cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Do gynecologic oncology patients with severely diminished renal function and urinary tract obstruction benefit from ureteral stenting or percutaneous nephrostomy

Abstract Objective To assess the renal outcomes of gynecologic oncology patients who present with hydronephrosis and acute kidney injury (AKI), have Methods This is a single-institution case series of gynecologic oncology patients who underwent diuretic renal scintigraphy from January 1, 2007, to June 1, 2017. Univariate and multivariate logistic analyses were used to assess predictors of Results Among 353 gynecologic oncology patients who underwent diuretic renal scintigraphy, 58 (16%) had renal function Conclusions Gynecologic oncology patients with
Revisional Procedures for Recurrent Symptoms After Heller Myotomy and Per-Oral Endoscopic Myotomy.

Background: Achalasia and other esophageal motility disorders are incurable diseases for which palliation and symptom relief are the goals. One of the many ways these diseases are treated is with either a Heller myotomy or, now more commonly, per-oral endoscopic myotomy (POEM). Unfortunately, symptoms persistence or recurrence is common. This review presents our current approach to these complex patients. Methods: Review of the literature pertaining to approaches to recurrent or persistent symptoms after myotomy for esophageal motility disorders and elucidation of our multidisciplinary approach to this patient group. Results: There are a myriad of causes of recurrent or persistent symptoms. These include incomplete myotomy, periesophageal scarring, reflux-induced stricture, obstructing fundoplication, functional dysphagia, and end-stage achalasia. Therapeutic options include redo myotomy (either Heller or POEM), botulinum toxin injection, pneumatic, balloon or Savary dilation, adhesiolysis, and fundoplication reversal or esophagectomy. Choice of approach is best done through multidisciplinary consensus. Conclusions: A multidisciplinary approach to patients with persistent and recurrent symptoms after myotomy can best tailor the therapeutic approach based on symptom causation.
Bird Dispersal as a Pre-Adaptation for Domestication in Legumes: Insights for Neo-Domestication.

The first chapter of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species famously used examples of human selection of domesticated plants and animals to lay the groundwork for the Theory of Evolution (Darwin 1859). Since at least the works of Darwin (1868), domestication of plants and animals have been used as major examples of strong selection radically altering the morphology, architecture, and behavior of organisms on which our contemporary society relies for food, fiber and fuel. Consequently, it is not surprising that crop domestication remains a vibrant area of research. Despite this ongoing interest in the field of domestication, we greatly lack ecological and natural history studies of crop wild relatives in their wild settings.
Non-Behavioral and Non-Medical Psychosocial Interventions in Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities

To review non-behavioral and non-medical psychosocial therapies for individuals with intellectual disabilities to identify if any such approaches are effective. There are more randomized controlled trials (RCTs), systematic reviews, and meta-analyses than in the past; however, most RCTs are of poor quality. Most research treatments such as cognitive behavior therapy and diagnoses such as depression and anger. There is limited research on other forms of psychotherapy and other diagnoses. Future research needs to include high quality RCTs of psychosocial treatments for common, socially significant problems.
Going beyond the Waffle House index: Using food systems as an indicator of community health and sustainability

FEMA has long used the ‘Waffle House’ index as an indicator of short-term disaster recovery; if Waffle Houses can offer their full menu, then it can be assumed that critical infrastructure is at least somewhat functional. The definition of resilience has evolved from merely coping with and bouncing back from disasters to bouncing forward despite these disasters. Thus, the disaster recovery measures must reflect this notion of resilience. Since food systems require multiple critical infrastructures be functional, they are an ideal indicator of broader community recovery from disasters. This paper demonstrates how food system infrastructure can be used as an indicator of long-term disaster recovery in communities and offers a framework of additional indicators to assess disaster resilience and sustainable development to determine when the community is ‘bouncing forward’ toward food consumption normalcy.
Extended Post EVLP Cold Preservation Increases Risk of Primary Graft Dysfunction and Mortality

Purpose EVLP allows for reassessment of lung grafts initially deemed unsuitable for transplantation, increasing the available donor pool. Standard cold preservation is followed by normothermic EVLP, then lungs undergo a second cold preservation prior to implantation. Paucity of data exist on how the sequence of cold-normothermic-cold preservations affect outcomes. We investigated the effects of preservation times in transplanted EVLP lungs. Methods Data from the NOVEL trial (110pts) was retrospectively analyzed. Duration of the 3 preservation phases was measured: cold pre EVLP; EVLP; cold post EVLP. Donor and recipient clinical data were collected. Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) and survival were monitored. Risk of mortality or PGD were calculated using Cox-proportional hazards and logistic regression models to adjust for baseline characteristics. Results Using the highest quartile, pts were stratified in extended (>287 min, n=27) and non-extended ( Conclusion Extended cold post EVLP preservation (5 hrs or more) associated with risk for PGD and 1-year mortality. These findings from a multicenter trial should caution on the implementation of extended cold preservation post EVLP.
Construction of the Operating Limits Diagram for a Ship-Based Helicopter Using the Design of Experiments with Computational Intelligence Techniques

