cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MO‐A‐137‐02: Comparative Efficacy of Image‐Guided Adaptive Treatment Strategies for Prostate Radiation Therapy Via Virtual Clinical Trials

Purpose: To determine potential dosimetric benefits of image guided adaptive radiation therapy treatment (IGART) strategies for intermediate risk prostate cancer via automated virtual clinical trials (VCTs). Materials and Methods: A 19 patient cohort with 8‐13 CT images was used to compare different IGART strategies. The IMRT prescription was 46 Gy/23 fractions to the prostate and seminal‐vesicle PTVs, followed by a 40 Gy/20 fractions prostate boost. For each patient, daily IGART imaging was simulated by random selection from available images. The VCTs simulated three different IGART‐IMRT strategies; (A0) initial planning only with 5 mm PTV margins; (A1) daily re‐planning without considering prior dose; and (A2) online daily re‐planning for each fraction considering prior dose obtained via deformable dose mapping (A1 and A2, no PTV margin). For each strategy, daily dose was deformably mapped using Demons‐based displacement vector fields and accumulated to estimate the treatment dose. Strategies were compared via dosimetric adherence to constraints (CTV D98=86.4, D2 D5A1, p=0.02) . Conclusion: IGART utilizing daily re‐planning (A1 and A2) has dosimetric advantages over conventional IMRT for critical structures, particularly high‐dose regions, without compromising PTV coverage. Due to inherent deformation vector field inaccuracies, daily re‐planning based on prior dose (A2) showed poor rectal sparing than A1. NIH grant P01 CA 116602 and Philips Medical Systems
REDESCRIPTION OF THE TYEE SUCKER, CATOSTOMUS TSILTCOOSENSIS (CATOSTOMIDAE)

ABSTRACT. We resurrect Catostomus tsiltcoosensis, the Tyee sucker of Oregon coastal rivers, from the synonymy of Catostomus macrocheilus and compare it with its congeners. Catostomus tsiltcoosensis is superficially similar to disjunctly distributed Catostomus occidentalis of the Sacramento drainage and Catostomus ardens of the Upper Snake River and Bonneville Basin. However, the gill raker structure, wide frontoparietal fontanelle, location of the ninth cranial foramen, scale radii patterns, and cytochrome b sequences clearly align C. tsiltcoosensis with C. macrocheilus rather than C. occidentalis. Differences in counts of infraorbital pores and dorsal fin rays, in body depth proportions, and in cytochrome b sequences distinguish C. tsiltcoosensis and C. macrocheilus. Within C. tsiltcoosensis, specimens from each of the 4 main drainages (north to south—Siuslaw, Umpqua, Coos, and Coquille) were reciprocally monophyletic based on cytochrome b data but showed no differences in the morphological features exam...
Providing learning alternatives

What is the best method for providing training to our users? Is it workshops, hands-on, tutorials, handouts, or perhaps Computer Based Training?These are some of the questions we must ask ourselves every time we need to develop training material for a new program, service, or announcement. In many cases, the audience addressed is so varied, it is very difficult to target a document or training to a specific segment of our users. We have those who have never used a computer before, to those who have used computers extensively; and all want only the relevant information to meet their needs. Matters are now even more difficult, because individuals may have microcomputer experience, mainframe, experience, or both. In addition, a user with experience on one type of computer, but not the other, who needs to transfer information, will probably not know important information.Another phenomenon that occurs frequently, is that the person who comes to ask the questions, is not the one who generated the data or program. Instead, they have been given the task of making it work without any background knowledge.In actual fact, it seems there is no one “best” way of training. We need to pool all of our knowledge of training, computers, life experiences, problem solving techniques, and anything else that might be helpful to provide us with alternatives.
Neurochemical alterations in Rett syndrome

The Rett syndrome (RS) is a neurological disorder associated with severe mental deficiency and neurological manifestations of cortical and extrapyramidal dysfunction. The present report is (1) a postmortem brain study that compares the levels of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity and the binding density of selected neurotransmitter receptors in four cases of RS and five normal controls of similar age and (2) a study of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of the endogenous tridecapeptide neurotensin in 12 RS patients and 8 controls of similar age. The level of ChAT activity was lower in many cortical and subcortical regions in the RS brains as compared to control levels. The number of NMDA, AMPA, mu opioid and neurotensin binding sites, as well as CSF concentrations of neurotensin, did not differ significantly from control levels. The results suggest that changes in specific neurotransmitter systems, particularly cholinergic neurons, in the thalamus, cerebellum and basal ganglia may underlie the progressive deterioration in motor and cognitive function characteristic of this disorder.
Enhancement of primary and secondary immune responses by interferon-gamma.

