cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Ketorolac as an Adjuvant to Fentanyl Patient-controlled Epidural Analgesia after Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy

BACKGROUND: Opioids, although effective postoperative analgesics, are associated with undesirable side effects. In an attempt to determine whether adjuvant, nonopioid medication would permit a reduction of the amount of fentanyl required for postoperative analgesia, the efficacy of ketorolac, an injectable nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug, was studied as an adjuvant to fentanyl patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) for postoperative pain management following radical retropublic prostatectomy. METHODS: Forty patients were randomized into two groups to receive fentanyl PCEA and either ketorolac 30 mg intramuscularly every 6 h after an initial dose of 60 mg (n = 20) or placebo (n = 20) for 72 h. Visual analogue scale pain scores (0-100 mm; 0 mm = no pain; 100 mm = worst pain), sedation, fentanyl usage, gastrointestinal function, complications, blood loss, and temperature were assessed four times each day. RESULTS: Visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores at rest were lower in the ketorolac group during the first 4 h (P < 0.01), but were similar thereafter. Global VAS pain scores with activity were lower in the ketorolac group on postoperative day 1 (23 +/- 4 vs. 39 +/- 6; P < 0.05) and postoperative day 2 (17 +/- 3 vs. 29 +/- 4; P < 0.05). Bladder spasm pain occurred less frequently in the ketorolac group (1 vs. 9 patients; P < 0.05). Fentanyl usage was less in the ketorolac group throughout the study (33 +/- 3 vs. 50 +/- 6 micrograms/h, 0-24 h; 20 +/- 2 vs. 36 +/- 6 micrograms/h, 24-48 h; 12 +/- 2 vs. 24 +/- 6 micrograms/h, 48-72 h; P < 0.05). Sedation scores and side effects were similar, except on postoperative day 3 when nausea was less frequent in the ketorolac group (0 vs. 6 patients; P < 0.05). Recovery of gastrointestinal function occurred sooner in the ketorolac group as determined by first bowel sounds (26 +/- 3 vs. 38 +/- 4 h; P < 0.05), first clear liquids (51 +/- 2 vs. 65 +/- 3 h; P < 0.01), and first regular meal (95 +/- 4 vs. 110 +/- 4 h; P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in blood loss, transfusion requirement, hematocrit, platelet count, or temperature. There was high overall satisfaction in both groups, but fewer patients in the ketorolac group rated pain with walking as usually or always painful (1 vs. 9 patients; P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Ketorolac is a beneficial adjuvant to fentanyl PCEA for postoperative pain management after radical retropubic prostatectomy.
Structure-Guided Redesign Increases the Propensity of HIV Env To Generate Highly Stable Soluble Trimers

ABSTRACT Due to high viral diversity, an effective HIV-1 vaccine will likely require Envs derived from multiple subtypes to generate broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs). Soluble Env mimics, like the native flexibly linked (NFL) and SOSIP trimers, derived from the subtype A BG505 Env, form homogeneous, stable native-like trimers. However, other Env sequences, such as JRFL and 16055 from subtypes B and C, do so to a lesser degree. The high-resolution BG505 SOSIP crystal structures permit the identification and redesign of Env elements involved in trimer stability. Here, we identified structure trimer-derived (TD) residues that increased the propensity of the subtype B JRFL and subtype C 16055 Env sequences to form well-ordered, homogenous, and highly stable soluble trimers. The generation of these spike mimics no longer required antibody-based selection, positive or negative. Using the redesigned subtype B and C trimer representatives as respective foundations, we further stabilized the NFL TD trimers by engineering an intraprotomer disulfide linkage in the prebridging sheet, I201C-A433C (CC), that locks the gp120 in the receptor nontriggered state. We demonstrated that this disulfide pair prevented CD4 induced-conformational rearrangements in NFL trimers derived from the prototypic subtype A, B, and C representatives. Coupling the TD-based design with the engineered disulfide linkage, CC, increased the propensity of Env to form soluble highly stable spike mimics that are resistant to CD4-induced changes. These advances will allow testing of the hypothesis that such stabilized immunogens will more efficiently elicit neutralizing antibodies in small-animal models and primates. IMPORTANCE HIV-1 displays unprecedented global diversity circulating in the human population. Since the envelope glycoprotein (Env) is the target of neutralizing antibodies, Env-based vaccine candidates that address such diversity are needed. Soluble well-ordered Env mimics, typified by NFL and SOSIP trimers, are attractive vaccine candidates. However, the current designs do not allow most Envs to form well-ordered trimers. Here, we made design modifications to increase the propensity of representatives from two of the major HIV subtypes to form highly stable trimers. This approach should be applicable to other viral Envs, permitting the generation of a repertoire of homogeneous, highly stable trimers. The availability of such an array will allow us to assess if sequential or cocktail immune strategies can overcome some of the vaccine challenges presented by HIV diversity.
Persistence and change in age-specific gender gaps: Hollywood actors from the silent era onward

