cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A computer model of the left ventricular epicardial surface for quantification of jeopardized myocardium.

Abstract A computer program has been developed that can be used to quantify the extent of probable myocardial damage which will result from occlusion of a jeopardized coronary vessel. The program, used as an adjunct to coronary arteriography, permits calculation of an area of an arbitrary segment of the left ventricular epicardial surface. This segmental area, when expressed as a fraction of the total LV epicardial area, is a measure of the myocardial mass supplied by a specific coronary arterial vessel. The computer program has been extended to include graphic, three-dimensional simulation of different views of the left ventricular epicardium.
Eight Years of AIRS

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on the EOS Aqua Spacecraft was launched in May of 2002. The AIRS Sounding Suit, AIRS along with AMSU-A and HSB, were designed to measure the atmospheric temperature and water vapor profiles, the surface and the cloud parameters for climate research and for improvement in weather forecast. Over the last 8+ years AIRS has been operating extremely stable, far surpassing original design life of 4 - 5 years. Many exciting research papers on climate have been published with AIRS data. The AIRS data are assimilated by most NWP centers and have shown considerable improvement in forecast skill. We will describe the current status of the instruments as well as the new activity on the data processing software.
Growth responses of Rumex species in relation to submergence and ethylene

Abstract. Submergence stimulates growth of the petioles of Rumex palustris and Rumex crispus under field, greenhouse and laboratory conditions. Growth of Rumex acetosa petioles was hardly influenced by submergence. These growth responses under flooded conditions can be partially mimicked by exposing non-submerged Rumex plants to ethylene-air mixtures. Submergence of intact plants in a solution of AgNO3 inhibited the elongation of all petioles of R. palustris and the youngest petiole of R. crispus and stimulated growth of the youngest petiole of R. acetosa, The ethylene-air mixture experiments, the effect of AgNO3 and observed increase of the endogenous ethylene concentration during submergence suggest that ethylene plays a regulatory role in the growth responses of these Rumex species under submerged conditions. The three Rumex species showed a gradient in elongation responses to submergence, which correlates with the field distribution of the three species in a flooding gradient.
Opiate receptor heterogeneity in human brain regions.

Abstract Heterogeneity of opiate receptors has been demonstrated in human brain regions by cross-competition between naloxone and D -Ala 2 , D -Leu 5 -enkephalin for receptor binding. The distribution of μ and δ receptor subtypes and particularly the preponderance of μ receptors in the thalamus, closely resemble the previous observations in rat brain.
Anatomic Relationship of the Internal Jugular Vein and the Common Carotid Artery Applied to Percutaneous Transjugular Procedures

To demonstrate the anatomic relationship of the internal jugular vein (IJV) with the common carotid artery (CCA) in order to avoid inadvertent puncture of the CCA during percutaneous central venous access or transjugular interventional procedures. One hundred and eighty-eight consecutive patients requiring either central venous access or interventional procedures via the IJV were included in the analysis. The position of the IJV in relation to the CCA was demonstrated by portable ultrasonography. The IJV location was recorded in a clock-dial system using the carotid as the center of the dial and the angles were measured. Outcomes of the procedure were also recorded. The IJV was lateral to the CCA in 187 of 188 patients and medial to the CCA in one patient. The left IJV was at the 12 o’clock position in 12 patients (6%), the 11 o’clock position in 17 patients (9%), the 10 o’clock position in 142 patients (75%) and at the 9 o’clock position in 17 patients (9%). The right IJV was at the 12 o’clock position in 8 patients (4%), the 1 o’clock position in 31 patients (16%), the 2 o’clock position in 134 patients (71%) and the 3 o’clock position in 17 patients (9%). In one patient the left IJV was located approximately 60° medial to the left CCA; this was recorded as 2 o’clock on the left since it is opposite to the 10 o’clock position. Knowledge of the IJV anatomy and relationship to the CCA is important information for the operator performing an IJV puncture, to potentially reduce the chance of laceration of the CCA and avoid placement of a large catheter within a critical artery, even when ultrasound guidance is used.
Inhibition of lipopolysaccharide-mediated NFκB activation by ethanol in human monocytes

Alcohol use is typically associated with impaired immunity and increased host susceptibility to infection, partially due to decreased inflammatory response. Acute ethanol exposure has been shown to down-regulate monocyte production of inflammatory cytokines. Activation of the pluripotent transcription factor NFkB is a pivotal step in the induction of inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and growth factors. Therefore, we hypothesized that alcohol may alter NFkB activation, thus providing a mechanism for the decreased inflammatory cytokine production by monocytes after acute alcohol treatment. We show here for the first time that alcohol inhibits lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced NFkB activation in human monocytes by decreasing DNA binding of the p65/p50 heterodimer as seen in electrophoretic mobility shift and supershift assays. We also demonstrate that alcohol prevents LPS-induced nuclear translocation of p65 and to a lesser extent that of the p50 subunits. NFkB activation is regulated via phosphorylation and proteolytic degradation of IkB. Thus, we investigated the effect of acute ethanol treatment on Ik Bi n human monocytes. Alcohol did not prevent LPS-induced IkBa degradation but decreased the levels of phospho-specific IkBa (Ser32). Finally, for the first time we show that de novo protein synthesis is necessary to bring about the ethanol-mediated inhibition of LPS-induced NFkB activation. Consequently, these results suggest that physiologically relevant concentrations of alcohol interfere with NFkB activation and thereby may affect the regulation of NFkB-controlled gene activation.
AVP2, a Sequence-Divergent, K+-Insensitive H+-Translocating Inorganic Pyrophosphatase from Arabidopsis

