cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chronic Consequences of Non-A, Non-B Hepatitis

There has existed a sequential skepticism regarding initially, the existence of, and subsequently, the clinical significance of non-A, non-B hepatitis (NANBH). Skepticism first centered on the question of whether NANBH is a viral disease or merely a transaminitis of nonviral etiology. This initial doubt was dispelled when it was demonstrated that NANBH could be transmitted to the chimpanzee, using acute- and chronic-phase human serum and then serially passaged in the chimpanzee model1, 2; thus, the infectious nature of NANBH was unequivocally established. Accepting the transmissible nature of NANBH, the argument then turned to the clinical significance of the disease, as most cases were anicteric and asymptomatic in the acute phase. Did such mild acute disease merit serious consideration? When it later evolved that approximately 50% of NANBH cases progress to chronic hepatitis and that such progression was just as likely following asymptomatic as following overt icteric hepatitis, it became apparent that such mild cases could not be ignored.3 Skepticism then shifted to another level; i. e., even if NANBH frequently results in chronic hepatitis, as judged by alanine aminotransferase (ALT), is this disease progression associated with any significant histologic outcome? There is a large body of evidence that indicates that approximately 20% of persons with chronic NANBH who are biopsied show histologic evidence of cirrhosis. Data supporting this are detailed in this chapter. Current skepticism revolves around the issue of the clinical importance of NANBH-related cirrhosis. Such cirrhosis appears to be clinically indolent compared with alcohol-induced cirrhosis, and the question has been raised as to whether NANB cirrhosis results in significant morbidity and mortality. This is a more difficult question to address, but certainly liver-related fatality has occurred in a variety of patient groups with chronic NANBH and cirrhosis.
Experimental effects of temperature and prey assemblage on growth and lipid accumulation by Mysis relicta loven

The opossum shrimp (Mysis relicta) is a holarctic planktivore that undergoes diel vertical migration (DVM), ascending at night from deeper water or the lake bottom into the upper water column to feed. In deep lakes that thermally stratify, M. relicta spends most of the time on or near the lake bottom in cold water where food resources are low; but, M. relicta migrates daily into warmer layers to feed where food resources are more abundant. Hence, in deep lakes M. relicta traverses steep temperature and prey density gradients while migrating through the water column to forage. We conducted a laboratory growth experiment of factorial design that simulated the range of temperatures and densities of natural zooplankton forage encountered by M. relicta during DVM. Somatic growth, measured as change in total length and lipid-free biomass, was not significantly different among experimental treatments. Analysis of variance showed that M. relicta stored energy in the form of lipid instead of using the energy mainly to drive increased somatic growth, but only at the colder temperatures. Lipid storage was 24% (± 4.3 sd) in 4 °C-high forage treatment compared to 6% (± 1.1) at 14 °C-high forage treatment. Energy conversion efficiency (ECE) of M. relicta was highest (21.3% ± 5.8) at 4 °C and lowest (3.3% ± 0.9) at 14 °C, regardless of prey density. The experiment showed that Mysis relicta feeds at high food densities where ECE is low, but spends most of the time in colder water where ECE is high. These results support McLaren's metabolic efficiency hypothesis, which predicts that feeding in the more productive surface waters and then migrating to colder waters is reproductively advantageous. Moreover, owing to high metabolic efficiency in the coldest waters and rapid DVM, M. relicta is able to sequester much of the epilimnetic zooplankton production near or on the lake bottom, thereby forcing the lake food web toward a configuration dominated by mysids, benthic or deepwater fishes and small, agile zooplankton.
Information Entropy based Indices for Variable Selection Performance Assessment

Abstract Variable selection plays an important role in data-driven modeling and other applications, and becomes increasingly important as big data become ubiquitous. In the last a few years, many different variable selection methods have been reported. However, how to directly evaluate the performance of variable selection methods has received limited attention. The common criteria used to assess variable selection performance either indirectly measure the effects of variable selection, such as through prediction performance of a model, or require ground truth of variable relevancy, which is usually unavailable, incomplete, or unverified in industrial applications. To address this limitation, two information entropy based consistency indices are proposed to directly evaluate the performance of variable selection methods: one does not require ground truth of variable relevancy, the other can make use of such information if available. A simulated case study (with ground truth) and an industrial case study (without ground truth) are provide to compare the proposed indices with the existing methods.
Investigation of the influence of frictional viscosity regularization on quasi-static gas-solid flow predictions in a conical spouted bed with non-porous draft tube

