cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Plan averaging for multicriteria navigation of sliding window IMRT and VMAT.

Purpose: To describe a method for combining sliding window plans [intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) or volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT)] for use in treatment plan averaging, which is needed for Pareto surface navigation based multicriteria treatment planning. Methods: The authors show that by taking an appropriately defined average of leaf trajectories of sliding window plans, the authors obtain a sliding window plan whose fluence map is the exact average of the fluence maps corresponding to the initial plans. In the case of static-beam IMRT, this also implies that the dose distribution of the averaged plan is the exact dosimetric average of the initial plans. In VMAT delivery, the dose distribution of the averaged plan is a close approximation of the dosimetric average of the initial plans. Results: The authors demonstrate the method on three Pareto optimal VMAT plans created for a demanding paraspinal case, where the tumor surrounds the spinal cord. The results show that the leaf averaged plans yield dose distributions that approximate the dosimetric averages of the precomputed Pareto optimal plans well. Conclusions: The proposed method enables the navigation of deliverable Pareto optimal plans directly, i.e., interactive multicriteria exploration of deliverable sliding window IMRT and VMAT plans,more » eliminating the need for a sequencing step after navigation and hence the dose degradation that is caused by such a sequencing step.« less
To Delight, or Not to Delight? This is the Question Service Firms Must Address

Understanding the motivations underlying consumer behavior is imperative for the accurate management of consumer relationships. In a competitive environment, firms need to maintain a certain type of relationship with their consumers to ensure positive outcomes. However, there is ambiguity in the current services marketing literature regarding the value of providing customer delight. Will customers contribute more resources to those firms that delight them? By relying on equity theory as a theoretical framework, the research reported here attempts to address this question. Results indicate that consumers exhibit behaviors in a manner consistent with equity theory; that is, when consumers are overrewarded by service providers, they reward the service provider with increased loyalty, commitment, repatronage, and willingness to pay.
A rigorous proof of the cavity method for counting matchings

In this paper we rigorously prove the validity of the cavity method for the problem of counting the number of matchings in graphs with large girth. Cavity method is an important heuristic developed by statistical physicists that has lead to the development of faster distributed algorithms for problems in various combinatorial optimization problems. The validity of the approach has been supported mostly by numerical simulations. In this paper we prove the validity of cavity method for the problem of counting matchings using rigorous techniques. We hope that these rigorous approaches will finally help us establish the validity of the cavity method in general.
Construction of a Bioprinted Fully Biological Nerve Graft

Annually over 200,000 peripheral nerve surgeries are performed in the U.S. alone. Many of these procedures require grafts to bridge the severed nerve. Autologous nerve is the gold standard for providing a temporary support across which axons regenerate. Although successful at 80%, the autograft procedure has several drawbacks including the limited number of available nerves, the loss of function and /or sensation at the donor site and the need of multiple surgeries. Synthetic or natural nerve guidance hollow tubes have been used successfully as scaffolds for small gaps (<3cm) but regeneration fails over longer distances. As a result, tissue engineering has emerged as a promising alternative. Based on recent studies, synthetic and autologous tubes failure has been linked to low density of supporting cells such as Schwann cells and the lack of longitudinally-oriented structural features, which favor Bunger's bands-like formation and axonal growth by mimicking endoneural architecture. In addition, axonal growth can be impaired by inflammatory and immunological responses triggered by the implanted scaffold.We present here a novel tissue engineering technology that is based on principles of developmental biology and employs bioprinting, This automated rapid prototyping method allows for creating well-defined architectural features, without any scaffold, thus making the final construct completely biological as well as structurally and functionally closer to native tissues. Spherical or cylindrical bio-ink units (composed of Schwann and bone marrow stem cells) are delivered according to a computer scrypt together with agarose rods, as support material units. Structure formation takes place by the post-printing fusion of the discrete units. The geometrical parameters of those tubes, such as wall thickness, diameter, and number of lumens can easily be controlled. Such constructs could fulfill the crucial need for larger nerve grafts.Supported by NSF 0526854.
Invariant pulse propagation and self-phase modulation in dense media

Analytical solutions for the slowly varying phase as well as the field amplitude are obtained for invariant pulse propagation in resonant absorbing media consisting of interacting two-level atoms. Such media, having many atoms within a cubic wavelength, have been shown to exhibit large frequency chirps in pulse propagation owing to near-dipole–dipole interactions. Departures from hyperbolic-secant pulse envelopes and pulse areas other than 2π have been shown to occur in invariant pulse propagation. We show that self-phase modulation results from the near-dipole–dipole interactions and can cause strong modification of pulse shapes, including temporal narrowing and multipulse behavior.
Evaluation of combined H1- and H2-receptor blocking agents in the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis.