Plant vacuolar H + -translocating inorganic pyrophosphatases (V-PPases; EC 3.6.1.1) have been considered to constitute a family of functionally and structurally monotonous intrinsic membrane proteins. Typified by AVP1 (V. Sarafian, Y. Kim, R.J. Poole, P.A. Rea [1992] Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 89: 1775–1779) from Arabidopsis, all characterized plant V-PPases share greater than 84% sequence identity and catalyze K + -stimulated H + translocation. Here we describe the molecular and biochemical characterization of AVP2 (accession no. AF182813), a sequence-divergent (36% identical) K + -insensitive, Ca 2+ -hypersensitive V-PPase active in both inorganic pyrophosphate hydrolysis and H + translocation. The differences between AVP2 and AVP1 provide the first indication that plant V-PPases from the same organism fall into two distinct categories. Phylogenetic analyses of these and other V-PPase sequences extend this principle by showing that AVP2, rather than being an isoform of AVP1, is but one representative of a novel category of AVP2-like (type II) V-PPases that coexist with AVP1-like (type I) V-PPases not only in plants, but also in apicomplexan protists such as the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum .
THE ACQUISITION OF SPANISH: MORPHOSYNTACTIC DEVELOPMENT IN MONOLINGUAL AND BILINGUAL L1 ACQUISITION AND ADULT L2 ACQUISITION

THE ACQUISITION OF SPANISH: MORPHOSYNTACTIC DEVELOPMENT IN MONOLINGUAL AND BILINGUAL L1 ACQUISITION AND ADULT L2 ACQUISITION. Silvina A. Montrul. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 2005. Pp. xvi + 413. $150.00 cloth, $49.95 paper.This book presents and analyzes the morphosyntactic development of Spanish in monolingual and bilingual first language (L1) acquisition and in adult SLA. Based on the principles and parameters model of generative grammar, the book addresses the nature of linguistic knowledge and examines the development of grammatical aspects such as morphology, syntax, and lexical semantics in monolingual, bilingual, and second language (L2) learners. The author argues that the underlying linguistic competence of L1 and L2 speakers is constrained by the nature of the language the learners entertain, as guided by principles of Universal Grammar. Throughout the book, the author considers different approaches concerning the nature and development of linguistic knowledge such as the continuity hypothesis—including both weak and strong versions—(Pinker, 1989), the maturation hypothesis (Radford, 1990), and the no continuity view. The author supports the continuity hypothesis by arguing that principles and parametric options continue to be available throughout the acquisition process in the monolingual, bilingual, and adult grammatical systems. In other words, the author argues that linguistic representation is fundamentally similar among the grammars of child L1, child bilingual, and adult L2 learners, and that all of these are similar to the adult target grammar.
The Effects of Some Trace Metals on Marine Phytoplankton

AbstractWater pollution by mercury, cadmium, lead, and copper is currently recognized as a persistent and increasing environmental problem. Popular treatment of trace metal pollution problems, particularly mercury pollution, has raised the general awareness of such problems. There is still, however, relatively little information available on interactions of trace metals with microbiological populations at environmentally encountered levels. The present review is directed towards examining some trace metal effects on marine phytoplankton. The end in view is to provide a basic perspective on these trace metals as one group of materials with a potential to interfere with marine productivity.
Associations between Cardioembolic Stroke and Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Study objectives To assess etiology of ischemic stroke in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) compared with controls. This information may aid in determining how OSA increases stroke risk and facilitate recurrent stroke prevention in patients with OSA. Design Retrospective, case-control study. Setting Academic tertiary referral center. Patients Consecutive patients who underwent polysomnography and had an ischemic stroke within 1 year were identified. Stroke subtype was determined using two validated algorithms. Polysomnographic results were used to separate patients into OSA cases and controls. Information regarding cardiovascular risks, neuroimaging, and echocardiographic data were collected. Interventions N/A. Measurements and results In 53 subjects, cardioembolic (CE) strokes were more common among OSA cases than controls (72% versus 33%, P = 0.01). The majority of CE strokes occurred in those with moderate to severe OSA. Atrial fibrillation (AF) was more frequent in OSA cases (59% versus 24%, P = 0.01). The association between OSA and CE stroke remained significant after controlling for AF (P = 0.03, odds ratio 4.5). Conclusions There appears to be a strong association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and cardioembolic (CE) stroke. In patients with OSA presenting with cryptogenic stroke, high clinical suspicion for CE is warranted. This may lead to consideration of diagnostic studies to identify CE risk factors such as paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). CE strokes are more common in patients with OSA even after adjusting for AF. This finding may reflect a high rate of occult paroxysmal AF in this population; alternatively, OSA may lead to CE strokes through mechanisms independent of AF.
Application of Frequency-dependent Traveltime Tomography and Full Waveform Inversion to Realistic Near-surface Seismic Refraction Data

