cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Evolution of Clinical Chemistry as Reflected in Textbooks Published in the United States

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, Dr. Thomas Annesley, Book Reviews Editor of Clinical Chemistry , felt that a review of clinical chemistry textbooks covering the past three decades would enable the younger generation of clinical chemists to appreciate the profound changes that have taken place in the clinical chemistry laboratory. He also felt that having worked in clinical chemistry laboratories for 40 years, which is tantamount to “being present at the creation”, qualified me for this assignment. While preparing this review, I recognized an interdependence among the practice of clinical chemistry and the contents of textbooks and Clinical Chemistry . As to what comes first, in my slightly biased opinion the Journal has set, and is setting, the pace for textbooks and laboratory practice. I focus on the book of N.W. Tietz, because comparison of the four editions depicts the dramatic changes that occurred in the clinical chemistry laboratory from 1970 to 1993, and on the 1964 book of R.J. Henry, because it was the most comprehensive and informative book of clinical chemistry of its time. Although there are several other important clinical chemistry textbooks, as depicted in Table 1⇓ , they were not reviewed because the changes between the first and last edition do not depict the metamorphosis of the clinical chemistry laboratory from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s. R.J. Henry published the first comprehensive textbook of clinical chemistry in 1964; it dealt almost exclusively with the analytical aspects of the new, evolving medical laboratory discipline. Its 29 chapters covered principles of spectrophotometry, flame photometry, gasometric techniques, electrophoresis, accuracy, precision, control charts, significant figures (still abused by most authors and journals), and normal values. Analytical methods were described for various proteins and amino acid metabolites found in urine in …
A Review of: “THE HETEROCYCLIC CHEMISTRY OF PHOSPHORUS, Louis D. Quin, John Wiley - Interscience, New York, N.Y., 1981 $47.50”

(1982). A Review of: “THE HETEROCYCLIC CHEMISTRY OF PHOSPHORUS, Louis D. Quin, John Wiley - Interscience, New York, N.Y., 1981 $47.50”. Synthesis and Reactivity in Inorganic and Metal-Organic Chemistry: Vol. 12, No. 6, pp. 795-796.
Effect of comonomer sorption on radiation‐induced copolymer grafting onto polyethylene and EVA films in the vapor phase

Radiation-induced copolymer grafting of acenaphthylene and maleic anhydride onto polyethylene or EVA film in the vapor phase was carried out and the effect of comonomer sorption on the grafting was studied. When polyethylene film was used as a backbone polymer, the sorption of the binary monomers during the grafting increased linearly as the grafting reaction proceeded. The marked increase was probably caused by the formation of a grafted layer. Particularly, the sorption of maleic anhydride was brought about by the existence of a grafted layer. In grafting onto EVA film, the content of maleic anhydride in the grafted copolymer increased with the increasing content of vinyl acetate in EVA. Continuous measurements of sorption of the comonomers onto EVA and grafted EVA films were carried out by use of an electrobalance. The distinctive feature of the sorption was that the equilibrium sorption of acenaphthylene or maleic anhydride onto the grafted EVA film increased and the diffusion constants for both comonomers decreased markedly with increasing percentage of graft. The copolymer grafting was explained from these results by assuming that the monomer molecules are supplied to the propagating chain ends mostly through a sorbed state on the polymer film.
Torsade de pointes and asystole in a child with complete heart block and prolonged QT interval

. Three-year-old girl with eight month history of convulsive syncope due to complete heart block, prolonged QT interval and paroxysms of ventricular tachycardia is described. An episode of torsade de pointes tachycardia followed by asystole was documented. The symptoms and electrocardiographic abnormalities were controlled by pacemaker therapy. The subset of “congenital heart block'’patients with prolonged QT interval is at high risk of sudden death and should be regarded as a previously unrecognized form of Romano-Ward syndrome.
Posterior urethral valves diagnosed by bedside ultrasound in the ED

Posterior urethral valves are the most common cause of urinary obstruction in male children. Presentations of posterior urethral valves beyond the neonatal period include urinary tract infection, abdominal mass, renal failure,diminished urinary stream, crying during micturition,incontinence, dysuria, hematuria, or failure to thrive. Early diagnosis is imperative because early surgical relief of the obstruction is believed to help prevent the progression to endstage renal disease.This case serves to remind us that, in the male child who presents with urinary symptoms and/or abdominal symptoms,the bedside sonogram is a valuable tool that can clarify the diagnosis and expedite care.
A Congenital Arteriovenous Malformation of the Right Subclavian Artery A Case Report

This is a case of a 67-year-old woman with a congenital arteriovenous fistula of the right upper extremity arising from the right subclavian artery. It was treated successfully with catheter-directed embolization techniques. In reviewing the literature, a high incidence of right-sided congenital arteriovenous malformations of the proximal upper extremity was identified. This high incidence may be related to the complexity of the embryologic development of the right subclavian artery.
Geotechnical Properties of Fillite—Simulant for Planetary Rover Mobility Studies

