cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Burn scar carcinoma.

AbstractIntroduction: Since Jean-Nicolas Marjolin reported carcinoma arising in post-traumatic scars in 1828, the term ‘Marjolin ulcer’ has been applied to malignant changes in burn scars. Although many papers have been published already in this field, there are few reports from Oriental people. Methods: From 1989 to 2008, there were 11 cases noted as burn scar carcinoma in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Ten were reported as squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and the one was verrucous carcinoma. Most of the cases occurred in the extremities (10/11). Results: Ten cases underwent an operation initially with wide excision and skin graft or local flap for coverage. Forefoot amputation was performed in one patient. One patient received above-knee amputation and adjuvant therapy because recurrent verrucous carcinoma occurred 2 years later. One patient suffered from a new lesion 8 years later and another case had inguinal lymph node metastasis 8 months later. Five patients were lost to follow-up and six cases were tum...
Gyrate atrophy of the retina: inborn error of L-ornithin:2-oxoacid aminotransferase

Cultured fibroblasts from a patient with gyrate atrophy of the retina do not convert L-ornithine, uniformly labeled with carbon-14, to proline. This metabolic block is caused by deficient L-ornithine:2-oxoacid aminotransferase activity in the patient. Her heterozygote father has intermediate activity of this enzyme.
Limited success of HCV antiviral therapy in United States veterans.

Abstract OBJECTIVE: The treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in United States veterans has become a major task for the Veterans Administration Healthcare System. Although the comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of HCV-infected patients has been mandated, little is known about the performance characteristics of HCV clinics and about the outcomes of antiviral therapy in this unique patient population. METHODS: We retrospectively examined clinic show rates, treatment eligibility, and the response to antiviral therapy in a dedicated HCV outpatient clinic in a large urban Veterans Affairs medical center. RESULTS: Our data demonstrate that few veterans—regardless of their age or ethnic background—pursue evaluation and treatment of their HCV infection by hepatologists. A minority of those patients who undergo a comprehensive clinic evaluation meet the standard eligibility criteria for antiviral therapy. The overall efficacy of antiviral treatment, as measured by the sustained virological response rate, is substantially lower than previously reported in randomized clinical trials. HCV-infected veterans are characterized by a unique combination of risk factors that are predictive of a poor response to antiviral therapy, including a preponderance of male gender, HCV genotype I, age > 40 yr, and histologically advanced degrees of liver disease. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates the limitations of outpatient HCV treatment initiatives in the United States veteran population, and suggests that the overall impact of current HCV treatment programs may be small.
Intraoperative fluoroscopy, portable X-ray, and CT: patient and operating room personnel radiation exposure in spinal surgery

Abstract Background context Intraoperative imaging is essential in spinal surgery to both determine the correct level and place implants safely. Surgeons have a variety of options: C-arm fluoroscopy (C-arm), portable X-ray (XR) radiography, and portable cone-beam computed tomography (O-arm). Although these modalities have their respective advantages and disadvantages, direct comparison of radiation exposure to either the patient or the operating room (OR) staff has not been made. Purpose To determine the amount of radiation exposure to patients and OR staff during spine surgery with C-arm, XR, and O-arm. Study design An experimental model to assess radiation exposure to OR staff and phantom patient during spine surgery. Methods A plastic phantom was created to emulate patient volume and absorption scattering characteristics of a typical sized adult abdominal volume. Radiation exposure was measured with ion chamber dosimeters to determine entrance phantom and scatter exposures at common positions occupied by OR staff for C-arm, XR, and O-arm in typical image acquisition during spinal surgery. Results Single lateral (LAT)/posterior-anterior entrance patient radiation exposure for C-arm was on average 116/102 mR, single-exposure XR for LAT/anterior-posterior (AP) was 3,435/2,160 mR, and single-exposure O-arm for LAT/AP was 4,360/5,220 mR. O-arm surface exposure LAT/AP was equivalent to 38/41 C-arm and 1.5/2.4 XR exposures. The surgeon and surgeon assistant had higher levels of scatter radiation for C-arm, followed by O-arm and XR. For the LAT C-arm acquisition, a 7.7-fold increase in radiation exposure was measured on the X-ray tube side compared with the detector side. The anesthesiologist scatter radiation level for a single acquisition was highest for O-arm, followed by XR and C-arm. The radiologic technologist scatter radiation level was highest for XR, followed by O-arm and fluoroscopy. Overall radiation exposure to OR staff was less than 4.4 mR for a single acquisition in all modalities. Conclusions Assessment of radiation risk to the patient and OR staff should be part of the decision for utilization of any specific imaging modality during spinal surgery. This study provides the surgeon with information to better weigh the risks and benefits of each imaging modality.
Reduced Chrna7 expression in C3H mice is associated with increases in hippocampal parvalbumin and glutamate decarboxylase-67 (GAD67) as well as altered levels of GABAA receptor subunits

