cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Riociguat for pulmonary arterial hypertension and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

Purpose The pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, clinical efficacy, safety, and role in therapy for riociguat are reviewed. Summary Riociguat is the first member of a new class of medications, soluble guanylate cyclase stimulators. Riociguat is indicated for patients with resistant or recurrent chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) after pulmonary endarterectomy who have World Health Organization (WHO) functional class IV pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and in patients with inoperable CTEPH, regardless of WHO functional class, to improve exercise capacity and WHO functional class. Riociguat is indicated in patients with WHO functional class II PAH to improve exercise capacity, improve functional class, and delay clinical worsening. The mechanism of action of riociguat is within the nitric oxide pathway in the pulmonary vasculature. Clinical trials have demonstrated improvements in exercise capacity as measured by the six-minute walk distance test and in pulmonary arterial hemodynamics as measured by invasive pulmonary monitoring. Riociguat must be administered three times daily and requires dosage adjustments. Riociguat is a pregnancy category X drug and interacts with numerous medications. The two most serious adverse effects related to riociguat are hypotension and bleeding. Riociguat’s role in the therapy of both PAH and CTEPH will be determined as more clinical experience and data are collected. Riociguat will likely cost approximately $90,000 annually. Conclusion Riociguat is a soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator approved for the treatment of CTEPH and PAH. It can be considered first-line therapy for the treatment of CTEPH and should be considered as an alternative to phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors in patients with PAH.
Substrate Engineering with Fluoride Buffer Layers on Si

Here, we report on our efforts to engineer Si substrates for growth of compound semiconductors through the use of suitable epitaxial buffer layers of CaF2, SrF2, and BaF2 using a recently installed dual growth chamber MBE system. We have also developed new graphite-heater K-cells which have demonstrated reliable, high temperature deposition of the fluorides with excellent uniformity across substrates up to 6 inches in diameter. Excellent epitaxial quality (Xmin<5.0%) and smooth surface morphologies have been achieved for epitaxial CaF2 and SrF2 grown directly on Si (111) and BaF2 grown directly on Si (001). The BaF2 is (111) oriented on the Si (001) substrates with one of the {110} planes of the BaF2 aligned with the (110) plane in the Si (001). PbS1−xSex of excellent epitaxial quality has recently been demonstrated on the BaF2 (111)/Si (001) films. Comparable epitaxial quality has been demonstrated for CaF2 grown on Si (001) substrates using a two step growth method. We also report on preliminary results on epitaxial mixed fluoride growth on Si (111) and Si (001) substrates.
Charging for hospital pharmaceutical services: flat free based on the medication record

A 200-bed hospital's change in pricing drug products from a cost-plus-fee system to a flat fee per dose based on the medication administration record (MAR) is described. With the flat-fee system, drug charges are not recorded when the drug is dispensed by the pharmacy; data for charging doses are obtained directly from the MAR forms generated by the nursing staff. Charges are 55 cents per oral or suppository dose and $3.00 per injection dose. Drugs administered intravenously, topical drugs, injections costing more than $10.00 per dose, and miscellaneous nondrug items are still charged on a cost-plus-fee basis. Man-hours are saved in the pharmacy department because of the elimination of the pricing function and maintenance of price lists. The need for nursing staff to charge for any doses administered from emergency or Schedule II floor-stock supplies is eliminated. The workload for business office personnel is reduced because the number of individual charges is less than with the cost-plus charging system. The system is accepted by patients and third-party payers and has made a complete unit dose drug distribution system possible at lower cost.
Determination of furan in foods using headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Objective:To develop a highly sensitive method for the determination of furan in foods using capillary gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection and incorporating the use of a deuterated internal standard.Methods:After addition of internal standard d4-furan,food samples were heated at headspace incubation temperature 50℃ for 30 min.Furan was separated by gas chromatography on a PLOT Q capillary column,identified and quantified by mass spectrometry in SIM mode.Results:The correlation coefficients were good in the concentration range of 5~1000 ng.The limits of detection were 5~1000 ng/g.The recoveries were 86.1%~97.4%,and the relative standard deviation(RSD) low than 10%.45samples were determined,the concentration was 2.0~84.2 ng/g.Conclusion:The method is sensitive and precise for routine determination of furan in foods.
B–N, B–O, and B–CN Bond Formation via Palladium-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of B-Bromo-Carboranes

Carboranes are boron-rich molecules that can be functionalized through metal-catalyzed cross-coupling. Here, for the first time, we report the use of bromo-carboranes in palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling for efficient B-N, B-O, and unprecedented B-CN bond formation. In many cases bromo-carboranes outperform the traditionally utilized iodo-carborane species. This marked difference in reactivity is leveraged to circumvent multistep functionalization by directly coupling small nucleophiles (-OH, -NH2, and -CN) and multiple functional groups onto the boron-rich clusters.
Longitudinal Relations Between Peer Victimization, Emotion Dysregulation, and Internalizing Symptoms Among Early Adolescents