We have investigated the effects of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) administered with “G” glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), on the neutralizing antibody response. Treatment of mice or cattle with recombinant DNA-derived IFN-γ at the time of primary immunization with “G” glycoprotein enhanced the secondary virus-neutralizing antibody response that followed a booster administration of the same antigen without IFN-γ treatment. Enhancement was statistically significant, and occurred at relatively low doses of IFN-γ in the absence of any additional adjuvants. Cattle treated with IFN-γ at the time of primary immunization were also more resistant to VSV challenge than those immunized without IFN-γ treatment. Such treatment in conjunction with primary immunization may therefore provide a practical means of enhancing protection from viral challenge without inflammatory adjuvants or boosters.
Possible uses of charge-transfer devices and magnetic-domain devices in memory hierarchies

Characteristics of magnetic-domain device (MDD) and charge-transfer device (CTD) memory modules which appear technically feasible and desirable for use in computer applications are derived. The possible uses of these memories in the memory and storage subsystems of computers are discussed. The concept and measures of performance of memory hierarchies is outlined and possible improvements by incorporation of MDD and/or CTD memories in hierarchies employing conventional memories are addressed. A scheme comprising two hierarchy levels on the same chip is evaluated by using the derived performance measures.
‘Brains, means, lyrical ammunition’: hip-hop and socio-racial agency among African Students in Kharkiv, Ukraine

In the last decade, multi-racial hip-hop scenes in Kharkiv, a predominantly Russian-speaking eastern Ukrainian city close to the Russian border, have fostered the development of socially-conscious hip-hop among African students. Drawing on musical elements from their respective home countries, the US and local hip-hop traditions, African male youths use Ukrainian-, Russian- and English-language lyrics to express concerns about socio-economic status, personal struggle and racial inclusion. This study analyses how African musicians use hip-hop as a social means through which to fight the escalating violence against dark-skinned foreigners and migrants. It draws on ethnographic data to identify several ways in which African-performed hip-hop has influenced contemporary public opinions regarding ‘black’ identity in eastern Ukraine.
Age, Tenure, Resources for Control, and Organizational Commitment*

Objectives. A higher level of organizational commitment for older and more experienced workers has primarily been explained via exchange theory or a cohort effect. We use an agency-structure framework to explain that higher levels of commitment result from feelings of control in the workplace. Methods. We examine this framework using data from a survey of 400 unionized factory workers in the Midwest. Results. The relationship between organizational commitment and predictors is affected by worker career stage. Most significantly, the commitment for older and more experienced workers increases with high levels of autonomy, while the opposite is true for younger and less experienced workers. Conclusions. When workers experience greater control at the point of production, they express greater organizational commitment. Although empowering for older and experienced workers, having freedom at work can be threatening or destabilizing for the younger workers, who may prefer more guidance.
Triggered tremor, phase-locking, and the global clustering of great earthquakes

Abstract A system of non-linear coupled relaxation oscillators is used to show how the communication between large earthquakes on a global scale can align their seismic cycles to produce a worldwide clustering of large events. Our model builds on recent observations that the seismic waves from a large earthquake can trigger an episode of non-volcanic tremor at the base of a distant fault. We assume that tremor is indicative of creep on the ductile extension of the fault zone that loads its overlying seismogenic layer thus advancing the fault toward failure. If this advance is larger toward the end of the seismic cycle, we show that two or more interacting faults will align their cycles, even if their recurrence intervals are not identical.
Relationship of in vitro immune function with health and production in Holstein cattle.

Abstract Eighty-seven lactating Holstein cows from the Iowa State University Breeding Research Herd were evaluated for 20 in vitro measures of immune function. Principal component analysis was used to discard redundant assay variables such that the 11 remaining variables were more nearly independent than the original variables. Multiple linear regression in an animal model was used to determine the effects of these 11 variables on lifetime production and on general, udder, and reproductive health traits. A significant joint effect of the 11 immune function variables on California mastitis test scores was observed. California mastitis test scores were positively correlated with antibody-dependent neutrophil cytotoxicity and negatively correlated with antibody-independent neutrophil cytotoxicity. Wisconsin mastitis test scores were also positively associated with antibody-dependent neutrophil cytotoxicity. Cytochrome c reduction was negatively associated with mammary and total health costs. A positive relationship between clinical mastitis and discarded milk and IgG 2 was observed, and IgG 1 was associated with increased quarter California mastitis test scores and increased production. Thus, certain in vitro immune function assays may serve as indicators of susceptibility to health problems in dairy cattle, particularly for traits associated with udder health.
Is Smart Beta Really Smart

There is a popular new investment strategy in portfolio management called smart beta. With a catchy title and a promise of improved portfolio performance, the strategy has already attracted hundreds of billions of dollars and is growing by leaps and bounds. Unfortunately, according to the author smart beta portfolios do not consistently outperform and when they do produce appealing results, they flunk the risk test.
Fast, flexible syntactic pattern matching and processing

