cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A sampling study of the power function of the binomial x2 'index of dispersion' test.

It is known that in observing the occurrence of a certain event (e.g. the number of successes of a certain medical treatment in a series of clinical trials in which it is used) the frequencies of these occurrences should conform to the binomial distribution. In order to indicate whether the results of a number of independent clinical trials, each of which consists of the number of successes in a certain number of trials, show more variability than can be usually expected from a binomial distribution, it is customary to employ Fisher's X2-test of heterogeneity (Fisher, 1954) based on the 'index of dispersion' given in equation (2) below. It is of interest to determine how easily this test will in fact detect heterogeneity in the results of a series of clinical trials. This paper will be concerned with the 'power function' of the X2-test, i.e. the probability that the test indicates significant variability in the presence of heterogeneity. A similar investigation of the special case of the Poisson 'index of dispersion' was given by one of the authors (Bennett, 1959). This earlier paper gives a review of other studies on the index of dispersion. Of particular interest will be situations in which the number of trials is small. Suppose that x1, x2, ..., xt represent t independent observations, each being the result of n trials from the separate binomial distribution
Effects of Photoperiod and Filtered Light on Growth, Reproduction, and Mating Behavior of Turkeys.1. Growth Performance of Two Lines of Males and Females

Abstract This study was designed to determine the effects of photoperiod and filtered light on growth of male and female turkeys. Large White (LW) and Medium White (MW) turkeys were reared under intermittent (2 h light:2 h dark) or diurnal (12 h light: 12 h dark) photoperiods using white light, red (650 nm), or blue (450 nm)-filtered lights. Both males and females grew more rapidly under blue light than under red or white light up to 16 wk of age. After that age, rates of gain were significantly better under the white and red lights. Growth rates were significantly greater under the intermittent than under the diurnal photoperiod for both lines and sexes in Experiment 1 but not in Experiment 2. The greatest acceleration in growth rate was observed from 4 to 10 wk of age, with this advantage still evident at 24 wk of age. No significant differences in feed efficiency due to photoperiod or light color occurred. Early mortality was highest under blue light but late mortality was greater under red and white light. Mortality was higher for the LW than MW birds. Live grades were unaffected by light regimen or light color, but feather condition was poorest for birds reared under the white diurnal photoperiod.
Variability of temporal judgment: intersensory comparisons and sex differences.

Previous work with 7- to 13-yr.-old children demonstrated that the time judgments of girls were more variable than boys, and this sex difference was greater for visual than auditory judgments. This study used the same method with an adult population. Ss rendered 9-category absolute judgments of short auditory and visual durations using a social or a subjective internal temporal standard, and a measure of intrasubject response variance was obtained. The women were more variable than men, and this sex difference was independent of sense mode and temporal standard; the significant effects due to sense mode and temporal standard were dependent upon the differential locations of the auditory and visual, social and subjective transition zones. The sex difference is discussed in light of the changing pattern of results obtained since 1894.
Miscibility enhancement of polystyrene and poly(alkylene oxide) blends using specific intermolecular interactions

Acid-base interactions were used to enhance the miscibility of blends of polystyrene and oligomeric poly (alkylene oxide). The polystyrene was modified by sulfonation of less than 5% of the styrene rings. The poly (alkylene oxides) were low molar mass polyethylene oxide chains (M = 900 and 6000) that were end capped with propyl amine groups. Blends of the poly(alky1ene oxide) diamines with polystyrene were immiscible. Blends with the sulfonated polystyrenes were miscible due to proton transfer from the sulfonic acid groups to the basic amino groups of the functionalized poly( alkylene oxide). This was confirmed by FTIR. DSC and dynamic mechanical analyses were used to verify the one- or two-phase nature of the blends.
COLLAGEN INJECTION FOR THE TREATMENT OF INCONTINENCE AFTER CYSTECTOMY AND ORTHOTOPIC NEOBLADDER RECONSTRUCTION IN WOMEN

Purpose:: We determine the clinical efficacy of endoscopically injected collagen for the treatment of new onset urinary incontinence in women following cystectomy and orthotopic neobladder.Materials and Methods:: Three women 58 to 74 years old underwent transurethral collagen injection for stress urinary incontinence following cystectomy and orthotopic neobladder. Before cystectomy 2 women denied having any stress urinary incontinence while 1 complained of mild incontinence. Onset of incontinence following cystectomy and neobladder formation ranged from 8 months to 3 years, and average pad use ranged from 3 to 5 per 24-hour period. All patients underwent video urodynamic evaluation before collagen injection. Neobladder capacity was 180 to 400 cc and Valsalva leak point pressures ranged from 30 to 60 cm. water.Results:: A total of 6 injections were given, including 3 injections in 1 patient, 2 in 1 and 1 in 1. All 3 women had significant improvement or became dry with initial injection but required repeat ...
On the structure of high-Reynolds-number supersonic turbulent boundary layers

