cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of Payor-Mandated Review of Prescription Drug Monitoring Program on Opioid Prescriber Rates.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of a 2016 South Carolina payor mandate to query the state prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) before prescribing controlled substances on the rate of opioid prescribers in South Carolina. METHODS South Carolina PDMP datasets from 2010-2017 were evaluated using interrupted time series regression to compare changes in the rate of opioid prescribers before and after the 2016 mandate. The rate of opioid prescribers was defined as the number of prescribers who prescribed class II to IV opioids on any one prescription in each quarter divided by the total number of South Carolina prescribers who prescribed any one class II to IV medication. The rate of high-dose opioid prescribers was defined as the number of prescribers who prescribed ≥90-morphine milligram equivalent per day on any one prescription in each quarter divided by all of the prescribers who prescribed an opioid analgesic prescription. RESULTS The rates of South Carolina opioid prescribers decreased from 75% in 2010 to 60% in 2017, with no significant change in slope (P = 0.24) after the 2016 payor mandates. The rates of South Carolina high-dose opioid prescribers decreased from 40% in 2010 to 32% in 2017, with a significant decrease in slope (P < 0.001) after the payor mandate. CONCLUSIONS The slope of the South Carolina high-dose opioid prescriber rate significantly decreased after the 2016 South Carolina payor mandate, while the slope of the South Carolina opioid prescriber rate did not. The long-term outcomes related to the change in opioid prescriber rates are unknown and warrant further study.
Circulating CD14+HLA‐DRlo/− monocytic cells as a biomarker for epithelial ovarian cancer progression

PROBLEM Previous studies identified circulating CD14+ HLA-DRlo/- monocytic cells as an immune suppressive subset in solid malignancies, such as prostate, renal cell carcinoma, and pancreatic cancer. Such monocytic cells have been implicated not only in tumour progression but also as a potential barrier for immunotherapy. This study examined the relationship between the frequency of circulating monocytic cells and epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) progression pre- and post-frontline chemotherapy, defined by disease stage, which is a leading prognostic factor for this malignancy. METHOD OF STUDY Incident cases of 236 women with EOC were recruited and comprehensive flow cytometry was utilized to assess the frequency of peripheral blood CD33+ CD11b+ HLA-DR-/low CD14+ CD15- monocytic cells, henceforth termed CD14+ HLA-DRlo/- monocytic cells, prior to and after completion of frontline chemotherapy. Multivariable odds ratios (OR) were used to estimate the association between CD14+ HLA-DRlo/- monocytic cell percentages and disease stage. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests evaluated changes in these monocytic cell levels pre- and post-chemotherapy in a patient subset (n = 70). RESULTS Patients with elevated frequencies of circulating CD14+ HLA-DRlo/- monocytic cells at diagnosis were at 3.33-fold greater odds of having advanced stage (III/IV) EOC (CI: 1.04-10.64), with a significant trend in increasing CD14+ HLA-DRlo/- monocytic cell levels (P = .04). There was a 2.02% median decrease of these monocytic cells post-chemotherapy among a subset of patients with advanced stage disease (P < .0001). CONCLUSION These findings support the potential clinical relevance of CD14+ HLA-DRlo/- monocytic cells in EOC for prognosis and may indicate a non-invasive biomarker to measure disease progression.
Airline Bailouts and Climate Change Re-Regulation

COVID-19 is wreaking havoc around the world and is likely to continue doing so for the foreseeable future The virus virtually brought airline travel around the world to a standstill soon after it broke out In the United States, the airline industry was quick to ask for, and get, a sizeable bailout from the U S Senate But the other global killer that has unfortunately taken a back seat to the coronavirus pandemic remains climate change The traditional debate between “a decade or so” (per IPCC) and “very soon” to curb climate change is largely irrelevant;we know that we have to act expeditiously to avoid potentially disastrous climate change All industries, sectors, and nations play a role in this That includes the American airline industry as well This article proceeds as follows The airline industry’s financial situation for the past ten years will be examined first as background for the airline industry’s request for bailout The industry enjoyed a decade of profitability records, but is not one known or expected, so far, to set aside funds for worsening times such as the sudden problems brought about by COVID-19 Next, other recent large-scale bailouts in the transportation sector and beyond as well as federal transportation rules in connection with the auto industry bailout after the 2008 financial crisis will be explored This will show that the 2020 airline bailout was undertaken with few requirements imposed on the airline industry and certainly none in relation to climate change This is, of course, a problem in times of ever-worsening temperature increases and action being necessary from all angles and at all scales of private and public governance The article then lists requirements that could have been imposed on the industry for it to obtain the sizeable bailout that it did If further bailout efforts or other government assistance is given to the airline industry in September 2020, when the first measures run out, or later, numerous ideas exist for how the industry could be required to take steps to mitigate or at least help the surrounding world adapt to climate change to which the industry contributes in not insignificant ways The article concludes that while the $60 billion bailout was bipartisan and, perhaps, had to be implemented in a fairly rapid manner because of the importance to our national transportation infrastructure for both private individuals as well as businesses, this would have been a perfectly opportune time to impose climate change regulations on an industry that still, despite its known contributions to the problem and the readily available knowledge about the extreme urgency of alleviating climate change, has largely ignored its role in this context The airline industry has for decades benefited from the 1978 airline deregulations Re-regulations for climate change are now in order
Physiologic Considerations in Laparoscopic Surgery