Program understanding can be assisted by tools that match patterns in the program source. Lexical pattern matchers provide excellent performance and ease of use, but have a limited vocabulary. Syntactic matchers provide more precision, but may sacrifice performance, retargetability, ease of use, or generality. To achieve more of the benefits of both models, we extend the pattern syntax of AWK to support matching of abstract syntax trees, as demonstrated in a tool called TAWK. Its pattern syntax is language-independent, based on abstract tree patterns. As in AWK, patterns can have associated actions, which in TAWK are written in C for generality, familiarity, and performance. The use of C is simplified by high-level libraries and dynamic linking. To allow processing of program files containing non-syntactic constructs, mechanisms have been designed that allow transparent matching in a syntactic fashion. So far TAWK has been retargeted to the MUMPS and C programming languages. We survey and apply prototypical approaches to concretely demonstrate the tradeoffs. Our results indicate that TAWK can be used to quickly and easily perform a variety of common software engineering tasks, and the extensions to accommodate non-syntactic features significantly extend the generality of syntactic matchers.
Numerical aspects of solving algebraic Riccati equations

The role and use of algebraic Riccati equations in systems and control theory has been well-established over the past twenty-five years. One aspect of Riccati equations that has always been significant, and which has received increasing attention over the past five years, is effective algorithms for their numerical solution on a digital computer. This talk will outline, in tutorial fashion, a class of algorithms which are quite generally reliable and are readily extendable to a variety of related problems.
Who Was Who? Race and Jews in Turn-of-the-Century Britain

Race—as a category—has commonly been understood as a response to difference. In the first instance, race offered a means of ordering unfamiliar peoples, whether encountered in the empire or at home. In the European historiography, the notion of “biological” race, defined by an inherited set of characteristics passed through the blood, possesses a particular genealogy: its roots can be found in the eighteenth century, its fullest articulation came in the late nineteenth century, and its twentieth-century decline was hastened by the Holocaust. This article sets out a different, if not completely incompatible, thesis. It takes the case of British Jews to argue that racial categories could arise as a response to the apparent similarities, as well as the perceived differences, between Jews and other Britons. Put differently, in the late nineteenth century, Jews came increasingly to be identified as a race precisely because they were difficult to differentiate from their fellow citizens. Class proved a critical determinant. Jews became ever more invisible as they scaled the social ladder. “East End” Jews—poor and newly immigrated—might be readily detectable, but their middle- and upper-middle-class “West End” counterparts confounded observers. Notions of race, I will argue, emerged in part as a consequence of assimilation, delimiting difference in a nation where formal legal barriers to Jewish integration had been eliminated and social obstacles largely overcome. Race was a staple term of the late nineteenth century. It proliferated throughout the language of the time.
GA-based Music Arranging for Guitar

In this paper we describe a system for converting a piece of music into an appropriate arrangement for guitar. The system is supported by previous research into the generation of guitar performance information (tablature) with genetic algorithms. This technology is a significant part of an evaluation function that is designed to differentiate between candidate arrangements on the basis of both faithfulness to the original piece and on playability. We describe both a genetic algorithm and a greedy hill-climber that use this function to find good arrangements. Both techniques have demonstrated an ability to create viable arrangements of the pieces tested.
Building a Latina/o Student Transfer Culture: Best Practices and Outcomes in Transfer to Universities

Although most Latina/o transfer students declare intentions to transfer from a community college, few move on to 4-year colleges and universities. The authors provide an overview of the existing in...
Formal and informal CALL preparation and teacher attitude toward technology

Recent research suggests that there is a general lack of a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) presence in teacher preparation programs. There is also evidence that teachers obtain a majority of their CALL knowledge from informal sources and personal experience rather than through formalized preparation. Further, graduates of these programs are generally dissatisfied with the little training that they do receive. The literature suggests that reliance upon this kind of preparation may not best serve pedagogical needs due to distinctions between personal and pedagogical uses of technology. Consequently, it is important for us to gain more insight into the role of CALL within teacher preparation. A web-based survey was completed by 108 graduates of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) masters degree programs. The study concluded that informal CALL preparation is closely linked to teachers' attitude toward technology while formal CALL teaching preparation is not. Additional observ...
Democracy and Consumer Strength: Direct Evidence from Regulatory Reform in Developing Countries

The distributional implications of antitrust regulation imply a political cleavage between consumers and producers. I argue that the relative strength of these two groups depends on the level of democracy. In particular, an expansion of the franchise and competitive elections will increase the relative political weight of consumers, resulting in policies that favors their interests. An empirical implication of the argument is that the likelihood of effective competition policy reform increases with democracy. I test this proposition in two stages using an original dataset measuring competition agency design in 156 developing countries covering the period 1975-2007. First, I estimate hazard models on the timing of competition policy reform. Second, since “laws on the books” do not necessarily indicate a commitment to effective policy, I create an original index measuring governments’ commitments to antitrust policy. The index captures the independence of the agency, resource (budget and staffing) allocations, expert perceptions, and actual legal actions. The results of the empirical analysis support the proposition that democracy improves governments’ commitments to competition policy.
Desire for Information and Involvement in Treatment Decisions: Elderly Cancer Patients' Preferences and Their Physicians' Perceptions