We present a synthetic test that uses a workflow consisting of a new frequency-dependent traveltime tomography (FDTT) method to provide a starting model for full waveform inversion (FWI) for near-surface seismic velocity estimation from refraction data. Commonly used ray-theory-based traveltime tomography methods may not be valid in the near surface given the likelihood of relatively large seismic wavelengths compared to the length scales of heterogeneities that are possible in the near surface. FDTT makes use of the frequency content in the seismic waves in both the forward and inverse modeling steps. In this application to a nearsurface benchmark model, the results show that FDTT can better recover the magnitude of velocity anomalies than infinite frequency (ray-theory) traveltime tomography (IFTT). FWI can fail by converging to a local minimum when there is an absence of sufficiently low frequency data and an accurate starting model, either of which, if present, can provide long-wavelength constraints on the inverted velocity model. Both IFTT and FDTT models can serve as adequate starting models for FWI. However, FWI produces significantly better results starting from the FDTT model as compared to the IFTT model when low frequency data are not available. The final FWI models provide wavelength-scale structures allowing for direct geologic interpretation from the velocity model itself, demonstrating the effectiveness of FDTT and FWI in nearsurface studies given the modest experiment and data requirements of refraction surveys.
White Fear and US Racism in the Era of Obama: The Relevance of Neoliberalism

Despite having more access to wealth and political influence than other groups, many White Americans perceive themselves— perhaps more than ever—as victims of political correctness and state sponsored reverse discrimination. In light of these concerns, I make three general points in this article. First, I argue that the presumed shift away from neoliberalism by Obama’s “big government” has spurred an anti-statist backlash in the US that draws from, and reinforces, the myth of white victimhood. Second, I address how neoliberalism and post-racialism (which Obama embraces) are mutually supportive ideologies that sustain the racial status quo. Lastly, I suggest that challenging contemporary structures of racial inequity requires anti-racist measures that break completely from the neoliberal/post-racial paradigm. [Article copies available for a fee from The Transformative Studies Institute. E-mail address: journal@transformativestudies.org Website: http://www.transformativestudies.org ©2011 by The Transformative Studies Institute. All rights reserved.]
Pregabalin prescriptions in the United Kingdom: a drug utilisation study of The Health Improvement Network (THIN) primary care database.

SummaryAim In Europe, pregabalin is approved for treatment of neuropathic pain, general anxiety disorder (GAD) and as adjunctive therapy for epilepsy. The purpose of this study was to assess utilisation of pregabalin in the UK, including patients with a recorded history of substance abuse, from a large general practice database. Methods This observational drug utilisation study (DUS) analysed pregabalin prescription data from the UK Health Improvement Network primary care database between September 2004 and July 2009. Patient demographics, diagnoses (by READ codes) and pregabalin dosing data were collected. Diagnosis codes were used as proxy for approved indication for pregabalin. Result A cohort of 18,951 patients was prescribed pregabalin; dosing information was available for 13,480 (71.1%). Median age of patients was 58 years, and majority were female (60.1%). Median (interquartile range) prescribed average daily dose (ADD) of pregabalin for all patients was 150.0 (162.5) mg/day; this was highest in patients with epilepsy (191.9 mg/day), followed by neuropathic pain (158.0 mg/day) and GAD (150.0 mg/day). Only 1.0% (136/13,480) of patients were prescribed an ADD of pregabalin over the maximum approved dose of 600 mg/day. Of these, 18.4% (25/136) of patients had a history of substance abuse compared with 14.0% (1884/13,480) in the full population. Conclusion Data from this DUS indicated that the majority of pregabalin prescribing in the UK was consistent with product labelling. The proportion of patients with prescribed ADD > 600 mg/day was small and with a similar proportion with a history of substance abuse as in the full population.
Biochemical Studies of Human Semen. III. Factors Affecting Migration of Sperm Through the Cervix.

