cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The chemistry of orqanobismuth reagents: Part XIII ligand coupling induced by Pd(O)

Abstract Palladium zero converts triphenylbismuth quantitatively to diphenyl and metallic bismuth. Many other derivatives of Bi (III) and Bi(V) are similarly transformed to diaryls in excellent yield. Similar reactions with triphenylantimony and with perphenyl lead derivatives suggest that a number of non-transition metal elements should show similar behaviour. Acid chlorides also react under mild conditions with triphenylbismuth under catalysis by palladium (O) to furnish phenylketones in excellent yield (with respect to the triphenylbismuth). All three phenyls are transferred when a suitable excess of the acid chloride is used. Diaryl formation is a minor side reaction.
Dual Organizational Identification in Multisite Nonprofit Organizations: A QCA Analysis

There has been limited work exploring dual organizational identification, or organizational identification towards multiple foci, within nonprofits. This study looks at organizational identificatio...
Towards building manageable multimedia network services

The paper addresses the problem of designing and realizing manageable multimedia services. We introduce a generic object model which includes a set of cooperating objects that can be customized for a particular service and management requirements. These objects define the interaction between the service delivery and the service management systems and cover the aspects of instantiation of a service session, control of a session by the user, and management of sessions by the operator. By applying this model to the design of a multicast service, we enable the management system to monitor and control multicast sessions. To validate our approach, we have implemented the multicast service and the management functions on a high-performance emulation platform and we are currently porting the service to a broadband testbed. Finally, we argue that our model can be used to investigate designs for scalable and efficient systems that make possible to control the cost of management.
Bioinspired Fibrillary Hydrogel with Controlled Swelling Behavior: Applicability as an Artificial Vitreous

The vitreous humor of the eye is mainly composed of fibrillary collagen and semiflexible hyaluronic acid (HA). To mimic this macromolecular composition of the vitreous, we previously developed an i...
Spatially Efficient In-Memory Addition Through Destructive and Non-Destructive Operations

Compact in-memory circuits for implementing n-bit addition with varying degrees of destructive operations are presented. The non-destructive, semi-destructive, and fully-destructive adder variants are posed as bounded model checking procedures for design synthesis. The resulting designs are shown to be state-of-the-art in the number of execution steps required for computation when compared to other serial adders.
Community-Based Intervention to Increase Usage of Medication Disposal Bins

Despite the existence of medical waste disposal sites, many patients do not know how to discard their unused and expired medications. The goal of this project is to assess health care providers’ knowledge regarding proper medication disposal (PMD) and to measure the effectiveness of a brief provider informational intervention regarding PMD. Changes in knowledge were evaluated using paper pre and post surveys. The surveys were administered anonymously before and after the presentation. Principal findings: A total of 55 healthcare providers (Clinic A n = 25, Clinic B n = 28) received the PMD presentation. 52 (95%) completed the pre and post surveys. Pre-intervention knowledge of PMD was higher in Clinic B where there was an existing medication disposal box (92% accuracy) compared to Clinic B which did not have a medical disposal bin (52% accuracy). Surveys results showed improvement in 36% of Clinic A participants and 14.3% of Clinic B participants (p value = 0.0086). Based on these findings, we can conclude that the presence of a medication disposal bin is positively correlated with provider knowledge regarding PMD. This may be used to encourage the institution of medication disposal bins in more health centers and an increase in medical staff knowledge of the practice.
New Insights on Subseasonal Arctic–Midlatitude Causal Connections from a Regularized Regression Model

ABSTRACTArctic–midlatitude teleconnections are complex and multifaceted. By design, targeted modeling studies typically focus only on one direction of influence—usually, the midlatitude atmospheric...
Osteoporosis Screening and Diagnosis

Osteoporosis is a global public health problem that imposes a large economic and medical burden on individuals and societies. Early identification of adults with osteoporosis may allow for interventions to reduce future fractures. Osteoporosis assessment involves evaluation of clinical risk factors and, in many cases, measurement of bone mineral density (BMD) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Screening recommendations vary by country, but North American guidelines call for routine bone density testing of all women aged 65 years and older, as well as selected younger men and women with clinical risk factors. Other countries recommend a case-finding strategy among high-risk adults. There is controversy over the optimal BMD screening interval. Estimation of future fracture risk using fracture risk calculators (with or without BMD) can aid in determining who should be screened and/or treated for osteoporosis. Treatment is recommended on the basis of history of fragility fracture, presence of low BMD T-score, or prediction of a high future risk of fracture. Despite guidelines, rates of osteoporosis screening and treatment remain low.
Fault Characterization of Radial AC Microgrid Containing Multiple Distributed Energy Resources at Medium and Low Voltage Levels

