cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of Alternative Extension Methods through Radio Broadcasting in West Africa

Abstract There is an urgent need to quantify which extension methods are most effective in Africa. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of alternative extension methods on adoption of the triple bagging cowpea storage technology in Niger and Burkina Faso. This study was designed as a quasi-experiment with two alternative extension methods studied: village demonstrations and demonstrations reinforced by radio broadcasts. Interview data was collected on triple-bag adoption in villages with the two types of extension programmes and control villages with no storage extension. Binary logit regression analysis was used to identify factors which influenced triple-bag adoption. Storage demonstrations boosted adoption of triple-bag storage by statistically significant marginal probabilities of 34% in Niger and 13% in Burkina Faso, compared to villages with no demonstrations or radio messages. Reinforcement of the demonstration experience with radio broadcasts increased adoption by statistically ...
Bariatric surgery in patients with liver cirrhosis

Abstract Background Data regarding the management of bariatric patients with cirrhosis are scarce, and there is no strong evidence that supports a specific approach for this group of patients. The aim of this study was to review our experience with cirrhotic patients undergoing bariatric surgery. Methods A prospectively maintained database was reviewed to assess the outcomes of bariatric surgery for patients with known cirrhosis and for patients with cirrhosis discovered at surgery (unknown cirrhosis). Results From April 2004 to September 2011, 23 patients (12 with known cirrhosis and 11 with unknown cirrhosis) met inclusion criteria. There were 14 females and 9 males with a mean age of 51.5±8.3 and a mean body mass index of 48.2±8.6 kg/m2. Child-Pugh classes were A (n = 22) and B (n = 1). Patients had a high frequency of diabetes (83%), dyslipidemia (61%), and hypertension (83%). Procedures performed were laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) (n = 14), laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) (n = 8), and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (n = 1). Two patients underwent LSG successfully after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt. Mean length of hospital stay was 4.3±2.7 days. Complications developed in 8 patients. One patient died of unknown cause 9 months after surgery. No patients had liver decompensation after surgery. The patients lost 67.4%±30.9% of their excess weight at 12 months follow-up and 67.7%±24.8% at 37 months follow-up. Conclusion LRYGB and LSG can be performed without prohibitive complication rates in carefully selected patients with cirrhosis. In our experience, bariatric patients with cirrhosis achieved excellent weight loss and improvement in obesity-related co-morbidities.
Acute effects of nicotinic acid on hepatic transport of 99mTc-PIPIDA

Hepatic injury has been associated with nicotinic acid treatment of schizophrenia and hypercholesterolemia. This association was implicated when the liver and biliary tract were not visualized after 99mTc-HIDA in a patient taking 3 g daily of nicotinic acid. We studied hepatic transport of 99mTc-PIPIDA both in vitro in isolated hepatocytes and in vivo in rabbits pretreated with nicotinic acid to further examine this association. Nicotinic acid increased uptake of PIPIDA by isolated hepatocytes and 7 days of nicotinic acid treatment in rabbits produced no abnormalities in hepatic uptake, gallbladder visualization, or biliary excretion of PIPIDA. We conclude that nicotinic acid does not have an inhibitory effect on uptake of biliary imaging agents and actually may be useful in enhancing hepatic imaging in patients with reduced liver function.
Rural-urban differences in the social climate surrounding environmental tobacco smoke: a report from the 2002 Social Climate Survey of Tobacco Control.

Context Although previous research has found smoking rates to be higher among residents of rural areas, few studies have investigated rural-urban differences in exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Objective This study contrasted the social climate surrounding ETS among Americans who resided in 5 levels of county urbanization. Design Data were collected via telephone interviews administered to a representative sample of 3,009 civilian, noninstitutionalized adults over age 18 in the United States. Households were selected using random digit dialing procedures. Findings Compared to residents of urban counties, rural residents reported fewer restrictions on smoking in the presence of children and lower incidences of smoking bans in households, family automobiles, work areas, convenience stores, fast-food restaurants, and restaurants. Interestingly, when rural-urban variations in knowledge and attitudes about ETS were examined, the magnitude of rural-urban differences was smaller or nonexistent for these indicators. Moreover, logistic regression models indicated that none of these rural-urban differences in knowledge and attitudes persisted after statistically controlling for region, smoking status, gender, race, age, and education factors. This suggests that the observed rural-urban differences in ETS bans could not be explained adequately by rural-urban differences in knowledge and attitudes about the dangers of ETS. Conclusions The policy implications of this research point to a greater need in rural America for programs focusing on the restriction and elimination of ETS. They also suggest that programs focusing only on influencing the levels of ETS knowledge and attitudes among the general population may not be adequate in producing the desired change.
Perspectives of Foster-Care Providers, Service Providers, and Judges Regarding Privatized Foster-Care Services:

This qualitative study examined perceptions offoster-care providers, service providers, and juvenilecourt judges regarding privatized foster-care services in Kansas. Kansas was the first state to privatize all foster care, adoption, and family-preservation services. Most states report either beginning to implement managed-care principles in their child welfare services or exploring this option. Fifty-eight interviews with 33participants (youth in out-of-home placements, theirparents,foster-careproviders, service providers, and judges) were conducted. The impact ofprivatization on access to services (i.e., mental health, appropriate out-of-home placement, aftercare, family support and family preservation, and reunification), communication, caseload levels, and spending is discussed. Recommendations regarding these issues are presented. In 1997, the Kansas legislature and governor, acting together, privatized Kansas's foster-care, adoption, and family preservation services. The decision to transfer operational authority from a state agency and its local/regional units to contract providers in the private sector was controversial in several ways. First, the state made this change without input from many of the stakeholders (i.e., judges, child-welfare workers, and families; Kansas Action for Children, 1998; Shepherd, 1997). Second, at the time, the state-run child-welfare system was experiencing difficulty (Kansas Chapter National Association of Social Workers,
Variation of C-reactive protein levels in adolescents: association with sleep-disordered breathing and sleep duration.

Background— There is increasing evidence that sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adults. C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of systemic inflammation, is an important predictor of future cardiovascular events. The goal of this study was to quantify the associations of SDB, sleep duration, and CRP in adolescents to better understand the role of SDB in CVD risk. Methods and Results— Adolescents (n=143; age, 13 to 18 years; 36% black; 50% female) with a wide range of SDB severity underwent polysomnography and measurement of high-sensitivity CRP. SDB was quantified with the apnea hypopnea index (AHI) and oxygen desaturation measures. Sleep duration was estimated from 7-day actigraphy. The independent and dose-response associations of SDB with CRP were addressed through linear mixed-effects models. Forty-eight percent were overweight or obese, and 12% had SDB (AHI ≥5). CRP levels varied with increasing body mass index and SDB. After adjustment for ...
Nucleotide sequence of the Escherichia coli gene for lipid A disaccharide synthase.

The lpxB gene of Escherichia coli, believed to be the structural gene for lipid A disaccharide synthase, is located in the min 4 region of the chromosome. It is adjacent to and clockwise of the lpxA gene, which is thought to encode UDP-N-acetylglucosamine acyltransferase. Preliminary evidence suggests that lpxA and lpxB are cotranscribed in the clockwise direction and thus constitute part of a previously unknown operon (D. N. Crowell, M. S. Anderson, and C. R. H. Raetz, J. Bacteriol. 168:152-159, 1986). We now report the complete nucleotide sequence of a 1,522-base-pair PvuII-HincII fragment known to carry the lpxB gene. This sequence contained an open reading frame of 1,149 base pairs, in agreement with the predicted size, location, and orientation of lpxB. There was a second open reading frame 59 to, and in the same orientation as, lpxB that corresponded to lpxA. The ochre codon terminating lpxA was shown to overlap the methionine codon identified as the initiation codon for lpxB, suggesting that these genes are cotranscribed and translationally coupled. A third open reading frame was also shown to begin at the 39 end of lpxB with analogous overlap between the opal codon terminating lpxB and the methionine codon that putatively initiates translation downstream of lpxB in the clockwise direction. These results argue that at least three genes constitute a translationally coupled operon in the min 4 region of the E. coli chromosome. The accompanying paper by Tomasiewicz and McHenry (J. Bacteriol. 169:5735-5744, 1987) presents 4.35 kilobases of DNA sequence, beginning at the 39 end of lpxB, and argues that dnaE and several other open reading frames may be members of this operon. Images
Roadside camera motion detection for automated speed measurement

In this paper, we present an algorithm to detect scene change that indicates that camera re-calibration is necessary. This work is in support of using un-calibrated traffic management roadside cameras for automated speed estimates. We construct an activity region using moving vehicle edges, and small differences in the activity region in consecutive images are used as a decision criteria for recalibrating the camera. The camera motion detection uses training sets of 10-second video sequences and detects moving vehicles using frame differencing. We present a validation of our algorithm using real-world traffic scenes.
The ghost club storyscape: designing for transmedia storytelling

One of the key questions about transmedia storytelling is how to design a participant's experience across different media so that it is connected and perceived as a whole. We extract four design connectors for building such relationships from current work in media studies, production literature, and practice. These proposed design components are mythology, canon, character and genre. The goal of these connectors is to create relationships that form a whole work from stand-alone parts. To test this approach we have designed and developed a group of connected digital media expressions, The Ghost Club Storyscape, to experiment with these four ingredients on multiple media.
Sampling point processes on stable unbounded regions and exact simulation of queues

Given a marked renewal point process (assuming that the marks are i.i.d.) we say that an unbounded region is stable if it contains finitely many points of the point process with probability one. In this paper we provide algorithms that allow to sample these finitely many points efficiently. We explain how exact simulation of the steady-state measure valued state descriptor of the infinite server queue follows as a simple corollary of our algorithms. We provide numerical evidence supporting that our algorithms are not only theoretically sound but also practical. Finally, having simulation optimization in mind, we also apply our results to gradient estimation of steady-state performance measures.
Laparoscopic colectomy for colon cancer - A trial update

Objectives:A prospective randomized trial was designed to test the hypothesis that disease-free survival and overall survival are equivalent regardless of whether patients receive laparoscopic assi...
Signals that go with the flow.