The viscous mucus which normally fills the canal of the cervix uteri presents a first barrier to the migration of spermatozoa from the vaginal lumen to the upper parts of the tract where fertilization occurs. When a mass of this mucus is exposed to the action of normal seminal fluid, the gross appearance is that of a lysis, with loss of viscosity and disintegration of the mass, apparently due to specific enzymic action.1 This action is inhibited by the presence in the mucus of notable amounts of pus, leucorrheal cells, etc.When the contact-boundary between normal cervical mucus and a normal semen specimen containing motile sperm is examined under the microscope, there is seen a gathering of sperm at the mucus surface which seems to be greater than can be accounted for merely by random swimming of the sperm. There is no evidence, however, of any attraction-field of the mucus surface exerting any influence on the distribution of sperm in the seminal fluid except in a narrow zone along the contact of the flu...
Renaissance and Retrenchment in the 1970s

Between World War II and 1970, Pittsburgh’s Democratic Party hand-selected the city’s mayors, with one exception: Pete Flaherty. After four years on City Council and a close relationship with Party leaders, Flaherty rejected first an invitation to be Mayor Joseph Barr’s designated successor, beholden to the Party for campaign money, and a subsequent attempt by Allegheny Conference on Community Development (ACCD) members to lure him onto the Republican ticket. He campaigned instead as an unendorsed, independent Democrat and beat the machine candidate in the Democratic primary; in the 1969 general election, he ran on the platform that he was “nobody’s boy.” He financed his campaign through donations, launched innovative billboard and newspaper advertising campaigns, and won handily. Four years later, after alienating the Democratic Party, organized labor, his predecessor, most of the City Council, the police, the firemen, local CEOs, African American leaders, and both of the city’s major newspapers, Flaherty ran unopposed for a second term, having secured both the Republican and Democratic nominations. The joke around town was that “nobody likes Pete except the voters.”1 Popular narratives of Pittsburgh’s urban development since 1945 most often characterize Flaherty’s 1970–1977 mayoral tenure as a temporary disruption of perpetual Renaissance and relentless progress. Flaherty was a passionate critic of the Renaissance’s top–down, corporateoriented approach to urban development and the distribution of public resources, and he set out
Impact of Maternal Glucose and Gestational Weight Gain on Child Obesity over the First Decade of Life in Normal Birth Weight Infants

Objective To determine, among children with normal birth weight, if maternal hyperglycemia and weight gain independently increase childhood obesity risk in a very large diverse population. Methods Study population was 24,141 individuals (mothers and their normal birth weight offspring, born 1995-2003) among a diverse population with universal GDM screening [50-g glucose-challenge test (GCT); 3 h. 100 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) if GCT+]. Among the 13,037 full-term offspring with normal birth weight (2500-4000 g), annual measured height/weight was ascertained between ages 2 and 10 years to calculate gender-specific BMI-for-age percentiles using USA norms (1960-1995 standard). Results Among children who began life with normal birth weight, we found a significant trend for developing both childhood overweight (>85 %ile) and obesity (>95 %ile) during the first decade of life with both maternal hyperglycemia (normal GCT, GCT+ but no GDM, GDM) and excessive gestational weight gain [>40 pounds (18.1 kg)]; p < 0.0001 for both trends. These maternal glucose and/or weight gain effects to imprint for childhood obesity in the first decade remained after adjustment for potential confounders including maternal age, parity, as well as pre-pregnancy BMI. The attributable risk (%) for childhood obesity was 28.5 % (95 % CI 15.9-41.1) for GDM and 16.4 % (95 % CI 9.4-23.2) for excessive gestational weight gain. Conclusions for Practice Both maternal hyperglycemia and excessive weight gain have independent effects to increase childhood obesity risk. Future research should focus on prevention efforts during pregnancy as a potential window of opportunity to reduce childhood obesity.
The impact of perioperative warm-up jackets on surgical site infection: cost without benefit?

Abstract Background On July 1st, 2012, the University of Minnesota Medical Centers adopted a policy requiring all personnel to wear cover jackets in perioperative areas. This policy is based on the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses recommended practice for cover jacket usage. We hypothesized that the cover jacket policy had no effect on the surgical site infection rate. Methods We compared surgical site infection data from 1 year before the policy and 1 year after the policy. Twenty six thousand three hundred procedures were included: 13,302 before the policy and 12,998 after the policy. Rates between periods were compared using the z-test for proportions. Results The SSI rate precover and postcover jacket policy was 2.42% and 2.76% respectively. The P value was .1998. Our hypothesis was rejected because the change in rate was not statistically significant. Conclusions This study demonstrates that there was not a decrease in SSI rates with this cover jacket policy; in fact, the data show a trend toward an increase in SSI rate thus making the argument for the abandonment of the cover up jackets.
Rhabdomyolysis after penetrating trauma

Rhabdomyolysis (RHAB) is a known complication following blunt trauma. RHAB after penetrating trauma has not been studied. The objective of this study was to evaluate the incidence, risk factors, and complications of RHAB following penetrating trauma. Over a 5-year period, penetrating trauma patients admitted to our intensive care unit (ICU) were studied. Significant RHAB was defined as a CK level of 5000 U/L or higher. There were 873 patients (29 ± 12 years old, 92% male), of whom 767 (88%) had abnormal CK levels (range 520-165,943 U/L), and 111 patients (13%) developed significant RHAB. Victims of penetrating trauma who sustain vascular and severe extremity injury are at a sixfold increased risk to develop significant RHAB. Patients with significant RHAB had a higher rate of renal failure (23% vs 7%, P < 0.0001) and longer ICU stay (15 ± 26 days vs 8 ± 12 days, P < 0.0001). CK elevations and significant RHAB are common after penetrating trauma. Patients who sustain vascular and severe extremity injury as a result of their penetrating wounds are at high risk to develop significant RHAB, resulting in renal failure and prolonged ICU stay. Therefore, critically injured penetrating trauma patients should be routinely screened with CK levels.
A comparative study of multi-focus image fusion validation metrics

