cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Is bowel confinement necessary after anorectal reconstructive surgery? A prospective, randomized, surgeon-blinded trial

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess any differences between the inclusion or omission of medical bowel confinement relative to postoperative morbidity and patient tolerance after anorectal reconstructive surgery. METHODS: Between January 1995 and February 1997 a prospective randomized trial was conducted for patients without stomas who underwent anorectal reconstructive surgery. All patients were randomly assigned either to medical bowel confinement (a clear liquid diet with loperamide 4 mg by mouth three times per day and codeine phosphate 30 mg by mouth four times per day until the third postoperative day) or to a regular diet, beginning the day of surgery. All patients in both groups underwent the identical preoperative oral mechanical preparation, preoperative oral and parenteral antibiotics, and postoperative antibiotics. Wound closure and wound care were identical in both groups. RESULTS: Fifty-four patients (46 females) were prospectively, randomly assigned to medical bowel confinement (n=27; 50 percent) or a regular diet (n=27; 50 percent); the mean ages were 51.0 (range, 28–80) and 47.2 (range, 23–87) years, respectively. Indications for surgery were fecal incontinence in 32 patients, complicated fistulas in 17 patients, anal stenosis in 4 patients, a Whitehead deformity in 1 patient, and a chronic unhealed fissure in 1 patient. Fifty-four patients underwent 55 procedures: 32 patients underwent sphincteroplasty, 18 patients underwent transanal advancement flaps, and 5 patients underwent anoplasties. There were no differences between the two groups in the incidence of either septic or urologic complications. Nausea and vomiting were recorded in seven (26 percent) medical bowel confinement and three (11 percent) regular-diet patients. The first postoperative bowel movement occurred at a mean of 3.9 days in the medical bowel confinement group and 2.8 days in the regular diet group (P<0.05). Fecal impaction occurred in seven (26 percent) of the patients in the medical bowel confinement group and two (7 percent) of the patients in the regular diet group. Hospital charges analysis showed a mean cost of hospitalization of $12,586.00 (range, $3,436.00−$20,375.00) for the medical bowel confinement group and $10,685.00 (range, $3,954.00−$18,574.00) in the regular diet group, representing a mean difference of $1,901.00 (P=0.06). Mean follow-up was 13 months for both groups (range, 1–24 months in the regular diet group and 2–25 months in the medical bowel confinement group). No statistical difference was shown in the functional outcome of sphincteroplasties between the medical bowel confinement group and the regular diet group. CONCLUSIONS: The outcome of reconstructive anorectal surgery was not adversely affected by the omission of medical bowel confinement. Moreover, cost savings can be achieved by the omission of routine bowel confinement.
Experimental thyroiditis in complement intact and deficient mice following injections of heterologous thyroglobulins without adjuvant.

SummaryExperimental thyroiditis and thyroglobulin autoantibodies have been produced in both complement intact and deficient mice by injections of a mixture of heterologous (cross-reacting) thyroglobulins without adjuvant. The severity of the immune response and incidence of thyroid lesions in mice varied from strain to strain. The Swiss Webster and A/JAX strains had the highest mean hemagglutinating antibody titer to homologous thyroglobulin in addition to being susceptible to thyroid lesions, whereas the complement intact and deficient strains of B10-D2/SN new line, DBA/1J, B10-D2/SN old line and DBA/2J showed autoantibody production without any definite thyroid lesions. Present data do not substantiate a necessary role for components of complement which are activated after the third component of complement in the production of either thyroiditis or autoantibodies in mice.
Prenatal dietary choline availability alters postnatal neurotoxic vulnerability in the adult rat

The availability of choline during the prenatal period influences neural and cognitive development. Here we report that choline supplementation during a six-day gestational period protects against neurodegeneration in the posterior cingulate and retrosplenial cortices of adult female rats produced by systemic administration of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist dizocilpine (MK-801). These data show that availability of choline during a brief prenatal period diminishes vulnerability to neurotoxicity in adult offspring.
Single electron capture by 0.5–1.5 MeV/u F9+ and F8+ on hydrocarbon gases

Total cross sections are reported for single electron capture by bare and one-electron fluorine ions incident on the hydrocarbon gases CH4, C2H4, C2H6, C3H6 and C3H8. The measurements span an energy range of 0.5–1.5 MeV/u. The hydrocarbon series was selected to further investigate the extent of validity of the additivity rule for molecular targets whereby a molecular cross section is considered to be the sum of the atomic cross sections of the constituent atoms in the molecule. An analysis of the systematic trends shows that no deviations from strict additivity are observed over the entire energy range. Using the simple model from additivity, atomic carbon cross sections are extracted from the molecular cross sections. The consistency of this model for these measurements is explained in terms of the large relative capture from inner-shell carbon atoms and by the low probability for secondary effects within the target molecules.
Adhesion testing of a denture base resin with 5 casting alloys.