Abstract The stress in the quasi-static particle flow is often modeled through the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion. In the extension to complex three-dimensional flows, a granular viscosity is introduced through a tensorial rheology and the deviatoric frictional stress tensor is assumed aligned with the strain rate tensor. This granular viscosity is singular as the shear rate approaches zero, regardless of the local rheology. We discuss the influence of regularizing such a frictional viscosity on the particle circulation rate and other measured characteristics in a laboratory scale draft tube spouted bed. The friction between particles is modeled either with a constant Coulomb rheology or using a local particle pressure and strain-rate based friction known as μ I -rheology. The predictions appear very dependent on the regularization parameter introduced by the method. The mean properties of the flow (e.g. circulation and pressure drop) monotonically converge towards the measurements when the regularization parameter tends to zero. In other respects, the two regularization models regarded in this study induced similar hydrodynamics within the spouted bed of interest. But the analysis of the conditional averages of the inertial number and the fraction of the solids in the quasi-static regime shows that the extent and staticity of the quasi-static region is sensitive to changes to the regularization parameter or regularization function.
Mechanics of linear microcracking in trabecular bone

Microcracking in trabecular bone is responsible both for the mechanical degradation and remodeling of the trabecular bone tissue. Recent results on trabecular bone mechanics have demonstrated that bone tissue microarchitecture, tissue elastic heterogeneity and tissue-level mechanical anisotropy all should be considered to obtain detailed information on the mechanical stress state. The present study investigated the influence of tissue microarchitecture, tissue heterogeneity in elasticity and material separation properties and tissue-level anisotropy on the microcrack formation process. Microscale bone models were executed with the extended finite element method. It was demonstrated that anisotropy and heterogeneity of the bone tissue contribute significantly to bone tissue toughness and the resistance of trabecular bone to microcrack formation. The compressive strain to microcrack initiation was computed to increase by a factor of four from an assumed homogeneous isotropic tissue to an assumed anisotropic heterogenous tissue.
The Demand for ‘Fair’ Outcomes: An Experimental Study of Payoff Maximization, Social Efficiency, Fairness, Gender, and Personality Type

We use a modified dictator experiment to examine subjects’ willingness to pay for a ‘fair’ outcome and how this is influenced by social efficiency. We find that subjects exhibit a downward-sloping demand for the fair outcome that increases when the fair outcome is socially efficient and decreases with the experimental stakes. Because a subject’s relative emphasis on payoff maximization, fairness and social efficiency may likely be related to personality type, we add controls for personality preferences as measured by the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). This also allows for a more precise examination of gender effects. We find that personality preferences are important determinants of decision making. Controlling for personality preferences, we find that women are more likely to choose the fair outcome then men. This effect is particularly strong when the unequal payoff outcome favors the (passive) responder.
Getting Oriented; Practicing With Micropipettes

Abstract Starting next week, you will be working on a laboratory project that will build throughout the entire semester. Before embarking on that journey, it is important to familiarize yourself with your lab space and to master the use of the workhorses of the molecular biology/biochemistry lab: the micropipettes. If your instructor has not given a safety orientation yet, they will do so today.
Surface Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Spectroscopy

Application of integrated optics to Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Spectrosocpy (CARS) results in Surface CARS, a highly sensitive analytical tool for the study of adsorbed molecules on surfaces. In CARS two input laser beams at frequencies ω1 and ω2 interact non-1inearly producing an output signal at the frequency 2ω1 -ω2. This process is greatly enhanced when a vibrational resonance of a molecule occurs at the frequency ω1 - ω2. Thus, by tuning one of the two input frequencies, one can obtain a spectrum corresponding to an ordinary Raman spectrum of the interacting molecules.
Distributive Mendelsohn triple systems and the Eisenstein integers

We define a Mendelsohn triple system (MTS) with self-distributive quasigroup multiplication and order coprime with $3$ to be distributive, non-ramified (DNR). We classify, up to isomorphism, all DNR MTS and enumerate isomorphism classes (extending the work of Donovan, Griggs, McCourt, Opr\v{s}al, and Stanovsk\'{y}). The classification is accomplished via the representation theory of the Eisenstein integers, $\mathbb{Z}[\zeta]=\mathbb{Z}[X]/(X^2-X+1)$. Containing the class of DNR MTS is that of MTS with an entropic (linear over an abelian group) quasigroup operation. Partial results on the classification of entropic MTS with order divisible by $3$ are given, and a complete classification is conjectured. We also prove that for any entropic MTS, the qualities of being non-ramified, pure, and self-orthogonal are equivalent. We introduce the varieties $\mathbf{RE}$ and $\mathbf{LE}$ of (resp. right and left) Eisenstein quasigroups, whose respective linear representation theories correspond to the alternative presentation $\mathbb{Z}[X]/(X^2+X+1)$ of the Eisenstein integers.
The wake project: Improving safe sleep practices in a neonatal intensive care unit