AbstractEarthbound testing of the mobility of lunar, Martian, and other extraterrestrial rovers benefits from the use of suitable soil simulants. To this end, a granular material called Fillite was selected as a simulant for modeling high-sinkage, high-slip situations that could be encountered by rovers, such as the one encountered by the Spirit rover on Mars. Fillite consists of alumino-silicate hollow microspheres harvested from the pulverized fuel ash of coal-fired power plants. It is available in large quantities at a reasonable cost and it is chemically inert. The focus of this paper is to summarize geotechnical characterization of Fillite, specifically the mechanical properties such as shear strength parameters, elastic modulus, Poisson’s ratio, and small-strain shear modulus. These measured properties are expected to enable analysis of rover mobility tests conducted in Fillite. The properties of Fillite are compared with the known and estimated properties of Martian and lunar regoliths as well as o...
Distribution of H+ and HCO3 minus between CSF and blood during respiratory acidosis in dogs

In anesthetized, paralyzed dogs ventilated to maintain a normal PaCO2, metabolic alkalosis was induced and held constant over 6 h by infusion of sodium bicarbonate. Determination of pH, PCO2, (HCO3 minus), and (lactate) in cisternal and lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and in arterial plasma together with measurement of the CSF/plasma DC potential differences permitted calculation of the electrochemical potential difference (mu) for H+ and HCO3 minus; measurements were made prior to induction of metabolic alkalosis at pHa equal to 7.40, as soon after induction as stable arterial values were achieved and 3, 4.5, and 6 h thereafter. A steady state for ion distribution was reached by 4.5 h. Values of mu for H+ and HCO3 minus returned to +0.1 and +0.9 mV of control at 6 h for cisternal CSF and +0.6 and minus 0.4 mV for lumbar CSF. This return of muH+ and muHCO3 minus close to control in the steady state is compatible with passive distribution of these ions between brain extracellular fluid and blood.
Imaging Evaluation of the Painful or Failed Shoulder Arthroplasty

Managing a patient with a painful or failed shoulder arthroplasty can be a difficult diagnostic dilemma for surgeons. While multiple imaging modalities can be useful in making a diagnosis, the use of MRI is becoming more accepted with the advent of artifact-reduction protocols. These MRI protocols can minimize artifact around metal implants to allow visualization of the surrounding soft tissues. In this chapter, we will discuss the most common reasons for a painful or failed shoulder arthroplasty and outline the ways in which imaging can help. Namely, we will discuss implant loosening, periprosthetic fracture, infection, rotator cuff dysfunction, and instability.
Three Variables in Stimulating Responses to Mailed Questionnaires

T HERE has been substantial concern during the last forty years with increasing the rate of response to mailed surveys. Persons with such interest are indebted to Arnold S. Linsky who reviewed this literature in the Spring 1975 issue of Public Opinion Quarterly.1 Linsky reviewed the impact of variables such as pre-contact, types of mailing for outgoing and return envelopes, length of questionnaire, anonymity, and many others. The purpose of this research note is to report the effect of three variables that have not been fully researched to date:
IMPACT OF MAJOR BLEEDING AS DEFINED BY NATIONAL CARDIOVASCULAR DATA REGISTRY ACROSS DIFFERENT BASELINE HEMOGLOBIN LEVELS IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING ELECTIVE PERCUTANEOUS CORONARY INTERVENTION

The National Cardiovascular Data Registry defines major bleeding after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) as an absolute drop of hemoglobin (Hb) ≥3 g/dL. We sought to study impact of this across different baseline Hb levels. 2238 patients who underwent elective PCI in our center from 2011-
Nest sites and nesting habitat of the Northern Spotted Owl in northwestern California

We located 69 Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) nests in northwestern California. Spotted Owls nested in eight different tree species of which 83% were located in Douglas-firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Sixty percent of the nests were located in broken-top trees, whereas cavity and platform nests each accounted for 20%. Minimum nest tree ages averaged 288 years (range 57-688) with 42% of the trees having minimum ages of > > 300 years. Owls nested in forests that were structurally different than forests available to them. These stands were characterized by large (> 90 cm dbh) conifers, a hardwood understory, and a variety of tree sizes. Nest sites appeared to be located in pockets of even older forest containing disfigured trees of advanced age which provided suitable nesting structures.
Association analysis between items of functional skills of pediatric evaluation of disability inventory and international classification of functioning、disability and health-child and youth version category coding