PURPOSE This study compared denture base resin shear bond strengths to silicoated Au-Pd, Au-Pd-Ag, Au-Ag-Pd-Cu, high-Pd, and Ni-Cr-Be alloys used to fabricate frameworks for hybrid implant prostheses. Microleakage between alloy and resin was also compared among groups after specimen fracture. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twelve cylindrical specimens were cast for each alloy. Each specimen was made from a ring-shaped pattern (diameter [d] = 12 mm and height = 4 mm) and machined to achieve uniform hollow centers (d = 6.5 mm). Castings were abraded with 250-micron aluminum oxide and ultrasonically cleaned in distilled water before silicoating. Denture base resin was processed to the internal surfaces of the silicoated specimens. All specimens were thermocycled (1,000 cycles) between 4 degrees C and 50 degrees C, and placed in basic fuchsin dye for a week. A punch (d = 3.8 mm) driven at a cross-head speed of 0.5 mm/min was used to push out the resin specimens. The force required to cause failure was converted to the nominal shear bond strength for each specimen, and mean shear bond strengths for the 5 groups of specimens (N = 12) were compared using one-way analysis of variance and the Tukey-Kramer HSD multiple range test (alpha = 0.05). Six of the 12 debonded resin samples for each alloy were selected at random and evaluated for dye penetration. Using an 80-square grid, the percentage of dye penetration was evaluated with an optical microscope (x25) to determine the percentage of grid area penetrated by the dye. One-way analysis of variance was used to compare the degree of microleakage among groups. RESULTS The mean resin-alloy shear bond strengths for the Au-Pd (9.6 +/- 3.7 MPa) and Au-Ag-Pd-Cu (9.2 +/- 1.5 MPa) alloys were significantly greater than mean resin-alloy shear bond strength for the Au-Pd-Ag alloy (5.6 +/- 1.9 MPa). No other significant differences in resin-alloy shear bond strengths were noted among the alloy groups. No significant differences were noted for dye penetration into the resin specimens bonded to any of the 5 alloys. The mean grid area penetrated by the dye was 25% when results for the alloys were pooled. CONCLUSIONS Alloy type influences the shear bond strength of a denture base resin to silicoated alloys, but no difference in bond strength was found between Au-Pd, Au-Ag-Pd-Cu, high-Pd, and Ni-Cr-Be alloys. In addition, under the conditions of this study, all groups showed a similar degree of microleakage, which penetrated approximately 25% of the bonded specimen surface area.
An extracellular matrix response element in the promoter of the LpS1 genes of the sea urchin Lytechinus pictus

The extracellular matrix (ECM) has been shown to play an important role in development and tissue-specific gene expression, yet the mechanism by which genes receive signals from the ECM is poorly understood. The aboral ectoderm-specific LpS1-alpha and -beta genes of Lytechinus pictus , members of the Spec gene family, provide an excellent model system to study ECM- mediated gene regulation. Disruption of the ECM by preventing collagen deposition using the lathrytic agent beta-aminopropionitrile (BAPN) inhibits LpS1 gene transcription. LpS1 transcription resumes after removal of BAPN and subsequent collagen reformation. Using a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter gene assay, we show that a 125 bp region of the LpS1-beta promoter from -108 to +17 contains an ECM response element (ECM RE). Insertion of the 125 bp region into the promoter of the metallothionein gene of L. pictus, a gene unaffected by ECM disruption, caused the fused promoter to become ECM dependent. As with the endogenous LpS1 genes, CAT activity directed by the fused LpS1-beta promoter resumed in embryos recovered from ECM disruption. A mutation in a cis -acting element called the proximal G-string, which lies in the 125 bp region, caused CAT activity levels in ECM-disrupted embryos to equal that of the wild-type LpS1-bet apromoter in ECM-intact embryos. These results suggest that the intact ECM normally transmits signals to inhibit repressor activity at the proximal G-string in aboral ectoderm cells. Consistent with these results were our findings which showed that in addition to expression in the aboral ectoderm, the proximal G-string mutation caused expression of the CAT gene in oral ectoderm cells. These studies suggested that the proximal G-string serves as a binding site for negative regulation of the LpS1 genes in oral ectoderm during development. We also examined trans -acting factors binding the proximal G-string following ECM disruption. Band shift gels revealed a predominant set of slower migrating nuclear proteins from ECM-disrupted embryos which bound the proximal G-string. This work suggested that ECM disruption initiates signaling that induces a repressor to bind the ECM RE and/or modifies ECM RE binding proteins, which in turn represses LpS1 gene activity.
Epidermal lipids and the natural history of hydrofluoric acid (HF) injury.

