cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reconstruction Technique Affects Femoral Tunnel Placement in ACL Reconstruction

Grafts placed too anteriorly on the femur are reportedly a common cause of failure in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Some studies suggest more anatomic femoral tunnel placement improves kinematics. The ability of the transtibial technique and a tibial tunnel-independent technique (placed transfemorally outside-in) to place the guide pin near the center of the femoral attachment of the anterior cruciate ligament was compared in 12 cadavers. After arthroscopic placement of the guide pins, the femur was dissected and the three-dimensional geometry of the femur, anterior cruciate ligament footprint, and positions of each guide pin were measured. The transtibial guide-pin placement was 7.9 ± 2.2 mm from the center of the footprint (near its anterior border), whereas the independent technique positioned the guide pin 1.9 ± 1.0 mm from the center. The center of the footprint was within 2 mm of an anteroposterior line through the most posterior border of the femoral cartilage in the notch and a proximodistal line through the proximal margin of the cartilage at the capsular reflection. More accurate placement of the femoral tunnel might reduce the incidence of graft failure and might reduce long-term degeneration observed after reconstruction although both would require clinical confirmation.
Retroperitoneal hemorrhage presenting as a ruptured ectopic pregnancy

A young woman presented with acute abdominal pain, anemia, and a positive pregnancy test. At surgery a large retroperitoneal hematoma secondary to a ruptured right kidney was found. Pathological examination revealed a hematogenic necrosis of a choriocarcinoma of the kidney. The patient tolerated subsequent chemotherapy with no evidence of recurrent disease after ten months of follow-up care. The diagnosis of choriocarcinoma must always be entertained when a patient presents with a positive pregnancy test and normal pelvic examination.
Solubility of BF3 in salts of molten-salt reactor interest

Abstract Using a volumetric method, solubilities of BF 3 were measured in four molten solvents, LiF-BeF 2 (66-34 mole %), LiF-BeF 2 -ThF 4 -UF 4 (71.7-16-12-0.23 mole %), LiF-BeF 2 -ThF 4 (76-12-12 mole %), LiF-BeF 2 -ThF 4 -NaF (66-15-11-8 mole %). The purposes of the study were (a) to investigate the interaction of BF 3 with fluoride ions in these melts, (b) to aid in evaluating BF 3 in reactor control and in reactor safety. Within the pressure and concentration ranges studied, solubilities obeyed Henry's law. Enthalpies of solution, derived from the temperature dependence of Henry's law constant, varied from −15 to −18 kcal/mole; these large negative values indicate strong chemical interaction between dissolved BF 3 and molten fluorides, most likely the formation of tetrafluoroborate ion, BF 4 − . Entropies of solution were interpreted in terms of the loss of most of the rotational entropy of BF 3 . From the observed solubilities, estimates were made of the partial pressures of BF 3 that would occur following accidental mixing of reactor fuel salt with coolant liquid (composition: 92-8 mole % NaBF 4 -NaF). Barring massive inleakage of coolant into fuel salt, the high solubility of BF 3 in fluoride melts would prevent very high partial pressures of BF 3 . The rate of solution of BF 3 was measured in quiesent reactor fuel salt. The results indicate that BF 3 is useful in a control system for “scramming” a molten-salt reactor.
Pragmatic institutional design in Botswana ‐‐ Salient features and an assessment

Outlines the key developments and institutions of Botswana as it has evolved since independence in 1966; a successful marriage of some of the traditional forms of political organization with those adapted from the West. Looks at the political and legal history of Botswana and presents some of the main problems in governance which need addressing. Work improvement teams and the Botsawana National Productivity Centre have been introduced to address some of the issues. Local governance is discussed. Public sector reform until 2002 will mainly address rationalization of administration, privatization and productivity improvements.
Energy loss by hot carriers in polar semiconductors

Explicit forms for the rates of energy loss by a hot carrier to optical phonons, plasmons, and quasiparticle excitations are obtained for use in laser modeling. These forms contain the explicit dependence upon all system parameters, and give insight into the origin of each mechanism. Self-consistent screening is included, but it is seen that if the phonon and plasma frequencies ((omega) 0 and (omega) p, respectively) are comparable, the usual case, the total rate due to both is well given with no screening of either interaction. The interaction producing quasiparticle excitations is found to be screened to a good approximation by a dielectric function 1 plus (h(omega) p)2/(2(delta) (epsilon) )2 with (delta) (epsilon) the energy exchanged in the collision, quite different from the static form frequently assumed. Losses to plasmons and quasiparticle excitations are seen to be usually comparable and to dominate the phonon rate if the number of carriers per atom exceeds the ratio of the carrier effective mass to the reduced mass of the atoms, a ratio understandable in terms of classical collisions between carriers and between carriers and atoms. Energy loss rates as a function of energy are compared with a detailed computation by Jalabert and Das Sarma.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Are sutures better than staples for closing bronchi and pulmonary vessels