Decreased expression of CHRNA7, the gene encoding the α7(∗) subtype of nicotinic receptor, may contribute to the cognitive dysfunction observed in schizophrenia by disrupting the inhibitory/excitatory balance in the hippocampus. C3H mice with reduced Chrna7 expression have significant reductions in hippocampal α7(∗) receptor density, deficits in hippocampal auditory gating, increased hippocampal activity as well as significant decreases in hippocampal glutamate decarboxylase-65 (GAD65) and γ-aminobutyric acid-A (GABAA) receptor levels. The current study investigated whether altered Chrna7 expression is associated with changes in the levels of parvalbumin, GAD67 and/or GABAA receptor subunits in the hippocampus from male and female C3H Chrna7 wildtype, C3H Chrna7 heterozygous and C3H Chrna7 knockout (KO) mice using quantitative Western immunoblotting. Reduced Chrna7 expression was associated with significant increases in hippocampal parvalbumin and GAD67 and with complex alterations in GABAA receptor subunits. A decrease in α3 subunit protein was seen in both female C3H Chrna7 Het and KO mice while a decrease in α4 subunit protein was also detected in C3H Chrna7 KO mice with no sex difference. In contrast, an increase in δ subunit protein was observed in C3H Chrna7 Het mice while a decrease in this subunit was observed in C3H Chrna7 KO mice, with δ subunit protein levels being greater in males than in females. Finally, an increase in γ2 subunit protein was found in C3H Chrna7 KO mice with the levels of this subunit again being greater in males than in females. The increases in hippocampal parvalbumin and GAD67 observed in C3H Chrna7 mice are contrary to reports of reductions in these proteins in the postmortem hippocampus from schizophrenic individuals. We hypothesize that the disparate results may occur because of the influence of factors other than CHRNA7 that have been found to be abnormal in schizophrenia.
Self-assembled Shells Composed of Colloidal Particles: Fabrication and Characterization

We construct shells with tunable morphology and mechanical response with colloidal particles that self-assemble at the interface of emulsion droplets. Particles self-assemble to minimize the total interfacial energy, spontaneously forming a particle layer that encapsulates the droplets. We stabilize these layers to form solid shells at the droplet interface by aggregating the particles, connecting the particles with adsorbed polymer, or fusing the particles. These techniques reproducibly yield shells with controllable properties such as elastic moduli and breaking forces. To enable diffusive exchange through the particle shells, we transfer them into solvents that are miscible with the encapsulant. We characterize the mechanical properties of the shells by measuring the response to deformation by calibrated microcantilevers.
Scheduling and data distribution in a multiprocessor video server

We address the problem of distributing and scheduling movies on a multiprocessor video server. We also address the issue of scheduling communication over the multiprocessor switch for the playback of the scheduled movies. A solution is proposed that addresses these three issues at once. The proposed solution minimizes contention for links over the switch. The proposed solution makes movie scheduling very simple-if the first block of the movie is scheduled, the rest of the movie is automatically scheduled. Moreover, if the first block of the movie stream is scheduled without network contention, the proposed solution guarantees that there will be no network contention during the entire duration of playback of that movie.
Mechanisms, Pathophysiology, and Therapy of Arterial Stiffness

Arterial stiffness is a growing epidemic associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events, dementia, and death. Decreased compliance of the central vasculature alters arterial pressure and flow dynamics and impacts cardiac performance and coronary perfusion. This article reviews the structural, cellular, and genetic contributors to arterial stiffness, including the roles of the scaffolding proteins, extracellular matrix, inflammatory molecules, endothelial cell function, and reactive oxidant species. Additional influences of atherosclerosis, glucose regulation, chronic renal disease, salt, and changes in neurohormonal regulation are discussed. A review of the hemodynamic impact of arterial stiffness follows. A number of lifestyle changes and therapies that reduce arterial stiffness are presented, including weight loss, exercise, salt reduction, alcohol consumption, and neuroendocrine-directed therapies, such as those targeting the renin-angiotensin aldosterone system, natriuretic peptides, insulin modulators, as well as novel therapies that target advanced glycation end products.
Molecular inversion probes reveal patterns of 9p21 deletion and copy number aberrations in childhood leukemia

Childhood leukemia, which accounts for > 30% of newly diagnosed childhood malignancies, is one of the leading causes of death for children with cancer. Genome-wide studies using microarray chips to identify copy number changes in human cancer are becoming more common. In this pilot study, 45 pediatric leukemia samples were analyzed for gene copy aberrations using novel molecular inversion probe (MIP) technology. Acute leukemia subtypes included precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (n = 23), precursor T-cell ALL (n = 6), and acute myeloid leukemia (n = 14). The MIP analysis identified 69 regions of recurring copy number changes, of which 41 have not been identified with other DNA microarray platforms. Copy number gains and losses were validated in 98% of clinical karyotypes and 100% of fluorescence in situ hybridization studies available. We report unique patterns of copy number loss in samples with 9p21.3 (CDKN2A) deletion in the precursor B-cell ALL patients, compared with the precursor T-cell ALL patients. MIPs represent an attractive technology for identifying novel copy number aberrations, validating previously reported copy number changes, and translating molecular findings into clinically relevant targets for further investigation.
Conformational constraints in solid-state NMR of uniformly labeled polypeptides from double single-quantum-filtered rotational echo double resonance.

A solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique is described for obtaining constraints on the backbone conformation of a protein or peptide that is prepared with uniform 15N,13C labeling of consecutive pairs of amino acids or of longer segments. The technique, called double single-quantum-filtered rotational echo double resonance (DSQ-REDOR), uses frequency-selective REDOR to prepare DSQ coherences involving directly bonded backbone 13CO and 15NH sites, to dephase these coherences under longer-range 15NH13CO dipole-dipole couplings in a conformationally dependent manner, and to convert the remaining DSQ coherences to detectable transverse 13C-spin polarization. The efficacy of DSQ-REDOR is demonstrated in experiments on two isotopically labeled samples, the helical peptide MB(i + 4)EK and the amyloid-forming peptide Aβ11–25. Published in 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Some Results About Borel Sets in Descriptive Set Theory of Hyperfinite Sets

A remarkable result of Henson and Ross [HR] states that if a function whose graph is Souslin in the product of two hyperfinite sets in an ℵ1 saturated nonstandard universe possesses a certain nice property (capacity) then there exists an internal subfunction of the given one possessing the same property. In particular, they prove that every 1-1 Souslin function preserves any internal counting measure, and show that every two internal sets A and B with ∣A∣/∣B∣ ≈ 1 are Borel bijective. As a supplement to the last-mentioned result of Henson and Ross, Keisler, Kunen, Miller and Leth showed [KKML] that two internal sets A and B are bijective by a countably determined bijection if and only if ∣A∣/∣B∣ is finite and not infinitesimal.In this paper we first show that injective Borel functions map Borel sets into Borel sets, a fact well known in classical descriptive set theory. Then, we extend the result of Henson and Ross concerning the Borel bijectivity of internal sets whose quotient of cardinalities is infinitely closed to 1. We prove that two Borel sets, to which we may assign a counting measure not equal to 0 or ∞, are Borel bijective if and only if they have the same counting measure ≠0, ∞. This, together with the similar characterization for Souslin and measurable countably determined sets, extends the above-mentioned results from [HR] and [KKML].
Attitudes Toward Spirituality/Religion Among Members of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies

Attitudes toward spirituality and religion (S/R) have not been systematically surveyed among practitioners of cognitive‐behavior therapy. We therefore administered a brief survey about S/R to n!262 members of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT). Approximately half the sample reported a strong sense of spirituality (54%) however, religious affiliation, belief in God, religious practice, and intrinsic religiosity were substantially lower than that of the general population in the United States. Further, 36% of respondents reported some discomfort in addressing S/R issues with clients, 19% reported never/rarely inquiring about S/R, and 71% reported little-to-no previous clinical training in this area. Higher levels of personal S/R involvement predicted greater perception that S/R is relevant to mental health and greater comfort/frequency of addressing S/R in treatment, however this interacted with previous training, suggesting that training can promote the provision of spiritually competent care regardless of practitioners’ levels of personal S/R involvement.
A general-purpose custom-designed assembler in C

In this paper, we introduced the design and implementation of a general-purpose assembler that can be written and modified to be adaptive for any given assembly language to generate the target machine code and carry out the execution. The system consists of a parsing module and an execution module. The former generates the target machine code from an inputted assembly language code, and the latter simulates the hardware operation of a computer and executes the instructions. Due to its versatility and flexibility, this assembler allows easy modification to reconfigure itself for implementing any given instruction set architecture. As the major objective of this project, the assembler can help students to learn assembly-language programming and develop an in-depth understanding of its close relationship with the instruction set architecture.
Lateral Hip Pain in an Athletic Population: Differential Diagnosis and Treatment Options:

Context:Historically, the term greater trochanteric pain syndrome has been used to describe a spectrum of conditions that cause lateral-sided hip pain, including greater trochanteric bursitis, snapping iliotibial band, and/or strains or tendinopathy of the abductor mechanism. Diagnosis of these conditions may be difficult because clinical presentations are variable and sometimes inconclusive. Especially difficult is differentiating intrinsic pain from pain referred to the greater trochanteric region. The purposes of this article are to review the relevant anatomy and pathophysiology of the lateral hip.Evidence Acquisition:Data were collected through a thorough review of the literature conducted through a MEDLINE search of all relevant papers between 1980 and January 2010.Results:Recent advances in imaging and an improved understanding of pathomechanics have helped to guide the evaluation, diagnosis, and appropriate treatment for patients presenting with lateral hip pain.Conclusion:Various diagnostic tools...
No-regret learning in convex games