The current study examined longitudinal relations between overt and relational victimization, sadness and anger dysregulation, and depressive and anxiety symptoms across 6 months among an ethnicall...
Authority and Entertainment in ‘The Good and Faithful Servant’ and ‘The Erpingham Camp’

The comic villains in Orton are always authority figures: Dr Rance, the inspecting psychiatrist in What the Butler Saw, Inspector Truscott of Scotland Yard in Loot, the insinuating brother Ed in Entertaining Mr. Sloane, the officious and ceremonious Erpingham in The Erpingham Camp, and the effusive Mrs Vealfoy from Personnel, who represents the values of the factory. ‘Villain’ is, of course, the wrong word. There are no villains in Orton even though his farce is often just the other side of melodrama — the merry side turned up by the ingenious and outrageous plotting common to farce and melodrama. Orton’s villains are always grotesque comic manipulators, Vice figures who represent the capricious but all-powerful institutions of our society. They are company men and women, like Erpingham and Mrs Vealfoy, who mechanise, regiment, institutionalise and bureaucratise all the functions of human life including pleasure.
RANKL-Inhibition beim Prostatakarzinom

Eine haufige Nebenwirkung einer langjahrigen Androgendeprivation beim Prostatakarzinom ist die Abnahme der Knochenmineraldichte. Dadurch steigt das Risiko, zusatzlich eine Osteoporose zu entwickeln. In der Inhibition des osteoklastenaktivierenden RANK-Liganden besteht eine vielversprechende Option, den Knochenabbau zu verzogern. Auch in der Prophylaxe gegen Knochenmetastasen ist ein Einsatz denkbar.
Recruitment and Retention for a Weight Loss Maintenance Trial Involving Weight Loss Prior to Randomization

Objective A weight loss maintenance trial involving weight loss prior to randomization is challenging to implement due to the potential for dropout and insufficient weight loss. We examined rates and correlates of non-initiation, dropout, and insufficient weight loss during a weight loss maintenance trial. Methods The MAINTAIN trial involved a 16-week weight loss program followed by randomization among participants losing at least 4 kg. Psychosocial measures were administered during a screening visit. Weight was obtained at the first group session and 16 weeks later to determine eligibility for randomization. Results Of 573 patients who screened as eligible, 69 failed to initiate the weight loss program. In adjusted analyses, failure to initiate was associated with lower age, lack of a support person, and less encouragement for making dietary changes. Among participants who initiated, 200 dropped out, 82 lost insufficient weight, and 222 lost sufficient weight for randomization. Compared to losing sufficient weight, dropping out was associated with younger age and tobacco use, whereas losing insufficient weight was associated with non-White race and controlled motivation for physical activity. Conclusions Studies should be conducted to evaluate strategies to maximize recruitment and retention of subgroups that are less likely to initiate and be retained in weight loss maintenance trials.
Addressing Well-Being in Early and Middle Childhood: Recreation Therapy Interventions Aimed to Develop Skills that Create a Healthy Life

Children who experience increased levels of stress in early and middle childhood are at higher risk for symptoms of depression and anxiety in adulthood, resulting in an impaired health-related quality of life (HRQoL). A psychoeducational, recreation therapy (RT) intervention aimed to assist in the development of skills that promote a healthy life was created. The Healthy Me! program is founded on the Leisure and Well-Being Model in conjunction with the Utah State Core Curriculum Health Education Standards. This study investigated the impact the program had on 110 students in the fourth grade. Evidence supports the notion that RT interventions aimed at addressing HRQoL can prevent a decline of HRQoL in early and middle childhood.
Surface Properties and Cleanability: A Rational Correlation

Failures in disk drives are frequently induced by particulate contamination present in the head/disk assembly (HDA). The sources and characteristics of debris vary with component material within the HDA. The inherently contaminating nature of manufacturing component parts requires that those parts be carefully cleaned and that their cleanliness be evaluated against a specified standard. Ultrasonic cleaning of substrate surfaces, and turbidity/liquid-particle-count (LPC) measurement of extracted-contaminant concentration and size distribution are popular techniques in this regard.Two factors can be used to determine the suitability of ultrasonic surface cleaning. The first is defined here as the maximum cleaning potential, that is, how clean the surface can get when subjected to a multistage-extraction process. And the second concerns the first-stage cleanability of the surface, that is, what fraction of the total cleaning action occurs in the first ultrasonic stage. These two fundamental cleaning paramete...
Glycophorin alleles link to malaria protection.

Malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum remains a leading cause of childhood mortality in many parts of the world. Although there have been recent reductions in the number of deaths, even with modern interventions (such as drugs and insecticide-treated bed nets), in the year 2000 a child growing up in the Congo still had a 22.5% cumulative risk of dying from malaria ( 1 ). Given this high historical death rate, it is not that surprising that human genetic variants that protect against malaria are common in populations that have historically lived in wet, tropical areas. A textbook example is the sickle cell allele that provides protection against malaria in heterozygous carriers. The high death rate of untreated P. falciparum malaria exerts a strong evolutionary pressure on the human genome. On page 1139 of this issue, a genomic study by Leffler et al. from the Malaria Genomic Epidemiology Network ( 2 ) links complex structural variants in the human glycophorin locus to protection from severe disease.
Effects of Agitation on Hatch Rate of Lucilia cuprina Eggs (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Blow flies are important for their use in Maggot Debridement Therapy (MDT) to treat patients’ wounds. Many different sterilization techniques are used on their eggs in a process to reduce the transfer of bacteria from the maggots to the patients. Agitation can be used in an attempt to disrupt the biofilm of bacteria found on an egg’s surface. In this study, Lucilia cuprina eggs were collected and the effects of agitation on hatch rates was tested. After collection, eggs were put on filters, covered in an insect saline solution and put through two treatments: (1) a control with no agitation soaking in saline for five minutes and (2) an agitation treatment at 5 rpm soaking in saline for five minutes. Afterwards they were rinsed with leftover saline and plated in nutrient agar cups to observe the hatching process. Agitated eggs had significantly lower hatch rates than the non-agitated control treatment. These data showed that agitation had an adverse effect on mortality of the fly eggs, but provided no information on the effect on bacterial life. The importance of this study cannot be fully understood without knowing how agitation affects the bacteria found on the tested fly eggs.
Pases de visita enfermera para mejorar los indicadores de calidad de las úlceras por presión adquiridas en el hospital

Resumen Las organizaciones sanitarias tienen el reto de evaluar la prestacion de cuidados y disenar modelos de cuidados enfermeros innovadores. Este estudio retrospectivo demuestra que la implementacion de pases de visita enfermera (tambien denominados “rondas”), un metodo de vigilancia de pacientes, centrado en los indicadores de calidad, que incluye a la enfermera responsable del paciente y a una enfermera que actua como facilitador (enfermera que asume el rol de liderazgo), mejora los resultados de forma efectiva. El estudio aborda concretamente el riesgo y la prevencion de las ulceras por presion adquiridas en el hospital (UPPAH). Los datos demuestran que, con la evaluacion diaria de los cuidados, las enfermeras implementan de forma mas consistente una gran variedad de intervenciones preventivas en tiempo y forma. Los pases de visita enfermera diarios son un metodo innovador para cubrir de forma adecuada las demandas de calidad que son responsabilidad de las enfermeras.
Novel SCR structure for power supply protection in FinFET technology

A FinFET SCR embedded ESD clamp for power supply protection with low leakage current is demonstrated. The proposed clamp is suitable for low power applications since it reduces ∼87% of leakage current per bigFET width and improves ESD robustness to ∼2X per footprint compared to the conventional RC-triggered clamp.
Scheduling in Parallel and Distributed Computing Systems.

Recent advancements in computing technology have increased the complexity of computational systems and their ability to solve larger and more complex scientific problems. Scientific applications express solutions to complex scientific problems, which often are data-parallel and contain large loops. The execution of such applications in parallel and distributed computing (PDC) environments is computationally intensive and exhibits an irregular behavior, in general due to variations of algorithmic and systemic nature. A parallel and distributed system has a set of defined policies for the use of its computational resources. Distribution of input data onto the PDC resources is dependent on these defined policies. To reduce the overall performance degradation, mapping applications tasks onto PDC resources requires parallelism detection in the application, partitioning of the problem into tasks, distribution of tasks onto parallel and distributed processing resources, and scheduling the task execution on the allocated resources. Most scheduling policies include provisions for minimizing communication among application tasks, minimizing load imbalance, and maximizing fault tolerance. Often these techniques minimize idle time, overloading resources with jobs and control overheads. Over the years, a number of scheduling techniques have been developed and exploited to address the challenges in parallel and distributed computing. In addition, these scheduling algorithms have been classified based on a taxonomy for an understanding and comparison of the different schemes. These techniques have broadly been classified into static and dynamic techniques. The static techniques are helpful in minimizing the individual task’s response time and do not have an overhead for information gathering. However, they require prior knowledge of the system and they cannot address unpredictable changes during runtime. On the other hand, the dynamic techniques have been developed to address unpredictable changes, and maximize resource utilization at the cost of information gathering overhead. Furthermore, the scheduling algorithms have also been characterized as optimal or sub-optimal, cooperative or non-cooperative, and approximate or heuristic. This chapter provides content on scheduling in parallel and distributed computing, and a taxonomy of existing (early and recent) scheduling methodologies.
Concentric Group Therapy for Aggression: A Historical Perspective

The purpose of this study is to present themes from a novel group therapy intervention for veterans with aggression. The groups were designed based on a psychodynamic rather than cognitive?behavioral theoretical framework, in which there are two overlapping short and long-term groups. Content analysis revealed six themes including, control your anger, helplessness, improvement, disagreements, where are the boundaries, and co-leadership, parallel process. This unique and innovative approach for the treatment of veterans with a history of aggressive behavior helped improved their understanding of aggression and decreased these behaviors. This group model may also have potential to be expanded to other patient populations with similar behaviors.
Modeling the inactivation of Bacillus subtilis spores during cold plasma sterilization