Little is known about the strength of suture lines and stapled closures of the bronchus, pulmonary arteries, and pulmonary veins. This experiment tested and compared the hydrostatic leakage point of each of these structures when closed by either sutures or staples. Fourteen fresh mature porcine cadavers and 8 human cadavers of age greater than 50 years were studied to determine whether the pig could be used as an appropriate model for future in vivo studies. Cadavers were selected so that closures depended only on the material used and not on any clot reinforcing the closure lines. The results of the study suggest that staple closure of the pulmonary artery and the main bronchus is as secure as suture closure. Pulmonary veins leak at a lower pressure when closed with staples; however, this pressure far exceeds physiological pressures in the left atrium. The data also suggest that the pig is an appropriate model for approximating conditions found in patients and is a good model for chronic studies comparing suture and staple closures.
Disrupted functional connectivity with dopaminergic midbrain in cocaine abusers.

Background: Chronic cocaine use is associated with disrupted dopaminergic neurotransmission but how this disruption affects overall brain function (other than reward/motivation) is yet to be fully investigated. Here we test the hypothesis that cocaine addicted subjects will have disrupted functional connectivity between the midbrain (where dopamine neurons are located) and cortical and subcortical brain regions during the performance of a sustained attention task. Methodology/Principal Findings: We measured brain activation and functional connectivity with fMRI in 20 cocaine abusers and 20 matched controls. When compared to controls, cocaine abusers had lower positive functional connectivity of midbrain with thalamus, cerebellum, and rostral cingulate, and this was associated with decreased activation in thalamus and cerebellum and enhanced deactivation in rostral cingulate. Conclusions/Significance: These findings suggest that decreased functional connectivity of the midbrain interferes with the activation and deactivation signals associated with sustained attention in cocaine addicts.
Morphology of the distal radius in extant hominoids and fossil hominins: implications for the evolution of bipedalism.

One of the long-standing arguments about the evolution of bipedality centers on the locomotor pattern used by the last common ancestor (LCA) of apes and humans. In particular, knuckle-walking has been suggested as this locomotor pattern on the basis of shared morphology in the upper limb between African apes and humans and phylogenetic parsimony. Using three-dimensional geometric morphometrics, this study tests whether the distal radius of extant hominoids is sufficient for determining locomotor pattern and the affiliations of Plio-Pleistocene hominins to the extant taxa. Results indicate that while the entire radius differentiates the extant taxa very well by locomotor pattern, the distal radius fails to clearly differentiate the extant taxa. The sigmoid notch of the distal radius is the anatomical feature that differs most among the extant taxa, and its variability broadly correlates with necessary mobility at the wrist joint. Principal components and discriminant function analyses indicate that early hominins are affiliated with a variety of extant taxa with different locomotor patterns. Overall, the bony anatomy of the distal radius of early hominins points towards something adapted for a wide variety of locomotor postures. Anat Rec, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Draft Genome Sequences of Two Alginate-Overproducing Variants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, PAO1-VE2 and PAO1-VE13.

Louis, MO, USA), and all specifics regarding the aligner algorithms can be obtained from the Novocraft website. The coverage of the generated sequences for PAO1-VE2 and PAO1-VE13 is 313.1 and 299.7 the reference genome. The number of base pairs saturated 8 for PAO1-VE2 and PAO1-VE13 are 6,263,842 (99.99%) and 6,263,748 (99.99%), respectively. The number of base pairs saturated 8 for PAO1-VE2 and PAO1VE13 are 562 (0.01%) and 656 (0.01%), respectively. The two genomes were annotated and prepared for submission at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) using an automated annotation system built on the Ergatis workflow manager.
PACMAN: A PerformAnce Counters MANager for Intel Hyperthreaded Processors

Performance monitoring counters (PMCs) are registers within a processor which can be programmed to count the occurrences of particular processor events, such as L2 cache misses, stall cycles, etc. Due to the insight that they provide into the execution of an application on a given architecture, hardware performance counters are seeing increasing popularity in both the research and industrial communities. The difficulty stems from the sharing of the performance monitoring unit (PMU) between the two execution contexts on hyperthreaded Pentium 4 processors. Perfctr, the standard interface to Pentium 4 performance counters for Linux, overcomes this problem by disallowing the use of the second execution context on each processor when collecting events in per-thread mode. PAPI, being built on top of unaltered Perfctr, suffers from the same problems. Intel's VTune performance analyzer provides thread-local event counter statistics offline, however it does not provide functionality for online and accurate event counter collection. It is important that applications be able to use all available contexts while still exploiting the full set of hardware event counting features at runtime
An Interpretation of the Long-Spacing Intensities of Calcium Stearate Monohydrate

