cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Imaging Options in Cardiac Amyloidosis: Differentiating AL from ATTR

Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) results from the myocardial deposition of abnormally folded endogenous proteins leading to significant morbidity and mortality. Accurate and timely non-invasive diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis and the correct identification of amyloid type are critical for choosing appropriate therapy. Disease type is defined by the precursor protein and most typically involves light chain (AL) or transthyretin (ATTR). Traditionally, cardiac amyloidosis has been suspected on the basis of characteristic echocardiographic features and confirmed with endomyocardial biopsy. Recent advances in echocardiography, cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), and nuclear imaging now permit the non-invasive diagnosis of CA with a high degree of confidence and, in some cases, assignment of amyloid types. CMR techniques including late gadolinium enhancement and new protocols such as T1 mapping and extra-cellular volume (ECV) quantification have afforded insight into the diagnosis and pathophysiology of cardiac amyloidosis, while bone-avid nuclear tracers can identify ATTR with a high degree of accuracy. We highlight the recent advances in imaging techniques that can identify cardiac amyloidosis with a special emphasis on nuclear modalities used for differentiating light chain from transthyretin disease.
Internationalizing Reference Education

ABSTRACTReference instruction should also involve preparing library and information science students for working with international students. There are numerous options for embedding such content into courses. In addition, professional organizations offers students with many opportunities to launch their international experiences.
Paper 2: the coal plant could give people jobs, but at the same time, it could pollute the air science learning as participation with and in a place

Framing learning as changing participation is a powerful step forward in documenting the goals of science education. Learning as changing participation has its history within sociocultural studies of learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991), but, at the same time it calls into question the complicated ways in which the outcomes and goals of learning are shaped by the relations of power and privilege that often constitute a community of practice as well as by other historical, political, social, cultural, and physical factors (Gutierrez, 2008).
Recent development of high-power widely tunable THz quantum cascade laser sources based on difference-frequency generation

We present the recent development of high performance compact THz sources based on intracavity nonlinear frequency mixing in mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers. Significant performance improvements of our THz sources with respect to the continuous wave THz power output, monolithic THz tuning, and widely frequency are achieved by systematic optimization of the device's active region, waveguide design, and chip bonding strategy. Room temperature continuous wave THz power of more than 10 μW at 3.4 THz is demonstrated at room temperature. Monolithic THz tuning of a chip-based THz source from 2.6 to 4.2 THz with power up to 0.1 mW is achieved. Surface emission from the substrate via a diffraction grating with THz power up to 0.5 mW is also obtained. The developing characteristics show the potential for these THz sources as local oscillators for many astronomical and medical applications.
Pulse Waveform Standards for Electro-Optics

The maturing of the semiconductor industry has resulted in the need for faster methods for the measurement of pulse waveforms. The measurement requirements are fast outstripping the capability of integrated circuit testors. The fastest commercial sampling oscilloscope today has a step response transition duration (risetime) of 20 picoseconds. For the measurement of single transients, available time resolution is somewhat less. This time resolution is not adequate to support the measurement of the faster semiconductor devices being developed, such as gallium arsenide logic gates whose switching times have been estimated to be 12 picoseconds [1]. Measurement of such transitions requires a significant advance in measurement technology. A prime candidate for making the required quantum leap in time measurement resolution is the electro-optic sampler [2]. This sampler has a demonstrated resolution of 0.4 picoseconds and a theoretical resolution limit much shorter than that.
When warm and cold don’t mix: The implications of climate for the determinants of homelessness

Abstract It is widely understood that climate affects the spatial distribution of homelessness—warm places have on average higher rates of unsheltered homelessness than cold places. A less recognized fact is that variation in rates of unsheltered homelessness is higher in warm places as well. We document this fact using quantile regression techniques and show that it has important implications for estimating the determinants of homelessness across communities. In particular, housing prices, poverty rates and religiosity are much more strongly associated with rates of unsheltered homelessness in warm places than in cold places. As an alternative to splitting the sample, we find that logarithmic transformations of rates of unsheltered homelessness can be reliably used in a pooled sample. Associations between total homelessness and important covariates also vary across warm and cold places, in this case in terms of both rates and logarithms. Ultimately, future research should carefully account for climate when estimating the determinants of homelessness.
Dissociation in the Arguments of Rhetorical Theory

This essay draws on Perelmana's notion of the “dissociation of concepts” to characterize the nature of arguments over questions of the form “What is X?” It examines the use of dissociation strategi...
Baseline NIH Stroke Scale is an inferior predictor of functional outcome in the era of acute stroke intervention.