Fusion of visual information from multiple sources is relevant for applications security, transportation, and safety applications. One way that image fusion can be particularly useful is when fusing imagery data from multiple levels of focus. Different focus levels can create different visual qualities for different regions in the imagery, which can provide much more visual information to analysts when fused. Multi-focus image fusion would benefit a user through automation, which requires the evaluation of the fused images to determine whether they have properly fused the focused regions of each image. Many no-reference metrics, such as information theory based, image feature based and structural similarity-based have been developed to accomplish comparisons. However, it is hard to scale an accurate assessment of visual quality which requires the validation of these metrics for different types of applications. In order to do this, human perception based validation methods have been developed, particularly dealing with the use of receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves and the area under them (AUC). Our study uses these to analyze the effectiveness of no-reference image fusion metrics applied to multi-resolution fusion methods in order to determine which should be used when dealing with multi-focus data. Preliminary results show that the Tsallis, SF, and spatial frequency metrics are consistent with the image quality and peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR).
Venom Peptides From Cone Snails: Pharmacological Probes for Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels.

The venoms of cone snails provide a rich source of neuroactive peptides (conotoxins). Several venom peptide families have been identified that are either agonists (ι- and δ-conotoxins) or antagonists (μ- and μO-conotoxins) of voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs). Members of these conotoxin classes have been integral in identifying and characterizing specific neurotoxin binding sites on the channel. Furthermore, given the specificity of some of these peptides for one sodium channel subtype over another, conotoxins have also proven useful in exploring differences between VGSC subtypes. This chapter summarizes the current knowledge of the structure and function based on the results of conotoxin interactions with VGSCs and correlates the peptides with the phylogeny of the Conus species from which they were derived.
Schritt 2: Vermeiden Sie die fünf Todsünden bei der Video- und Online-Beratung

In diesem Kapitel lernen Sie die grosten Fehler kennen, die Ihrem Erfolg bei der Video- und Online-Beratung im Weg stehen konnen. Aber keine Angst: Sie erfahren auch, wie Sie die Stolpersteine umgehen. Nutzen Sie die – auch unerfreulicheren – Erfahrungen des Autors als Lernchancen, um von Anfang an durchzustarten und Ihre Kunden zu begeistern. Eines sei jetzt schon verraten: Die wohl groste Todsunde besteht darin, das Kundengesprach nicht zu emotionalisieren. Wichtig ist zudem, sich eine klare Positionierung nach dem Motto: Einzigartigkeit durch das AAA-Prinzip zu erarbeiten: Sie sollten Anders sein Als die Anderen. Sie lesen jetzt gleich, wie das funktioniert. Prufen Sie auch, welche weiteren Kompetenzen Sie neben der Beratungskompetenz aufbauen mussen, um Ihre Ziele zu erreichen.
Graduate Workshop on Digital Tools for Art Historians: The Visualizing Venice Summer Program “The Biennale and the City” (2015)

Art Historians who wish to engage with the potential of digital tools for research and narratives about works of art, architecture and cities often have difficulties identifying appropriate software and receiving basic training. To address this challenge, the Wired! group at Duke University began to offer workshops in 2009, and since 2012 these have been taught on site at Venice International University, which created a laboratory for this purpose. Our goal has been to assist scholars in learning basic skills not only to create maps, models, and displays that narrate research questions, but also to acquire enough knowledge to join in effective and directed partnerships with computer scientists and engineers. In 2015, the Getty Foundation covered the costs of travel and living expenses for the faculty and participants, while the Delmas Foundation has helped since 2012 with the costs of tuition.
Response Transfer between Stimuli in Generalized Equivalence Classes: A Model for the Establishment of Natural Kind and Fuzzy Superordinate Categories

Two equivalence classes were formed by college students through training of Ab, Bc, and Cd relations. The A, B, and C stimuli in both classes were nonsense words. The D stimulus in Class 1 was a short line; the D stimulus in Class 2 was a long line. Post-class-formation generalization tests of emergent relations were conducted to determine which intermediate length lines (variants of the D stimuli) also acted as class members. Those variants and the A, B, C, and D stimuli formed a generalized equivalence class. After different responses were trained to the A1 and A2 stimuli, the response trained to the A1 stimulus transferred to the other Class-1 stimuli and the response trained to the A2 stimulus transferred to the other Class-2 stimuli. Responding also transferred to the variants that acted as members of each generalized equivalence class, indicating that the stimuli in each generalized equivalence class also acted as members of a corresponding functional class. For the line variants that were members of a generalized equivalence class, response transfer from the A stimuli was very highly predicted from the generalization gradients of the emergent relations. The processes that account for the formation of a generalized equivalence class and the transfer of responding between members of such a class will be used to account for the development of natural kind and superordinate fuzzy categories.
Identifying vulnerable populations to death and injuries from residential fires