THE interpretation of powder patterns of soaps and other long-chain aliphatic compounds which cannot be obtained as single crystals is not easy and is usually ambiguous1. Samples of calcium stearate monohydrate prepared by D. Wallace using the method of Vold, Hattiangdi and Vold2 were recrystallized from solution in a mixture of propylene glycol and chloroform. The recrystallized soap was in the form of very tiny laths which could be formed into highly orientated sheets by sedimentation or by flotation. Such a specimen, mounted on a glass plate, used in a Geiger-counter diffractometer, gives rise to the long-spacing peaks of spacing d = 50.30 A. from planes parallel to the plane of the specimen and no other peaks.
Influence of psychiatric comorbidities in migraineurs in the emergency department

Abstract Objective To examine how psychiatric comorbidities in migraineurs in the emergency department (ED) affect healthcare utilization and treatment tendencies. Method This is a cross-sectional analysis of 2872 patients who visited our ED over a 10-year period and were given a principal diagnosis of migraine. Results Compared to migraineurs without a psychiatric comorbidity, migraineurs with a psychiatric comorbidity had about three times more ED visits, six times more inpatient hospital stays and four times more outpatient visits. Migraineurs with psychiatric comorbidities received narcotics in the ED more often than migraineurs without psychiatric comorbidities ( P P P Conclusions Migraineurs with psychiatric comorbidity who visit the ED have different healthcare utilization tendencies than migraineurs without psychiatric comorbidity who visit the ED. This is seen in the frequency of ED visits, outpatient visits and inpatient stays, in the medications administered to them and in the radiology tests they undergo.
You Sank My…Bacteriophage?

ABSTRACT Practicing correct pipetting procedure doesn't have to be boring. “Pipetting by Coordinates” is an effective way to teach necessary pipetting skills in an enjoyable manner. Students create designs as they add volumes of colored water to specific wells and gain experience using a basic biotechnology tool.
Thin Equivalence Relations and Effective Decompositions

Let E be a Zy equivalence relation for which there does not exist a perfect set of inequivalent reals. If O' exists or if V is a forcing extension of L, then there is a good A' well-ordering of the equiv-
Neighborhood Drug Crime and Young Males' Job Accessibility

Abstract There has been renewed interest in the possible use of employment programs for disadvantaged male youth as a policy to reduce drug crime, but little evidence exists on the youth employment/drug crime relationship and theory suggests that these programs may increase rather than decrease the amount of drug crime. In this paper, panel data at the neighborhood level are used to investigate the relationship between drug crime and young males' intraurban job accessibility. Results obtained from models that control for time and fixed effects, as well as other potential sources of bias, suggest that modest improvements in job access can substantially reduce the amount of drug crime within poor inner-city neighborhoods.
Coated-Platelet Levels Are Low in Patients With Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Background and Purpose— Coated-platelets are a subset of platelets with high procoagulant potential observed on dual agonist stimulation with collagen and thrombin. Failure to produce coated-platelets in animals results in a bleeding diathesis. With this background, we undertook a pilot study to investigate coated-platelet production in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH). Methods— Coated-platelet levels were determined in 26 patients with a diagnosis of SICH and 52 controls. Results— The patient population had significantly lower coated-platelet levels than the controls (mean±SD, 24.8±9.7% versus 32.9±12.6%, P=0.0035). Conclusions— Decreased coated-platelet synthesis may be linked to the mechanisms involved in the events leading to SICH.
LATERALIZATION FOR FACIAL EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR: A METHODOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE*

Abstract Recent attention has focused upon the neuropsychological mechanisms underlying facial emotional expression. The greater intensity of expression and more extensive muscular involvement of the left hemiface have suggested right hemisphere dominance in the expression of emotion. This interpretation is based on the fact that the lower portion of the face is predominantly innervated by the contralateral cerebral hemisphere. The current paper reviews a series of studies on (a) facial asymmetry in normal subjects, (b) facial emotional expression in brain-damaged subjects with unilateral lesions, and (c) peripheral factors mediating facial expression findings. Neuropsychological mechanisms underlying emotional processing are also discussed. Our finding of left-sided facial asymmetries in normals is underscored by our finding that right brain-damaged patients are impaired in the expression of facial emotion. Finally, our studies have demonstrated that the asymmetries in normals and the deficits in patient...
L-glutamine and L-asparagine stimulate Na+ -H+ exchange in porcine jejunal enterocytes