In this paper, we examine a set of workers for whom age-based and gender-based discrimination has been widely alleged: motion picture actors. We document, measure, and consider possible explanations for age-specific gender gaps among Hollywood actors, using nearly a century’s worth of data on films and film roles. Consistent with reports in the popular press, we find a large and very persistent gender gap: Of the nearly half-million different roles played in more than 50,000 feature films between 1920 and 2011, two-thirds have gone to males, and the average male actor is consistently older (by six to ten years) than the average female actor. Yet the age-based gender differences that we observe cannot be explained by a simple model of discrimination—while there are fewer roles for middle-aged women than for middle-aged men, there are more roles for young women than for young men. The fact that these patterns have held steady through major changes in the film industry – and in society as a whole – suggests that correspondingly stable aspects of moviegoer preferences contribute to the age-specific nature of gender gaps.
Implementation of low-power, non-volatile latch utilising ferroelectric transistor

The implementation of a non-volatile latch circuit developed with a metal–ferroelectric–semiconductor field-effect transistor is presented. The circuit contains two inverter stages in order to create and rectify the desired waveform. The hysteresis properties of the ferroelectric transistor allow it to retain a polarisation state after an applied voltage at the gate is removed. This circuit has reduced power requirements because a constant power supply is not needed at all times; instead, a voltage is only needed at the gate of the ferroelectric transistor when storing a value, and the other components only need a power supply when reading the stored value from the circuit. The circuit is less complex than similar non-volatile latches because only a single ferroelectric transistor is used and fewer overall transistors may be used. It also has the advantage of being radiation-hardened for space applications.
Prostate cancer arising in ectopic prostatic tissue within the left seminal vesicle: a rare case diagnosed with multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance imaging-transrectal ultrasound fusion biopsy.

Benign ectopia of prostatic glandular tissue in the seminal vesicles is rare with only three prior cases reported in the literature. Prostate cancer, arising within prostatic ectopia in the seminal vesicles, has never been described and therefore presents a challenge in both diagnosis and management.
Carbon Oxidation in Low Pressure Laminar H 2 + O 2 Flames II: The Lifted -Flame Testbed

We study the oxidation behavior of carbon colloids (soot analogs) in the recombina tion zone of a low -pressure, burner stabilized, premixed hydrogen -oxygen -argon flame, and compare with model simulations using literature flame model chemistry suites. Previous work at 50 Torr yielded qualitatively similar CO X yield profiles with respect to flame stoichiometry for widely varying chemical and structural forms of micron -sized carbon particles (glassy, graphitic, fullerene, diamond; milled vs. nascent). In this work we focus primarily on the combustion of one form of carbon at 20 Torr, near the low pressure limit of flame extinction, and seek to determine the relative importance of OH and O 2 in the recombination -zone oxidation of carbon. Yields of the product species CO and CO 2 were
Headache as a symptom of ominous disease. What are the warning signals

Headache can be an invaluable premonitory signal of imminent subarachnoid hemorrhage and cerebral infarction and can herald the onset of ominous and sometimes elusive disorders (arterial dissection, encephalitis, systemic and central vasculitides, and cerebral venous thrombosis) which have the potential for neurologic catastrophe and are often not obvious on routine CT brain imaging. Only rarely does serious underlying disease give rise to a headache that exactly mimics a migraine or tension headache. Inevitably, there are atypical features or warning signals. A limited number of serious causes for headache which may be "CT-negative" should be considered in patients with "red flag" manifestations, such as seizures and cognitive changes. These should prompt further investigation with MRI and/or lumbar puncture.
Processing Big Data in Motion

Summary form only given. Streaming analytics is about identifying and responding to events happening in your business, in your service or application, and with your customers in near real-time. Sensors, mobile and IoT devices, social networks, and online transactions are all generating data that can be monitored constantly to enable a business to detect and then act on events and insights before they lose their value. The need for large scale, real-time stream processing of big data in motion is more evident than ever before but the potential remains largely untapped by most firms. It's not the size but rather the speed at which this data must be processed that presents the greatest technical challenges. Streaming analytics systems can enable business to inspect, correlate and analyze data in real-time to extract insights in the same manner that traditional analytics tools have allowed them to do with data at rest. In this talk I will draw upon our experience with Amazon Kinesis data streaming services to highlight use cases, discuss technical challenges and approaches, and look ahead to the future of stream data processing and role of cloud computing.
The effective design of computer-based aids for teaching and learning music in elementary education

This paper explores the development of computer-based aids for music instruction in the elementary school classroom, and analyzes how teachers and students can effectively utilize these aids for the teaching and learning of music through listening activities. This study originated as a Master of Design project at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada. The project involved the creation of an Animated Listening Map (ALM), a type of computer-based aid for teaching musical concepts, primarily through listening activities, at the second grade level of elementary education. In this paper, an ALM is defined as a spatial arrangement of images on the computer screen that changes over time to respond to the musical pattern in a piece of music being played on the computer. This paper especially focuses on the components of a favorable instructional situation in the classroom and how this supports the design of the ALM. Some guidelines are also presented for the effective development of computer-based aids for music instruction.
Challenges of International Students in a Japanese University: Ethnographic Perspectives