Background and aimsBaseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores have frequently been used for prognostication after ischemic stroke. With the increasing utilization of acute s...
What Are Partial Differential Equations

Let us begin by delineating our field of study. A differential equation is an equation that relates the derivatives of a (scalar) function depending on one or more variables.
Traces of terror: Subliminal death primes and facial electromyographic indices of affect

Previous research has found that both explicit and implicit reminders of one's mortality provoke hostile reactions to those who threaten one's worldview, but do not create conscious negative affect or electrodermal arousal. This study was conducted to investigate subtle affective reactions to subliminal death primes as indexed by measures of facial electromyography (EMG). Fifty-four participants were exposed to masked presentations of either the word “dead” or “pain,” and then to a worldview threatening essay. Facial EMG was recorded throughout. Analyses found the expected increase in worldview defense following mortality primes. Analyses also uncovered a novel finding with greater corrugator EMG specifically during exposure to the subliminal death but not subliminal pain primes, pointing to the sensitivity of facial EMG to unconscious cognition. However, there was little evidence for a mediating role of affect on worldview defense following exposure to death primes. Implications for understanding terror management processes and the effects of unconscious cognition on emotion are briefly discussed.
More on Voting

This chapter starts by describing two methods for elections when more than one candidate is to be elected: the generalized Hare method and approval voting. Then two methods of manipulating the vote are discussed. First is strategic voting, where voters might vote for their second favorite candidate to ensure that their least favorite candidate is not elected (called an insincere ballot); second is the introduction of amendments to change the final outcome. We close with an example of how different methods, even though they are fair, may give different results.
Code constructions for multi-node exact repair in distributed storage$^\dag$

We study the problem of centralized exact repair of multiple failures in distributed storage. We present constructions that achieve a new set of interior points under exact repair. The constructions build upon the layered code Construction by Tian et al., designed for exact repair of single failure. We firstly improve upon the layered Construction for general system parameters. Then, we extend the improved Construction to support the repair of multiple failures, with varying number of helpers. In particular, for some parameters,we prove the optimality of one point in terms of the storage size and the repair bandwidth for multiple erasures. Finally, considering minimum bandwidth cooperative repair (MBCR) codes as centralized repair codes, we determine explicitly the best achievable region obtained by space-sharing among all known points, including the MBCR point.
Cultural considerations in using mobile health in clinical care with military and veteran populations

Traditional cultural models typically address factors like ethnicity, language, and race as important concerns pertaining to treatment efficacy, but over the years, professionals have expanded the focus to include gender, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, and other aspects of identity and experience, including military cultural issues. As the integration of mobile health increases in clinical care, another important cultural factor that can impact care is technological culture. Differences in perception of technological competence by patient and provider can impact the provider's ability to effectively connect with the patient and fully leverage tools to support evidence-based treatment. In this article, we describe provider- and patient-level cultural issues in the provision of clinical care in the military and veteran populations and how the development of cultural competency in technological culture can improve patient care. We apply traditional models in the development of cultural competency to technological culture as well as provide recommendations for providers in Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs health care systems that may be relevant to outside clinicians as well. Key factors are addressed when considering the cultural issues involved in the clinical integration of mobile health in the military and veteran populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Tort Law as an Environmental Policy Instrument

Policymakers aiming to tackle any environmental problem have a diverse tool chest of policy instruments at their disposal, including command and control regulations, taxes, marketable allowance, and liability entitlements. Scholars of public health and safety have been debating the effectiveness of tort law as a regulatory tool for decades. The legal literature on this topic, though, is muddled because the field has failed to adopt a set of criteria by which to compare tort law to public regulation. Heightened clarity on the usefulness of tort law as a complementary policy instrument to public regulations may have legal and policy implications. This article therefore adopts evaluation criteria from the policy analysis and public policy fields — equity, legitimacy, efficiency, organizational competence, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness — to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of tort law as an environmental policy instrument relative to public regulation.
Gender differences in ethical judgments

Student ratings of the ethicality of 19 behavioral interactions between male and female clients and counselors were used to explore gender differences in ethical judgments from the perspective of several theoretical models. Models pertinent to individual and gender differences were tested and included Kohlberg's (1976) theory of moral development, Gilligan's (1982) theory of moral orientation, Bem's (1981a) sex role schema theory and Eagly's (1987) social role interpretation. Significant gender differences across all dependent variables were found in the ratings of unethical behaviors. Women rated sexual interactions between clients and therapists more conservatively than did men ~ regardless of the gender of the therapist and client except in one condition. The one condition where men provided ethics ratings comparable to women was in response to sexual interactions between male therapists and male clients. It was hypothesized that males in this one condition identified more strongly with a scenario depicting a male client as victim, and therefore gave ratings more consistent with the ratings females provided. Hierarchical regressions in which the variance in ethicality ratings were predicted by gender, academic ability, moral development, moral orientation, sex role identification, and general opinion of counselors were conducted. Main effects were found to be significant for gender of subject and for the therapistclient gender pairings depicted, with a significant interaction between these two main effects. While some mediation effect was found for the sex role identification of feminism, neither moral development stage or moral orientation had significant effects on ethical judgment.
Standard of Practice: What Constitutes a Passing Grade for MLT Courses?