Abstract Cold plasma sterilization is an emerging non-thermal technology that is receiving great attention in the food processing area. Plasma is a neutral ionized gas composed of reactive gas species that inactivate bacteria or spores in a variety of food materials without compromising the main physico-chemical characteristics of the food. Survival curves of Bacillus subtilis spores were obtained after spore strip samples containing an initial spore population of 1.5–2.5 × 106 cfu/strip were subjected to plasma treatment. The shape of the survival curves was clearly not linear indicating that spores exhibited a spectrum of inactivation resistances to the plasma treatment. A Weibull model was used to describe these curves. In order to capture the effects of the typical variability in the concentration of the inactivating reactive gas species during plasma processing, time-varying concentrations were incorporated in the calculating approach. The result was an ordinary differential equation (ODE) that was numerically solved using MATLAB. This approach was successfully applied to describe the survival of B. subtilis spores during plasma processing as well as data obtained from the literature for B. atrophaeus. Ozone was assumed the lethal reactive gas species responsible for spore inactivation. Industrial relevance Modeling plasma processing is of great interest because it may provide an accurate estimation of time and conditions required for a complete plasma-based sterilization process.
On the malleability of selective trust.

Abstract Although much research has explored the cues that young children use to determine informant credibility, little research has examined whether credibility judgments can change over time as a function of children’s language environment. This study explored whether changes in the syntactic complexity of adults’ testimony shifts 4- and 5-year-old children’s (N = 42) credibility and learning judgments. Children from lower-socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds were randomly assigned to hear a high proportion of complex language (the passive voice) or simpler language (the active voice) during 10 days of book-reading interactions with adult experimenters. Before and after the book-reading sessions, children’s learning preferences for informants who used passive versus active voice were measured. Exposure to the complex passive voice led children to use syntactic complexity as a cue to make inferences about who to learn from, whereas active voice exposure resulted in no such shift. Implications for the role of the language environment in children’s selective trust are discussed.
Sediment Transport in the Eel River Plume

Abstract : My long-term goal is to understand the mechanics of river-plume transport of sediment and its influence on the trapping and dispersion of sediment on the continental shelf. This effort will also contribute to the development of predictive models of sediment dispersal and sedimentary strata formation. I set out to determine the trajectory and fate of suspended sediment entering the Pacific Ocean from the Eel River, Northern California, during floods. The initial hypothesis was that sediment was delivered directly to the mid-shelf flood deposit, at water depths between 60 and 90 m, via hemipelagic deposition from the surface plume. In order to test this hypothesis, measurements of the river plume had to be obtained during flood conditions, to determine the influence of the unique forcing conditions during storms on the plume trajectory and sediment transport.
Functionalizations of the alkyl substituents in octa-alkylporphyrins

Abstract Treatment of octaethylporphyrin (OEP; 1 ) with N-bromosuccinimide in the presence of 2,2′-azobis(2-methylpropionitrile) (AIBN) affords the trans-(2-bromovinyl)-heptaethylporphyrin 10 in high yield. When primary and secondary alcohols are present in the reaction mixture the corresponding (1-alkoxyethyl)-heptaethylporphyrins are formed. The trans-(2-bromovinyl)-heptaethylporphyrin undergoes some of the reactions characteristic of the vinyl groups in porphyrins and several reactions of this compound are described.
AI Deep Learning with Convolutional Neural Networks on Google Cloud Platform

Big data can help established firms drastically transformed themselves, bring forth a whole new industry, and enable companies of any size to innovate, gain competitive advantage, and enhance business performance. However, how the valuable information hidden in vast volumes of data can be used to provide solutions to difficult practical problems such as computer vision, natural language processing problems, to name a few, is the matter. AI Deep learning, a subset of traditional machine learning, is based on the concepts of artificial neural networks and offers powerful methods to solve these problems.
Comparing prevalence and correlates of intimate partner sexual victimization relative to other victim-offender relationships in college students

Research on sexual victimization (SV) in college women often focuses on perpetration by nonpartners thus, little is known about SV by intimate partners on college campuses. To address this gap in the literature, the current study compared prevalence and revictimization rates and negative correlates of SV based on victim-offender relationship. Findings suggest higher prevalence rates of SV perpetrated by a nonpartner compared to an intimate partner although similar and alarming rates of revictimization. Regarding negative correlates of SV, no differences were identified based on victim-offender relationship; however, victims of SV by both an intimate partner and a nonpartner demonstrated the highest negative correlates. These findings demonstrate the importance of addressing SV by nonpartners and intimate partners and the necessity for tertiary prevention efforts to decrease revictimization.
Replacing the eleven native tryptophans by directed evolution produces an active P-glycoprotein with site-specific, non-conservative substitutions