Contemporary laparoscopic surgery gained traction in the late twentieth century and continues to evolve as a mode of minimally invasive intervention in pediatric surgery. In this chapter, we outline the historic backdrop which led to the inception of laparoscopic surgery into pediatric surgery. With the advent of robotic-assisted surgery, laparoscopy continues to expand within the specialty. This chapter provides an overview of the physiologic changes seen with laparoscopic surgery and how to mitigate these changes in the operating room. Underestimating the physiologic effects of increased intraabdominal pressure, patient positioning, and gas absorption can result in deleterious outcomes. A detailed description of these effects across various organ systems including cardiac, pulmonary, renal, and the central nervous system are organized in terms of their direct and indirect effects on each of these systems. Practical points, highlighting key concepts, with actionable clinical recommendations, provide operating room personnel with the means to safely perform laparoscopic surgery in children.
Effect of Commercial Protective Cultures and Bacterial Fermentates on Listeria monocytogenes Growth in a Refrigerated High-Moisture Model Cheese

ABSTRACT Biopreservatives are clean-label ingredients used to control pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms in ready-to-eat foods, including cheese. In a first set of experiments, the efficacies of six commercial biopreservatives in controlling Listeria monocytogenes growth at 4°C were tested in a high-moisture model cheese (pH 6.00, 56% moisture, and 1.25% salt) made of cream, micellar casein, water, salt, lactose, lactic acid, and a single protective culture (PC-1, PC-2, or PC-3 at 106 CFU/g [target]) or bacterial fermentate (CM-1 or CM-2 [cultured milk] or CSV-1 [cultured sugar-vinegar blend], 0.5 or 1.0% target level). Cheeses were inoculated with 3 log CFU/g L. monocytogenes (5-strain cocktail), after which 25-g samples were vacuum sealed and stored at 4°C for 8 weeks. L. monocytogenes populations from triplicate samples were enumerated weekly on modified Oxford agar in duplicate trials. L. monocytogenes growth (≥1-log increase) was observed in approximately 1 week in control cheese and those formulated with 106 CFU of PC-1 or PC-2 per g. Growth was delayed to 2.5 weeks in model cheeses formulated with 106 CFU of PC-3 per g or 0.5% CM-2 and to 3 weeks with 0.5% CM-1 or CSV-1. Growth was further delayed to 6.5 to 7.5 weeks in model cheeses formulated with 1.0% CM-1 or CM-2, while formulation with 1.0% CSV-1 inhibited L. monocytogenes growth for 8 weeks. In a second set of experiments, the combined effects of pH and 0.5% CSV-1 on L. monocytogenes inhibition were investigated. Incorporation of 0.5% CSV-1 delayed L. monocytogenes growth to 3, 6, and >10 weeks in cheeses of pH 6.00, 5.75, and 5.50, respectively, versus growth observed in 1, 1, and 3.5 weeks in control cheeses. These data suggest that certain fermentates have greater antilisterial activity than protective cultures in directly acidified cheeses with direct biopreservative incorporation and refrigerated storage. Further research is needed to optimize the conditions to prevent listerial growth by utilizing protective cultures in fresh, soft cheeses. HIGHLIGHTS
Abuse by association: migration from terror-prone countries and human rights abuses

A burgeoning body of work examines the connection between migration and security. Studies link migration to an increased volume of terrorism in destination states. More recent work examines the hum...
\(\textsf {LogStack}\): Stacked Garbling with \(O(b \log b)\) Computation

Secure two party computation (2PC) of arbitrary programs can be efficiently achieved using garbled circuits (GC). Until recently, it was widely believed that a GC proportional to the entire program, including parts of the program that are entirely discarded due to conditional branching, must be transmitted over a network. Recent work shows that this belief is false, and that communication proportional only to the longest program execution path suffices (Heath and Kolesnikov, CRYPTO 20, [HK20a]). Although this recent work reduces needed communication, it increases computation. For a conditional with b branches, the players use \(O(b^2)\) computation (traditional GC uses only O(b)).
Small cell carcinoma presenting as a biatrial mass with obstructive physiology: a case report.