Experimental results are presented that reveal key features of the large-scale organized structures in a supersonic, turbulent boundary layer. Measurements were obtained in a Mach 3 zero-pressure-gradient boundary layer using a crossed-wire probe and arrays of normal hot wires with vertical, spanwise, and streamwise separations ranging from 0.1 to 0.6δ. Space–time correlation results indicate the existence of large-scale structures of a size comparable to δ, with a spanwise extent only slightly less than the vertical scale. The convection velocity of the large-scale motions is nearly constant across 80% of the boundary layer and is equal to approximately 0.9U∞.It is shown that positive events detected with the VITA conditional sampling technique correspond to steep gradients in the streamwise mass flux which extend across most of the boundary layer. These sharp gradients appear to be the upstream interfaces of large-scale turbulent ‘bulges’, similar to those seen in incompressible boundary layers. In a reference frame moving with the convection speed of the sharp gradients, low-momentum fluid is observed rotating on a large-scale, while high-momentum fluid forms a saddle point on the upstream edge of the large-scale motion. These motions are associated with elevated levels of the shear product, emphasizing their role in the dynamics of the boundary layer.
Are In-Process Research and Development Charges Too Aggressive? Evidence from Acquired Firms' R&D Expenses and Acquirers' IPRD Charges

In-process research and development is the value allocated to incomplete research and development projects in acquisitions treated as purchases, and charged to expense by the acquirer at the acquisition date. Researchers have documented the benefits to acquiring companies from large IPRD charges, and in 1998, the SEC expressed concern that companies inflate future earnings by overstating their IPRD charges. In this paper, we investigate the IPRD charges for 144 acquisitions of target companies with publicly available information about their previous R&D costs. We find a positive relation between IPRD charges and the prior R&D costs of the acquired firm, consistent with appropriate IPRD reporting, on average. However, we identify 23 acquisitions with high IPRD but low prior R&D costs, suggesting overly aggressive write-offs, and justifying SEC concerns. These acquirers faced higher investor expectations for future earnings and had higher pre-write-off earnings compared to acquirers reporting normal IPRD. Consistent with SEC scrutiny of IPRD leading to more appropriate reporting, the number of acquisitions with excessive IPRD decreased significantly after 1998. Finally, we observe that investors adjusted the relation of earnings and returns to account for the increase in future earnings arising from write-offs of IPRD.
A Meta-Analysis of the Relationship between Learning Outcomes and Parental Involvement during Early Childhood Education and Early Elementary Education.

This meta-analysis examined the relationship between learning outcomes of children and educational involvement of parents during a unique period of early childhood education and early elementary education based on 100 independent effect sizes from 46 studies. Learning outcomes are academic achievement, and frameworks of parental involvement measure family involvement and partnership development. The relationship (with adjustment over frameworks and study features) indicated a strong and positive correlation (.509) between learning outcomes and parental involvement. Although types of parental (behavioral, personal, and intellectual) involvement and building institutional capacity demonstrated the greatest importance to the relationship, the role of parents (family involvement) was more important than the role of schools and communities (partnership development). For a strong relationship, behavioral involvement, home supervision, and home-school connection were the keys from family involvement, whereas capacity to engage parents, respectful and effective leadership in relation to families and children, and institutionalized authentic partnerships were the keys from partnership development.
Seizure-Inducing Drugs Used for the Critically Ill

Critically ill patients are subjected to numerous medication effects during their stay in the intensive care unit (ICU). Some of them have epileptogenic potentials. The most common pathophysiologic mechanism is through blockade of the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor, and the most commonly used family of ICU drugs, reducing the seizure threshold, is the antibiotics. The exact role of these medications in inducing a clinical or subclinical seizure, in the context of cerebral injury or other multiorgan failure, is in many cases unclear. Fortunately, the ability to prevent seizures in critically ill patients is within our grasp. However, the intensivist should always seek a medication as the cause of the witnessed seizure and should consider replacing it with another having less epileptogenic potential.
Abstract 434: Increased Dietary Salt Intake Enhances the Exercise Pressor Reflex

Increased dietary salt in rats has been shown to sensitize central sympathetic circuits and enhance sympathetic responses to several stressors, including hyperinsulinemia, intracerebroventricular injection of angiotensin and electrical stimulation of sciatic nerve afferents. These findings prompted us to test the hypothesis that increased dietary salt enhanced the exercise pressor reflex.Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed 0.1% (n=16) or 4.0% (n=18) NaCl chow for 14-21 days. Then, rats were decerebrated and the exercise pressor reflex was produced by static contraction of the hindlimb muscles through electrical stimulation of the cut peripheral ends of the L4 and L5 ventral roots. We found that contraction produced a significantly greater increase in mean arterial pressure of rats fed 4.0% NaCl (24±2 mmHg) versus 0.1% NaCl (15±2 mmHg). Baseline mean arterial pressure was not different between 0.1% versus 4.0% NaCl diets (79±5 vs 83±4 mmHg). The tension time indices were not different between the 0.1% (17±1 kg per s) versus 4.0% (18.2±2 kg s) NaCl groups (P = 0.422). The enhanced responsiveness to contraction appeared to be attributable to sensitized group III mechanoreceptors because the renal and lumbar sympathetic responses to contraction were augmented within 200 ms of the onset of contraction. Section of the L4 and L5 dorsal roots abolished the pressor responses to contraction in both groups of rats, an effect showing that the responses were reflex in origin. We conclude that increased dietary salt can enhance the reflex sympathetic responses to static exercise.
Better Resource Usage through Biomimetic Symbiotic Principles for Host and Derivative Product Synthesis