P-glycoprotein (Pgp) pumps an array of hydrophobic compounds out of cells, and has major roles in drug pharmacokinetics and cancer multidrug resistance. Yet, polyspecific drug binding and ATP hydrolysis-driven drug export in Pgp are poorly understood. Fluorescence spectroscopy using tryptophans (Trp) inserted at strategic positions is an important tool to study ligand binding. In Pgp, this method will require removal of 11 endogenous Trps, including highly conserved Trps that may be important for function, protein-lipid interactions, and/or protein stability. Here, we developed a directed evolutionary approach to first replace all eight transmembrane Trps and select for transport-active mutants in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Surprisingly, many Trp positions contained non-conservative substitutions that supported in vivo activity, and were preferred over aromatic amino acids. The most active construct, W(3Cyto), served for directed evolution of the three cytoplasmic Trps, where two positions revealed strong functional bias towards tyrosine. W(3Cyto) and Trp-less Pgp retained wild-type-like protein expression, localization and transport function, and purified proteins retained drug stimulation of ATP hydrolysis and drug binding affinities. The data indicate preferred Trp substitutions specific to the local context, often dictated by protein structural requirements and/or membrane lipid interactions, and these new insights will offer guidance for membrane protein engineering.
Quaternions as a solution to determining the angular kinematics of human movement

The three-dimensional description of rigid body kinematics is a key step in many studies in biomechanics. There are several options for describing rigid body orientation including Cardan angles, Euler angles, and quaternions; the utility of quaternions will be reviewed and elaborated. The orientation of a rigid body or a joint between rigid bodies can be described by a quaternion which consists of four variables compared with Cardan or Euler angles (which require three variables). A quaternion, q = (q0, q1, q2, q3), can be considered a rotation (Ω = 2 cos−1(q0)), about an axis defined by a unit direction vector $$ \left({q}_1/\sin \left(\frac{\Omega}{2}\right),{q}_2/\sin \left(\frac{\Omega}{2}\right),{q}_3/\sin \left(\frac{\Omega}{2}\right)\right) $$. The quaternion, compared with Cardan and Euler angles, does not suffer from singularities or Codman’s paradox. Three-dimensional angular kinematics are defined on the surface of a unit hypersphere which means numerical procedures for orientation averaging and interpolation must take account of the shape of this surface rather than assuming that Euclidean geometry based procedures are appropriate. Numerical simulations demonstrate the utility of quaternions for averaging three-dimensional orientations. In addition the use of quaternions for the interpolation of three-dimensional orientations, and for determining three-dimensional orientation derivatives is reviewed. The unambiguous nature of defining rigid body orientation in three-dimensions using a quaternion, and its simple averaging and interpolation gives it great utility for the kinematic analysis of human movement.
Increasing Nitric Oxide Synthase in Human Renal Graft Rejection after Kidney Transplantation

Nitric oxide (NO) is a potent endothelial-drived vasorelaxing factor and may involved in salt sensitive hypertension and renal damage. Nitric oxide is produced from L-arginine by activation of nitric oxide synthase (NOS). Three NOS has been identified which are brain NOS (bNOS), inducible NOS (iNOS) and endothelial NOS (eNOS). On the other hand, renal graft rejection is major problem after kidney transplantation with severe renal damage and renal vasoconstriction. While NOS has been reported localized in human and animal kidney, the status of three NOS in human renal tissue with rejection remains poorly defined. Therefore, the present study was designed to determine the expression of bNOS, iNOS and eNOS by immunohistochemical staining (IHCS) in human renal tissue with rejection and compared with that in normal human renal tissue.Human renal biopsy (n=5) were obtained after kidney transplantation with mild and moderate renal rejection. Normal kidney biopsy was obtained during nephrectomy.
Comparison of Long-Term Stability of Initiating Monolayers in Surface-Initiated Controlled Radical Polymerizations

The reproducibility of polymer brush synthesis via surface-initiated controlled radical polymerization is interrogated. Experiments compare the stability of initiating monolayers for surface-initiated (SI) reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (SI-RAFT) and SI atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). Initiator-functionalized substrates are stored under various conditions and grafting densities of the resulting polymer brush films are determined via in situ ellipsometry. Decomposition of one of the examined SI-RAFT initiators results in limited reproducibility for polymer brush surface modification. In contrast, initiators for SI-ATRP show excellent stability and reproducibility. While both techniques bring inherent benefits and limitations, the described findings will help scientists choose the most efficient technique for their goals in chemical and topographical surface modification.
Multicenter randomized controlled phase III clinical trial using TNFerade (TNF) with chemoradiation (CRT) in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC): Interim analysis (IA) of overall survival (OS)

4605 Intro: Local control of LAPC with CRT has historically demonstrated survival benefit vs. RT alone. TNF is a nonreplicating adenovirus vector delivering human tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α). Results from a phase II study with TNF in LAPC indicated a possible survival advantage. To confirm these findings, a randomized, open-label, controlled Pancreatic Cancer Trial with TNF (PACT) study was developed. Methods: The TNF arm received a 5 wk treatment of qw intratumoral inj of 4x1011 PU TNF, cont. iv 5-FU and 50.4Gy radiation. The standard of care (SOC) arm received CRT alone. Both groups received adjuvant gemcitabine(G) with the option of erlotinib(E). An IA of OS (primary efficacy endpoint) was planned after the first third (92) of the expected 276 total death events (from a total patient n=330). Nonparametric logrank of OS was planned; in addition, a lognormal model was used to account for an evident separation of the survival curves after the median. Results: 185 pts were available for OS analysis (117-...
Direct comparison of wire, foil, and hybrid X-pinches on a 200 kA, 150 ns current driver