Institutional policy for what constitutes a passing grade for MLT programs varies across the nation. Institutions allow programs to set the lowest passing grade at a C and others a D for all courses unless otherwise defined NAACLS. Many programs are required to accept a D as passing since there is no NAACLS standard. This puts MLT programs at risk of not meeting metrics for certification pass rates, employment rates, and may lead to loss of clinical sites. A Survey Monkey with eight questions was sent October 27, 2018 to 123 NAACLS MLT programs with the goal of identifying a standard of practice and potential development of a NAACLS standard. Survey has current completion rate of 88/123 (72%). Results: 74% of programs require students to pass lab: 76% with a grade of C and 56% of programs can then issue a grade of F. Programs (35%) not requiring C in lab required a combined lec/lab grade of C to pass. The lowest C was 70% and C+ 75% at 39% and 33% respectively. A grade of D (70%) was reported as passing by 62% (16) of programs. Many comments received. Recommendation to NAACLS for standard stating students must pass lab to pass course was supported by 73% of programs. It appears that the majority of programs are in favor of a NAACLS standard to set a requirement for passing lab with a grade of C. At the very least, a standard of practice has been defined. National discussion needed.
Inhaler Technique in Low-Income, Inner-City Adults with Uncontrolled Asthma.

Background Poor inhaler technique has been shown to be associated with less asthma control and increased health care utilization. Little is known about the impact of inhaler technique on the most vulnerable patients. Objective This study examined inhaler technique in low-income, inner-city adults with uncontrolled asthma. Methods Inhaler technique data and other patient characteristics were evaluated in adults drawn from 2 studies conducted at the University of Pennsylvania. Subjects were from low-income Philadelphia neighborhoods and had uncontrolled asthma. Baseline characteristics were collected. Inhaler technique was rated by research coordinators who were trained with written materials. Results In 584 adults, 56% of metered dose inhaler users and 64% of dry powder inhaler users had adequate visually assessed inhaler technique. Inhaler technique did not vary by reading comprehension or numeracy levels. Conclusions In this group of patients with uncontrolled asthma, visually assessed inhaler technique was adequate in more than one-half. Although incorrect inhaler technique is generally common and must be routinely addressed, this study suggests that other factors that lead to poor control must be identified.
A picture is worth a thousand words: applying natural language processing tools for creating a quantum materials database map

This paper demonstrates the application of Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools to explore large libraries of documents and to correlate heuristic associations between text descriptions in figure captions with interpretations of images and figures. The use of visualization tools based on NLP methods permits one to quickly assess the extent of the research described in the literature related to a specific topic. The authors demonstrate how the use of NLP methods on only the figure captions without having to navigate the entire text of a document can provide an accelerated assessment of the literature in a given domain.
Mechanical characterisation of anisotropic silica sand/furan resin compound induced by binder jet 3D additive manufacturing technology

Abstract Binder jet 3D printing of ceramic materials is an additive manufacturing technology that enables the production of complex and multi-functional parts through the selective jet binding of precursor powder beds. The present study makes use of the 3D Sand Printing (3DSP) process to create moulds and cores in the casting industry. The use of the 3DSP components as functional parts in industrial production is limited due to the uncertainty associated with their mechanical properties, such as their permeability and thermal stability. Moreover, because of the porous nature of their printed structures, their mechanical properties are dispersed and rather difficult to reproduce. This study aims to characterise the impact of different printing parameters on the mechanical performance of printed parts. For this purpose, a specific device was made in order to assess the mechanical characteristics of samples printed via this technique. The effects of processing parameters such as the printing orientation and building direction on the compressive properties of the printed specimens have also been carefully studied. Microstructural analyses were performed to better understand the relationship between the 3DSP process and the mechanical properties of the components produced from it. The results show that the mechanical tests carried out significantly improve the property reproducibility of the samples made using this technique.
Birdshot chorioretinopathy presenting in a teenager.