Quite a bit is known about minimizing different kinds of regret in experts problems, and how these regret types relate to types of equilibria in the multiagent setting of repeated matrix games. Much less is known about the possible kinds of regret in online convex programming problems (OCPs), or about equilibria in the analogous multiagent setting of repeated convex games. This gap is unfortunate, since convex games are much more expressive than matrix games, and since many important machine learning problems can be expressed as OCPs. In this paper, we work to close this gap: we analyze a spectrum of regret types which lie between external and swap regret, along with their corresponding equilibria, which lie between coarse correlated and correlated equilibrium. We also analyze algorithms for minimizing these regret types. As examples of our framework, we derive algorithms for learning correlated equilibria in polyhedral convex games and extensive-form correlated equilibria in extensive-form games. The former is exponentially more efficient than previous algorithms, and the latter is the first of its type.
Hilbert's 'Foundations of Physics': Gravitation and Electromagnetism Within the Axiomatic Method

Abstract In November and December 1915, Hilbert presented two communications to the Gottingen Academy of Sciences under the common title ‘The Foundations of Physics’. Versions of each eventually appeared in the Nachrichten of the Academy. Hilbert's first communication has received significant reconsideration in recent years, following the discovery of printer's proofs of this paper, dated 6 December 1915. The focus has been primarily on the ‘priority dispute’ over the Einstein field equations. Our contention, in contrast, is that the discovery of the December proofs makes it possible to see the thematic linkage between the material that Hilbert cut from the published version of the first communication and the content of the second, as published in 1917. The latter has been largely either disregarded or misinterpreted, and our aim is to show that (a) Hilbert's two communications should be regarded as part of a wider research program within the overarching framework of ‘the axiomatic method’ (as Hilbert expressly stated was the case), and (b) the second communication is a fine and coherent piece of work within this framework, whose principal aim is to address an apparent tension between general invariance and causality (in the precise sense of Cauchy determination), pinpointed in Theorem I of the first communication. This is not the same problem as that found in Einstein's ‘hole argument’—something that, we argue, never confused Hilbert.
Robust global asymptotic stabilization of a 6-DOF rigid body by quaternion-based hybrid feedback

The problem of robust, global asymptotic stabilization of a rigid body is hampered by major topological obstructions. These obstructions prevent a continuous state feedback from solving the problem and also lead to robustness issues when (non-hybrid) discontinuous feedback is applied. In this paper, we extend a hybrid control strategy proposed in a companion paper for robust, global asymptotic stabilization of rigid body attitude to the case where translation is also considered. Through Lyapunov analysis, we develop quaternion-based hysteretic hybrid control laws in the kinematic and dynamic settings. In the dynamic setting, two control laws are derived: one from an energy-based Lyapunov function and one by backstepping. Robustness to measurement noise is asserted by employing recently developed stability theory for hybrid systems. A comparison between discontinuous and hysteretic feedback under measurement noise is shown in simulation.
Fiction and Religion in Boccaccio and Chaucer

By their natures, literature and religion can never converge, but the study of them converges often. This is illustrated here in the instance of Boccaccio's influence on Chaucer. We discern in the late Middle Ages two attitudes toward fiction. Although the religious sensibility that holds this world in contempt rejects fiction as a vanity, fictions simultaneously emerge into literature as a justification for espousing this world. Boccaccio's // Filostrato and the Decameron appealed to both these attitudes, and Chaucer, perceiving Boccaccio's stances, reacted against them in Troilus and Criseyde and The Cantebury Tales. II Filostrato is an unusual romance, a story of pagan sexuality, distanced from the audience, and without the usual conventions and moralizing. Chaucer saw // Filostrato as an ironic fiction, its aesthetic distance forcing the reader to call upon his own moral experience to use the vain tale for good or ill. Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde reverses the method of // Filostrato; Chaucer supplies the usual conventions and the expected moral tone, eliminates the aesthetic distance, and instead involves the reader. When we compare the Decameron and The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer's method again reverses that of Boccaccio, except that now Bocaccio asks the reader to participate, whereas Chaucer keeps him at a distance. The plot of the Decameron follows a predictable ritual, that of The Canterbury Tales is a planned game in which every rule is broken. The outer frame of the Decameron is static and pessimistic (the plague in Florence), that of The Canterbury Tales is dynamic and optimistic (a pilgrimage with a desired end). In the inner form of the Decameron the tales serve as pleasant escapes, but in The Canterbury Tales the story-telling reveals the darker side of human life. Boccaccio and Chaucer develop two conceptions of fiction. Boccaccio implies a contempt for the world as merely temporal, in which fiction is an escapist fantasy; Chaucer's fiction is grounded in the experience of this world and addresses itself to existence. Paradoxically, Boccaccio appears more medieval than Chaucer. The study of the influence of Boccaccio on Chaucer illustrates Harold Bloom's "anxiety of influence"; it also enables us to see Chaucer as the initiator of "literary humanism," the defense of literary experiences as the confrontation of human values.
Zoo animal protection in the event of thermonuclear catastrophes