Wire X-pinches (WXPs) have been studied comprehensively as fast ( ∼ 1 ns pulse width), small ( ∼ 1 μm) x-ray sources, created by twisting two or more fine wires into an “X” to produce a localized region of extreme magnetic pressure at the cross-point. Recently, two alternatives to the traditional WXP have arisen: the hybrid X-pinch (HXP), composed of two conical electrodes bridged by a thin wire or capillary, and the laser-cut foil X-pinch (LCXP), cut from a thin foil using a laser. We present a comparison of copper wire, hybrid, and laser-cut foil X-pinches on a single experimental platform: UC San Diego’s ∼ 200 kA, 150 ns rise time GenASIS driver. All configurations produced 1–2 ns pulse width, ≤ 5 μm soft x-ray (Cu L-shell, ∼ 1 keV) sources (resolutions diagnostically limited) with comparable fluxes. WXP results varied with linear mass and wire count, but consistently showed separate pinch and electron-beam-driven sources. LCXPs produced the brightest ( ∼ 1 MW), smallest ( ≤ 5 μm) Cu K-shell sources, and spectroscopic data showed both H-like Cu K α lines indicative of source temperatures ≥ 2 keV, and cold K α ( ∼ 8050 eV) characteristic of electron beam generated sources, which were not separately resolved on other diagnostics (within 1–2 ns and ≤ 200 μm). HXPs produced minimal K-shell emission and reliably single, bright, and small L-shell sources after modifications to shape the early current pulse through them. Benefits and drawbacks for each configuration are discussed to provide potential X-pinch users with the information required to choose the configuration best suited to their needs.
Do females have worse surgical outcomes after radical cystectomy? Impact of gender on 30-day complications in a national cohort.

402Background:: Men have higher rates of bladder cancer and are more likely to undergo cystectomy than women, yet women seem to have worse oncologic outcomes. This is attributed to biologic factors...
Effect of a Virtual Reality–Enhanced Exercise and Education Intervention on Patient Engagement and Learning in Cardiac Rehabilitation: Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is clinically proven to reduce morbidity and mortality; however, many eligible patients do not enroll in treatment. Furthermore, many enrolled patients do not complete their full course of treatment. This is greatly influenced by socioeconomic factors but is also because of patients’ lack of understanding of the importance of their care and a lack of motivation to maintain attendance. Objective: This study aims to explore the potential benefits of virtual reality (VR) walking trails within CR treatment, specifically with regard to patient knowledge retention, satisfaction with treatment, and the overall attendance of treatment sessions. Methods: New CR patients were enrolled and randomized on a rolling basis to either the control group or intervention group. Intervention patients completed their time on the treadmill with VR walking trails, which included audio-recorded education, whereas control patients completed the standard of care therapy. Both groups were assisted by nursing staff for all treatment sessions. Primary outcomes were determined by assessing 6-minute walk test improvement. In addition, secondary outcomes of patients’ cardiac knowledge and satisfaction were assessed via a computer-based questionnaire; patient adherence to the recommended number of sessions was also monitored. Cardiac knowledge assessment included a prerehabilitation education quiz, and the same quiz was repeated at patients’ final visit and again at the 2-month follow-up. The satisfaction questionnaire was completed at the final visit. Results: Between January 2018 and May 2019, 72 patients were enrolled—41 in the intervention group and 31 in the control group. On the basis of the results of the prerehabilitation and postrehabilitation 6-minute walk test, no significant differences were observed between the intervention and control groups (P=.64). No statistical differences were observed between groups in terms of education (P=.86) or satisfaction (P=.32) at any time point. The control group had statistically more favorable rates of attendance, as determined by the risk group comparison (P=.02) and the comparison of the rates for completing the minimum number of sessions (P=.046), but no correlation was observed between the study group and reasons for ending treatment. Conclusions: Although no improvements were seen in the VR intervention group over the control group, it is worth noting that limitations in the study design may have influenced these outcomes, not the medium itself. Furthermore, the qualitative information suggests that patients may have indeed enjoyed their experience with VR, even though quantitative satisfaction data did not capture this. Further considerations for how and when VR should be applied to CR are suggested in this paper. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03945201; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03945201
Dynamic Measurement of Carbon Monoxide Concentrations in Automotive Exhaust Using Infrared Diode Laser Spectroscopy