In terms of protection, radially distributed AC systems are the most common and have the advantage of simplicity. However, with the addition of distributed energy resources and multiple operating modes, simplicity diminishes, and conventional AC system protection approaches may no longer be adequate. In the case of microgrids, grounding methods and cable lengths must also be considered. If a fault scenario occurs, current can feed from multiple sources and has high potential to affect many branches, with the possible result of isolating the wrong part of the system or isolating a large part of the full system. Both of these results will result in poor system availability. Full characterization of each fault scenario is required to determine the protection scheme, taking into account each system configuration. This paper provides a characterization of line-to-line, line-to-ground, and three-line-to-ground faults at any possible location in a commercial microgrid. This characterization gives insight into protection considerations, e.g. using conventional methods of mechanical circuit breakers or if additional protective relaying capabilities are needed.
Beholding: The Neuroaesthetic Experience of a Synesthetic Dress

Presently, there is a cultural phenomenon whereby technology-enabled dresses are displayed for aesthetic appraisal in museum contexts. This study was an exploratory investigation of museum visitors’ aesthetic experiences from beholding a synesthetic dress using three distinct data elicitation approaches. As a qualitative study applying a grounded theory approach, physiological measures, observational data and interview data were collected. This study investigated how 44 millennial participants aesthetically processed a synesthetic dress during four different dress viewings. Results support that apparel with music and colored LED lights create a much richer aesthetic experience due to participants reporting this dress to be most impressive, wanting to see more dresses like this, and having prolonged viewing times. This research is applicable to inform such fields as apparel, performing arts, and museum research.
Critical Care Management for Patients with Spinal Cord Injury

The care of the patient with a spinal cord injury begins in the prehospital and critical care settings. Crucial interventions during this period are essential to achieving good outcomes in this patient population. This chapter reviews the state-of-the-art critical care management of patients with acute spinal cord injury. This includes respiratory, circulatory, neurological, and hematological considerations. Also addressed are the role of steroids in this population and imaging considerations.
High school start times and student achievement: Looking beyond test scores

Abstract The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that U.S. secondary schools begin after 8:30 a.m. to better align with the circadian rhythms of adolescents. Yet due to economic and logistic considerations, the vast majority of high schools begin the school day considerably earlier. We leverage a quasi-natural experiment in which five comprehensive high schools in one of the nation’s largest school systems moved start times forty minutes earlier to better coordinate with earlier-start high schools. Here, disruption effects should exacerbate any harmful consequences. We report on the effect of earlier start times on a broad range of outcomes, including mandatory ACT test scores, absenteeism, on-time progress in high school, and college-going. While we fail to find evidence of harmful effects on test scores, we do see a rise in absenteeism and tardiness rates, as well as higher rates of dropping out of high school. These results suggest that the harmful effects of early start times may not be well captured by considering test scores alone.
Developmental dynamics between reading and math in elementary school.

Reading and math attainment develop during elementary grades. Questions remain, though, about the co-developmental nature of the relation between reading and math. This study examined dynamic, longitudinal pathways between reading and math in first through fourth grades. Participants of the study were 554 academically at-risk children (Mage at the first assessment point = 6.57 years; SD = 0.38) from Texas Project Achieve. Children were assessed utilizing the Woodcock-Johnson-III reading and math measures. Results from dynamic bivariate latent change score models indicated unidirectional longitudinal coupling effects from reading to math. Specifically, average and high levels of reading performance were associated with subsequent gains in math growth, in particular for below average performing children in math. In contrast, low levels of reading performance had negligible or no amplifying influences on change in math growth. The nature of the dynamics was replicated even when controlling for nonverbal cognitive abilities. Results demonstrated that good reading skills pave the way for children to develop their math skills. Such findings underscore the importance of considering reading performance in treating math difficulties.
Increasing net water recovery of reverse osmosis with membrane distillation using natural thermal differentials between brine and co-located water sources: Impacts at large reclamation facilities

Maximizing water recovery and minimizing the volume of RO concentrate (i.e., brine) produced is a growing challenge, especially for inland communities that lack ocean disposal options. In such regions, transitioning towards zero liquid discharge (ZLD) can avoid detrimental impacts associated with salt disposal via regional sewer discharge or deep-well injection. On-site ZLD energy requirements are proportional to the RO brine flowrate. Thus, system-level strategies that reduce RO brine flows will lower ZLD costs while simultaneously increasing the overall water recovery for beneficial reuse in reclamation facilities. We investigated a membrane distillation (MD) system operating using co-located, cooler source water to treat warmer wastewater RO brine. Using experimentally-quantified MD fluxes based on observed monthly water temperatures of co-located water and RO brine at a facility in central Arizona, and based on the previously reported performance of large-scale MD systems, energy consumption and operating cost were estimated to evaluate the potential capabilities of MD to treat RO brine at full scale facilities. When the RO unit was combined with MD brine treatment, net water recovery at the full-scale facility can increase from 85% to up to 91% while brine flow can be reduced by 26%. A 25% lower thermal energy was required to achieve RO net water recovery of 95% when using co-located water, compared against conventional MD without using co-located water. Overall, this work demonstrates the potential to use local thermal gradients to reduce RO brine volumes, thereby reducing ZLD costs.
Novel Use of Vitamin B2 as a Fluorescent Tracer in Aerosol and Droplet Contamination Models in Otolaryngology.