Compared with land-based helicopters, ship-based helicopters are required to land in a more challenging working environment as the airwakes generated by the wind field flowing through the superstructure of the ship changes the wind field structure. This complicates the wind field structure and affects the safety of flight control. The flight safety of the helicopter pilot can be significantly improved with prior understanding of the relevant information in the ship-based helicopter operating limits (SHOL) diagram. In previous studies, the SHOL diagram of ship-based helicopters has been obtained using numerical simulations in conjunction with a flight simulator. However, the flight simulator equipment is expensive and difficult to maintain. This study references the aforementioned studies by initially employing a numerical simulation method to obtain the flow field information of the interaction between the airwakes of the ship’s superstructure and the downwash flow of the helicopter. Then, the flight simulator is replaced by computational intelligence methods involving artificial intelligence. This significantly reduces the research cost for envelope construction. This study integrates design of experiments (DOE) and computational intelligence techniques (soft computing) to establish a recommended range for the SHOL diagram of ship-based helicopters. This study utilizes the DOE and computational intelligence techniques to construct the SHOL diagram of ship-based helicopters, provide suggestions, and serve as a reference for helicopter pilots and engineering designers to improve the safety during flight.
Ultraefficient thermoacoustic conversion through a split ring resonator

Microwaves, which have a ∼10-cm wavelength, can penetrate deeper into tissue than photons, heralding exciting deep tissue applications such as modulation or imaging via the thermoacoustic effect. Thermoacoustic conversion efficiency is however very low, even with an exogenous contrast agent. We break this low-conversion limit, using a split ring resonator to effectively collect and confine the microwaves into a submillimeter hot spot for ultrasound emission and achieve a conversion efficiency over 2000 times higher than other reported thermoacoustic contrast agents. Importantly, the frequency of emitted ultrasound can be precisely tuned and multiplexed by modulation of the microwave pulses. Such performance is inaccessible by a piezoelectric-based transducer or a photoacoustic emitter and, therefore, split ring resonators open up new opportunities to study the frequency response of cells in ultrasonic biomodulation. For applications in deep tissue localization, a split ring resonator can be used as a wireless, battery-free ultrasound beacon placed under a breast phantom.
An RCT of Fecal Immunochemical Test Colorectal Cancer Screening in Veterans Without Recent Primary Care

Introduction The use of screening can prevent death from colorectal cancer, yet people without regular healthcare visits may not realize the benefits of this preventive intervention. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a mailed screening invitation or mailed fecal immunochemical test in increasing colorectal cancer screening uptake in veterans without recent primary care encounters. Study design Three-arm pragmatic randomized trial. Setting/participants Participants were screening-eligible veterans aged 50–75 years, without a recent primary care visit who accessed medical services at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veteran Affairs Medical Center between January 1, 2017, and July 31, 2017. All data were analyzed from March 1, 2018, to July 31, 2018. Intervention Participants were randomized to (1) usual opportunistic screening during a healthcare visit (n=260), (2) mailed invitation to screen and reminder phone calls (n=261), or (3) mailed fecal immunochemical test outreach plus reminder calls (n=61). Main outcome measures The main outcome under investigation was the completion of colorectal cancer screening within 6 months after randomization. Results Of 782 participants in the trial, 53.9% were aged 60–75 years and 59.7% were African American. The screening rate was higher in the mailed fecal immunochemical test group (26.1%) compared with usual care (5.8%) (rate difference=20.3%, 95% CI=14.3%, 26.3%; RR=4.52, 95% CI=2.7, 7.7) or screening invitation (7.7%) (rate difference=18.4%, 95% CI=12.2%, 24.6%; RR=3.4, 95% CI=2.1, 5.4). Screening completion rates were similar between invitation and usual care (rate difference=1.9%, 95% CI= −2.4%, 6.2%; RR=1.3, 95% CI=0.7, 2.5). Conclusions Mailed fecal immunochemical test screening promotes colorectal cancer screening participation among veterans without a recent primary care encounter. Despite the addition of reminder calls, an invitation letter was no more effective in screening participation than screening during outpatient appointments. Trial registration This study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov NCT02584998.
Sustained Remission of Lupus Panniculitis Treated With Hydroxychloroquine in a Patient With Crohn's Disease: A Case Report.