Infrared diode laser spectroscopy was used to make the first measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) concentration in automotive exhaust with a time response fast enough to be useful in the analysis of engine and emission control system dynamics. Carbon monoxide concentrations were measured before and after a three-way catalytic converter. The response time of the laser system (for a change in amplitude of 10%-90% of fullscale) was 25 ms, more than adequate to resolve all CO transients of interest. The instrument was capable of resolving concentration changes on the order of 0.1 vol % before the catalyst and 0.02 vol % after it. A minicomputer was used to simultaneously collect data on CO concentrations before and after the catalyst, and also the output of an oxygen sensor located in the exhaust line.
The performance of transnational corporations: Evidence for the manufacturing industry in Chile

This article analyses the performance of transnational corporations in Chilean manufacturing industry. The findings show that while the productivity of subsidiaries of foreign-owned firms is higher than that of local firms, the same is not true of productivity growth. They also show that there are no significant differences in market survival rates between transnational corporations and local firms. However, firms under mainly foreign ownership that are small and have low productivity are more likely to exit the market, displaying more footloose behaviour than their local counterparts. This is associated with lower levels of profitability for this group of transnational firms. Lastly, the findings suggest that transnational corporations are not always more profitable than local firms. Furthermore, they seem able to exploit their advantages over the latter only in the higher quantiles of the profitability distribution.
The Spiritually Obsessed

Exploration of the spiritually obsessed using the history of a vowed member of a Catholic religious order as illustrative of a group and individual psychotherapeutic approach providing, among others: (a) a vehicle through which he could express and clarify his feelings; (b) a forum for questioning the response to the "call" to religious life; (c) a means of revering doubts and misgivings; and (d) an avenue for coping with primitive impulses. The thrust of this article is to better understand the continuity between the suffering self and the sanctified journey.
Amino Acid Metabolism in Relation to Osmotic Adjustment in Plant Cells

Amino acid metabolism has been investigated in suspension cultures of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. var Wisconsin 38) adapted to 0 mM and 428 mM Nacl, using [15N] to determine the fluxes via the major free amino acid pools and amino acid residues of total soluble protein. Adaptation to 428 mM Nacl is shown to be associated with an 80-fold accumulation of free proline. This involves at least an 11-fold increase in the rate of synthesis of proline from glutamate via negligible pools of intermediates. Of the 1000 nmol/h.gfw of proline synthesized by salt adapted cells only 296 nmol/h.gfw is required to maintain the free proline pool with growth, and only 9 nmol/h.gfw is required to sustain protein synthesis. As much as 695 nmol/h.gfw of proline may be catabolized in salt adapted cultures. A small fraction of the newly synthesized proline in salt adapted cells is used in the synthesis of a proline conjugate which copurifies with N-malonyl-1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate. The major metabolic fate of proline is unknown, but may simply involve oxidation to glutamate. From measurements of the fluxes of [15N] into amino acid residues of total soluble protein, it has been possible to estimate protein synthesis and turnover rates. Both rates are substantially reduced in salt adapted relative to unadapted cultures.
Genocop III: a co-evolutionary algorithm for numerical optimization problems with nonlinear constraints

During the last two years several methods have been proposed for handling nonlinear constraints by genetic algorithms for numerical optimization problems; most of them were based on penalty functions. However, the performance of these methods is highly problem-dependent; moreover, many methods require additional tuning of several parameters. We present a new optimization system (Genocop III), which is based on concepts of co-evolution and repair algorithms. We present the results of the system on a few selected test problems and discuss some directions for further research.
Abstract 63: Higher Exercise Capacity Predicts Lower Levels of Inflammation in Both Men and Women with Coronary Artery Disease

Introduction: Metabolic equivalent (METS) estimates the amount of oxygen the body uses during physical activity and reflects cardiorespiratory fitness. Exercise capacity (measured in METS), peripheral white blood cell count (WBC) and microalbuminuria (urine microalbumin/creatinine ratio -MCR) are associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Monocytes are an initiating event in atherosclerosis and are a measure of inflammation as are WBC and MCR. Hypothesis: Higher exercise capacity is associated with lower levels of inflammation (WBC, monocyte count and MCR) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: 291 subjects with stable CAD underwent graded exercise treadmill stress testing with calculation of METS. WBC, monocyte count and MCR were measured. Multivariate linear regression modeling was employed to identify predictors of inflammation for the total group and then stratified by gender and diabetes status. Results: METS was inversely correlated with and the best predictor of WBC, monocyte count and MCR for the total group and for men and women although age was slightly better than METS for WBC in men (see Table). When stratified by diabetes status, METS was inversely correlated with and the best predictor of monocyte count and MCR in non-diabetics whereas in diabetics, BMI was the best predictor. METS was significantly inversely correlated with WBC in diabetics and non-diabetics although age was slightly better in non-diabetics. Conclusions: Higher exercise capacity may have cardiovascular protective effects in patients with CAD through an anti-inflammatory effect as reflected in the lower levels of peripheral WBC, monocytes and microalbuminuria. Our findings suggest that exercise capacity could be a measure of chronic inflammation in patients with CAD and support the importance of exercise training in improving inflammation. The less pronounced effect of METS on monocyte count and MCR in diabetics could be due to other factors affecting inflammation in diabetics.
Constructivism’s micro-foundations: aspirations, social identity theory, and Russia's national interests (DRAFT)

