cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dangers of Formalism

In the February 1978 issue of the Arithmetic Teacher, Lichtenberg invited mathematics educators to engage in dialogue on the topic of mathematical symbolism. It is vital that we do so. Lichtenberg^ suggestions belong to a doctrine of pedagogical formalism laid out in the sixties, one that has natural appeal for mature students of mathematics. But formalistic methods may not be effective with mathematically immature students. Indeed, it is likely that formalistic methods sacrifice the very goal they purportedly seek, achievement of meaning. When I use the word "formalism"
Adaptive changes in the gut microbiome during standard-of-care chemoradiotherapy for gynecologic cancers

Background: A diverse and abundant gut microbiome can improve cancer patients treatment response; however, the effect of pelvic chemoradiotherapy (CRT) on gut diversity and composition is unclear. The purpose of this prospective study was to identify changes in the diversity and composition of the gut microbiome during and after pelvic CRT. Materials and Methods: Rectal swabs from 58 women with cervical, vaginal, or vulvar cancer from two institutions were prospectively analyzed before CRT (baseline), during CRT (weeks 1, 3, and 5), and at first follow-up (week 12) using 16Sv4 rRNA gene sequencing of the V4 hypervariable region of the bacterial 16S rRNA marker gene. Observed operational taxonomic units (OTUs; representative of richness) and Shannon, Simpson, Inverse Simpson, and Fisher diversity indices were used to characterize alpha (within-sample) diversity. Changes over time were assessed using a paired t-test, repeated measures ANOVA, and linear mixed modeling. Compositional changes in specific bacteria over time were evaluated using linear discriminant analysis effect size. Results: Gut microbiome richness and diversity levels continually decreased throughout CRT (mean Shannon diversity index, 2.52 vs. 2.91; all P
Mammalian Cell Bioreactors

Introduction Basic Reactor Kinetic Operation Modes Mixing Tank Bioreactors Cell Support for Mixing Vessels Stirred Tank Bioreactors Airlift Bioreactor Stirred Tank in Perfusion Culture Nonmixing Tank Bioreactors Roller Bottle Hollow Fiber Ceramic Matrix Concluding Remarks Bibliography Keywords: airlift; bioreactors; cell culture; hollow fiber; immobilized cells; mammalian cells; microcarriers; perfusion; roller bottle; stirred-tank
Abstract A07: Assessment of concordance among 22C3, SP263, and SP142 immunohistochemistry assay for PD-L1 expression in non-small cell lung cancer

Background: PD-L1 expression, as determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC), is the most commonly use predictive biomarker for anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 agents in currently available in clinical practice. However, multiple antibodies have been utilized in IHC assays and interpretation of their results has not been standardized. Recently, several studies have compared different antibodies and IHC systems for PD-L1 tests. We aimed to evaluate the similarity and concordance between three validated, commercially available PD-L1 IHC assays for non-small cell lung cancer (Dako 22C3, Ventana SP263, and Ventana SP142). Methods: We evaluated 219 samples from patients with non-small cell lung cancer at the Daegu Catholic University Medical Center between June 2017 and July 2018. Each tumor sample was stained with PD-L1 IHC 22C3, SP263, and SP142. PD-L1 expression was scored at different cut-off levels for each IHC antibodies (22C3 assay: Results: Among the 219 samples, three different antibodies showed well correlation for PD-L1 expression (22C3 vs. SP263; r=0.896, p Conclusions: 22C3, SP263, and SP142 IHC assays showed good correlation for PD-L1 expression. 22C3 IHC assay showed good concordance with SP263, but SP142. Citation Format: Chi Young Jung, Eun Jin Kim, Woo Jung Sung. Assessment of concordance among 22C3, SP263, and SP142 immunohistochemistry assay for PD-L1 expression in non-small cell lung cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy; 2018 Nov 27-30; Miami Beach, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2020;8(4 Suppl):Abstract nr A07.
Why Healthcare Workers Ought to Be Prioritized in ASMR During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic.

Should healthcare workers be prioritized in the allocation of scarce medical resources (ASMR) during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic? The ABPD Task Force rightly raises this question while indicating that ...
Predicting physician gaze in clinical settings using optical flow and positioning

Electronic health record systems used in clinical settings to facilitate informed decision making, affects the dynamics between the physician and the patient during clinical interactions. The interaction between the patient and the physician can impact patient satisfaction, and overall health outcomes. Gaze during patient-doctor interactions was found to impact patient-physician relationship and is an important measure of attention towards humans and technology. This study aims to automatically label physician gaze for video interactions which is typically measured using extensive human coding. In this study, physicians’ gaze is predicted at any time during the recorded video interaction using optical flow and body positioning coordinates as image features. Findings show that physician gaze could be predicted with an accuracy of over 83%. Our approach highlights the potential for the model to be an annotation tool which reduces the extensive human labor of annotating the videos for physician’s gaze. These interactions can further be connected to patient ratings to better understand patient outcomes.
Decentralized Event-Triggered Control in the Presence of Adversaries