Objective This study proposes and evaluates the theory that people who are susceptible to injury in residential fires are not susceptible to death in residential fires and vice versa. It is proposed that the population vulnerable to death in residential fires can be proxied by ‘frailty’, which is measured as age–gender adjusted fatality rates due to natural causes. Methods This study uses an ecological approach and controls for exposure to estimate the vulnerability of different population groups to death and injury in residential fires. It allows fatalities and injuries to be estimated by different models. Results Frailty explains fire-related death in adults while not explaining injuries, which is consistent with the idea that deaths and injuries affect disjoint populations. Conclusions Deaths and injuries in fire are drawn from different populations. People who are susceptible to dying in fires are unlikely to be injured in fires, and the people who are susceptible to injury are unlikely to die in fires.
One Point of View: Drug Industry Mergers Won't Necessarily Benefit R&D

(2000). One Point of View: Drug Industry Mergers Won't Necessarily Benefit R&D. Research-Technology Management: Vol. 43, No. 4, pp. 10-11.
Adjuvant chemotherapy for common solid tumors.

Publisher Summary Most clinicians would accept the view that the majority of common solid tumors are systemic diseases at the time of diagnosis. This is borne out by the fact that more than 50% of the patients presenting with solid tumors that appear to be localized at the time of diagnosis eventually develop metastatic disease, irrespective of how “perfectly” the primary tumor is removed. Adjuvant systemic therapy of one form or another is, therefore, an extremely attractive concept. In theory, it represents the only way in which the outlook can be improved in the treatment of the patients presenting with neoplastic lesions that appear to be localized. Unfortunately, the current state of knowledge regarding both the behavior of malignant cells and also the drugs available to eradicate these cells from the organism is extremely limited. Because of this a number of problems are encountered when attempting to devise methods of adjuvant systemic therapy— first, the selection of patients; second, the selection of drugs; and third, the toxicity, both long and short term, associated with the use of these drugs.
Dietary supplements for female sexual dysfunction.

Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is complex and poorly understood. The pathways that lead to arousal and orgasm have been mapped in men but not in women. A number of factors can affect female sexual response, including family relationships, financial difficulties, fear, and sexual identity.[1][1] It
Topical Oxybutynin Chloride for Relaxation of Dysfunctional Bladders

Eleven patients with persistent urge incontinence and frequent side effects on oral anticholinergic agents were treated with oxybutynin chloride administered intravesically. Five mg. tablets were dissolved in saline, and the solution was instilled twice daily and retained for 30 minutes. One patient was unable to retain the medication because of severe detrusor hyperreflexia and was eliminated from the study. The remaining 10 patients all reported subjective improvement following treatment and all became totally continent. No side effects were observed. In these 10 patients mean bladder capacity increased from 224 to 360 ml. (p less than 0.01) and mean maximum filling pressure decreased from 33 to 24 cm. water (p equals 0.17). Two additional patients with continent ileocecal urinary diversions were treated with topical oxybutynin chloride instilled directly into the intestinal reservoir. Both patients reported improved comfort with filling and 1 demonstrated a decrease in uninhibited contractions. These encouraging results suggest that treatment with topical oxybutynin chloride is an effective alternative in patients with voiding dysfunction who either are unresponsive to or have intolerable side effects on oral medications.
Immediate diagnostic criteria for bacterial infection of ascitic fluid: Evaluation of ascitic fluid polymorphonuclear leukocyte count, pH, and lactate concentration, alone and in combination

Abstract We prospectively evaluated the ascitic fluid (AF) polymorphonuclear cell (PMN) count, pH, and lactate concentration in single ascitic fluids from 60 patients to determine their relative predictive values for the immediate diagnosis of ascitic fluid infection. Nine of the 60 ascitic fluids were malignant. Of the remaining 51 samples, nine from cirrhotic patients were infected. The mean AF pH, lactate concentration, and PMN count in the infected group were 7.20 ± 0.19, 80 ± 51 mg/dl, and 18,199 ± 19,650 cells/mm 3 , respectively, and all were significantly different from the corresponding values in noninfected ascites. Mean arterial blood-ascitic fluid (B-AF) pH and lactate gradients in the infected group were 0.23 ± 0.17 and −46 ± 31 mg/dl, respectively, and were significantly different from the corresponding values in noninfected ascites (p 3 were the single tests with the highest diagnostic accuracy (92%). Combining an AF PMN count >500 cells/mm 3 with any of the other diagnostic criteria increased the specificity and diagnostic accuracy (up to 98%) compared to the best single criterion. Although our data support the use of a number of different combinations of AF measurements for the immediate diagnosis of infection, the simplest and most readily obtainable measurements are the pH and PMN count. Therefore, in the clinical setting we recommend the use of either an AF pH ≤ 7.34 or a B-AF pH gradient ≥0.10 in combination with an AF PMN count >500 cells/mm 3 to obtain the highest degree of accuracy in the immediate diagnosis of ascitic fluid infection.
HCI in supervisory control: Twelve dilemmas