One-hundred and fifteen zoos in 41 countries (including the United States) were surveyed by questionnaire concerning current and anticipated plans for the protection of zoo animals in the event of thermonuclear catastrophes. Of these, 78 (68.00%) in 23 (56.00%) of the countries responded. The results indicate that 91.00% of these zoos do not have such animal protection. Psychological and philosophical factors are discussed briefly as they allegedly bear on this situation. Preliminary guidelines for a zoo animal defense program are offered in the closing section.
Extrusion of polystyrene nanocomposite foams with supercritical CO2

Intercalated and exfoliated polystyrene/nano-clay composites were prepared by mechanical blending and in situ polymerization respectively. The composites were then foamed by using CO 2 as the foaming agent in an extrusion foaming process. The resulting foam structure is compared with that of pure polystyrene and polystyrene/talc composite. At a screw rotation speed of 10 rpm and a die temperature of 200°C, the addition of a small amount (i.e., 5 wt%) of intercalated nano-clay greatly reduces cell size from 25.3 to 11.1 μm and increases cell density from 2.7 x 10 7 to 2.8 x 10 8 cells/cm 3 . Once exfoliated, the nanocomposite exhibits the highest cell density (1.5 x 10 9 cells/cm 3 ) and smallest cell size (4.9 μm) at the same particle concentration. Compared with polystyrene foams, the nanocomposite foams exhibit higher tensile modulus, improved fire retardance, and better barrier property. Combining nanocomposites and the extrusion foaming process provides a new technique for the design and control of cell structure in microcellular foams.
From Bad to Worse: The Unraveling of the Campaign Finance System

This article argues that the campaign finance system has deteriorated under the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA). The system retains the vices of the former regime while jettisoning its virtues. Although successful at banning national party soft money, achieving this narrow goal has come at high cost. Significant problems remain or worsen including the time politicians spend fundraising, the unfair distribution of campaign money, and arrangements that weaken political parties and empower interest groups. Critically, public trust in the system has not changed at all since passage of BCRA. The essay closes by offering modest suggestions to improve the state of affairs.
Decomposition of the Beef and Pork Cycles

C ONSIDERABLE interest has been expressed recently in improving C_y agricultural market forecasts for both public and private purposes.2 To facilitate the development of alternative market forecasting procedures, two production cycles-beef and pork-were studied in terms of the several interacting components of these cycles. Commercial beef and pork production in each cycle was related, first, to the level of livestock inventories on farms and, finally, to the level of market prices at the time of decision making in livestock production. In this study the beef and pork output cycles were decomposed into the livestock classes and the time sequence of interrelated events that meaningfully characterize their operation during the 12-year period, 1949-1960. Though a rather short period of years was included in the estimation of the functional relationships, the data were adequate for showing some relevant interrelations among the price and quantity variables that depict the operation of the beef-pork economy in the United States.
The Body of Faith: A Biological History of Religion in America. By Robert C. Fuller

The Body of Faith: A Biological History of Religion in America. By Robert C. Fuller. University of Chicago Press, 2013. xiv + 231 pages. $35.00. Robert Fuller’s The Body of Faith is a wonderfully ambitious and wide-ranging effort designed to bring the biological body into the history of religion in America and by extension into the study of religion more generally. In contrast to works that focus on discourse about the body, Fuller focuses on the evolved biological body in order to suggest what an interdisciplinary approach informed by recent work in the natural sciences can add to our understanding of historical events and processes. His thesis that “explaining religious thought or feeling requires at least some attention to their biological substrates” (183-184) is straightforward and at the same time challenging. It is no longer adequate, he argues, to assume that “humans come into the world as blank slates awaiting culture’s imprint” (viii). Although he does not reject the postmodernist approach to the body as a site for the contestation of power, he thinks it has over- accentuated differences and underestimated the potential contributions of the biological and psychological sciences (viii-ix). Locating historical research at the critical intersection of various humanistic and scientific approaches, he argues that “historians must become more interdisciplinary or risk having their technical skills appear woefully out-of-date (180). Fuller is an Americanist by training and the book is published in the Chicago History of American Religion Series, which has consistently offered innovative contributions to rethinking American religious history. In offering a new approach, Fuller was faced with the challenge of making a largely synchronic argument for the importance of research on the biological body in a book series in which authors typically trace a theme from the colonial era to the present. His solution–to focus on a chronologically arranged series of puzzles on which the biological approach can shed light–gives an elegant nod to the expectations of the series, while at the same
An Update to the Merchant Orthogonal Force Diagram (MFD)