Background Every year, about 50 babies in New York City die from a sleep-related injury. The Bronx County ranked second highest rate of sleep-related infant deaths (SRID) at 0.5 per 1000 among the other boroughs. The highest rate was among blacks and the rate of SRID cases were highest in our population at 0.97 (zip code 10466) among all other Bronx neighborhoods which comprises 77% of non-Hispanic black population. Further, Bronx has the highest preterm birth rate at 9.5%. This quality improvement (QI) project aimed to develop and implement an educational initiative on infant safe sleep (SS) to improve "Safe Sleep Practices (SSP) in a level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for one of the highest risk populations in the country. Methods Baseline data was collected prior to initiating the QI project. Multiple plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles were completed over a 12 month period. Run charts were utilized to identify improvement and guide interventions. These interventions included education for nurses, crib cards, posters, feedback forms, grand rounds and small group discussions. Results Approximately 600 crib checks (CC) were performed over the duration of this project. At baseline, 7% of infants were placed in a SS position in the NICU. Following the QI project, SS position increased to 96% of infants. Conclusion Multifactorial interventions significantly improved SS compliance among NICU nurses. Cultivating personal motivation among nurses, consistent empowerment and dedication to culture change by the entire team was crucial for the sustainability of the project.
Validation of a Novel Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography Cannulation Simulator

Background/Aims: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) requires a unique skill set. Currently, there is no objective methodology to assess and train a professional to perform ERCP. This study aimed to develop and validate a novel ERCP simulator. Methods: The simulator consists of papillae presenting different anatomy and positioned in varied locations. Deep cannulation of the pancreatic duct, followed by the bile duct, was performed. The time allotted was 5 minutes. The content validity indexes (CVIs) for realism, relevance, and representativeness were calculated. Correlation between ERCP experience and simulator score was determined. Results: Twenty-three participants completed the simulation. The CVIs for realism were orientation of duodenoscope to papilla (1.00), angulation of papillotome to achieve cannulation (0.71), and haptic feedback during cannulation (0.80). The CVIs for relevance were use of elevator (1.00), wheels to achieve en face orientation (1.00), and papillotome for selective cannulation (1.00). Regarding CVI for representativeness, the results were as follows: basic cannulation (0.83), papilla locations (0.83), and papilla anatomies (0.80). The novice, intermediate, and experienced groups scored 6.7±8.7, 30.0±16.3, and 74.4±43.9, respectively (p<0.0001). There was a strong correlation between the ERCP experience level and the individual’s simulator score (Pearson value of 0.77, R2 of 0.60). Conclusions: This simulator appears to be realistic, relevant, and representative of ERCP cannulation techniques. Additionally, it is effective at objectively assessing basic ERCP skills by differentiating scores based on clinical experience. Clin Endosc 2020;53:346-354
On the sparseness of certain linear MRD codes

Abstract We determine the proportion of linear [ 3 × 3 ; 3 ] -MRD codes over F q within the space of all 3-dimensional 3 × 3 -rank-metric codes over the same field. This shows that for these parameters linear MRD codes are sparse in the sense that the proportion tends to 0 as q → ∞ . This is so far the only parameter case for which MRD codes are known to be sparse. The computation is accomplished by reducing the space of all such rank-metric codes to a space of specific bases and subsequently making use of a result by Menichetti (1973) on 3-dimensional semifields.
Medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction with allograft versus autograft tissue results in similar recurrent dislocation risk and patient-reported outcomes.

To determine the rate of recurrent dislocation and patellar instability following medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction with allograft or autograft tissue and compare patient-reported outcomes for patients undergoing allograft and autograft MPFL reconstruction. One hundred and fifteen MPFL reconstructions (78 allograft, 37 autograft) without concurrent bony procedures performed between 2008 and 2014 by four sports medicine fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons at our center were identified. Patient demographics and surgical data were identified by chart review. Chart review and patient interviews were undertaken to identify recurrent patellar dislocations and as recurrent subjective patellofemoral instability. Recurrent dislocation and subjective instability risk were compared between the allograft and autograft groups. Eighty-seven patients (76%) with complete baseline data and minimum 1-year follow-up were contacted at a mean of 4.1 years following isolated MPFL reconstruction, including 57 patient with allograft reconstructions and 30 with autograft reconstructions. No significant differences in patient sex, age at reconstruction, body mass index, or time to follow-up were noted between groups. Recurrent dislocation occurred in 2 patients in the allograft group (3.5%) and 1 patient in the autograft group (3.3%), (n.s.). Recurrent subjective instability occurred in 17 patients in the allograft group (28.9%) and 11 patients in the autograft group (36.7%), (n.s.). No significant differences in patient-reported outcomes were noted between groups. The use of either allograft or autograft tissue for MPFL reconstruction results in low (< 3%) risk of recurrent patellar dislocation. Risk of recurrent subjective instability is higher but is similar for both graft types. Surgeons can utilize either graft choice at their discretion without anticipating a significant impact of graft choice on patient outcomes. III.
Examining emergency department utilization in the post-foregut surgery patient