Objective:During the COVID-19 era, a reliable method for tracing aerosols and droplets generated during otolaryngology procedures is needed to accurately assess contamination risk and to develop mi...
Correction to: An agent-based computational framework for simulation of global pandemic and social response on planet X

In the original publication of the article, the sentence “If we assume that everyone in the beginning is susceptible (S(t = 0) = 1).
Strength from Within

The objective of this study is to add to the existing literature on principal recruitment and hiring strategies by examining the turnover and retention patterns of internally recruited principals. ...
The Effect of a Vehicle Diversion Traffic Management Strategy on Spatio-Temporal Park Use: A Study in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA

Parks and Protected Areas (PPAs) across the Intermountain West region of the United States have observed an increasing trend in visitation in the past decade. Management of visitors’ vehicles as much as the visitors themselves has created a challenge for managers. Experiencing PPAs by personal vehicle is a popular recreation experience. However, as PPAs accommodate historic levels of visitation, the infrastructure to accommodate these vehicles is strained. In response to periods of especially high use in the summer months, Rocky Mountain National Park (ROMO) actively limits access to the Bear Lake Corridor (BLC), one of the most popular day use areas of the Park. Because of limited parking infrastructure and capacities to provide a safe and quality visitor experience, ROMO redirects (i.e., diverts) vehicles away from the BLC. In July 2017, to examine the effect of this management intervention on visitor spatial behavior, participants intending to enter the BLC were given a Geographic Positioning System (GPS) device to track their movement throughout their visit to the Park. We performed a Distributive Flow analysis with the GPS data to understand the diversion’s effect on traffic patterns of visitor vehicles diverted from the BLC. This study found that 21.2% of diverted visitor vehicles returned to the BLC after being redirected and 9% left the Park entirely, suggesting that there is a lack of substitutability for some visitors within the Park for the experience found along the BLC. During a period of redirection, Moraine Park, Endovalley, and Trail Ridge Road received increased levels of visitation as use was diffused across the Park, which may warrant increased monitoring of changes to the experiential and biophysical conditions in these locations. Diverted visitor vehicles made more stops, drove further distances and for a longer period of time than non-diverted visitor vehicles, but there was no significant difference in the length of time spent at points of interest within the Park. While the diversion was effective in temporarily reducing congestion in the BLC, its effect on visitors’ spatial behavior suggests that overall aggregate impacts to park resources and experiential conditions may be increasing as a result.Subscribe to JPRA
Biased belief updating in causal reasoning about COVID-19

In three experiments using 977 participants, we investigated whether people would show belief bias by letting their prior beliefs on politically charged topics unduly influence their reasoning when updating beliefs based on evidence. Participants saw data from fictional studies and made judgments of how strongly COVID-19 mitigation measures influenced the number of COVID-19 cases (political problems) or a medicine influenced number of headaches (neutral problems). Based on rational Bayesian models using strong vs. weak priors to represent biased beliefs about causal strength, we predicted that people who strongly supported the use of mitigation measures (mainly Democrats) would overestimate causal strength on political problems relative to neutral problems while those who strongly opposed mitigation measures (mainly Republicans) would underestimate strength on political problems. Results suggested that belief bias is driven more by specific beliefs relevant to the reasoning context than to general attitudinal factors like political ideology. In Experiments 1 and 2, liberals and conservatives who strongly supported mitigation measures overestimated strength on political problems. In Experiment 3, conservatives who strongly opposed the use of mitigation measures underestimated causal strength on political problems and conservatives who supported mitigation measures made higher strength judgments on political problems than those who opposed them.
Examining the consumption of radical content on YouTube.

Although it is under-studied relative to other social media platforms, YouTube is arguably the largest and most engaging online media consumption platform in the world. Recently, YouTube’s scale has fueled concerns that YouTube users are being radicalized via a combination of biased recommendations and ostensibly apolitical “anti-woke” channels, both of which have been claimed to direct attention to radical political content. Here we test this hypothesis using a representative panel of more than 300,000 Americans and their individual-level browsing behavior, on and off YouTube, from January 2016 through December 2019. Using a labeled set of political news channels, we find that news consumption on YouTube is dominated by mainstream and largely centrist sources. Consumers of far-right content, while more engaged than average, represent a small and stable percentage of news consumers. However, consumption of “anti-woke” content, defined in terms of its opposition to progressive intellectual and political agendas, grew steadily in popularity and is correlated with consumption of far-right content off-platform. We find no evidence that engagement with far-right content is caused by YouTube recommendations systematically, nor do we find clear evidence that anti-woke channels serve as a gateway to the far right. Rather, consumption of political content on YouTube appears to reflect individual preferences that extend across the web as a whole.
Agricultural Robots for Precision Agricultural Tasks in Tree Fruit Orchards

Commonly accepted population growth models predict there will be more than nine billion people by 2050.
חובותיו האתיות של עורך הדין כלפי צד לא מיוצג The Ethical Responsibilities of a Lawyer Towards Unrepresented Parties