Decentralized control systems are widely used in a number of situations and applications. In order for these systems to function properly and achieve their desired goals, information must be propagated between agents. However, communication between agents entails connecting to a network, potentially allowing adversaries to infiltrate the system through the network and attack multiple agents. To increase resiliency against these attacks, it is desirable for agents to operate disconnected from the network as much as possible, only communicating with other agents when it is absolutely necessary to achieve their goal or to maintain the safety of the overall system. This in turn decreases communication costs. Previous approaches to decentralized event-triggered control are mainly concerned with minimizing communication costs and therefore assume that every agent is always connected to the network with the ability to receive any information that is sent to it. In this work, we address the issue of maintaining the safety and stability of the overall system when there is no attack but some agents may be disconnected from the network and unable to receive critical information from other agents. We design an event-triggered mechanism for network connection and communication that is a function of only local information and that ensures stability for the overall system in attack-free scenarios. An algorithm describing this communication protocol is provided, and our approach is illustrated via simulation.
Significance of Oil-Red-O positive macrophages in bronchoalveolar lavage in diagnosing E-cigarettes or vaping product use-associated lung injury: A case series.

BACKGROUND Lipid-laden macrophages detected by Oil-Red-O (ORO) stain in fresh bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens have been proposed as a potential diagnostic marker for E-cigarettes or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI). However, studies are few, and the sensitivity and specificity of the test have not been thoroughly investigated. METHODS We performed ORO stain on fresh BAL specimens from six confirmed EVALI and 36 non-EVALI patients. After semi-quantitative analysis, the sensitivity and specificity of ORO-positive macrophages (OPM) for detection of EVALI were calculated. RESULTS No significant difference in cytomorphology or raw macrophage count was observed between EVALI and non-EVALI groups (49% vs 55% of all nucleated cells). However, with ORO stain, all EVALI specimens (6/6) showed a high percentage (≥50% of all macrophages) of OPM (mean 87%), and large (≥25% of host macrophage nuclear size) lipid droplets (mean 42%), while the majority of non-EVALI specimens showed a low percentage of OPM (32/36, mean 10%), and small lipid droplets (34/36, mean 6%). The differences between the two groups in both high OPM and large lipid droplet rates are statistically significant (P < .0001 for both comparisons). The combined sensitivity and specificity of high OPM and large lipid droplets for diagnosing EVALI were 100% and 94%, respectively. CONCLUSION In BAL specimens obtained from patients with clinically suspected EVALI, a high percentage of OPM with large lipid droplets showed high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of EVALI and may serve as a potentially useful tool in the evaluation of vaping-related lung injury, improving diagnostic accuracy.
Perceived Barriers and Preliminary PTSD Outcomes in an Open Pilot Trial of Written Exposure Therapy With Latinx Immigrants

Abstract Latinx immigrants experience substantial disparities in mental health treatment access, particularly for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The availability of brief, flexible interventions in Spanish may assist in reducing these disparities. Written Exposure Therapy (WET) is a five-session PTSD intervention that appears as effective as longer, gold-standard interventions, but has yet to be tested among Latinx immigrants. To test the acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of WET, 20 Spanish-speaking, Latinx immigrants conducted structured interviews at pretreatment, were offered WET, and completed posttreatment structured interviews. Open thematic coding of pre- and posttreatment interview questions examined perceived barriers and benefits of WET. Quantitative components examined symptom change across PTSD (PCL-IV-C) and depression (PHQ-9). Quantitative results indicated clinically meaningful and statistically significant change in PTSD symptoms using intent-to-treat analyses (Mdiff = 17.06, SDdiff = 9.97, range = 0–29, t(15) = 6.84, p
Pay Now, or Pay Later

How much subsurface investigation is adequate to aid in the planning and design of a construction project? It's a question every geoprofessional must grapple with, particularly in an era where cost...
Thoughts on Progress in the Centrosome Field

Centrioles and centrosomes have been at the center of attention of Cell Biologists since the very beginning of the field. The approaches to the conduct of science by early investigators shaped not only the foundation of our understanding of centrosome biology, but also continue to impact its direction. What sets centrioles and centrosomes apart from membrane-bound organelles are their fascinating structure, and the intrinsic counting mechanism they employ to duplicate once in each cell cycle. The details of centriole and centrosome biogenesis, and the role that they play in ciliogenesis, cell polarity, and as a platform for cell signaling pathways ensure their central place in future investigations.
Interdisciplinary team beat approach for quick-turn user manuals

The authors recommend several teamwork techniques that can significantly reduce manual development cycle time. Included are methods for direct information access and online research, writing, and editing. Also included is a case study wherein these methods resulted in a cycle-time reduction of more than 50%. >
Event Services in High Performance Systems