Abstract Purpose To describe clinical features of the youngest patient with well-documented HLA-A29-positive birdshot chorioretinopathy (BCR). Observations A 17-year-old female presented with poor night vision and floaters. Examination revealed bilateral vitritis, retinal vasculitis, and numerous cream-colored ovoid lesions in the fundus. Fluorescein angiography revealed bilateral optic disc leakage, large vessel leakage and diffuse capillary ferning. There were hundreds of small hypocyanescent spots evenly distributed in the posterior pole of both eyes on indocyanine green angiography. Workup was positive for HLA-A29.2. Systemic immunosuppression with adalimumab 40mg/0.4mL was initiated every two weeks and escalated to weekly dosing. The patient's early age of disease onset prompted evaluation of her parents. The mother's exam was normal and she was HLA-A29 negative. Examination of the father revealed peripapillary choroidal lesions as well as hypocyanescent spots on ICG. HLA-typing revealed the presence of HLA-A29.2. Conclusions and Importance BCR rarely occurs in the pediatric population. We present the youngest patient with well-documented BCR in the literature to highlight that this disease deserves consideration even in young patients. Interestingly, choroidal lesions were also found in an asymptomatic parent with HLA-A29.2 positivity.
What Is an MD/PhD?

An MD/PhD is a combined graduate degree that involves the completion of medical school and a PhD. Completion of this program takes about 8 years and involves clinical training and a graduate dissertation. There are around 100 MD/PhD programs in the United States, and many of them are fully funded, providing a compelling financial incentive. This chapter explores the specific structure of these programs and explains how they vary between institutions. MD/PhD programs allow students to pursue a wide range of research fields and integrate the two phases of the training to provide a unique perspective that emphasizes medical and translational research beyond the individual benefits of the MD and PhD training.
Getting to the heart of the issue: senior emergency resident electrocardiogram interpretation and its impact on quality assurance events.

OBJECTIVE Electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation skills are of critical importance for diagnostic accuracy and patient safety. In our emergency department (ED), senior third-year emergency medicine residents (EM3s) are the initial interpreters of all ED ECGs. While this is an integral part of emergency medicine education, the accuracy of ECG interpretation is unknown. We aimed to review the adverse quality assurance (QA) events associated with ECG interpretation by EM3s. METHODS We conducted a retrospective study of all ED ECGs performed between October 2015 and October 2018, which were read primarily by EM3s, at an urban tertiary care medical center treating 56,000 patients per year. All cases referred to the ED QA committee during this time were reviewed. Cases involving a perceived error were referred to a 20-member committee of ED leadership staff, attendings, residents, and nurses for further consensus review. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. RESULTS EM3s read 92,928 ECGs during the study period. Of the 3,983 total ED QA cases reviewed, errors were identified in 268 (6.7%; 95% CI, 6.0%-7.6%). Four of the 268 errors involved ECG misinterpretation or failure to act on an ECG abnormality by a resident (1.5%; 95% CI, 0.0%-2.9%). CONCLUSION A small percentage of the cases referred to the QA committee were a result of EM3 misinterpretation of ECGs. The majority of emergency medicine residencies do not include the senior resident as a primary interpreter of ECGs. These findings support the use of EM3s as initial ED ECG interpreters to increase their clinical exposure.
Strategy of Surgery for Repair of Thoracoabdominal Aneurysms

Several considerations determine the optimal approach to repair of thoracoabdominal aneurysms. Intraoperative strategies are aimed at avoiding cerebral embolic injury, minimizing spinal cord ischemia, and preserving perfusion of the abdominal viscera, including the kidneys. Postoperatively, maintenance of hemodynamic stability is critical.
The Role of Risk Perceptions and Affective Consequences in COVID-19 Protective Behaviors.

Slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) requires behavioral changes such as physical distancing (e.g., staying a 6-foot distance from others, avoiding mass gatherings, reducing houseguests), wearing masks, reducing trips to nonessential business establishments, and increasing hand washing. Like other health behaviors, COVID-19 related behaviors may be related to risk representations. Risk representations are the cognitive responses a person holds about illness risk such as, identity (i.e., label/characteristics of risk), cause (i.e., factors causing condition), timeline (i.e., onset/duration of risk), consequences (i.e., intrapersonal/interpersonal outcomes), behavioral efficacy (i.e., if and how the condition can be controlled/treated), and illness risk coherence (i.e., extent to which representations, behaviors, and beliefs are congruent). The current study applies the Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation (CSM-SR) to evaluate how risk representations may relate to COVID-19 protective and risk behaviors. Participants include 400 workers from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk aged ≥ 18 years and US residents. Participants completed an online survey measuring risk representations (B-IPQ) and COVID-19 related behaviors, specifically, physical distancing, hand washing, and shopping frequency. Risk coherence, consequences, timeline, emotional representation, and behavioral efficacy were related to risk and protective behaviors. Risk representations vary in their relationship to COVID-19 risk and protective behaviors. Implications include the importance of coherent, targeted, consistent health communication, and effective health policy in mitigating the spread of COVID-19.
Applications of Adsorption Heat Pumps