L-Glutamine (Gln) is a major respiratory fuel and substrate for nucleic acid synthesis in mammalian intestinal cells. The structurally related amino acid, L-asparagine (Asn), stimulates the proliferative enzyme ornithine decarboxylase in colonocytes, an effect that is blocked by the Na+-H+ exchange inhibitor amiloride. In an epithelial cell line derived from newborn piglet jejunum (IPEC-J2 cells), we determined intracellular pH (pHi) by computer-assisted microfluorimetry in single cells loaded with pH-sensitive dye 2',7'-bis(2-carboxyethyl)5-(6)- carboxyfluorescein. Resting pHi in N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2- ethanesulfonic acid-buffered NaCl Ringer was 7.06 +/- 0.02. Removal of external Na+ caused reversible acidification; recovery of pHi from NH+4-induced acid load was Na+ dependent, amiloride inhibitable, and Cl-independent. Asn and Gln had no measurable effect on resting pHi, but pretreatment with Asn or Gln induced a consistent twofold increase in pHi recovery from an acid challenge that was not seen with L-proline, D-glutamine, or L-phenylalanine. Inhibition of Gln metabolism by aminooxyacetate abolished the stimulatory effect of Gln on the exchanger. The tumor promotor phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) stimulated recovery rate from acid load and also increased resting pHi. The effects of PMA and Gln on Na+-H+ exchange from acid load were additive. Stimulation of Na+-H+ exchange by PMA, but not by Gln, was inhibited by protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor 1-(5-isoquinolinylsulfonyl)-2-methylpeperazine. We conclude that Gln metabolism stimulates Na+-H+ exchange of acid-loaded porcine enterocytes by a mechanism not requiring activation of PKC.
Waterbird Responses to Hydrological Management of Wetlands Reserve Program Habitats in New York

Abstract The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) has restored nearly 600,000 ha of wetlands in the United States since inception of the program in 1996. However, no research has evaluated postrestoration management of WRP wetlands in relation to waterfowl and waterbird use. Therefore, we conducted an experiment to compare waterfowl and waterbird abundance and diversity between hydrologically managed (i.e., spring–summer drawdown for vegetation regeneration) and nonmanaged WRP wetlands in central New York, USA, in 2004. We surveyed waterfowl and other waterbirds on 5 managed and 5 nonmanaged wetlands over 3 10-week periods (i.e., spring: 7 Mar–15 May; summer: 16 May–24 Jul; autumn: 25 Jul–30 Sep). We detected a total of 36 taxa of these birds across the 3 periods and both types of wetlands but observed 1.4–2.3 times more taxa on managed than on nonmanaged wetlands among periods. Additionally, we recorded 0.8–13.2 times greater relative abundances (n birds/ha of wetland) of waterfowl and other waterbirds on mana...
FSH Regulates IGF-2 Expression in Human Granulosa Cells in an AKT-Dependent Manner

Context: IGF-2 is highly expressed in the granulosa cells of human dominant ovarian follicles; however, little is known about the regulation of the IGF-2 gene or the interaction of IGF-2 and FSH during follicle development. Objective: To examine the mechanisms involved in the regulation of the IGF-2 gene by FSH and the interplay between FSH and IGF-2 during granulosa cell differentiation. Design, Setting, Patients, and Interventions: Cumulus granulosa cells were separated from cumulus-oocyte complexes isolated from the follicular aspirates of in vitro fertilization patients and cultured for in vitro studies. Main Outcome: Protein and mRNA levels of IGF-2 and CYP19A1 (aromatase) were quantified using Western blot and quantitative real-time PCR. IGF-2 promoter-specific activation was determined by the amplification of alternative exons by PCR. Cell proliferation was assessed after treatment with FSH and/or IGF-2. Results: FSH significantly enhanced IGF-2 expression after 8 hours of treatment and at low dose...
Amplification of migratory inhibition factor production during the first 48 hours of exposure to antigen.

When lymphocyte-macrophage suspensions from sensitized animals are preincubated with specific antigen for 24 or more h, the following results are observed. (i) In a standard capillary macrophage migration test, there is complete inhibition of migration. (ii) When the preincubated cell suspension is mixed in varying proportions with a similar suspension from nonsensitized animals and a macrophage migration test is performed, there is no linear relationship between the degree of inhibition of migration and the proportion of sensitized lymphocytes initially present. Inhibition thus appears to be an “all-or-none” effect. (iii) In spite of the second observation, increasing periods of preincubation with antigen result in increasing inhibition. (iv) These results suggest the existence of a complex amplifying mechanism operating within the early period of exposure to antigen. (v) To test the possibility that cell proliferation contributes to this amplification, cells from sensitized guinea pigs were irradiated with a dose of 1,000 rads prior to preincubation with antigen. Despite this dose, which virtually abolishes cell division in other systems, no diminution whatever in the amplification of inhibition was observed. These results suggest the existence of an early phase of increased production of migratory inhibition factor that is not dependent on cell division but that may be related to “recruitment” of nonsensitized lymphocytes.
Parent & Family Influences on Adopting Healthy Weight-Related Behaviors: Views and Perceptions of Obese African-American Female Adolescents