The Internet and the Grid are changing the face of high performance computing. Rather than tightly-coupled SPMD-style components running in a single cluster, on a parallel machine, or even on the Internet programmed in MPI, applications are evolving into sets of cooperating components scattered across diverse computational elements. These components may run on different operating systems and hardware platforms and may be written by different organizations in different languages. Complete “applications” are constructed by assembling these components in a plug-and-play fashion. This new vision for high performance computing demands features and characteristics not easily provided by traditional high-performance communications middleware. In response to these needs, we have developed ECho, a high-performance event-delivery middleware that meets the new demands of the Grid environment. ECho provides efficient binary transmission of event data with unique features that support data-type discovery and enterprise-scale application evolution. We present measurements detailing ECho's performance to show that ECho significantly outperforms other systems intended to provide this functionality and provides throughput and latency comparable to the most efficient middleware infrastructures available.
Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate-induced phosphorylation of Op18 in Jurkat T cells : identification of phosphorylation sites by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry

Op18 is a widely expressed, cell cycle-regulated, phosphoprotein involved in signal transduction of a variety of stimuli. In actively proliferating Jurkat T cells which express Op18 at high level, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) treatment induces a rapid increase in the level of several Op18 phosphorylated forms. To determine phosphorylation sites involved in the PMA effect, the major Op18 phosphorylated forms were resolved in Jurkat T cells, before and after treatment with PMA, using preparative immobilized pH gradient-based two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Tryptic fragments of phosphorylated Op18 were analyzed by two-dimensional thin layer peptide mapping and were resolved by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography prior to analysis by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry. Phosphorylation sites were identified by further treatment of the proteolytic fragments with different enzymes and determination of the mass shifts by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry. Two major phosphorylation sites were identified. Low constitutive levels of phosphorylation at Ser25 and Ser38 in Op18a and Op18b was demonstrated. Treatment with PMA resulted in enhanced phosphorylation of Ser25 in Op18a and of both Ser25 and Ser38 in Op18b. Taken together with prior studies of Op18 phosphorylation, the data suggest that Op18 phosphorylation occurs at identical sites in different tissues and organisms.
The impact of penicillin skin testing on clinical practice and antimicrobial stewardship

BACKGROUND Penicillin skin testing (PST) is a simple and reliable way of diagnosing penicillin allergy. After being off the market for 4 years, penicilloyl-polylysine was reintroduced in 2009 as PRE-PEN. We describe the negative predictive value (NPV) of PST and the impact on antibiotic selection in a sample of hospitalized patients with a reported history of penicillin allergy. METHODS We introduced a quality improvement process at our 861-bed tertiary care hospital that used PST to guide antibiotic usage in patients with a history consistent with an immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated reaction to penicillin. Subjects with a negative PST were then transitioned to a β-lactam agent for the remainder of their therapy. NPV of skin testing was established at 24-hour follow-up. We are reporting the result of 146 patients tested between March 2012 and July 2012. RESULTS A total of 146 patients with a history of penicillin allergy and negative PST were treated with β-lactam antibiotics. Of these, only 1 subject experienced an allergic reaction to the PST. The remaining 145 patients tolerated a full course of β-lactam therapy without an allergic response, giving the PST a 100% NPV. We estimated that PST-guided antibiotic alteration for these patients resulted in an estimated annual savings of $82,000. CONCLUSION Patients with a history of penicillin allergy who have a negative PST result are at a low risk of developing an immediate-type hypersensitivity reaction to β-lactam antibiotics. The increased use of PST may help improve antibiotic stewardship in the hospital setting. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2013;8:341–345. © 2013 Society of Hospital Medicine
The soft X-ray background

Soft-X-ray maps in the B, C, and M (130-188, 160-284, and 440-1100-eV) bands, based on sounding-rocket observations obtained in the Wisconsin all-sky survey over a 10-yr period are presented and discussed. The B and C band maps are found to be similar, and comparison with the H I column densities of Cleary et al. (1979) shows an anticorrelation of B and C emission with neutral gas, implying hot-interstellar-gas emission from within 100 pc of the sun. The M-band pattern is different, and may be due to extragalactic high-energy diffuse emission and/or M dwarfs, although extragalactic sources are not specifically required to explain the data.
Bootstrapping Information Extraction from Semi-structured Web Pages

We consider the problem of extracting structured records from semi-structured web pages with no human supervision required for each target web site. Previous work on this problem has either required significant human effort for each target site or used brittle heuristics to identify semantic data types. Our method only requires annotation for a few pages from a few sites in the target domain. Thus, after a tiny investment of human effort, our method allows automatic extraction from potentially thousands of other sites within the same domain. Our approach extends previous methods for detecting data fields in semi-structured web pages by matching those fields to domain schema columns using robust models of data values and contexts. Annotating 2---5 pages for 4---6 web sites yields an extraction accuracy of 83.8% on job offer sites and 91.1% on vacation rental sites. These results significantly outperform a baseline approach.
Neighbor diffusivity as related to lateral shear in the Florida Current

Abstract Repeated observations over a two-week period of the drifts of shallow parachute drogues in a region partly straddling the current core of the Florida Current off Miami are used to estimate the neighbor diffusivity in the neighbor separation range of 1–15 km. The estimates are consistent with the 4 3 power law, but are characterized by a marked horizontal asymmetry. A diffusivity model in terms of a succession of steady, linear lateral shear is proposed. In addition to an explanation of the dispersion features, the model pinpoints a possible difficulty in diffusivity experiments. The largest lateral diffusivity encountered is 1 × 105 cm2/sec, and that for the downstream diffusivity is 5 × 106 cm2/sec. The latter is comparable to the estimates for the California Current. As the downstream shear of the cross-stream velocity component is also comparable in both currents, we infer that the lateral tangential stresses in both currents are likewise comparable.
Interseismic deformation and geologic evolution of the Death Valley Fault Zone