Over the past century, adsorption heat pumps have been proposed from thermal solutions ranging from electronics cooling to building heating. Research into adsorption heat pumps is ongoing with new applications being explored at the lab scale, implemented at the prototype scale and commercialized. The majority of adsorption heat pump research activities has been for building cooling and heating applications, and there are some instances of commercialization of this technology. Driving heat sources for building cooling and heating include waste heat, solar, and natural gas. Further research has investigated adsorption cooling systems for mobile applications that make use of the waste heat available from the engines in automobiles, locomotives, and marine vessels. Other thermal control applications that have been investigated include water heating, refrigeration, and chip cooling. Recent work has studied hybrid systems that use adsorption heat pump technology to purify water along with providing cooling.
Genomic Characterization of Group A Streptococci Causing Pharyngitis and Invasive Disease in Colorado, USA, June 2016 - April 2017.

BACKGROUND The genomic features and transmission link of circulating Group A streptococcus (GAS) strains causing different disease types, such as pharyngitis and invasive disease, are not well understood. METHODS We used whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to characterize GAS isolates recovered from persons with pharyngitis and invasive disease in the Denver metropolitan area from June 2016 to April 2017. RESULTS GAS isolates were cultured from 236 invasive and 417 pharyngitis infections. WGS identified 34 emm types. Compared to pharyngitis isolates, invasive isolates were more likely to carry the erm family genes (23% vs. 7.4%, p<0.001), which confer resistance to erythromycin and clindamycin (including inducible resistance), and covS gene inactivation (7% vs. 0.5%, p<0.001). WGS identified 97 genomic clusters (433 isolates; 2-65 isolates per cluster) that consisted of genomically closely related isolates (median SNP (IQR) = 3 (1-4) within cluster). Thirty genomic clusters (200 isolates; 31% of all isolates) contained both pharyngitis and invasive isolates and were found in 11 emm types. CONCLUSIONS In the Denver metropolitan population, mixed disease types were commonly seen in clusters of closely related isolates, indicative of overlapping transmission networks. Antibiotic-resistance and covS inactivation was disproportionally associated with invasive disease.
Broadcast News Writing, Reporting, and Producing

Introduction Broadcast News Writing Mechanics Broadcast News Writing Style More Style Rules Writing Broadcast Copy Color: The Key to Good Writing Writing for the Radio Newscast Writing for the TV Newscast Delivering the News Finding the News Broadcast News Reporting Reporting Assignments Covering Planned Events Reporting Live Putting the TV Story Together The Interview Collecting Information from Documents Computer-Assisted Reporting for Broadcast Developing Sources Specialty Reporting Ethics and the Law More Ethical Issues Tabloid Journalism Producing Using the Hardware the Job Search in a Changing Industry Glossary.
Lectures on Four-Dimensional Dehn Twists

These are notes from the 2003 C.I.M.E. summer school "symplectic 4-manifolds and algebraic surfaces". They cover the same material as the author's (by now ancient) Ph.D. thesis.
The True Executor of the Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

This paper examines the culpability of Elizabeth and her Councillors in the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, the woman who threatened to take Elizabeth's throne and life away from her. This article is available in Constructing the Past: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/constructing/vol6/iss1/4 Constrocting the Post The True Executor of the Execution ofMary, Queen of Scots
Separation of veins from activated brain tissue in functional magnetic resonance images at 1.5 T

A feasibility study was conducted to segment 1.5 T functional magnetic resonance images (fMRIs) into grey matter and large veins using individual pixel intensity difference and temporal phase delay as two correlated parameters in 1.5 T gradient echo images. The time-course of each pixel in gradient echo images acquired during visual stimulation with a checkerboard flashing at 8 Hz was correlated to the stimulation 'on'-'off' sequence to identify activated pixels, and the temporal delay of each activated pixel was computed by fitting its time-course to a reference sine function. A histogram of the product pixel-intensity x temporal delay could be fitted to a bimodal distribution, which was then used to segment the functional image into veins or activated brain tissue. The results show relatively good demarcation between large veins and activated grey matter using this method. >
Nuclear Receptor-Mediated Gene Regulation in Drug Metabolism

In the past decade, significant progress has been made in the understanding of the comprehensive role of nuclear receptors (NRs) in the regulation of drug-metabolizing enzymes (DMEs) and drug transporter system. It has become clear that pregnane X receptor (PXR) and constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) can function as master xenosensors to regulate the expression of majority of the DMEs and transporters. This article focuses on recent advances in the understanding of the regulation of DMEs by nuclear receptors. Keywords: drug-metabolizing enzymes; nuclear receptors; drug transporter system; pregnane X receptor; xenosensors
Effect of Herpesvirus hominis Type 2 on human cervical epithelium: Scanning electron microscopic observations