Objective:To determine the content validity of pediatric evaluation of disability inventory(PEDI)and its clinical value through relevance analysis of the functional skills items in PEDI and categories in international classification of functioning、disability and health-child and youth version(ICF-CY).Method:All the items in PEDI were independently determined by a rehabilitation doctor and a therapist who has over 3 years' experience in clinical evaluation of PEDI.After all the concepts were extracted,a panel meeting was held to discuss the terms for the same concept and remove the concepts wrongly extracted.When there was inconsistency on the concept extraction,a discussion would be made to make a settlement.197 items in PEDI contain concepts.A doctor and a therapist both were familiar with PEDI and ICF-CY matched the items in PEDI and category coding in ICF-CY according to the association rules through discussion.When there was a disagreement,a third party would make an informal decision.The content validity of PEDI was determined through the analysis on the association distribution of PEDI items and ICF-CY category coding.At the same time,the coverage of PEDI items on the category coding of d3,d4 and d5 of ICY-CY was analyzed.Result:There are altogether 370 times of association between the 197 items in PEDI and ICF-CY with 323times in activity and participation(d) accounting for 87.3%.72.7% matched with d3,d4 and d5 which are category coding of level one.The coverage of items of self-caring,moving and social functioning on d5,d4 and d3 category coding is 88%,67% and 46% respectively.Conclusion:Items of PEDI can mainly be matched with sub-category of d3,d4 and d5 of ICF-CY and partly with d6,which indicates PEDI can be used to evaluate children's ability of activity and participation.However,PEDI can not evaluate all the aspects of activity and participation in ICF-CY because only self-caring(d5) in ICF-CY is well covered.
Experimental Results for Direct Electron Irradiation of a Uranyl Sulfate Solution: Bubble Formation and Thermal Hydraulics Studies

In support of the development of accelerator-driven production of fission product Mo-99 as proposed by SHINE Medical Technologies, a 35 MeV electron linac was used to irradiate depleted-uranium (DU) uranyl sulfate dissolved in pH 1 sulfuric acid at average power densities of 6 kW, 12 kW, and 15 kW. During these irradiations, gas bubbles were generated in the solution due to the radiolytic decomposition of water molecules in the solution. Multiple video cameras were used to record the behavior of bubble generation and transport in the solution. Seven six-channel thermocouples were used to record temperature gradients in the solution from self-heating. Measurements of hydrogen and oxygen concentrations in a helium sweep gas were recorded by a gas chromatograph to estimate production rates during irradiation. These data are being used to validate a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the experiment that includes multiphase flow and a custom bubble injection model for the solution region.
Single-Molecule Charge Transport and Electrochemical Gating in Redox-Active Perylene Diimide Junctions

A series of redox-active perylene tetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI) derivatives have been synthesized and studied by electrochemical cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical scanning tunnelling microscopy break junction techniques. These PTCDI molecules feature the substitution of pyrrolidine at the bay (1,7-) position of perylene and are named pyrrolidine-PTCDIs. These moieties exhibit a small bandgap (2.1 eV) compared with the “normal” (unsubstituted) PTCDI molecule (2.5 eV). Pyrrolidine-PTCDIs were functionalized with different anchoring groups (thiol, amine, pyridine) for building metal–molecule–metal (m–M–m) junctions. The single-molecule conductance values of pyrrolidine-PTCDIs have been determined by analyzing a large number of molecular (m–M–m) junctions created between an STM tip and substrate using a statistical method. Furthermore, we studied the gate dependence of the single-molecule conductance by trapping a molecule between the two electrodes and recording the current as a function of electroche...
Depression and Psychosis, Postpartum

Major depressive disorder (MDD) begins during the reproductive years for most women. Symptoms often include irritability, difficulty making decisions, excessive guilt, and insomnia. Psychotherapy is the primary treatment for mild and moderate MDD, whereas combination with antidepressants is indicated for moderate to severe symptoms and in women with a history of MDD. Medications may carry risk during pregnancy and breast-feeding, but these are balanced with the risks of untreated perinatal MDD to mother, infant, and the family unit. Women with bipolar disorder require careful monitoring due to their increased risk for postpartum psychosis and mood episodes.
Risk Associated With Complications and Mortality After Urgent Surgery vs Elective and Emergency Surgery: Implications for Defining "Quality" and Reporting Outcomes for Urgent Surgery.

Importance Given the current climate of outcomes-driven quality reporting, it is critical to appropriately risk stratify patients using standardized metrics. Objective To elucidate the risk associated with urgent surgery on complications and mortality after general surgical procedures. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective review used the American College of Surgeons National Surgery Quality Improvement Program database to capture all general surgery cases performed at 435 hospitals nationwide between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2013. Data analysis was performed from November 11, 2015, to February 16, 2017. Exposures Any operations coded as both nonelective and nonemergency were designated into a novel category titled urgent . Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was 30-day mortality; secondary outcomes included 30-day rates of complications, reoperation, and readmission in urgent cases compared with both elective and emergency cases. Results Of 173 643 patients undergoing general surgery (101 632 females and 72 011 males), 130 235 (75.0%) were categorized as elective, 22 592 (13.0%) as emergency, and 20 816 (12.0%) as nonelective and nonemergency. When controlling for standard American College of Surgeons National Surgery Quality Improvement Program preoperative risk factors, with elective surgery as the reference value, the 3 groups had significantly distinct odds ratios (ORs) of experiencing any complication (urgent surgery: OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.30-1.45; P P P P Conclusions and Relevance This study highlights the need for improved risk stratification on the basis of urgency because operations performed urgently have distinct rates of morbidity and mortality compared with procedures performed either electively or emergently. Because we tie quality outcomes to reimbursement, such a category should improve predictive models and more accurately reflect the quality and value of care provided by surgeons who do not have traditional elective practices.
Prophylaxis of stress ulcer bleeding: a meta-analysis