The author investigates what challenges four international students (Vietnamese, Filipino, Brazilian, and Chinese) faced and how they coped with these dilemmas in a Japanese language program during the first semester in 2014. Multiple apparatuses (e.g., field notes, face-to-face oral interviews, focal group conversations, and semi-structured written interviews) were employed to triangulate the data. The findings show four major challenges: Personal psychological issues, general living issues, sociocultural issues, and Japanese language issues. Additionally, supporting group, positive attitude, interaction with Japanese friends, financial assistance, and useful learning strategies are identified as coping strategies. The results will provide implications for international students as well as language instructors and program coordinators in a higher education institution to better assist the international students.
Disparities in health in the United States: An overview of the social determinants of health for otolaryngologists

Objectives Social determinants of health include social and demographic factors such as poverty, education status, race and ethnicity, gender, insurance status, and other factors that influence (1) development of illness, (2) ability to obtain and utilize healthcare, and (3) health and healthcare outcomes. In otolaryngology, as in other subspecialty surgical fields, we are constantly confronted by patients’ social and demographic circumstances including poverty, language barriers, and lack of health insurance and yet there is limited research on how these factors impact health equity in our field, or how attention to these patient characteristics may improve health equity. This review provides the reader with a framework to understand the social determinants of health including how socioeconomic status, insurance status, race, gender, and other factors impact health. Data Sources and Review Methods Foundational papers on the social determinants of health are reviewed, as well as otolaryngology publications focused on health and healthcare disparities. Results The social determinants of health have a major impact on patient health as well as healthcare utilization, but there is a relative lack of data on these factors and how they can be addressed within otolaryngology. Incorporating tools to measure social and demographic characteristics and actually report on these measures is a first simple step to increase the data on the social determinants of health as they pertain to otolaryngology. Conclusion More research is needed on the social determinants of health, and how they impact otolaryngic disease. Medicare's Accountable Care Organization models will increasingly change the way in which physicians are reimbursed, making the social determinants of health central not only to our moral conscience but also the bottom line. Level of Evidence 4
The Metabolic Syndrome and Atherogenesis

The metabolic syndrome refers to a constellation of abnormalities that are ­associated with increased cardiometabolic risk. Important components of this cluster, such as visceral obesity, insulin resistance, a dyslipidemic state, a thrombotic diathesis, and an inflammatory profile, synergistically contribute to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. There is no universal agreement on exactly how to define the metabolic syndrome, as multiple bodies have established different sets of criteria for this condition. Moreover, not all agree it is actually a “syndrome.” Despite these issues, many think that the concept of the metabolic syndrome reflects high-risk individuals they often encounter in practice and, therefore, offers clinical utility. This chapter illustrates the components of the metabolic syndrome, how they associate with each other, and mechanisms by which they aggravate atherothrombosis.
Modernity's Others, or Other Modernities: South Asian Negotiations with Modernity and Amitav Ghosh's The Glass Palace

Postcolonial scholars have explored the relations between European discourses of modernity and Empire in ways that challenge the notion that western modernity was a benevolent project, aimed at glo...
Negative polarity as scope marking

What is the communicative value of negative polarity? That is, why do so many languages maintain a stock of special indefinites (weak Negative Polarity Items) that occur only in a proper subset of the contexts in which ordinary indefinites can appear? Previous answers include: marking the validity of downward inferences; marking the invalidity of veridical inferences; or triggering strengthening implications. My starting point for exploring a new answer is the fact that an NPI must always take narrow scope with respect to its licensing context. In contrast, ordinary indefinites are notorious for taking wide scope. So whatever other functions NPIs may have, they at least serve as an utterly reliable signal that an indefinite is taking narrow scope. As also proposed in recent work of Kusumoto and Tancredi, I will show that NPIs are only licensed in contexts in which the wide scope construal of an indefinite fails to entail the narrow scope. In other words, weak NPIs occur only in contexts in which taking narrow scope matters for interpretation. Thus one part of the explanation for the ubiquity and robust stability of negative polarity is that it signals scope relations.
Method validation revisited: a chemometric approach.