תקציר בעברית: בשנים האחרונות אנו עדים לתופעה הולכת וגוברת של אנשים הבוחרים (או נאלצים) לייצג את עצמם בהליכים משפטיים. המציאות החדשה הזאת, בה לא לכל השחקנים המעורבים בהליך משפטי ישנה השכלה מתאימה בתחום, מובילה לדילמות רבות. מאמר זה ידון בחובות האתיות של עורך דין המתנהל מול צד שאינו מיוצג. ראשית, המאמר יטען כי המאפיינים הייחודיים של התנהלות מול צדדים לא מיוצגים דורשים התייחסות מפורטת למצב זה בכללי האתיקה של מקצוע עריכת הדין. החובות האתיות צריכות להיבחן לאור חובות הנאמנות השונות המוטלות על עורך דין – החובות ללקוח, לחברה, למקצוע עריכת הדין ולעצמו. לאחר מכן המאמר סוקר את כללי האתיקה בארצות המשפט המקובל, שבניגוד לארץ, קובעים כללים ברורים המתייחסים להתנהלות מול צד לא מיוצג. לאחר מכן המאמר יציג את הפסיקה המועטה של בתי המשפט הישראליים וגופי האתיקה של לשכת עורכי הדין בנושא זה. לבסוף, המאמר יציע ארבעה כללי אתיקה בנושא זה. הכלל המנחה לכללים המוצעים הוא שעיקר החובה כלפי צד לא מיוצג צריכה להיות שלילית - בכך שעורך הדין לא יוכל להזיק לצד השני ולהטעות אותו. כמו כן, יש מקום לאזן בין האינטרסים השונים על ידי עיקרון המידתיות – ולדאוג לכך שעורך דין לא יוכל לעשות שימוש בלתי מידתי בייתרון שיש לו על פני צד לא מיוצג. English Abstract: In recent years there is an increasing phenomena of people choosing to represent themselves in courts and other legal proceedings. This new reality, in which not all of the players have legal education, poses many dilemmas to the legal system. This article discusses the ethical responsibilities of a lawyer towards unrepresented parties, and the need to set clear rules on this subject in Israel. First, the article argues that the unique characteristics of unrepresented parties requires a specific reference to this situation in the ethical rules. The ethical responsibilities should be determined considering the different fiduciary duties that a lawyer has – towards their client, the society, the profession and themselves. The article also describes the different rules existing on this subject in other Common-Law countries. The article also discusses the scarce jurisprudence of Israeli courts and disciplinary tribunals on this subject. Finally, the article proposes four ethical rules for possible adoption in Israel. The two main principles of those proposed rules are as follows. First, the responsibilities of the lawyers, should focus on what he should not do in such situations. The second principle is that the lawyer should not be allowed to use her advantage disproportionately and unfairly.
Readmission for cardiac and non-cardiac causes among adults with epilepsy or multiple sclerosis - A nationwide analysis.

Abstract Purpose The aim of this study was to determine proportions of 30-day cardiac readmissions in adults with epilepsy compared to multiple sclerosis (MS) or those with neither condition. Predictors and causes of readmissions were also examined. Methods We used the 2014 Nationwide Readmissions Database and ICD-9-CM codes to identify people with epilepsy, MS, and without epilepsy or MS. Multinomial logistic regressions were fitted to: (1) examine association between 30-day readmissions and epilepsy, MS or neither, and (2) to describe causes and predictors of 30-day readmission for cardiac readmissions in epilepsy. Results Out of 6,870,508 adults admitted in 2014, 202,938 (2.98%) had epilepsy and 29,556 (0.45%) had MS. The proportion of 30-day readmission for epilepsy and MS were, respectively: (1) due to cardiac causes (0.17% vs. 0.13%); (2) due to other causes (13.89% vs. 10.61%). The odds of 30-day cardiac readmission in those with epilepsy and MS were lower compared to those without either condition (OR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.57–0.73, p Conclusion Those admitted to a hospital and living with epilepsy had a higher proportion of cardiac readmissions and death in hospital when compared to those living with MS, and the determinants are likely multifactorial. These findings are important and need to be further explored to identify strategies to prevent readmissions due to any cause and treatments that could reduce mortality.
Alterations of the biophysical milieu of membranes induce conformational changes into membrane bound P-glycoprotein