Abstract During an 8 wk period (September 23 to July 30) 23 patients with histories of late-summer allergic rhinitis received, on a random basis, alternating 2 wk courses of either chlorpheniramine (anti-H 1 ), 12 to 48 mg/day, plus placebo, or anti-H 1 in the same dose plus cimetidine (anti-H 2 ), 300 mg t.i.d. Symptom (SX) and medication (MED) scores were recorded twice daily. After the season the immediate (ICR) and late (LCR) reactions to allergens and histamine were measured in six of these patients while on: (1) no drugs, (2) anti-H 1 plus placebo, or (3) anti-H 1 plus anti-H 2 in the doses employed during the season. Mean weekly SX scores were significantly lower on anti-H 1 plus anti-H 2 compared with anti-H 1 plus placebo during the sixth week of the study (p 1 and anti-H 2 combination than on anti-H 1 alone during weeks four and five (p 1 and anti-H 2 combination, but the differences were only significant for the histamine-induced wheal (p 2 to the clinical response to anti-H 1 . No additional side effects were noted.
Neuroprotective role of ERK1/2 and ERK5 in a dopaminergic cell line under basal conditions and in response to oxidative stress

Loss of motor function in Parkinson's disease is due in part to degeneration of dopamine (DA) neurons. Pharmacological evidence suggests that the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways involving extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) play important roles in neuroprotection of DA neurons. However, the relative roles of the several ERK isoforms in the viability of DA neurons have not yet been determined. In the present study, we investigated the contributions of ERK5, as well as ERK1/2, to MN9D cell survival under basal conditions and in response to 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). We observed that U0126, an inhibitor of ERK activation, decreased basal survival of these cells. To differentiate between ERK1/2 and ERK5, cells were transfected with a dominant negative form of either ERK5 or MEK1, the upstream activator of ERK1/2. Transfection of MN9D cells with either dominant negative construct mimicked U0126, reducing cell survival. Moreover, transfection of the cells in such a way as to increase ERK5 or ERK1/2 activity inhibited 6-OHDA-induced cell death, although this effect was significant only in the case of ERK1/2 activation. These studies suggest that activations of ERK5 and ERK1/2 both promote basal DA cell survival and that ERK1/2 also protects DA cells from oxidative stress. These are the first studies to demonstrate a role for ERK5 in DA neuronal survival and to investigate the relative roles of ERK1/2 and ERK5 in basal DA survival and neuroprotection from oxidative stress.
Transition metal complexes of cyanocyclopentadienides. I. Monocyanocyclopentadienyl and 1,2-Dicyanocyclopentadienyl complexes of manganese(I), rhenium(I) and Iron(II)

Abstract The behaviour of the 1,2,3-tricyanocyclopentadienide (‘123-TP’), 1,2,4-tricyanocyclopentadienide (‘124-TP’), and pentacyanocyclopentadienide (‘PP’) anions as ligands towards manganese(I), rhenium(I) and iron(II) has been investigated. Spectroscopic and other evidence indicates that the manganese and rhenium complexes [M(L)(CO) 3 ] n (M = Mn and Re; L = 124-TP and PP), and the iron complex [Fe(PP) 2 .H 2 O] n , have polymeric structures containing N-bonded bridging cyanocyclopentadienyl groups. There is no evidence for the formation of pentahapto (or ‘π-bonded’) complexes with these ligands.
Development of Xenopus laevis skin glands in organ culture.

Abstract Dorsal head and trunk skin of Xenopus laevis larvae has been cultured for 6 to 7 days in liquid medium on a Rollordrum in order to study its ability to develop glands while in relative isolation. We have found that in this skin, whether it is cultured in control medium (which could contain as much as 2 mμg thyroxin/ml, contributed by the serum in it) or in control medium to which 0.1 μg/ml thyroxin has been added, gland development is quite dependent upon its degree of maturation at the time of explanting: 1. 1. Glands only rarely develop in skin taken from early larvae (hindlimb-to-tail ratio less than 0.21), and when they do, usually fewer develop when thyroxin is added to the medium than when it is not. 2. 2. In skin taken from larvae with a hindlimb-to-tail ratio of 0.22 to 0.24, although there is still no obvious sign of gland development in the skin at the time of explanting, glands will develop in culture, both in control and in thyroxin-supplemented medium. In cultures of skin taken from larvae with hindlimb-to-tail ratios of about 0.22 to 0.29, more gland rudiments develop in thyroxin-treated than in control skin. 3. 3. Gland rudiments have begun to develop in skin explanted from larvae just prior to and following forelimb eruption (hindlimb-to-tail ratios greater than about 0.28), and more develop when such skin is cultured. However, as in the case of the early larvae, thyroxin in the culture medium reduces the number of glands that develop in this skin.
Novel:: a nonlinear viscoelastic model for thermal oxidation of silicon

We have developed a computer oxidation modeling program, named NOVEL, which has been integrated into our process simulator FINDPRO. It combines the modified Deal‐Grove growth rate model with a nonlinear viscoclastic deformation model to predict both the oxide shape and stress. Modeling the thermal oxidation of silicon presents several numerical challenges. First, the oxide region expands and deforms extensively during the process which has to be modeled as a moving boundary, large deformation problem. Second, the SiO2 mechanical property changes from clastic to viscoclastic to viscous as the processing temperature is changed from a value below the the glass transition temperature (960°C) to one above it. The viscoclastic deformation model which is adequate over the entire temperature range of interest has an intrinsic numerical singularity when the oxide viscosity (divided by time) becomes relatively lower than the elastic modulus at high temperatures. These must be handled appropriately to ensure that the modeled results are correct. In this paper, we present details of how NOVEL solves the above mentioned problems. We show examples of low temperature/high pressure oxidation of a LOCOS structure, trench isolation structure, and the technique by which the finite element program NOVEL interfaces with the finite difference process simulator FINDPRO.
Predictive versus measured energy expenditure using limits-of-agreement analysis in hospitalized, obese patients.