A validation procedure is presented that satisfies the FDA requirements of accuracy (including precision repeatability), sensitivity, linearity, dynamic range, and homoscedasticity, all with a single set of data. The procedure utilizes the corrigible error correction (CEC) technique comprised of three response curves—standard, Youden one-sample, and method of standard additions (MOSA) plots, from a total of 15 to 18 X, Y data pairs. For the bias component of accuracy, the systematic bias error of the method is quantitatively separated into its constant and proportional error components. The overall constant systematic error is further separated into the system (blank) and analyte-matrix (sample) components. The CEC data also provide an internal, i.e., in situ corrected assay for the sample for comparison with alternative method data. Statistical diagnostic tests are used for the final evaluation of the method acceptability, specifically in deciding whether or not the systematic error indicated requires a root source search for its removal or is simply a calibration constant of the method.
Applications in Statistics

One of the most common structures for statistical datasets is a two-dimensional array. A matrix is often a convenient object for representing numeric data structured this way; the variables on the dataset generally correspond to the columns, and the observations correspond to the rows. If the data are in the matrix X, a useful statistic is the sums of squares and cross-products matrix, XTX, or the “ adjusted” squares and cross-products matrix, where X a is the matrix formed by subtracting from each element of X the mean of the column containing that element. The matrix where n is the number of observations (the number of rows in X), is the sample variance-covariance matrix. This matrix is nonnegative definite (see Exercise 6.1a, page 176). Estimates of the variance-covariance matrix or the correlation matrix of the underlying distribution may not be positive definite, however, and in Exercise 6.1d we describe a possible way of adjusting a matrix to be positive definite.
Effect of Thyroid Hormone Derangements on Sexual Function in Men and Women.

Abstract Introduction Sexual dysfunction affects many people, with 33‒60% of women reporting sexual dysfunction and 8‒52% of men with erectile dysfunction or premature ejaculation. In an effort to determine the constellation of factors responsible for sexual dysfunction, the effect of thyroid hormone derangements has been of recent interest. Aim To investigate the associations between thyroid hormones and sexual dysfunction in women and men. Methods Literature was reviewed to examine the effects of hypo- and hyperthyroidism on sexual function. Main Outcome Measure We present a summary of the effects of thyroid dysfunction on domains of sexual functioning. Results Most studies demonstrate that men with hypo- and hyperthyroidism have increased rates of sexual dysfunction, including erectile dysfunction in men with hypothyroidism. However, studies vary on the strength of correlation between hormonal derangement and level of sexual dysfunction. In both men with hyper- and hypothyroidism, treating the thyroid disorder at least partially reverses sexual dysfunction. In contrast, the current literature provides no consensus on the effect of hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, or Hashimoto’s thyroiditis on female sexual function. In studies that observed increased rates of sexual dysfunction in women with thyroid disorders, correction of the thyroid derangement resulted in resolution of some sexual dysfunction. Studies are also conflicted on whether there is a relationship between the degree of sexual dysfunction and the degree of hormone derangement in women. However, prior work has demonstrated a relationship between thyroid autoantibodies and sexual dysfunction in women. Conclusion Thyroid dysfunction is an important factor in the pathogenesis of sexual dysfunction in men and possibly women. Evidence suggests a reversibility of sexual dysfunction with correction of thyroid dysfunction, although the exact pathophysiology of thyroid-mediated sexual dysfunction remains unknown. However, current evidence supports thyroid derangements rather than autoantibodies as the causative factor in men, whereas autoantibodies appear to play a more prominent role in women. Bates JN, Kohn TP, Pastuszak AW. Effect of Thyroid Hormone Derangements on Sexual Function in Men and Women. Sex Med Rev 2020;8:217–230.
Incentivizing exploration

We study a Bayesian multi-armed bandit (MAB) setting in which a principal seeks to maximize the sum of expected time-discounted rewards obtained by pulling arms, when the arms are actually pulled by selfish and myopic individuals. Since such individuals pull the arm with highest expected posterior reward (i.e., they always exploit and never explore), the principal must incentivize them to explore by offering suitable payments. Among others, this setting models crowdsourced information discovery and funding agencies incentivizing scientists to perform high-risk, high-reward research. We explore the tradeoff between the principal's total expected time-discounted incentive payments, and the total time-discounted rewards realized. Specifically, with a time-discount factor γ ∈ (0,1), let OPT denote the total expected time-discounted reward achievable by a principal who pulls arms directly in a MAB problem, without having to incentivize selfish agents. We call a pair (ρ,b) ∈ [0,1]2 consisting of a reward ρ and payment b achievable if for every MAB instance, using expected time-discounted payments of at most b•OPT, the principal can guarantee an expected time-discounted reward of at least ρ•OPT. Our main result is an essentially complete characterization of achievable (payment, reward) pairs: if √b+√1-ρ>√γ, then (ρ,b) is achievable, and if √b+√1-ρ In proving this characterization, we analyze so-called time-expanded policies, which in each step let the agents choose myopically with some probability p, and incentivize them to choose "optimally" with probability 1-p. The analysis of time-expanded policies leads to a question that may be of independent interest: If the same MAB instance (without selfish agents) is considered under two different time-discount rates γ > η, how small can the ratio of OPTη to OPTγ be? We give a complete answer to this question, showing that OPTη ≥ (1-γ)2/(1-η)2 • OPTγ, and that this bound is tight.
Endotoxin, food allergen sensitization, and food allergy: A complementary epidemiologic and experimental study.