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006 1263 It is known that the function of trans-membrane proteins, transport proteins, could be influenced by the status of their membrane milieu. This was shown to be the case for membrane bound enzymes by Giorgione et al. (1995) and Heilman (2004). Concerning transport proteins, (Pgp, 170 kD) Nagy et al. (2004) and Callahan (1993) reported plasma membrane alterations associated with conformational and functional changes. We have investigated the influence of plasma membrane alterations associated with conformational changes of the Pgp molecule in three different cell lines. The conformational changes were detected by determining the availability of epitopes for Ab binding. Biophysical alterations of plasma membranes were induced by changing temperatures and by treating the cells with different chemicals. We have shown that there is a decrease of the availability of epitopes on Pgp with decreasing membrane fluidity, as effected by lowering the temperature. However, the extent of this decrease varies with the cell lines. Interestingly, treatment of cells with chemicals, cremophor, benzyl alcohol and heptadecanoic acid, all known to induce increases in the membrane fluidity of plasma membranes of cells, resulted in a decrease of the availability of the same epitopes on Pgp. The biophysical status of plasma membranes was characterized by Electron Spin Resonance (ESR), fluorescence polarization, and by uptake of fluorescent molecules into cells.
Healthy Sex and Sexual Health: New Directions for Studying Outcomes of Sexual Health

Sexual behavior is an important aspect of adolescent development with implications for well-being. These chapters highlight important perspectives on studying sexual health from a normative, developmental perspective, such as viewing a range of sexual behaviors as life events; considering potentially positive physical health, mental health, social health, and identity outcomes; examining both intraindividual and interindividual differences in outcomes; recognizing the romantic relationship context of sexual behavior; and understanding how sexual media may impact sexual health outcomes. We suggest new directions for studying sexual health outcomes, such as studying behaviors beyond vaginal sex and condom use, new methodologies such as latent class analysis, sophisticated longitudinal designs, and collection and analysis of dyadic data. We recommend research on populations underrepresented in sexual health research such as late adolescents who do not attend traditional universities and adolescents from ethnic/racial minorities. Finally, we consider future directions for sexuality education and prevention efforts.
Scilog: A Language for Scientific Processes and Scales

We present Scilog, an experimental knowledge base to facilitate scientific discovery and reasoning. Scilog extends Prolog by supporting (1) dedicated predicates for specifying and querying knowledge about scientific processes, (2) the different scales at which processes may be manifested, and (3) the domains to which values belong. Scilog is meant to invoke more specialized algorithms and to be called by high-level discovery routines. We test Scilog’s ability to support such routines with a simple search through the space of geophysical models.
EphA2 mutation in lung squamous cell carcinoma promotes increased cell survival, cell invasion, focal adhesions, and mammalian target of rapamycin activation.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has a poor prognosis and improved therapies are needed. Expression of EphA2 is increased in NSCLC metastases. In this study, we investigated EphA2 mutations in NSCLC and examined molecular pathways involved in NSCLC. Tumor and cell line DNA was sequenced. One EphA2 mutation was modeled by expression in BEAS2B cells, and functional and biochemical studies were conducted. A G391R mutation was detected in H2170 and 2/28 squamous cell carcinoma patient samples. EphA2 G391R caused constitutive activation of EphA2 with increased phosphorylation of Src, cortactin, and p130Cas. Wild-type (WT) and G391R cells had 20 and 40% increased invasiveness; this was attenuated with knockdown of Src, cortactin, or p130Cas. WT and G391R cells demonstrated a 70% increase in focal adhesion area. Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) phosphorylation was increased in G391R cells with increased survival (55%) compared with WT (30%) and had increased sensitivity to rapamycin. A recurrent EphA2 mutation is present in lung squamous cell carcinoma and increases tumor invasion and survival through activation of focal adhesions and actin cytoskeletal regulatory proteins as well as mTOR. Further study of EphA2 as a therapeutic target is warranted.
THE INFLUENCE OF GRAIN BOUNDARY CARBIDE DENSITY ON THE BRITTLE FRACTURE OF FERRITE PEARLITE STEELS

ABSTRACT The influence of carbide density on the charpy impact transition temperature of pearlite free and pearlite containing steels has been examined. Carbide density was measured optically using a linear intercept method. Because of the strong inter-relationships between grain size, carbide thickness and density, the carbide density could not be examined independently, and a linear regression approach had to be used. Using this approach increasing the number of carbides intersected per m.m. by 20 raised the ITT by ~20-30°C. Generally the influence of carbide density on ITT is small compared with carbide thickness and grain size. Nevertheless, it is significant and probably accounts for the rather poorer than expected impact performance exhibited by some Nb and Ti containing steels. Nb and Ti seem to actively encourage carbide precipitation at the boundaries giving a tendency for both coarser carbides and a greater carbide density. Grain boundary carbides may also assist propagation of cracks but this influence on fracture cannot at present be separated from the influence of carbide density.
KL based data fusion for target tracking

Visual object tracking in video can be formulated as a time varying appearance-based binary classification problem. Tracking algorithms need to adapt to changes in both foreground object appearance as well as varying scene backgrounds. Fusing information from multimodal features (views or representations) typically enhances classification performance without increasing classifier complexity when image features are concatenated to form a high-dimensional vector. Combining these representative views to effectively exploit multimodal information for classification becomes a key issue. We show that the Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence measure provides a framework that leads to family of techniques for fusing representations including Cher-noff distance and variance ratio that is the same as linear discriminant analysis. We provide experimental results that corroborate well with our theoretical analysis.
A simplified proof of the multivariable Popov criterion and an upper bound for the structured singular value with real parameter uncertainty