Purpose Shared decision making is a tenet of contemporary medicine and oncology practice. How involved elderly patients want to be in making treatment decisions and how physicians perceive patient preferences for such involvement are uncertain. Patients and Methods In structured interviews about multiple facets of chemotherapy treatment decision making, we asked patients age 70 years and older with a recent diagnosis of metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) about their preferences for prognostic information and for involvement in treatment decision making. We also asked treating oncologists (n = 19) to describe their perceptions of patient preferences. Information and decision-making preferences were evaluated in relation to sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Results Seventy-three patients age 70 to 89 years completed the study interview within 16 weeks of metastatic CRC diagnosis. Most patients (n = 70; 96%) had decided to receive chemotherapy and 61 had initiated treatment. Relatively few (n = ...
Visual exploration of multivariate graphs

This paper introduces PivotGraph, a software tool that uses a new technique for visualizing and analyzing graph structures. The technique is designed specifically for graphs that are "multivariate," i.e., where each node is associated with several attributes. Unlike visualizations which emphasize global graph topology, PivotGraph uses a simple grid-based approach to focus on the relationship between node attributes and connections. The interaction technique is derived from an analogy with methods seen in spreadsheet pivot tables and in online analytical processing (OLAP). Finally, several examples are presented in which PivotGraph was applied to real-world data sets.
Effect of Cold Work on Tensile Behavior of Irradiated Type 316 Stainless Steel

Tensile specimens were irradiated in ORR at 250, 290, 450, and 500/sup 0/C to produce a displacement damage of approx.5 dpa and 40 at. ppM He. Irradiation at 250 and 290/sup 0/C caused an increase in yield stress and ultimate tensile strength and a decrease in ductility relative to unaged and thermally aged controls. The changes were greatest for the 20%-cold-worked steel and lowest for the 50%-cold-worked steel. Irradiation at 450/sup 0/C caused a slight relative decrease in strength for all cold-worked conditions. A large decrease was observed at 500/sup 0/C, with the largest decrease occurring for the 50%-cold-worked specimen. No bubble, void, or precipitate formation was observed for specimens examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The irradiation hardening was correlated with Frank-loop and ''black-dot'' loop damage. A strength decrease at 500/sup 0/C was correlated with dislocation network recovery. Comparison of tensile and TEM results from ORR-irradiated steel with those from steels irradiated in the High Flux Isotope Reactor and the Experimental Breeder Reactor indicated consistent strength and microstructure changes.
Characteristic ellipsoid method for monitoring power system dynamic behavior using phasor measurements

The potential uses of the sub-second GPS-synchronized phasor data collected from various locations within an electric power system promise endless benefits for the applications targeting reliable operation of electric power systems. Despite the undisputable progress achieved in developing visualization tools, alarming tools, modal analysis tools, and statistical analysis tools based on synchrophasor data, there is an emerging need to develop more real-time phasor-based applications. This paper discusses a new idea of the characteristic ellipsoid approach to monitor the dynamic behavior of an interconnected power system using phasor measurements. This method will be a useful tool for providing wide-area situational awareness for grid operators, identification of system disturbances and detection of system stresses and their locations.
DINA Model and Parameter Estimation: A Didactic

Cognitive and skills diagnosis models are psychometric models that have immense potential to provide rich information relevant for instruction and learning. However, wider applications of these mod...
Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast: Perspectives on biology and controversies in current management

The incidence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) has increased because of increasing use of sensitive imaging modalities. MRI is commonly used for the detection of breast cancer but has not yet been validated in randomized trials. There have not been randomized trials addressing optimal margins of excision or axillary sampling. Whole breast radiation after lumpectomy decreases the risk of recurrence but may be omitted in selected patients. Adjuvant Tamoxifen reduces the risk of recurrence but has no impact on overall survival rates. J. Surg. Oncol. 2012;105:212–220. 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Role of an alpha-helical bulge in the yeast heat shock transcription factor.

