cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abdominal and back pain in a 65-year-old patient with metastatic prostate cancer

Abstract Objective Prostate cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths, and African American men are affected with this disease disproportionately in terms of incidence and mortality. The purpose of this article is to present a case report that illustrates the importance of a careful evaluation, including a comprehensive historical review and appropriate physical and laboratory assessment, of a patient with back pain and seemingly unrelated symptoms. Clinical Features A 65-year-old African American man presented to a chiropractic clinic after experiencing lower back pain for 1 month. The digital rectal examination was unremarkable, but the serum prostate-specific antigen was markedly elevated. A suspicion of metastatic prostate cancer resulted in subsequent referral, further diagnostic evaluation, and palliation. Intervention and Outcome The patient was referred for medical evaluation and palliation of his condition. Spinal decompression surgery of the thoracic spine was initiated, resulting in weakness and paresthesia in the lower limbs bilaterally. The patient died because of the complications associated with the medical interventions and the disease about 12 months after the referral. Conclusion Chiropractic physicians should maintain a high degree of suspicion for catastrophic causes of back-related complaints, such as metastatic prostate cancer. The Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial Risk Calculator, a research validated instrument, should be used in the assessment of prostate cancer risk. Performance of the digital rectal examination and of the prostate-specific antigen determination remains integral in the clinical assessment of the health status in aging men, with or without back pain.
A new era for radiolabeled antibodies in cancer

Abstract Radioimmunotherapy (RIT), a therapy targeted to tumor cells, is a modality that can currently deliver radiation to tumor cells at levels 3–50-times higher than to the normal tissue with the next highest dose. RIT appears promising for future cancer therapy. Clinical responses in patients with advanced cancer have frequently been achieved with RIT as a single agent. Extended complete remissions and even increased survival have been achieved in lymphoma. Similar results in other cancers seem likely with RIT in combination therapy.
Microwave Technologies for the New Horizons Mission to Pluto

An advanced deep space microwave radio communications system has been developed for the New Horizons spacecraft that is currently headed for Pluto and beyond. The system includes two, low-power, X-band digital receivers developed to minimize power consumption. This effort was critical to the mission, as the power saved using the digital receivers was approximately equal to the power consumed by the entire instrument suite. Each receiver is accompanied by an X-band exciter and an ultrastable oscillator to form a complete transceiver, providing command, science, and telemetry links and radionavigation functions. An uplink radioscience capability is built into the receive system to collect data on Pluto's tenuous atmosphere by recording phase and amplitude measurements of the uplink signal, as opposed to traditional downlink-only or turnaround experiments. Low power, increased functionality, and flexibility were obtained by leveraging from commercial technologies and techniques. Careful examination and screening were used to mitigate concerns for radiation effects and reliability.
Molecular basis for the stability relationships between homochiral and racemic crystals of tazofelone: a spectroscopic, crystallographic, and thermodynamic investigation

Tazofelone (1) has been crystallized as two polymorphic racemic compounds (1a), designated I and II, and as an (S)-(−) enantiomorph (1b). These crystal forms have been characterized using FTIR and solid-state NMR spectroscopy, single crystal X-ray analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. The stability relationship of the racemic polymorphs has been established as enantiotropic, with form II being low-temperature stable and form I being high-temperature stable (transition temperature 138 °C). These two forms have similar enthalpies, entropies, and free energies (thermodynamic stability), which may be related to their similar molecular conformations, hydrogen-bonding patterns, and crystal packing efficiencies. The racemic crystals are significantly more stable than the physical mixture of the enantiomorphs. The spontaneous conversion of the racemic crystals into the conglomerate is not feasible thermodynamically at any temperature (monotropy). The weak lattice of the enantiomorphs may result, in part, from the high energy conformers that are the building blocks of the enantiomorphs and weaker dipole–dipole interactions.
Effects of heat shock upon the expression of developmentally regulated genes in Myxococcus xanthus

The effects of heat shock upon the expression of several developmentally regulated genes of Myxococcus xanthus were examined. No effects were observed on levels or timing of developmentally regulated β-galactosidase expression in eight randomly selected Tn5lac insertion mutants. However, heat shock significantly affected the fruiting behavior of temperature-sensitive aggregation (tag) mutants of M. xanthus. The tag mutant phenotype exhibits the normal aggregation of cells to form fruiting bodies at temperatures < 34°C, but cells fail to aggregate at temperatures ⩾ 34°C. Heat shock administered to tag mutant strains prior to starvation prohibited fruiting body formation at permissive temperatures. Additionally, tag mutant strains were found to be extremely sensitive to killing at 40°C. Heat shock was also found to increase tagA and tagE expression by 22 and 47%, respectively. Mutations in tagA blocked heat shock induced expression of tagE.
Factors in the emergence of infectious diseases.