Background Household endotoxin levels have been variably associated with risk for asthma and atopy. Methods We studied participants from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, n = 6963), a large cohort representative of the US population (aged 1-84 years). We built logistic regression models to test for associations between house dust endotoxin and sensitization to specific foods (milk, egg, and peanut). To experimentally explore the detected epidemiologic associations, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were collected from 21 children (aged 1-19 years) mono-food allergic (ie, sensitized and clinically reactive) to milk, egg, or peanut and nonallergic controls for stimulation with endotoxin and secreted cytokine measurement. For each food allergy, linear mixed-effects models were built to test the association between endotoxin stimulation and cytokine level. Results Among NHANES subjects, the geometric mean household endotoxin level was 15.5 EU/mg (GSE 0.5). Prevalence of food allergen sensitization (sIgE ≥ 0.35 kUA /L) varied by food: milk 5.7%, egg 4.0%, and peanut 7.9%. In models adjusted for potential confounders (age, race, country of birth, total people per household, US region, and history of wheezing in the past year), household endotoxin level was associated with sensitization to milk (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.2-2.1) and egg (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.01-1.9), but not peanut (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.8-1.2). Interferon-γ levels of endotoxin-stimulated PBMCs from children allergic to milk or egg, but not peanut, were significantly lower compared to controls in linear mixed-effects models adjusted for repeated measures, experimental variables, age, and inter-individual variability (P-values .007, .018, and .058, respectively). Conclusion Higher household endotoxin is associated with increased odds of milk and egg sensitization. Altered cytokine responsiveness to endotoxin is also observed in PBMCs from individuals with milk and egg allergy.
Methods for Biological Control of Plant Pathogens

Organisms for biological control of plant disease can be used in various ways, but most attention has been given to their conservation and augmentation in a particular environment, rather than to the importation and addition of new species as is often done for insect or weed control. The choice of these approaches is in part because there is usually a diverse set of microbes already associated with plants. These microbes provide substantial opportunity for development of resident species as competitors or antagonists to pathogenic organisms.
Grain Fe and Zn Contents Linked SSR Markers Based Genetic Diversity Reveal Perspective for Marker Assisted Biofortification Breeding in Rice

Rice is critical for sustainable food and nutritional security; however, nominal micronutrient quantities in grains aggravate malnutrition in rice-eating poor populations. Here, we assessed genetic diversity in grain iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) contents using trait-linked simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers in 56 fine and coarse grain rice accessions of different geographical origin. Aromatic fine gain accessions contained relatively higher Fe and Zn contents in brown rice (BR) than coarse grain accessions. Genotyping with 24 SSR markers identified 21 polymorphic markers, among which seventeen demonstrated higher gene diversity and polymorphism information content (PIC) values, strongly indicating that markers used in current research were moderate to highly informative for evaluating genetic diversity. Population structure, principal coordinate and phylogenetic analyses classified studied rice accessions into two fine grain specific and one fine and coarse grain admixture subpopulations. Single marker analysis recognized four ZnBR and single FeBR significant marker-trait associations (MTAs), contributing 15.41-39.72% in total observed phenotypic variance. Furthermore, high grain Fe and Zn contents linked marker alleles from significant MTAs were also identified. Collectively, these results indicate availability of wide genetic diversity in rice germplasm and perspective for marker-assisted biofortification breeding.
Deep Medullary Vein White Matter Injury Global Severity Score Predicts Neurodevelopmental Impairment.

Aim:To examine associations between the deep medullary vein white matter injury global severity scoring system and neurodevelopmental impairment.Methods:This is a prospective observational cohort s...
Clinical relevance of clonal hematopoiesis in metastatic gastrointestinal malignancies.

e16082Background: Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) represents non-random clonal selection of bone marrow-derived cells marked by somatic mutations in certain genes. The presence of CH is associated with d...
Clinical subgroup clustering analysis in a systemic lupus erythematosus cohort from Western Pennsylvania.

OBJECTIVE Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex heterogenous autoimmune disease that can affect multiple organs. We performed clinical clustering analysis to describe a lupus cohort from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. METHODS A total of 724 patients who met the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) classification criteria for SLE were included in this study. Clustering was performed using the ACR classification criteria and the partitioning around medoid method. Correlation analysis was performed using the Spearman's Rho test. RESULTS Patients with SLE in our cohort identify three district clinical disease subsets. Patients in cluster 1 were significantly more likely to develop renal and hematologic involvement, and had overrepresentation in African-American and male lupus patients. Clusters 2 and 3 identified a milder disease, with a significantly less likelihood of organ complications. Patients in cluster 2 are characterized by malar rash and photosensitivity, while patients in cluster 3 are characterized by oral ulcers, which is present in ~90% of patients within this cluster. The presence of photosensitivity or oral ulcers appears to be protective against the development of lupus nephritis in our cohort. CONCLUSION We describe a large cohort of SLE from Western Pennsylvania and identify three distinct clinical disease subgroups. Clustering analysis might help to better manage and predict disease complications in heterogenous diseases like lupus.
Death of a Copyright