To explain several fortuitous observations, we hypothesized that there is a naturally occurring lipid ‘barrier’ to HF injury in guinea-pig skin and sought to characterize both the barrier and its role in the natural history of such injuries. Under anaesthesia, the dorsal trunk skin of groups of guinea-pigs was gently clipped of hair, washed with chloroform, soap and water, acetone or nothing (controls), and examined histologically for the presence of neutral lipid. Thereafter, in animal groups similarly washed, 1.5 in × 1.5 in (38 mm × 38 mm) areas were exposed to 40 per cent HF for up to 50 min and: (a) mean percentages of exposed areas with gross necrosis 5 days postinjury plotted on dose—response curves; or (b) less than 4 h after exposure to HF, intra-aortic India ink was injected and skin specimens examined to discern depth of ischaemia and necrosis. In contrast to controls, washing reduced neutral lipid in epidermis and significantly (at P < 0.001) increased susceptibility to injury by HF. With very rare (but interesting) exceptions, HF injury was found to be full thickness in depth with ischaemia and coagulative necrosis. In this study, development of guinea-pig skin necrosis due to HF was typically an ‘all-or-nothing’ ‘barrier-penetration’ phenomenon relating as much to the integrity of an epidermal lipid barrier as to the duration and intensity of noxious exposure.
Gravitational Waves From the End of Inflation: Computational Strategies

Parametric resonance or preheating is a plausible mechanism for bringing about the transition between the inflationary phase and a hot, radiation dominated universe. This epoch results in the rapid production of heavy particles far from thermal equilibrium and could source a significant stochastic background of gravitational radiation. Here, we present a numerical algorithm for computing the contemporary power spectrum of gravity waves generated in this post-inflationary phase transition for a large class of scalar-field driven inflationary models. We explicitly calculate this spectrum for both quartic and quadratic models of chaotic inflation, and low-scale hybrid models. In particular, we consider hybrid models with an inverted potential. These models have a very short and intense period of resonance which is qualitatively different from previous examples studied in this context, but we find that they lead to a similar spectrum of gravitational radiation.
Response-Based Confidence Annotation for Spoken Dialogue Systems

Spoken and multimodal dialogue systems typically make use of confidence scores to choose among (or reject) a speech recognizer's N-best hypotheses for a particular utterance. We argue that it is beneficial to instead choose among a list of candidate system responses. We propose a novel method in which a confidence score for each response is derived from a classifier trained on acoustic and lexical features emitted by the recognizer, as well as features culled from the generation of the candidate response itself. Our response-based method yields statistically significant improvements in F-measure over a baseline in which hypotheses are chosen based on recognition confidence scores only.
A NEW LOOK AT OLD DATA; AN EXAMPLE FROM THE ARTHROPODS

Exceptionally preserved arthropod fossils from the Cambrian have gained a lot of attention as researchers hope to elucidate the arthropod stem lineage (e.g., Waloszek et al., 2007; Edgecombe, 2010). Progress is being made, though some issues remain contentious, because consensus on arthropod phylogeny seems as elusive as ever. These uncertainties hamper attempts to characterize the ground pattern of Euarthropoda through studies of extant taxa alone. While this makes the fossils all the more valuable, it also complicates their interpretation, as we do not always know what morphology to expect for representatives of a given stem lineage. This is less of a problem if the fossils are superbly preserved and thus the amount of interpretation required is minimal, as in fossils in Orsten type preservation (Maas et al., 2006). Unfortunately, the bulk of Cambrian fossils, often in Burgess Shale–type preservation, rarely lend themselves to straightforward description. Here, descriptions already contain a considerable amount of interpretation, influenced by the current understanding of the group under study. As that understanding changes, so does the interpretation of the fossils. Looking to the historical context of paradigms at the time they were established can be helpful. I will illustrate with the example of lamellipedian arthropods (trilobites and their allies) how a choice of a model that seemed reasonable at the time has led to a paradigm for the interpretation of limb morphology in the group that we only recently have started to question. The second decade of the last century saw a culmination of the early studies …
Temporal course of open-field behavior in albino rats.

Summary.-Locomotor activity and defecation were measured on six consecutive days (at 24-hr. intervals), under six schedules of exposure in an open field. The results indicated that the schedule of exposure was an important determiner of locomotor activiry and defecation.
On phase retrieval of finite-length sequences using the initial time sample

The problem of recovering a finite-length sequence from the Fourier transform magnitude and the exact value of the first time sample, which has been recently shown to be almost always possible, is shown to be NP-complete. It is shown that recovery to within a unit magnitude complex constant is possible if the magnitude of the end point is within an uncertainty interval. Larger uncertainty leads to the recovery of a set of feasible solutions that can be used to recover the sequence if additional information is available. A branch-and-bound algorithm to find all solutions which offers significant improvements over exhaustive search is presented. This algorithm can be modified to incorporate the knowledge of additional time samples or knowledge of the fact that the sequence is real to help make a unique recovery. >
A Cross-Team Framework of International Knowledge Acquisition on New Product Development Capabilities and New Product Market Performance

Abstract Rapid new product developments (NPDs) have drastically changed the competitive landscape in the global economy. Because the time-to-market dimension of product introduction has become a crucial determinant of multinational corporations' (MNCs') competitive advantage, the ability of MNCs to exploit their knowledge globally across subsidiaries using cross-teams has become an important source of competitive advantage. Recognizing the crucial role of MNCs' knowledge management in NPD, the authors develop a conceptual framework to investigate the antecedents and outcomes of international knowledge acquisition at the cross-team level. The framework suggests that though it is important to acquire necessary knowledge resources for NPD, managers must nurture an NPD project team's realized absorptive capacity to transform the acquired knowledge resources into NPD capabilities, which in turn affect new product market performance.
Transient Stability of a Multi-Machine Power System. Part II: Critical Transient Energy