Source Citation Tryba M. Prophylaxis of stress ulcer bleeding. A meta-analysis. J Clin Gastroenterol. 1991 Jul;13(Suppl 2):S44-55.
Consequences of Supernovae

In this chapter outlines some of the consequences of supernova explosions for related areas of astrophysics. Topics include the formation of neutron stars and black holes, the postsupernova nature of former binary companion stars, emission of neutrinos and gravitational waves, supernova nucleosynthesis, injection of dust grains into the interstellar medium, effects of the injection of energy and momentum (feedback) on the surroundings and host galaxies of supernovae, the chemical evolution of the Universe, cosmic-ray production, gamma-ray emission, effects of relatively nearby supernovae on the solar system, and the possible effects of nearby supernovae on life.
Love in the Time of Quantified Relationships.

Hygiene is an important aspect of intimate liaisons—including those related to quantified relationships (QR). Much like hygiene in the physical world, digital hygiene serves as prophylaxis for viru...
The application of job rotation in end user computing: toward a model for research and practice

End user computing refers to the development of computer applications by the people who have direct need for them (Brancheau & Brown, 1993). Such development of applications by end users is common in most organizations and can generate a number of management issues. Indeed, the major problems in end user computing (EUC) today tend to be of a managerial nature (e.g., ensuring the appropriate application of technology to business needs, and the training of end user support personnel) rather than of a technical nature. An examination of the management literature reveals a human resource practice that has been shown to successfully address issues similar to those currently being faced in the EUC environment. Job rotation, a human resource mechanism that facilitates continuous learning in the workplace, is a method that can help to address major issues in end user computing and, as a result, help to increase the value of end user computing in an organization. This paper begins with an overview of job rotation and its benefits, then relates those benefits to major issues that currently exist in end user computing. Job rotation between EUC support staffs and end user areas is proposed as a way to achieve several EUC benefits. Problems associated with the implementation of job rotations are used to identify critical success factors for this type of rotation. The resulting model provides a basis for future research and guidance for organizations seeking to implement such rotations.
Psychopharmacologic Management of Traumatic Brain Injury

The judicious use of pharmacologic agents can potentially benefit the patient with traumatic brain injury with cognitive, behavioral, or emotional disturbances; however, careful monitoring through various assessment tools, including physiologic, behavioral, and standardized neuropsychological instruments, is recommended.
Insulin Modulates the Strong Reinforcing Effects of Nicotine and Changes in Insulin Biomarkers in a Rodent Model of Diabetes

This study examined whether the strong reinforcing effects of nicotine and changes in insulin biomarkers observed in diabetic rats are modulated via insulin. A model of diabetes was employed involving administration of streptozotocin (STZ), which produces hypoinsulinemia in rats. The present study included vehicle- or STZ-treated rats that received sham surgery or insulin pellets. Two weeks later, the rats were given extended access to intravenous self-administration (IVSA) of saline or nicotine. Concomitant changes in food intake, water responses, and body weight were assessed during 12 days of IVSA. After the last session, plasma levels of insulin, leptin, amylin, and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) were assessed using Luminex® technology. In a separate cohort, phosphorylated insulin receptor substrate-2 (pIRS-2) and insulin growth factor-1 receptor β (IGF-1Rβ) were assessed in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) of vehicle- or STZ-treated rats that received sham surgery or an insulin pellet. STZ-treated rats displayed an increase in glucose levels, a decrease in body weight, and an increase in nicotine, food, and water intake relative to controls. STZ-treated rats also displayed a decrease in plasma insulin and leptin levels and an increase in amylin and GLP-1 levels relative to controls. Importantly, all of the STZ-induced changes in behavior and insulin biomarkers were prevented by insulin supplementation. STZ-treated rats also displayed a decrease in pIRS-2 and IGF-1Rβ in the NAc (but not VTA), an effect that was also prevented by insulin. These data suggest that insulin systems in the NAc modulate the strong reinforcing effects of nicotine in male diabetic rats.
Traumatic Macular Hole: Diagnosis, Natural History, and Management

Traumatic macular hole occurs most often in young men and can present after various types of injuries. Traumatic macular holes result from anteroposterior and tangential vitreoretinal traction and may exhibit concurrent additional pathologies such as Berlin's edema and subretinal fluid. Optical coherence tomography can play an essential role in patient management both at presentation and during follow-up. Initial management consists of observation, but macular hole repair can be performed if spontaneous resolution does not occur. Upon macular hole closure, vision may improve, on average, by two lines or more but may be limited by associated macular pathology.
Towards Transfer Learning for End-to-End Speech Synthesis from Deep Pre-Trained Language Models.