[1] The Death Valley Fault Zone (DVFZ), located in southeastern California, is an active fault system with an evolved pull-apart basin that has been deforming over the past 6 Myr. We present a study of the interseismic motion and long-term stress accumulation rates to better understand the nature of both past and present-day loading conditions of the DVFZ. Using a 3-D semi-analytic viscoelastic deformation model, combined with geodetic velocities derived from the Mobile Array of GPS for Nevada Transtension (MAGNET) network and the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) Crustal Motion Map version 4 (CMMv4) GPS data, we establish parameters for interseismic slip rate and apparent locking depth for four DVFZ fault segments. Our preferred model provides good fit to the data (1.0 mm/yr and 1.5 mm/yr RMS misfit in the fault-perpendicular and fault-parallel directions, respectively) and yields apparent locking depths between 9.8–17.1 km and strike-slip rates of 3–7 mm/yr for the segments. We also determine subsidence (0.5–0.8 mm/yr) and extension (1.0–1.2 mm/yr) rates in the pull-apart basin region. With these parameters, we construct a DVFZ evolution model for the last 6 Myr that recreates the motion of the fault blocks involved in the formation of the present-day geological structures in Death Valley. Finally, using Coulomb stress accumulation rates derived from our model (0.25–0.49 MPa/100 yr), combined with earthquake recurrence interval estimates of 500 to 2600 years, we assess present-day seismic hazards with calculated moment magnitudes ranging from 6.7–7.7.
Studies of the immediately vascularized skin allograft.

In order to evaluate the effect of the nature of revascularization on survival rates of skin allografts, a rat model was devised which provided simultaneous and immediate establishment of arterial and venous blood supply to a composite skin–renal allograft. For 5 days after transplantation the skin portion of the composite grafts appeared normal, with minimal inflammation in 11 recipients. From 6 to 11 days, in 6 rats, active rejection developed with a marked inflammatory reaction of the skin–kidney interface. In 10 rats in which the composite grafts remained in the secondary hosts for 12–21 days rejection of the skin was complete. The renal portion of all composite grafts appeared normal in all three panels and all recipients of composite grafts rejected subsequent orthotopic skin grafts in an accelerated manner, with median survival times of 8·2 ± 0·3 days compared with median 11·5 ± 0·7 days in untreated Fischer Lewis controls. These results demonstrate that the skin on the composite graft retained its immunogenicity, that immediately vascularized skin allografts between AgB compatible rats will be rejected in a normal time and that anatomical factors are not sufficient to account for the difference in survival times between skin and solid organs.
Correction: Identification of tris-(phenylalkyl)amines as new selective h5-HT2B receptor antagonists

Correction for ‘Identification of tris-(phenylalkyl)amines as new selective h5-HT2B receptor antagonists’ by Shashikanth Ponnala et al., Med. Chem. Commun., 2015, DOI: 10.1039/c4md00418c.
Collis gastroplasty: Origin and evolution

In 1957 J. Leigh Collis published his innovative operation for treating the difficult problem of the irreducible hiatal hernia, esophagitis, and stricture. The design of the operation was based on the relatively primitive understanding of hiatal hernia and the newly emerging concept of reflux esophagitis. A variety of antireflux operations by different surgeons emerged over the years to follow. The original Collis gastroplasty has been subsequently modified with the addition of both partial and complete fundoplication procedures. The place of the modified Collis gastroplasty-fundoplication operations in today's approach to the problems of hiatal hernia and gastroesophageal reflux disease remains unsettled.
Effect of visual stimulation on the evoked response recorded at the vertex.

Abstract Previous research on the visual evoked brain response (VEBR) recorded from the occipital scalp indicates that this response shows a high degree of stimulus control. An evoked brain response can also be elicited simultaneously from the vertex scalp region as a result of visual stimulation. The present study investigated the possibility that this visual evoked vertex response is affected to the same degree by several different aspects of visual stimuli as is the corresponding occipital response. The VEBR was recorded from the vertex of 3 human subjects as a function of changes in stimulus size and intensity. The results showed that the amplitude of the first major positive component of the VEBR was not reliably related to the stimulus parameters. It was concluded that the VEBR recorded at the vertex probably has its source in a distinct cortical generator which is not specifically related to the parameters of visual stimulation.
Requirements for plasma synthesis of nanocrystals at atmospheric pressures