Extraintestinal manifestations (EIM) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are common including cutaneous manifestations that either precede or follow manifestations of IBD. Cutaneous manifestations of IBD include erythema nodosum, pyoderma gangrenosum, oral lesions, and Sweet's syndrome. Cutaneous manifestations of IBD tend to recur and extensive cases may require maintenance management with immunomodulators or biologics. However, the complications and adverse effects of long-term therapy with immunosuppressive agents are numerous and need to be considered before their initiation. We report a case of a Crohn's disease patient with recurrent and debilitating cutaneous manifestation of lupus panniculitis that had sustained remission with hydroxychloroquine.
Adjectives in Heritage Spanish

Ordering of predicative adjectives within the Noun Phrase varies cross linguistically in systematic ways (Cinque 2010). In Spanish adjectival ordering exhibits more flexibility than in English. To test the extent to which the stricter word order in English affects Spanish adjectival ordering, 35 heritage bilingual Spanish speakers living in an English dominant environment were asked to judge adjectival word orders and interpret adjective elisions. Results indicate acceptance of adjectival ordering involving roll up movement (Cinque 2010), not possible in English. They also show the ability to interpret elisions in contexts involving the same type of movement. These results provide evidence for the availability of flexible ordering in Spanish even among Spanish-English bilinguals.
Periodic Flow Purging System for Harvesting Fibers from Screens

ABSTRACT Fiber length is believed to be an important factor in determining various toxicological responses to asbestos and other bio-persistent fibers. Length classification of fibers thus is crucial for toxicological assessment. Nylon mesh screens have been shown to be effective in separating fibers by length. In this note, we report development of a purging flow system for harvesting fibers from a nylon net screen, with the aim of separating airborne fibers by length. We evaluated the performance of this purging flow system by examining the lengths of glass fibers collected on a screen. Fibers aerosolized by vortex shaking were provided to 10 µm and 20 µm mesh screens, and the fibers collected on each screen were purged periodically with a backflow. The length of the purged fibers was measured and compared to that of fibers washed from the screen. The mean length of fibers on the screen is larger than that of the fibers in the original test aerosol. The mean length of the backflow purged fibers is smaller than that of the fibers from the washed screen. The results indicate that the purging flow system with screens can harvest the longer fibers from the original aerosol.
Methylotroph Natural Product Identification by Inverse Stable Isotopic Labeling

Natural products are an essential source of bioactive compounds. Isotopic labeling is an effective way to identify natural products that incorporate a specific precursor; however, this approach is limited by the availability of isotopically-enriched precursors. We used an inverse stable isotopic labeling approach to identify natural products by growing bacteria on a 13C-carbon source and then identifying 12C-precursor incorporation by mass spectrometry. We applied this approach to methylotrophs, ecologically important bacteria predicted to have significant yet underexplored biosynthetic potential. We demonstrate this method identifies N-acyl homoserine lactone quorum sensing signals produced by diverse methylotrophs grown on three one-carbon compounds. We then apply this approach to simultaneously identify five uncharacterized signals produced by a methylotroph, and link these compounds to their synthases. We envision that this method can identify other classes of natural products synthesized by methylotrophs and other organisms that grow on inexpensive and readily available 13C-carbon sources.
The Managerial and Entrepreneurial Rich Take a Huge Percentage of the Wealth to Themselves

The high-technology revolution spawns a class of global billionaires. These billionaires—worldwide—avoid paying their fair share of taxes—they override attempts to establish a truly progressive income tax. They collude with the world’s banks to establish hidden bank accounts in Switzerland, Monaco, Cyprus, the Cayman Islands, Panama, and other countries. The withdrawing of taxes creates economic distress and political extremism in the advanced capitalist nations. This veiled oligarchy overrides democracy in terms of over influence of the Democratic legislatures.
Integrated Tick Management in South Central Wisconsin: Impact of Invasive Vegetation Removal and Host-Targeted Acaricides on the Density of Questing Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) Nymphs

As tick-borne disease incidence increases and pathogens expand into new areas, the need for effective tick management strategies is paramount. In this 5-yr study (2014-2018) conducted in south central Wisconsin, we assessed whether an integrated tick management approach, deployed during peak tick activity (May-August), was more effective at reducing black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis Say (Ixodida: Ixodidae)), than individual interventions. Using a factorial design, invasive vegetation removal (Amur honeysuckle, Lonicera maackii Ruprecht (Dipsacales: Caprifoliaceae) and common buckthorn, Rhamnus cathartica Linnaeus (Rosales: Rhamnaceae)) was coupled with deployments of permethrin-treated cotton nesting materials (tick tubes) that target the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus Rafinesque (Rodentia: Cricetidae)). Results show that the probability of encountering a larval tick by drag sampling was unaffected by treatments at the cumulative 5-yr level. However, vegetation removal significantly reduced larval encounters in 2014, 2015, and 2018, by 33%, 57%, and 61% respectively, and reduced the density of questing nymphal (DON) ticks by 45% in 2015 compared to controls. Despite the limited effect on DON, vegetation removal significantly reduced the cumulative 5-yr density of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto infected nymphs (DIN) (70%) compared to controls as a result of decreased nymphal infection prevalence. Sites treated with tick tubes had lower DIN (66%) and DON (54%) across the study and nymphs were reduced every year following the initial year of deployment compared to controls. Combining treatments did not further reduce DIN or DONs. We conclude that long-term integration of tick tubes with invasive vegetation removal does not provide additional benefit over individual treatments alone.
Diagnosis of anaplastic lymphoma kinase-negative anaplastic large cell lymphoma on pleural fluid cytology