The purpose of this study was to examine emergency department (ED) utilization following minimally invasive foregut surgery and determine its impact on costs. Furthermore, we sought to determine their relationship to the index procedure, whether they are preventable, and describe strategies for decreasing unnecessary ED visits. A retrospective review was conducted for all patients undergoing foregut procedures from January 2018 through June 2019. ED utilization was examined from 0 to 90 days. The proportion of visits related to surgery, preventable visits, and median ED costs were compared between visits occurring 0–30 days (early) versus 31–90 days (delayed) postoperatively as well as occurring from 8 am to 5 pm versus 5 pm to 8 am. Of 458 patients who underwent foregut surgery, 72.5% were female and the mean age was 60 years old. 92 patients (20%) presented to the ED within 90 days. Of these, 59 patients (64.1%) presented to the ED early versus 33 patients (35.9%) delayed. 56.5% of ED visits occurred during clinic hours. 56 (60.9%) ED visits were related to the procedure and 20 (35.7%) were preventable. The median ED return cost was $970. Early ED visits were significantly more likely to be related to surgery (72.9% vs 39.4%, p = 0.0016). There was no significant difference in the proportion of visits that were preventable (32.6% vs 46.2%, p = 0.3755) and ED return cost did not vary significantly ($995 vs $965, p = 0.43) between early and delayed visits. ED visits are common after foregut surgery and represent a financial burden on healthcare. Most visits occur early and are more likely to be related to surgery. Importantly, more than one-third of ED visits related to surgery were preventable and most occurred during clinic hours on weekdays. Providers should consider implementation of strategies to improve outpatient utilization and decrease unnecessary ED visits.
Natural Language Processing for Theoretical Framework Selection in Engineering Education Research

This research paper presents recent work exploring the power of natural language processing (NLP) methods applied to qualitative engineering education data. As NLP and other machine learning methods are developed for qualitative data, it is important to prioritize the role that theory plays in rigorous qualitative research, where the selection of a theoretical framework serves as the lens by which the research project is framed, results are analyzed, and findings are brought to light. Indeed, the view from a different theoretical lens can highlight novel or new findings. In this work, we seek to explore the viability of NLP methods for helping researchers select appropriate frameworks. In this work, we present our method to train a Python-based NLP algorithm to analyze an existing data set of interview data using one theoretical lens: Community of Practice theory, an oft-used theory in graduate education literature, which is the topic of the interview corpus to investigate. We present and test two methods for developing dictionaries by which to train the algorithm: An expert-curated dictionary and a machine-generated dictionary compiled by mining the theoretical framework sections of published literature employing Community of Practice theory. We apply these two dictionaries to analyze a corpus of 54 interview transcripts investigating graduate engineering attrition. The high dimensional data from NLP can be compared using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) visualization and pairwise distance plots to determine which method results in the most well-defined structure indicating agreement between the dictionary and the corpus of interview transcripts. In the discussion, we highlight opportunities for using these automated methods to help researchers with qualitative data analysis and warn against potential dangers and ethical ramifications for using machine learning and NLP for social science data. This work will have impact on the disciplinary communities working to embed computational language-based methods into engineering education research, and for the qualitative methods communities across social science and education disciplines.
Calibration of the Activity Inventory Item Bank: A Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Instrument for Low Vision Rehabilitation.

Purpose To provide calibrated item measures and rating category thresholds for the Activity Inventory (AI), an adaptive visual function questionnaire, from difficulty ratings obtained from a large sample of new low vision patients at pre-rehabilitation baseline. Methods Baseline AI (510 items) rating scale data from five previous low vision rehabilitation outcome studies (n = 3623) were combined, and the method of successive dichotomizations was used to estimate calibrated item measures and rating category thresholds. Infit statistics were analyzed to evaluate the fit of the data to the model. Factor analysis was applied to person measures estimated from different subsets of items (e.g., functional domains such as reading, mobility) to evaluate differential person functioning. Results Estimated item measures were well targeted to the low vision patient population. The distribution of infit statistics confirmed the validity of the estimated measures and the two-factor structure previously observed for the AI. Conclusions Our calibrated item measures and rating category thresholds enable researchers to estimate changes in visual ability from low vision rehabilitation on the same scale, facilitating comparisons between studies. Translational Relevance The work described in this paper provides calibrated item measures and rating category thresholds for a visual function questionnaire to measure patient-centered outcomes in low vision clinical research. The calibrated AI also can be used as a patient outcome measure and quality assurance tool in clinical practice.
Students’ context-sensitive use of conceptual resources: A pattern across different styles of question about mechanical waves

The use of only predict-style questions to assess student understanding may be missing important types of student thinking that could be captured using explain-style questions.
COVID-19 Mortality Prediction From Deep Learning in a Large Multistate Electronic Health Record and Laboratory Information System Data Set: Algorithm Development and Validation.