RTI International is acknowledged for supporting the time of Susan McRitchie, Keeley Pratt and Susan Sumner to participate in the design, execution, or analysis of this study. East Carolina University would like to acknowledge Brittney France for being a triangulated investigator for the qualitative analysis and to the Pitt Memorial Hospital Foundation for financial support of the healthy lifestyles camp. Our purpose was to evaluate the views of obese African-American (AA) female adolescents concerning parent and family factors relating to obesity and a healthy lifestyle. Obese AA female adolescents enrolled in a residential healthy lifestyle program completed inventories measuring family functioning and perceptions of parenting styles, and participated in focus groups to identify themes regarding parent and family involvement in healthy lifestyle change. The majority of participants' mothers were scored as "inductive/authoritative" and fathers were "indulgent". Mothers reportedly were seen as more likely to encourage dieting to control weight than fathers. Common themes of the focus groups included a desire for family involvement, identification of family behaviors that were supportive as well as those which were perceived as unhelpful. Though generalizability of these results is limited by a homogenous small sample size, our results suggest that obese adolescents seeking weight loss treatment desire significant family involvement in their efforts.
The Information Asymmetry and Earnings Surprises: Evidence from the US Insurance Industry

This paper examines the effects of competing measures of earnings surprises on the value of insurance firms for a sample of 105 Life-Health insurers and 109 Property-Casualty insurers during the 1998-2007 period. Using the surprise portfolio approach, we find that investors in insurance stocks react to "street earnings" rather than accounting earnings and there is a positive relation between the magnitude and direction of earnings surprises and cumulative abnormal returns. Our results support the differential information hypothesis in the context of insurance industry. The evidence shows that smaller size insurers, those with higher information asymmetry and those followed by fewer analysts convey more information to market participants, generating higher cumulative abnormal returns in response to earnings surprises.
Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy of Photoexcitations on a Nanosecond Time-Scale

Scanning tunneling spectroscopy of the high frequency response of photoexcited carriers in the layered structure semiconductors n–type MoS2 and p–type Wse2 is demonstrated using the beat frequency of the longitudinal modes of a HeNe laser at the tunneling junction. We analyze the optical response taking into account the effects of tip-induced band bending and surface states.
Evaluation and management of thyroid nodules in children

Purpose of reviewThe review is focused on new information about the presentation and management of thyroid nodules in children and adolescents.Recent findingsPalpable thyroid nodules are uncommon in children but many children have nodules detected by radiologic imaging. How to evaluate them, when to
Eeperimental study on the value of spiral CT,ultrosound and MR in monitoring the growth of liver tumor

Objective:To study the biology feature of rabbit VX2 liver tumor and to evaluate the role of CT,US and MR in liver tumor.Methods:Suspension of VX2 tumor pieces mixed sodium chloride were implanted into the liver of 45 white New Zealand rabbits.Ultrosound,CT and MRI were applied to detect the growth of VX2 liver tumor and its blood supply.40 of them were successfully implanted.Results:The successful rate of original neoplasia was 88.8%.The tumors were demonstrated as low echo companied with dark circle which were hypervascular showed by CDFI,hypo-density or isodensity on plain CT,enhanced or ring-enhanced on arterial phase,hypodensity on portal phrase,homogeneously hypointense in T1WI and lightly hyperintense in T2WI.Conclusion:To make a model of VXz liver tumor by injecting tumor pieces mixed sodium chloride through abdominal incision is convenient and feasible,with high successful rate.US,CT scan are dependable and convenient methods for detecting liver tumor.MR is propitious to find the component of tumor.
Effects on growing swine and sheep of two polychlorinated biphenyls

Dietary polychlorinated biphenyls in feeds at concentrations of 20 ppm given to swine and sheep between weaning and time of their reaching market weight reduced feed efficiency and rate of gain. These effects were of the same magnitude as those observed in swine and sheep fed sub-optimal diets, and in swine, there was a highly significant interaction between diet and polychlorinated biphenyl effects. Gross and microscopic lesions were few, consisting of increased frequency of pneumonia in swine and sheep and of increased frequency and severity of gastric lesions in swine. The gastric lesions in swine consisted of erosions of surface mucosa; these lesions were greater in the swine given the higher dose levels when they included hypertrophy, hyperplasia, and deep ulcerative lesions.
Aspects of skin biology pertinent to pharmacology.

Diseases are clinically manifest as disturbances or distortions of normal cell form and/or function due to some etiologic influence. The etiology of only comparatively few diseases has been identified, and this has permitted development of pharmacologic materials that specifically attack the cause of disease (e.g., antibiotics) or that interfere with the etiologic agent exerting its adverse effects (e.g., sunscreens). Specific etiologies, however, are not known for most diseases. Hence, therapeutic materials available today are mostly drugs that either block the abnormal expressions of cell form or function manifest in the disease (e.g., corticosteroids) or exert inHuences re-enforcing or enhancing expression of normal cell form or function (e.g., cancer immunotherapy). Despite the fact that most pharmacologic agents today do not attack cause of disease, their modification of disease expression constitutes effective therapy.
Intravesical silver nitrate for refractory hemorrhagic cystitis.