Abstract The clinical effects of Herpesvirus hominis Type 2 on the human cervix and vagina have been known for centuries. However, only recently has interest increased with the possible correlation of herpes infections with diseases of the fetus and neonate and cervical cancer. We have shown previously that the changes in the cells seen with herpes infection in Papanicolaou smears can be reproduced in vitro. Transmission electron microscopy shows only the presence of intra- and extra-cellular virus particles, but the scanning electron microscope reveals very striking and apparently unique changes in the cell surface following this infection. Scanning electron micrographs will be shown to illustrate these changes and to correlate them with the changes seen on cells in Papanicolaou smear preparations.
Dynamic Time Delay Models for Load Balancing. Part II: A Stochastic Analysis of the Effect of Delay Uncertainty

In large-scale distributed computing systems, in which the computational elements are physically or virtually distant from each other, there are communication-related delays that can significantly alter the expected performance of load-balancing policies that do not account for such delays. This is a particularly significant problem in systems for which the individual units are connected by means of a shared broadband communication medium (e.g., the Internet, ATM, wireless LAN or wireless Internet). In such cases, the delays, in addition to being large, fluctuate randomly, making their one-time accurate prediction impossible. In this work, the stochastic dynamics of a load-balancing algorithm in a cluster of computer nodes are modeled and used to predict the effects of the random time delays on the algorithm's performance. A discrete-time stochastic dynamical-equation model is presented describing the evolution of the random queue size of each node. Monte Carlo simulation is also used to demonstrate the extent of the role played by the magnitude and uncenainty of the various time-delay elements in altering the performance of load balancing. This study reveals that the presence of delay (deterministic or random) can lead to a significant degradation in the performance of a load-balancing policy. One way to remedy such a problem is to weaken the load-balancing mechanism so that the load-transfer between nodes is down-scaled (or discouraged) appropriately.
Secondhand information and social judgment

Abstract This research investigates how secondhand impressions of other people differ from those based on firsthand information. It was hypothesized that secondhand impressions are often more extreme because secondhand accounts of another person's actions frequently fail to convey adequately the role of mitigating circumstances and situational constraints in producing that person's behavior. Experiments 1 and 2 tested this hypothesis by exposing “first generation” subjects to information about a target person, having them rate the target on several trait and attribution scales, and having them describe the target person's actions to a group of “second generation” subjects. As predicted, second generation subjects made more extreme ratings of the target than their first generation counterparts. Content analyses of the accounts transmitted by first generation subjects indicated that they did indeed underemphasize various situational qualifications of the target persons' behavior. Experiment 3 extended these findings by demonstrating that people's impressions of someone they have often heard about from a friend (but never met) are more extreme than their friends' more informed impressions.
Long term results of primary radiotherapy with/without neck dissection for squamous cell cancer of the base of tongue.

Background There are several management options for patients with squamous cell cancer of the base of tongue. We have had an interest in using primary radiotherapy with or without neck dissection, in an effort to provide optimal oncologic as well as functional outcomes. Methods From 1981 to 1995, 68 patients with primary squamous cell cancer of the base of tongue were managed with primary radiotherapy, with neck dissection added for those who were initially seen with palpable lymph node metastases. Ages ranged from 35 to 77 years (median age, 55 years). There were 59 men and 9 women. T Stage distribution was: T1, 17; T2, 32; T3, 17; T4, 2. Fifty-eight patients (85%) were initially seen with nodal metastases. Initial treatment generally involved external-beam radiotherapy (EBRT) to the primary site and upper neck (54 Gy) and to the low neck (50 Gy). A 192-Ir brachytherapy boost (20–30 Gy) to the base of tongue was done about 3 weeks later, at the same anesthesia used for the neck dissection. All patients had temporary tracheostomy. Follow-up ranged from 1 month to 151 months (median, 36 months). Nine patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy as part of a larynx-preservation protocol. Results Actuarial 5- and 10-year local control is 89% and 89%, distant metastasis free survival is 91% and 76%, diseasefree survival is 80% and 67%, and overall survival is 86% and 52%, respectively. Complications occurred in 16%. Conclusions Our long term data clearly demonstrate that primary radiotherapy produces excellent oncologic outcomes. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Head Neck 20: 668–673, 1998.
Enslaving History: Narratives on Local Whiteness in a Black Atlantic Port

In this article, I analyze the jointly racial and spatial politics of representing slavery in contemporary Liverpool, England. I show how central space and place are to black Liverpudlians' theories of racial processes and therefore to their anti racist activism. While I highlight the agency of subalterns in constituting the white identity of the city and its population, I also point to some of the limitations of their antiracist practice and that of their white supporters. Toward that goal, I draw lessons from the antebellum slave narrative because its authors also understood and reappropriated slavery's geopolitics, navigating similarly racialized terrain. [whiteness, space, place, locality, transnational ism, slavery, Britain]
The molluscan cardioactive neuropeptide FMRFamide: subcellular localization in bivalve ganglia.