A well-established feature of modern copyright law is that the term of a copyright extends beyond—far beyond—the author’s death. In his article, Death in Copyright: Remarks on Duration, Abraham Drassinower boldly challenges that settled rule, arguing that, because of the deeply personal link between an author’s creativity and the grant of a copyright, the term of that right should end when the author dies. Extending the argument of his recent book, What’s Wrong with Copying?, Drassinower draws on the thinking of Immanuel Kant to conceive of authorship not as a “thing” but as a “communicative act” connecting the author and the audience. This essay, prepared for a symposium celebrating the work of Wendy Gordon, responds to Drassinower’s engaging article by making two main points. First, it goes beyond Kantian theory and sketches how other justifications for copyright, including personhood theory and economic utilitarianism, could be used to critique (or to justify) the long, post-death duration of modern copyright. Second, it explores the implications of Drassinower’s theory of authorship for works-made-for-hire, where the personal link between author and copyright is more tenuous, and for works published only posthumously, which would not receive any copyright protection at all under Drassinower’s model.
Modular polyketide synthase contains two reaction chambers that operate asynchronously.

Type I modular polyketide synthases are homodimeric multidomain assembly line enzymes that synthesize a variety of polyketide natural products by performing polyketide chain extension and β-keto gr...
Classifying progression status statements from radiology exams among non-small cell lung cancer patients using natural language processing

Although NLP has been used to support cancer research more broadly, the development of NLP algorithms to extract evidence of progression from clinical notes to support lung cancer research is still in its infancy. In this study, we trained supervised machine learning classifiers using rich semantic features to detect and classify statements of progression status from radiology exams. Our progression status classifier achieves high F1-scores for detecting and discerning progression (0.80), stable (0.82), and not relevant (0.92) sentences, demonstrating promising performance. We are actively integrating these extractions with structured electronic health record data using ontologies to instantiate a longitudinal model of progression among non-small cell lung cancer patients.
Polyacrylonitrile supported thin film composite hollow fiber membranes for forward osmosis

Abstract Thin film composite (TFC) hollow fiber membranes have shown great promise as a platform for osmotic processes such as forward osmosis (FO) and pressure retarded osmosis (PRO). Previous work on asymmetric FO membranes demonstrated that employing a hydrophilic supporting structure is essential to promote wetting and mitigate concentration polarization. In this study, we have developed an intrinsically hydrophilic polyacrylonitrile (PAN) hollow fiber supported TFC membrane. A selective polyamide thin film was synthesized on the membrane shell side via interfacial polymerization. The impact of fiber pore structure was investigated during our study with some of our membranes exhibiting water flux of 36.6 L m− 2 h− 1 using 1 M sodium chloride draw solution against deionized water in PRO mode. These results suggest the potential of utilizing intrinsically hydrophilic polymeric hollow fibers with finely tuned pore structures as support for TFC membranes for osmotic processes.
Spin-polarized Mn2+ emission from Mn-doped colloidal nanocrystals

We report magnetophotoluminescence studies of strongly quantum-confined 0D diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS), realized in Mn(2+)-doped ZnSe/CdSe core-shell colloidal nanocrystals. In marked contrast to their 3D (bulk), 2D (quantum well), 1D (quantum wire), and 0D (self-assembled quantum dot) DMS counterparts, the ubiquitous yellow emission band from internal d-d ((4)T(1)→(6)A(1)) transitions of the Mn(2+) ions in these nanocrystals is not suppressed in applied magnetic fields and does become circularly polarized. This polarization tracks the Mn(2+) magnetization, and is accompanied by a sizable energy splitting between right- and left-circular emission components that scales with the exciton-Mn sp-d coupling strength (which, in turn, is tunable with nanocrystal size). These data highlight the influence of strong quantum confinement on both the excitation and the emission mechanisms of magnetic ions in DMS nanomaterials.
Sparse re-id: Block sparsity for person re-identification

This paper presents a novel approach to solve the problem of person re-identification in non-overlapping camera views. We hypothesize that the feature vector of a probe image approximately lies in the linear span of the corresponding gallery feature vectors in a learned embedding space. We then formulate the re-identification problem as a block sparse recovery problem and solve the associated optimization problem using the alternating directions framework. We evaluate our approach on the publicly available PRID 2011 and iLIDS-VID multi-shot re-identification datasets and demonstrate superior performance in comparison with the current state of the art.
Electrophysiological action of carbamate insecticides in the central nervous system of the American cockroach.