Objective Hemorrhagic cystitis is a challenging clinical entity with limited evidence available to guide treatment. The use of intravesical silver nitrate has been reported, though supporting literature is sparse. Here, we sought to assess outcomes of patients treated with intravesical silver nitrate for refractory hemorrhagic cystitis. Material and methods We identified nine patients with refractory hemorrhagic cystitis treated at our institution with intravesical silver nitrate between 2000-2015. All patients had failed previous continuous bladder irrigation with normal saline and clot evacuation. Treatment success was defined as requiring no additional therapy beyond normal saline irrigation after silver nitrate instillation prior to hospital discharge. Results Median patient age was 80 years (IQR 73, 82). Radiation was the most common etiology for hemorrhagic cystitis 89% (8/9). Two patients underwent high dose (0.1%-0.4%) silver nitrate under anesthesia, while the remaining seven were treated with doses from 0.01% to 0.1% via continuous bladder irrigation for a median of 3 days (range 2-4). All nine patients (100%) had persistent hematuria despite intravesical silver nitrate therapy, requiring additional interventions and red blood cell transfusion during the hospitalization. There were no identified complications related to intravesical silver nitrate instillation. Conclusion Although well tolerated, we found that intravesical silver nitrate was ineffective for bleeding control, suggesting a limited role for this agent in the management of patients with hemorrhagic cystitis.
The effect of red light irradiation on spermatozoa DNA

A key goal in the conservation of endangered species is to increase successful reproduction. In cases where traditional methods of in vitro fertilization are unsuccessful, new methods of assisted reproduction are needed. One option is selective fertilization via optically trapped sperm. A more passive option is red light irradiation. Red light irradiation has been shown to increase sperm motility, thus increasing fertilizing potential. However, there is some concern that exposure to laser irradiation induces the production of oxidative species in cells, which can be damaging to DNA. In order to test the safety of irradiating sperm, sperm samples were exposed to 633 nm laser light and their DNA were tested for oxidative damage. Using fluorescence microscopy, antibody staining, and ELISA to detect oxidative DNA damage, it was concluded that red light irradiation does not pose a safety risk to sperm DNA. The use of red light on sperm has potential in both animal conservation and human reproduction techniques. This method can also be used in conjunction with optical trapping for viable sperm selection.
Independent test of a model to predict severe acute esophagitis

Purpose Treatment planning factors are known to affect the risk of severe acute esophagitis during thoracic radiation therapy. We tested a previously published model to predict the risk of severe acute esophagitis on an independent data set. Methods and materials The data set consists of data from patients who had recoverable treatment plans and received definitive radiation therapy for non–small cell carcinoma of the lung at a single institution between November 2004 and January 2010. Complete esophagus dose-volume and available clinical information was extracted using our in-house software. The previously published model was a logistic function with a combination of mean esophageal dose and use of concurrent chemotherapy. In addition to testing the previous model, we used a novel, machine learning-based method to build a maximally predictive model. Results Ninety-four patients (81.7%) developed Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, Version 4, Grade 2 or more severe esophagitis (Grade 2: n = 79 and Grade 3: n = 15). Univariate analysis revealed that the most statistically significant dose-volume parameters included percentage of esophagus volume receiving ≥40 to 60 Gy, minimum dose to the highest 20% of esophagus volume (D20) to D35, and mean dose. Other significant predictors included concurrent chemotherapy and patient age. The previously published model predicted risk effectively with a Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (rs) of 0.43 (P < .001) with good calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit: P = .537). A new model that was built from the current data set found the same variables, yielding an rs of 0.43 (P < .001) with a logistic function of 0.0853 × mean esophageal dose [Gy] + 1.49 × concurrent chemotherapy [1/0] − 1.75 and Hosmer-Lemeshow P = .659. A novel preconditioned least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method yielded an average rs of 0.38 on 100 bootstrapped data sets. Conclusions The previously published model was validated on an independent data set and determined to be nearly as predictive as the best possible two-parameter logistic model even though it overpredicted risk systematically. A novel, machine learning-based model using a bootstrapping approach showed reasonable predictive power.
Alcohol-dependent molecular adaptations of the NMDA receptor system

Phenotypes such as motivation to consume alcohol, goal-directed alcohol seeking and habit formation take part in mechanisms underlying heavy alcohol use. Learning and memory processes greatly contribute to the establishment and maintenance of these behavioral phenotypes. The N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) is a driving force of synaptic plasticity, a key cellular hallmark of learning and memory. Here, we describe data in rodents and humans linking signaling molecules that center around the NMDARs, and behaviors associated with the development and/or maintenance of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Specifically, we show that enzymes that participate in the regulation of NMDAR function including Fyn kinase as well as signaling cascades downstream of NMDAR including calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CamKII), the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPAR) and the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) play a major role in mechanisms underlying alcohol drinking behaviors. Finally, we emphasize the brain region specificity of alcohol's actions on the above-mentioned signaling pathways and attempt to bridge the gap between the molecular signaling that drive learning and memory processes and alcohol-dependent behavioral phenotypes. Finally, we present data to suggest that genes related to NMDAR signaling may be AUD risk factors.
A new methodological approach to adjust alcohol exposure distributions to improve the estimation of alcohol-attributable fractions.