The presentations at this meeting left no doubt that many neuroactive substances could be detected in the CSF and that many receptors for substances were located in the vicinity of the CSF system. But are these substances just by-products that spill over into the ventricles after accomplishing their function in the brain? Are they a useful means to eavesdrop on activities elsewhere but of no functional consequence themselves? Do the hydrodynamics of CSF flow disrupt the movement of these signals or are they real signals that make use of the characteristics and flow patterns of the ventricular–subarachnoid spaces to distribute information in a unique pattern? An underlying theme of the meeting was how to distinguish between a signal and a by-product. This discussion continued after the meeting over the Internet. Two opinions emerged: those in the neuroendocrine field favored a comprehensive but complex set of criteria, while those working with neurotransmitters favored simplicity. The criteria listed below lean towards simplicity and reflect input from Kruger, Skinner, Moore, Bradbury and Silver. Silver divided the issue into two parts:1.Necessary and sufficient criteria must be met to confirm the existence of a signal in a large fluid volume. It should be shown that the removal or replacement of the signaling substance results in a change in the response being controlled and an assay of the substance should indicate that it is present or increases, or both, in a well-defined temporal relationship to the response (and similarly declines when the response disappears).2.Evidence must be obtained that a fluid compartment is the conduit for a diffusible or transported signal. The signal must have access to and enter the compartment and the fluid dynamics and turnover in the compartment should allow appropriate movement of the signal.In this meeting these criteria were applied to the CSF but they would equally apply to the interstitial fluid of the brain, in the context of volume transmission, and to the blood. Indeed, these latter compartments could compete with the CSF as communication channels. In all cases the way in which the fluid moves is an important variable.Silver contributed a final summary. For a number of physiological systems, there is excellent evidence for the existence of a diffusible signal in a large fluid volume (for example, sleep signals, GnRH, melatonin, circadian signals). In each of these instances the data meet the criteria for the first part above. For the criteria of the second part, much, but not all, of the necessary evidence has been gathered for these systems. Overall, it seems that there is already evidence of a signaling, rather than an eavesdropping, function for CSF in several systems. It is still necessary to meet all the above criteria within a single system. The CSF system seems appropriate for further study with new techniques and seems likely to provide a model for diffuse chemical signaling in the whole nervous system.
Design and testing of a series hybrid vehicle with an ultracapacitor energy buffer

This paper describes the propulsion modeling, systems design, and conversion of a General Motors EV1 electric vehicle into a series hybrid. The vehicle is refitted with a gasoline engine generator set and ultracapacitor-only electrical storage system. A detailed propulsion model was developed using the vehicular physical and electrical properties and the desired control characteristics. This model was refined through experimental road trials and generator set testing with electronic loads to determine the fuel consumption at various power levels, thereby predicting the vehicle fuel economy. The series hybrid design allows an excellent fuel economy to be attained for a variety of driving schedules, and ultracapacitors are shown to be an effective standalone electrical storage medium for hybrid vehicles designed to maximize the fuel economy rather than for the electric-only driving range.
Exclusion of Cosmic Rays in Protoplanetary Disks. II. Chemical Gradients and Observational Signatures

The chemical properties of protoplanetary disks are especially sensitive to their ionization environment. Sources of molecular gas ionization include cosmic rays, stellar X-rays and short-lived radionuclides, each of which varies with location in the disk. This behavior leads to a significant amount of chemical structure, especially in molecular ion abundances, which is imprinted in their submillimeter rotational line emission. Using an observationally motivated disk model, we make predictions for the dependence of chemical abundances on the assumed properties of the ionizing field. We calculate the emergent line intensity for abundant molecular ions and simulate sensitive observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/Sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) for a disk at D=100 pc. The models readily distinguish between high ionization rates ($\zeta\gtrsim10^{-17}$ s$^{-1}$ per H$_2$) and below, but it becomes difficult to distinguish between low ionization models when $\zeta\lesssim10^{-19}$ s$^{-1}$. We find that \htdp\ emission is not detectable for sub-interstellar CR rates with ALMA (6h integration), and that \ntdp\ emission may be a more sensitive tracer of midplane ionization. HCO$^+$ traces X-rays and high CR rates ($\zeta_{\rm{CR}}\gtrsim10^{-17}$ s$^{-1}$), and provides a handle on the warm molecular ionization properties where CO is present in the gas. Furthermore, species like HCO$^+$, which emits from a wide radial region and samples a large gradient in temperature, can exhibit ring-like emission as a consequence of low-lying rotational level de-excitation near the star. This finding highlights a scenario where rings are not necessarily structural or chemical in nature, but simply a result of the underlying line excitation properties.
The importance of scale in testing the origins of alternative community states