Modern text-to-speech (TTS) systems are able to generate audio that sounds almost as natural as human speech. However, the bar of developing high-quality TTS systems remains high since a sizable set of studio-quality pairs is usually required. Compared to commercial data used to develop state-of-the-art systems, publicly available data are usually worse in terms of both quality and size. Audio generated by TTS systems trained on publicly available data tends to not only sound less natural, but also exhibits more background noise. In this work, we aim to lower TTS systems' reliance on high-quality data by providing them the textual knowledge extracted by deep pre-trained language models during training. In particular, we investigate the use of BERT to assist the training of Tacotron-2, a state of the art TTS consisting of an encoder and an attention-based decoder. BERT representations learned from large amounts of unlabeled text data are shown to contain very rich semantic and syntactic information about the input text, and have potential to be leveraged by a TTS system to compensate the lack of high-quality data. We incorporate BERT as a parallel branch to the Tacotron-2 encoder with its own attention head. For an input text, it is simultaneously passed into BERT and the Tacotron-2 encoder. The representations extracted by the two branches are concatenated and then fed to the decoder. As a preliminary study, although we have not found incorporating BERT into Tacotron-2 generates more natural or cleaner speech at a human-perceivable level, we observe improvements in other aspects such as the model is being significantly better at knowing when to stop decoding such that there is much less babbling at the end of the synthesized audio and faster convergence during training.
Beyond Belmont-and Beyond Regulations.

The ethical (and philosophical) issues arising in citizen science are fascinating, challenging, and potentially pathbreaking in that they force us to reconsider the conceptual and regulatory catego...
Flow Assurance Issues

One of the most important design issues for offshore pipelines in deepwater are the operational hazards associated with multiphase fluid transportation. These issues usually do not arise in shallow water where water temperatures are higher and hydrostatic pressures are lower, and so a new engineering discipline was essentially created when operators started to develop deepwater fields. Wax, hydrates, and asphaltenes are the three main threats to flow assurance. Hydrate problems are nearly universal in deepwater production, while the extent of wax and asphaltene varies widely between projects. Hydrate blockages are most common in gas and gas condensate systems but can also occur in oil systems. Subsea systems are designed to foresee the problems that may arise during all stages of production over its lifetime, but prognostications are uncertain and unanticipated issues may arise that were not considered in the design. Flow assurance is a major design consideration for subsea wells.
Molecular property prediction: recent trends in the era of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a powerful tool in many fields, including drug discovery. Among various AI applications, molecular property prediction can have more significant immediate impact to the drug discovery process since most algorithms and methods use predicted properties to evaluate, select, and generate molecules. Herein, we provide a brief review of the state-of-art molecular property prediction methodologies and discuss examples reported recently. We highlight key techniques that have been applied to molecular property prediction such as learned representation, multi-task learning, transfer learning, and federated learning. We also point out some critical but less discussed issues such as data set quality, benchmark, model performance evaluation, and prediction confidence quantification.
Barriers associated with failed completion of an acute care general surgery telehealth clinic visit.

Abstract Background A form of telehealth, a surgical electronic clinic (E-clinic, video or telephone visit) is a safe and efficient way for delivering care; however, factors leading to poor clinic utilization are not well-described. This study was performed to gather electronic clinic utilization data and to better define barriers to visit completion. Methods A retrospective review of 199 patients cared for by a general surgery service with subsequent referral to the electronic clinic (January 2019 to June 2019) was performed. Data regarding demographics, medical characteristics, travel distance, and postoperative complications were collected. Patients were categorized based upon visit completion. The χ2 and Fisher exact analyses were performed as appropriate. Reasons for cancellations were categorized. Results More than 1/5 of all patients (21.6%) failed to complete the visit. No differences were observed in completion rates according to the type of operation, American Society of Anesthesiologists classification, and age. The failed-completion group had a significantly (P Conclusion Several factors contribute to a patient’s failure to complete an electronic clinic visit including marital status, medical complications, technical issues, and patient preference. Electronic clinic utilization patterns also demonstrate racial disparities. Successful electronic clinic program implementation requires understanding the factors that contribute to failed visits to address them and improve access.
Validating Factors That Influence Student Nurse Intention Regarding Perioperative Nursing.

Background Failure to effectively recruit Newly Graduated Nurses (NGN) to perioperative nursing in the face of an anticipated nursing shortage will adversely impact patient outcomes. Development of interventions that address the recruitment problem is hampered by lack of a comprehensive understanding of factors that influence Student Nurse Intention (SNI) regarding perioperative nursing. Purpose This descriptive quantitative study aims to test a Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) questionnaire and validate factors that influence SNI. Method Quantitative sequence of exploratory sequential design. Item analysis, and principal component analysis of data are completed. Results The instrument demonstrated satisfactory psychometrics. Immediate exposure or immersion, affirmation by nurse managers, and availability of positions were the most influential attitudinal, normative, and control beliefs respectively. Generational values have some influence on intention to choose perioperative nursing. Conclusion A TPB questionnaire is useful for measuring factors that influence SNI.
4D flow MRI and CFD simulations of pulsatile flow in a phantom model of arterial stenosis: visualizing the vortex dynamics