Small cell carcinoma is a highly aggressive and often fatal cancer that most commonly arises in the lung, although it can occasionally arise from other sites, such as the gastrointestinal tract, prostate or cervix. Cardiac involvement, however, is extremely uncommon and therefore has been poorly documented in the literature. We describe a rare case of a 31-year-old male with small cell carcinoma presenting as a massive, 15-cm cardiac tumor invading the bilateral atria, interatrial septum, and pericardium without an apparent primary malignancy on PET CT and cardiac MRI. With extensive tissue necrosis, traditional methods of obtaining a right atrial endomyocardial biopsy via internal jugular venous access failed and a diagnosis was made via endoscopic ultrasound guided transesophageal fine needle aspiration of the left atrial mass. Due to the extensive tumor invasion, the patient was not a suitable candidate for surgical resection, debulking, or heart transplant. The patient was treated with etoposide, carboplatin, atezolizumab, and radiation therapy with initial monitoring in the intensive care unit due to concern that tumor lysis may cause rapid cardiac decompensation. Unfortunately, 4 months after chemoradiation therapy, the malignancy progressed and the patient passed away 6 months after the initial diagnosis. We describe a rare occurrence of small cell carcinoma presenting as a massive cardiac tumor without apparent primary malignancy. This case demonstrates useful alternative diagnostic strategies and treatment considerations for patients presenting with a rare cardiac mass.
Upping the ante? The effects of “emergency” and “crisis” framing in climate change news

News organizations increasingly use the terms “climate emergency” and “climate crisis” to convey the urgency of climate change; yet, little is known about how this terminology affects news audiences. This study experimentally examined how using “climate emergency,” “climate crisis,” or “climate change” in Twitter-based news stories influences public engagement with climate change and news perceptions, as well as whether the effects depend on the focus of the news (i.e., on climate impacts, actions, or both impacts and actions) and on participants’ political ideology. Results showed no effect of terminology on climate change engagement; however, “climate emergency” reduced perceived news credibility and newsworthiness compared to “climate change.” Both climate engagement and news perceptions were more consistently affected by the focus of the stories: news about climate impacts increased fear, decreased efficacy beliefs and hope, and reduced news credibility compared to news about climate actions. No interactions with political ideology were found.
Synergistic inhibition of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase by aspartate and 2-oxoglutarate in Brevibacterium flavum.

Purification procedures for phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase from B. flavum were improved by using hydrophobic chromatography. The carboxylase showed optimum pH values of 7.2 and 8.0 with Mn2+ and Mg2+ as metallic activators, respectively. Purified phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase was found to be synergistically inhibited by aspartate and 2-oxoglutarate in the absence or presence of an activator, acetyl-CoA. Similarly to the aspartate inhibition, 2-oxoglutarate alone inhibited the enzyme competitively with respect to both substrates, with an inhibitor constant of 4.7 mM. The dissociation constant for the combination of enzyme-2-oxoglutarate (-aspartate) complex with aspartate (2-oxoglutarate) was found to be one-third of that for the combination of the enzyme with aspartate (2-oxoglutarate). The Hill coefficient for phosphoenolpyruvate was increased from 1.0 to 2.3 by the simultaneous addition of the two inhibitors in a certain concentration range of phosphoenolpyruvate where strong synergistic effects were observed. Outside this concentration range, the coefficient was not altered or was slightly increased by the addition of aspartate, 2-oxoglutarate, or both. The synergistic action seems to be caused by these effects, in addition to the decrease in dissociation constants of the inhibitors. Hill coefficients for aspartate and 2-oxoglutarate were both approximately 2.0. The coefficient for one inhibitor did not vary with the addition of the other inhibitor. Although many structural analogues of the two inhibitors, such as 2-oxoadipate and 3-hydroxyaspartate, were very weak inhibitors, their synergistic effects with aspartate or 2-oxoglutarate were comparable to the effects of the two natural inhibitors. On the other hand, malate and succinate, which markedly inhibited the enzyme, did not show synergistic action with aspartate or 2-oxoglutarate. Hill coefficients for the structural analogues showing synergistic effects were approximately 2.0 or above, whereas those for malate and succinate, which did not enhance the inhibitions, were about 1.0. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase from an aspartate-producing mutant had the inhibitor constant of 5.8 mM for 2-oxoglutarate, i.e., slightly higher than wild-type enzyme. The inhibitor constant for aspartate was three times higher than that of the wild-type enzyme as reported previously. The dissociation constant for aspartate of the enzyme-aspartate-2-oxoglutarate complex in the mutant enzyme was 8 times that in the wild-type enzyme, indicating that weaker synergistic inhibition was observed with the mutant enzyme.
Robust stabilization of high speed oscillations in single track vehicles

Design configuration (wheelbase, rake angle, trail, location of center of gravity, etc.) of high speed motorcycles is generally a compromise. Some underdamped oscillatory behavior at high speeds must be tolerated to make motorcycles maneuverable with reasonable rider effort. Two well known oscillations are the weave and wobble modes. To analyze the problem the authors have employed a mathematical model of motorcycles to describe the motions in straight running, steady state turning, and transitory maneuvers. This model also includes the dynamics of the engine, as it is attached to the frame by elastic mounts. The model is nonlinear and has 18 states, including tire dynamics, engine dynamics, and important structural properties of the frame. The authors have proposed a multi-input multi-output feedback control system to effectively control oscillatory motion of motorcycles at speeds. Measured signals can be roll rate and yaw rate or alternatively, steering angle and lateral acceleration of the vehicle. Controller outputs are signals to active engine mounts. By feedback control of engine's orientation with respect to the frame, this controller stabilizes the vehicle in a wide range of speed well beyond the current speed record for single-track vehicles. Special challenges in design of the controller are that the engine displacement relative to frame must remain small, and the controller must be robust with respect to significant variations in vehicle's forward speed.
Composite Pain Index: Reliability, Validity, and Sensitivity of a Patient‐Reported Outcome for Research