Background and Aims To assess the burden of excessive alcohol use, researchers routinely estimate alcohol-attributable fractions (AAFs). However, underreporting in survey data can bias these estimates. We present an approach that adjusts for underreporting in the estimation of AAFs, particularly across subgroups. This framework is a refinement of a previous method (Rehm et al., 2010). Methods We use a measurement error model to derive the “true” alcohol distribution from a “reported” alcohol distribution. The “true” distribution leverages per capita sales data to identify the distribution average and then identifies the shape of the distribution with self-reported survey data. Data are from the National Alcohol Survey (NAS), the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), and the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). We compared our approach with previous approaches by estimating the AAF of female breast cancer cases. Results Compared with Rehm et al.’s approach, our refinement performs similarly under a gamma assumption. For example, among females aged 18–25, the two approaches produce estimates from NHSDA that are within a percentage point. However, relaxing the gamma assumption generally produces more conservative evidence. For example, among females aged 18–25, estimates from NHSDA based on the best-fitting distribution are only 19.33 percent of breast cancer cases, which is a much smaller proportion than the gamma-based estimates of about 28 percent. Conclusions A refinement of Rehm et al.’s approach to adjusting for underreporting in the estimation of alcohol-attributable fractions provides more flexibility. This flexibility can avoid biases associated with failing to account for the underlying differences in alcohol consumption patterns across different study populations. Comparisons of our refinement with Rehm et al.’s approach show that results are similar when a gamma distribution is assumed. However, results are appreciably lower when the best-fitting distribution is chosen versus gamma-based results.
Playing with Ideas for Creativity and Learning: Play as a Transdisciplinary Habit of Mind

“Playing” is most often considered a pastime of those who have yet to reach an age that requires two digits, or perhaps the lucky few who have found themselves athletically inclined enough to make a career in sport. The “just for fun” view of play often precludes it from immediate association with schools (with the exception of recess), learning, or as a particularly productive habit of mind. Rather than isolating it from these kinds of endeavors, however, play can offer a critical service in the creative process for both old and young alike (Conklin, 2014; Mishra, Koehler, & Henriksen, 2011; Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 1999). In fact, play is not only an aspect of life that brings joy, fun and meaning—core elements unto themselves, but is foundational to the way that we learn and develop throughout life.
Continuous belief functions for evidential reasoning

Some recently developed expert systems have used the Shafer-Dempster theory for reasoning from multiple bodies of evidence. Many expert-system applications require belief to be specified over arbitrary ranges of scalar variables, such as time, distance or sensor measurements. The utility of the existing Shafer-Dempster theory is limited by the lack of an effective approach for dealing with beliefs about continuous variables. This paper introduces a new representation of belief for continuous variables that provides both a conceptual framework and a computationally tractable implementation within the Shafer-Dempster theory.
Evaluation of Herbicides in Corn and Soybean

Roundup Ready soybeans were planted no-till with a drill on May 4. Immediately prior to planting the area was treated with 1 qt Roundup Ultra to control winter annuals and emerged annual weeds. Preemergence herbicide treatments were applied on May 5. Early postemergence treatments were applied on June 5 when foxtail was 4”, common sunflower was 8” and soybeans were at V2 stage. Postemergence treatments were applied on June 16 when foxtail was 6-12”, sunflower was 8-16” and soybeans were at the V4 stage. Plot size was 10’ by 30’ and all treatments were replicated three times. Herbicides were applied with a backpack sprayer in 20 gallons of water per acre at 40 PSI. Weed control was evaluated on July 6.
Comparing Theories of Speaker Choice Using a Model of Classifier Production in Mandarin Chinese

Speakers often have more than one way to express the same meaning. What general principles govern speaker choice in the face of optionality when near semantically invariant alternation exists? Studies have shown that optional reduction in language is sensitive to contextual predictability, such that more predictable a linguistic unit is, the more likely it is to get reduced. Yet it is unclear whether these cases of speaker choice are driven by audience design versus toward facilitating production. Here we argue that for a different optionality phenomenon, namely classifier choice in Mandarin Chinese, Uniform Information Density and at least one plausible variant of availability-based production make opposite predictions regarding the relationship between the predictability of the upcoming material and speaker choices. In a corpus analysis of Mandarin Chinese, we show that the distribution of speaker choices supports the availability-based production account and not the Uniform Information Density.
Functional Changes in Benthic Freshwater Communities after Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas) Invasion and Consequences for Filtration