Electrophysiological investigation of the action of 20 phenyl carbamates in Periplaneta americana (L.) has shown that the most active compounds readily penetrate into the ganglia, facilitating neurone discharge and causing rapid and reversible synaptic block. The relative effectiveness of the individual compounds in producing this neurophysiological response is almost exactly that found for the inhibition of cholinesterase, and demonstrates dependence upon stereochemical features corresponding to those of acetyl choline. The neurophysiological effects produced by the individual carbamatos were similar to those produced by dimethyl p -nitrophenyl phosphate but differed both qualitatively and quantitatively from those produced by nicotine. The method used in this study provides a convenient biological assay technique for toxicological evaluation at the neurone level.
Functionalization of Nine-Atom Deltahedral Zintl Ions with Organic Substituents: Detailed Studies of the Reactions

Presented are the results of a systematic investigation of the reactions of nine-atom deltahedral clusters of germanium (Zintl ions, Ge9n−) with alkynes and alkyl halides that result in alkenylation and alkylation of the clusters, respectively. The reaction pathways have been probed in depth using various, appropriately substituted alkynes and organic halides, including some typical mechanistic probes and radical clocks. The regioselectivity and stereoselectivity of the reaction with alkynes was examined by systematically varying the steric and electronic nature of the substituents. The studies showed that the Zintl clusters act as strong, anionic nucleophiles toward the alkynes and primary and secondary alkyl halides but, most likely, as electron donors in reactions with tertiary alkyl halides and halogenated olefins. The pentenyl and methylcyclopropyl functionalized clusters, [Ge9(C5H9)]3− and [Ge9(CH2CH(CH2)2)]2−, respectively, were crystallographically characterized in compounds with [K-crypt]+ counte...
Sjögren's syndrome in MRL/l and MRL/n mice.

Six autoimmune murine models (MRL/l, MRL/n, NZB, NZB/NZW, PN, C57BL/6J-lpr/lpr) were compared with normal control C57BL/6J and DBA/2 mice to determine if spontaneous autoimmune disease was associated with evidence of Sjogren's syndrome. Schirmer tests documented dry eyes in NZB/NZW and PN mice; other autoimmune strains and controls had normal tear formation. All autoimmune mice had conjunctivitis, but this abnormality was most severe in the PN strain. Ninety-eight percent of MRL/1 and MRL/n mice had mononuclear cell infiltrates in lacrimal glands, and salivary glands were involved to a lesser degree. New Zealand mice and PN mice had smaller gland lesions. The extensive gland destruction in MRL/l and MRL/n mice suggested that these substrains merit further studies as animal models of Sjogren's syndrome.
Time-trends in survival in young women with breast cancer in a SEER population-based study

Mortality improvements in young women with breast cancer (BC) may be attributable to treatment advances; screening likely plays a less significant role as mammography is not recommended <40. We examined time-trends in outcome in a cohort of young women. Our goal was to determine the contributions of treatment and screening to mortality improvements and evaluate whether differential outcomes by ER status exist. Using SEER, patients (73,447) were divided into three categories by diagnosis year (1990-1994, 1995-1999, 2000-2004) and also categorized as <40 or 40-50 years. Multivariate analysis was done to investigate the association of survival with time period for both age groups by ER status. Hazard ratios (HR) for mortality in women 40-50 with ER positive BC declined over time. With 1990-1994 as referent, the HR in 1995-1999 was 0.77 (0.69-0.86) and 0.65 (0.59-0.71) in 2000-2004 (p < 0.001). Women <40 with ER positive BC also had improvements over time. In ER negative patients, the degree of improvements over time was less than that seen in ER positive women. We report a survival disparity over time in young women by ER status. Patients with ER negative disease have not had the degree of improvements over time as seen in ER positive disease. Therefore, mortality improvements in young women with ER positive BC may be attributed to treatment advances with endocrine agents.
An improved laser scanning technique for evaluation of solar cells: Application to CuInSe2/(CuZn)S devices

Abstract The localized photovoltaic response of solar cells can be measured by a scanning beam of focused light. Spatial variations in the illuminated response can arise because of non-uniformities in either the generation or the collection of minority carriers. Discrimination between possible causes of non-uniformities can be achieved by mapping the response at different wavelengths under various light and voltage bias conditions. The non-uniform generation of minority carriers can be monitored by measuring the reflected portion of the light beam. Application of the laser scanning technique to the analysis of CuInSe2/(CdZn)S devices will be described.
Feather depigmentation resulting from feeding molybdenum plus thiosulfate.

SummaryThese experiments show that addition of molybdenum plus thiosulfate will cause feather depigmentation in growing chicks. Supplementation of the diet with vitamins or lysine did not prevent feather depigmentation when the diet contained molybdenum and thiosulfate. No feather depigmentation occurred if copper (50 ppm) was added to the diet. Chicks having feather depigmentation had higher copper, molybdenum and sulfur35 content in liver tissues than the basal group or groups receiving supplementary thiosulfate or molybdenum. In all groups fed radioactive sodium thiosulfate, radioactivity was found in the taurine fraction but not in methionine or cystine fraction of liver hydrolysates.
Severe Babesiosis in Long Island: Review of 34 Cases and Their Complications

Thirty-four consecutive patients were hospitalized with diagnosis of severe Babesia infection over the course of 13 years. The average time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis was 15 days. When compared with uninfected febrile control patients, affected patients complained significantly more often of malaise, arthralgias and myalgias, and shortness of breath (P 10%; P=.08). Patients were treated with a combination of drugs that included clindamycin, quinine, atovaquone, or azithromycin. Despite treatment, parasitemia persisted for an average of 8.5 days (range, 3--21 days). Exchange transfusion was performed for 7 patients, and it effectively reduced the high levels of parasitemia. Three patients died. Improved outcomes may result with prompt recognition and treatment of babesiosis.
A specific structural alteration in the heparan sulphate of human glomerular basement membrane in diabetes.