Objective A single score that represents the multidimensionality of pain would be an innovation for patient-reported outcomes. Our aim was to determine the reliability, validity, and sensitivity of the Composite Pain Index (CPI). Design Methodological analysis of data from a randomized controlled, pretest/post-test education-based intervention study. Setting The study was conducted in outpatient oncology clinics. Subjects The 176 subjects had pain, were 52 ± 12.5 years on average, 63% were female, and 46% had stage IV cancers. Methods We generated the CPI from pain location, intensity, quality, and pattern scores measured with an electronic version of Melzack's McGill Pain Questionnaire. Results The internal consistency values for the individual scores comprising the CPI were adequate (0.71 baseline, 0.69 post-test). Principal components analysis extracted one factor with an eigenvalue of 2.17 with explained variance of 54% at baseline and replicated the one factor with an eigenvalue of 2.11 at post-test. The factor loadings for location, intensity, quality, and pattern were 0.65, 0.71, 0.85, and 0.71, respectively (baseline), and 0.59, 0.81, 0.84, and 0.63, respectively (post-test). The CPI was sensitive to an education intervention effect. Conclusions Findings support the CPI as a score that integrates the multidimensional pain experience in people with cancer. It could be used as a patient-reported outcome measure to quantify the complexity of pain in clinical research and population studies of cancer pain and studied for relevance in other pain populations.
Types of Liquidity and Limits to Arbitrage - The Case of Credit Default Swaps

Using a sample of Credit Default Swap (CDS) prices and corresponding reference corporate bond yield spreads for the period 6/2008 to 9/2009, we show that funding-liquidity (shadow cost of capital for arbitrageurs) as well as asset specific liquidity (determinants of margin requirements) explain recent deviations in the arbitrage based parity relationship between the CDS prices and bond yield spreads (CDS-Bond spread basis). Collectively our analysis corroborates the theory on the determinants of the basis, and suggests that it is important to distinguish between these two types of liquidity in determining the circumstances in which relative prices will converge. Median annualized returns for a sample convergence type trading strategy with typical levels of leverage are 80% with a median holding period of 127 days, but the path to convergence is not smooth.
The deacylation and reacylation of phosphoglyceride in microsomes of Morris hepatoma 7777 and host rat liver.

Summary We describe here a decrease in the ratio of phospholipids to protein in microsomes prepared from Morris hepatoma 7777, compared with those from host rat liver. These microsomes, characterized by their marker enzyme content, were found to have comparable enrichment of the NADPH cytochrome c reductase. In addition to the decrease in phospholipid content, the major phospholipids had decreased polyunsaturated and increased monounsaturated fatty acids. Analysis of the free fatty acid pool of the two indicates a marked decrease in linoleic acid in this hepatoma microsome; very little longer-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid was found. The major difference in the ratio of the phospholipids was an increase in the hepatoma microsome sphingomyelin content. The hepatoma 7777 microsomes incorporated oleoyl-coenzyme A into monoacylphospholipids more rapidly than did the liver. When free fatty acids were used with an acyl-coenzyme A-generating system, the liver microsomes were more active than those from hepatoma. Furthermore, frozen and thawed microsomes from the hepatoma 7777 had little capacity to use free fatty acids, whereas liver microsomes were unaffected by freezing and thawing. These results indicate that the fatty acid-activating enzyme of hepatoma microsomes is more labile than that of liver. Both samples had phospholipase(s) that were active on the microsomal membrane phospholipids. No accumulation of monoacylphosphoglyceride was found in the hepatoma, whereas about one-half of the diacylphospholipid degraded by liver microsomes remained as the monoacylphosphoglyceride. This indicates that the precursor for reacylation in the Lands9 cycle (deacylation-reacylation) is decreased in the hepatoma. We conclude from these results that, in part, the changes found in the activities of the Lands9 cycle system account for the alterations in hepatoma phospholipid composition, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
Knowledge-based analysis of proteomics data

As it is the case with any OMICs technology, the value of proteomics data is defined by the degree of its functional interpretation in the context of phenotype. Functional analysis of proteomics profiles is inherently complex, as each of hundreds of detected proteins can belong to dozens of pathways, be connected in different context-specific groups by protein interactions and regulated by a variety of one-step and remote regulators. Knowledge-based approach deals with this complexity by creating a structured database of protein interactions, pathways and protein-disease associations from experimental literature and a set of statistical tools to compare the proteomics profiles with this rich source of accumulated knowledge. Here we describe the main methods of ontology enrichment, interactome topology and network analysis applied on a comprehensive, manually curated and semantically consistent knowledge source MetaBase and demonstrate several case studies in different disease areas.
Pioneer Venus Data Analysis