Increasingly in recent decades the computer has become a mediator between the human operator and the physical system being controlled. This occurred first in aviation, then in process control, manufacturing and military systems. More recently it happened in hospitals, trains, automobiles and home appliances. This new form of control is often called supervisory control, where the role of the human operator becomes more like a manager: planning, setting goals and constraints, diagnosing failures, intervening in control as necessary, and learning from experience. The hope has been to relieve the operator of tedious work and make the system both more efficient and more reliable. Unfortunately human-computer interaction (HCI) and reliability of supervisory control have not been as positive as had been hoped. This paper reviews twelve dilemmas that have emerged from experience. They have implications for human error and system reliability.
Aging Alters the Relative Contributions of the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous System to Blood Pressure Control in Women

Autonomic support of blood pressure increases with age in humans. Large differences exist in the dose of trimethaphan (TMP) required for ganglionic blockade in young and older women. We asked whether differences in the dose of TMP required to achieve ganglionic blockade are because of differences in the relative contributions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system in control of blood pressure with age. Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (microneurography, peroneal nerve), heart rate (HR), and blood pressure were recorded before and during incremental doses of TMP camsylate until ganglionic blockade was achieved (absence of muscle sympathetic nerve activity and <5-bpm increase in HR during a valsalva maneuver; final TMP dose, 1-7 mg/min). HR variability was analyzed from the ECG waveform (WinCPRS). The dose of TMP required to achieve ganglionic blockade is positively related to basal HR variability, where women with high HR variability require a higher dose of TMP to achieve ganglionic blockade. In contrast, baseline muscle sympathetic nerve activity is inversely related with the dose of TMP required to achieve ganglionic blockade, such that women with high basal muscle sympathetic nerve activity required a lower dose of TMP. As such, the change in HR with ganglionic blockade was positively related, and the change in mean arterial pressure was inversely related, with the dose of TMP required to achieve ganglionic blockade. These data suggest loss of parasympathetic tone and increased sympathetic tone with aging contribute to the increase in blood pressure with age in women and dictate the dose of TMP that is necessary to achieve ganglionic blockade.
Optimal design of fiber reinforced composite structures and their direct ink write fabrication

Abstract The majority of the current structural optimization software does not accommodate manufacturing constraints. Therefore, substantial modifications are imposed upon optimized designs to make them manufacturable and hence nonoptimal. We propose to optimize the design of composite structures that are amenable to Additive Manufacturing (AM). The printing process chosen in our study is based on Direct Ink Writing (DIW) in which short carbon fibers in a thermoset resin are extruded through a moving nozzle to build up a structure. Since the fibers are primarily aligned in the flow direction of the extrudate, the DIW printing trajectory influences the material properties of the composite structure. To accommodate this, the extrudate trajectory follows the contours of parameterized level-set functions. The parametrization allows us to prescribe the material properties and impose many DIW manufacturing constraints such as no-overlap, no-sag, minimum radius of curvature and continuity of the toolpaths. Ultimately, we obtain optimal manufacturable toolpaths that start and finish at a boundary. To minimize the fabrication time, we formulate the linking sequence of the toolpaths as a traveling salesman problem which we solve to obtain the shortest continuous toolpath per layer. Several examples illustrate the optimization procedure. Validation is also performed.
A Systematic Approach to the Detection of False PTSD

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can occur after a traumatic experience and can cause severe symptoms that interfere with a person's psychological, physical, interpersonal, occupational, and social functioning. It is important to accurately identify genuine cases of PTSD and, as part of the differential diagnosis, to rule out instances of false PTSD. False PTSD diagnoses can adversely affect treatment planning, resource management, and research. The subjective nature of stressors, stereotypic presentation of symptoms, wealth of resources detailing how to malinger PTSD, and the high stakes for individuals involved in criminal, civil, and disability evaluations create challenges for making an accurate diagnosis. This article presents a systematic approach to help clinicians and forensic evaluators distinguish genuine PTSD from false variants of the disorder. It describes the types of false PTSD to be considered as alternative diagnoses, including malingered PTSD (for external gain, such as receiving a disability pension or evading criminal consequences), factitious PTSD (for internal gain, such as assuming the victim or hero/veteran role), and misattributed PTSD (legitimate psychopathology misdiagnosed as PTSD). The authors describe clinical features and psychological testing that may be leveraged to aid in reaching a more valid diagnosis.
Confirmation and Corroboration

The question that remains, of course, is whether science can ultimately succeed if its methods are confined to fallibilistic falsification, that is: surely an adequate conception of scientific knowledge should provide for the acceptance as well as the rejection of some hypotheses and theories, perhaps in the form of merely probable knowledge. Popper ([1965], p. 368, note 3), however, denies even this modest conception of inductive capabilities: Empirical knowledge in some sense of the word ‘knowledge’ exists. But in other senses — for example in the sense of certain knowledge, or of demonstrable knowledge — it does not. And we must not assume, uncritically, that we have ‘probable’ knowledge — knowledge that is probable in the sense of the calculus of probability. It is indeed my contention that we do not have probable knowledge in this sense. For I believe that what we call ‘empirical’ knowledge, including ‘scientific knowledge’, consists of guesses, and that many of these guesses arc not probable (or have a probability zero) even though they may be very well corroborated.
The impact of recreational marijuana sales on calls for service: an analysis of neighbouring cities