Background Accuracy of predictive formulae is crucial for therapeutic planning because indirect calorimetry measurement is not always possible or cost effective. Energy requirements are more difficult to predict in the acutely ill obese patient compared with lean patients because of an increased resting energy expenditure per lean body mass and a variable stress response to illness. Methods A retrospective review of 726 patients identified 57 patients (32 spontaneous breathing, S; 25 ventilator dependent, V) with body mass indexes of 30-50 kg/m2. Limits-of-agreement analysis determined bias (the mean difference between measured and predicted values) and precision (the standard deviation of the bias) to evaluate the accuracy of predictive formulae compared with measured resting energy expenditure (MREE) by a Deltatrac Metabolic Monitor. Predictive accuracy was determined within+/-10% MREE. The predictive formulae examined were: variations of the Harris-Benedict equations using ideal, adjusted weights of 25% and 50% and actual weights with stress factors ranging from 1.0 to 1.5; the Ireton-Jones equation for obesity; the Ireton-Jones equations for hospitalized patients (S and V); and the ratio of 21 kcalories per kilogram actual weight. Results The mean MREE was 21 kcal/kg actual weight. The adjusted Harris-Benedict average weight equation was optimal for predicting MREE for the combined S and V sets (bias = 182+/-123; 67%+/-10% MREE), as well as the S subset (bias = 159+/-112; 69%+/-10% MREE). Conclusions The Harris-Benedict equations using the average of actual and ideal weight and a stress factor of 1.3 most accurately predicted MREE in acutely ill, obese patients with BMIs of 30-50 kg/m2. Predictive formulae were least accurate for obese, ventilator-dependent patients.
Prediction and Prioritization of Rare Oncogenic Mutations in the Cancer Kinome Using Novel Features and Multiple Classifiers

Cancer is a genetic disease that develops through a series of somatic mutations, a subset of which drive cancer progression. Although cancer genome sequencing studies are beginning to reveal the mutational patterns of genes in various cancers, identifying the small subset of “causative” mutations from the large subset of “non-causative” mutations, which accumulate as a consequence of the disease, is a challenge. In this article, we present an effective machine learning approach for identifying cancer-associated mutations in human protein kinases, a class of signaling proteins known to be frequently mutated in human cancers. We evaluate the performance of 11 well known supervised learners and show that a multiple-classifier approach, which combines the performances of individual learners, significantly improves the classification of known cancer-associated mutations. We introduce several novel features related specifically to structural and functional characteristics of protein kinases and find that the level of conservation of the mutated residue at specific evolutionary depths is an important predictor of oncogenic effect. We consolidate the novel features and the multiple-classifier approach to prioritize and experimentally test a set of rare unconfirmed mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase (EGFR). Our studies identify T725M and L861R as rare cancer-associated mutations inasmuch as these mutations increase EGFR activity in the absence of the activating EGF ligand in cell-based assays.
Boundary-Layer Stability Calculations for the HIFiRE-1 Transition Experiment

Boundary-layer stability analysis is performed by computational fluid dynamic simulation of experiments conducted in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Langley Research Center 20-in. Mach 6 Air Tunnelinsupportofthe first flightoftheHypersonicInternationalFlightResearchExperimentationprogram.From the laminar computational flow solutions, disturbances are calculated using the linear parabolized stability equations to obtain integrated disturbance growth rates. Comparisons are made between the experimentally observed transition locations and the results of the stability analysis. The stability results from the NASA Langley Research Center Air Tunnel are combined with previous work done for the Calspan University at Buffalo Research Center Large-Energy National Shock Tunnel to show excellent correlation between predicted and observed boundary-layer transition locations. Roughness calculations are also performed and a Reynolds number based on trip height is tabulated with experimental results.
Characterization of the "helix clamp" motif of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase using MALDI-TOF MS and surface plasmon resonance.