ALK-negative anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) is an aggressive non-Hodgkin T-cell lymphoma. Compared to ALK-positive ALCL, patients with ALK-negative ALCL typically are older, present with nodal disease, and have lower survival rates. We report a unique presentation of ALK-negative ALCL in a pleural fluid. Cell block preparation enabled both confirmation of the diagnosis via immunohistochemical staining and gene rearrangement testing for prognostic information.
Two-color, intracavity pump–probe, cavity ringdown spectroscopy

We report a proof-of-principle demonstration of intracavity pump–probe, cavity ringdown (CRD) detection in a three-mirror, traveling-wave cavity. With cavity-enhanced pump power and probe absorption path length, the technique is a generally applicable, high-sensitivity, high-selectivity detection method. In our experiments, the pump radiation is switched off during every other probe ringdown, which allows uncorrelated measurements of analyte and background cavity decay rates. The net, two-color signal from the difference between the pump-on and pump-off decay rates is immune to empty-CRD drifts and spectral overlaps from non-target molecular transitions. The immunity to the ringdown drifts allows longer signal-averaging and, thus, higher detection sensitivity. The ability to compensate for the background absorption enhances the detection selectivity in spectrally congested regions. Our technique is well-suited for trace-detection in the mid-IR region, where pump–probe schemes based on strong rovibrational transitions can be applied. In this work, two-color CRD detection is implemented on a ladder-type, three-level system based on the N2O, ν3 = 1 ← 0, P(19) (pump) and ν3 = 2 ← 1, R(18) (probe), rovibrational transitions. By frequency-locking two-quantum cascade lasers to the p-polarization (pump, Finesse = 5280) and s-polarization (probe, Finesse = 67 700) cavity modes, we achieve high intracavity pump power (36 W) and high probe ringdown rates (>2 kHz). The observed two-color spectra are simulated by a density-matrix, three-level system model that is solved under the constraints of the cavity resonance conditions. In addition to its background compensation capability, experimental flexibility in the selection of pump–probe schemes and signal insensitivity to intracavity laser power are further features that enhance the utility of our technique for mid-IR trace-detection.
A retrospective cohort study of clinical factors, visit patterns, and demographic factors associated with use of remote communications in patients with headache

Objective To identify the characteristics associated with high utilization of remote communications (RCs) in patients with headache. Background Patients with headache frequently communicate with their providers using secure portal messaging and telephone calls. However, clinical and demographic factors as well as visit patterns associated with RC utilization remain poorly characterized. Methods We retrospectively analyzed data from patients with headache who were evaluated in the ambulatory neurology faculty practice at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York between January 1 and June 30, 2019. We extracted clinical and demographic characteristics, total office visits, secure MyChart portal messages, and telephone encounters from our institutional data warehouse. We defined high RC and MyChart utilization as the top tertile of RC and MyChart message volume, respectively, and assessed the relationship between patient characteristics and high RC (primary outcome), as well as high MyChart utilization (secondary outcome). We characterized the relationship between clinicodemographic characteristics and the ratio of MyChart messages to total RCs (secondary outcome). Results We identified 1390 patients, of whom 477 (34.3%) were high RC utilizers and 321 (23.1%) were high MyChart utilizers. High RC utilizers generated 3306/3921 (84.3%) RCs. The presence of chronic headache (aOR 2.31, 95% CI 1.75-3.03, p Conclusions A minority of patients with headache (477/1390; 34.3%) generated the majority (3306/3921; 84.3%) of RCs. Our findings should be validated in external patient cohorts with the objective of developing strategies to optimize RC utilization.
Gender and Sexuality in Modern Chinese History

Gender and sexuality have been neglected topics in the history of Chinese civilization, despite the fact that there is a massive amount of historical evidence on the subject. China's late imperial government was arguably more concerned about gender and sexuality among its subjects than any other pre-modern state. How did these and other late imperial legacies shape twentieth-century notions of gender and sexuality in modern China? Susan Mann answers this by focusing on state policy, ideas about the physical body and notions of sexuality and difference in China's recent history, from medicine to the theater to the gay bars; from law to art and sports. More broadly, the book shows how changes in attitudes toward sex and gender in China during the twentieth century have cast a new light on the process of becoming modern, while simultaneously challenging the universalizing assumptions of Western modernity.
Differential adhesion in model systems