“Emerging” infectious diseases can be defined as infections that have newly appeared in a population or have existed but are rapidly increasing in incidence or geographic range. Among recent examples are HIV/AIDS, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, Lyme disease, and hemolytic uremic syndrome (a foodborne infection caused by certain strains of Escherichia coli). Specific factors precipitating disease emergence can be identified in virtually all cases. These include ecological, environmental, or demographic factors that place people at increased contact with a previously unfamiliar microbe or its natural host or promote dissemination. These factors are increasing in prevalence; this increase, together with the ongoing evolution of viral and microbial variants and selection for drug resistance, suggests that infections will continue to emerge and probably increase and emphasizes the urgent need for effective surveillance and control. Dr. David Satcher’s article and this overview inaugurate “Perspectives,” a regular section in this journal intended to present and develop unifying concepts and strategies for considering emerging infections and their underlying factors. The editors welcome, as contributions to the Perspectives section, overviews, syntheses, and case studies that shed light on how and why infections emerge, and how they may be anticipated and prevented. Infectious diseases emerging throughout history have included some of the most feared plagues of the past. New infections continue to emerge today, while many of the old plagues are with us still. These are global problems (William Foege, former CDC director now at the Carter Center, terms them “global infectious disease threats”). As demonstrated by influenza epidemics, under suitable circumstances, a new infection first appearing anywhere in the world could traverse entire continents within days or weeks.
ISIM: A Program for Grand Canonical Monte Carlo Simulations of the Ionic Environment of Biomolecules

In this work we present a new software package (ISIM), which represents a flexible, computational tool for simulations of electrolyte solutions via a grand canonical Monte Carlo procedure (GCMC) with a specific capability of treating biomolecules in solution. The GCMC method provides a powerful tool for studying the ionic environments of highly charged macromolecules with attention to the atomic detail of both the solute and the mobile counterions. The ISIM software differs from previous schemes mainly by treating different ion types independently and offering a new parameterization procedure for calibrating excess chemical potentials and bulk ion concentrations. Additionally, ISIM leverages the APBS software package to provide accurate descriptions of the biomolecular electrostatic potential through the efficient solution of Poisson's equation. ISIM has been validated on a variety of test systems; we successfully reproduce elementary properties of electrolyte solutions as well as theoretical and experime...
Open Reduction and Internal Fixation Compared With Excision for Unstable Displaced Fractures of the Radial Head

Purpose To determine if excision of the radial head for treatment of an unstable, displaced fracture is associated with a higher rate of early complications or late arthrosis as compared with open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF). Methods Unstable, displaced fractures of the radial head treated with either excision (15 patients) or ORIF (13 patients) were compared. Implants were removed routinely during the study period. Three patients had instability after radial head excision: 2 were treated in a cast and 1 had temporary pinning of the ulnohumeral joint. Two patients in the ORIF cohort had failure of fixation that subsequently was treated with radial head excision: 1 had early hardware loosening and 1 developed a nonunion. Results At the 1-year follow-up evaluation there were no significant differences in the flexion or rotation arc. An average of 17 years after injury there was no significant difference in the flexion arc or rotation arc. One result was rated as unsatisfactory in each cohort according to the Mayo Elbow Performing Index. The average Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) score was 5 points in the ORIF cohort and 15 points in the excision cohort. Eight patients in the excision cohort had arthrosis (5 mild, 2 moderate, 1 severe) compared with 2 patients in the ORIF cohort (1 mild, 1 moderate). Conclusions Open reduction and internal fixation of an unstable, displaced fracture of the radial head occasionally fails, but it seems to reduce the risk of subsequent elbow dislocation and to protect against long-term arthrosis. Type of study/level of evidence Therapeutic III.
Amylin: what might be its role in Alzheimer’s disease and how could this affect therapy?

Amylin, an amyloidogenic hormone synthesized and co-secreted with insulin by pancreatic β-cells, has binding sites in the brain possibly regulating satiety and gastric emptying. It is elevated in o...
Dose-Response Relationship Between Physical Activity and Risk of Heart Failure: A Meta-Analysis.

Background—Prior studies have reported an inverse association between physical activity (PA) and risk of heart failure (HF). However, a comprehensive assessment of the quantitative dose–response association between PA and HF risk has not been reported previously. Methods and Results—Prospective cohort studies with participants >18 years of age that reported association of baseline PA levels and incident HF were included. Categorical dose–response relationships between PA and HF risk were assessed with random-effects models. Generalized least-squares regression models were used to assess the quantitative relationship between PA (metabolic equivalent [MET]–min/wk) and HF risk across studies reporting quantitative PA estimates. Twelve prospective cohort studies with 20 203 HF events among 370 460 participants (53.5% women; median follow-up, 13 years) were included. The highest levels of PA were associated with significantly reduced risk of HF (pooled hazard ratio for highest versus lowest PA, 0.70; 95% confi...
The IT Audit Assignment: Viewing Technology in the Organizational and Strategic Context:

This article describes a structured learningactivity designed to explore information technology (IT) in organizational and strategic contexts. The assignment, known as the “IT Audit,” is structured around a set of interdisciplinary research questions that students apply to a client organization. The assignment builds the student’s ability to predict, diagnose, and subsequently mitigate organizational risks inherent in IT deployment. Learningoutcomes focus on IT as it relates to organizational strategy and competitive advantage, communications process design, motivational and values orientation of IT specialists, change leadership, organizational design, and quality of work life issues.
Ionic Requirements of the DNA Polymerase Associated with Serum Hepatitis B Antigen

Activity of the DNA polymerase associated with hepatitis B antigen (HB Ag) was enhanced by increasing concentrations of monovalent cations. There was no inhibition of enzyme activity even at salt concentrations of 0.8 M. Enhancement of DNA polymerase activity increased with atomic radius of the monovalent cations. Enzyme activity was higher with chloride than with sulfate anion. The DNA polymerase was activated by increasing concentrations of MgCl2, with activity increasing even at concentrations of 80 mm. HB Ag-associated DNA polymerase was not activated by MnC12, CaC12, ZnCl2, CdCl2, FeCI3, or CuC12. However, some activation of enzyme activity was observed with FeC12. All of these divalent cations exerted marked inhibitory effects on the DNA polymerase reaction in the presence of MgCl2. HB Agassociated DNA polymerase was markedly inhibited by p-hydroxymercuribenzoate and N-ethylmaleimide in the absence of thiol compounds. Calcium elenolate also inhibited the enzyme. Studies of inhibitors indicated that sulfhydryl groups were required for enzyme activity. In contrast to results obtained with HB Ag-associated polymerase, Escherichia coli and bovine liver alpha DNA polymerases showed optimal concentrations of both MgCl2 and KCl for activity, and the enzymes were inhibited by high concentrations of either salt. The activity of HB Ag-associated DNA polymerase at high concentrations of monovalent and divalent cations afforded a differential assay for this enzyme in the presence of the other two DNA polymerases. It is suggested that the ionic requirements of HB Ag-associated DNA polymerase could be used for differential assay in the presence of cellular DNA polymerases.
Revision of the order Bothriocephalidea Kuchta, Scholz, Brabec & Bray, 2008 (Eucestoda) with amended generic diagnoses and keys to families and genera.

The tapeworm order Bothriocephalidea Kuchta, Scholz, Brabec & Bray, 2008 (Platyhelminthes: Eucestoda), which has until recently formed part of the suppressed order Pseudophyllidea, is revised. Four new genera, namely Andycestus n. g. [type- and only species A. abyssmus (Thomas, 1953) n. comb.], Plicocestus n. g. [type- and only species P. janickii (Markowski, 1971) n. comb.] (both Bothriocephalidae), Mesoechinophallus n. g. [type-species M. hyperogliphe (Tkachev, 1979) n. comb.; other species M. major (Takao, 1986) n. comb. (Echinophallidae)] and Kimocestus n. g. [type- and only species K. ceratias (Tkachev, 1979) n. comb.] (Triaenophoridae) are proposed. Parabothriocephaloides Yamaguti, 1934, Penetrocephalus Rao, 1960 and Tetracampos Wedl, 1861 are resurrected as valid genera, whereas Alloptychobothrium Yamaguti, 1968 (newly synonymised with Plicatobothrium Cable & Michaelis, 1967), Capooria Malhotra, 1985 and Coelobothrium Dollfus, 1970 (syns of Bothriocephalus Rudolphi 1808), Fissurobothrium Roitman, 1965 (syn. of Bathybothrium Luhe, 1902), Paratelemerus Gulyaev, Korotaeva & Kurochkin, 1989 (syn. of Parabothriocephaloides Yamaguti, 1934) and Tetrapapillocephalus Protasova & Mordvinova, 1986 (syn. of Oncodiscus Yamaguti, 1934) are considered to be invalid. A recently erected genus, Dactylobothrium Srivastav, Khare & Jadhav, 2006, and its type- and only species, D. choprai Srivastav, Khare & Jadhav, 2006, are considered to be unrecognisable, because their descriptions contain a number of obvious errors and also indicate that a mixture of several taxa, probably of at least two cestode orders, were studied. Parabothriocephaloides wangi nom. nov. is proposed for Parabothriocephalus psenopsis Wang, Liu & Yang, 2004 from Psenopsis anomala in China in order to avoid a secondary homonymy. All 46 genera considered to be valid are revised, with their generic diagnoses amended on the basis of a critical examination of extensive museum and newly collected specimens. Despite apparent paraphyly or polyphyly of some bothriocephalidean families, especially the Triaenophoridae, the current classification restricted to four families, proposed by Bray et al. (1994), namely the Bothriocephalidae, Echinophallidae, Philobythiidae and Triaenophoridae, is provisionally retained with slight modifications until more molecular data on most genera are available. Keys to families and genera are provided.
Back to Kant: Reinterpreting the Democratic Peace as a Macrohistorical Learning Process

