-power density and rechargeable energy storage system. We investigated the thermophysical battery in detail to identify critical parameters governing its overall performance. A detailed computational analysis was used to predict its cyclic performance when exposed to different operating conditions and thermodynamic cycles. In addition, an experimental test bed was constructed using a contemporary adsorptive material, NaX-zeolite, to demonstrate this concept and deliver average heating and cooling powers of 900 W and 650 W, respectively. The maximum power densities and specific powers observed were 103 W/l and 65 W/kg for heating, and 78 W/l and 49 W/kg for cooling, respectively, making the thermophysical battery competitive with the state-of-the-art climate control systems that provide relatively lower power densities. Additionally, with further opportunities for development and innovation, especially in synthesizing novel adsorptive materials, the thermophysical battery can achieve significantly higher power densities. With its ability to function using thermal energy input while being compact and lightweight, the thermophysical battery offers an option to address the energy challenges associated with the rising demand for climate control.
Design Principles for Covalent Organic Frameworks in Energy Storage Applications

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are an exciting class of porous materials that have been explored as energy-storage materials for more than a decade. This review discusses efforts to develop these materials for applications in gas and electrical power storage. Some of the design strategies for developing the gas sorption properties of COFs and mechanistic studies on their formation are also discussed.
Voices from a “Valley of Dry Bones”: Life Narratives of the Slave Trade from St. Helena

Please note that this essay contains images from the archaeological excavations at the St. Helena burial site.In 2008, a team of archaeologists working on the remote South Atlantic island of St. He...
Small Satellite Constellations for Measurements of the Near-Earth Space Environment

A constellation of small satellites is well suited to making measurements of the near-Earth space environment given the spatial and temporal variability that preclude solely independent, localized measurements. In this chapter we discuss some of the factors that must be considered when designing a system for space weather monitoring and the scientific investigation of the near-Earth environment. Some important parameters include: (1) the number flux and energy of energetic particles in the auroral region and/or the radiation belts, (2) the number density temperature and composition of neutrals and ions in the upper atmosphere, (3) the wind speed in the upper atmosphere, (4) the ion drift velocity and/or DC component of the electric field, and (5) small scale fluctuations in the ionosphere that lead to radio scintillation. An integrated solution will be addressed that spans the range of potential science objectives, enabling sensor technologies, triple-cubesats (<5 kg) and nanosatellite (<50 kg) system design, secondary launch options, and the associated data processing and distribution plan. In addition, details related to a JHU/APL effort with a planned 2010 mission schedule to serve the requirements of user communities for near-Earth space environment and space weather data will also be discussed.
Values Voters: The Conditional Effect of Income on the Relationship Between Core Values and Political Attitudes and Behavior

The postmaterialism thesis contends that newer cultural and social justice issues will supplant traditional, class-based economic concerns as societies become increasingly wealthy. Although macrolevel evidence broadly supports this prediction, individual-level evidence for the theory in the United States has been sparse. Moreover, alternative theories predict that postmaterialism will not travel well to the American context because religious cleavages that divide the major parties will be most salient. We test the postmaterialism thesis at the individual level using unique data that enable us to evaluate citizens' value-preference structures across income levels, as well as the conditional effect of income on the relationship between individuals' ranked value preferences and political attitudes and behavior. Consistent with the theory, greater income strengthens the association between egalitarianism and ideology, partisanship, evaluations of President Obama, and presidential vote choice, and weakens the relationship between moral traditionalism and these same variables. However, income does not moderate the association between economic security and individuals' identities, evaluations, or behavior. Additionally, value-preference hierarchies are quite similar across income groups after controlling for partisanship and ideology. The results lend insight into the nature of value- and income-based cleavages in American politics.
The Association of PTSD Symptom Severity With Localized Hippocampus and Amygdala Abnormalities

BackgroundThe hippocampus and amygdala have been repeatedly implicated in the psychopathology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While numerous structural neuroimaging studies examined these two structures in PTSD, these analyses have largely been limited to volumetric measures. Recent advances in vertex-based neuroimaging methods have made it possible to identify specific locations of subtle morphometric changes within a structure of interest.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we used high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging to examine the relationship between PTSD symptomatology, as measured using the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for the DSM-IV, and structural shape of the hippocampus and amygdala using vertex-wise shape analyses in a group of combat-exposed U.S. Veterans (N = 69).ResultsFollowing correction for multiple comparisons and controlling for age and cranial volume, we found that participants with more severe PTSD symptoms showed an indentation in the anterior half of the right...
Body Fat, Fat Topography and Endogenous Steroid Dynamics

Dr. Garza-Flores and his colleagues have presented evidence of systematic differences in the pharmacokinetic profiles of depo medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) and norethisterone enanthate (NET-EN) between Mexican and Thai women. Comparing these data with similar studies conducted in other regions (cited in the same paper), it appears that the pharmacokinetic parameter displaying the greatest variability between populations is the Cmax, the maximum concentration observed; it is the mean Cmax observed with DMPA among Thai women that is the most dramatic outlier.
TMEM16A/ANO1 Inhibits Apoptosis Via Downregulation of Bim Expression