The possibility that different species assemblages may represent persistent alternative community states remains largely unexplored by experimental ecologists because of a variety of conceptual and experimental problems. We discuss some of the conceptual roadblocks to experimentation and propose several avenues for attacking the problem experimentally. We address the conceptual issues involved in (1) the blurring of the distinction between the processes that initiate the switch among alternative states and the positive-feedback processes that maintain those states, and (2) the role of spatial scale in initiating the switch. We suggest that the switch between alternative states requires, first, a disturbance that removes species involved in the positive feedbacks needed for maintenance and, second, the arrival of other individuals that initiate the switch to the alternative assemblage. The removal of the species that maintain the system must be large enough and over a long enough time to allow the arrival ...
Functions and Knowledge Domains for Disability Management Practice: A Delphi Study

The importance of job functions and knowledge domains to the practice of disability management was examined by systematically obtaining the opinions of a panel of 44 recognized experts in disabilit...
The standard of disclosure in human subject experimentation.

(1998). The standard of disclosure in human subject experimentation. Journal of Legal Medicine: Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 157-221.
Royal incest and inclusive fitness

Royal incest (mostly brother-sister; less commonly father-daughter) represents the logical extreme of hypergyny. Women in stratified societies maximize fitness by marrying up; the higher the status of a woman, the narrower her range of prospective husbands. This leads to a direct association between high status and inbreeding. Royal incest is a fitness maximizing strategy if the following conditions are met: polygyny, patrilineal succession, and parental control of royal succession. Under those conditions, the genetic risks of close inbreeding are more than accounted for by the production of a highly related male heir who has, himself, access to a large harem. Data from Ancient Egypt, Inca Peru, Hawaii, Thailand, Monomotapa, Bunyoro, Ankole, Buganda, Shilluk, Zande, Nyanga and Dahomey confirm hypotheses derived from the sociobiological paradigm of inclusive fitness. [hypergyny, inbreeding, incest, inclusive fitness, polygyny, royalty, sociobiology]
Probing the physical nature and composition of signalsomes

Background: Recent advances in our understanding of cell signaling have revealed assemblies of signaling components often viewed in fluorescence microscopy as very large, irregular “punctae”. These punctae are often dynamic in nature, appearing to act as mobile scaffolds that function in integrating protein-protein interactions from large arrays of signaling components. The visualization of these punctae, termed “signalsomes” when applied to protein assemblies involved in cell signaling provokes the question, what is the physical nature of these structures made visible in live cells through the expression of fluorescently-tagged fusion molecules? Results: Steric-exclusion chromatography on wide-bore matrices, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, and advanced proteomics permits the analysis of several important physical properties of signalsomes. Wnt canonical signaling is essential to normal cell development and dysregulation can lead to cancers in humans. Punctae/ signalsomes have been reported based upon the study of fluorescently-tagged mammalian Dishevelleds. Dishevelleds are phosphoprotein scaffolds that demonstrate dynamic character and mobility in cells stimulated with Wnt3a. Recent studies have successfully isolated Dvl3-based signalsomes from mouse totipotent embryonic teratocarcinoma F9 cells in culture and sized by application of steric exclusion chromatography (SEC), displaying large discrete M r (0.5 and 2 MDa). Activation of the Wnt canonical b-catenin/LEF-Tcf-sensitive transcriptional response leads to an upfield shift of >5 MDa of the Dvl3-based signalsome. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy ( fcs ) is a single molecule analysis performed in live cells that experimentally measures the diffusion coefficient and permits calculation of MW of the signalsome (0.2 and 30 MDa species in vivo), which also reveal an upfield shift in MW in response to Wnt3a. Proteomics provides for molecular dissection of the composition of the signalsome isolated from untreated and Wnt3a-treated cells. Conclusion: Dvl3-based punctae/signalsomes made visible by fluorescent microscopy now can be interrogated by advanced physical means, defining such properties as signalsome Mr/MW, molecular composition, and intracellular locale.
Simulation of a heat treatment furnace introduces industrial reality into an EET undergraduate control course