The Popov absolute stability criterion is traditionally proved using a Lyapunov function and the positive real lemma. In this paper, a simplified proof of the multivariable Popov criterion based upon the multivariable Nyquist criterion is given for the case of one-sided, sector-bounded real parameter uncertainty. A loop-shifting transformation is then used to extend the Popov criterion to two-sided, sector-bounded uncertain matrices. Specialization of this result to norm-bounded uncertain matrices leads to an upper bound for the structured singular value for block-structured, real parameter uncertainty. >
SU-E-I-35: Development of Stand-Alone Filtered Backprojection and Iterative Reconstruction Methods Using the Raw CT Data Exported From Clinical Lung Screening Scans

Purpose: We are developing a research pipeline for generating CT image series that represent a wide variety of acquisition and reconstruction conditions. As part of this effort, we need stand-alone filtered backprojection (FBP) and iterative reconstruction methods that: (1) can operate on the raw CT data from clinical scans and (2) can be integrated into an acquisition/reconstruction pipeline for evaluating effects of acquisition and reconstruction settings on Quantitative Imaging metrics and CAD algorithms. Methods: Two reconstruction methods were developed: (1) a weighted FBP method, and (2) an iterative method based on sequential minimization of a penalized least-squares objective function (i.e. iterative coordinate descent). Both methods were adapted from previously-published algorithms. Using information about the raw CT data format obtained through a research agreement with Siemens Healthcare, we extracted the sinogram from a low-dose lung screening case acquired on a Sensation 64 scanner as part of the National Lung Screening Trial. We reconstructed the raw data on the scanner with a B50 kernel and again with each of our standalone reconstruction methods. A relatively sharp kernel was used in our FBP method to match the appearance of the B50 kernel. The iterative method used a regularization parameter of 1 and a stopping criterion of 200 iterations. The reconstructed field of view was 29 cm for all methods. Results: Reconstructed images from our FBP method agreed very well with images reconstructed at the scanner. Computation speed was a limiting factor for the iterative method, but initial downsampled results and images of a thin slab of the scanned volume demonstrated substantial potential. Various artifacts should be addressed before direct comparisons of image quality can be made. Conclusion: Our stand-alone FBP and iterative reconstruction methods show potential for developing a general acquisition/reconstruction research pipeline that can be applied to Quantitative Imaging and CAD applications. NCI grant U01 CA181156 (Quantitative Imaging Network) and Tobacco Related Disease Research Project grant 22RT-0131.
Update on energy and width of Mg 19 (g.s.)

We update our predictions for the width of $^{19}\mathrm{Mg}$(g.s.) by extending our calculations to the lower energy range found experimentally.
Superfluid and Mott-insulating shells of bosons in harmonically confined optical lattices

We describe weakly interacting atomic or molecular bosons trapped in harmonically confined optical lattices, which exhibit a wedding cake structure consisting of insulating (Mott) shells. We show that superfluid regions emerge between Mott shells as a result of fluctuations due to finite hopping and find that the order parameter equation in the superfluid regions is not of the standard Gross-Pitaevskii type except near the insulator-to-superfluid boundaries. We obtain the excitation spectra in the Mott and superfluid regions, and we show that the superfluid shells possess low-energy sound modes with spatially dependent sound velocity described by a local index of refraction directly related to the local superfluid density. Furthermore, we discuss the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition and vortex-antivortex pairs in thin (wide) superfluid shells (rings) limited by three- (two-) dimensional Mott regions. Last, we propose an experiment to detect superfluid shells using Laguerre-Gaussian beams and Bragg spectroscopy.
The effectiveness of disaster training for health care workers: a systematic review.

Study objective Evidence-based medical literature is lacking about the best methods to train health care providers in disaster response. We systematically review the recent literature to report whether training interventions in disaster preparedness improve knowledge and skills in disaster response. Methods We searched MEDLINE through PubMed, ISI Web of Science, BIOSIS, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL), the Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov, the Public Affairs Information Service, and Education Full Text. Selected journals, articles, and other comprehensive reports were also reviewed for relevant citations. Subjects of eligible articles were hospital-based and out-of-hospital health care providers. Articles meeting inclusion criteria were published in English between January 2000 and December 2005, described a training exercise undertaken to further knowledge or skills in disaster response, measured a quantitative and objective outcome, and used a control group. Included studies were independently reviewed by 2 researchers, and study quality was assessed with criteria adapted from the US Preventive Services Task Force and the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination. Results We identified 258 studies. Nine studies are included in this review. Computer- and lecture-based training interventions may be effective in increasing disaster-related knowledge for out-of-hospital providers, though questions about study design and quality may cast doubt on the results. Evidence about effectiveness of training for inhospital providers is inconclusive. Comparison across studies is difficult because of diversity in study subjects, designs, and interventions. Results are likely biased by contamination from outside events. Conclusion The available evidence is insufficient to determine whether training interventions for health care providers are effective in improving knowledge and skills in disaster response.
P-glycoprotein in the catfish intestine: inducibility by xenobiotics and functional properties.