Background: COVID-19 is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and has strikingly heterogeneous clinical manifestations, with most individuals contracting mild disease but a substantial minority experiencing fulminant cardiopulmonary symptoms or death. The clinical covariates and the laboratory tests performed on a patient provide robust statistics to guide clinical treatment. Deep learning approaches on a data set of this nature enable patient stratification and provide methods to guide clinical treatment. Objective: Here, we report on the development and prospective validation of a state-of-the-art machine learning model to provide mortality prediction shortly after confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Mayo Clinic patient population. Methods: We retrospectively constructed one of the largest reported and most geographically diverse laboratory information system and electronic health record of COVID-19 data sets in the published literature, which included 11,807 patients residing in 41 states of the United States of America and treated at medical sites across 5 states in 3 time zones. Traditional machine learning models were evaluated independently as well as in a stacked learner approach by using AutoGluon, and various recurrent neural network architectures were considered. The traditional machine learning models were implemented using the AutoGluon-Tabular framework, whereas the recurrent neural networks utilized the TensorFlow Keras framework. We trained these models to operate solely using routine laboratory measurements and clinical covariates available within 72 hours of a patient’s first positive COVID-19 nucleic acid test result. Results: The GRU-D recurrent neural network achieved peak cross-validation performance with 0.938 (SE 0.004) as the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve. This model retained strong performance by reducing the follow-up time to 12 hours (0.916 [SE 0.005] AUROC), and the leave-one-out feature importance analysis indicated that the most independently valuable features were age, Charlson comorbidity index, minimum oxygen saturation, fibrinogen level, and serum iron level. In the prospective testing cohort, this model provided an AUROC of 0.901 and a statistically significant difference in survival (P<.001, hazard ratio for those predicted to survive, 95% CI 0.043-0.106). Conclusions: Our deep learning approach using GRU-D provides an alert system to flag mortality for COVID-19–positive patients by using clinical covariates and laboratory values within a 72-hour window after the first positive nucleic acid test result.
SU-D-BRA-02: Radiomics of Multi-Parametric Breast MRI in Breast Cancer Diagnosis: A Quantitative Investigation of Diffusion Weighted Imaging, Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced, and T2-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Purpose: For this study, we investigated the computer-extracted tumor phenotypes from diffusion weighted imaging, dynamic contrast-enhanced, and T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging modalities on a dataset of malignant and benign breast lesions. Methods: The IRB-approved, retrospectively-collected dataset included 118 breast lesions with 105 malignant and 13 benign. All images were acquired during clinical breast MRI at both 1.5T and 3.0T magnet strength. Phenotypic categories extracted with each modality included tumor size, shape, margin sharpness, enhancement texture, kinetics, and variance kinetics for DCE, size, shape, margin sharpness, texture for T2w, and ADC features for DWI. Results: In the task of distinguishing between benign and malignant lesions, each modality’s performance was analyzed by Round Robin evaluation using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis. DCE alone outperformed DWI and T2w with an AUC value of 0.89 +/−0.06. DWI and T2w yielded AUC values of 0.86 +/−0.05 and 0.84 +/−0.06 respectively. The combination of all three modalities yielded an AUC value of 0.88 +/−0.04 under single-loop Round Robin evaluation. The contrast phenotype from T2w and the standard deviation phenotype from DWI were found to be statistically different between the malignant and benign multimodality lesion groups. Conclusion: The results obtained from merging radiomic features from multimodality breast MRI (DCE, T2w, and DWI) indicate that the additional benefit of multimodality breast MRI in cancer diagnosis could be significant. This method also has potential to determine the most discriminatory radiomic phenotype from each modality. APPM DREAM Fellowship and the University of Chicago Dean Bridge Fund. M. L. Giger is a stockholder in R2 technology/Hologic and receives royalties from Hologic, GE Medical Systems, MEDIAN Technologies, Riverain Medical, Mitsubishi, and Toshiba. MLG is a co-founder and stockholder in Quantitative Insights.
A Comparison of Renewable Portfolio Standards and Feed-In Tariffs as Legislative Mechanisms to Provide Renewable Power Incentives: Impacts on Power Supply, Transmission, and Grid Intermittency

A federalist form of government is used in several important nations, including the United States, Germany, India, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Malaysia, and Switzerland. A federalist form of government divides political sovereignty between a central federal authority and constituent states or provinces. To implement new government policy regulating private power, the challenging transcendent issues are legal and regulatory, rather than technical. Certain measures in various industrialized countries, when implemented at the state rather than federal level, must be designed and implemented carefully to achieve a legal, regulatory fit in a federalist system of government. For purposes of comparison, this article considers the recent initiatives in many of these countries to alter the energy infrastructure from fossil-fuel to renewable energy options. While not all federalist systems in the world are the same, the United States offers a rubric for analysis. With close examination of policies attempted to be implemented by states in the United States, this article examines legal issues arising in implementing policies in a federalist system. Many things can go wrong or right, with more regulatory issues than first apparent.
Complement-dependent immune adherence measured with human granulocytes: Changes in the antigenic nature of red cell-bound C3 produced by incubation in human serum