The contemporary international relations literature links the democratic peace hypothesis to Kant’s famous peace plan. Yet, whether attempting to prove or disprove the hypothesis, most quantitative studies have lost sight of important dimensions of the Kantian vision. I reinterpret the democratic peace as a dynamic and dialectical learning process. In order to assess the dynamic dimension of this process (while controlling for exogenous dialectical reversals), I rely on quantitative evidence drawn from popular data sets. In conformance with the Kantian perspective, the conflict propensities among democracies exhibit a steadily falling trend since the nineteenth century. Yet, in partial opposition to Kant’s expectations, other dyads also experience a significant, although weaker, pacifying trend. A series of tests shows that these findings are robust to epochal effects, various control variables, and “maturity effects” measuring the age of democratic dyads.
Automated electronic circuit design: realities and pitfalls

The authors explore the issues associated with setting up an electronic design automation (EDA) facility in an educational environment, pointing out what the reader should look for, what is available now, and what might be available in the future. In the design of such a facility, one needs to be aware of how to go about this process. The authors indicate this through a top-down design technique including what the laboratory should look like, how to break down this laboratory into smaller parts, and their interrelationship to each other and to other parts of the program. Finally, it is shown how to make the essential parts work properly in today's engineering or technology program. >
Encoding of binocular disparity by simple cells in the cat's visual cortex

1. Spatiotemporal receptive fields (RFs) for left and right eyes were studied for simple cells in the cat's striate cortex to examine the idea that stereoscopic depth information is encoded via structural differences of RFs between the two eyes. Traditional models are based on neurons that possess matched RF profiles for the two eyes. We propose a model that requires a subset of simple cells with mismatched RF profiles for the two eyes in addition to those with similar RF structure. 2. A reverse correlation technique, which allows a rapid measurement of detailed RF profiles in the joint space-time domains, was used to map RFs for isolated single neurons recorded extracellularly in the anesthetized paralyzed cat. 3. Approximately 30% of our sample of cells shows substantial differences between spatial RF structure for the two eyes. Nearly all of these neurons prefer orientations between oblique and vertical, and are therefore presumed to be involved in processing horizontal disparities. On the other hand, cells that prefer orientations near horizontal have matched RF profiles for the two eyes. Considered together, these findings suggest that the visual system takes advantage of the orientation anisotropy of binocular disparities present in the retinal images. 4. For some cells, the spatial structure of the RF changes over the time course of the response (inseparable RF in the space-time domain). In these cases, the change is similar for the two eyes, and therefore the difference remains nearly constant at all times. Because the difference of the RF structure between the two eyes is the critical determinant of a cell's relative depth selectivity for the proposed model, space-time inseparability of RFs is not an obstacle for consistent representation of stereoscopic information. 5. RF parameters including amplitude, RF width, and optimal spatial frequency are generally well matched for the two eyes over the time course of the response. The preferred speed and direction of motion are also well matched for the two eyes. These results suggest that the encoding of motion in depth is not likely to be a function of simple cells in the striate cortex. 6. The results presented here are consistent with our model, in which stereoscopic depth information is encoded via differences in the spatial structure of RFs for the two eyes. This model provides a natural binocular extension of the current notion of monocular spatial form encoding by a population of simple cells. Note, however, that our findings do not exclude the possibility that positional shifts of RFs also play a role in determining the disparity selectivity of cortical neurons.
Chronic abdominal pain in a patient on chronic peritoneal dialysis: question.

A 19-year-old woman on chronic peritoneal dialysis (PD) presented with abdominal pain in March 2007. Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) was initially diagnosed at age 7 years and progressed to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). PD was started at 10 years of age and was complicated by two episodes of peritonitis. At 12 years of age, she received a renal allograft from her father. The posttransplantation course was complicated by FSGS recurrence, endocarditis, rejection episodes, and lymphoma. Twenty-four months after transplant, the graft was removed and PD was restarted. Over the next 5 years, PD was complicated by persistent and progressive difficulty with ultrafiltration (UF) and inadequate solute removal with maximized continuous-cycler peritoneal dialysis (CCPD). The patient was unwilling to accept regular hemodialysis (HD), but a fistula was created and dialysis clearance was improved by adding a weekly HD session. Acute pancreatitis was diagnosed in November 2006, with left upper quadrant abdominal pain and elevated serum amylase and lipase. An abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan showed diffuse thickening of bowel loops. Conservative management resulted in symptom resolution and normalized serum amylase and lipase concentrations. In March 2007, she developed protracted abdominal pain associated with nausea, vomiting, and loose stools for 3 weeks and 2.5 kg weight loss in 2 weeks. Abdominal pain was band like, worse on sitting up, improved with PD fills, and worsened with PD drains. On physical examination, the abdomen was soft, there were no palpable masses or organomegaly, and bowel sounds were normal.
U.S. Senate examines concerns about marine debris from 2011 Japan tsunami