We compared steady and pulsatile CFD simulations with 4D Flow MRI in a phantom model of arterial stenosis and investigated the hemodynamic features distal to the occlusion. With CFD, we characterized the flow structure to estimate both the magnitude and degree of anisotropy of the turbulence-related indices including vorticity, wall shear stress, helicity, and swirling strength using Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) and Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stocks (RANS) method. The results revealed that the LES approach captures well both the overall and the detailed ow features in comparison to RANS predictions with the standard k-epsilon model when compared with 4D Flow MRI. Furthermore, the Q-criterion was employed to reveal the temporal evolution of the vortex ring which was observed distal to the stenotic narrowing. It was found that both RANS and LES simulations were highly accurate for wall shear stress when validated against 4D Flow MR Imaging.
Calcium Signal Profiles in Vascular Endothelium from Cdh5-GCaMP8 and Cx40-GCaMP2 Mice.

Introduction Studies in Cx40-GCaMP2 mice, which express calcium biosensor GCaMP2 in the endothelium under connexin 40 promoter, have identified the unique properties of endothelial calcium signals. However, Cx40-GCaMP2 mouse is associated with a narrow dynamic range and lack of signal in the venous endothelium. Recent studies have proposed many GCaMPs (GCaMP5/6/7/8) with improved properties although their performance in endothelium-specific calcium studies is not known. Methods We characterized a newly developed mouse line that constitutively expresses GCaMP8 in the endothelium under the VE-cadherin (Cdh5-GCaMP8) promoter. Calcium signals through endothelial IP3 receptors and TRP vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) ion channels were recorded in mesenteric arteries (MAs) and veins from Cdh5-GCaMP8 and Cx40-GCaMP2 mice. Results Cdh5-GCaMP8 mice showed lower baseline fluorescence intensity, higher dynamic range, and higher amplitudes of individual calcium signals than Cx40-GCaMP2 mice. Importantly, Cdh5-GCaMP8 mice enabled the first recordings of discrete calcium signals in the intact venous endothelium and revealed striking differences in IP3 receptor and TRPV4 channel calcium signals between MAs and mesenteric veins. Conclusion Our findings suggest that Cdh5-GCaMP8 mice represent significant improvements in dynamic range, sensitivity for low-intensity signals, and the ability to record calcium signals in venous endothelium.
Unintelligible Silence: Challenging Academic Authority in a New Socio-dialogic Politics of the Real for Collective Justice and Transformation

What is silence? Is it a loss, an omission? Is it a stopping of the mouth, of the voice? An empty place where no meaning has come forward…or perhaps at times quite the opposite, an absence-as-presence Deleuze, 1990; Derrida, 1976)? Might silence evoke much more about what we assume is our monological, unitary reality, indexing possibilities yet unseen? This paper outlines the ways in which silence is typically understood according to scholarly orthodoxy: as omission in human communication or a silencing of minoritized individuals or communities by those in power. It then moves to critique the preeminence of whitestream (Grande, 2003) Western-centric academic authority, which self-perpetuates via the exclusion of outsider ways of doing, being and knowing such as those brought forward by silence, constituting a loss of meaning and knowledge from the social imaginary. This paper suggests that the pursuit of an articulate unknowing (Zembylas, 2005) regarding silence as a creative, disruptive force beyond the control of rationality is a means of engaging with radical possibilities for a different, juster world. It proposes a socio-diologic politics of the real that welcomes silence as an unsettling of our current thinking about what is and will be possible, as well as who does and does not matter. It concludes by illustrating the ingenious force of silence in examples of subversive art that expose the hegemonizing, rational(ized) version of reality sold by academics and powerholders, bringing forward into the imagination what prospects for change, justice, and social transformation yet await.
Literature and Heresy in the Age of Chaucer

Preface Part I. The Invention of Heresy: 1. The Blackfriars Council, London, 1382 Part II. The Late Fourteenth Century: Canonizing Wycliffism: 2. The invention of 'Lollardy': William Langland 3. The reinvention of 'Lollardy': William Langland and his contemporaries 4. Geoffrey Chaucer's Wycliffite text Part III. The Early Fifteenth Century: Heretics and Eucharists: 5. Thomas Hoccleve's heretics 6. John Lydgate's Eucharists Part IV. Feeling Wycliffite: 7. Margery Kempe's 'Lollard' affects Part V. Epilogue: 8. Heresy, Wycliffism and English literary history Bibliography Index.
The Collagens of the Annelida