Control system simulation software for use in the classroom and for student assignments is described. The simulation, written in Microsoft QuickBASIC, permits the open- and closed-loop behavior of a heat treatment furnace to be displayed as an aid to teaching response testing and controller selection and tuning. Typical response plots are given along with details of the model of the furnace and the structure of the software. >
The variation of spectroscopic properties with numbers of electrons

A formalism that describes the variation of the spectroscopic properties, De, Re, and ke, of homonuclear, diatomic molecules, with the number of molecular electrons has been developed. The theory describes the interrelation of these properties and predicts “critical” behavior in sequences of “isonuclear” and neutral molecules. Detailed calculations are possible with the help of experimental data in lieu of a deeper, dynamical theory of molecular behavior with respect to electron number. The present work points the way toward a first-principle's theory. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Context-sensitive detection of local community structure

Local methods for detecting community structure are necessary when a graph’s size or node-expansion cost make global community detection methods infeasible. Various algorithms for local community detection have been proposed, but there has been little analysis of the circumstances under which one approach is preferable to another. This paper describes an evaluation comparing the accuracy of five alternative vertex selection policies in detecting two distinct types of community structures—vertex partitions that maximize modularity, and link partitions that maximize partition density—in a variety of graphs. In this evaluation, the vertex selection policy that most accurately identified vertex-partition community structure in a given graph depended on how closely the graph’s degree distribution approximated a power-law distribution. When the target community structure was partition-density maximization, however, an algorithm based on spreading activation generally performed best, regardless of degree distribution. These results indicate that local community detection should be context-sensitive in the sense of basing vertex selection on the graph’s degree distribution and the target community structure.
Inflammation in Chronic Heart Failure

Objective:To summarize findings regarding the association of inflammatory processes with chronic heart failure (HF).Data Sources:We conducted PubMed/MEDLINE searches (1966–January 2006) of primary literature using the following key words: ACE inhibitors, allopurinol, angiotensin-receptor antagonists, cardiomyopathy, chemokines, cytokines, diuretics, heart failure, Inflammation, interleukins, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, immunotherapy, medications used In heart failure, thalidomide, tumor necrosis (actor, and uric acid.Study Selection and Data Extraction:All articles that appeared to be relevant were read; of 305 articles examined, 87 were selected for discussion. Articles were selected if they were written in English and focused on any of the key words or appeared to have substantial content addressing inflammation in HF.Data Synthesis:Cytokines, uric acid, and other inflammatory mediators are associated with physiologic effects that are also prominent features of HF (eg, reduced contractility and cardia...
Prevocational services and supported employment wages

Using an observational approach, we investigate the relationship between the receipt of prevocational services and subsequent hourly wages of consumers participating in supported employment programs. To evaluate the potential impact of these services on wages of consumers, we use six years (2005-2010) of data from of the New York Integrated Supported Employment Report (NYISER) data management system. Results indicate that receipt of prevocational services has a negative correlation with hourly wages of consumers. This finding suggests that prevocational services may have detrimental effects on providers' and consumers' expectations on consumers' work ability and productivity resulting in reduced hourly wages. Furthermore, participation in prevocational services may serve as a signal to employers about consumer's productivity.
Support for presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation if it is a child or relative, though views differ by gender.

Commentary on : Dwyer TA. Predictors of public support for family presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation: a population based study. Int J Nurs Stud 2015;52:1064–70.[OpenUrl][1][CrossRef][2][PubMed][3] Concerns related to family presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) have stimulated discussion/debate for decades. The discussion on whether to invite family members to be present during CPR is still an argumentative issue and the practice is not consistently implemented. While a number of studies indicate that the presence of a patient's family during CPR is beneficial for patients, their … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DInt%2BJ%2BNurs%2BStud%26rft.volume%253D52%26rft.spage%253D1064%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1016%252Fj.ijnurstu.2015.03.004%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F25814044%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2015.03.004&link_type=DOI [3]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=25814044&link_type=MED&atom=%2Febnurs%2F19%2F2%2F58.atom
Selective and compressive sensing for energy-efficient implantable neural decoding

The spike classification is a critical step in im-plantable neural decoding. The energy efficiency issue in the sensor node is a big challenge in the entire system. Compressive sensing (CS) provides a potential way to tackle this problem. However, the overhead of signal reconstruction constrains the compression in sensor node and analysis in remote server. In this paper, we design a new selective CS architecture for wireless implantable neural decoding. We implement all the signal analysis on the compressed domain. To achieve better energy efficiency, we propose a two-stage classification procedure, including a coarsegrained screening module with softmax regression and a finegrained analysis module based on deep learning. The screening module completes the low-effort classification task in the front-end and transmits the compressed data of high-effort task to remote server for fine-grained analysis. Experimental results indicate that our selective CS architecture can gain more than 50% energy savings, yet keeping the high accuracy as state-of-the-art CS architectures.
Irreversible Electroporation for the Treatment of Brain Tumors: Pre-clinical Results in a Canine Model of Spontaneous Glioma