Abstract Complement-dependent immune adherence of human red cells coated with the third component of complement (C3) by anti-I and fresh serum was measured by passing these cells through columns of glass wool to which human granulocytes were attached. The measurement of the fraction of C3-coated human red cells (EHuC3) retained by the granulocytes on the column is a specific, quantitative assay for immune adherence mediated by membrane-bound C3 in the absence of antibody. The quantity of C3 bound to the membrane of the red cells was measured by the absorption of antibodies from anti-C3 antiserum. The residual “anti-C3” was detected by its ability to lyse, in the presence of complement, sheep cells coated with human C3 (EShC3) or these cells after treatment with trypsin (EShC3-tryp). When EHuC3 were reincubated in fresh serum, immune adherence activity was lost and the concentration of C3 antigens on the membrane which absorbed antibodies reacting with EShC3 fell with the loss of immune adherence activity. The concentration of C3 antigens which absorbed antibodies reacting with EShC3-tryp increased as immune adherence activity fell. Thus, the loss of immune adherence activity of EHuC3 is associated with the loss of some membrane-bound C3 antigens and the appearance of others.
A Discriminant Function Analysis of Type A Behavior Using the 16PF Personality Questionnaire

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of personality factors as measured by the 16PF Personality Questionnaire to Type A behavior as measured by the Student Form of the Jenkins Activity Survey (SJAS). One hundred and fourteen under-graduates were administered the SJAS and the 16PF Personality Questionnaire. Correlational and discriminant analyses revealed several systematic relationships between specific personality factors and Type A Behavior. The correlational analyses revealed nine significant correlations, while the discriminant analysis revealed six factors that discriminated between Type A and Type B personalities. The most important of these were the factors Venturesome, Suspicious, and Conscientious. These results indicate that the 16PF is a useful personality inventory that can discriminate Type A from Type B personalities as measured by the SJAS.
Computer-based reference services as an alternative means to improve resource-poor local libraries in developing countries

(1977). Computer-based reference services as an alternative means to improve resource-poor local libraries in developing countries. International Library Review: Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 43-50.
Strength and ductility of microscale brass-steel multilayer composites

Multilayer composites or laminates show potential for structural applications due to a good combination of strength and toughness. For the first time, the authors have successfully fabricated metallic multilayer sheets with layer thicknesses in the nanometer range, while maintaining good layer discreteness, using brass and steel as components. This paves the way for the economic manufacture of laminates with very high specific strength levels. Depending on layer thickness and components, high strength in the laminates can arise from composite strengthening, Hall-Petch type boundary-induced strengthening as well as strengthening due to dislocation density and texture. However, there has been no study of strengthening in microscale laminates made by rolling. In the present work, strength and ductility of rolled microlaminates having alternating layers of brass and steel were investigated. Strength levels are correlated to layer thicknesses and the mechanisms of strengthening are discussed.
Path-integral quantum cosmology. II. Bianchi type I with volume-dependent source

The Feynman path-integral formalism is applied to the degrees of freedom of the fluid-filled Kasner (and related) cosmological models. The measure constructed for the vacuum analysis is used to effect the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner reduction to dynamical degrees of freedom within the functional integral. The Hankel transform of the minisuperspace transition amplitude is obtained. A perturbation expansion about the classical vacuum solution is presented.
Randomized trial of buffered versus plain lidocaine for local anaesthesia in open carpal tunnel decompression.

We performed a randomized double-blind case–control study in 64 consecutive patients undergoing open carpal tunnel decompression under local anaesthetic to assess the pain experienced on injection of plain lidocaine (pH 6.4) compared with lidocaine buffered with sodium bicarbonate (pH 7.4). The results showed no statistical difference in the pain scores reported by patients. The mean pain scores for all patients were low, and most patients reported that they were “not at all anxious” about receiving a similar injection in the future.
An Investigation of Japanese and American Early Care and Education

Staff interviews and classroom observations based on predetermined observation criteria and open-ended questions were conducted at early care and education programs in Kakunodate, Akita, Japan; Tazawako, Akita, Japan; Butte, Montana; and Missoula, Montana. Differences in curriculum, classroom structure and educational strategies were found. For example, group instruction was more prevalent in Japan and individual instruction was more common in the United States. Physical environments reflected these differences; Japanese schools had gymnasiums, swimming pools, pianos and televisions for large group activities and American schools had learning centers and computers for individual and small group activities. American teachers reported developing curriculum and activities based on individual child development and Japanese teachers reported developing curriculum based on promoting community and regard for others. Further study of Japanese early care and education is suggested to assist American educators in partnering with Japanese and Japanese-American families in providing more culturally relevant curriculum.
Risk stratification and prognostic effects of internal thoracic artery grafting during acute myocardial infarction