Analysis and interpretation of data from the Orbiter Retarding Potential Analyzer (ORPA) onboard the Pioneer Venus Orbiter is reported. By comparing ORPA data to proton data from the Orbiter Plasma Analyzer (OPA), it was found that the ORPA suprathermal electron densities taken outside the Venusian ionopause represent solar wind electron densities, thus allowing the high resolution study of Venus bow shocks using both magnetic field and solar wind electron data. A preliminary analysis of 366 bow shock penetrations was completed using the solar wind electron data as determined from ORPA suprathermal electron densities and temperatures, resulting in an estimate of the extent to which mass loading pickup of O+ (UV ionized O atoms flowing out of the Venus atmosphere) upstream of the Venus obstacle occurred. The pickup of O+ averaged 9.95%, ranging from 0.78% to 23.63%. Detailed results are reported in two attached theses: (1) Comparison of ORPA Suprathermal Electron and OPA Solar Wind Proton Data from the Pioneer Venus Orbiter and (2) Pioneer Venus Orbiter Retarding Potential Analyzer Observations of the Electron Component of the Solar Wind, and of the Venus Bow Shock and Magnetosheath.
Mechanism of increased exocrine pancreatic secretion in pancreatic juice-diverted rats

We investigate a possible role of endogenous cholecystokinin-pancreozymin (CCK-PZ) in the mechanism of exocrine pancreatic secretion after excluding pancreatic juice from the intestine in rats. Fasting plasma immunoreactive CCK-PZ was determined in normal rats, in rats with pancreatic duct ligation, and in sham-operated rats. The mean fasting plasma CCK-PZ concentration of rats with pancreatic duct ligation, 25.1 ± 2.0 pM, was significantly greater (p 8 (0.125 μg · kg -1 · h -1 ) in rats. Thus we conclude that the increase in pancreatic secretion resulting from elimination of pancreatic juice from the intestine is attributable, in part, to increased release of CCK-PZ, and thus it is suggested that trypsin in the intestinal lumen plays a significant role in release of CCK-PZ.
Effective temperatures and luminosities of very hot O type subdwarfs

Twelve very hot O-type subdwarfs were observed with the IUE-satellite in the low dispersion mode. Temperatures were derived from the slopes of the UV continua and distances were estimated from the color excesses. Most of them are hotter than 60,000 K, i.e., they are the hottest known subdwarfs. From their spectral appearance and location in a H.R.-diagram they form a rather inhomogeneous group. Three of them turned out to be central stars or nearly central stars, and four are definitely near the white dwarf stage. The surface helium to hydrogen ratio varies from about normal to the extreme case. Most of them appear to be post EHB objectives of 0.5 solar mass with a helium burning shell as their energy source, and their peculiar helium-to-hydrogen ratios are most likely the result of diffusion and convective mixing in surface layers.
Illuminating the Dark Side of Creative Expression: Assimilation Needs and the Consequences of Creative Action Following Mortality Salience

Previous research indicates that mortality salience and creative behavior combine to increase feelings of guilt, presumably over the disruption to social connection elicited by the call for innovative expression. The present studies examined whether satiating assimilation motives by highlighting conformity to others reduces this effect (Study 1) and facilitates positive psychological engagement (Study 2). Study 1 used a 2 (conformity vs. neutral feedback)x2 (mortality salience vs. control)x2 (creative task vs. noncreative task) design and had participants complete a self-report measure of guilt. Study 2 used a 2 (mortality salience vs. control)x2 (other goal task vs. self-goal task) design, and after a creativity exercise, had participants complete measures of positive mood, vitality, and creative problem solving. Results indicated attending to assimilation needs reduced the elevated guilt that follows the juxtaposition of mortality salience and creative behavior and also increased a sense of positive engagement. Implications are briefly discussed.
Porous Fiber Optic for a High Sensitivity Humidity Sensor

Several approaches have been previously investigated which utilize fiber optic sensors to determine the relative humidity of air. Such devices typically have the advantage of higher sensitivity and quantitative precision compared to traditional chemical indicators. For example, the use of an optical fiber evanescent sensor for humidity measurements has been described by Russell and Fletcher1. In their device, a moisture sensitive cobalt chloride/gelatin film is immobilized on a 12cm long silica optical fiber as the humidity probe. Ballantine and Wohltjen described an optical waveguide humidity sensor that employed the same calorimetric reagent/polymer system on a glass capillary2. Zhu and Hieftje utilized a fluorescent fiber optic sensor for atmospheric humidity3 based on a dye entrapped within a polymer matrix. However, all of these sensors can only determine the relative humidity above 40% because of sensitivity limitations.
Long-term antithrombotic treatment for atrial fibrillation