Research has begun to explore to what extent I-502, the initiative authorising the retail distribution of recreational marijuana in Washington State, influenced a range of public safety outcomes. H...
From small to large x: toward a unified description of high energy collisions

Inclusive particle production at high pt (equivalently intermediate to large x) in high energy hadronic collisions is successfully described by perturbative QCD, using the collinear-factorization formalism. On the other hand at very high energies and not so high pt the Color Glass Condensate (CGC) formalism has been quite successful in describing particle production at small Bjorken x. Here we propose a way to unify the two approaches which enables one to apply it to particle production at all x (all pt).
Salt Activity Coefficient and Chain Statistics in Poly(ethylene oxide)-Based Electrolytes

A fundamental understanding of mixtures of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) electrolytes and lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) is important for developing solid electrolytes for recharg...
Machine Learning to Classify Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors: Implementation Within the Common Data Elements Used by the Military Suicide Research Consortium:

Suicide rates among military-connected populations have increased over the past 15 years. Meta-analytic studies indicate prediction of suicide outcomes is lacking. Machine-learning approaches have ...
Uphill Capital Flows and the International Monetary System

Uphill capital flows constitute a key transmission channel through which reserve accumulation can distort the stability of the international monetary system. This paper examines and quantifies the importance of this transmission channel by examining how foreign official purchases of U.S. Treasuries influences the U.S. yield curve at different maturities. Our findings suggest that a percentage point increase in foreign official holdings relative to outstanding marketable securities reduces the term premium by 2.0-2.4 basis points at maturities of 2-3 years. These estimates are then used to gauge the role of a global policy in reducing excess reserve accumulation?e.g., a composite global reserve asset or through global liquidity facilities. Findings show that a policy that reduces the demand for Treasuries by $100 billion would increase yields by 1.5-1.8 basis points.
Flood Monitoring and Crop Damage Assessment

In recent years, the occurrence and impact of inland and coastal flood events have become more frequent and damaging, especially within agricultural fields, due to the global climate change and consistent sea level rise. Monitoring and measuring the magnitude of flood events in a timely manner and assessing the subsequent crop damages accurately are precursors in minimizing detrimental consequences that could potentially lead to a global food security crisis. Traditional gauge-based measurements with sophisticated hydrological models are capable of monitoring flood events precisely but limited within the smaller spatial extent, time-consuming, and costly. In recent decades, advancement in airborne- and satellite-based remote sensing technologies offering products at a daily global spatial extent with various spectral resolution helps address the shortcomings of the traditional in situ approaches in flood monitoring. Furthermore, the methods such as classification and band ratioing using remote sensing products are simple and effective in assessing flood-induced agricultural damages. The combination of remote sensing products and geographic information systems along with the current development in web mapping, users now can get near real-time flood monitoring and crop damage assessments, albeit dependent upon the quality of available data. A case study to quantify the impact of the 2011 Missouri Mississippi River flooding on the surrounding cornfield was performed through a regression model. The model was trained using historical daily NDVI and corn yield across Nebraska and Missouri, and the overall accuracy in estimating corn yield was about 90%. The method implemented in this localized case study could be extended at a larger geographical scale.
Relationship Between α1-Antitrypsin Deficiency and Ascending Aortic Distention

Abstract Objective To investigate the relationship between α1-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), a disorder resulting in protease activity imbalances, and the risk of ascending aortic aneurysm. Methods In this single-center study, from August 1, 2018, to February 25, 2019, demographic data were retrospectively collated for patients with AATD-associated emphysema (AATD group) or non–AATD-associated emphysema (control group) with available high-resolution computed tomography scans. Mean ascending aortic diameter was compared between the groups, and the correlation of diameter with age was analyzed. Results Patients with AATD (n=51; mean AAT level, 20.3 mg/dL [to convert to μmol/L, multiply by 0.184]) were approximately 10 years younger than those in the control group (n=93; mean AAT level, 172.0 mg/dL), with a mean age of 55 vs 65 years. Overall and grouped by sex, the mean ascending aortic diameter in patients with AATD was not different from that in the control group (overall, 3.34 vs 3.37 cm; P=.68); however, ascending aortic diameter was significantly associated with age for patients in the AATD group (r=0.43; P=.0016), whereas no correlation was observed between age and aortic diameter in the control group (r=0.16; P=.11). Conclusion Results of this study suggest that there is a pathologic association between AATD and aortic distention and that AATD may increase the risk of ascending aortic aneurysm. These data provide a basis for the regular assessment of aortic diameter in patients with AATD as well as for the testing of patients with aortic distention or aneurysm for AATD.