Approximately 5 million tons of debris washed into the Pacific Ocean from Japan following the 11 March 2011 tsunami, and the Japanese government estimates that 1.5 million tons may still be floating on or below the ocean surface. However, it is not known how much debris may reach U.S. shores, an official from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) testified at a 17 May Senate hearing. “If you've got 1.5 [million tons] that's floating and you leave it in there for a year, how much of that is still going be floating and available to come ashore? We don't have a clue,” David Kennedy, NOAA assistant administrator for ocean services and coastal zone management, testified before a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. He said that some materials pushed by the wind could be expected to float but that materials pushed by currents under the surface are difficult to find. “A whole bunch of the 1.5 million is construction debris, and do [wooden] two-by-fours still float after a year? We're not sure.”
Digital licensing service for agents and Web services

If agent systems are to scale, many individuals and organizations across the Web will own agents and/or may want to rent, lease and otherwise license the capabilities of agents or groups of agents. This paper focuses on identifying a collection of services that are aimed at automating the digital licensing of agent-based services. The digital licensing service is itself a composite service consisting of a collection of subservices. A negotiation service results in a contract between two parties. The terms and conditions of the contract are monitored by a digital rights management service. A compensation service handles payment. An electronic receipt service handles compensation bookkeeping. Other more traditional services are assumed, including a discovery service, a binding service, a workflow service, and security services. Since we represent our agent and service interfaces using Web service description language and also our digital licensing services, our scheme is being developed to be upwards compatible with Web services.
A printable, compact parasitic array with dual bands

A compact, printable, parasitic array antenna operating at dual resonances is investigated. The antenna is composed of a driver and two directors. All elements are printed with copper strips on both sides of a substrate (Rogers Duroid 5880). Two directors with different lengths are twisted to generate dual resonances. In both generated bands, high gain (> 8.0 dBi) and good front-to-back ratios (> 8.4 dBi) are achieved.
Clinical Considerations in Designing Trials of Vaccines for Tuberculosis

Despite remarkable strides in the treatment of tuberculosis, the disease continues to be a major public health problem in many parts of the world, a situation that is projected to remain unchanged for years into the future. The development of a highly effective vaccine could substantially reduce the magnitude of the tuberculosis problem. A tuberculosis vaccine could theoretically prevent initial infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and enhance host response to prevent the progression from infection to disease or even to augment response to treatment in cases of established disease. Assessment of candidate vaccines will require clinical trials. This article suggests how traditional end points of morbidity and mortality, a number of newer measures of disease impact, and surrogate markers of tuberculous infection and disease might be used in such studies.
The dynamics of the coastal food webs in the Central Arabian Sea

The dynamics of the lower-level components of the coastal food web of Qatar are presented as an 'organic carbon' budget that summarizes comprehensive sampling of the phytoplankton, zooplankton and benthos at standard, repeated locations seasonally over a two year period. Moderate levels of phytoplankton biomass and primary production support diverse, healthy assemblages of zooplankton and benthos that are typical of sub-tropical ecosystems. The primary production however must be supported by sources of new or regenerated inorganic nutrients, such as rate-limiting nitrate, but no clear sources (such as freshwater runoff or upwelling) can be identified in this ecosystem, surrounded as it is by desert. A coupled carbon/nitrogen numerical simulation of the phytoplankton, zooplankton and benthos is used to test the hypotheses that 'new' or regenerated nutrients are supplied by i. export from coastal mangroves forests, ii. nitrogen fixation in the plankton, iii. benthic-pelagic coupling, or iv. the annual (summ...
Creative Leaders Define Themselves in the Micromoments of Leadership

People tend to associate creative leaders with monumental accomplishments. In the current provocation, it is asserted that creative leaders define themselves in the micromoments of everyday leadership. Also highlighted are three corollaries derived from the assertion that offer a new way of thinking about creative leadership.
Intraocular Retinal Prostheses: Monocular Depth Perception in the Low Resolution Limit

Depth perception via monocular cues was studied with a reach and grasp task in a retinal prosthesis simulator at low resolution. Results indicate that depth perception may be possible with retinal prostheses implanted only monocularly.
Analysis of nosocomial infections in blood ward pediatrics departments and the prevention measures