Ganglia of the marine mollusk Macrocallista nimbosa were pooled, homogenized, and subjected to differential centrifugation. The neuropeptide Phe-Met-Arg-Phe-NH2 (FMRFamide) was concentrated in the microsomal pellet. When the medium-speed supernatant was centrifuged in a discontinuous sucrose gradient, three separate peaks of activity were detected and identified as acetylcholine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and FMRFamide. The relative concentration of FMRFamide in each fraction was determined by bioassay and by radioimmunoassay (RIA). Both determinations revealed a peak of peptide in the middle of the sucrose gradient. Electron micrographs of each of the gradient interfaces were analyzed. The interface containing the peak of biological FMRFamide activity was enriched two- to fivefold in neurosecretory granules with a mean diameter of 104 nm and various electron densities. Morphologically similar vesicles were also seen in intact ganglia. These findings support the notion that FMRFamide is a neurosecretory product. But the physiological function of the peptide in bivalve ganglia remains unknown.
Mining Frequent Generalized Itemsets and Generalized Association Rules Without Redundancy

This paper presents some new algorithms to efficiently mine max frequent generalized itemsets (g-itemsets) and essential generalized association rules (g-rules). These are compact and general representations for all frequent patterns and all strong association rules in the generalized environment. Our results fill an important gap among algorithms for frequent patterns and association rules by combining two concepts. First, generalized itemsets employ a taxonomy of items, rather than a flat list of items. This produces more natural frequent itemsets and associations such as (meat, milk) instead of (beef, milk), (chicken, milk), etc. Second, compact representations of frequent itemsets and strong rules, whose result size is exponentially smaller, can solve a standard dilemma in mining patterns: with small threshold values for support and confidence, the user is overwhelmed by the extraordinary number of identified patterns and associations; but with large threshold values, some interesting patterns and associations fail to be identified.
Capsule commentary on Wilhelm-Leen et al., phase angle, frailty and mortality in older adults.

This article highlights the need to better define frailty status, factors associated with it, and biomarkers for early and more focused preventative strategies, as well as the need to screen and stratify general populations. This article examines the use of a novel biomarker for frailty: bioelectrical impedence (BIA). BIA is a non-invasive test used in laboratory settings to estimate total body water and percent body fat, and in the evaluation of elderly frail women.1 Phase angle, a value calculated from BIA, reflects the overall vitality of living tissue.2,3 The authors tested whether there was a relationship between phase angle (or tissue vitality), frailty status and mortality. The widely validated frailty index by Fried was used to identify and stratify frail patients.4 Using information from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), the authors found an interesting direct correlation between narrow phase angle and both frailty and mortality in both women and men. Interestingly, these correlations were consistent even after accounting for age, race-ethnicity and comorbidity. The unique correlation between phase angle and comorbidities deserves special consideration. As the authors suggested, phase angle could predict mortality in patients with chronic medical conditions (dialysis, HIV infection etc.). Therefore, this tool may be used as screening test in both healthy patients and those with chronic disease. A potential limitation of this study is the absence of longitudinal data on BIA and incident frailty from this group of patients; does worsening BIA predict worsening frailty over time? Further longitudinal studies are warranted to verify and validate these findings. The meaning of these findings, their use in clinical practice, and the applicability of narrow phase angle in clinical settings is still unknown. It would be interesting to combine this valuable tool with clinical indices and early biomarkers of frailty and disease to be able to identify populations at risk and target preventative strategies. Whether using phase angles would allow clinicians to successfully intervene during the progression from health to frailty or after patients have become frail is worth testing.
Practical problems associated with the application of the finite element method to composite materials micromechanical analyses

Abstract The finite element method of numerical analysis is rapidly emerging as the preferred method of analysing the micromechanical behaviour of composite materials. A number of practical solution difficulties have been uncovered, however. Some are associated with the basic method itself, while others are unique to the specific application. The author has briefly explored some of these areas for additional research, often only enough to discover certain inherent problems. Others have been outlined in detail and only await accomplishment. This paper attempts to define the more important of these problems, indicates what has been done to date, and discusses what remains to be done.
Alterations in Free Fatty Acid Metabolism in Endocrine Disorders. Part I: Effect of Thyroid Hormone1