During embryonic development, cells or groups of cells migrate from their locations of origin to assume their correct anatomical positions. Intercellular adhesion plays an active and instructive role in orchestrating this process. Precisely how adhesion provides spatial positioning information is a subject of intense interest. In the 1960s, Steinberg proposed the differential adhesion hypothesis (DAH) to explain how differences in the intensity of cell adhesion could give rise to predictable spatial interactions between different cell types. The DAH is grounded in the same set of physical principles governing the interaction of immiscible fluids and thus provides a rigorous conceptual framework connecting the chemistry of cell adhesion to the physics underlying cell and tissue segregation. Testing the DAH required the development of methods to measure intercellular cohesion and of assays to accurately assess relative spatial position between cells. The DAH has been experimentally verified and computationally simulated. Moreover, evidence concerning the role of differential adhesion in a number of morphodynamic events is accumulating. It is clear that differential adhesion is a major driving force in various aspects of embryonic development, but recent studies have also advanced the concept that other factors, such as cortical tension and elasticity, may also be involved in fine tuning, or even driving the process. It is likely that an interplay between adhesion and these other factors co-operate to generate the forces required for tissue self-organization.
Spinal epidural compression in head and neck cancer: Report of five cases

Patients with newly diagnosed head and neck cancer (HNC) during a 13-year period were retrospectively studied for the development of spinal epidural compression (SEC). Of the 759 patients studied, 5 developed epidural compression (1%), 4 of whom were relatively young. SEC occurred simultaneously with HNC in 2 patients and long after the diagnosis of HNC in 3 individuals. There was no observed tendency to involve a particular segment of the spine. Local control of HNC following definitive treatment along with regained ability to walk after palliative radiotherapy in a patient was associated with long-term survival. Recommendations are made for aggressive treatment of SEC to achieve a satisfactory outcome.
An analysis of gradient-based policy iteration

Recently, a system theoretic framework for learning and optimization has been developed that shows how many approximate dynamic programming paradigms such as perturbation analysis, Markov decision processes, and reinforcement learning are very closely related. Using this system theoretic framework, a new optimization technique called gradient-based policy iteration (GBPI) has been developed. In this paper, we show how GBPI iteration can be extended to partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs). We also develop the value iteration analogue of GBPI and show that this new version of value iteration, extended to POMDPs, not only theoretically acts like value iteration but also does so numerically.
Generalizations of the delta-Corrected Kolmogorov-Smirnov Goodness-of-Fit Test

This paper generalizes the δ-corrected Kolmogorov–Smirnov (K–S) test into a family of tests, and investigates the behaviour of some of the members of the family, comparing them with the usual K–S test, as well as the δ-corrected K–S tests suggested by Harter et al. (1984) and Khamis (1990, 1992, 1993). These investigations and power studies suggest which tests are most powerful for which alternative hypotheses.
Multiscale modeling of fracture in Barium Titanate: fracture toughness estimation and modified G‐Criterion

This study explores fracture physics for Barium Titanate using multiscale modeling and connects the fracture physics to failure criterion, i.e. G-Criterion. The specimen is devided into three regions: (1) far field, modeled by classical fracture mechanics; (2) near field, modeled by Atomistic Field Theory (AFT) and Generalized Atomistic Finite Element Method (GAFEM); and (3) crack tip, modeled by molecular dynamics (MD). The interaction between the near field and crack tip region is described by full blown interatomic forces. The interatomic potential used for deriving interatomic forces is modified Columb-Buckingham potential, which has a remedy term to avoid Buckingham Catastrophe. Mode I, Mode II and several different cases of mixed mode fracture are studied and the corresponding fracture toughnesses are estimated. Fracture toughness is associated with the instability of MD simulation at the crack tip region. A modified G-Criterion model is also developed to provide a design principles from a multiscale perspective. Simulation results agree with the newly proposed modified G-Criterion model.
Problems in the Chemical Diagnosis of Some Hereditary Metabolic Diseases

Some hereditary or acquired, qualitative or quantitative differences in the urinary excretion patterns of certain phenolic acids, α-keto acids, and indolic acids have been reviewed and discussed. The ketoacidurias are summarized in Table 1. As can be seen, there is considerable overlap in the excretion of primary, and presumably secondary metabolites. From these comparisons together with the other disorders discussed throughout this presentation, the following conclusions might be drawn: 1. Phenylketonuria can be readily separated from the other ketoacidurias by the presence of increased amounts of o -hydroxyphenylacetic acid. 2. The increased excretion of α-ketoisocaproic acid and α-ketoisovaleric acid should be definitive for branched-chain ketonuria. 3. Secondary disturbances in tyrosine and tryptophan metabolism, which are associated with many of these disorders, are often expressed in an increased production of the tyrosine metabolite p -hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid and its derivatives (which appear to be characteristic of liver dysfunction in both hereditary and acquired diseases) and in an increased excretion of the tryptophan metabolites of indoleacetic acid, indolelactic acid, and indican, and a decreased excretion of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid. 4. Because of the biochemical or symptomatic similarities between many metabolic disorders, it is sometimes difficult to make an accurate diagnosis unless variations in the excretion patterns for each disease entity are thoroughly understood, so that overlapping factors or variations in one factor will not confuse the diagnosis. 5. The dietary and drug intake of the patient under observation must be assiduously controlled before an abnormal, or abnormally increased, metabolite can be assigned an endogenous metabolic origin. Keeping these facts and precautions in mind should reduce the likelihood of reporting a variant of a known hereditary metabolic disease as a new disorder. Nevertheless, since the study of metabolic diseases is so new, it is important at this stage to report all significant variations of even the well-established diseases.
Social-aware relay selection for cooperative networking: An optimal stopping approach