OBJECTIVE To explore the incidence of the nosocomial infections in the pediatric blood wards and put forward the prevention measures so as to guide the clinical treatment.METHODS The medical records of 2237 case-times of children who hospitalized the blood wards from Jan 2010 to Jan 2012 were retrospectively analyzed,and the incidence of the nosocomial infections was analyzed.RESULTS Of 2237 children investigated,the nosocomial infections occurred in 218 case-times of children with the incidence rate of 9.75%,including the children aged less than 1 year old(19.05%),the children age between 1 and 3 years(8.89%),the children aged between 3 and 7 years(8.31%),and the children aged more than 7 years(8.60%),the difference in the infections rate between the various age groups was statistically significant(P0.05);the incidence rates of the upper respiratory tract infections,lower respiratory tract infections,intestinal infections,blood infections,and skin infections were 49.08%,15.60%,12.84%,7.80%,and 5.96%,respectively;there were totally 54 case-times of specimens tested positive,among which the blood specimens ranked the first place,and the isolated bacteria accounted for 92.59%;the Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Klebsiella pneumoniae,Escherichia coli,Acinetobacter baumannii,Enterobacter cloacae were the top 5 species of pathogens,accounting for 25.93%,16.67%,9.26%,9.26%,and 9.26%,respectively.CONCLUSION The incidence of nosocomial infections is high in the pediatric blood wards,the respiratory tract infections ranked the first place,the gram-negative bacteria are the predominant pathogens causing infections.It is necessary to put forward the targeted interventions so as to prevent and control the nosocomial infections in the pediatric ward.
Service Network Evolution in the Construction of Intelligent Telecom Pipes

In this paper,we discuss the role of a service network in an intelligent telecom pipe. We analyze hotspot problems such as refined operation based on deep packet inspection(DPI) ,content delivery network(CDN) network construction,long-connection online application support,and IOT smart pipe. We suggest that sinking and extending basic business support and management and control is the development direction of the service network in an intelligent pipe. Service will be provided to end users via multiple intelligent pipes.
Study on rule extraction algorithm for selection of tool based on multi-decision property

In order to achieve intelligent tool selection,a rule extraction algorithm based on machining features and workpiece size has been put forward in the text.The rough sets have been applied to gain rule extraction of tool model.The basic theory of interval-valued has been adopted to select the size of tool.Finally,the effectiveness of the algorithm has been validated by an example.
An Empirical Study of Historical Patterns in Musical Rhythm: Analysis of German & Italian Classical Music Using the nPVI Equation

This paper introduces a new approach for the historical study of musical rhythm based on an empirical measure of rhythm known as the nPVI (‘normalized pairwise variability index’). The nPVI is an equation that measures the degree of durational contrast between successive events in a sequence. While the nPVI is increasingly used for comparative studies of rhythm in music and language, we show that it can also be used for historical research. A historical analysis of musical nPVI values from German/Austrian and Italian instrumental classical music between ∼1600-1900 reveals different patterns in the two cultures: German/Austrian music shows a steady increase in nPVI values over this period, while Italian music shows no salient increase. These patterns are discussed in light of the idea (from historical musicology) that the influence of Italian music on German music began to wane in the second half of the 1700s due to a rise of musical nationalism in Germany. The nPVI data prove to be consistent with this idea, illustrating how nPVI analysis can reveal patterns that enrich and inform historical research.
Novel lasing using bound states in the continuum

We have designed a high quality factor cavity that is based on a bound state in the continuum and harnessed its properties to demonstrate a novel type of surface emitting laser in the c-band (∼1550nm). We have experimentally demonstrated lasing action in this compact nanophotonic laser at room temperature with a very low threshold power.
Spica magnetic resonance imaging for determination of abduction angle: initial results and reproducibility assessment

Abstract Purpose Spica magnectic resonance imaging (MRI) is an established technique for postoperative determination of hip reduction in patients treated for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). A hip abduction angle >55° is considered excessive and has been associated with epiphyseal osteonecrosis. Our purpose was to establish objective criteria for measuring hip abduction angles on MRI after hip reduction and spica casting in patients with DDH, and evaluate reproducibility and reliability of angle measurement using these criteria. Methods Forty patients with DDH at our institution who underwent spica MRI after hip reduction between 3 April 2008 and 3 March 2015 were identified. Hip abduction angles were measured on proton density axial images as follows. A transverse line was drawn connecting the posterior ischial tuberosities. A second line was drawn medially along the distal femoral diaphysis, and the angle between these two lines was measured; this value was subtracted from 90°, yielding the deg...
A novel role for yeast casein kinases in glucose sensing and signaling

Yeasts have sophisticated signaling pathways for sensing glucose, their preferred carbon source, to regulate its uptake and metabolism. One of these is the sensor/receptor-repressor (SRR) pathway, which detects extracellular glucose and transmits an intracellular signal that induces expression of HXT genes. The yeast casein kinases (Ycks) are key players in this pathway. Our model of the SRR pathway had the Ycks functioning downstream of the glucose sensors, transmitting the signal from the sensors to the Mth1 and Std1 corepressors that are required for repression of HXT gene expression. However, we found that overexpression of Yck1 fails to restore glucose signaling in a glucose sensor mutant. Conversely, overexpression of a glucose sensor suppresses the signaling defect of a yck mutant. These results suggest that the Ycks act upstream or at the level of the glucose sensors. Indeed, we found that the glucose sensor Rgt2 is phosphorylated on Yck consensus sites in its C-terminal tail in a Yck-dependent manner and that this phosphorylation is required for corepressor binding and ultimately HXT expression. This leads to a revised model of the SRR pathway in which the Ycks prime a site on the cytoplasmic tails of the glucose sensors to promote binding of the corepressors.
Evaluation of HeartSmarts, a Faith-Based Cardiovascular Health Education Program.