While well-defined high quality semiconductor nanocrystals have been synthesized successfully in low pressure nonthermal plasmas, moving the field of plasma nanoparticle synthesis to atmospheric pressures is important for lowering its cost and making the process attractive for some industrial applications. Here we present a heating and charging model for silicon nanoparticles during their synthesis in plasmas maintained over a wide range of pressures (10 − 105 Pa). We consider three collisionality regimes and determine the dominant contribution of each regime to heating and charging of nanoparticles under various plasma conditions. For plasmas maintained at atmospheric pressures we find that the ion current is mainly due to the collisional hydrodynamic contribution. Based on the model, we predict that the formation of nanocrystals at atmospheric pressure requires significantly higher plasma densities than those at low pressures. Strong nanoparticle cooling at atmospheric pressures necessitates high ion densities to reach temperatures required for crystallization of nanoparticles. Using experimentally determined plasma properties from the literature we estimate the nanoparticle temperature that can be achieved during synthesis at atmospheric pressures and predict that temperatures well above those required for crystallization can be achieved. Based on these results we suggest design principles for nanocrystal synthesis at atmospheric pressures.
Philosophy Against Empire: An Ancient Egyptian Renaissance

What should be the politics of Afrocentricity? How should Afrocentrists fight globalization's empire, the continuation of slavery by other means? This article grounds political resistance to empire in an ancient Egyptian philosophy of holism. The article's theme is that four powerful movements are converging on a new philosophy. Paradoxically, this “new” philosophy is prefigured in the oldest recorded philosophy, that of ancient Egypt. The four converging philosophies are Afrocentricity, ecofeminism, deep ecology or radical environmentalism, and Marxism. These movements are contemporary expressions of resistance to centuries if not millennia of violent oppression. The article's aim is to create a synergy among these movements to build a coalition that can challenge empire. The article briefly examines the historical career of holism in the area of ontology before considering expressions of holism in the areas of ethics and politics.
Sequences Necessary for Nitrate-Dependent Transcription of Arabidopsis Nitrate Reductase Genes

Nitrate increases the transcription of the two Arabidopsis thaliana nitrate reductase genes. We demonstrated previously that 238 and 330 bp of the 5[prime] flanking regions, designated as NP1 and NP2, of the two nitrate reductase genes NR1 and NR2, respectively, are sufficient for nitrate-dependent transcription (Y. Lin, C.-F. Hwang, J.B. Brown, C.-L. Cheng [1994] Plant Physiol 106: 477–484). Here we identify the cis-acting elements of NP1 and NP2 that are necessary for nitrate-dependent transcription by linker-scanning (LS) analysis. In transgenic plants one LS mutant of NP1 and two LS mutants of NP2 exhibited significantly lower nitrate-induced reporter gene chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity. To distinguish which of these three mutants lost nitrate inducibility, competitive reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was used to measure the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase mRNA levels before and after nitrate induction. The single LS mutant in NP1 lost its response to nitrate, whereas the two LS mutants in NP2 partially lost their response to nitrate. A 12-bp sequence is conserved between the NP1 site and the two NP2 sites. This sequence motif is also conserved in the 5[prime] flanking regions of other nitrate-inducible plant genes. Gel mobility shift experiments indicate that these three regions bind to similar proteins. The binding is constitutive with respect to nitrate treatment and was observed in both nonphotosynthetic suspension cells and green leaves.
Factors affecting ribosome isolation from adult crickets, Acheta domesticus.

Abstract Conventional procedures for ribosome isolation were ineffective when applied to Acheta domesticus. Preparation of ribosomes from this material depended upon (1) the elimination of eggs from the females, and (2) the presence of detergent, a moderately high KCl concentration, and 2-mercaptoethanol in the homogenizing medium. Ribosomes prepared in this manner had an RNA content of 36·36 per cent, with absorption maxima and minima at 258 and 235 mμ, respectively. Gradient centrifugation analysis demonstrated the presence of polyribosomes. Neither purity nor polyribosome content could be increased by centrifugation of the particles through sucrose layers. In the presence of rat liver pH 5 enzymes and transfer factors cricket ribosomes were active in protein synthesis. They showed considerably lower activity with cricket pH 5 enzymes, while an Acheta 105,000 g supernatant fraction was totally inhibitory.
Left ventricular rupture with resulting cardiac tamponade due to blast force trauma from gunshot wound.

Abstract Background: Acute cardiac tamponade can rapidly become a surgical emergency requiring prompt diagnosis and intervention. Common etiologies of acute cardiac tamponade include blunt or penetrating trauma, surgical complications, sequelae from myocardial infarction and effusion. Objectives: This case report illustrates an instance where penetrating trauma mimics non-penetrating blunt force trauma. Case Report: The following is a report of a woman who died from cardiac tamponade secondary to a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. This case is unique because the pericardium was not perforated; the left ventricle sustained numerous lacerations from the blast forces upon discharge of the weapon, resulting in a hemopericardium. Conclusion: This article defines cardiac tamponade, presents the case, and discusses shotgun ballistics, wounding mechanisms, and blunt force trauma.
Verification of the chemical convention

A chemical convention banning the production of chemical warfare agents is needed to control the activities of the chemical industry. But compliance must be in the industry's own interest.
Validity of Administrative Coding in Identifying Patients With Upper Urinary Tract Calculi