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a nonthermal ablation technique that has been used for the treatment of numerous solid tumors. However, it has not been rigorously evaluated for use in brain tumors. Here we report the results of a pre-clinical study evaluating the safety of the NanoKnife IRE System for the treatment of spontaneous intracranial gliomas in a canine model. Client-owned dogs with biopsy-confirmed cerebral gliomas were eligible. Patient-specific treatment plans were generated using MRI-based tissue segmentation, volumetric meshing, and finite element modeling. IRE treatment was delivered using pulse parameters and electrode configurations derived from therapeutic plans using the NanoKnife System. The primary end point was an evaluation of safety over the 14 days immediately following treatment. Follow-up was continued for 1 year with serial neurological, laboratory, and brain MRI examinations.
Simultaneous Technique for Acuity and Readiness Testing

Almost all pediatricians feel that developmental screening should be a standard part of routine child health examinations (Smith, 1978). However, this belief is only rarely reflected in actual practice. The reason most often given by pediatricians for their failure to carry out the screening is that the tests are too time-consuming. Although pediatricians typically claim that they are able to accomplish developmental screening through informal observations of the child’s responses to the usual health examination procedures, this approach to screening has been shown to be unreliable (Bierman, Connor, Vaage, & Honzik, 1964; Korsch, Cobb, & Ashe, 1961). On the theory that reliable, valid, and efficient developmental screening can be accomplished during the course of routine health examinations, providing simultaneous screening of health and development, the current study attempted to revitalize and systematize the observational process that pediatricians claim to do during health examinations. The research being reported here is an attempt to test the proposition that simultaneous screening can be both effective and efficient. Specifically, it uses the routine preschool vision acuity screening test to not only screen for visual acuity, but also as a means to detect children with educational handicaps.
Using English Language Arts to Teach a Song

Music and reading domains require similar auditory processing skills. Students employ these skills when learning a new song through an oral/aural or rote-teaching approach. In this article, I review literature on the effectiveness of immersion and phrase-by-phrase approaches for teaching a song with or without words. Then, using an amusing analogy, I suggest a process for using the English language arts to teach a song using a rote approach. Two lessons are described that include prompts to aid teachers in analyzing songs to teach music through language.
Androgen-sensitive prostate cancer survival and progression is supported by neuroendocrine prostate cancer cells

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 46, 2005 4369 Neuroendocrine (NE) cells are present in all developing and adult prostates. We hypothesize that NE cells are androgen independent (AI) and secrete neuropeptides that support androgen sensitive cell proliferation in the absence of androgens. This study demonstrates that expression of the neuropeptide gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) in LNCaP cells not only renders the cells AI, but also support the growth and migration of the coexistent LNCaP cells. GRP overexpressing LNCaP cells (LNCaP-GRP) were developed in our lab through transfection and selection. Xenograft tumors grown in nude mice with the LNCaP-GRP cells were re-cultured and termed GRP-Pro cells. Soft agar growth under androgen depleted conditions was performed to illustrate in vitro chimeric AI growth of both AI and coexistent LNCaP cells. Scratch migration assay was performed to demonstrate chemotactic migration in both AI and androgen sensitive cells. Castrated SCID mice were orthotopically co-implanted with GRP-Pro and LNCaP cells tagged with red and green fluorescent proteins, respectively. Frozen sections of the resulted tumor were viewed under fluorescence microscropy for color appearance and distribution. GRP-Pro cells grew aggressively in androgen depleted soft agar by forming greater than 100 fold more colonies than the control LNCaP cells. When the LNCaP cells were co-plated with GRP-Pro cells, the colony formation of the former increased by more than 10 fold, suggesting paracrine support from the GRP-Pro cells. Migratory activity of LNCaP cells was enhanced 2 fold when plated with GRP-Pro cells. Tumors harvested from SCID mice co-implanted with the two cell lines showed both green and red fluorescence, compared to no tumor growth in mice implanted with only green LNCaP cells. Neuropeptide expressing LNCaP cells are AI and can support the AI survival and growth of parental LNCaP cells in a paracrine fashion. This supports a role for NE cells in the early post-castration transition to AI. Supported by NIH Grants KO8 DK60748-01, 2RO1 DK/AG52659- 04, and Department of Defense PC10520.
Review: Drawing the Future: Chicago Architecture on the International Stage, 1900–1925