In order to effectively address cardiovascular disease among African Americans, evidence-based health information must be disseminated within a context aligned with the values and beliefs of the population. Faith-based organizations play a critical role in meeting the religious and spiritual needs of many African Americans. Additionally, faith-based organizations can be effective in health promotion. A manual was created by incorporating biblical scriptures relating to health messages drawn from existing health manuals oriented toward African Americans. Lay health educators active in their churches participated in a 12-week training to learn the basics of cardiovascular disease and methods for delivering the program to their congregations’ members. After the completion of the training, these lay health educators recruited participants from their respective churches and administered their own 12-week HeartSmarts program. Measurements of participants’ systolic and diastolic blood pressure (mmHg), height (in.), weight (lbs.), and waist circumference (in.) were taken, and cardiovascular disease knowledge assessments (based on 20 open-ended questions) were administered at the start and end of the 12-week programs. Fourteen predominantly African American churches in NYC participated. Of the 221 participants, 199 completed the program. There were significant reductions in pretest and posttest total participant averages for systolic BP (4.48 mmHg, p < 0.001), diastolic BP (3.38 mmHg, p < 0.001), weight (3lbs., p = 0.001), and BMI (0.46, p = 0.001). Cardiovascular disease health assessment scores had an average increase of 12.74 correct responses (p < 0.001). The HeartSmarts program may be an effective ecumenical and cultural model for disseminating health messages and reducing cardiovascular risk among African Americans.
Isolated intraventricular haemorrhage in adults

While intraventricular haemorrhage is frequently found in association with intraparenchymal or subarachnoid haemorrhage, isolated intraventricular haemorrhage (iIVH) is rare in adults and seldom described. Awareness of possible causes is important in order to guide patient management. After elimination of a traumatic cause, numerous aetiologies remain possible. The most frequently found underlying lesions are arteriovenous malformations and aneurysms, but other vascular causes should also be sought, including cavernous malformations and moyamoya disease. Arterial hypertension, anticoagulant use, coagulopathies and certain toxic substances are also associated with iIVH. Finally, iIVH may be caused by intraventricular tumours. In a high number of cases, the cause remains unknown. Vascular and non-vascular causes should be searched through an imaging work-up (with CT angiography, MRI and catheter angiography when necessary) and correlation with clinical information to yield a diagnosis. The aim of this pictorial essay was to review the aetiologies of iIVH in adults.
Frequent Molecular Aberrations in Normal Karyotype (NC) Precursor B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (pB-ALL) Detected by Comparative Genomic Hybridization.

Abstract The prognosis of adult NC pB-ALL has not improved over the last decade mainly because separation into distinct molecular subsets has been lacking. We conducted a proof-of-principle experiment to screen the genome of blasts from adult NC pB-ALL patients for novel genomic alterations using 19,000 bacterial artificial chromosomes (BAC) by array CGH and verified our results with gene expression profiling (GEP, Agilent oligonucleotide expression arrays) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) using the same BAC probes or commercially available probes if available. The median age at diagnosis of the 6 males and 4 females was 55 years; all were treated with a 5-drug induction regimen followed by intensive consolidation and maintenance regimens. Five achieved CR of whom 3 relapsed with complex karyotype; samples were available on 2 of the patients at relapse. Samples with 95% purity by sorting according to their immunophenotype pattern. Only one case had a normal CGH pattern. A decreased copy number of p16 was found in 4 of the 10 diagnostic samples; 3 on whom mRNA was available demonstrated a decreased p16 mRNA expression by GEP. In addition, a loss at 9p21.2 and a loss and a gain at 8q21.2 were detected in one sample each; those were verified by FISH. Copy number losses were also observed across multiple samples at 1p34–1p36, 4p16, 5p15.33, 8q24, 9q34, 10q26, 11q12–11q13, 12q24, 14q32, 17p, 19p13.3, 22q11, and 22q13. Copy number gains across multiple samples were observed at 15q11.2 and 18q21. Those are currently being verified by FISH. Comparison of samples at diagnosis and at relapse revealed a disparate molecular pattern. In summary, enriching samples by sorting from NC pB-ALL to be studied by CGH is feasible; normal chromosome pattern does not correlate with normal molecular pattern; and diagnostic and relapsed samples have a different molecular pattern. Our work on 10 patient samples at diagnosis and 2 at relapse demonstrates the feasibility to detect specific molecular aberrations in NC pB-ALL. Since attaining good quality metaphase cells in ALL is often suboptimal, this work suggests that array CGH can complement conventional cytogenetic analysis to better characterize NC pB-ALL by identifying cryptic copy number changes. Work on a larger number of samples is warranted to determine the prognostic significance of the aberrations detected herein.
Situating Paradigms in Student Development Theory

