cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Natural History of Clinically Complete Responders to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Urothelial Carcinoma of the Bladder

Purpose: We describe the clinical course of patients who achieved cT0 status after neoadjuvant chemotherapy for muscle invasive bladder cancer. There is no established treatment paradigm for these patients.Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 109 patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer (T2 or greater urothelial carcinoma of the bladder) who underwent platinum based neoadjuvant chemotherapy at our institution from 1988 to 2012. Post-chemotherapy assessment of the response included cytology, cystoscopy with biopsy and cross-sectional imaging.Results: Of 109 patients 32 (29.4%) achieved cT0 status after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Mean ± SD age of the cohort was 68.3 ± 9.6 years. Of the patients 21 received MVAC, 8 received gemcitabine and cisplatin, and 3 received another regimen. Seven complete responders elected immediate radical cystectomy after the completion of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Of 25 patients who refused radical cystectomy after achieving cT0 status 7 experience...
Modeling of Polysilicon Resistors, P-N Junction Diodes and Mosfet's

Conductivity in bulk polysilicon is discussed, applicable over a wide range of dopant concentration, temperature, grain size and trap density. The I-V behavior in a lateral poly p-n junction is analytically modeled, incorporating the effects of carrier lifetime operative in crystalline grain and amorphous conducting boundary. In particular, the extremely short carrier lifetime within the grain boundary is shown to provide an ohmic conduction channel in a direction parallel to current flow. This ohmic current can account for the unusually high current levels observed at small applied voltages. Also, the shift of the threshold voltage of MOS devices, as influenced by grain traps near the channel region, is analysed.
Challenges and Solutions for Marketing Educators Teaching in Newly Emerging Markets

Globalization and changes in business education have created more opportunities for marketing educators to teach in newly emerging markets (NEMs). However, differences in the backgrounds and cultures of students in these countries create new challenges for the marketing educator. Yet the extant literature reveals little guidance for the instruction of basic marketing concepts within emerging economies. In this article, the authors report on the challenges faced by marketing instructors who have experienced teaching in NEMs. Detailed feedback, gained through a focus group interview, on international experiences from a faculty is examined. General advice is offered for marketers interesting in teaching in NEMs.
Men in the demographic transition.

Women’s fertility is the focus of most demographic analyses, for in most mammals, and in many preindustrial societies, variance in male fertility, while an interesting biological phenomenon, is irrelevant. Yet in monogamous societies, the reproductive ecology of men, as well as that of women, is important is creating reproductive patterns. In nineteenth-century Sweden, the focus of this study, male reproductive ecology responded to resource conditions: richer men had more children than poorer men. Men’s fertility also interacted with local and historical factors in complex ways to have significant impact on population growth. As a result, “the” demographic transition was local, and locally reversible, in Sweden. Results cannot be simply translated from nineteenth-century studies to current attempts to promote fertility decline, because today, male and female resource-fertility curves differ in shape, not only in magnitude. When we translate studies of fertility decline, it is important to study individual fertility and to discern whether, in any particular case, male and female patterns are similar.
Application of long synthetic oligonucleotides for gene analysis: Effect of probe length and stringency conditions on hybridization specificity☆

Two different lengths of long unique synthetic oligonucleotide probes (37- and 48-mers) specific for human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II beta genes were synthesized. These oligonucleotides were utilized to examine factors influencing hybridization specificity. Both probe length and stringency of washing conditions were found to be crucial factors for sequence-specific hybridization.
THE EFFECTS OF CASTRATION ON RELAXATION OF RAT CORPUS CAVERNOSUM SMOOTH MUSCLE IN VITRO

AbstractPurpose: This study was conducted to investigate the role of testosterone (T) in regulating the relaxation of isolated rat corpus cavernosum strips in vitro.Materials and Methods: Male rats were divided into treatment groups of intact, castrate, and castrate with T replacement. Norepinephrine (NE) was added to contract each of the tissue strips. Next, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), experiment I, or 8-Br-cGMP, experiment II, was added to relax the cavernosum tissue. Percent relaxations were recorded for each treatment group at each dose level.Results: SNP was added to the NE-contracted tissues in doses of 10−4 and 10−3 M. In this experiment, castration significantly reduced tissue responsiveness to SNP and T replacement restored the response to intact levels. In the second experiment 8-Br-cGMP was added to the NE-contracted tissues in doses of 10−5 and 10−4 M. 8-Br-cGMP 10−4 M was significantly less effective in relaxing tissue from castrate animals as compared with intact controls. Again, T treatment...
Discovering Structure from Motion in Monkey, Man and Machine

The ability to obtain three-dimensional structure from visual motion is important for survival of human and non-human primates. Using a parallel processing model, the current work explores how the biological visual system might solve this problem and how the neurophysiologist might go about understanding the solution.
Lessons from a decade of group support systems research

A decade of research, development, and implementation of group support systems has occasioned the learning of many lessons. The paper uses a heuristic model to compare group support systems to other groupware, and then summarizes many lessons learned about GSS in the laboratory and in the field.
Controlling Defects in Double-Layer Cuprates by Chemical Modifications

In-situ high temperature electrical conductivity and thermopower have been measured simultaneously on a number of ordered perovskite-like oxides containing double CUO4/2 sheets. Equilibrium measurements have been conducted as a function of oxygen partial pressure, temperature and chemical substitution in order to understand the relationships between the chemical architecture and the transport and defect properties. Data for LaBa2Cu2NbO8 and LaCa2Cu2GaO7 are presented and compared with those of known triple perovskite superconductors, Y1−xCaxSr2Cu2GaO7 and YBa2Cu3O7−δ, and several quadruple perovskites, Ln′Ln″Ba2Cu2M2O11 (Ln = Lanthanide, Y;M = Sn, Ti). These materials belong to a general family of superconductors which are constructed from similar ‘active’ layers (double perovskite blocks of square-pyramidal copper-oxygen sheets), and interleaved with fixed valence cations in perovskite-like ‘conditioning’ layers. Similarities in the transport properties of the non-superconducting and superconducting materials at elevated temperatures are illustrated, and the amount and types of defects, including carrier concentrations, are correlated with the internal chemistry and inner architecture of each material.
Oligosaccharide profiling: the facile detection of mono-, di- and oligosaccharides by electrospray orthogonal time-of-flight mass spectrometry using 3-aminophenylboronic acid derivatization.