In recent years, numerous methods to aid designers in conceptualizing new products have been developed. These methods intend to give structure to a process that was, at one time, considered to be a purely creative exercise. Resulting from the study, implementation, and refinement of design methodologies is the notion that both the structure of the development process and the structure of the developed product are key factors in creating value in a firm’s product line. With respect to the latter key factor, product architecture, but more specifically, modular product architecture has been the subject of much study. This research is focused on two tasks: advancing the notion of a modular product architecture in which modules can be incorporated into a product ‘post-market,’ and creating a method that aids designers leverage knowledge of natural symbiotic relationships to synthesize these post-market modules. It adds to prior work by first, defining the terms ‘derivative product’ and ‘host product’ to describe the post-market module and the product that the module augments, respectively. Second, by establishing three guidelines that are used to assess the validity of potential derivative products, giving the newly termed host and derivative product space defined boundaries. And lastly, by developing a 7-step, biomimetic-based methodology that can be used to create derivative product concepts (post-market modules). By using this methodology, the engineered products are designed on symbiotic principles found in nature.
Use of a simplified frailty index to predict Clavien 4 complications and mortality after hepatectomy: analysis of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Project database

Abstract Background An aging surgical population places an increasing burden on surgeons to accurately risk stratify and counsel patients. Preoperative frailty assessments are a promising new modality to better evaluate patients but can often be time consuming. Data regarding frailty and hepatectomy outcomes have not been published to date. Method Using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Project database, we examined hepatectomy patients 2005 to 11 and correlated frailty scores with outcomes of major morbidity, mortality, and extended length of stay, using a previously validated modified frailty index score. Frailty was compared against age, American Society of Anesthesiologists class, and other common risk variables. Results Multivariate regression identified frailty as the strongest predictor of Clavien 4 complications (OR = 40.0, 95% CI = 15.2 to 105.0), and mortality (OR = 26.4, 95% CI = 7.7 to 88.2). As the frailty score increased, there was a statistically significant increase in Clavien 4 complications, mortality, and extended length of stay (P Conclusions Frailty is a significant factor in morbidity and mortality after hepatectomy. Use of the modified frailty index allows for feasibility of data collection in a busy clinical setting.
Oxygen Bombardment Induced Activation of Glassy Carbon

We have studied the effect of oxygen ion bombardment of glassy carbon at room temperature, using a composite bi-energy beam of 3.2 and 3.1 MeV ions. Carbon specimens were prepared in-house by pyrolysis of phenolic resin at 1000°C. Raman microprobe spectra of the surface and implanted volume before and after irradiation showed that the implanted oxygen ions had disrupted translational symmetry at the surface and caused maximum damage in the carbon 3.5 µm below the surface. By analogy to the “activation” of charcoals1 we conclude that pores are opened up by preferential attack of strained carbon sites.
Phase-Field Simulations of Solid Electrolyte Interface Morphology Evolution

Solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer morphology evolution has not yet been fully understood. A phase field model was employed and developed to simulate the SEI formation, growth and morphology evolution. SEI layer involves many boundaries formation and evolution among reaction products and their phase dynamic boundaries (interfaces). The phase field model can investigate phase boundaries without explicitly tracking the interfaces with sharp composition gradients. It also reveals the profiles of chemical potential and velocity in the electrolyte/SEI interfacial region. Most important, the present dveloped model has great potential to be extended to three dimensional space for SEI layer spatial growth inverstigation. In addition, other interfacial problems with more complex morphology evolution may also be investigated by the developed phase field model.
Dioxin-like pollutants increase hepatic flavin containing monooxygenase (FMO3) expression to promote synthesis of the pro-atherogenic nutrient biomarker trimethylamine N-oxide from dietary precursors.