Paper prepared for delivery at the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, Aug. 28- Sept. 1, 2013. DRAFT. Please do not cite without author’s permission.
Programming for the Xbox Kinect™ sensor: tutorial presentation

The Kinect sensor was introduced in November 2010 by Microsoft as an accessory for the Xbox 360 video game system. Shortly after the product release, multiple software frameworks became available that allows a personal computer to capture output from a stand-alone Kinect [1,2]. The Kinect contains a RGB camera and a depth sensor utilizing an IR light source that allows the unit to output three dimensional positional data in real time. The Kinect data is organized as a stream of two 640 x 480 images acquired at a rate of 30 frames per second (fps). One of these is an ordinary 24-bit RGB video image. The other is an 11-bit depth image from which (x, y, z) positional data may be calculated. Students are well aware of the Kinect as an input device for the Xbox 360 system which makes it an ideal venue for student experimentation and independent study projects utilizing a personal computer platform. The tutorial presentation will provide attendees with detailed information on two of the available development environments for the Kinect: • OpenNI Framework - The OpenNI organization [1] is an industry-led, not-for-profit organization formed to certify and promote the compatibility and interoperability of Natural Interaction (NI) devices, applications and middleware. Contributors to the framework include PrimeSense [3], the hardware developer of the Kinect and Willow Garage [4] who develops hardware and open source software for personal robotics. The OpenNI framework provides a rich set of utilities that can be used to access and process Kinect data using C++, C# and Java. • Microsoft Kinect SDK - Microsoft [2] has released a SDK which provides access to much of the functionality available to XBox developers. Applications may be developed in a Windows 7 environment using managed or unmanaged code in a .NET 2010 environment. In this tutorial we will present: • Hardware and software requirements for the two development environments. • Detailed instructions for downloading of device drivers, device middleware and associated libraries. • "Hello World" examples for checking the functionality of the Kinect unit. • An overview of the Kinect's capabilities including device resolution and limitations. • A summary of the library structure of both frameworks. • Several simple examples of the devices capabilities including player tracking the use of skeletal tracking. • A summary of research opportunities that are student accessible. • A demonstration of the Kinect software in action. All software and materials presented during the tutorial will be provided on the author's web site so that users may quickly get their Kinect applications up and running without significant configuration issues and start up problems.
Intrapulmonary lipoma: a case report and literature review

Background Intrapulmonary lipoma is extemely rare in children. So far, all reported pulmonary lipomas were from adult patients.
Synthesis and characterization of the yttrium(III) and lutetium(III) complexes of 1,4,7-tris(carbamoylmethyl)-1,4,7-triazacyclononane (TCMT). Crystal structure of [Y(TCMT)(CF3SO3)2(H2O)](CF3SO3)

The 1,4,7-tris(carbamoylmethyl)-1,4,7-triazacyclononane (TCMT) ligand and its complexes with yttrium(III) and lutetium(III) have been prepared. [Y(TCMT)(CF3SO3)2(H2O)](CF3SO3) crystallizes in the centrosymmetric triclinic space group P1 (No. 2) with a = 10.3660(14), b = 11.7663(15), c = 13.3008(20) A, α = 72.079(10), β = 81.684(12), γ = 78.401(11)°, V = 1506.1(4) and Z = 2. The structure was refined to R = 5.64% for those 1758 reflections with |Fo| > 6σ(|Fo|). The nonacoordinate yttrium(III) ion has a bound water molecule, two bound triflate ions and a hexadentate TCMT ligand. The coordination geometry may be described as a 3:5:1 arrangement in which the C6N3 backbone occupies the ‘3’ sites and H2O the unique ‘1’ site, or alternatively as a capped square antiprism or as a distorted tricapped trigonal prism. The [Ln(TCMT)]3+ complexes dissociate completely in aqueous solution within 25 min at pH 6.0 and 37°C in the presence of Cu2+ as a trapping agent. Molecular mechanics calculations have been used to investigate the strain energy of the TCMT and 1,4,7-triazacyclononane-1,4,7-triacetate (NOTA) ligands in complexes that are 6-, 7- or 9-coordinate.
Global regularity for a class of quasi-linear local and nonlocal elliptic equations on extension domains

Abstract We consider the solvability of quasi-linear elliptic equations with either local or nonlocal Neumann, Robin, or Wentzell boundary conditions, defined (in the generalized sense) on a bounded W 1 , p -extension domain whose boundary is an upper d-set, for an appropriate d ≥ 0 . Then, we extend the fine regularity theory for weak solutions of the elliptic equations with the above boundary conditions, known for bounded Lipschitz domains, to bounded W 1 , p -extension domains whose boundaries are upper d-sets, by showing that such weak solutions are globally Holder continuous. Consequently, we generalize substantially the class of bounded domains where weak solutions of boundary value problems of type Neumann, Robin, or Wentzell, may be uniformly continuous (up to the boundary).