This paper deals with transient stability analysis of a multi-machine power system using direct methods based on the transient energy of the system when subjected to a large disturbance. The component of the transient energy that does not contribute to system separation is identified, and is corrected for in the computation of the critical transient energy at clearing. The technique is validated by computing critical clearing times for two test systems and comparing the results with those obtained by time solutions.
PETROGRAPHIC AND MINERALOGICAL STUDY OF THE UNDERCLAYS OF ILLINOIS COAL

A study was made of the petrographical and mineralogical characteristics of Illinois underclays, which were found to be mainly potash beidellite purified before deposition under the conditions of the Pennsylvanian period. Feldspars, muscovite, quartz, and other minerals were mixed with the clay minerals during deposition in water, but later the carbonates were removed. The weathering profiles developed on the underclays resemble the Wisconsin till.
The Effect of Oral and Parenteral Administration of Antibiotics on Growth and Fecal Microflora in the Turkey Poult

Abstract STOKSTAD and Jukes (1950) and Whitehill et al. (1950) reported several antibiotics to increse the growth rate of chicks adequately suppled with vitamin B12. Atkinson and Couch (1951) obtained a 25% increase in both feed efficiency and growth with the addition of aureomycin to the diet of turkey poults. Elam, Gee and Couch (1951a) reported that the fecal microflora of the growing chick was influenced by the feeding of penicillin. These same workers (1951b) reported later that antibiotics may stimulate growth by some mechanism in addition to the action on the aerobic microflora. Elam et al. (1953) reported that the administration of antibiotics had significantly decreased the number of Clostridia in chick fecal material. Smith and Robinson (1945) found that sterptomycin administered orally produced a marked reduction in the coliform bacteria in the intestine of mice. Rosenberg et al. (1952) found that the addition of terramycin to the diet of …
New Indigo Syntheses. Preliminary Communication

Three novel routes for the preparation of the dyestuff indigo are described. Two of the methods use isatoic anhydride, the third one styrene as starting materials. Key reactions are acylation of both dimsyl and nitromethane anions, Pummerer rearrangement and Nef reaction. A novel nitration of styrene is the basis of the third method.
Brain areas associated with force steadiness and intensity during isometric ankle dorsiflexion in men and women

Although maintenance of steady contractions is required for many daily tasks, there is little understanding of brain areas that modulate lower limb force accuracy. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to determine brain areas associated with steadiness and force during static (isometric) lower limb target-matching contractions at low and high intensities. Fourteen young adults (6 men and 8 women; 27.1 ± 9.1 years) performed three sets of 16-s isometric contractions with the ankle dorsiflexor muscles at 10, 30, 50, and 70 % of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC). Percent signal changes (PSCs, %) of the blood oxygenation level-dependent response were extracted for each contraction using region of interest analysis. Mean PSC increased with contraction intensity in the contralateral primary motor area (M1), supplementary motor area, putamen, pallidum cingulate cortex, and ipsilateral cerebellum (p < 0.05). The amplitude of force fluctuations (standard deviation, SD) increased from 10 to 70 % MVC but relative to the mean force (coefficient of variation, CV %) was greatest at 10 % MVC. The CV of force was associated with PSC in the ipsilateral parietal lobule (r = −0.28), putamen (r = −0.29), insula (r = −0.33), and contralateral superior frontal gyrus (r = −0.33, p < 0.05). There were minimal sex differences in brain activation across the isometric motor tasks indicating men and women were similarly motivated and able to activate cortical motor centers during static tasks. Control of steady lower limb contractions involves cortical and subcortical motor areas in both men and women and provides insight into key areas for potential cortical plasticity with impaired or enhanced leg function.
Driver's style classification using jerk analysis

This paper presents an innovative approach to classifying the driver's driving style by analyzing the jerk profile of the driver. Driving style is a dynamic behavior of a driver on the road. At times a driver can be calm but aggressive at others. The information about driver's dynamic driving style can be used to better control fuel economy. We propose to classify driver's style based on the measure of how fast a driver is accelerating and decelerating. We developed an algorithm that classifies driver's style utilizing the statistical information from the jerk profile and the road way type and traffic congestion level prediction. Our experiment results show that our approach generates more reasonable results than those generated by using other published methods.
Self-rated health in rural Appalachia: health perceptions are incongruent with health status and health behaviors