The etiology of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is impacted by multiple modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors including dietary choices, genetic predisposition, and environmental exposures. However, mechanisms linking diet, exposure to pollutants, and CVD risk are largely unclear. Recent studies identified a strong link between plasma levels of nutrient-derived Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and coronary artery disease. Dietary precursors of TMAO include carnitine and phosphatidylcholine, which are abundant in animal-derived foods. Dioxin-like pollutants can upregulate a critical enzyme responsible for TMAO formation, hepatic flavin containing monooxygenase 3 (FMO3), but a link between dioxin-like PCBs, upregulation of FMO3, and increased TMAO has not been reported. Here, we show that mice exposed acutely to dioxin-like PCBs exhibit increased hepatic FMO3 mRNA, protein, as well as an increase in circulating levels of TMAO following oral administration of its metabolic precursors. C57BL/6 mice were exposed to 5 μmol PCB 126/kg mouse weight (1.63 mg/kg). At 48 h post-PCB exposure, mice were subsequently given a single gavage of phosphatidylcholine dissolved in corn oil. Exposure to 5 μmole/kg PCB 126 resulted in greater than 100-fold increase in FMO3 mRNA expression, robust induction of FMO3 protein, and a 5-fold increase in TMAO levels compared with vehicle treated mice. We made similar observations in mice exposed to PCB 77 (49.6 mg/kg twice); stable isotope tracer studies revealed increased formation of plasma TMAO from an orally administered precursor trimethylamine (TMA). Taken together, these observations suggest a novel diet-toxicant interaction that results in increased production of a circulating biomarker of cardiovascular disease risk.
Comparison of minimally invasive versus conventional open harvesting techniques for iliac bone graft in secondary alveolar cleft patients.

BACKGROUND Autologous bone grafts, often harvested from the iliac crest, are the criterion standard for secondary alveolar cleft repair. The best technique for harvest remains controversial. Minimally invasive techniques have been used for bone graft harvest in cleft patients, but outcome studies have been limited by small numbers of patients. METHODS A total of 104 patients undergoing bone grafting for alveolar cleft were reviewed. Fifty-five consecutive patients underwent minimally invasive iliac bone graft harvest using the Acumed power-driven trephine system performed by the same surgeon. These patients were compared with 49 control patients undergoing a similar procedure in which the traditional method of open iliac bone harvest with an osteotome was used. RESULTS Operative time for the bone graft harvest was significantly shorter with the Acumed device when compared with the osteotome (2.37 hours versus 3.26 hours, p < 0.001). Patients who underwent minimally invasive Acumed bone harvest required significantly less postoperative analgesia than did patients who underwent osteotome harvest, for both narcotic (0.31 mg/kg versus 1.64 mg/kg, p < 0.001) and nonnarcotic (15.1 mg/kg versus 27.2 mg/kg, p < 0.01) pain medication. Acumed patients had significantly less pain on discharge (0.26 versus 3.1 pain scores on a scale from 0 to 10, p < 0.001) and left the hospital more quickly (23.3 hours versus 30.1 hours, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION Minimally invasive bone graft harvest technique using the trephine system offers a superior alternative to the conventional open iliac bone harvest method for patients undergoing secondary alveolar cleft repair, with shorter operative time, decreased requirement for pain medications, less pain on discharge, and a shorter hospital stay. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Therapeutic, III.
Molecular Cloning, Expression, and Chromosomal Localization of a Human Gene Encoding the CD33 Myeloid Differentiation Antigen

Monoclonal antibodies of the CD33 cluster group recognize a 67- kilodalton (Kd) protein, designated p67, expressed on the surface of normal human myeloid progenitors and leukemic cells from most patients with acute myelogenous leukemia. The human gene encoding p67 was isolated in a mouse genetic background after DNA-mediated gene transfer and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) for transformants that bound the monoclonal antibody MY9. After three serial rounds of gene transfer and cell sorting, multiple independently derived tertiary mouse cell transformants were obtained that expressed p67. Southern blot analysis revealed that these transformants shared restriction fragments containing highly reiterated human DNA sequences. Two shared EcoRI fragments of 3.3-kilobase (kb) and 9.5-kb pairs were molecularly cloned into bacteriophage vectors. A subsegment of the 3.3-kb fragment lacking repeated sequences was then used as a unique sequence probe to isolate two independent cosmid clones. Cells transfected with DNA from both cosmid clones bound MY9, and the human p67 protein was demonstrated by immunoprecipitation. NFS mice inoculated with a mouse cell transformant coexpressing p67 and the v-fms oncogene product produced antisera that specifically immunoprecipitated p67 from human leukemic cell lines, mouse cell transformants, and mouse cells transfected with the biologically active cosmid clones. The human p67 locus was previously assigned to chromosome 19 by screening a panel of rodent X human somatic cell hybrids with the unique sequence probe. The gene was sublocalized to the q13.3 region of chromosome 19 by in situ hybridization. RNA transcripts of approximately 1.6 kb and 1.4 kb were identified in polyadenylated RNA from human myeloid leukemia cell lines using a probe from the genomic locus. Manipulation of the cloned p67 gene may provide insight into the function of its product and mechanisms regulating its expression.
Psychiatric symptomatology among hospitalized cancer patients.