Abstract Nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac disorder causing stroke and systemic emboli. Recent clinical trials have clearly demonstrated the effects of antithrombotic treatment in preventing these devastating complications of AF. This review summarizes the salient findings of the first 5 published studies—the Atrial Fibrillation, Aspirin, Anticoagulation Study (AFASAK) from Copenhagen, Denmark; the Boston Area Anticoagulation Trial for Atrial Fibrillation (BATAFF); the Canadian Atrial Fibrillation Anticoagulation study (CAFA); the Stroke Prevention in Non-rheumatic Atrial Fibrillation (SPINAF) study; and the Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation study (SPAF I) from the United States. These trials emphasize the unequivocal benefits of warfarin therapy compared with no treatment. SPAF II showed that aspirin is quite effective in younger patients ( 75 years) who had associated risk factors, warfarin therapy at the target international normalized ratio (INR) of 2–3, is the best treatment; however, a combination of low intensity fixed-dose warfarin and aspirin is ineffective. Thus, the guidelines recommended by the American College of Chest Physicians should be followed in treating patients with AF.
Sediment Accumulation Rates and Submersed Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) Distributions in the Mesohaline Chesapeake Bay, USA

This study assesses spatial and temporal sedimentological trends in four mesohaline Chesapeake Bay submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) habitats, two with persistent SAV beds and two with ephemeral SAV beds, to determine their relationship to current and historical sediment characteristics—grain size, organic content, and accumulation rates. In general, grain size is similar among all sites, and subsurface sediment differs from surficial sediment only at one site where a thin surficial sand layer (∼2–3 cm) is present. This thin sand layer is not completely preserved in the longer-term sedimentary record even though it is critical to determining whether the sediment is suitable for SAV. Evidence for nearshore fining, similar to that observed in the deeper waters of the Bay, is present at the site where the shoreline has been hardened suggesting that locations with hardened shorelines limit exchange of coarser (sandy) material between the shore and nearshore environments. Whether the fining trend will continue to a point at which the sediment will become unsuitable for SAV in the future or whether some new type of equilibrium will be reached cannot be addressed with our data. Instead, our data suggest that SAV presence/absence is related to changes in sedimentary characteristics—persistent beds have relatively steady sediment composition, while ephemeral beds have finer sediments due to reduced sand input. Additionally, sediment accumulation rates in the persistent beds are ∼9 mm/year, whereas rates in the ephemeral beds are ∼3 mm/year. Thus, the ephemeral sites highlight two potential sedimentary controls on SAV distribution: the presence of a sufficiently thick surficial sand layer as previously postulated by Wicks (2005) and accumulation rates high enough to bury seeds prior to germination and/or keep up with sea-level rise.
Oxygen isotope partitioning during oxidation of pyrite by H2O2 and its dependence on temperature

Abstract A detailed experimental study was conducted to investigate mechanisms of pyrite oxidation by determining product yields and oxygen isotopic fractionation during reactions between powdered pyrite (FeS 2 ) with aqueous hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ). Sealed silica-tube experiments utilized aliquots of pyrite that were reacted with 0.2 M H 2 O 2 for 7 to 14 days at 4 to 150 °C. No volatile sulfur species were detected in any experiment. The only gaseous product recovered was elemental oxygen inferred to result from decomposition of H 2 O 2 . Aqueous sulfate (S aq ) was the only sulfur product recovered from solution. Solid hydrated ferric iron sulfates (i.e., water-soluble sulfate fraction, S ws ) were recovered from all experiments. Ferric oxide (hematite) was detected only in high temperature experiments. Reactants were selected with large differences in initial δ 18 O values. The oxygen isotopic compositions of oxygen-bearing reactants and products were analyzed for each experiment. Subsequent isotopic mass-balances were used to identify sources of oxygen for reaction products and to implicate specific chemical reaction mechanisms. δ 18 O of water did not show detectable change during any experiment. δ 18 O of sulfate was similar for S aq and S ws and indicated that both H 2 O and H 2 O 2 were sources of oxygen in sulfate. Low-temperature experiments suggest that H 2 O-derived oxygen was incorporated into sulfate via Fe 3+ oxidation, whereas H 2 O 2 -derived oxygen was incorporated into sulfate via oxidation by hydroxyl radicals (HO ). These two competing mechanisms for oxygen incorporation into sulfate express comparable influences at 25 °C. With increasing reaction temperatures from 4 to 100 °C, it appears that accelerated thermal decomposition and diminished residence time of H 2 O 2 limit the oxygen transfer from H 2 O 2 into sulfate and enhance the relative importance of H 2 O-derived oxygen for incorporation into sulfate. Notably, at temperatures between 100 and 150 °C there is a reversal in the lower temperature trend resulting in dominance of H 2 O 2 -derived oxygen over H 2 O-derived oxygen. At such high temperatures, complete thermal decomposition of H 2 O 2 to water and molecular oxygen (O 2 ) occurs within minutes in mineral-blank experiments and suggests little possibility for direct oxidation of pyrite by H 2 O 2 above 100 °C. We hypothesize that a Fe–O 2 mechanism is responsible for oxygenating pyrite to sulfate using O 2 from the preceding thermal decomposition of H 2 O 2 .
Neonatal Assisted Ventilation: Predictors, Frequency, and Duration in a Mature Managed Care Organization