Appalachia is characterized by poor health behaviors, poor health status, and health disparities. Recent interventions have not demonstrated much success in improving health status or reducing health disparities in the Appalachian region. Since one's perception of personal health precedes his or her health behaviors, the purpose of this project was to evaluate the self-rated health of Appalachian adults in relation to objective health status and current health behaviors. Appalachian adults (n = 1,576) were surveyed regarding health behaviors - soda consumer (drink ≥ 355 ml/d), or non-consumer (drink 30 min > 1 d/wk) and sedentary (exercise < 30 min 1 d/wk), blood pressure medication (yes, no), and self-rated health. Blood pressure was measured through auscultation and serum cholesterol measured via needle prick. Weight status was based on BMI: normal weight (NW ≥ 18.5 and < 25.0), overweight (OW ≥ 25.0 and < 30.0), and obese (OB ≥ 30.0). Jaccard Binary Similarity coefficients, odds ratios, chi-square, and prevalence ratios were calculated to evaluate the relationships among self-rated health, objective health status, and health behaviors. Significance was set at p < 0.05. Respondents reported being healthy, while being sedentary (65%), hypertensive (76%), overweight (73%), or hyperlipidemic (79%). Between 57% and 66% of the respondents who considered themselves healthy had at least two disease conditions or poor health behaviors. Jaccard Binary Similarity coefficients and odds ratios showed the probability of reporting being healthy when having a disease condition or poor health behavior was high. The association between self-rated health and poor health indicators in Appalachian adults is distorted. The public health challenge is to formulate messages and programs about health and health needs which take into account the current distortion about health in Appalachia and the cultural context in which this distortion was shaped.
Globalization and the Strengthening of Democracy in the Developing World

Scholars and policy makers have long assumed that trade and financial liberalization encourages developing countries to become more democratic; yet no one has developed formal hypotheses about the causal relationship between globalization and democracy. This article shows that these two trends are indeed related, but not necessarily in the direct manner that has commonly been postulated. Combining theories of embedded liberalism and conflict-based theories of democracy, the model presented here depicts the process that affects decisions to strengthen democracy as trade and capital flows increase. I argue that increasing exposure to international export and financial markets leads to improvements in democracy if safety nets are used simultaneously as a strategy for providing stability and building political support. Empirical evidence is provided by econometric analysis covering 59 developing countries for the time period 1972–97.
Seismic tomography using travel-time surfaces for experiments in the laboratory

In this paper, seismic tomography using travel-time surfaces was performed for synthetic sediment samples in the laboratory. Travel-time surfaces were used for visualization of the data as well as for quality control. Tomographic experiments were first conducted on numerical test data and then on observed data recorded in the laboratory. For the observed data, the construction of travel-time surfaces allowed for better quality control of the data and identified where travel times needed to be re-picked. It was found that the resulting patterns on the travel-time surfaces were similar between the numerically simulated data and the measured data for similar structures giving added confidence in the travel-time picking procedures. The resulting travel-time tomography inversions were found to be able to reconstruct simple, as well as more complicated, structures in the synthetic sediment samples. But, careful picking of the observed travel times was required based on continuity of the travel-time surfaces to obtain good tomographic results. However, travel-time inversions still result in smoothed solutions and for finer scale features an additional waveform inversion may be required.
The Affective Consequences of Service Work: Managing Emotions on the Job

Understanding the social-psychology effects of frontline service work requires attention to the emotional labor performed by incumbents of these positions. Using Hochschild's 1983 classification of jobs requiring emotional labor, this study examines the effects of emotional labor on workers employed in the banking and hospital industries. The results suggest that performance of emotional labor does not have uniformly negative consequences for workers, as some accounts imply. Instead, the effects of emotional labor are conditioned by workers' level of job autonomy and job involvement, and their self-monitoring abilities. The conditions under which emotional labor has negative and positive social-psychological consequences are discussed.
Computing inversion pair cardinality through partition-based sorting

In this paper, we introduce a new randomized, partition-based algorithm for the problem of computing the number of inversion pairs in an unsorted array of n numbers. The algorithm runs in expected time O(n · log n) and uses O(n) extra space. The expected time analysis of the new algorithm is different from the analyses existing in the literature, in that it explicitly uses inversion pairs. The problem of determining the inversion pair cardinality of an array finds applications in a number of design domains, including but not limited to real-time scheduling and operations research. At the heart of our algorithm is a new inversion pair conserving partition procedure that is different from existing partition procedures such as Hoare-partition and Lomuto-partition. Although the algorithm is not fully adaptive, we believe that it is the first step towards the design of an adaptive, partition-based sorting algorithm whose running time is proportional to the number of inversion pairs in the input.
A study of the formation, evolution, and decay of shocks in the heliosphere between 0.5 and 30.0 AU

The spatial and temporal evolution of corotating interaction regions is examined between 0.5 and 30 AU using a solar-wind simulation with a continuous sinusoidally varying velocity, density, and temperature input pulse train. The well-known formation of forward-reverse MHD shock ensembles is followed by their interaction, which results in a highly nonlinear 'pressure' wave that eventually reforms into a new but more irregular set of forward-reverse shock pairs. As a result of these compound interactions, the overall temperature decays much more slowly than the classical steady-state adiabatic radial dependency of R BXP -4/3.
A sustained increase in plasma NEFA upregulates the Toll-like receptor network in human muscle

Aims/hypothesis Insulin-sensitive tissues (muscle, liver) of individuals with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus are in a state of low-grade inflammation, characterised by increased Toll-like receptor (TLR) expression and TLR-driven signalling. However, the cause of this mild inflammatory state is unclear. We tested the hypothesis that a prolonged mild increase in plasma NEFA will increase TLR expression and TLR-driven signalling (nuclear factor κB [NFκB] and mitogen-activated kinase [MAPK]) and impair insulin action in muscle of lean healthy individuals.
Numerical integration of ordinary differential equations on manifolds