A 90-item symptom checklist (SCL-90) was administered to 30 patients admitted consecutively to an oncology research unit. More than half of the patients showed moderate to high levels of depression...
The unexpected role of mTORC1 in intestinal stem cells during calorie restriction

Many previous studies have shown that many health benefits in calorie restriction (CR) are attributed to the down-regulation of the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) and the up-regul...
Biblical Theology and Preaching: A Survey of Resources

Preachers will benefit from lifelong study that seeks to read the texts of Scripture in light of the larger theological witness of the Bible. This essay introduces a number of significant resources for preachers written by biblical theologians who are concerned to undergird the ministry and proclamation of the church.
The metabolic stress response to burn trauma: current understanding and therapies.

Summary Major burns provoke a profound stress response, which is unrivalled in terms of its magnitude and duration. Evidence suggests that the pathophysiological stress response to severe burn trauma persists for several years after injury. Thus, there is a pressing need for novel strategies that mitigate this response and restore normal metabolic function in patients with burns. This is the first in a Series of three papers about the care of people with burns. In this paper, we review the current knowledge of the stress response to burn trauma, with a focus on hypermetabolism, muscle wasting, and stress-induced diabetes. We highlight recent developments and important knowledge gaps that need to be pursued to develop novel therapeutic strategies to improve outcomes in burn survivors.
Iterated Multi-Robot Auctions for Precedence-Constrained Task Scheduling

We consider the multi-robot task scheduling problem with precedence constraints, and introduce a general algorithm to approximate a solution to this problem. Our algorithm utilizes an iterated auction scheme, in which a batch of tasks that are pairwise unconstrained is selected in each iteration and scheduled using a modified sequential single-item auction. This algorithm also gains flexibility by allowing the use of task prioritization to order the scheduling process. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this iterated auction scheme empirically using existing 100- and 1000-task data sets that we have modified to include precedence constraints.
Small-Scale Farmers as Stewards of Useful Plant Diversity: A Case Study in Portland Parish, Jamaica

For centuries, small-scale farmers in Jamaica have managed and cultivated a variety of plants for use as subsistence and market crops, fodder, construction materials, and medicine. Free-listing, casual conversations, guided visits to 35 farm plots and 16 homegardens, semi-structured interviews with 16 farmers, and quantitative analysis were used to identify the factors that most correlate with useful plant richness on these lands. Jamaican farmers reported on average 87 different useful plant ethnotaxa (ethnovarieties, including single-variety species as one ethnotaxon) of cultivated and wild plants growing on all their land holdings, across an average of 62 biologically distinct species. The cumulative acreage controlled by a farmer (total land size), consisting of their homegarden (“yard”) and all their farm plots, explained 61% of the variation in useful plant richness recorded for each farmer (r = 0.78; p < 0.001). In contrast, there was no effect from the farmers’ age, their level of farming experience, or household size. Overall, mean ethnotaxa richness was higher on farm plots than homegardens (p = 0.012) because of their larger size. However, on a per-unit area basis (0.1 acres), homegardens contained more useful plants than farm plots (p = 0.005). While homegardens were important repositories of wild plants that are commonly used as medicines and as regular teas for consumption in the morning, farm plots were important repositories of timber trees. This nuanced understanding of factors that contribute to useful plant richness may help to direct efforts to support local farmers and better utilize the capacity of those farmers who most promote useful plants. These results underscore the complexity of agrobiodiversity conservation in rural Jamaica.
Lose 500,000 Creatine Phosphokinase With a 2-Hour Workout: A Case Report on Rhabdomyolysis in a Novice Athlete

The co-occurrence of acute kidney injury secondary to rhabdomyolysis in a young patient can present as a prognostic and therapeutic challenge. Here we report a case with an unusually high creatinine phosphokinase of over 500,000 U/L after a 2-hour workout session at the gym. The challenge was to assess if the need for renal replacement therapy was warranted and whether IV fluid therapy with close monitoring would be enough to treat him, given he had a good urine output and no acid base disorder. The literature is reviewed as an attempt to delineate a rational approach to evaluating novice athletes at risk for rhabdomyolysis. World J Nephrol Urol. 2016;5(3):54-57 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/wjnu280e
A one-pot, multi-component reaction cascade for the rapid synthesis of diversely functionalized heteroaryl methyl substrates

Abstract A novel one-pot, “green” protocol to rapidly access pharmaceutically relevant heteroaryl methyl substrates is described. This process allows for a tandem S N 2/Suzuki-Miyaura reaction or Sonogashira reaction across a breadth of chemical diversity with yields ranging between 31 and 87% for the tandem Suzuki-Miyaura process and 50–66% for the tandem Sonogashira process. This procedure tolerates S, N, and O heteroatom linkers and is amenable for both rapid and robust lead development screening. In addition, T-type and N-type calcium channel blocker ( 15 ) was synthesized in 43% yield using this methodology which stands as an improvement in both yield and reaction time of the previously reported synthesis. The one-pot protocol also allows for the inclusion of greater chemical diversity within the scaffold of 15 .
The d 3 Π state of LiRb

We report our spectroscopic studies of the d 3Π state of ultra-cold 7Li85Rb using resonantly enhanced multi-photon ionization and depletion spectroscopy with bound-to-bound transitions originating from the metastable a 3Σ+ state. We evaluate the potential of this state for use as the intermediate state in a stimulated-Raman-adiabatic-passage transfer scheme from triplet Feshbach LiRb molecules to the X 1Σ+ ground state and find that the lowest several vibrational levels possess the requisite overlap with initial and final states, as well as convenient energies. Using depletion measurements, we measured the well depth and spin-orbit splitting. We suggest possible pathways for short-range photoassociation using deeply bound vibrational levels of this electronic state.
High-density lipoproteins: from function to therapy.