Metal cutting as a science remains more art than science. A truly predictive model for use in quantitative modeling has eluded researchers to date, leading the noted mathematician, R. Hill [1] to observe that “it is notorious that the extant theories of the mechanics of machining do not agree well with experiment”. Extensive experiments with a videographic quick stop device (VQSD) by the author indicate an extremely simple reason for these disagreements. A simple correction that is applicable to all of the classic orthogonal models of metal cutting is presented. A detailed application to the classic Merchant Force Diagram is presented.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Attention and attribute overlap in preferential choice

Attributes that are common, or overlapping, across alternatives in two-alternative forced preferential choice tasks are often non-diagnostic. In many settings, attending to and evaluating these attributes does not help the decision maker determine which of the available alternatives is the most desirable. For this reason, many existing behavioural theories propose that decision makers ignore common attributes while deliberating. Across six experiments, we find that decision makers do direct their attention selectively and ignore attributes that are not present in or associated with either of the available alternatives. However, they are as likely to attend to common attributes as they are to attend to attributes that are unique to a single alternative. These results suggest the need for novel theories of attention in preferential choice.
Percutaneous Absorption in the Aged

This article reviews the literature pertinent to percutaneous absorption in the aged and compares the results to behavior seen in young adults. A well-defined function relating aging, percutaneous penetration, and the physicochemical properties of the transporting molecules is absent. Recent experimental approaches designed to resolve this dilemma and address the basic question are described and future areas for research are identified.
AN ANALYTICAL SOLUTION TO MULTIVARIABLE NONLINEAR MPC FOR SECOND-ORDER LAGUERRE SYSTEMS

Abstract An analytical solution to the multivariable (two-input, two-output) nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) problem was derived for systems represented by (Volterra-)Laguerre models. The standard two-norm squared NMPC objective function was employed, and the minimization was carried out with m = 1 and over the prediction horizon, p. The polynomial structure of the system model yielded a polynomial objective function for the NMPC problem. Differentiation of this scalar objective function with respect to the manipulated input variables provided the first-order necessary conditions for optimality: a set of nu (equal to the number of inputs) coupled polynomials. Via Grobner basis transformation, this set of polynomials was converted to a structured set of higher-order polynomials solvable via roots calculations and back-substitution. The algorithm was tested using a two-input two-output polymerization case study.
Analysis of Organophosphate and Carbamate Pesticides and Anticholinesterase Therapeutic Agents

Publisher Summary By nature, analytical results are variable. The science of trace analysis (analysis at parts per million or below levels) is not as precise as most layman and many scientists view it to be. In To be able to determine trace levels of organophosphates (OPs) and carbamates (CMs) in the environment and biological, food, and feed samples, it is necessary to follow a series of operations. Note that most of the advancements and improvements in the analytical methods have occurred by making necessary changes and improvements in various steps used in analytical methods. The various steps in an analytical method are: extraction of the sample, cleanup and purification of the sample extract, concentration of purified extract, separation from impurities and detection, and confirmation. This chapter discusses the various steps briefly, and the recent trends for each step. With the technological advancements in gas and liquid chromatography as well as detection devices, faster and more reliable analytical methods are possible. With advancements in the technology of mass spectrometry and data handling units, which are coupled with libraries of a large number of chemical compounds (mass spectral data), it has become easier to identify and confirm pesticides as well as other compounds. Analytical methods for the analysis of new specific metabolites of OPs will be highly useful for retrospective evaluation of OP exposure. Because CMs are phenyl N-methyl esters of carbamic, they produce mainly phenols as metabolites. The development of MRM methods for both specific and nonspecific DAPs would considerably aid in the diagnosis of OP and CM exposure.
Determination of Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency: Comparison of Three Methods

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, inherited as a sex-linked trait, is the most common enzyme defect of erythrocytes. Three methods for the determination of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency were compared. Each method is a kit procedure from the Sigma Chemical Company. Two of the methods are qualitative: the visual fluorometric and the visual colorimetric procedures. The third method is a spectrophotometric analysis performed at 340 nm. For this sample of 44 subjects, the three procedures generally gave parallel results. Discrepancies that were seen with five of the samples centered primarily around the fluorometric procedure.
A machine learning based approach for identifying traumatic brain injury patients for whom a head CT scan can be avoided

Head CT scan is more often used to evaluate patients with suspected traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the use of head CT scans in evaluating TBI is costly with low value endeavor. In this paper, we propose a new algorithm and a set of features to help clinicians determine which patients evaluated for TBI need a head CT scan using cost sensitive random forest (CSRF) classifier. We show that random forest (RF) and CSRF are useful methods for identifying patients likely to have a positive head CT scan. The proposed algorithm has superior diagnostic accuracy in comparison to the Canadian head CT algorithm, which is currently the most accurate and widely used algorithm for determining which TBI patients need a head CT scan. In the highest sensitivity (i.e. 100%), our method outperforms the Canadian rule in terms of specificity, accuracy and area under ROC curve using cost sensitive classifier. Clinical implementation of this algorithm can help decrease financial costs associated with Emergency Department evaluations for traumatic brain injury, while decreasing patient exposure to avoidable ionizing radiation.
Formation and Persistence of Brine on Mars: Experimental Simulations throughout the Diurnal Cycle at the Phoenix Landing Site.