This paper is concerned with the problem of developing numerical integration algorithms for differential equations that, when viewed as equations in some Euclidean space, naturally evolve on some embedded submanifold. It is desired to construct algorithms whose iterates also evolve on the same manifold. These algorithms can therefore be viewed as integrating ordinary differential equations on manifolds. The basic method “decouples” the computation of flows on the submanifold from the numerical integration process. It is shown that two classes of single-step and multistep algorithms can be posed and analyzed theoretically, using the concept of “freezing” the coefficients of differential operators obtained from the defining vector field. Explicit third-order algorithms are derived, with additional equations augmenting those of their classical counterparts, obtained from “obstructions” defined by nonvanishing Lie brackets.
TOCOPHEROL DEFICIENCY IN ADULTS WITH CHRONIC PANCREATITIS

3initially associated nontropical sprue with histologic evidence of avitaminosis E, characterized by ceroid pigment in smooth muscle of the alimentary tract. Subsequently, Nitowsky and co-workers 4 - 7 found low blood tocopherol levels in children with cystic fibrosis of the pancreas. Blanc et al. 8 demonstrated a high incidence of ceroid pigmentation in the intestine of children with cystic fibrosis, congenital biliary atresia, and, to a lesser extent, cirrhosis of the liver. A large series of controls failed to show this lesion. Following a few chance observations of this lesion at necropsy in adults with chronic pancreatitis, it-was decided to investigate its incidence and significance. Initially sections from 16 necropsied cases of chronic pan­ creatitis were examined. From this survey two observations emerged: (1) In 10 of the 16 cases ceroid pigmentation appeared in the smooth muscle of various organs. (2) In all instances in which the pigment was encountered in any area, it was present in the small intestine. As a result of this pre­ liminary investigation, a purposeful survey was instituted.
Alcohol misuse among female veterans: exploring associations with interpersonal violence and mental health

Background: The correlates of alcohol misuse among female Veterans are not well understood. The present study explored associations among alcohol misuse, demographic/military-related characteristics, interpersonal violence exposure, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptom severity. Method: Participants were 369 female Veteran patients of the VA New England Healthcare System. Participants completed a paper-and-pencil mail survey that included validated assessments of alcohol misuse, interpersonal violence, and psychological distress. Results: Younger age, adulthood physical abuse, military sexual trauma, past-year psychological aggression by an intimate partner, and PTSD and depression symptom severity showed significant univariate associations with alcohol misuse (as indicated by unsafe drinking levels, presence or incipience of an alcohol use disorder, intrapersonal alcohol-related concerns, and/or interpersonal alcohol-related concerns). A couple of these associations remained si...
Daclatasvir in HCV genotype 1 and 3 treatment

Daclatasvir (DCV) is a novel pan-genotypic nonstructural protein 5A (NS5A) inhibitor recently approved in the USA for treatment of genotype 3 HCV infection (GT3). GT3 HCV has been difficult to treat with direct-acting antivirals. DCV has an increasing database of evidence to show its efficacy against this genotype. In this review, we discuss the pharmacology of DCV and explore the clinical data to support its recent US FDA approval.
Advanced Detection: Electrical Tests

Conventional counterfeit detection methods suffer from excessive test time and cost. The physical tests (see Chap. 4) require expensive equipment and, due their destructive nature, cannot be applied to all chips. Electrical tests (see Chap. 5) on the other hand require different test set ups for all the unique types of ICs one could encounter in practice (digital, analog, mixed signal, memories, processors, FPGAs, etc.). In addition, test program generation for obsolete and active ICs faces major drawbacks as well.
Observation of the L-H confinement bifurcation triggered by a turbulence-driven shear flow in a tokamak plasma.

Comprehensive 2D turbulence and eddy flow velocity measurements on DIII-D demonstrate a rapidly increasing turbulence-driven shear flow that develops $\ensuremath{\sim}100\text{ }\text{ }\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{s}$ prior to the low-confinement ($L$ mode) to high-confinement ($H$ mode) transition and appears to trigger it. These changes are localized to a narrow layer 1--2 cm inside the magnetic boundary. Increasing heating power increases the Reynolds stress, the energy transfer from turbulence to the poloidal flow, and the edge flow shearing rate that then exceeds the decorrelation rate, suppressing turbulence and triggering the transition.
Fluid mechanics of high power grid nozzle lasers

Many h igh power l a s e r s i n v o l v e t h e expansion of h e a t e d gases through g r i d s of s m a l l s u p e r s o n i c n o z z l e s . The f low i n t h e o p t i c a l c a v i t y may thus have wakes, waves, mixing l a y e r s , and volume turbul e n c e , i n a d d i t i o n t o v i b r a t i o n a l and chemical ene rgy r e l e a s e . Th i s pape r reviews t h e d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e s e complex f lows and t h e c o n s t r a i n t s t h a t they p l a c e on l a s e r power o u t p u t , beam q u a l i t y , and r ecove red t o t a l p r e s s u r e . The approach uses s imp le uncoupled and one-dimensional a n a l y s e s t o o u t l i n e and bound t h e i n d i v i d u a l e f f e c t s , r e f e r e n c i n g r e c e n t l i t e r a t u r e f o r more thorough t r e a t m e n t . Ext e n s i o n s t o c u r r e n t r e s e a r c h a r e g iven .
Risk of re-report: A latent class analysis of infants reported for maltreatment