The heat shock transcription factor (HSF) is the master transcriptional regulator of the heat shock response. The identity of a majority of the genes controlled by HSF and the circumstances under which HSF becomes induced are known, but the details of the mechanism by which HSF is able to sense and respond to heat remains an enigma. For example, it is unclear whether HSF senses the heat shock directly or requires ancillary interactions from a heat-induced signaling pathway. We present the analysis of a series of mutations in an a-helical bulge in the DNA-binding domain of HSF. Deletion of residues in this bulged region increases the overall activity of the protein. Yeast containing the deletion mutant HSF are able to survive growth temperatures that are lethal to yeast containing wild-type HSF, and they are also constitutively thermotolerant. The increase in activity can be measured as an increase in both constitutive and induced transcriptional activity. The mutant proteins bind DNA more tightly than the wild-type protein does, but this is unlikely to account fully for the increase in transcriptional activity as yeast HSF is constitutively bound to its binding site in vivo. The stability of the mutant proteins to thermal denaturation is lower than wild-type, though their native-state structures are still well-folded. Therefore, the mutants may be structurally analogous to the heat-induced state of HSF, and suggest that the DNA-binding domain of HSF may be capable of sensing heat shock directly. # 2000 Academic Press
Acute and chronic studies of diltiazem in elderly versus young hypertensive patients

Abstract The pharmacodynamics, disposition and hormonal responses to acute intravenous and chronic oral diltiazem treatment were compared in young and elderly hypertensive patients. In elderly patients, supine diastolic blood pressure decreased significantly during the first week of treatment (baseline mean ± standard error of the mean, 100 ± 1 to 93 ± 2 mm Hg) and decreased further during the study to 86 ± 2 mm Hg at the end of the study. Diastolic blood pressure of the young patients decreased significantly by the third week of treatment (from 104 ± 2 to 97 ± 3 mm Hg) and decreased further during the study to 94 ± 2 mm Hg at the end of the study. Baseline supine systolic blood pressure was greater in elderly than in young patients (167 ± 5 vs 144 ± 3 mm Hg; p These data suggest that diltiazem, administered as single drug therapy, is effective in the treatment of diastolic hypertension in both young and elderly hypertensive patients, it also decreased systolic blood pressure in elderly patients.
Current distribution on wing-cap and tail-cap antennas

Surface current distributions on aircraft are examined for wing-cap and tail-cap antennas in the hf band using scale models. Current paths involved in structural resonances are investigated, and the effect of such resonances on antenna impedance is discussed. Measured results are also applied to the interpretation of radiation patterns. A technique is described for measuring the relative amplitude and phase of the surface current, and for determining the direction of current flow. In this method the detector is placed in the model and the probe is driven by an external source of rf power. This technique permits the frequency to be changed easily. The system is more sensitive than others described in the literature, since a higher power source can be used when it is not required to be enclosed in the aircraft model.
Dynamics of concentrated suspensions of non-colloidal particles in Couette flow

Fully three-dimensional numerical simulations of concentrated suspensions of O(1000) particles in a Couette flow at zero Reynolds number are performed with the goal of determining the wall effects on concentrated suspensions of non-colloidal particles. The simulations, based on the force-coupling method, are performed for 0.2 ≤ φ ≤ 0.4 and 10 < Ly/a < 30, where φ denotes the volume fraction and Ly and a are, respectively, the channel height and the particle radius. It is shown that the suspensions can be divided into three regions depending on the microstructures; the wall region where a structured particle layering is dominant, the core region in which the suspension field is quasi-homogeneous, and the buffer region which shows the characteristics of both the particle layer and the shear structure. The width of the inhomogeneous region (wall and buffer) is a function of φ and not sensitive to Ly/a, once Ly/a is larger than a threshold. Rheological properties in the inhomogeneous and quasi-homogeneous regions are investigated. The particle stresses are compared with previous rheological models.
Multilevel Coding for Fading Channels

This paper proposes a multilevel coding system with linear mapping for fading channels. The receiver performs multi-stage decoding. Each stage employs the decision-aided successive estimation and decoding method that decouples the channel estimation and decoding without loss of information. As a result, existing codes designed for memoryless channels can be applied directly. The overall system can achieve the constrained capacity of the fading channel with a given input distribution, provided that the memoryless channel codes are capacity achieving and the channel estimator is lossless. This paper uses the block fading channel as example, and derives a low complexity channel estimator. For i.i.d. Gaussian inputs, the estimator is lossless and so the multilevel coding system achieves the mutual information of the channel. For QAM inputs, the same estimator is shown numerically to have good performance.
Changes in the explicitness of mothers' directives as children age.

This study investigates the surface forms which mothers use to direct their children's behaviour. It is generally supposed that social factors control a speaker's choice of directive form. However, it is shown that mothers' use of the various forms may be related to a cognitive variable, viz. the degree to which the forms possess the surface properties and, hence, clarity of canonical imperatives. As children get older, mothers' directives lose, in a meaningful order, properties which help to specify their mood and content. It is suggested that the social properties of the context do eventually replace the cognitive demands of the various forms as the primary influence on mother's choices.
The Shifting Pendulum for DAPT After PCI: Balancing Long-Term Risks for Bleeding and Thrombosis.