Purpose: Administrative databases are increasingly used for epidemiological investigations. We performed a study to assess the validity of ICD-9 codes for upper urinary tract stone disease in an administrative database.Materials and Methods: We retrieved the records of all inpatients and outpatients at Johns Hopkins Hospital between November 2007 and October 2008 with an ICD-9 code of 592, 592.0, 592.1 or 592.9 as one of the first 3 diagnosis codes. A random number generator selected 100 encounters for further review. We considered a patient to have a true diagnosis of an upper tract stone if the medical records specifically referenced a kidney stone event, or included current or past treatment for a kidney stone. Descriptive and comparative analyses were performed.Results: A total of 8,245 encounters coded as upper tract calculus were identified and 100 were randomly selected for review. Two patients could not be identified within the electronic medical record and were excluded from the study. The positi...
Solid-Phase Formation of Interstellar Vinyl Alcohol

Motivated by the recent discovery of gas-phase interstellar vinyl alcohol, CH2=CH(OH), we present laboratory experiments on this molecule's solid-phase formation. Through a combination of reaction chemistry, infrared spectroscopy, isotopic substitution, thermal annealings, and independent syntheses, we have identified vinyl alcohol in proton-irradiated H2O + C2H2 ices and have measured its column density at ~15 K. UV photolysis of H2O + C2H2 ices at ~15 K also produces vinyl alcohol. It is suggested that vinyl alcohol is formed in interstellar ices and then ejected into the gas phase, where it might undergo additional reactions.
GNL3L inhibits activity of estrogen-related receptor γ by competing for coactivator binding

Guanine nucleotide binding protein-like 3 (GNL3L) is the closest homologue of a stem cell-enriched factor nucleostemin in vertebrates. They share the same yeast orthologue, Grn1p, but only GNL3L can rescue the growth-deficient phenotype in Grn1-null yeasts. To determine the unique function of GNL3L, we identified estrogen-related receptor γ (ERRγ) as a GNL3L-specific binding protein. GNL3L and ERRγ are coexpressed in the eye, kidney and muscle, and co-reside in the nucleoplasm. The interaction between GNL3L and ERRγ requires the intermediate domain of GNL3L and the AF2-domain of ERRγ. Gain-of- and loss-of-function experiments show that GNL3L can inhibit the transcriptional activities of ERR genes in a cell-based reporter system, which does not require the nucleolar localization of GNL3L. We further demonstrate that GNL3L is able to reduce the steroid receptor coactivator (SRC) binding and the SRC-mediated transcriptional coactivation of ERRγ. This work reveals a novel mechanism that negatively regulates the transcriptional function of ERRγ by GNL3L through coactivator competition.
Magnetic Amplifier-Based Power-Flow Controller

The concept of the magnetic amplifier, a common electromagnetic device in electronic applications in the past, has seldom been used in power systems. The magnetic amplifier-based power-flow controller (MAPFC), an innovative low-cost device that adopts the idea of the magnetic amplifier for power-flow control applications, is introduced in this paper. The uniqueness of MAPFC is in the use of the magnetization of the ferromagnetic core, shared by an ac and a dc winding, as the medium to control the ac winding reactance inserted in series with the transmission line to be controlled. Large power flow in the line can be regulated by the small dc input to the dc winding. A project on the R&D of an MAPFC has been funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and conducted by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and Waukesha Electric Systems, Inc. since early 2012. Findings from the project are presented along with some results obtained in a laboratory environment.
Rail-to-Rail Input Pipelined ADC Incorporating Multistage Signal Mapping

In this brief, a design technique for high-speed pipelined analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) that enables processing rail-to-rail input swing without the use of dual set of reference voltages is proposed. The scheme not only operates on a single set of power supplies but also helps in power reduction in the ADC using a new multistage signal mapping technique aided by asynchronous sub-ADC quantization. To further reduce both power and area, an asynchronous successive approximation register ADC backend is used. To demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed techniques, a 1.2-V 10-bit 125-MS/s ADC is designed in a 90-nm CMOS process, and simulation results are presented.
Temporal Trends in the Prevalence of Diabetic Kidney Disease in the United States