Abstract In the last few years, water ice and salts capable of melting this ice and producing liquid saline water (brine) have been detected on Mars. Moreover, indirect evidence for brine has been found in multiple areas of the planet. Here, we simulate full diurnal cycles of temperature and atmospheric water vapor content at the Phoenix landing site for the first time and show experimentally that, in spite of the low Mars-like chamber temperature, brine forms minutes after the ground temperature exceeds the eutectic temperature of salts in contact with water ice. Moreover, we show that the brine stays liquid for most of the diurnal cycle when enough water ice is available to compensate for evaporation. This is predicted to occur seasonally in areas of the polar region where the temperature exceeds the eutectic value and frost or snow is deposited on saline soils, or where water ice and salts coexist in the shallow subsurface. This is important because the existence of liquid water is a key requirement fo...
An energy-aware redistribution method for multi-agent dynamic coverage networks

This paper considers dynamic coverage control of unicycle multi-agent systems under power constraints. The agents under consideration implement a visually based patrol protocol. They observe their environment via forward-facing conical anisotropic sensing regions. A local coverage control strategy is presented that allows for the cooperative search of a domain while maintaining collision avoidance guarantees using a novel control method based on the coverage level. Additionally, a novel energy-aware global coverage technique is introduced that restricts the operating range of power-constrained agents while shifting the network redistribution effort onto less constrained agents. The results of several scenarios are presented in simulation to illustrate the efficacy of these algorithms.
A Hybrid Approach to Generation of Missing Abstracts in Biomedical Literature

Readers usually rely on abstracts to identify relevant medical information from scientific articles. Abstracts are also essential to advanced information retrieval methods. More than 50 thousand scientific publications in PubMed lack author-generated abstracts, and the relevancy judgements for these papers have to be based on their titles alone. In this paper, we propose a hybrid summarization technique that aims to select the most pertinent sentences from articles to generate an extractive summary in lieu of a missing abstract. We combine i) health outcome detection, ii) keyphrase extraction, and iii) textual entailment recognition between sentences. We evaluate our hybrid approach and analyze the improvements of multi-factor summarization over techniques that rely on a single method, using a collection of 295 manually generated reference summaries. The obtained results show that the hybrid approach outperforms the baseline techniques with an improvement of 13% in recall and 4% in F1 score.
State and Unknown Input Observers for Nonlinear Systems With Bounded Exogenous Inputs

A systematic design methodology for state observers for a large class of nonlinear systems with bounded exogenous inputs (disturbance inputs and sensor noise) is proposed. The nonlinearities under consideration are characterized by an incremental quadratic constraint parameterized by a set of multiplier matrices. Linear matrix inequalities are developed to construct observer gains, which ensure that a performance output based on the state estimation error satisfies a prescribed degree of accuracy. Furthermore, conditions guaranteeing estimation of the unknown inputs to arbitrary degrees of accuracy are provided. The proposed scheme is illustrated with a numerical example, which does not satisfy the so-called “matching conditions.”
Racial differences in prostate cancer treatment: The role of socioeconomic status

Objective: This study examines whether socioeconomic status (SES), measured at both the individual and neighborhood levels, is associated with receipt of definitive treatment for localized prostate cancer and whether these associations mediate racial differences in treatment between non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black men. Design: The Philadelphia Area Prostate Cancer Access Study (P2 Access) is a mailed, cross-sectional survey of men sampled from the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry, combined with neighborhood Census data. Setting: Eight counties in southeastern Pennsylvania. Participants: 2,386 men with prostate adenocarcinoma. Main Measures: Receipt of definitive treatment, race, self-reported income, education, employment status, and neighborhood SES. Results: Overall, Black and White men were equally likely to receive definitive treatment. Men living in neighborhoods with higher SES were more likely to receive definitive treatment (OR 1.57, 95%CI 1.01, 2.42). Among men who received definitive treatment, Black men were significantly less likely to receive radical prostatectomy compared with White men (OR .71, 95% CI .52, .98), as were men with some college education compared with those with a high school education or less (OR .66, 95% CI .47, .94). SES does not mediate racial differences in receipt of definitive treatment or the type of definitive treatment received, and associations with income or employment status were not significant. Conclusions: These results stress the importance of examining racial disparities within geographic areas and highlight the unique associations that different measures of SES, particularly neighborhood SES and education, may have with prostate cancer treatment. Ethn Dis. 2017;27(3):201-208; doi:10.18865/ed.27.3.201.
Supervisor as Informal Mentor