A helix-turn-helix motif in the crystal structure of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase (HIV-1 RT) was proposed to be a conserved nucleic acid binding domain among several nu...
Effect of high pressure and magnetic field on the electrical resistivity of YbAgCu4

Abstract The electrical resistivity of YbAgCu4 has been measured at pressures up to 100 kbar and at temperatures between 1 and 300 K. With increasing pressure, the resistivity maximum shifts to lower temperatures and the coherent regime disappears above about 60 kbar. At the highest pressures, a field of 8 T produces a large negative magnetoresistance, roughly equivalent to a negative pressure of 30 kbar. The behavior is consistent with a pressure-induced decrease in the Kondo temperature.
Processes in relativistic plasmas

The establishment and maintenance of a Boltzmann distribution in particle kinetic energies is investigated for a plasma with theta = KTe/mc-squared much greater than unity, where m is the electron mass. It is shown that thermalization of the electron gas by binary collisions is not sufficiently effective to maintain the equilibrium distribution when other processes that perturb the equilibrium are taken into account. Electron-positron pair production in electron-electron and electron-ion collisions, and perturbations of a Boltzmann distribution by nonthermal processes are evaluated. Thermalization by means of other mechanisms, such as interaction with plasma waves is discussed, and the opacity of a relativistic plasma is computed for Compton scattering, pair production in the fields of electrons and ions, inverse bremsstrahlung, and synchrotron self-absorption.
Conformational changes in the archaerhodopsin-3 proton pump: detection of conserved strongly hydrogen bonded water networks

Archaerhodopsin-3 (AR3) is a light-driven proton pump from Halorubrum sodomense, but little is known about its photocycle. Recent interest has focused on AR3 because of its ability to serve both as a high-performance, genetically-targetable optical silencer of neuronal activity and as a membrane voltage sensor. We examined light-activated structural changes of the protein, retinal chromophore, and internal water molecules during the photocycle of AR3. Low-temperature and rapid-scan time-resolved FTIR-difference spectroscopy revealed that conformational changes during formation of the K, M, and N photocycle intermediates are similar, although not identical, to bacteriorhodopsin (BR). Positive/negative bands in the region above 3,600 cm − 1, which have previously been assigned to structural changes of weakly hydrogen bonded internal water molecules, were substantially different between AR3 and BR. This included the absence of positive bands recently associated with a chain of proton transporting water molecules in the cytoplasmic channel and a weakly hydrogen bonded water (W401), which is part of a hydrogen-bonded pentagonal cluster located near the retinal Schiff base. However, many of the broad IR continuum absorption changes below 3,000 cm − 1 assigned to networks of water molecules involved in proton transport through cytoplasmic and extracellular portions in BR were very similar in AR3. This work and subsequent studies comparing BR and AR3 structural changes will help identify conserved elements in BR-like proton pumps as well as bioengineer AR3 to optimize neural silencing and voltage sensing.
Autothermal reforming of isobutanol

Catalytic partial oxidation (CPO) of isobutanol to produce synthesis gas with varying H2/CO ratios has been performed autothermally in a staged millisecond-contact-time reactor. A 1 wt% Rh-1 wt% Ce/α-alumina catalyst was used to carry out CPO of isobutanol over a range of fuel to oxygen ratios (C/O) in ∼20 ms residence times. Steam was added (S/C = 0 to S/C = 3) to promote the water gas shift (WGS) reaction and increase hydrogen production. Without steam addition, the maximum CO and H2 selectivities obtained were greater than 70%. Steam addition increased the maximum hydrogen selectivity to 103%, at C/O = 1 and S/C = 2. Conversion of isobutanol and oxygen was always > 99% at all C/O and S/C ratios after CPO where the autothermal temperatures were typically between 600 and 1000 °C . A 1 wt% Pt–1 wt% Ce catalyst was added downstream of the CPO stage to further reduce the CO and increase the H2 concentrations by the WGS reaction. Addition of the WGS stage resulted in a product stream containing 1.7 to 3 mol% CO at S/C of 2 and 3 which is comparable to the exit stream CO concentration of an industrial high temperature shift catalyst. With steam addition, selectivities to hydrogen greater than 100% were obtained at all C/O ratios, with a maximum of 122% at C/O = 0.9 and S/C = 3. At S/C = 3, the H2/CO ratio increased from ∼3 after the CPO stage to ∼12 after the WGS stage. Also, the WGS catalyst reduced the selectivities of non-equilibrium products like isobutylene and isobutyraldehyde by almost half compared to that after the CPO stage, which can reduce syngas cleanup costs after a reformer. Since the total residence time in the reactor is ∼100 ms and the product distribution can be tuned by addition of steam, this represents a compact and simple system for producing renewable syngas or hydrogen.
Municipalities as Public Relations and Marketing Firms

This article offers a metaphorical image of U. S. municipalities as public relations (PR) and marketing firms. Cities are practicing many of the same promotional and image-generation techniques as private-sector PR firms use with a desire for the same ends—increased consumption of goods and services, which in this case come from cities and not from private-sector businesses. The image presented here is based on six tactics that public organizations use to sell themselves to diverse audience bases. The tactics include branding, media relations, in-house publications (three prevalent tactics), use of outside organizations and volunteers as PR tools, public art, and built environment via sustainability (three uncommon tactics). The article asserts that image generation in a city acting as a PR and marketing firm is a consequence of the market models of governance, bringing postmodern public administration critiques to fruition.
Are All Types of Internet Voting Unsafe