Organisms in the three major classes of annelids, the Polychaetes (marine sandworms), the Oligochaetes (earthworms), and the Hirudinea (leeches), contain at least three types of collagenous structures. These structures are (1) handed collagen fibers that are morphologically identical to those observed in vertebrate and many invertebrate species, (2) basal laminae which are common to all metazoan organisms, and (3) non-banded cuticle fibers which are found in the annelids and nematodes. The cuticle collagens are the longest protein molecules known, with documented lengths of up to 2,400 nm for the native molecules which form large unhanded fibers and are not crosslinked. This chapter will review the morphological and biochemical studies of the collagens of these three classes of annelids and will relate these collagens to vertebrate collagen types where appropriate.
Local and nonlocal invariance for system robustness investigations of coherent MIMO radar

The advantages and limitations of coherent multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar have been discussed widely. In practical systems, nonidealities often impose the dominant limitation to system performance. Consequently, successful high-performance systems typically employ adaptive techniques. Because of the higher potential performance of MIMO systems, they become even more sensitive to the system model if adaptivity is not employed. The quintessential example of the need for adaptivity is by ground-moving-target indictor (GMTI) radars, which employ space-time adaptive processing (STAP). As an initial step toward a more general study of test statistic robustness, we study an approximation to STAP, based on requiring test statistic invariance to clutter localization about an angle-Doppler operating point. We consider the effects of angle and velocity mismatch on clutter mitigation performance. Furthermore, we investigate the implications of MIMO waveform cross-antenna contamination by using invariance.
Cooldown analysis of the toroidal field coils for the Burning Plasma Experiment (BPX)

The toroidal field (TF) coils for BPX are Bitter plate coils designed to be rapidly pulsed at high power levels, and then recooled by liquid nitrogen within an hour. The analysis of this cooldown process in support of the conceptual design of the BPX TF coils is discussed. There are two major aspects of the cooldown analysis: (1) the thermal conduction within the Bitter plate; and (2) two-phased nitrogen flow and heat transfer. Analysis results are presented. >
SUSTAINED, PAIRED ELECTRICAL STIMULI: SLOWING OF THE VENTRICULAR RATE AND AUGMENTATION OF CONTRACTILE FORCE.

Abstract When the ventricle is electrically stimulated immediately after the termination of the absolute refractory period, a propagated depolarization occurs which does not result in a clearly defined secondary rise in intraventricular pressure. In 19 dogs, two fundamental consequences of such paired electrical stimuli were studied. Since the second depolarization is followed by a second refractory period, the time during which the ventricle is unresponsive to other electrical stimuli is effectively doubled. Rapid ventricular rates could thus be slowed by paired stimuli, regardless of the mechanism of tachycardia. In each of 16 dogs, spontaneously occurring sinus tachycardia was suppressed by paired electrical stimulation. In 8 animals, ventricular tachycardia was induced by digitalis intoxication and in 6 by means of exogenous stimulation with a separate electrical pacemaker; paired stimuli slowed the ventricular rate in every animal by an average of 57 beats per min. Striking augmentation of the ventricle's contractile response was found to be a second consequence of paired stimulation. This phenomenon was demonstrated in 8 dogs in which right ventricular contractile force was measured with a strain gauge arch. Paired electrical stimuli increased ventricular contractile force to an average of 275 per cent of the levels observed with single impulses delivered at the same rate. Preliminary studies in man indicate that slowing and augmentation of contractile force also occur when the human heart is stimulated in a similar manner. Appropriately timed, paired electrical stimuli to the ventricles result in profound alterations in both the electrical and contractile properties of the mammalian heart. It is possible that this technic will be applicable and beneficial in certain patients, when a slower heart rate and/or augmented myocardial contractile force is desirable.
Repeatability, reproducibility, and effect of head position on central venous pressure measurement in standing adult horses.

Background: Central venous pressure (CVP) is a used as an estimation of intravascular volume status in various species. Techniques for measuring CVP in horses have been described, but the repeatability of these readings at a single time point or over time has not been established. Hypothesis: That CVP measurements in healthy adult horses would be repeatable at each time point, that these readings would be reproducible over time, and that alteration in head position relative to the heart would alter CVP. Animals: Ten healthy adult research horses. Methods: In an experimental study, horses were instrumented with a central venous catheter. Readings were taken in triplicate q6h for 2 days by water manometry, and twice daily with the head in neutral, elevated, and lowered positions by electronic manometry. Results: Variation in the “neutral” measurements obtained at each time point was <0.1 ± 1.0 cmH2O (P= .718). There was a significant decrease in CVP over time (P= .015), which was eliminated when results were controlled for acute decrease in body weight of −1.35% (presumed hypohydration because of lack of acclimatization and decreased water intake). Head height had a significant and directional effect on CVP in that the elevated head position decreased CVP −2.0 ± 6.5 cmH2O (P < .001) while the lowered head position increased CVP by 3.7 ± 5.5 cmH2O (P < .001). Conclusions and Clinical Importance: CVP values obtained by water manometry were repeatable in adult horses, but were reproducible only when controlled for changes in hydration. Care should be taken to maintain consistency in head position to prevent erroneous readings.
Localization of estrogen receptors in uterine cells. An appraisal of translocation