Drawing the Future: Chicago Architecture on the International Stage, 1900–1925 Mary & Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 19 April 2013–6 August 2013 At a moment when architecture, urban design, and urban planning are focused on the phenomenon of global megacities, which are made possible by global finance and networks and made necessary by rapid urbanization, Drawing the Future: Chicago Architecture on the International Stage, 1900–1925 offered an important historical perspective (Figure 1). An illustrated exegesis on the ways in which urban design and planning principles, formal architectural devices, and building technologies traveled between Chicago and Europe via Canberra, Australia, the exhibition positioned the winning entry to that city’s Federal Capital Design Competition, by Chicago architects Marion Mahony and Walter Burley Griffin in 1912, as the hinge on which these exchanges turned immediately before and after World War I. Figure 1 Installation of Drawing the Future: Chicago Architecture on the International Stage, 1900–1925 (Mary & Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University). Curated by David Van Zanten, with Ashley Elizabeth Dunn and Leslie Coburn, Drawing the Future was a sequel to the Block Museum’s Marion Mahony Griffin: Drawing the Form of Nature exhibition in 2005. Both exhibitions drew heavily upon the rich legacy of drawings gifted to Northwestern University by Marion Mahony Griffin. In addition to material from the Art Institute of Chicago and other collections, Drawing the Future also borrowed extensive materials from the Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections at Northwestern. The exhibitions and their accompanying catalogues demonstrated the depth of materials and scholarship at Northwestern relating to Chicago’s progressive architectural movement …
Inverse Modeling of Soil Hydraulic Properties in a Two-Layer System and Comparisons with Measured Soil Conditions

Modeling of spatial and vertical variability in soil hydraulic properties is a pervasive dilemma in computational hydrology. In an effort to provide guidance in inverse modeling of soil hydraulic properties, this study (i) calibrated soil hydraulic properties, for different soil layer depths, to measured soil moisture, (ii) identified the best-suited soil thickness through validation, and (iii) post-validated the resulting best-fit soil properties and layer depth to the observed soil stratigraphic conditions. Soil property depths were varied to identify the most important stratigraphic features in soil water modeling. Statistical and graphic goodness-of-fit measures indicated that calibration and validation simulations performed better at shallow depths and generally worsened with depth. A comparison of differences in modeled soil layering at two field sites reflected differences in the observed soil stratigraphic conditions. Comparison with in situ soil stratigraphy indicated the importance of soil horizon changes and human-induced alterations to the near-surface soils. These results indicate that soil moisture dynamics can be effectively modeled using basic soil input data and inverse methods. However, to improve model performance, a site-specific field monitoring campaign is needed to properly account for the effects of soil stratigraphy and boundary conditions.
What Does Taste Represent

What does vision represent? What does hearing represent? Smell? Touch? Competing answers to each of these questions have been defended. The present paper argues that the issue of what taste represents is categorically more complicated. In particular, it raises two very difficult dilemmas.
Modeling and simulation of low-energy electron scattering in organic and inorganic EUV photoresists

Alternative photoresist platforms are being developed with the goal of meeting Resolution, Roughness and Sensitivity requirements for EUV lithography. Metal-based materials appear promising due to the high etch resistance, high absorption, and high resolution. However, the exposure mechanism of these materials is quite different from that of organic chemically amplified resists. The current electron-scattering model built into PROLITHTM X6.0 allows a direct comparison of the exposure mechanisms for different resist platforms: in particular, it is now possible to estimate the intrinsic resist uncertainty by evaluating electron, acid shot noise and spatial blurring, while forcing the photon shot noise contribution to zero. A comparison between organic resists and metal-based platforms reveals how the denser nature of the latter help containing the electron scattering in a much closer radius around the absorption event. The consequent electron-reaction (acid generation for photo-active-generator-containing organic materials, ligand dissociation for the metal-oxides) reflects the electron shot noise of the different platforms. The higher absorption combined with lower blur of the metaloxide materials seem to become of crucial importance for the 5 nm technology node and beyond.
Sampling Plan Adjustment for Inspection Error and Skip-Lot Plan

(This paper has been selected for presentation at the Journal of Quality Technology session of the 26th Annual Fall Technical Conference of the Chemical Division of the American Society for Quality Control and the Section of Physical and Engineering Sci..
Impact of an Obstetrical Hospitalist Program on the Safety Events in a Mid-Sized Obstetrical Unit.

OBJECTIVE Because internal medicine hospitalist programs were developed to address issues in medicine such as a need to improve quality, improve efficiency, and decrease healthcare cost, obstetrical (OB) hospitalist models were developed to address needs specific to the obstetrics and gynecology field. Our objective was to compare outcomes measured by occurrence of safety events before and after implementation of an OB hospitalist program in a mid-sized OB unit. METHODS From July 2012 to September 2014, 11 safety events occurred on the labor and delivery floor. A full-time OB hospitalist program was implemented in October 2014. RESULTS From October 2014 to December 2016, there was 1 safety event associated with labor and delivery. CONCLUSION It has been speculated that implementation of an OB hospitalist model would be associated with improved maternal and neonatal outcomes; our regional OB referral hospital demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in OB safety events after the OB hospitalist program implementation.
Rotamers of tolrestat and their binding mode to aldose reductase.