Everyone knows online voting comes with risks of tampering. How do public and private online elections differ, and do those differences alter the risks in any way?
Cavity Flows in a Scramjet Engine by the Space-Time Conservation and Solution Element Method

Numerical simulation of supersonic flows over open cavities in the setting of a dual-mode ramjet/scramjet engine are reported. To calculate the unsteady cavity flows, we employ the space-time conservation element and solution element (CESE) method, a novel numerical method based on a unified treatment of space and time for calculation of flux balance. Supersonic cavity flows with and without fuel injection are studied to understand the mechanisms of mixing enhancement and flame holding by cavities. Without injection, numerical results compared favorably with the experimental data for dominant frequencies and time-averaged pressure coefficients inside the cavities. With an upstream injection, the flow oscillations are drastically suppressed
Construction and asymptotic stability of structurally stable internal layer solutions

We introduce a geometric/asymptotic method to treat structurally stable internal layer solutions. We consider asymptotic expansions of the internal layer solutions and the critical eigenvalues that determine their stability. Proofs of the existence of exact solutions and eigenvalue-eigenfunctions are outlined. Multi-layered solutions are constructed by a new shooting method through a sequence of pseudo Poincare mappings that do not require the transversality of the flow to cross sections. The critical eigenvalues are determined by a coupling matrix that generates the SLEP matrix. The transversality of the shooting method is related to the nonzeroness of the critical eigenvalues. An equivalent approach is given to mono-layer solutions. They can be determined by the intersection of a fast jump surface and a slow switching curve, which reduces Fenichel’s transversality condition to the slow manifold. The critical eigenvalue is determined by the angle of the intersection. We present three examples. The first treats the critical eigenvalues of the system studied by Angenent, Mallet-Paret & Peletier. The second shows that a key lemma in the SLEP method may not hold. The third is a perturbed activator-inhibitor system that can have any number of mono-layer solutions. Some of the solutions can only be found with the new shooting method.
Maximum Force Control of a Linear Induction Motor Drive

Linear induction machines (LIM) have shown their advantages in high speed propulsion in a variety of applications, such as military, and transportation. Implementation of vector control to achieve position, speed, and force control in linear induction machines has been a focal area of research for the past decade. However, due to the trailing eddy current effects and magnetic asymmetry effects, vector control can not provide the perfect functionality for LIM as it does for rotary induction machines (RIM). Furthermore, the vector control schemes are relatively complicated. Therefore, searching for an adequate control scheme with ease in implementation and low cost is the motivation of this paper. Using finite element analysis (FEA) the relationship between traction force and different ranges of linear speed and excitation frequencies in motoring, generating, and electromagnetic braking regions has been found. By storing these characteristics in the form of lookup tables which provides excitation frequencies resulting in maximum accelerating and decelerating forces, a closed-loop control scheme incorporating position, speed, and force controls with fast response has been proposed.
The platelet mechanism of erosion of ductile metals

Abstract A platelet mechanism of erosion for ductile metals is defined and evidence of its validity is presented. The effects of the plastic deformation behavior of metals on their erosion by particles carried in gas streams are reviewed and related to the proposed erosion mechanism. The data presented indicate that the erosion of ductile metals can be related to properties of alloys such as the ductility and the strain-hardening coefficient and, indirectly, to some thermal properties that have not previously been considered in the selection of alloys for erosion service. Hardness and strength do not relate to erosion resistance in the manner usually prescribed to them.
Cluster calculation for 9ΛBe hypernucleus

Configuration space Faddeev equations are applied for studying the 9ΛBe hypernucleus in the ααΛ cluster model. To describe αα and αΛ interactions, various phenomenological potentials are used. Contributions to the binding energy of the ground state coming from higher partial waves of the nuclear interactions are studied. The core effect of the nuclear αα potential is also considered.
Predicting nonsuicidal self-injury episodes over a discrete period of time in a sample of women diagnosed with bulimia nervosa: An analysis of self-reported trait and ecological momentary assessment based affective lability and previous suicide attempts