Cooperative networking is a promising technology to meet the rapidly growing demand of mobile data traffic. To stimulate effective and trustworthy user cooperation, we leverage the knowledge of the social tie structure among mobile users and develop a social trust based cooperative D2D relaying framework, which takes into account both physical distances and social distances among users. Based on (finite-horizon) optimal stopping theory, we derive the optimal social aware relay selection strategy, which strikes a balance between performance gain and relay probing cost. We further show that the optimal stopping policy for social aware relay selection exhibits a stage-dependent threshold structure that has a monotonically non-increasing property. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed mechanism can yield significant throughput gain over the direct transmission scheme.
Reactivities of superoxide and hydroperoxyl radicals with disubstituted cyclic nitrones: a DFT study.

The unique ability of nitrone spin traps to detect and characterize transient free radicals by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy has fueled the development of new spin traps with improved properties. Among a variety of free radicals in chemical and biological systems, superoxide radical anion (O2•–) plays a critical role as a precursor to other more oxidizing species such as hydroxyl radical (HO•), peroxynitrite (ONOO–), and hypochlorous acid (HOCl), and therefore the direct detection of O2•– is important. To overcome the limitations of conventional cyclic nitrones, that is, poor reactivity with O2•–, instability of the O2•– adduct, and poor cellular target specificity, synthesis of disubstituted nitrones has become attractive. Disubstituted nitrones offer advantages over the monosubstituted ones because they allow bifunctionalization of spin traps, therefore accommodating all the desired spin trap properties in one molecular design. However, because of the high number of possible disubst...
Learning organization principles & project management

Technology projects are getting more numerous and more complex for nearly everyone. At the same time, our colleagues are becoming less accepting of older management models. This combination can be a formula for disaster or can be used as a springboard to initiate management changes and simultaneously do better in managing both single projects and entire slates of projects. At the University of Memphis under the leadership of Dr. James I. Penrod who was at that time the CIO, we began a concerted effort to create a cultural transformation of the information technology organization by using Peter Senge's learning organization principles. This article shows how these principles were applied to improving the way our division handled the management of technology projects on behalf of the University.
Postnatal mammary gland morphogenesis.

Mammary glands develop postnatally by branching morphogenesis creating an arborated ductal system on which secretory lobuloalveoli develop at pregnancy. This review focuses on the interrelated questions of how ductal and alveolar morphogenesis and growth are regulated in the mouse mammary gland and covers progress made over approximately the last decade. After a brief overview of glandular development, advances in understanding basic structural questions concerning mechanisms of duct assembly, elongation, and bifurcation are considered. Turning to growth regulation, remarkable progress has taken place based largely on the study of genetically engineered mice that lack or overexpress a single gene. The use of mammary glands from these and wildtype animals in sophisticated epithelial-stromal or epithelial-epithelial recombination experiments are reviewed and demonstrate paracrine mechanisms of action for the classical endocrine mammogens, estrogen, progesterone, growth hormone, and prolactin. In addition, IGF-1, EGF, or related peptides, and elements of the activin/inhibin family, were shown to be necessary for ductal growth. The inhibition of ductal growth, and in particular, lateral branching, is necessary to preserve stromal space for later lobuloalveolar development. Excellent evidence that TGF-β1 naturally inhibits this infilling, possibly by blocking hepatocyte growth factor synthesis, is reviewed along with evidence indicating that the action of TGF-β1 is modulated by its association with the extracellular matrix. Finally, experimental approaches that may help integrate the wealth of new findings are discussed. Microsc. Res. Tech. 52:155–162, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Fertility of Chinese immigrants in the U.S. : Testing a fertility emancipation hypothesis

The authors explored their hypothesis that the fertility of Chinese women kept low by Chinas one-child policy implemented in 1979 is likely to return to a higher level once the women emigrate. The hypothesis was tested using data from the 1990 US population census 5% public use microdata samples analyzed with least squares regression. Evidence was found to support the hypothesis. Findings indicate that women from China have a significantly lower average number of children than Chinese women with similar characteristics from other countries without fertility restrictions. However the fertility difference between the two groups of women disappears when focus is instead centered upon postimmigration fertility. For the two groups of women sharing the same cultural background similar levels of economic development and with comparable characteristics those from China had more postmigration births and their US birth rate increased faster than that of their counterparts. The difference in the number of US births for the two groups should widen over the long run such that women from China clearly surpass other Chinese women in overall postmigration births.
Yang-gan-wan protects mice against apoptosis induced by anti-Fas antibody (Jo2)