Abstract The p-glycoprotein (pgp)-mediated multixenobiotic resistance (MXR) mechanism of aquatic animals has been associated with protection against pollution. Recent studies in mammals suggest that intestinal pgp may modulate intestinal bioavailability of dietary xenobiotics. In order to further delineate this mechanism in the catfish, these studies: (1) examined the pgp-related distribution in the intestine and liver of catfish, (2) evaluated the MXR response following exposure to various dietary xenobiotics and a prototypic pgp inducer and (3) evaluated pgp functional activity in membrane vesicles, using prototypic substrates and inhibitors. For this purpose, catfish were exposed in vivo to the pgp inducer vincristine (VIN), and the xenobiotics β-naphthoflavone (BNF), benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), and 3,4,3′,4′-tetrachlorobiphenyl (TCB). Membrane vesicles, prepared from liver and intestine (proximal and distal sections) of control and exposed catfish, were subjected to SDS PAGE, Western Blot, and detection with the pgp C219 monoclonal antibody. Transport activity was evaluated in vitro using the pgp substrate [3H]vinblastine (VBL), and the pgp inhibitor verapamil (VP). Immunoblot studies demonstrated a pgp-related protein of approximately 170 kDa in the intestine and liver of catfish. This protein appears to be very susceptible to degradation, and was present in higher levels in the liver, in comparison to the intestine, where regional differences were not observed. Dietary exposure to the pgp substrate VIN, or the xenobiotics BNF, BaP, and TCB, did not appear to affect pgp-related reactivity. Transport studies with VBL indicate that the pgp-related protein of the catfish intestine displays classic pgp-mediated multidrug resistance (MDR) characteristics, such as energy-dependency, and sensitivity to VP. These studies suggest that the pgp-related protein in the catfish intestine and liver is not only immunochemically, but also functionally related to the mammalian MDR. Moreover, the results presented indicate that pgp-related reactivity and transport in intestinal vesicles of catfish may be influenced by factors including method sensitivity, sample collection, sample preparation, and immunoblot conditions.
MRI measures of entorhinal cortex vs hippocampus in preclinical AD.

Background: MRI measures of the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus have been used to predict which nondemented individuals with memory problems will progress to meet criteria for AD on follow-up, but their relative accuracy remains controversial. Objectives: To compare MRI measures of the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus for predicting who will develop AD. Methods: MRI volumes of the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus were obtained in 137 individuals comprising four groups: 1) individuals with normal cognition both at baseline and after 3 years of follow-up (n = 28), 2) subjects with memory difficulty but not dementia both at baseline and after 3 years of follow-up (n = 73), 3) subjects with memory difficulty at baseline who were diagnosed with probable AD within 3 years of follow-up (n = 21), and 4) patients with mild AD at baseline (n = 16). Results: Measures of both the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus were different for each of the pairwise comparisons between the groups ( p p Conclusion: These findings are consistent with neuropathologic data showing substantial involvement of the entorhinal cortex in the preclinical phase of AD and suggest that, as the disease spreads, atrophic change develops within the hippocampus, which is measurable on MRI.
Wet-milling and dry-milling properties of dent corn with addition of amylase corn

ABSTRACT A transgenic corn (amylase corn) has been developed that produces an endogenous α-amylase that is activated in the presence of water and elevated temperature (>70°C). Wet- and dry-milling characteristics of amylase corn were evaluated using laboratory wet- and dry-milling procedures. Different amounts of amylase corn (0.1–10%) were added to dent corn (with the same genetic background as the amylase corn) as treatments. Samples were evaluated for wet- and dry-milling fraction yields using 1-kg laboratory procedures. Milling yields for all amylase corn treatments were compared with the control treatment (0% amylase corn or 100% dent corn). No significant differences were observed in wet- and dry-milling yields between the control and the 0.1, 1, and 10% amylase corn treatments. Most of the amylase activity (77%) in wet-milling fractions was detected in the protein fraction. In dry-milling, amylase activity (68.8%) was detected in endosperm fractions (fines, small grits, and large grits).
Plastic flow and microstructure of cast nickel aluminides at 1273 K

Chill-cast nickel aluminides based on Ni3Al were compression-tested in vacuum at 1273 K at strain rates ranging from 10-5 s-1 to 10-1 s-1. As the strain rate increases, the propensity for intergranular cracking increases. The ductile-to-brittle transition strain rate (DBTS) of as-cast Ni-22.5Al-0.5Hf-0.1B (at. pct) is approximately 10-1 s-1. Homogenization lowers this value by three orders of magnitude, to 10-4 s-1 (a homogenized specimen disintegrated completely at a rate of 10-3 s-1). The fine-grained structure of the as-cast alloy plays an important role in its relatively high DBTS. A hafnium-free alloy, Ni-24A1-0.1B, on the other hand, shows only a weak dependence of the DBTS on prior homogenization, and possible reasons for this finding are discussed.
The antidiabetic agent pioglitazone increases expression of glucose transporters in 3T3-F442A cells by increasing messenger ribonucleic acid transcript stability.