While results from randomized trials initially demonstrated the superiority of first-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) in reducing restenosis [(1)][1], subsequent findings from registry-based analyses alerted both lay and clinical communities to the potential for late thrombosis associated with
Adolescent Health Care Training in Predoctoral Psychology Internship Programs: A Model of Interdisciplinary Training Needs in Health Care

This needs assessment of predoctoral psychology programs in a large southeastern state reveals that although many programs include adolescent health issues and often involve the psychiatry discipline in their curricula, many trainees do not have exposure to medicine, nutrition, or nursing disciplines. Opportunities for greater interdisciplinary adolescent health care training exist in psychology training programs in this southeastern state. Integrating such training into psychology programs may enhance psychology's ability to function as a vital component of adolescent health care teams within academic medical centers across the country.
Hoover's FBI and the Fourth Estate: The Campaign to Control the Press and the Bureau's Image

Review of: "Hoover's FBI and the Fourth Estate: The Campaign to Control the Press and the Bureau's Image," by Matthew Cecil
Use of Intravenous Fat Emulsion in the Emergency Department for the Critically Ill Poisoned Patient.

Multiple case reports of using intravenous fat emulsion (IFE) as an antidote for human poisoning from various xenobiotics have been published over the last decade. Given the rapidly evolving field, emergency physicians may be uncertain about the indications, timing, and dose for IFE treatment.A PubMed literature search was conducted from January 1996 to November 2015 and limited to human studies written in English and articles with relevant keywords. Guideline statements and nonsystematic reviews were excluded. Studies identified then underwent a structured review of their results.There were 986 papers fulfilling the search criteria screened, and 85 appropriate articles were rigorously reviewed in detail. Recommendations were given on indications, timing, and dose of IFE. Most of these were based on case reports and anecdotal experience.In critically ill patients with refractory shock or cardiac arrest after a suspected overdose of local anesthetics or selected xenobiotics, IFE may be considered as a potentially beneficial adjunctive treatment. Despite an abundance of reports on the use of IFE on xenobiotics poisoning, the quality of evidence is suboptimal and fraught with reporting bias.IFE may be an effective antidote in poisonings from various xenobiotics. However, further research is needed to determine its optimal circumstances, timing, and dose of use.
Determinants of postprandial lipemia in obese women.

OBJECTIVE: To quantify the effects of fasting lipids, age, apolipoprotein (apo) E polymorphism, insulin resistance, body fat and abdominal fat distribution, on postprandial lipemia (PPL) in non-diabetic obese women. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, prospective. SUBJECTS: A total of 93 obese women (mnean+s.d. age 39+13y; body mass index (BMl) 38,3+4.9kg/rn2) and 16 nonobese women (25±8 y; BMI 22.7±3.2 kg/m 2 ). MEASUREMENTS: Body fat distribution was determined by the ratio of waist-to-hip circumferences (WHR) and by computed tomography (CT) at the L4-L5 level. Apo E genotyping was performed by restriction isotyping. Insulin resistance was calculated from fasting glucose and insulin concentrations. PPL was evaluated using the vitamin A-fat tolerance test (1.0 g fat/kg body weight and 7.0mg cholesterol/kg body weight+300 000 IU vitamin A palmitate). Blood samples were drawn before, and every 1.5 h for 7.5 h plus 24 h after ingestion of the fat meal. Areas under the response curves (AUC) for triglycerides (TG) and retinyl palmitate (RP) were calculated using the geometrical method for two time intervals, that is, 0 -7.5 h and 0-24 h. RESULTS: Incremental AUCs TG, but not AUCs RP, were increased in the obese women. Apo E polymorphism, BMI, WHR and menopausal state did not influence PPL in the obese women. Fasting TG, age, the intra-abdominal to subcutaneous abdominal fat ratio (IA/SC ratio) and insulin resistance were independent determinants of PPL. Together, fasting TG, IA/SC ratio and insulin resistance, explained 38% of the variance in AUC TG 0- 7.5 h (P = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Alterations in PPL are to be added to the increasing number of components of the plurimetabolic syndrome.
Ultrafine Composite Synthesis by Laser-Reactions and Rapid Condensation

A new approach in ultrafine composite synthesis involves rapid condensation of metallic and non-metallic species, produced by laser-induced evaporation. A heated tungsten filament is simultaneously employed for codeposition of W via chemical transport mechanisms. This process occurs in a reducing environment of hydrogen gas, where evaporated species were produced by a laser-induced plume. Composite layers were formed on a Ni alloy substrate surface, at a rate of about 1Pm/sec. The matrix of the composite films was either Al or W, and the dispersed phase was amorphous silica fibers. The diameter of the fibers was between 25nm and 120nm, depending on the interaction times. Various analytical techniques have been employed to characterize the as-synthesized layers. Experimental evidences do not support the Vapor-Liquid-Solid model for fiber growth. An alternative fiber growth mechanism is proposed.
The Resolution of Poverty in Hegel’s “Actual” State