We investigated the protective effect of yang-gan-wan (YGW, Pro-Liver pill), a Chinese herbal remedy, against liver apoptosis (programmed cell death) induced by anti-Fas antibody (Jo2). Mice were pretreated daily with 200 mg/kg YGW for 14 days before treatment with 10 microg/20 kg body weight Jo2. YGW significantly reduced the elevated activity of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and also reduced the elevated activity of sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) produced 4 hrs after treatment with Jo2. YGW also increased the survival of mice treated with Jo2 by about 1 hr in 11 out of 16 mice (69%). Most of the mice died 9 hrs after Jo2 injection. This study demonstrates that YGW has protective effects against liver apoptosis induced by Jo2.
Appetite and food preference in depression: Effects of imipramine treatment

A nutritional survey, the Pittsburgh Appetite Test (PAT), was developed to study potential changes in appetite and food preference reported by patients during a depressive episode and during antidepressant treatment. We examined a group of 50 depressed outpatients who were drug-free for 2 weeks prior to treatment with imipramine and psychotherapy for 4 months. A significant increase in the desire for "sweets" (carbohydrate--fat-rich foods) was observed during a depressive episode, compared to periods when patients recalled feeling well (retrospective data). During imipramine treatment, no further changes were observed in preference for either "sweets" or carbohydrates when compared to the medication-free period. Alterations in patient self-reports of appetite and body weight change were noted during imipramine treatment.
Thermodynamic modelling of the B–Ca, B–Sr and B–Ba systems

Abstract The boron-alkaline earth metal binary systems B–Ca, B–Sr and B–Ba have been modelled by means of the calculation of phase diagram (CALPHAD) technique, wherein the thermodynamic properties of the alkaline-earth hexaborides CaB6, SrB6, BaB6, and the elements α -B, β -B, fcc-Ca, fcc-Sr and bcc-Ba are obtained on the basis of the previous first-principles quasiharmonic phonon calculations. The temperature–composition ( T – x ) phase diagrams under different pressures are calculated for the aforementioned systems. These results provide helpful insights into appropriate processing conditions for guiding better fabrications of bulks and thin films of the alkaline-earth hexaborides. The present work indicates that the lower the pressures, the more favoured growth of thin films of the alkaline-earth hexaborides.
Spin–orbit interaction with nonlinear wave functions

The computation of the spin-orbit interaction is discussed for electronic wave functions expressed in the new nonlinear expansion form. This form is based on spin eigenfunctions using the graphical unitary group approach (GUGA). The nodes of a Shavitt graph in GUGA are connected by arcs, and a Configuration State Function (CSF) is represented as a walk along arcs from the vacuum node to a head node. The wave function is a linear combination of product functions each of which is a linear combination of all CSFs, wherein each CSF coefficient is a product of nonlinear arc factors. When the spin-orbit interaction is included the Shavitt graph is a union of single-headed Shavitt graphs each with the same total number of electrons and orbitals. Thus spin-orbit Shavitt graphs are multiheaded. For full-CI multiheaded Shavitt graphs, analytic expressions are presented for the number of walks, the number of nodes, the number of arcs, and the number of node pairs in the associated auxiliary pair graph.
TAP: a Semantic Web platform

Activities such as Web Services and the Semantic Web are working to create a distributed web of machine understandable data. We address three important problems that need to be solved to realize this vision. We discuss the problem of scalable and deployable query systems and present a simple, but general query interface called GetData. We address the issue of creating global agreements on vocabularies and introduce the concept of Semantic Negotiation, a process by which two programs can bootstrap from small shared vocabularies to larger shared vocabularies. We discuss the problem of programs determining which data sources to trust and present a solution that uses a Web of Trust between Semantic Web registries. We briefly describe TAP, a system that implements the GetData interface, Semantic Negotiation and Web of Trust enabled registries. We then introduce an application of the Semantic Web called Semantic Search and describe an implemented system which uses the data from the Semantic Web to improve traditional search results.
Peer Group Influence

This article evaluates three models of peer group influence on opinions. Two of these models are eliminated on theoretical and empirical grounds. The surviving model is consistent with the seminal work of French (1956) on social influence processes and provides theoretical foundations for the convention of measuring interpersonal effects with the mean opinion of an individual's set of peers. The model clearly points out the danger of reifying the mean of peers' opinions. Whether or not there is a group norm, the mean of peers' opinions must be viewed strictly as an analytical construction that may be employed to estimate the magnitude of pressures toward uniformity in a peer group.
Physical attractiveness and the personality resemblance of identical twins.