The substantial residual cardiovascular events present in statin-treated patients provide a challenge to researchers in the cardiovascular field to develop additional therapeutic approaches. In cardiovascular disease (CVD) epidemiology, few associations are as consistent and enduring as the inverse
The Economics of Comparable Worth

(1987). The Economics of Comparable Worth. Journal of Economic Issues: Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 926-928.
Lessons Learned by Community Stakeholders in the Massachusetts Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (MA-CORD) Project, 2013–2014

Author(s): Ganter, Claudia; Aftosmes-Tobio, Alyssa; Chuang, Emmeline; Kwass, Jo-Ann; Land, Thomas; Davison, Kirsten K; MA-CORD Study Group | Abstract: IntroductionChildhood obesity is a multifaceted disease that requires sustainable, multidimensional approaches that support change at the individual, community, and systems levels. The Massachusetts Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration project addressed this need by using clinical and public health evidence-based methods to prevent childhood obesity. To date, little information is known about successes and lessons learned from implementing such large-scale interventions. To address this gap, we examined perspectives of community stakeholders from various sectors on successes achieved and lessons learned during the implementation process.MethodsWe conducted 39 semistructured interviews with key stakeholders from 6 community sectors in 2 low-income communities from November 2013 through April 2014, during project implementation. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by using the constant comparative method. Data were analyzed by using QSR NVivo 10.ResultsSuccesses included increased parental involvement in children's health and education, increased connections within participating organizations and within the broader community, changes in organizational policies and environments to better support healthy living, and improvements in health behaviors in children, parents, and stakeholders. Lessons learned included the importance of obtaining administrative and leadership support, involving key stakeholders early in the program planning process, creating buffers that allow for unexpected changes, and establishing opportunities for regular communication within and across sectors.ConclusionStudy findings indicate that multidisciplinary approaches support health behavior change and provide insight into key issues to consider in developing and implementing such approaches in low-income communities.
A Random Forest-Induced Distance-Based Measure of Physiologic al Dysregulation.

BACKGROUND Aging involves gradual, multisystemic Physiological Dysregulation (PD) which increases risk of age-related comorbidities. Ability to quantify age-related PD could provide insights into biological mechanisms underlying the aging process. One approach to measuring PD exploits the fact that increasing PD manifests as a gradual deviation of physiological parameters away from normal levels. A recent geometric approach for quantifying PD uses Mahalanobis distance to measure the extent to which an individual's physiological parameters (measured via biomarkers from clinical blood biochemistry panels) deviate from normal levels. While useful, this approach has shortcomings that may impact its accuracy, primarily the incorrect assumption of multivariate normality among biomarkers, and identical weighting of biomarkers. Herein, we develop a more robust multivariate distance-based measure of PD. METHOD Proximity matrices induced by survival tree ensembles (Random Survival Forests) were used to compute a robust distance metric for quantifying how abnormal an individual's biomarker profile is. This approach requires no distributional assumptions and allows differential weighting of biomarkers based on association with mortality. Using receiver operating characteristic analysis and model fit statistics we compared performance of our measure to the standard approach based on Mahalanobis distance. RESULTS & CONCLUSION Our new metric showed statistically significant improvements in predicting mortality, health status and biological age, compared to the standard approach. Additional advantages offered by our method are the ability to handle missing values in biomarkers and to accommodate categorical risk factors. These results suggest our approach could provide greater precision in the evaluation of PD, which could enable better characterization of the extent and impact of degenerative processes resulting from aging.
Optimizing Graft Survival by Pretreatment of the Donor

Over many decades, organ transplantation has overcome remarkable barriers to evolve into a highly successful enterprise. The dominant limitation faced today is, without a doubt, the insufficient supply of transplantable organs. When faced with any difficult quandary, the medical community relies on
Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy

Preeclampsia/eclampsia, also known as toxemia of pregnancy, remains one of the great triad of obstetric complications. The outlook for the preeclamptic woman and the fetus has improved us a result of increased knowledge of uteroplacental-fetal physiology and of the physiologic deviations involved in preeclampsia, although the basic cause of preeclampsia remains unknown. Careful screening of women at risk for preeclampsia along with early detection and treatment can help reduce the toll taken in stillbirths, prematurity, and maternal death. Current concepts of pathophysiology are reviewed as is nursing care during the antepartum and intrapartum periods.
Complete heart block following transcatheter closure of perimembranous VSD using amplatzer duct occluder II