A key challenge facing child protective services (CPS) is identifying children who are at greatest risk of future maltreatment. This analysis examined a cohort of children with a first report to CPS during infancy, a vulnerable population at high risk of future CPS reports. Birth records of all infants born in California in 2006 were linked to CPS records; 23,871 infants remaining in the home following an initial report were followed for 5 years to determine if another maltreatment report occurred. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify subpopulations of infants based on varying risks of re-report. LCA model fit was examined using the Bayesian information criterion, a likelihood ratio test, and entropy. Statistical indicators and interpretability suggested the four-class model best fit the data. A second LCA included infant re-report as a distal outcome to examine the association between class membership and the likelihood of re-report. In Class 1 and Class 2 (lowest risk), the probability of a re-report was 44%; in contrast, the probability in Class 4 (highest risk) was 78%. Two birth characteristics clustered in the medium- and highest-risk classes: lack of established paternity and delayed or absent prenatal care. Two risk factors from the initial report of maltreatment emerged as predictors of re-report in the highest-risk class: an initial allegation of neglect and a family history of CPS involvement involving older siblings. Findings suggest that statistical techniques can be used to identify families with a heightened risk of experiencing later CPS contact.
Biochemical Mechanisms for Geographical Adaptations to Novel Toxin Exposures in Butterflyfish

Some species of butterflyfish have had preyed upon corals for millions of years, yet the mechanism of butterflyfish specialized coral feeding strategy remains poorly understood. Certain butterflyfish have the ability to feed on allelochemically rich soft corals, e.g. Sinularia maxima. Cytochrome P450 (CYP) is the predominant enzyme system responsible for the detoxification of dietary allelochemicals. CYP2-like and CYP3A-like content have been associated with butterflyfish that preferentially consumes allelochemically rich soft corals. To investigate the role of butterflyfish CYP2 and CYP3A enzymes in dietary preference, we conducted oral feeding experiments using homogenates of S. maxima and a toxin isolated from the coral in four species of butterflyfish with different feeding strategies. After oral exposure to the S. maxima toxin 5-episinulaptolide (5ESL), which is not normally encountered in the Hawaiian butterflyfish diet, an endemic specialist, Chaetodon multicinctus experienced 100% mortality compared to a generalist, Chaetodon auriga, which had significantly more (3-6 fold higher) CYP3A-like basal content and catalytic activity. The specialist, Chaetodon unimaculatus, which preferentially feed on S. maxima in Guam, but not in Hawaii, had 100% survival, a significant induction of 8-12 fold CYP3A-like content, and an increased ability (2-fold) to metabolize 5ESL over other species. Computer modeling data of CYP3A4 with 5ESL were consistent with microsomal transformation of 5ESL to a C15-16 epoxide from livers of C. unimaculatus. Epoxide formation correlated with CYP3A-like content, catalytic activity, induction, and NADPH-dependent metabolism of 5ESL. These results suggest a potentially important role for the CYP3A family in butterflyfish-coral diet selection through allelochemical detoxification.
Ethnic Foundation Memory and the Construction of Ethnic Consciousness and Sustain ——Take Bangou Miao Village in Southeast of Chongqing for an Example

Ethnic foundation memory descripts something about the ethnic common origin and common experience,such as the ethnic source,ancestral residence,migration,hero characters.etc.Ethnic consciousness is a performance of ethnic cohesion,also is a psychological performance of identity and distinction.This paper uses"social memory"theory,holds that ethnic foundation memory penetrates the process of ethnic consciousness’producing and continuing,puts forward that the ethnic foundation memory is a poweful tool that can construct and maintain ethnic consciousness.
Data-Intensive Experimental Linguistics

Computational linguistics is not a specialization of lin- guistics at all; it is a branch of computer science. A large majority of computational linguists have degrees in computer science and positions in computer science departments. It was founded as an offshoot of an en- gineering discipline (machine translation), and has been subsequently shaped by its place within artificial intelligence, and by a heavy influx of theory and method from speech recognition (another engineering discipline) and machine learning. But computation is a means to an end; the essential feature is data collection, analysis, and prediction on the large scale. I will call it data-intensive experimental linguistics. I wish to explain how data-intensive linguistics differs from mainstream practice, why I consider it to be genuine linguistics, and why I believe that it enables fundamental advances in our understanding of language.
Early Development of Speech and Language: Cognitive, Behavioral, and Neural Systems