Whereas adipocytes normally play an important role as a major site for systemic energy homeostasis, adipocyte function is markedly altered in disorders such as diabetes. In this study, we investigated the effect of pioglitazone, a novel antidiabetic agent known to lower plasma glucose in animal models of diabetes mellitus, on expression of glucose transporters GLUT1 and GLUT4 in 3T3-F442A cells. Treatment of confluent 3T3-F442A preadipocyte cultures for 7 days with pioglitazone (1 microM) and insulin (1 microgram/ml) resulted in nearly 100% differentiation of cells to lipid-accumulating adipocytes, and such adipocytes showed a markedly increased capacity for glucose uptake. Analysis of messenger RNA transcripts encoding GLUT1 and GLUT4 glucose transporters over the 7-day differentiation period indicated time-dependent increases in abundance of each type that were maximal at more than 5-fold with the combined presence of insulin and pioglitazone. In accord, GLUT1 and GLUT4 protein levels also increased to ...
Conformal Welding for Finitely Connected Regions

We discuss a numerical implementation of conformal welding for finitely connected regions using the geodesic zipper algorithm and Koebe’s iterative method for computing conformal maps to regions bounded by circles. We also show that a conformal map from a finitely connected region to a region bounded by circles can be written as a composition of finitely many conformal maps of simply connected regions.
Phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase regulates angiotensin II-induced cytosolic phospholipase A2 activity and growth in vascular smooth muscle cells

Abstract Angiotensin (Ang) II via the AT1 receptor acts as a mitogen in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) through stimulation of multiple signaling mechanisms, including tyrosine kinases and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). In addition, cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2)-dependent release of arachidonic acid (AA) is linked to VSMC growth and we have reported that Ang II stimulates cPLA2 activity via the AT1 receptor. The coupling of Ang II to the activation of cPLA2 appears to involve mechanisms both upstream and downstream of MAPK such that AA stimulates MAPK activity which phosphorylates cPLA2 to further enhance AA release. However, the upstream mechanisms responsible for activation of cPLA2 are not well-defined. One possibility includes phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), since PI3K has been reported to participate in the upstream signaling events linked to activation of MAPK. However, it is not known whether PI3K is involved in the Ang II-induced activation of cPLA2 or if this mechanism is associated with the Ang II-mediated growth of VSMC. Therefore, we used cultured rat VSMC to examine the role of PI3K in the Ang II-dependent phosphorylation of cPLA2, release of AA, and growth induced by Ang II. Exposure of VSMC to Ang II (100 nM) increased [3H]thymidine incorporation, cell number, and the release of [3H]AA. Also, using Western analysis, Ang II increased the phosphorylation of MAPK and cPLA2 which were blocked by the MAPK kinase inhibitor PD98059 (10 μM/L ) . Similarly, the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 (10 μM/L ) abolished the Ang II-mediated increase in MAPK phosphorylation, as well as phosphoserine-PLA2. Further, inhibition of PI3K blocked the Ang II-induced release of AA and VSMC mitogenesis. However, exogenous AA was able to restore VSMC growth in the presence of LY294002, as well as reverse the inhibition of MAPK and cPLA2 phosphorylation by LY294002. Thus, it appears from these data that Ang II stimulates the PI3K-sensitive release of AA which stimulates MAPK to phosphorylate cPLA2 and enhance AA release. This mechanism may play an important role in the Ang II-induced growth of VSMC.
An antipyretic action of aureomycin; inhibition of febrile response to influenza virus in rabbits.

SummaryIntraperitoneal or intravenous injection of aureomycin prevented the febrile reaction of rabbits to intravenous inoculation of influenza B virus, but administration of aureomycin by gavage did not consistently prevent fever. Although intraperitoneal injection of aureomycin reduced rectal temperature below normal, the data suggest that this hypothermic action of the drug was not responsible for the antipyretic effect observed. Aureomycin did not alter the development of tolerance to the pyrogen. Intraperitoneal aureomycin also modified the febrile response of rabbits to a bacterial pyrogen, typhoid bacilli.
Diminisbed stature-defective palate syndrome: A dominantly inherited disorder

symptoms of cholecystadenomyoma. Rapid injection of cholecystokinin in doses as high as 1 ivy unit per kilogram into normal subjects produces contract ion of the gallbladder without pa in? ~ 1~ The response of this patient to cholecystokinin administration was most impressive. She complained of abdominal pain identical to tha t which prompted her admission to the hospital. The rari ty of adenomyoma has not permitted us to further evaluate the use of cholecystokinin. However, because of the uncer ta inty of the relationship of symptoms to the presence of adenomyoma, it seems reasonable to try and distinguish a populat ion that will benefit f rom surgical removal of the gallbladder. We believe this test should be done with suitable placebo administration as described in this study.