Objectives. Reference data are lacking on the frequency and duration of assisted ventilation in neonates. This information is essential for determining resource needs and planning clinical trials. As mortality becomes uncommon, ventilator utilization is increasingly used as a measure for assessing therapeutic effect and quality of care in intensive care medicine. Valid comparisons require adjustments for differences in a patient9s baseline risk for assisted ventilation and prolonged ventilator support. The aims of this study were to determine the frequency and length of ventilation (LOV) in preterm and term infants and to develop models for predicting the need for assisted ventilation and length of ventilator support. Methods. We performed a retrospective, population-based cohort study of 77 576 inborn live births at 6 Northern California hospitals with level 3 intensive care nurseries in a group-model managed care organization. The gestational age-specific frequency and duration of assisted ventilation among surviving infants was determined. Multivariable regression was performed to determine predictors for assisted ventilation and LOV. Results. Of 77 576 inborn live births in the study, 11 199 required admission to the neonatal intensive care unit and of these, 1928 survivors required ventilator support. The proportion of infants requiring assisted ventilation and the median LOV decreased markedly with increasing gestational age. In addition to gestational age, admission illness severity, 5-minute Apgar scores, presence of anomalies, male sex, and white race were important predictors for the need for assisted ventilation. The ability of the models to predict need for ventilation was high, and significantly better than birth weight alone with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of .90 versus .70 for preterm infants, and .88 versus .50 for term infants. For preterm infants, gestational age, admission illness severity, oxygenation index, anomalies, and small-for-gestational age status were significant predictors for LOV, accounting for 60% of the variance in the length of assisted ventilation. For term infants, oxygenation index and anomalies were significant predictors but only accounted for 29% of the variance. Conclusions. Considerable variation exists in the utilization of ventilator support among infants of closely related gestational age. In addition, a number of medical risk factors influence the need for, and length of, assisted ventilation. These models explain much of the variance in LOV among preterm infants but explain substantially less among term infants. neonatal intensive care, assisted ventilation, Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology, resource consumption, prematurity.
Method To Compute Space-Variant Image Degradation By Atmospheric Turbulence

This paper presents an approach to modeling effects of atmospheric turbulence in digital images, which allows variation in the atmospheric coherence diameter over the field-of-view. Characteristics of the imaging system are used in deriving a digital filter to represent turbulence, and in evaluating its accuracy. The form of the filter is appropriate for an image/array processor which performs direct convolutions rapidly.
The portfolio behavior of Japanese corporations’ stable shareholders

Abstract A unique feature of the Japanese corporate ownership and governance structure is the cross shareholdings among firms. Among group of firms that exhibit high levels of cross shareholdings, the large corporate shareholders are supposed to be stable over time. However, in recent years, the business press has indicated that cross shareholding among Japanese firms has been declining. This paper examines the changes in the stock holdings of various investor groups in Japanese firms in order to gain a better understanding of how related shareholder behavior differs from unrelated shareholder behavior. A finding is that although membership in business groups via cross shareholding may be beneficial in the longer run, there are real bonding costs stable shareholders incur to demonstrate their strong commitments to each other. These bonding costs include: foregoing or refraining from using information to trade, providing share price support via purchase of stocks in the market when a firm's earnings are expected to decline, and subscription of new shares when the issuing firm is not in a favorable situation.
A Monte Carlo Method for Criticality Problems

An efficient Monte Carlo method is described for computing the fundamental eigenvalue of the homogeneous transport equation. Importance sampling is used and, in effect, one neutron is followed thro...
Cloud Cover over the South Pole from Visual Observations, Satellite Retrievals, and Surface-Based Infrared Radiation Measurements

Abstract Estimates of cloud cover over the South Pole are presented from five different data sources: routine visual observations (1957–2004; Cvis), surface-based spectral infrared (IR) data (2001; CPAERI), surface-based broadband IR data (1994–2003; Cpyr), the Extended Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Polar Pathfinder (APP-x) dataset (1994–99; CAPP-x), and the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) dataset (1994–2003; CISCCP). The seasonal cycle of cloud cover is found to range from 45%–50% during the short summer to a relatively constant 55%–65% during the winter. Relationships between Cpyr and 2-m temperature, 10-m wind speed and direction, and longwave radiation are investigated. It is shown that clouds warm the surface in all seasons, 0.5–1 K during summer and 3–4 K during winter. The annual longwave cloud radiative forcing is 18 W m−2 for downwelling radiation and 10 W m−2 for net radiation. The cloud cover datasets are intercompared during the time periods in whic...
Adsorption and desorption studies in the aqueous phase for the toluene/activated carbon system