Context Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney disease in the developed world. Over time, the prevalence of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) may increase due to the expanding size of the diabetes population or decrease due to the implementation of diabetes therapies. Objective To define temporal changes in DKD prevalence in the United States. Design, Setting, and Participants Cross-sectional analyses of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) from 1988-1994 (N = 15 073), NHANES 1999-2004 (N = 13 045), and NHANES 2005-2008 (N = 9588). Participants with diabetes were defined by levels of hemoglobin A 1c of 6.5% or greater, use of glucose-lowering medications, or both (n = 1431 in NHANES III; n = 1443 in NHANES 1999-2004; n = 1280 in NHANES 2005-2008). Main Outcome Measures Diabetic kidney disease was defined as diabetes with albuminuria (ratio of urine albumin to creatinine ≥30 mg/g), impaired glomerular filtration rate ( 2 estimated using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration formula), or both. Prevalence of albuminuria was adjusted to estimate persistent albuminuria. Results The prevalence of DKD in the US population was 2.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.8%-2.6%) in NHANES III, 2.8% (95% CI, 2.4%-3.1%) in NHANES 1999-2004, and 3.3% (95% CI, 2.8%-3.7%) in NHANES 2005-2008 (P <.001 for trend). The prevalence of DKD increased in direct proportion to the prevalence of diabetes, without a change in the prevalence of DKD among those with diabetes. Among persons with diabetes, use of glucose-lowering medications increased from 56.2% (95% CI, 52.1%-60.4%) in NHANES III to 74.2% (95% CI, 70.4%-78.0%) in NHANES 2005-2008 (P <.001); use of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors increased from 11.2% (95% CI, 9.0%-13.4%) to 40.6% (95% CI, 37.2%-43.9%), respectively (P <.001); the prevalence of impaired glomerular filtration rate increased from 14.9% (95% CI, 12.1%-17.8%) to 17.7% (95% CI, 15.2%-20.2%), respectively (P = .03); and the prevalence of albuminuria decreased from 27.3% (95% CI, 22.0%-32.7%) to 23.7% (95% CI, 19.3%-28.0%), respectively, but this was not statistically significant (P = .07). Conclusions Prevalence of DKD in the United States increased from 1988 to 2008 in proportion to the prevalence of diabetes. Among persons with diabetes, prevalence of DKD was stable despite increased use of glucose-lowering medications and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors.
Effect of Working Gases on Thermal Plasma Waste Treatment

An electric arc melter used for waste treatment processing is numerically studied. The effects of different plasma working gases are studied by using a laboratory scale test reactor. A two-dimensional finite difference approximation is used to solve the set of governing equations. The Navier-Stokes equations coupled with the combined Maxwell's equation for the electromagnetic fields is used to obtain the temperature and flow fields in the are melter. It is found that the energy efficiency of the air plasma is lower than that of an argon plasma. However, the melted soil volumes are larger using the air plasma than those using the argon plasma. The overall energy efficiency increases cis the gap between the cathode and the soil surface decreases. More uniform gas temperatures are found for the air plasma than that for the argon plasma. Result obtained from the laboratory-scale are melter is used as an input of the energy absorbed into the soil for the USBM arc melter simulation. Results show a maximum temperature of 2195 K at the center of the heat generation and a molten soil exit temperature of 1600 K.
KINETICS OF THE REACTION BETWEEN ETHYLPEROXY RADICALS AND NITRIC OXIDE

The kinetics of the C2H5O2 + NO → C2H5O + NO2 reaction is examined by two real-time techniques. NO consumption and NO2 formation are measured using transient diode laser absorption, whereas ethylperoxy loss and ethylnitrite formation are monitored by time-resolved UV spectroscopy. Simultaneous fits of the NO and NO2 concentration versus time profiles yield rate constants consistent with the results of the C2H5O2 and C2H5ONO measurements. The combined data yield a rate constant of k5 = (3. ) × 10-12e(330±110)/T cm3 s-1 over the 220−355 K temperature range. The small negative temperature dependence is consistent with the accepted mechanism of the reaction proceeding through a C2H5O2NO adduct.
The P-tree algebra

The Peano Count Tree (P-tree) is a quadrant-based lossless tree representation of the original spatial data. The idea of P-tree is to recursively divide the entire spatial data, such as Remotely Sensed Imagery data, into quadrants and record the count of 1-bits for each quadrant, thus forming a quadrant count tree. Using P-tree structure, all the count information can be calculated quickly. This facilitates efficient ways for data mining. In this paper, we will focus on the algebra and properties of P-tree structure and its variations. We have implemented fast algorithms for P-tree generation and P-tree operations. Our performance analysis shows P-tree has small space and time costs compared to the original data. We have also implemented some data mining algorithms using P-trees, such as Association Rule Mining, Decision Tree Classification and K-Clustering.
The effect of canyon aspect ratio on flushing of dense pollutants from an isolated street canyon

Abstract This study presents an experimental investigation of the effect of canyon aspect ratio on the dense pollutant removal from a street canyon by a turbulent overflow. Four series of experiments for different aspect ratios (η = 0.45, 0.75, 1, 2) were conducted for a range of Richardson numbers. The qualitative and quantitative results are discussed and compared. Increasing the Richardson number and decreasing the canyon aspect ratio resulted in an increasingly strong stratification within the canyon and longer trapping times for the pollutant. The aspect ratio strongly affects the initial flushing mechanics and subsequent flow regime within the canyon. Narrower street canyons limit the width of large-scale vortices in the canyon and hence reduce vertical mixing. Based on the initial Richardson number, for all geometric configurations, three different flow regimes were observed in the canyon. The Richardson number at which there is a transition between these regimes is a function of the canyon geometry.
Hepatocyte Liver-Assist Systems—a Clinical Update