This article presents a Hegelian argument in favor of measures for reducing poverty that go beyond typical welfare policies. Most commentators argue that either (1) Hegel’s system must tolerate poverty (as part of the state preserving the autonomy of civil society), or (2) Hegel provides for the welfare of the poor through the civil-society institutions of the “corporations” and the “police.” According to Hegel’s dialectical method, however, the Hegelian state becomes “actual” to the extent that it “sublates” civil society—that is, to the extent that the state both preserves the elements of civil society that promote freedom and negates the elements that hinder freedom. This entails state action to eliminate poverty, even though Hegel also expresses concern over how welfare policies targeted at the poor may reinforce the poor’s subordination. In contrast with such policies, universal basic income is one public policy that can help the state sublate civil society in the fashion Hegel intends.
Police integrity in South Africa: a tale of three police agency types

Purpose – Following the theory of police integrity, the purpose of this paper is to explore empirically the contours of police integrity in South Africa using survey of the three South African police agency types. Design/methodology/approach – During the period from 2010 to 2012, a police integrity survey was used to measure the contours of police integrity among 871 police officers across South Africa, covering all three police agency types. The questionnaire contains descriptions of 11 scenarios, covering different forms of police misconduct, followed by seven questions measuring officer views of scenario seriousness, the appropriate and expected discipline, and willingness to report the misconduct. Findings – The results show that the respondents from the three police agency types were about equally likely to recognize behaviors as rule-violating and, in most scenarios, evaluated these scenarios to be of the same level of seriousness. The contours of the code of silence were very similar as well. The a...
Specular Infrared Reflectance Study of Hot Pressed Rare Earth Sesquisulfide Powders

Specular infrared reflectance spectra were made on hot pressed powder samples of rare earth sulfides of composition Ln2S3. The reflectance curve obtained from the Kramers-Kronig analysis is the deconvolution of the sum of the reflectance curves from the multiple grains, giving the bulk dielectric constant within the 25 cm−1 to 400 cm−1 range and transverse and longitudinal optic modes for the bulk material. Reflectance spectroscopy has shown to be a very good alternative to infrared transmission spectra in the far infrared range to obtain electro-optical information on ceramic powders.
34 A NATIONAL SURVEY OF TRIAGE PRACTICES IN PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS.

A triage system is used in most pediatric emergency departments to perform a rapid physiological assessment of each patient and to determine the order in which patients are seen. A variety of parameters may be assessed in the triage assessment. The purpose of this study was to examine current triage practices in pediatric emergency departments in the United States. Methods A mailed survey was sent in August 2005 to the medical director of the 99 pediatric emergency departments listed on the National Association of Children9s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) Web site using addresses downloaded from the site. A second mailing was sent to nonresponders in October 2005. The cover letter assured the respondent that results would only be reported in aggregate fashion. The study protocol was reviewed and found exempt by the UAMS IRB. Results 35 surveys were returned to date. The mean annual emergency department (ED) patient volume was 46,700. There is significant variation in the assessment of various physiological measurements at triage. For example, 100% of medical directors reported that all patients have pulse rate and respiratory rate assessed at triage, but only 86% take temperature on all patients, 51% take blood pressure on all patients, 29% assess pulse oximetry on all patients, and 11% perform a Glasgow Coma Scale on all patients. The methods used to measure temperature are quite variable; 97% use rectal for 0-2 month olds, 65% use rectal for 12-14 month olds, and 34% use rectal for 2-3 year olds. The use of tympanic thermometry varies by age: none use for 0-2 month olds, 14% for 2-12 month olds, 26% for 12-14 month olds, and 29% for 2-3 year olds. Most (89%) use an electronic method of assessing blood pressure routinely. The method used to assess pain is variable: for 0-2 years about half use a Wong faces scale and half use a behavioral scale. At 2-4 years, most (77%) use the Wong faces scale, but in older 10- to 18-year-old patients, most (74%) use a numerical scale. ED medical directors reported having standing orders at triage for antipyretic for fever (94%), urinalysis for abdominal pain (54%), pregnancy test for adolescent female with abdominal pain (46%), and pain medication for extremity trauma (47%). Conclusions Despite the important decisions made based on triage assessment in a pediatric emergency department, there is wide variability in the parameters assessed and the methodology used. Additional research should focus on the validity and reliability of each assessment to determine the best practices.
Micro-scale feature fabrication using immersed surface accumulation