The activated carbon adsorption and desorption of toluene in single-component aqueous solutions were investigated. Adsorption equilibrium and batch rate studies were conducted to measure the capacity of Filtasorb-300 (F-300) for toluene and to determine the effects of the initial toluene concentration, the F-300 particle size, and the hydrodynamic conditions in the liquid phase on the rate of toluene adsorption on F-300. The results of the adsorption rate experiments were successfully fitted with the homogeneous surface diffusion (HSD) model and a surface diffusion coefficient which varies exponentially with surface coverage. The model also accounted for the dependence of the external toluene mass transfer coefficient on the hydrodynamic conditions in the liquid phase. The reversibility of toluene adsorption on F-300 was addressed in desorption equilibrium experiments which indicated that only about five percent of the toluene molecules adsorb irreversibly on the surface of F-300. Batch desorption rate studies were conducted for different initial toluene surface concentrations, F-300 particle sizes, and liquid/solid ratios. Use of the previously determined toluene transport parameters in the HSD model allowed for successful prediction of the experimental desorption rates.
Heat transfer in femtosecond laser processing of metal

The short time scales and high intensities obtained during femtosecond laser irradiation of metals require that heat transfer calculations take into account the nonequilibrium that exists between electrons and the lattice during the initial laser heating period. Thus, two temperature fields are necessary to describe the process--the electron temperature and the lattice temperature. In this work, a simplified one-dimensional, parabolic, two-step model is solved numerically to predict heating, melting, and evaporation of metal under femtosecond laser irradiation. Kinetic relations at the phase-change interfaces are included in the model. The numerical results show close agreement with experimental melting threshold fluence data. Further, it is predicted that the solid phase has a large amount of superheating and that a distinct melt phase develops with duration of the order of nanoseconds.
Microtextural investigation of hydrided α-uranium

The local orientation features in as-cast α-uranium were investigated in order to ascertain the influence of texture and heterogeneity in the microstructure on hydride initiation and growth. Several samples were interrogated via automated electron back-scattered diffraction measurements in the post-hydride state. Characterization included orientation mapping, deformation twin identification, and grain boundary analysis. It was found that preferential hydride initiation sites were associated with general high-angle grain boundaries, low-angle boundaries, and twin boundaries of two systems. Linear segregation or precipitation features suggest the existence of unresolved twins that could be correlated with many of the remaining hydrides. The tendency of certain orientations to exhibit differing hydride potentials based on atomic density in the habit plane was also considered. The results suggest the dominant role of enhanced sub-surface hydrogen diffusion at misoriented regions in controlling hydride nucleation and growth.
Lymphocyte activation markers may predict the presence of donor specific alloreactivity in pediatric living related liver transplant recipients.

Abstract This is an observational study with the primary objective to measure donor-specific immune responses by pediatric liver transplant (LT) recipients, using cell surface expression of lymphocyte activation markers and cytokine secretion in mixed lymphocyte reactions. The secondary objective was to demonstrate possible mechanism(s) involved in those who demonstrated donor-specific hyporesponsiveness. Study participants included 17 recipients, their respective parental donors, the non-donor parent, as well as unrelated third party individuals. Within the CD4 + population, two distinct patterns of CD69 and CD71 expressions were observed: recipients who had a lower percentage of CD4 + CD69 + and CD4 + CD71 + cells after donor versus non-donor stimulation (therefore a donor/non-donor ratio + CD69 + and CD4 + CD71 + cells after donor versus non-donor stimulation (therefore a donor/non-donor ratio ≥1). Eight recipients had the above defined ratio of + CD25 hi. CD127− regulatory T cells from these eight recipients suppressed donor and non-donor cell induced proliferation. Suppression of proliferation was partially abrogated by interleukin-2. In conclusion, CD69 and CD71 cell surface expression with interferon-γ secretion can be used to identify two distinct populations in pediatric LT recipients. Both active regulation and anergy underlie donor specific hyporesponsiveness.
The 47 years of muon g-2

Abstract After a brief introduction to the theory of the muon anomalous moment a≡(g−2)/2, all the experimental measurements of this quantity are reviewed in some detail. This includes the CERN cyclotron experiment, the first muon storage rings at CERN, the Berkeley experiment, the invention of the “magic energy” and the latest measurement with the third muon storage ring at Brookhaven. The current comparison with theory is discussed.
The Shortest Telomere, Not Average Telomere Length, Is Critical for Cell Viability and Chromosome Stability

Loss of telomere function can induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. To investigate the processes that trigger cellular responses to telomere dysfunction, we crossed mTR-/- G6 mice that have short telomeres with mice heterozygous for telomerase (mTR+/-) that have long telomeres. The phenotype of the telomerase null offspring was similar to that of the late generation parent, although only half of the chromosomes were short. Strikingly, spectral karyotyping (SKY) analysis revealed that loss of telomere function occurred preferentially on chromosomes with critically short telomeres. Our data indicate that, while average telomere length is measured in most studies, it is not the average but rather the shortest telomeres that constitute telomere dysfunction and limit cellular survival in the absence of telomerase.