Dreissena is extremely abundant in waters it invades, and dramatically changes benthic invertebrate communities in terms of total biomass, species composition, and the relative abundance of functional groups. We analyzed the relative abundance of feeding functional groups of the benthic community before and after zebra mussel invasion in three Belarussian lakes, four lakes after invasion only, and one lake in the same region that has not been invaded. After invasion, benthic structure was dominated by one trophic group — filterers. This group accounted for greater than 96% of the total biomass of benthic invertebrates. We found that the relative abundance of feeding functional groups in the rest of the benthic community, without including Dreissena biomass, was also different in lakes examined before and after zebra mussel invasion. Before invasion and in the un invaded lake, planktonic invertebrates filtered a volume equivalent to the volume of the lake within few days, and were more than 200 times more effective than benthic filterers, which would take about 4 years to filter an equivalent volume. After Dreissena invaded the lakes, the total average biomass of all benthic invertebrates (including zebra mussels) increased more than 20 times. The filtration efficiency of the benthic community increased greater than 70 times, and the time required to filter the volume of the lake was not significantly different than that for zooplankton. These dramatic changes will alter the relative roles of the plankton and benthos in a variety of ecosystem functions, especially the movement of carbon from the plankton to the benthos.
Development of a translational medicine protocol for an NCTN genitourinary clinical trial: Critical steps, common pitfalls and a basic guide to translational clinical research

Abstract Translational medicine (TM) components of prospective clinical trials provide an invaluable opportunity to test hypotheses that contribute to our knowledge of human disease biology and/or the mechanism of action of a given therapeutic intervention. Our ability to sample tumors and their microenvironment, and the depth and breadth of biological information that can be extracted from them, has increased exponentially in recent years. This information is critical to guide the next steps clinical research if we are to accelerate the pace of progress in cancer treatment. Thus, TM studies should be considered key components of any clinical trial. However, TM studies are costly and biologic sampling can impose significant morbidity on our patients. Therefore, TM investigators should be engaged early in the design process (similar to a statistician) to ensure that the most imperative research questions are rigourosly defined, that the obtained specimens can be used to answer them and that the results will serve as the foundation for additional studies. In this review, we focus on TM studies in the context of the National Cancer Institute's National Clinical Trials Network trials and offer a description of the genesis of TM components, methods in sample acquisition and biomarker research, and a guide to funding mechanisms, in order to provide a blueprint for future TM research protocols. While TM studies can take many forms, the research discussed primarily focusses on basic and translational research involving molecular, cellular, and immunobiology.
Probabilistic model of degradation of cable insulations in nuclear power plants

Possible degradation of cable insulations exposed to radiation and heat is a safety and operational concern for nuclear power plants, particularly in the context of a license extension for the oper...
A latent class analysis of cognitive empowerment and ethnic identity: An examination of heterogeneity between profile groups on dimensions of emotional psychological empowerment and social justice orientation among urban youth of color.

Psychological empowerment (PE) encompasses key aspects of youth development and civic engagement. Empowerment scholarship has largely focused on the intrapersonal or emotional component of PE, which considers perceptions of control and self-efficacy, specifically in the sociopolitical sphere. Fewer studies have assessed the interactional or cognitive component of PE. Even less have examined the empirical association aspects of PE, including cognitive empowerment, with conceptually related variables, such as ethnic identity. Those studies that are present have shown that the association between aspects of PE and ethnic identity are complex. The current study of urban high school students of color (N = 383; 53.1% female; 75% Hispanic/Latinx) investigates the heterogeneity present between cognitive empowerment and ethnic identity. Latent class cluster analyses were conducted and five distinct profile groups emerged. Differences were observed on the basis of profile groups of cognitive empowerment and ethnic identity on self-reported dimensions of emotional PE (e.g., leadership and policy control) and social justice orientation. The majority of study participants were clustered in groups that identified moderate to high levels of both cognitive empowerment and ethnic identity. Results provide useful insights for theory and programming.
Making Use of Complexity: Crafting a City Strategy in Institutional Dialogue

This paper contributes to our understanding of the use of societal institutions in interaction, as they are adapted to an evolving cultural, social, and economic context. It does so by taking a pra...
False Negative And False Positive Free Nanopore Fabrication Via Adaptive Learning Of The Controlled Dielectric Breakdown

We investigate the current transport characteristics in the electrolyte-dielectric-electrolyte structure commonly used in the in-situ controlled breakdown (CBD) fabrication of solid-state nanopores. It is found that the stochastic breakdown process could lead to fidelity issues of false positives (an incorrect indication of a true nanopore formation) and false negatives (inability to detect initial nanopore formation). Robust and deterministic detection of initial physical breakdown to alleviate false positives and false negatives is critical for precise nanopore size control. To this end, we report a high fidelity moving ZScore method based CBD fabrication of solid-state nanopore. We demonstrate 100% success rate of realizing the initial nanopore conductance of 3±1 nS (corresponds to the size of 1.7±0.6 nm) regardless of the dielectric membrane characteristics. Our study also elucidates the Joule heating is the dominant mechanism for electric field-based nanopore enlargement. Single DNA molecule sensing using nanopores fabricated by this method was successfully demonstrated. We anticipate the moving ZScore based CBD method could enable broader access to the solid state nanopore-based single molecule analysis.