Aims/hypothesis. Heparan sulphate proteoglycan is an important component of the glomerular anionic filtration barrier and its reduced amount in diabetes contributes to glomerular dysfunction. The objective of this study was to determine if there is also an alteration in the sulphation pattern of the diabetic heparan sulphate chains. Methods. The heparan sulphate in the glomerular basement membrane/mesangial matrix from human diabetic and nondiabetic kidneys obtained at autopsy was fragmented by a hydrazine/nitrous acid procedure and after radiolabelling with NaB[3H]4, the disaccharide products were chromatographically resolved and quantified. Results. Six sulphated disaccharides were identified in both the diabetic and nondiabetic samples and the molar distribution of these was similar, with the notable exception of the iduronic acid-2-O-sulphateα1 → 4glucosamine-3-O-sulphate species which occurred in the diabetic glomeruli in less than half the amount as in the nondiabetic samples (9.0 % compared to 18.7 % of total sulphated disaccharides, p < 0.005). Conclusion/interpretation. 3-O-sulphated glucosamine is a rare constituent of heparan sulphate occurring usually in a glucuronic acidβ1 → 4glucosamine-3-O-sulphate( ± 6-O-sulphate) sequence within the antithrombin-binding domain. In the glomerular basement membrane where the 3-O-sulphated glucosamine is present in substantial amounts, however, it occurs exclusively in an iduronic acid-containing sequence. It is likely that the recently discovered 3-O-sulphotransferase variant which specifically acts on the iduronic acidα1 → 4glucosamine sequence is decreased in human diabetes and moreover that this unusual disaccharide could be a component of a specific heparan sulphate domain which interacts with bioactive proteins. [Diabetologia (2000) 43: 1056–1059]
Understanding the potential and pH dependency of high-strength β-titanium alloy environmental crack initiation

An explanation for the strong dependency of crack initiation of precracked high-strength β-titanium alloys in room-temperature 0.6 M NaCl on applied potential and bulk-solution pH is presented. It is proposed that environment-assisted cracking (EAC) susceptibility in neutral aqueous NaCl results from (1) film rupture due to plastic deformation at actively deformed crack tips, (2) accelerated dissolution of titanium, (3) crack tip acidification by hydrolysis of titanium ions, (4) crack tip potential excursions toward bare metal open-circuit potentials (OCPs) during film rupture due to large ohmic voltages in the crack solution, (5) accelerated crack tip proton or water reduction concurrent with titanium dissolution, (6) bare surface-dominated hydrogen ingress into a fracture process zone, and (7) crack initiation by hydrogen embrittlement. Evidence for each of the above stages of the crack initiation scenario is presented, with emphasis on crack tip electrode kinetics and ohmic voltage calculations which govern process zone-controlled hydrogen uptake. The seven stages are consistent with the strong dependencies of crack initiation and growth in precracked high-strength β-titanium alloys on (1) solution pH, (2) applied potential, and (3) strain rate, and they explain the “apparent” EAC resistance of smooth- and blunt-notch specimens. The latter lack both occluded crack tip geometries to promote acidification and ohmic voltage drops below reversible hydrogen, as well as localization of dynamic plastic strain. Hydrogen uptake is, subsequently, limited.
Tyrosine prevents behavioral and neurochemical correlates of an acute stress in rats.

Exposure of rats to an acute, uncontrollable stressor can increase brain norepinephrine (NE) turnover and decrease locomotor and exploratory behavior. We examined the ability of exogenous tyrosine, NE's amino acid precursor, to protect rats from developing these neurochemical and behavioral changes when stressed. Animals pretreated with saline or tyrosine (200 mg/kg, i.p.) were subjected to tail shock (15 v, 2 mA, 5 sec/30 sec) or to no shock during a 60-min period. Exposure to shock depleted NE and increased its turnover [as indicated by altered NE and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-phenylene-glycol sulfate levels (MHPG-SO4)] within the locus coeruleus, the hippocampus and the hypothalamus. Behavioral deficits were observed using measures of locomotion, standing on hind legs, and hole-poking in an open-field apparatus. Animals given tyrosine before shock displayed neither shock-induced NE depletion nor the deficits in locomotion and hole-poking; brain MHPG-SO4 levels tended to be greater than after shock alone. These observations suggest that the stress caused NE to be released from some neurons more rapidly than it could be restored by synthesis or reuptake, thereby impairing noradrenergic transmission and NE-dependent exploratory behaviors. Tyrosine administration presumably enhanced the transmitter's synthesis in stressed animals, thereby preventing both the neurochemical and the behavioral deficits.