Abstract Most additive manufacturing (AM) processes such as stereolithography (SLA) and selective laser sintering (SLS) use a layer-by-layer fabrication approach. They cannot be used to fabricate geometric features on the surfaces of a pre-existing three-dimensional (3D) object. In addition, existing AM processes are mainly based on a single size scale, e.g. macro-scale or micro-scale, and cannot be used to build a macro-scale object with micro-scale features on its surfaces. In this paper, we present a novel immersed surface accumulation process that can fabricate micro-scale features on macro-scale surfaces. In the process, a surface-based light guide tool is immersed inside liquid resin to fabricate high-resolution features on the surfaces of a pre-existing object. The system design and process settings to fabricate 3D features are presented. The relation between process control and related fabrication property is discussed. Two test cases are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the newly developed immersed surface accumulation process.
An automated data-driven tool to build artificial neural networks for predictive decision-making

We propose the development of an automated data-driven tool to assist data analysts in building an optimal artificial neural network (ANN) model to solve their domain-specific problems for predictive decision making. The proposed approach combines the strengths of both sequential training methods and multi-hidden-layer learning algorithms to dynamically learn the best-fitted parameters, including learning rate (LR), momentum rate (MR), number of hidden layers (NHL), and number of neurons in each hidden layer (NNHL), for the given set of key input attributes and multiple output nodes. Specifically, the contributions of this work are three-fold: 1) develop the new extended algorithm, i.e., multidimensional parameter learning (MPL), to learn the optimal ANN parameters; 2) provide the user-friendly GUI tool for data analysts to maintain the data manipulations and the tool operations; 3) conduct the experimental case study, i.e., determining the severity level of Alzheimer's patients, to present the superior result (i.e., 95.33%) in terms of prediction accuracy and model complexity by using the learned parameters (i.e., LR = 0.6, MR = 0.8, NHL = 2, NNHL at the 1st layer = 28, and NNHL at the 2nd layer = 24) from the MPL algorithm.
Safe motherhood in the United States: challenges for surveillance

Objectives: Maternal mortality ratios in the United States are higher than those of many other industrialized nations. Moreover, these ratios have not changed in the past 20 years, and large racial disparities persist in measures of both maternal mortality and morbidity. In an affluent developed country, maternal deaths should serve as rare sentinel events, highlighting opportunities for prevention and reduction of morbidities. However, existing surveillance efforts are poorly developed, and pregnancy-related deaths and illnesses tend to be underreported. To formulate recommendations for improved surveillance, the authors reviewed existing data on maternal health. Methods: This review examines the scope and quality of existing information and the strengths and limitations of definitions of maternal mortality and morbidity used in data collection and reporting. Results: This review suggests numerous gaps in surveillance of U.S. maternal health. Psychological as well as physical morbidity, and the presence and adequacy of appropriate treatment, should be ascertained. Quality of pregnancy-related care at the clinical and community levels, and the impact on mortality and morbidity, must be assessed. Collection of morbidity data outside of health care delivery sites is also essential. Trade-offs between nationally representative and other less comprehensive data sources, such as sentinel clinics, large healthcare organizations, and public healthcare financing systems, should be considered. Conclusion: Maternal health remains an important frontier for U.S. public health surveillance efforts. Improved surveillance offers opportunities for reducing pregnancy-related mortality and gaining a better understanding of the relationship between maternal morbidity and mortality.
GAPDH, as a virulence factor.

Pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa and fungi, generate molecules that provide them with a selective advantage, often at the expense of the host. These molecules, or virulence factors, enable pathogens to colonize the host through several mechanisms. Some molecules offer the pathogen an advantage through better adhesion to host tissues, or superior invasive capability. Some allow the pathogen to evade or suppress the host’s immune system. Some molecules enable intracellular parasites to disable cytoprotective mechansims, by re-directing the host phagocytic vesicles. Many of these molecules are proteins that are exported to the cell’s surface or are secreted. As unlikely as it seems, GAPDH appears to play a role as a virulence factor in a number of pathogenic organisms by the mechanisms just described. This highly conserved protein is found on the outer surface or as a secretory product of these organisms. The process by which pathogenic GAPDH, which has >40 % sequence identity to human GAPDH, is exported and attached to the outer surface of cells remains unknown. This chapter also presents a previously unpublished proposed docking sequence on GAPDH. There is also discussion of the potential of using the antigenic properties of pathogenic GAPDH for medical as well as for veterinary purposes.
Collusion Detection Using Multimedia Fingerprints

The large-scale distribution of digital multimedia over the Internet has seen steep increases in the numbers of criminal cases involving the unauthorized sharing and duplication of copyrighted multimedia content. Consequently, it is important to design reliable investigative techniques to combat unauthorized duplication and propagation, and to provide protection in the form of theft deterrence. Several fingerprint embedding schemes have been developed to combat single-user attacks. However, a new breed of attacks known as “collusion attacks” can defeat these schemes. Collusion attacks use the combination of multiple fingerprinted copies to create a new version of the multimedia artifact in which the underlying fingerprint is attenuated to render the colluders untraceable.