Despite the complexity of human language, all typically developing children learn language easily and without explicit instruction. Within three years, children learn the rules governing the phonological, lexical, and syntactic systems of their language in addition to mastering the pragmatic rules governing how language is used communicatively. Here, we review the behavioral, cognitive, and neural systems involved in each of these aspects of language acquisition, beginning prenatally and continuing throughout childhood. Furthermore, we discuss cases where the process of language acquisition is disrupted.
Liquid Biopsies in Oncology and the Current Regulatory Landscape

There is a profound need in oncology to detect cancer earlier, guide individualized therapies, and better monitor progress during treatment. Currently, some of this information can be achieved through solid tissue biopsy and imaging. However, these techniques are limited because of the invasiveness of the procedure and the size of the tumor. A liquid biopsy can overcome these barriers as its non-invasive nature allows samples to be collected over time. Liquid biopsies may also allow earlier detection than traditional imaging. Liquid biopsies include the analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), cell-free nucleic acid (cfNA), or extracellular vesicles obtained from a variety of biofluids, such as peripheral blood. In this review, we discuss different liquid biopsy types and how they fit into the current regulatory landscape.
RAI-Refractory differentiated thyroid cancer with multiple organ progressive disease

Effective treatment options have greatly increased during the past 10 years for patients with progressive, radioiodine-refractory metastases from differentiated thyroid carcinoma. As clinical trials of potential new therapies were initiated, consensus definitions of “radioiodine-refractory” and “progressive” disease were required, which can be readily applied in routine clinical practice. Antiangiogenic drugs such as multitargeted kinase inhibitors have been extensively studied in phases II and III trials, demonstrating as a class of agents that this approach to treatment can provide significant improvement in progression-free survival. More selectively targeted therapies, aimed at kinases that signal along proliferation pathways, also may have a role to halt progression of disease. Of interest and now intensely studied is the observation that some selective kinase inhibitors may permit restoration of radioiodine responsiveness, thus providing a basis for reintroduction of radioiodine therapy. Finally, locally administered therapies such as stereotactic radiation and antiresorptive therapies can be valuable for management of skeletal metastases. Toxicities of these therapies can be considerable, but judicious and expectant management can permit patients to benefit from long-term stabilization of metastatic disease.
“What Am I to Be?”: Personal Loyalty, Thick-Thin Morality, and the Crisis of Conscience

This chapter analyzes the interplay of career public servants’ personal loyalties and individual consciences in shaping their behavior in urgent situations. Drawing from moral philosophy, the chapter advocates a self-appraisal technique enabling them to review and reorder their personal loyalties, inner conflicts, and official obligations, when deciding their purposes and courses of action. The chapter next explores thick-thin moral expressions taken from American societal private and public morality that helps individuals account for morally objectionable, though necessary, political choices when fulfilling their constitutional duties. Illustrating how loyalties, thick-thin moralities, and personal conscience work together, the chapter uses the Gettysburg Address to show how President Abraham Lincoln resolved his crisis of conscience to exercise strong moral and political leadership during the Civil War.
Heat Balance and Distribution during Epidural Anesthesia

Lumbar epidural anesthesia is commonly used for leg and lower abdominal surgical procedures (1). Local anesthetic agents injected into the epidural space produce anesthesia by blocking nerve conduction in the spinal cord and spinal nerve roots (1). Sympathetic neural blockade may increase lower body cutaneous and arterio-venous shunt blood flow; sensory blockade eliminates input from cutaneous thermal receptors; and motor blockade abolishes or reduces the effectiveness of shivering (2). Disruption of these mechanisms frequently leads to hypothermia (2–5). Core hypothermia often provokes intense thermoregulatory responses (vasoconstriction and shivering) in the unblocked upper body (2–4). We performed two studies to evaluate the etiology of the observed core hypothermia and changes in thermal balance during epidural anesthesia.
Annealing of quench-condensed Argon films

When prepared by quench-condensation below 3K, Argon films of several hundred nanometers in thickness are found to be considerably softer than bulk Argon. The shear stiffness increases when the films are subsequently annealed at higher temperatures, with a time dependence described by stretched exponential functions. The magnitude of the cumulative annealing has an exponential, non-Arrhenius temperature dependence, and thinner films exhibit more stiffening than thicker films.
Blood lead levels and neurodevelopmental function in perinatally HIV-exposed, uninfected children in a US-based longitudinal cohort study.

Abstract While children's exposure to environmental lead in the United States has decreased, areas of elevated levels remain. Because lead exposure is a risk factor for developmental delays, it should be considered when studying neurodevelopmental effects of in utero antiretroviral medication (ARV) exposure in the growing population of perinatally HIV-exposed, uninfected (PHEU) children. We compared blood lead levels (BPb) in PHEU children enrolled in the Surveillance Monitoring of ART Toxicities (SMARTT) Study to U.S. children, assessed associations with neurodevelopment, and explored whether associations between in utero ARV and neurodevelopment are modified by BPb. Prevalence of elevated BPb (≥5 μg/dl) at ages 1–2 years was calculated by year and race/ethnicity and compared to that for children in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2002–2010). Associations between elevated BPb and neurodevelopment at 1 and 3 years were assessed. Associations between ARVs (tenofovir disoproxil ...