Objective Surgeons are occasionally requested to perform coronary artery bypass grafting during acute myocardial infarction. We intended to test the safety of coronary artery bypass grafting and internal thoracic artery grafting early after myocardial infarction using the Society of Thoracic Surgeons database. Methods The database was queried for isolated coronary artery bypass grafting less than 24 hours after a myocardial infarction from 2002 to 2008. By using multivariable logistic regression and classification trees, risk models were created to stratify this group of patients. The independent prognostic effect of internal thoracic artery grafting was examined using standard risk-adjusted mortality comparisons. Results A total of 44,141 patients were identified, with an overall operative mortality of 7.9%. Cardiogenic shock occurred in 21%, percutaneous coronary intervention within 6 hours before surgery was performed in 11%, myocardial infarction within 6 hours before surgery occurred in 37%, preoperative intra-aortic balloon pump was used in 50%, and internal thoracic artery grafting was performed in 79% of the patients. Myocardial infarction in less than 24 hours was associated with higher operative mortality (odds ratio, 3.25) and major morbidity (odds ratio, 2.54). Emergency/salvage status (odds ratio, 6.43), age more than 80 years (odds ratio, 4.07), dialysis (odds ratio, 3.08), and cardiogenic shock (odds ratio, 2.79) were independent mortality predictors. Patients with nonemergence salvage status, absence of cardiogenic shock, creatinine less than 1.5 mg/dL, and age less than 70 years represented 48% of the population and exhibited a lower mortality rate of 2%. Internal thoracic artery grafting was independently associated with a lower risk of mortality (odds ratio, 0.52; P Conclusions Coronary artery bypass grafting less than 24 hours after myocardial infarction carries a higher operative risk but can be performed safely in selected patients. Although confounding variables may exist, internal thoracic artery grafting was associated with improved outcomes. Internal thoracic artery use in this setting is less than ideal, and taking time to harvest internal thoracic artery grafts in patients with acute myocardial infarction might be encouraged.
A contemporary case series of lupus myocarditis

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to describe clinical phenotype and treatment outcomes in lupus myocarditis (LM), an uncommon but serious manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods: The study involved a 10-year retrospective case series of hospitalized patients with LM, with a search of a diagnosis database using systemic lupus erythematosus and either myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, or congestive heart failure, and of a pathology database for biopsy-proved LM. Results: Twenty-four patients met the study criteria, with 79% female and 82% white (age: mean (SD), 47.6 (20.4) years; follow-up: mean (SD), 9.2 (6.1) months). The frequency of antibodies SS-A (69%) and anti-RNP (62%) was greater than in published lupus populations (25%–40%). On echocardiography, the mean initial left ventricular ejection fraction was 33.8%, improving to 49.5% after a mean of 7.2 months. All patients received immunosuppression, most with high-dose corticosteroid treatment and subsequent corticosteroid taper...
Collection Development in the Information Age: Great Britain's Public Libraries

ABSTRACT This article describes three public libraries in the United Kingdom: Croydon, Dunfermline, and York. The objective was to describe the different levels of technology in these libraries and the steps that are being taken to move them into the 21 st century. The effects of community and user input were topics of interest. The history of the development of the individual libraries or systems as well as the current organizational structures are described. Government unitary authority changes affects two of the three libraries. Unique characteristics of each of the libraries are emphasized. Research was conducted over a two year period and includes interviews, observations, and secondary sources. The intent is not to compare the libraries, but to illustrate how the varying levels of automation affect patron resources and services.
Start effect and response bias in the prisoner's dilemma game

In a Prisoner’s Dilemma Game it was found that location of response switch did not bias the strategy selections of Ss. No DD outcome occurred for any pair of Ss on the first trial, but initial trial CC outcomes were followed by more cooperations than were initial trial CD outcomes. Females displayed more “trust” than did males.
Serum inhibin B in polycystic ovary syndrome: regulation by insulin and luteinizing hormone.

Inhibin B is a product of the granulosa cells of growing preantral and antral follicles. Despite the large ovarian volume and increased follicle number typically detected in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), previous studies demonstrate that inhibin B is not elevated as would be expected in PCOS, but is inversely correlated with body mass index (BMI). We therefore hypothesized that inhibin B levels in women with PCOS are regulated by a factor related to BMI. Thus, LH, sex steroids, and metabolic parameters were measured in 50 anovulatory PCOS subjects in pools constituted from equal aliquots of serum drawn every 10 min for 4 h and were correlated with inhibin B. Based on the results of these correlative studies, inhibin B regulation by human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and insulin was tested directly. In PCOS subjects, inhibin B correlated inversely with BMI (r = -0.413; P < 0.004) and fasting insulin (r = -0.409; P < 0.004). Inhibin B also correlated directly with pool LH (r = 0.419; P < 0.003), LH pulse amplitude (r = 0.512; P < 0.0001), and SHBG (r = 0.429; P < 0.003). The relationships demonstrated for inhibin B were not demonstrated for inhibin A, nor were they evident in normal subjects. To determine whether the correlations represent regulation of inhibin B, i.e. stimulation of inhibin B by LH or suppression by insulin, two interventional studies were performed. In the first study hCG (5000 U) was administered to PCOS subjects (n = 15) to mimic the effects of LH. Inhibin B was not increased, but was significantly reduced 24 h after hCG administration (223.8 +/- 21.3 vs. 152.4 +/- 15.9 pg/ml; P < 0.0005). In the second study, diazoxide (100 mg every 8 h) was administered for 3 d to PCOS subjects (n = 9). Inhibin B increased (85.4 +/- 12.4 to 136.6 +/- 18.8 pg/ml; P < 0.05) in association with a decrease in the insulin area under the curve (104 +/- 29 to 83 +/- 22 nmol/liter.min; P < 0.05) induced by diazoxide. In PCOS subjects, inhibin B demonstrated significant relationships with BMI and factors related to BMI, including LH, insulin, and SHBG. Although LH was associated with inhibin B, hCG administration suppressed inhibin B secretion after 24 h, whereas short-term insulin suppression increased inhibin B. These findings suggest that both increased LH and insulin may account for the relative suppression of inhibin B in patients with PCOS.
COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY OF THE THORAX OF THE ADULT NUBIAN GOAT