Liver failure is a serious problem that affects thousands of people in the United States each year. Other than liver transplantation, a supportive therapy has been unavailable for patients with liver failure that is refractory to medical treatment. An apparent solution to this problem is a hepatocyte liver-assist system. Such a system is composed of mammalian hepatocytes loaded in a mechanical apparatus, such as a hollow fiber cartridge. During extracorporeal perfusion of the system, the hepatocytes provide metabolic function to the patient with liver failure. At least two extracorporeal hepatocyte systems have shown promise in human clinical trials of acute liver failure. In fact, one system has gained approval from the Food and Drug Administration for testing in a randomized multicenter clinical trial. In this article, key issues of clinical testing are reviewed, and major contributions and questions that remain unresolved are emphasized.
Chronic Diseases in HIV Survivors

Sub-Saharan Africa is home to more than two thirds of the world’s HIV-infected population. Even after the advent of combination antiretroviral therapy in 1996, HIV infection in Sub-Saharan Africa was a death sentence for all but the wealthy. Yet, thanks to unprecedented global investments since
Macromers by carbocationic polymerization

The validity of the copolymer composition equation for the copolymerization of macromers with small monomers for the preparation of graft copolymers has been examined. The reactivity ratios of high molecular weight macromers r1 cannot be determined experimentally with sufficient accuracy whereas those of small monomers r2 may be calculated by r2=ln(1-p2)/ ln(1-p1), where p1 and p2 are the respective conversions of the macromer and small monomer. A single experimental datum obtained even at high conversions may be used. The error of the method can be readily calculated.
Global dynamical properties of Euler and backward Euler

We investigate the global dynamics of both the Euler and backward Euler algorithms as applied to polynomial vector fields on the Riemann sphere = ℂ ∪ {∞}. The geometry and dynamics of solutions at infinity is seen to play an important role in organizing the global dynamics of the flow, and we show how to modify both algorithms to account for this structure, thereby obtaining global approximations to the flow.
The Effect of Injections of Estrin on the Incidence of Mammary Cancer in Various Strains of Mice

There are two ways in which the significance of hormones may be demonstrated, namely, by studying the effects of diminishing or of increasing quantities of active hormone below or above the normal hormone level. Loeb and his associates, by ovariectomizing mice at different periods of life, used the first of these methods to test the relationship between the action of ovarian hormones and mammary cancer (1–4). These experiments led to the conclusion that the frequency of cancer and the age at which it appears in a given family or strain are directly proportional to the quantity of hormone, or hormones, which have had a chance to act on the mammary gland. These observations were confirmed and extended by Cori (5). An hereditary factor, also, was found by Loeb to interact with ovarian hormones in producing mammary cancer. This combined action of internal secretion and hereditary factors we have discussed in a series of previous papers (1–4). Furthermore, it was established in these early experiments that, after a certain quantity of the hormone had acted, the cancerous transformation would occur subsequently, even though the action of the hormone had ceased some time before the first appearance of cancer (2). It seemed, therefore, very probable that the manifestation of cancer was preceded by a preparatory period, during which changes took place in the mammary gland tissue which might not be visible, but which caused the reactions of the tissues from then on to be such that ordinary functional and metabolic activities were able to bring about cancerous transformation. It was shown, also, that the incidence of cancer is greater in breeding than in non-breeding mice (6), although the degree of this difference is more marked in some strains than in others. In every strain, however, removal of the action of the ovarian hormones early in life had a greater effect, and usually a much greater effect, on the reduction of the cancer rate than the prevention of breeding. Furthermore the tumors appeared later in life in non-breeding and castrated mice than in breeding mice. But this difference in tumor age was not actually as great as it appeared, inasmuch as it was found that prevention of breeding, as well as ovariectomy, tended to prolong the life of mice quite noticeably. Because these mice lived longer their chances of becoming affected by cancer in a higher age group was therefore greater. Since non-breeding and ovariectomized mice lived to about the same age, it seemed probable that castration affected the duration of life indirectly by the prevention of breeding.
Malpractice Claims During 1988–1992: A National Survey of Dentists

Trends in professional liability are examined in this national survey of general dentists. Between 1988 and 1992, almost a quarter of surveyed dentists reported at least one patient complaint to malpractice insurance carriers. The incidence of claims more than doubled in that time and payment size increased nearly five times between 1988 and 1991. These and other trends in professional liability are examined in this national survey of general dentists.
Virginia Career Readiness Certificate

This article describes how Virginia responded to employer needs and created a blue print for the establishment of a demand driven workforce-credentialing system. This system serves the needs of job seekers and the competency-certification needs of hiring authorities. This is a true quality of life and economic development movement.
Synthetic Discriminant Function-Based Nonlinear Optical Correlator

We describe a binary joint transform correlator (JTC) that uses a synthetic discriminant function (SDF) at the input plane to store the reference images. The SDF is displayed at the input plane side by side the input scene. The input scene, the SDF, and their joint power spectrum are thresholded to only two values. Thus, binary spatial light modulators (SLMs) can be used to implement the correlator. The correlation performance of the SDF-based binary JTC is compared to that of the classical SDF-based correlator in the areas of correlation peak intensity, peak to sidelobe ratio, signal-to-noise ratio, and correlation width. We show that the SDF-based binary JTC outperforms the classical correlator in all these areas. Furthermore, a single binary SLM can be used to read in sequentially the binarized input signals and the binarized joint power spectrum which results in a significant reduction in cost, size, and complexity of the system.