Rates of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) are high amongst individuals diagnosed with eating disorders (EDs),1–2 particularly in the bingeing-purging subtype of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa (BN; for a review see Svirko & Hawton3). The high co-occurrence between NSSI and EDs may be explained by shared etiological and maintenance factors.3 For example, both behaviors have been posited to serve as emotion regulation strategies. Indeed, intrapersonal negative reinforcement is one of the most commonly endorsed reasons for engaging in NSSI in general4 and this pattern remains true for ED patients who engage in NSSI, who most frequently endorse the affect regulation function.1 With this in mind, it is important to recognize that a tendency to experience frequent shifts in emotional intensity and valence (i.e., affective lability) may be an important factor in dysregulated behaviors (e.g., NSSI) in patients with BN. Anestis and colleagues,5 for instance, found that affective lability predicted impulsive behaviors (e.g., self-injury, risky sexual behavior) in a sample of women with BN. Research therefore suggests that individuals diagnosed with BN who experience frequently shifting moods are more likely to engage in a broad array of dysregulated behaviors. Other stable tendencies, such as past suicide attempts, are also associated with NSSI. Individuals with a history of NSSI are more likely to report past suicide attempts6 and attempt suicide in the future7 relative to individuals with no history of NSSI. A longer history of NSSI is also associated with increased suicide attempts in adolescents,6 and individuals with a history of both suicide attempts and NSSI (as compared to suicide attempts alone) exhibit more severe psychopathology and suicidal ideation.8 This is of particular concern in BN, given that 25–35% of patients with BN attempt suicide (for a review see Franko & Keel9). Although the above referenced research supports the independent role of suicidal behavior and affective lability in the prediction of NSSI, to our knowledge, no past research has tested the interactive effect of these two variables and, as such, it is unclear to what extent the strength of the relationship between on predictor and NSSI depends upon the presence of the other predictor. The aim of the current study was to determine whether levels of affective lability impact the strength of the relationship between prior suicidal behavior and NSSI episodes over a discrete period of time. Specifically, we hypothesized that, in a sample of women diagnosed with BN, the interaction of self-reported trait affective lability and lifetime number of suicide attempts would predict participants’ number of NSSI episodes during the course of the study.
A generalized melt viscosity-temperature dependence for styrene and styrene-acrylonitrile based polymers

The dependence of the melt flow of polymers on temperature is of both theoretical and commercial importance. A useful representation of the temperature dependence of the shear-dependent viscosity, based on superposition of flow curves at various temperatures, has previously been presented by the author for several olefin polymers. This method is extended in the current work to styrene and styrene-acrylonitrile based polymers. The melt viscosity-temperature dependence of a broad range of styrenic polymers and copolymers, ranging from polystyrene to 82 percent AN styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer, with and without rubber inclusions, was investigated. Flow curves at the various temperatures were found to be superimposable, as had earlier been found to be the case for olefin polymers, and a unique quantitative relationship between the superposition shift factors and temperature was found applicable to the entire family of polymers. The resultant energy of activation for viscous flow is in excellent agreement with previously published results for polystyrene Newtonian viscosities, and the magnitude of the shift factors is consistent with a limited set reported for ABS polymers. Independent tests of the derived relationships provided excellent prediction of measured viscosities. Thus, it is considered that a general viscosity-temperature relationship has been defined for this family of polymers, independent of molecular structural detail.
Tolerant Attitudes Reflect an Intent to Steward: A Reply to Bruskotter and Fulton

The terms tolerance and intolerance are widely used by scholars and managers alike because they are widely understood in contexts beyond attitudes or behavior toward wildlife. Tolerance is a frame of mind; thus, intolerance should also be considered one. Redefining intolerance as the opposite of stewardship would conflate intention and behavior; thus, I argue that tolerance–neutrality–intolerance should be a continuum of attitudes, whereas stewardship–inaction–opposition should be considered a continuum of behavior or action. In my framework, attitudes and willingness to steward wolves or retaliate against them represent intentions to support or oppose wolf conservation.
Clinical trials review: idiopathic inflammatory myopathy.

These recent studies emphasize the multifaceted and multidisciplinary approach that is necessary to treat inflammatory myopathy and other autoimmune diseases. We have successfully incorporated the multidrug rationale of our oncology colleagues, and borrowed powerful immunosuppressive agents from the transplant surgeons in an effort to control disease activity. The new millennial challenge is the development of a multidisciplinary holistic approach utilizing a rational combination of immunomodulating agents in conjunction with nonpharmacologic measures that are both logical and well-studied.
The effect of clinical experience on the error rate of emergency physicians.

Study objective We assess the effect of emergency physicians' clinical experience on the propensity to commit a patient care error. Methods Seven years of data from a single emergency department's peer review activities were reviewed for all patient care errors made by emergency physicians. Emergency physician clinical experience was defined as years since completion of residency training during the year each error was made. A repeated-measures log-linear model was constructed that predicted error count and the rate of errors over time, with a correction for number of patients treated by each physician. Results Of 829 cases reviewed during 7 years, there were 374 emergency physician errors identified. Mean emergency physician experience was 8.1±8.6 years. Emergency physicians with experience of 1.5 years or more were less likely to make an error (relative risk [RR]=0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.48 to 0.91) than those who were less experienced. Errors were not associated with emergency physician age (RR=1.01; 95% CI 0.99 to 1.03) or sex (RR=1.29; 95% CI 0.93 to 1.79). Conclusion Emergency physicians with less than 1.5 years of clinical experience may be more likely to commit errors than more experienced emergency physicians.
Pediatric Asthma Management: An Overview of the Literature, 2007-2008

The purpose of this article is to provide a useful index to English-language, scientific publications (2007-2008) related to pediatric asthma management. The authors first surveyed abstracts to ide...
Use of the donor lung after asphyxiation or drowning: effect on lung transplant recipients.