This chapter reviews paradigms in which student development theory is situated, encouraging the use of critical and poststructural paradigms.
Using Common Problem Sets to Increase Student Engagement and Retention in CS2

Data Structures ranks as one of the most challenging courses in our program core curriculum. It has the steepest learning curve for our students, and the lowest retention rate. A persistent problem we face in teaching data structures is finding time and a mechanism to cover the mathematical concepts that are necessary for understanding the important aspects of the course. The authors addressed the challenge with various approaches over several years including: reorganization of the discrete mathematics I (MA220) and discrete mathematics II (MA290); reordering coverage of topics in courses, changing pre-requisites, changing credit hours, requiring students to submit weekly blogs, developing common problem sets to be used in both the MA220 and CS242, and providing peer-assisted learning sessions. In this poster presentation, we share our integrated pedagogical approach, and the benefits and shortcomings of various approaches we tried over the years. We share the results of a student survey we developed to assess our latest approach of using common problem sets in both courses. The survey results show that by using common problem sets, students had the opportunity to make connections not only between these two courses, but also between how what is being learned in the classroom fits into a broader scope of learning.
Lessons Learned from a Company Dealing with Big Data

The concept of big data has caught the attention of business leaders. However, there is still widespread confusion in industry as to how to treat such data. We describe one such encounter with big data from an industrial parts supplier who was concerned with unexpected variability in its prices. Unable to discern trends in the data, a point of contact for the supplier worked with us to explore this concern. Analysis showed that customers at different branches of the company were experiencing significantly different levels of price variation, and that some customers within a specific branch were being offered products at widely varying prices, which were apparently uncorrelated with the quantity of products purchased. Such behaviors are unacceptable to end customers, and rectification of these behaviors has led to increased customer satisfaction for this company. Furthermore, we were able to demonstrate general methodologies to help the company with future analyses.
On certain degenerate and singular elliptic PDEs I: Nondivergence form operators with unbounded drifts and applications to subelliptic equations

Abstract We prove a Harnack inequality for nonnegative strong solutions to degenerate and singular elliptic PDEs modeled after certain convex functions and in the presence of unbounded drifts. Our main theorem extends the Harnack inequality for the linearized Monge–Ampere equation due to Caffarelli and Gutierrez and it is related, although under different hypotheses, to a recent work by N.Q. Le. Since our results are shown to apply to the convex functions | x | p with p ≥ 2 and their tensor sums, the degenerate elliptic operators that we can consider include subelliptic Grushin and Grushin-like operators as well as a recent example by A. Montanari of a nondivergence-form subelliptic operator arising from the geometric theory of several complex variables. In the light of these applications, it follows that the Monge–Ampere quasi-metric structure can be regarded as an alternative to the usual Carnot–Caratheodory metric in the study of certain subelliptic PDEs.
Colonial Violence and the Picturesque

This essay explores ways in which picturesque discourse, a popular means of representing the domestic landscape of Great Britain in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, sustained and aided colonial violence. Analysis of the ideas and actions of Sri Lanka’s first British governor, Frederic North, in relation to the work of picturesque theorists and artists in Britain and South Asia, reveals a close relationship between the goals of imperial agents and the ideals of metropolitan aesthetes, particularly in the matter of colonial contestation of land. Analyzed here are images by Colin Mackenzie, Robert Home, Samuel Daniell, and William Lyttleton, all of whom carefully enfolded military accoutrements into the colonized landscape, effectively naturalizing the process of conquest.
Association Between Neighborhood Cohesion and Self-Neglect in Chinese-American Older Adults

Objectives: To examine the association between neighborhood cohesion and risk of self-neglect in a community-dwelling Chinese-American older population. Setting: Community. Participants: Chinese-American older adults aged 60 and older interviewed from 2011 to 2013 (N = 3,159). Design: Data were drawn from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly, a cross-sectional community-engaged study in the greater Chicago area. Measurements: Self-neglect was assessed with systematic observations of a participant's personal and home environment. Neighborhood cohesion was measured using six questions. Results: After controlling for potential confounders, greater neighborhood cohesion was significantly associated with lower risk of overall self-neglect (odds ratio (OR) = 0.87, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.77–0.98) and moderate to severe self-neglect (OR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.58–0.85) but not significantly associated with mild self-neglect (OR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.82–1.09). Regarding the phenotypes of self-neglect, greater neighborhood cohesion was significantly associated with lower risk of poor personal hygiene (OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.67–0.96) and need for home repair (OR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.60–0.83) but not significantly for hoarding (OR = 1.04, 95% CI = 0.89–1.21), unsanitary conditions (OR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.76–1.02), and inadequate utilities (OR = 1.00, 95% CI = 0.77–1.31). Conclusion: This study highlights the association between greater neighborhood cohesion and lower risk of overall self-neglect in Chinese-American older adults. Enhancing neighborhood cohesion may enhance elder self-neglect prevention and intervention.