The physical attractiveness of 25 pairs of monozygotic (MZ) twins was rated independently for twins A and B. The MZ twins were rated alike in their physical attractiveness (r=0.54; corrected for attenuation,r=0.94). Physical attractiveness was uncorrelated with verbal intelligence but was associated, controlling statistically for the sex difference in attractiveness favoring females, with three of the eight traits in the Comrey inventory: Conformity, Extraversion, and Emotional Stability. In both sexes, greater emotional stability was associated with attractiveness; in males greater extraversion; and in females, greater conformity. When these twin correlations were adjusted for this association with attractiveness, the mean change in the value ofr was only 0.03, indicating that physical attractiveness does not appear to bias conclusions from twin studies.
I. Comparison of antinociceptive action of morphine in the periaqueductal gray, medial and paramedial medulla in rat

Abstract Microinjection of morphine (5 μg) through stereotaxically implanted microinjection cannulas into the periaqueductal gray (104 sites), medial (n. raphe magnus; 26 sites) and paramedial (n. reticulogigantocellularis; 49 sites) medulla resulted in an increase in the latency of supraspinally (hot-plate) and spinally (tail-flick)-mediated responses evoked by thermal stimuli. This effect of intracerebral morphine on both hot-plate and tail-flick was dose-dependent, and reversed by systemically administered naloxone as well as by naloxone administered by microinjection into the same site. On the basis of frequency of occurrence, time of onset and magnitude of effect of the minimum effective dose, we could demonstrate no difference between the efficacy of morphine acting at sites in the periaqueductal gray, n. raphe magnus or n. reticulogigantocellularis on the supraspinally mediated response. In all areas examined, morphine was able to produce the maximum elevation in response latency. The microinjection of morphine into the periaqueductal gray frequently produced a total block of the thermally evoked spinally mediated tail-flick reflex. Unlike the periaqueductal gray, the systems through which opiates act in the n. raphe magnus or the n. reticulogigantocellularis to suppress spinal reflex activity displayed a clear plateau in their physiological effects. Microinjections of morphine into the n. raphe magnus or n. reticulogigantocellularis never produced a complete block of the spinal reflex. Further increases in inhibition could not be achieved by either a 3-fold increase in dose or bilateral injections into the paramedial medulla. The failure to block spinal reflex activity often occurred at sites where morphine would completely block the hot-plate response. These observations indicate that opiate receptor-linked systems in the mesencephalon and medulla can significantly attenuate the coordinated escape behavior otherwise evoked by a high-intensity thermal stimuli. We find there is no difference in the physiological efficacy of morphine acting in those regions on supraspinally mediated measures of pain responding. The differential effect on spinally mediated reflex function suggests that these several opiate linked systems produce their effect by discriminable mechanisms.
Self-Adhesion of Polyethylene in the Melt. 2. Comparison of Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Copolymers

The unexpectedly long time scale for development of melt adhesion strength in blown films of molecularly heterogeneous Ziegler−Natta ethylene copolymers previously led to speculation on the existence of a surface layer enriched in low molecular weight, highly branched fractions. In the present study the hypothesis was tested by performing the same melt adhesion experiments on metallocene ethylene copolymers. These copolymers should not develop a surface layer because the chains are homogeneous in branch content and the molecular weight distribution is relatively narrow. Melt adhesion of heterogeneous and homogeneous ethylene copolymers was strikingly different. Whereas the time dependence for melt adhesion of heterogeneous copolymers was 2 orders of magnitude longer than the time for complete interdigitation of the surface chains, ascribed to the presence of a surface layer that needed to resolve in order for bulk chains to reach the interface and for maximum adhesion strength to develop, full adhesion of...
Evidence That Glucose Increases Monocyte Binding to Human Aortic Endothelial Cells

The rate of atherosclerosis is accelerated in humans with diabetes. The adhesion of monocytes to the vascular endothelium is a key event in the development of atherosclerosis. Alloxan (ALX)-induced diabetes in rabbits causes leukocyte accumulation on the arterial surface. However, the effect of glucose exposure on monocyte binding is not understood. We evaluated the effect of chronic elevated glucose on human monocyte binding to human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC) in culture. Monocyte binding to HAEC was significantly increased by chronic incubation of HAEC in high glucose for 7-10 days (CH-HG; 25 mM) compared with cells cultured for the same time in normal glucose (5.5 mM; CH-HG, 188 +/- 10 cells/field vs. normal glucose, 111 +/- 7; P < 0.0005). Use of mannitol at a concentration to stimulate the hyperosmolar effects of glucose did not significantly alter monocyte binding. Acute 20-min exposure of HAEC to high glucose did not alter monocyte binding. The adherence of HL-60 cells, a neutrophil-like cell line, or human neutrophils was not induced by CH-HG culture. High glucose-induced monocyte binding was not associated with induction of the major endothelial cell adhesion molecules, including E-selectin, vascular cell adhesion molecule 1, and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1). A monoclonal antibody TS1-18 to the beta 2 integrin component that is involved in binding to ICAM-1 on endothelial cells significantly reduced monocyte binding, whereas anti-VLA-4 antibody was not effective. These results suggest that hyperglycemia can accelerate the rate of atherosclerosis in diabetics by increasing monocyte binding to the endothelium.
Directed and nondirected AP chest in the ICU: potential added value with electronic systems

The ratio of significant findings to `no significant change' on AP chest x-rays in the ICU environment has been investigated. We reviewed 2,162 cases in seven of our ICUs as a function of type of ICU and acquisition time. The results of this preliminary study clearly indicate that the ratio of significant observations per procedure which may have an impact on patient management increases significantly in the `non-morning round.'© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.