Long term follow up studies have shown that transcatheter closure of perimembranous Ventricular Septal Defect (PmVSD) can be done safely and successfully. One of the most serious complications of VSD device closure is complete atrioventricular block which has been reported in 3–18% is various studies following VSD device closure. Amplatzar Duct Occluder II (ADO-II) device is now commonly being used for closure of small to moderate sized PmVSD. Complete heart block has not been reported with ADO-II device. We are reporting 2 cases of complete heart block following transcatheter closure of PmVSD using ADO-II device where sinus rhythm was established following early surgical removal of the device.
Activation of the Innate Immune System by Treponema denticola Periplasmic Flagella through Toll-Like Receptor 2

Treponema denticola is an indigenous oral spirochete that inhabits the gingival sulcus or periodontal pocket. Increased numbers of oral treponemes within this environment are associated with localized periodontal inflammation, and they are also part of an anaerobic polymicrobial consortium responsible for endodontic infections. Previous studies have indicated that T. denticola stimulates the innate immune system through Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2); however, the pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) responsible for T. denticola activation of the innate immune system are currently not well defined. In this study, we investigated the role played by T. denticola periplasmic flagella (PF), unique motility organelles of spirochetes, in stimulating an innate immune response. Wild-type T. denticola stimulated the production of the cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-10, and IL-12 by monocytes from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, while its isogenic nonmotile mutant lacking PF resulted in significantly diminished cytokine stimulation. In addition, highly purified PF were able to dose dependently stimulate cytokine TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-12 production in human monocytes. Wild-type T. denticola and the purified PF triggered activation of NF-κB through TLR2, as determined using a variety of TLR-transfected human embryonic 293 cell lines, while the PF-deficient mutants lacked the ability to stimulate, and the complemented PF-positive T. denticola strain restored the activation. These findings suggest that T. denticola stimulates the innate immune system in a TLR2-dependent fashion and that PF are a key bacterial component involved in this process.
Flow Physics and Frequency Scaling of Sweeping Jet Fluidic Oscillators

Incompressible flow simulations are employed to investigate the internal fluid dynamics of a sweeping jet fluidic oscillator with a focus on the mechanisms and scaling laws that underpin the jet os...
Time efficient novel parallel technique for Needleman Wunsch and Smith Waterman algorithms

Needleman-Wunsch and Smith-Waterman algorithms are the basic bioinformatics algorithms used for the sequence alignments. Algorithms used the dynamic programming approach and take large time and space to compute the alignments. This paper presents the parallelization of the both algorithms over multiple threads using novel technique of loop transformation. Algorithms serial & parallel version time analysis is performed to show the speed up achieved for both algorithms using the new parallelizing approach.
African-American and Romani Filmic Representation and the ‘Posts’ of Post-Civil Rights and Post-EU Expansion

In this article I explore linkages between the evolution of African-American filmic representation and the patterns of Romani representation in films from Central and Southeast Europe (CSEE). More specifically, I use the 1970s Blaxploitation movement and subsequent shift of African-American representation into films reliant on a realist aesthetic to contextualize analysis of the shortcomings of the Civil Rights Movement to provide broad integration for African-Americans. Given other similarities between the racialized positionalities of African-Americans and Roma, I argue that Blaxploitation can illuminate trends in the cinematic depictions of CSEE Roma, since the Roma Rights movement has had to contend with similar shortcomings in achieving political, social, and economic inclusion. The films I analyze in this piece include Roming (2007), Just the Wind (2012), Episode of an Iron Picker (2013), and Bravo! (2015).
Evaluation of Probe Angles for Synchronous Waveform 915-MHz Microwave Ablation.

Abstract Background The purpose of this study is to compare the ablation performance between a synchronous microwave ablation (MWA) system and a commercially available asynchronous system in ex vivo bovine liver and evaluate the efficacy of ablation at varying entrance angles. Materials and methods Two 915-MHz MWA systems were used in bench top ex vivo bovine livers with various conditions (synchronous versus asynchronous). Using synchronous technology ablations to liver, kidney, or lung at angles of 0, 15, 30, and 90° were evaluated. Results Synchronous and asynchronous MWA systems created mean ablation zone volumes of 26.4 and 15.8 cm3, 62.9 and 45.4 cm3, 90.8 and 56.4, and 75.7 and 54.8 cm3 with single, double (2 microwave probes in use simultaneous) (2 cm spacing), and triple (three probes in use simultaneously) (2 cm and 3 cm spacing) antennae configurations, respectively; adjusted P-values ≤ 0.006. Ablation defects were similar across all groups when evaluated for entrance angle. Specifically, when comparing 0-degree angle to all other angles, achieved zones of ablation (ZA) were similar (mean ± standard deviation for 0-degree versus all other angles: 8.72 ± 4.84 versus 9.38 ± 4.11 cm2, P = 0.75). The use of the long-tip probe resulted in a statistically significant increase in the achieved ZA when compared to the short tip probe (10.9 ± 4.3 versus 6.5 ± 2.4, respectively; P = 0.01). Conclusions Newly developed synchronous microwave technology creates significantly larger ablation zones when compared to an existing asynchronous commercially available system. The angle of approach does not affect the resulting ZA. This is clinically relevant as true 0-degree angle is often difficult to obtain.
Ensuring excision of intraductal lesions: marker placement at time of ductography.