A stable adult animal model is needed to mimic as closely as possible the conditions which will exist when a permanent total cardiac prosthesis is placed in a human. Such a model presently under investigation is the adult Nubian goat. One of the studies utilized to assess the thoracic anatomy of this animal was computed tomography. The resulting computed tomograms provide a reference for the normal cross-sectional thoracic anatomy of the adult goat
Initiation of a typical network secondary manhole event

Manhole events in secondary network systems can evolve in many ways; however, the most common starting point is SBR (styrene butadiene rubber) or butyl rubber cable, typically with a neoprene jacket, which has been aged thermally (as a result of excessive loading) to the point that cracks have formed all the way to the conductor. One of the authors has seen multiple examples of such cable removed from several secondary networks. When such cable is combined with "dirt" and relatively conductive water (often salty water), tracking is likely to form across the insulation and jacket between cracks which expose the conductor in adjacent phases. "Dirt" in the duct helps bridge any gaps between adjacent phases and also holds the conductive water, which extends the time during which dry band tracking occurs between the exposed conductors. At 208 V phase-tophase, a carbonized track will form very readily with one or a few exposures to small amounts of conductive water, and electrical activity will continue until voltage is removed between the phases. Past work and field experience suggest that under such conditions, the jacket and insulation will burn (if sufficient oxygen is present) or pyrolyze (if not), with decomposition of the polymeric insulation and jacket moving down the cable in the direction of air flow in the duct at a speed in the range of 1 mm/ second [1].
Blood Quinidine Concentrations as a Guide in the Treatment of Cardiac Arrhythmias

Blood quinidine determinations by the photofluorometric method were made in 30 patients with auricular fibrillation or flutter in whom conversion to sinus rhythm was attempted. Successful conversion occurred in 82 per cent of the patients, with a mean blood level of 5.9 mg./liter. Vomiting and, in one case, ventricular tachycardia were the most important toxic manifestations. Doses of 0.4 to 0.6 Gm. every two hours for five doses daily were usually adequate to obtain the average conversion blood level. The importance of the quantitative aspects of quinidine therapy and the relation of time, dose and concentration of quinidine in the blood are discussed.
A 3,3'-diiodothyronine sulfate cross-reactive compound in serum from pregnant women

Recently, we found high serum/urine concentrations of 3,3'-diiodothyronine sulfate (T2S) in both fetal and maternal sheep. In the present study, a RIA was employed to detect and measure serum T2S in women of different gestational ages and after delivery. Results were compared with values in nonpregnant women. In maternal serum, we identified a material that cross-reacts with T2S antibody, but is not T2S. Its concentration increased with the progression of pregnancy. The exact chemical structure of the T2S-like material (which we designated compound W) is unclear. It is immunologically (or chemically) similar to T2S, but does not cochromatograph with synthetic T2S in high pressure liquid chromatography. The serum concentrations of compound W were expressed as T2S equivalents (nanomoles per L +/- SE). Serum compound W concentrations were slightly elevated in women during the first trimester compared to those in nonpregnant women (0.73 +/- 0.04 vs. 0.17 +/- 0.02 nmol/L; P < 0.01). There was a moderate and pr...
Uzbek Music's Separate Path: Interpreting “Anticosmopolitanism” in Stalinist Central Asia, 1949–52

Soviet artists began the last year of the 1940s with a shock. In late January, the Communist party's main newspaper, Pravda, ran a prominent editorial attacking a group of supposedly antipatriotic theater critics.' In institution after institution, writers, visual artists, theater personalities, and musicians were sent into meetings to struggle against analogous antipatriotic members of their organizations. A decade that began with a genuine outpouring of patriotism during World War II thus ended with a Communist party campaign meant to enforce continued patriotism during the Cold War. The initial attack on theater critics was a centerpiece of this campaign, known ever since for the new attack catchword it introduced-anticosmopolitanism. Anticosmopolitanism has long been seen primarily as thinly veiled anti-Semitism.2 And so it was. From the initial attack on the theater critics to its subsequent ramifications