Tolrestat is known to bind tightly (IC50 < 10−7 M) to aldose reductase (E. C. 1. 1. 1. 21; ALR2), enzyme which has been linked to diabetic complications (Kinoshita, 1986; Dvornik, 1987; Kador, 1988). Recently, it has been reported that tolrestat co-crystallizes at the ace site of pig lens ALR2 (Urzhumtsev et al., 1997) and aldehyde reductase (El- Kabbani al., 1997). The reported crystal structure of ALR2 complexed with NADP+ and tolrestat reveals that the carboxylate of tolrestat is hydrogen bonded to Tyr48, His 110 and Trp 111 while the aromatic portion is surrounded by the hydrophobic residues such as Trp20,p219, Trp111, Phe122, and Leu300. The observed hydrogen bonding interaction between tolrestat and ALR2 is essentially identical to that reported in the crystal structure of ALR2 complexed with zopolrestat (Wilson et al. 1993; Wilson et al. 1995). This similarity in hyden bonding interaction indicates that hydrogen bonding or charge interaction between ALR2 and the ionized portion of inhibitors plays an important role in enhancing the binding affinity of inhibitors (Lee et al., 1998).
The Growth, Scope, and Spatial Distribution of People With Felony Records in the United States, 1948-2010.

The steep rise in U.S. criminal punishment in recent decades has spurred scholarship on the collateral consequences of imprisonment for individuals, families, and communities. Several excellent studies have estimated the number of people who have been incarcerated and the collateral consequences they face, but far less is known about the size and scope of the total U.S. population with felony convictions beyond prison walls, including those who serve their sentences on probation or in jail. This article develops state-level estimates based on demographic life tables and extends previous national estimates of the number of people with felony convictions to 2010. We estimate that 3 % of the total U.S. adult population and 15 % of the African American adult male population has ever been to prison; people with felony convictions account for 8 % of all adults and 33 % of the African American adult male population. We discuss the far-reaching consequences of the spatial concentration and immense growth of these groups since 1980.
How Do You Find a Nursing Identity Within a Family Legacy

My earliest memories of family dinners include conversations shared by my parents about patient catheters or diseases, entertaining patient anecdotes, and the relationship between nurses and doctors. As I grew up, my two older sisters added their own stories from their clinical nursing experiences. My mother has a doctorate of nursing science, my father is physician board certified in internal medicine and geriatrics, and both of my older sisters are nurses pursuing graduate degrees. My family has never been one to talk about sports or business; we always talked health and disease. It is truly all I know.
Envisioning a Catholic Utopia: The Faithful Shepherdess and The Shepherd’s Paradise

This chapter begins with a discussion of images of female power in Tempe Restored. It continues with an examination of Walter Montagu’s The Shepherd’s Paradise and the 1634 revival of John Fletcher’s Faithful Shepherdess. Read together, these two plays present a powerful image of Catholic community, female empowerment and options for rethinking the sacred space. For Catholics, this entertainment would have presented an image of Catholic utopia. For the Protestants, the plays represented Henrietta Maria’s extravagance and her immorality. The final portion of this chapter draws connections between Tempe Restored and John Milton’s Masque at Ludlow Castle to suggest the influence of the queen’s entertainments as well as the Protestant response to them.
Objectives and Research Approach

Considering the above-mentioned issues, our goal is to identify the key parameters enhancing the adsorption of ammonia and thus enable the design of efficient ammonia adsorbents adapted to real-life conditions. In other words, the adsorbent performance must be increased compared to those reported in the literature. The retention of ammonia must be strong so that no desorption of the gas occurs overtime. And finally, the adsorbent must be able to adsorb and retain ammonia at room temperature over a wide range of humidity levels to ensure its industrial sustainability.
Cyclophosphamide and melphalan as immunopotentiating agents in cancer therapy

The murine plasmacytoma, MOPC-315, has been used as a tumor model to investigate the immunopotentiating effect of a low dose of cyclophosphamide (CY) or melphalan (L-PAM). Each drug was shown to shift the balance in mice bearing a late-stage tumor from a state of immunosuppression to that of potent T-cell-dependent antitumor immunity against tumor-associated antigens. The resultant immunity eradicated the extensive tumor burden not already eradicated by the direct tumoricidal activity of the drug and brought about the cure of the mice. The immunity responsible for tumor eradication, as well as the immunity responsible for the resistance of the cured mice to further tumor challenge, was mediated by the Lyt 2 subset of T-cells which contains cytotoxic T-cells. The principle of using a low dose of drug to selectively decrease suppressor cell activity so as to allow the development of antitumor immunity with the aid of autologous tumor vaccine or interleukin-2 has been exploited successfully by clinicians in therapeutic protocols for human melanoma.