Fasting levels of plasma free fatty acid (FFA) and the response to epinephrine and norepinephrine infusions have been measured in normal subjects. The results have been compared with those of studies done on patients with hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and panhypopituitarism. In hyperthyroidism there was a significant elevation of resting levels of FFA and an enhanced mobilization of FFA after catechol amine stimulation. Hypothyroid subjects presented a wide variation in fasting levels and a broad range of response to catechol amine stimulation. Mobilization of FFA after catechol amine infusion was decreased, and this diminished response appeared to be related to the degree of thyroid deficiency. Preliminary observations on the disappearance rates of labeled palmitic acid suggested that thyroid hormone has an effect on utilization as well as mobilization of fatty acids. Studies in panhypopituitary patients indicate that fasting levels and the response to catechol amines are related primarily to thyroid d...
Spatial collapse of beam-driven plasma waves

Electron-plasma waves driven unstable by an electron beam are observed to be backscattered by stationary density perturbations to form standing waves. Above a certain threshold these standing waves develop into sharply localized ($\ensuremath{\sim}10{\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{\mathrm{D}}$) intense fields, $\frac{{{E}_{max}}^{2}}{4\ensuremath{\pi}{n}_{0}\ensuremath{\kappa}{T}_{e}}\ensuremath{\approx}1$. Significant fractions of beam electrons are scattered in velocity space by these stationary spikes of high-frequency field.
Reply to the letter to the editor: preoperative pain and function profiles reflect consistent TKA patient selection among US surgeons

To the editor, We read the letter from Riddle and colleagues regarding our recently published paper [1] with great interest. We agree that enhanced preoperative appropriateness criteria is necessary to assure ideal individual patient selection and timing for primary total knee replacement. However, defining individual patient appropriateness was not the purpose of our paper. The major goals of our paper are below. First, we performed our analyses at the practice level (not patient level). We did this for important methodological and clinical reasons. Methodologically, patient-reported outcomes are validated for use at the aggregate practice or population level. Therefore, we analyzed the measures at the practice level. We made no effort to determine “appropriateness” at the individual patient level. Second, our stated goal was to assess the consistency of practice-level total knee replacement patient selection. To address this question, we reported median, 25th, and 75th percentiles of the preoperative pain and function patient profiles across 22 sites in the early Function and Outcomes Research for Comparative Effectiveness in Total Joint Replacement (FORCE-TJR) data. A more recent analysis with 140 surgeons and more than 8000 primary total knee replacement procedures has been submitted for publication, and would validate our observation that the median, 25th, and 75th percentile are consistent across practices. These data support that diverse surgeons use similar pain and function criteria to select patients for total knee replacement, in aggregate. We agree that minimum clinically important changes are traditionally applied at the individual patient level. We reported the minimum clinically important changes for context when interpreting the small differences in median pain and function we observed at the practice level. Finally, measures of central tendency, both median and mean, are useful for characterizing aggregate profiles and are not intended to define outliers. We acknowledge that these measures do not reflect both the patients with greater (or lesser) pain or functional limitations. In the future, FORCE-TJR will test clinically-refined guidelines to support individual patient decisions for total knee replacement. We hypothesize that merging clinician assessments with patient-reported symptoms can guide total knee replacement timing and use decisions. However, until the data include refined clinical assessments, we propose that “appropriateness” labels cannot be assigned to individual patient decisions.
THE EFFECTS OF SURFACE TENSION ON LUNG FUNCTION DURING EARLY DEVELOPMENT

Pressure-volume and lung compliance/kg determinations were made in a total of 45 preterm lambs during gas ventilation (GR I: n = 31; 122-140 days gestation; 3.3-3.9 kg birthweight and liquid fluorocarbon (RIMAR 101) ventilation (GR II: n = 14; 106-138 days gestation; 1.1-3.4 kg birthweight. After effective ventilation (PaO2 > 60mmHg; PaCO2 = 30-45mmHg) and acid-base status (pH = 7.25 - 7.45) were achieved, pulmonary function was evaluated. Regression analysis showed significantly different relationships between lung compliance and developmental age for GR I (r = 0.95) and GR II (r = 0.99). Compliance for GR II lambs was consistently greater than for GR I lambs, this difference did not become significant until after 125 days gestation. These results indicate that minimizing interfacial surface tension has little effect on lung compliance in animals at earlier gestational ages, therefore suggesting that morphologic and tissue properties predominate surface properties in limiting lung distensibility. By defining the stage of development in which pulmonary function is most effectively improved by reduced surface tension, these findings suggest age-related criteria regarding the benefit of exogenous surfactant replacement therapy. (Supported by NIH Grant HL/HD 30525).
Nonpartisan Political Redistricting by Computer

OR volunteers developed a compart ness measure and a "warehouse-location" heuristic to draw nonpartisan, Constitutional political districts. The heuristic maps compact and contiguous districts of equal population. The minimization criterion and compactness measure is population moment of inertia-the summed squared distances from each person to his district's center. The districting method is particularly useful when legislative impasse or indifference forces courts to intervene. Federal Courts have received a computer plan for possible use in Delaware and have asked for computer districts in Connecticut.