Abstract The available social work literature provides few references to a direct supervisor acting as a mentor to staff. This study, based on interviews with 39 career managers in a public child welfare agency, found that a large number of the managers had served as mentors and been proteges during their careers. Surprisingly, the study found that 92% (N = 36) of the managers reported that they had one or more mentors, and 77% that they had served as a mentor for others. The findings suggest that supervisors do choose to mentor some of their direct reports and that the benefits to the mentor and protege offer important considerations in the career development of child welfare personnel. Results of the study are reported in detail and implications for practice are drawn from the findings.
Securities Trading: Front-, Middle- and Back Office

This note explains the basic structure of the trading floor in a typical financial institution and how the front, middle and back offices interact to ensure a functioning trading system.
Social media interruption affects the acquisition of visually, not aurally, acquired information during a pathophysiology lecture

Poor academic performance from extensive social media usage appears to be due to students’ inability to multitask between distractions and academic work. However, the degree to which visually distr...
Taming the Wild Horse: An Annotated Translation and Study of the Daoist Horse Training Pictures by Louis Komjathy (review)

Louis Komjathy’s latest book, Taming the Wild Horse: An Annotated Translation and Study of the Daoist Horse Training Pictures, focuses on a set of illustrated poems from the Three Essentials for Cu...
Designing an Adaptive Tutor for CS-I Laboratory.

A Web-based adaptive tutoring system is being developed for a CS-I laboratory. The system dynamically adapts to each student's needs and gives a student immediate feedback during a lab session. The system currently contains the question tutor, the program tutor, and the course management components, which are interactive and dynamic. The tutoring components help students learn programming concepts through hands-on self-paced exercises. The course management component helps teachers prepare and maintain the lab materials. Experiments have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of this new tutoring system and promising preliminary results were obtained.
MULTIPLE BENZOMORPHAN BINDING SITES IN A CLONAL CELL LINE

NCB20 cells express two binding sites for [3H]ethylketocyclazocine. Enkephalins, norphinans and benzomorphans all compete for the higher affinity site which appears δ-like in character. At the lower affinity site enkephalins and most morphinans tested do not compete. Benzomorphans and PCP-like drugs do compete. Binding to such a site in the CNS may account for some of the non-opiate-like effects of benzomorphans.
Pressure injury prevention for paediatric cardiac surgical patients using a nurse-driven standardized clinical assessment and management plan

BackgroundThe description of pressure injury development is limited in children with CHD. Children who develop pressure injuries experience pain and suffering and are at risk for additional morbidity.ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to develop a standardized clinical assessment and management plan to describe the development of pressure injury in paediatric cardiac surgical patients and evaluate prevention strategies.MethodsUsing a novel quality improvement initiative, postoperative paediatric cardiac surgical patients were started on a nurse-driven pressure injury prevention standardized clinical assessment and management plan on admission. Data were recorded relevant to nursing assessments and management based on pre-defined targeted data statements and algorithm. Nursing feedback regarding diversions was recorded and analysed.ResultsData on 674 congenital paediatric cardiac surgical patients who met criteria were collected between May, 2011 and June, 2012. In 5918 patient days, a total of 4603 skin assessments were completed by nurses from the cardiac ICU and the cardiac inpatient unit, representing 77% of the expected assessments. The majority (70%, 21/30) of the 30 pressure injuries were medical-device-related and 30% (9/30) were immobility-related. The overall incidence of pressure injury was 4.4%: device-related was 3.1% and immobility-related was 1.3%. Most pressure injuries were Stage 1 (40%), followed by Stage 2 (26.7%), mucosal membrane injury (26.7%), and suspected deep tissue injuries (6.7%).ConclusionA nurse-driven pressure injury prevention standardized clinical assessment and management plan supported a programme-based evaluation of nursing practice and patient outcomes. Review of practices highlighted opportunities to standardise and focus prevention practices and ensure communication of patient vulnerabilities.
Upper Ocean Characteristics in Drake Passage and Adjoining Areas of the Southern Ocean, 39°W-95°W

A new description is presented of the hydrographic structure of the upper 1000 m in Drake Passage and adjoining Southern Ocean areas between 39° and 95°W. Based on 949 oceanographic stations (mostly summer observations) by various ships between 1927 and 1980, the characteristics show remarkable consistency, enabling us to produce meaningful horizontal distributions of water characteristics and relative geostrophic flow. Frontal positions and distinct water mass zones are easily recognized and mapped at several depths. Isopleths are constricted where the eastward-flowing Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) enters the Drake Passage and continues over shallower topography to the east. This forces a northward intensification of streamlines within the passage and a deflection to the north once the lateral constriction is passed. Wavelike patterns are associated with topographic features in the Scotia Sea. The largest gradients of near-surface characteristics are found next to the shelves of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula; but the gradients at deeper levels are largest in the Sub-Antarctic and Polar Fronts of the ACC. Within the Bransfield Strait, local processes form characteristics different from those in the surrounding seas, and their eastward extension may contribute to the Weddell-Scotia Confluence.