Abstract The nuclear localization of estrogen receptors has been examined under conditions which minimize redistribution and localization artifacts. A procedure is presented which rapidly lyses suspensions of cells from immature rat uteri by using 0.04% Triton X-100 in isotonic buffer. The ‘nuclei’ which are obtained after lysis have a median diameter of 1μm and are devoid of nuclear membranes. There is close agreement between the number of cells before lysis and the number of nuclear particles after lysis. Triton X-100 gave no interference with quantitative binding of estradiol to receptor and no alteration in the sedimentation behavior of receptor on sucrose gradients containing high or low salt. Using this procedure to monitor the dynamics of estrogen receptor distribution within uterine cells after exposure to estradiol, translocation of estrogen receptor to the nucleus was observed to occur at a rate slightly slower than the rate at which estradiol was specifically bound to free cells or receptors. The difference in these rates is compatible with a model in which estradiol must first bind to the receptor before the binding complex moves to the nucleus. The rate of nuclear translocation was temperature-dependent and was observed to occur at 0 °C, provided that enough time was allowed for steroid entry, receptor charging and transit to the nucleus. Two distinct phases were observed to characterize nuclear receptor localization. In the first phase after hormone exposure, estrogen receptor progressively accumulated in the nucleus; afterwards, estrogen receptor was progressively lost from the nucleus but could not be detected in other subcellular compartments in a form still binding hormone. Since high cell viability was maintained during these manipulations, loss of nuclear receptor was not due to cell damage during in vitro incubation. These studies suggest that this decline in nuclear receptor level after hormone interaction, which is known to occur in vivo, may be a normal event during estrogen interaction with target cells.
Loosening of plant cell walls by expansins

Plant cell walls are the starting materials for many commercial products, from lumber, paper and textiles to thickeners, films and explosives. The cell wall is secreted by each cell in the plant body, forming a thin fibreglass-like network with remarkable strength and flexibility. During growth, plant cells secrete a protein called expansin, which unlocks the network of wall polysaccharides, permitting turgor-driven cell enlargement. Germinating grass pollen also secretes an unusual expansin that loosens maternal cell walls to aid penetration of the stigma by the pollen tube. Expansin's action has puzzling implications for plant cell-wall structure. The recent explosion of gene sequences and expression data has given new hints of additional biological functions for expansins.
81 – Hormone Replacement Therapy: Looking Closely at Low Dose

Epidemiologic studies show strong evidence that the use of postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) substantially reduces the risk of coronary heart disease in healthy women. However, there is a great divide among health care providers and scientists in regards to their opinions regarding the indications, benefits, and importance of HRT. Although the perfect HRT has not yet been clearly identified, there are many options of estrogen alone (estrogen replacement therapy [ERT]), continuous combined HRT, and cyclic HRT regimens now available in oral, vaginal, and transdermal preparations. It is possible to look at several parameters including bleeding problems, relief of symptoms, side effects, cardiovascular effects, osteoporosis protection, breast cancer, and endometrial cancer risk that are associated with a variety of continuous and cyclic HRT and ERT regimens. Because the beneficial effects of HRT are predominantly due to the estrogen component, selection of a progestin and a particular dosage regimen can be extremely variable and can primarily focus on minimizing side effects and increasing compliance. Selection of an estrogen dose must generally take into consideration factors such as symptom relief, bone protection, and other long-term health benefits.
The Board of Directors as Nexus of Contracts: A Critique of Gulati, Klein & Zolt's 'Connected Contracts' Model

In corporate law scholarship, two basic models have long competed: managerialism and shareholder primacy. Managerialist theories treat the corporation as a bureaucratic hierarchy dominated by professional managers. Shareholder primacy theory formerly argued that shareholders own the corporation and, accordingly, directors and officers are mere stewards of the shareholders' interests. A more recent variant, which arguably is the dominant model in today's scholarship, rejects the idea of ownership as irrelevant to the firm as a nexus of contracts. Yet, shareholders retain a privileged position among the corporation's constituencies, because their contract with the firm has ownership-like features, including the right to vote and the fiduciary obligations of directors and officers. The chief criteria for any model of the corporation must be the model's ability to predict the separation of ownership and control, the institutional governance structures following from their separation, and the legal rules responsive to their separation. Shareholders, who are said to own the firm, have virtually no power to control either its day-to-day operation or its long-term policies. Instead, the firm is controlled by its board of directors and subordinate managers, whose equity stake is often small. On close examination, neither managerialism nor shareholder primacy adequately explains the corporate governance features that follow from the separation of ownership and control. This article develops an alternative model-director primacy. In this model, the corporation is a vehicle by which the board of directors hires various factors of production. Hence, the board of directors is not a mere agent of the shareholders, but rather is a sui generis body - a sort of Platonic guardian - serving as the nexus for the various contracts making up the corporation. The board's powers flow from that set of contracts in its totality and not just from shareholders. In developing this analysis, the Article uses as its principal foil the so-called "connected contracts" model recently put forward by UCLA law professors Gulati, Klein, and Zolt.