Purpose: TMEM16A is a calcium-activated chloride channel that is amplified in a variety of cancers, including 30% of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs), raising the possibility of an anti-apoptotic role in malignant cells. This study investigated this using a multimodal, translational investigation.Experimental Design: Combination of (i) in vitro HNSCC cell culture experiments assessing cell viability, apoptotic activation, and protein expression (ii) in vivo studies assessing similar outcomes, and (iii) molecular and staining analysis of human HNSCC samples.Results: TMEM16A expression was found to correlate with greater tumor size, increased Erk 1/2 activity, less Bim expression, and less apoptotic activity overall in human HNSCC. These findings were corroborated in subsequent in vitro and in vivo studies and expanded to include a cisplatin-resistant phenotype with TMEM16A overexpression. A cohort of 41 patients with laryngeal cancer demonstrated that cases that recurred after chemoradiation failure were associated with a greater TMEM16A overexpression rate than HNSCC that did not recur.Conclusions: Ultimately, this study implicates TMEM16A as a contributor to tumor progression by limiting apoptosis and as a potential biomarker of more aggressive disease. Clin Cancer Res; 23(23); 7324-32. ©2017 AACR.
Burnout in Christian Perspective

Mindfulness and Christian spirituality are useful tools in preventing and coping with burnout and compassion fatigue. Christian human services workers who engage in these practices are able to stave off burnout and actually be revitalized in their work because mindfulness and Christian spirituality are tied to managing loss of personal accomplishment, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization. For Christians, a better way to conceptualize burnout and compassion fatigue is to consider them within the categories of calling, apathy, and indifference. In this way, preventing and coping with burnout becomes a project of spiritual revitalization—reconnecting with the empowering, living spirit of God. The practices of the Jesus Prayer, the daily examen, and the prayer of consideration are useful tools for accomplishing this.
Empirical optimization of DFT + U and HSE for the band structure of ZnO.

ZnO is a well-known wide band gap semiconductor with promising potential for applications in optoelectronics, transparent electronics, and spintronics. Computational simulations based on the density functional theory (DFT) play an important role in the research of ZnO, but the standard functionals, like Perdew-Burke-Erzenhof, result in largely underestimated values of the band gap and the binding energies of the Zn3d electrons. Methods like DFT + U and hybrid functionals are meant to remedy the weaknesses of plain DFT. However, both methods are not parameter-free. Direct comparison with experimental data is the best way to optimize the computational parameters. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) is commonly considered as a benchmark for the computed electronic densities of states. In this work, both DFT + U and HSE methods were parametrized to fit almost exactly the binding energies of electrons in ZnO obtained by XPS. The optimized parameterizations of DFT + U and HSE lead to significantly worse results in reproducing the ion-clamped static dielectric tensor, compared to standard high-level calculations, including GW, which in turn yield a perfect match for the dielectric tensor. The failure of our XPS-based optimization reveals the fact that XPS does not report the ground state electronic structure for ZnO and should not be used for benchmarking ground state electronic structure calculations.
Cancer-Related Eating Problems

Eating and nutrition problems are common among cancer patients and have been associated with worse prognosis and outcome of cancer therapies. This chapter provides an overview of eating-related difficulties in this population, considering common physiological and psychological barriers. In addition to tools for assessment, practitioners and trainees will find a discussion of empirically supported interventions for delivery in integrated care settings.
Management of reactive airway disease.

The diagnosis of lower airway obstruction is one of the most frequent causes of admission to the pediatric intensive care unit. Morbidity and mortality have significantly increased in the past decade. A review of the pathophysiology, clinical presentation, current state-of-the-art intensive care unit management, and investigative therapies of bronchiolitis and asthma are presented.
COMPARISON OF FLOW ANALYSIS IN ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN SOCIETIES

ABSTRACT Cycling index is computed for several models of metal industries in the United States, and for the cycle of phosphorus in Hong Kong. The U.S. is extremely efficient in recycling precious metals, but less efficient for the more common metals, iron and aluminum. Paper in the U.S. and phosphorus in Hong Kong are recycled at only 23% efficiency. In comparison with several natural ecosystems the range of values is similar, but ecosystems have consistently higher values for cycling index, and usually cycle the same element (iron and phosphorus) more efficiently. Structurally, societies and ecosystems share the presence of self-loops, within larger scale loops. However, ecosystems seem to differ from developed societies, in being able to have local-loops, i.e. cycles that occur within a very short distance of there origin. These local-loops may help explain why ecosystems can be so efficient. Unfortunately, developed countries would have a great deal of difficulty in restructuring themselves to create local-loops, whereas developing countries may be able to build local recycling loops into their structure as they grow.
Harderian gland pathology in transgenic mice carrying the MMTV/v-Ha-ras gene

Twenty-four Harderian glands from 16 transgenic mice carrying a v-Ha-ras gene under the control of the mouse mammary tumor virus promoter were examined histologically upon death of the animals. Eight glands were histologically normal and eleven were hyperplastic. Four additional glands showed predominantly hyperplasia, but also contained foci of dysplasia and in situ carcinoma. One gland contained an adenocarcinoma. The range of pathology observed in the Harderian glands of these transgenic mice was similar to that which arises spontaneously, although hyperplasia, and not adenoma, occurred in these mice as the benign tumor. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 31:577-581,1990 The Harderian gland is a horseshoe-shaped gland that is found in the medial orbit of most animals with a third eyelid or nictitating membrane. In rodents, it is a well developed tubuloalveolar gland which secretes lipid by a merocrine mechanism and contains dark brown porphyrin granules in the gland lumina. 1