Background With the relative paucity of acceptable donors for lung transplantation, criteria for extended donor consideration are being explored. We sought to evaluate the suitability of donors whose cause of death was asphyxiation or drowning (A/D) as a potential option to enlarge the donor pool. Methods We queried the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) Standard Transplant Analysis and Research registry for lung transplantation from 1987 to 2010 to assess associations between cause of death and recipient survival using the Kaplan-Meier method. To adjust for potential confounders, we used a Cox proportional hazards model and a logistic regression model to evaluate incidence of rejection within the first year. Results There were 18,250 adult primary lung transplantations performed, with 309 A/D donors. There was no difference in survival between groups (log-rank, p = 0.52). There were no differences in demographics, length of stay, airway dehiscence, lung allocation score (LAS), or ischemic time in univariate analysis (all p > 0.05). The A/D lung recipients had fewer deaths from pulmonary causes (5.8% versus 9.5%; p = 0.02). Proportional hazards analysis was significant for double lung transplantation (hazard ratio [HR], 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.8–0.9), height difference (HR, 1.002; 95% CI, 1.00–1.003), donor age greater than 50 years (HR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.83–0.96), and recipient age greater than 55 years (HR, 0.8; 95% CI, 0.76–0.84). A/D cause of death did not impact survival in multivariate analysis. Conclusions A/D as a donor cause of death was not associated with poor long-term survival or incidence of rejection in the first year after transplantation. Donor cause of death by A/D, when carefully evaluated and selected, should not automatically exclude the organ from transplant consideration. These results provide important justification for potentially broadening the donor pool safely.
Equilibrium Structure of cis-Hex-3-ene-1,5-diyne and Relevance to the Bergman Cyclization

An accurate gas-phase structure determination of cis-hex-3-ene-1,5-diyne (1), the parent molecule for the Bergman cyclization reaction, has been achieved through a combination of Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy and computational quantum chemistry. The microwave spectra of seven isotopes of enediyne 1 have been observed using a pulsed-nozzle Fourier transform spectrometer. The ground-state rotational constants were corrected for vibrational effects and the equilibrium structure (Re) was deduced. The equilibrium structure displays excellent agreement with that obtained from high-level ab initio calculations (CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ). Both approaches confirm that the molecule has C2v symmetry with slight deviations of the alkyne units (C−C⋮C−H) from linearity. These groups distort away from each other in contra-distinction to their distortion during the Bergman cyclization reaction. The C1−C6 distance (4.32 A), which has been viewed as a critical parameter governing reactivity in the Bergman cyclization, is...
Rapid evolution of migratory behaviour in the introduced house finch of eastern North America

The house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) of eastern North America was introduced onto Long Island, New York, around 1940. The source is presumed to be southern California, where ca. 80% of individuals are completely sedentary. The eastern population has become migratory: by the early 1960s, 36% of eastern house finches were performing migratory movements (more than 80 km from their banding site) and that proportion has fluctuated between 28% and 54% in succeeding years. The movements of birds banded during the breeding season and recovered in winter were strongly orientated toward the south-west, and the same pattern was evident in the earliest recoveries (1958 to 1966); recoveries of birds banded during winter and recovered in the breeding season were orientated toward the north-east. The average distance of migration has continued to increase logarithmically. Areas colonized later, as the range expanded, were characterized by initial long migration distances and high proportions of migrants, suggesting that these traits have evolved in the eastern population. Eastern house finches are partial migrants: not all individuals migrate, and birds that migrate some winters remain in breeding areas in others. Younger birds exhibit a stronger tendency to migrate. A very few western (including southern California) house finches moved long distances, but they did so in directions consistent with seasonal migration, indicating that the machinery subserving migratory behaviour pre-existed in the parent population.
The measurement theory of dense threshold structures

Abstract A dense threshold structure consists of a nonempty set X, a total ordering ≥ * on X, and a function T from X onto itself such that (i) 〈 X, ≥ * 〉 is dense (i.e., for each x and y in X, if x > *y, then for some z, x > * z > * y ) and (ii) T(w) > * w for all w in X . The intended interpretation is that elements y of X are discriminated as being more intense than elements x if and only if y > *T(x). A measurement-theoretic foundation for dense threshold structures is given that includes representation and uniqueness results, a measurement-theoretic analysis of Weber's law, and meaningfulness considerations about Weber constants.
Oxidation of ethanol by hepatic microsomes of acatalasemic mice

Abstract Hepatic microsomes of acatalasemic Cs b mice subjected to heat inactivation displayed decreased catalatic activity but NADPH dependent microsomal ethanol oxidation (MEOS) remained active and unaffected. Even without heat inactivation, in the Cs b strain, the NADPH dependent metabolism of ethanol was much more active than the H 2 O 2 mediated one whereas microsomes of Cs a control mice displayed equal rates of H 2 O 2 and NADPH dependent ethanol oxidation. Addition of catalase to liver microsomes in vitro abolished this difference whereas the catalase inhibitor azide established in the Cs a mice a pattern similar to that of the Cs b , namely a much more active NADPH dependent than a H 2 O 2 mediated ethanol oxidation. The selective persistence in the Cs b mice of NADPH dependent ethanol oxidation contrasting with the reduction in the H 2 O 2 mediated metabolism of ethanol supports the existence of a microsomal ethanol oxidizing system independent of catalase.
Characterization of Nonpolar Lipids and Selected Steroids by Using Laser-Induced Acoustic Desorption/Chemical Ionization, Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization, and Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry.