Rationale and Objectives To propose grid coordinate marker placement for patients with suspicious ductogram findings occult on routine workup. To compare the success of marker placement and wire localization (WL) with ductogram-guided WL. Materials and Methods A retrospective search of radiology records identified all patients referred for ductography between January 2001 and May 2008. Results for 16 patients referred for ductogram-guided WL and 5 patients with grid coordinate marker placement at the time of ductography and subsequent WL were reviewed. Surgical pathology results and clinical follow-up were reviewed for concordance. Results Nine of 16 patients (56.3%) underwent successful ductogram-guided WL. Eight of nine patients had papillomas, one of which also had atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH). One of nine patients had ectatic ducts with inspisated debris. Seven patients who failed ductogram-guided WL eventually underwent open surgical biopsy. Four of seven patients had papillomas, one of which also had lobular carcinoma in situ. Remaining patients had ADH (1/7) and fibrocystic changes with chronic inflammation (3/7). All five (100%) patients with grid coordinate marker placement underwent successful WL and marker excision. Pathology results included three papillomas, papillary intraductal hyperplasia, and fibrocystic change. Conclusion Grid coordinate marker placement at the time of abnormal ductogram provided an accurate method of localizing ductal abnormalities that are occult on routine workup, thus facilitating future WL. Marker placement obviated the need for repeat ductogram on the day of surgery and ensured surgical removal of the ductogram abnormality.
The sigma-2 (σ-2) receptor: a review of recent patent applications: 2013-2018.

Introduction: The discovery of the sigma-2 receptor and the analogous sigma-1 receptor led to a decade-long quest to determine the true nature of this protein and novel ligands capable of modulatin...
Weekly assessment of number of yoga classes and amount of yoga home practice: Agreement with daily diaries.

Abstract Objective: To evaluate a weekly yoga practice assessment instrument designed to assess number of classes attended in the previous week, number of times engaged in formal home yoga practice, total number of minutes engaged in formal home yoga practice in the past week, and number of times engaged in informal home yoga practice. “Informal” practice was defined as “in the middle of other activities, you spent a few moments engaged in asanas/postures, focus on breath, body awareness, or very brief meditation, for less than 5 min at a time.” We assessed agreement between this weekly assessment and a daily home practice log. Design and setting: Seventy-two community yoga practitioners completed online daily yoga logs for 28 days as well as the weekly yoga practice assessment four times over the 28 day period. Results: We examined agreement between the two methods on the four indices of amount of weekly yoga practice. We found acceptable agreement between the two methods for number of classes, number of times engaged in formal home practice, and total number of minutes engaged in formal home practice. Agreement was lower for number of times engaged in informal practice. Conclusions: These data provide support for use of a weekly yoga practice assessment to assess number of classes attended and amount of formal but not informal home practice.
Proceedings of the 2014 Symposium and Bootcamp on the Science of Security

The Symposium and Bootcamp on the Science of Security (HotSoS), is a research event centered on the Science of Security (SoS). Following a successful invitational SoS Community Meeting in December 2012, HotSoS 2014 was the first open research event in what we expect will be a continuing series of such events. The key motivation behind developing a Science of Security is to address the fundamental problems of cybersecurity in a principled manner. Security has been intensively studied, but a lot of previous research emphasizes the engineering of specific solutions without first developing the scientific understanding of the problem domain. All too often, security research conveys the flavor of identifying specific threats and removing them in an apparently ad hoc manner. The motivation behind the nascent Science of Security is to understand how computing systems are architected, built, used, and maintained with a view to understanding and addressing security challenges systematically across their life cycle. In particular, two features distinguish the Science of Security from previous research programs on cybersecurity. Scope. The Science of Security considers not just computational artifacts but also incorporates the human, social, and organizational aspects of computing within its purview. Approach. The Science of Security takes a decidedly scientific approach, based on the understanding of empirical evaluation and theoretical foundations as developed in the natural and social sciences, but adapted as appropriate for the "artificial science" (paraphrasing Herb Simon's term) that is computing.
Fruitful bodies: Farley, Copeland, and Baldwin on sacred flesh

ABSTRACTThis article uses the notion of theological imagination, a term describing how the divine interacts with the human on an emotional and embodied level, to bring Margaret Farley, M. Shawn Cop...