Abstract Laser-induced acoustic desorption (LIAD) combined with ClMn(H2O)+ chemical ionization (CI) was tested for the analysis of nonpolar lipids and selected steroids in a Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT-ICR). The nonpolar lipids studied, cholesterol, 5α-cholestane, cholesta-3,5-diene, squalene, and β-carotene, were found to solely form the desired water replacement product (adduct-H2O) upon reaction with the ClMn(H2O)+ ions. The steroids, androsterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), estrone, estradiol, and estriol, also form abundant adduct-H2O ions, but less abundant adduct-2H2O ions were also observed. Neither (+)APCI nor (+)ESI can ionize the saturated hydrocarbon lipid, cholestane. APCI successfully ionizes the unsaturated hydrocarbon lipids to form exclusively the intact protonated analytes. However, it causes extensive fragmentation for cholesterol and the steroids. The worst case is cholesterol that does not produce any stable protonated molecules. On the other hand, ESI cannot ionize any of the hydrocarbon analytes, saturated or unsaturated. However, ESI can be used to protonate the oxygen-containing analytes with substantially less fragmentation than for APCI in all cases except for cholesterol and estrone. In conclusion, LIAD/ClMn(H2O)+ chemical ionization is superior over APCI and ESI for the mass spectrometric characterization of underivatized nonpolar lipids and steroids.
Characterizing heterogeneous computing environments using singular value decomposition

We consider a heterogeneous computing environment that consists of a collection of machines and task types. The machines vary in capabilities and different task types are better suited to specific machine architectures. We describe some of the difficulties with the current measures that are used to characterize heterogeneous computing environments and propose two new measures. These measures relate to the aggregate machine performance (relative to the given task types) and the degree of affinity that specific task types have to different machines. The latter measure of task-machine affinity is quantified using singular value decomposition. One motivation for using these new measures is to be able to represent a wider range of heterogeneous environments than is possible with previous techniques. An important application of studying the heterogeneity of heterogeneous systems is predicting the performance of different computing hardware for a given task type mix.
Perceptions of Second-hand Smoke Risks Predict Future Adolescent Smoking Initiation

Purpose To directly test whether perceptions of second-hand smoke risks deter adolescent smoking initiation.
Autosomal recessive epidermolysis bullosa simplex. Generalized phenotypic features suggestive of junctional or dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, and association with neuromuscular diseases.

• With few exceptions, epidermolysis bullosa (EB) simplex is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by rather localized and recurrent nonscarring blister formation; mucous membranes and other organs are usually uninvolved. Recently, two patients were described with an autosomal recessive form of EB simplex associated with muscular dystrophy. We now describe four additional patients with autosomal recessive EB simplex, three of whom had associated muscular dystrophy or congenital myasthenia gravis. These patients had generalized cutaneous findings, including milia, atrophicscarring, nail dystrophy, and scalp alopecia, which have been classically attributed to either junctional or dystrophic EB. Each patient had significant oral cavity involvement, and in two, marked growth retardation and anemia were also present. Our findings suggest that autosomal recessive EB simplex may be characterized by rather severe cutaneous and extracutaneous disease activity, and may be associated with at least two distinct neuromuscular diseases. ( Arch Dermatol. 1989;125:931-938)
Telephonic education of inhaler technique, antiretroviral prescribing for black and white patients, and progression to insulin

Telephonic education of inhaler technique “The telephonic method was able to improve and detect some deficiencies in patients’ inhaler technique,” reported Nelson et al.1 Administration technique was assessed telephonically for 30 adult patients prescribed both rescue and control inhalers. Then, each patient received an individualized education program targeted at weak points identified during the telephonic assessment. Patients’ technique scores improved from before to after the education sessions on both the metereddose inhaler (MDI; 5.7 to 7.8 [maximum 9], P < 0.05) and diskus (8.5 to 10.4 [maximum 11], P < 0.05) delivery devices according to the remote pharmacist’s assessments. To validate the assessments, each telephonic patient assessment and education session was videotaped, then assessed by a second rater. Telephone and video assessments were similar when patients demonstrated their technique for the diskus device. Scores were different for the MDI assessment, with the remote pharmacist rating the patients’ technique higher than the second rater. Implications. Problems with inhaler technique can remain after an initial training session. This study hints that weaknesses can be identified and improved upon over the telephone. If problems persist, then face-to-face counseling is warranted.
Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma: A 25-year Single-Institution Experience

Background Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is among the most aggressive solid tumors accounting for 1–5 % of primary thyroid malignancies. In this retrospective review, we aim to evaluate the prognostic factors, treatment approaches, and outcomes of patients with ATC treated at a single institution.