Monosaccharides, disaccharides and larger carbohydrates can be derivatized using 3-aminophenylboronic acid (3-APBA). This procedure is carried out at low pH (2.7-3.0) and allows the use of positive ion mode electrospray orthogonal time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ES-OTOFMS) to analyze the resulting boronate complexes. A carbohydrate profile map of a complex carbohydrate mixture, honey, was prepared which displayed superior sensitivity when compared with lithium ion cationization. Complexes formed using simple mono- and disaccharides show that facile in situ derivatization leads to an equilibrium mixture; which is reproducible for a specific set of electrospray conditions. D-Glucose could be detected at 5 microM concentration using the standard instrument spray interface. Lower detection levels of approximately 500 nM could be achieved using a nanospray device. The 3-APBA complexes are observed on instruments employing a low temperature interface (140-150 degrees C) which allows formation of the boronate species while still promoting efficient desolvation of the ions. The spectral identification of 3-APBA complexed carbohydrates in complex mixtures is facilitated by the easily observed 1 mass unit separated peak pair bearing the 1:4 ratio resulting from the natural isotopic abundance of (10)B and (11)B.
A Pilot Cluster Randomized Trial of a 20-Week Tai Chi Program in Elders With Cognitive Impairment and Osteoarthritic Knee: Effects on Pain and Other Health Outcomes

Abstract Context Because Tai Chi (TC) is beneficial to elders without cognitive impairment (CI), it also may benefit elders with CI. But elders with CI have generally been excluded from TC studies because many measurement tools require verbal reports that some elders with CI are unable to provide. Objectives To test the efficacy of a TC program in improving pain and other health outcomes in community-dwelling elders with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and CI. Methods This pilot cluster-randomized trial was conducted between January 2008 and June 2010 (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01528566). The TC group attended Sun style TC classes, three sessions a week for 20 weeks; the control group attended classes providing health and cultural information for the same length of time. Measures included the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) pain, physical function and stiffness subscales; the Get Up and Go test; the Sit-to-Stand test; and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), administered at baseline, every four weeks during the intervention and at the end of the study (post-test). Results Eight sites participated in either the TC group (four sites, 28 participants) or control group (four sites, 27 participants). The WOMAC pain (P=0.006) and stiffness scores (P=0.010) differed significantly between the two groups at post-test, whereas differences between the two groups in the WOMAC physical function score (P=0.071) and the MMSE (P=0.096) showed borderline significance at the post-test. WOMAC pain (P=0.001), physical function (P=0.021), and stiffness (P≤0.001) scores improved significantly more over time in the TC group than in controls. No adverse events were found in either group. Conclusion Practicing TC can be efficacious in reducing pain and stiffness in elders with knee OA and CI.
Increasing Positive Perceptions of Counseling: The Importance of Repeated Exposures

This study assesses the effectiveness of repeated exposures to a video intervention based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model. The video was designed to increase help-seeking attitudes and perceptions of peer norms and to decrease the stigma associated with seeking counseling. Participants were 290 undergraduates who were randomly assigned to a repeated-exposure video intervention, a single-exposure video intervention, or a control video condition. Participants completed measures pre- and post-intervention and at a 3-week follow-up. Those in the repeated-exposure intervention improved significantly more than the single-exposure and control groups on help-seeking attitudes and perception of peer norms but not for stigma. The effect of repeated exposures on attitudes and peer norms showed both immediate and longer term effects. Effective, empirically supported interventions capable of reaching large numbers of people are necessary to improve utilization rates of counseling services. This study offers suppor...
Feature Localization Using Kinematics and Impulsive Hybrid Optimization

This paper focuses on detecting and localizing a surface feature on an otherwise uniform surface using kinematic data collected during an exploratory procedure. Assuming that characteristics of the feature shape and surface shape are known, a surface feature is detected by performing least squares estimation calculated via impulsive hybrid system optimization. The optimization routine is based on an adjoint formulation which allows the algorithm to be computationally efficient and scalable. This algorithm is also shown to perform well with the presence of measurement noise and model noise, both in simulations and experiments.
Pigment epithelial cell ensheathment of cone outer segments in the retina of the domestic cat.

The association between cone outer segments and pigment epithelial cells in the tapetal region of the cat’s retina was studied by both transmission and scanning electron microscopy. Although the cone outer segments do not reach the perikaryal surface of the pigment epithelium they are still closely associated with the apical processes of the pigment epithelium. These processes are leaf-like in shape and ensheath the cone outer segments in a unique way. Each sheath is formed usually by four processes. The base of each process is a broad cytoplasmic sheet which wraps in a spiral of one and a half to two turns in the space above the outer segment’s tip. The processes of each sheath wrap concentrically in this space and form a tunnel whose wall is at least six laminae thick. Where the outer segment is inserted into the sheath, the thickness of the sheath diminishes to three or four laminae. This is because each process gradually narrows in width and, therefore, makes fewer turns. Since the processes continue to narrow as they extend along the outer segment the completeness of ensheathment gradually diminishes from the tip to the base of the outer segment. The processes finally narrow to pointed tips and some processes of each sheath reach the base of the outer segment.
Empirically valid strategies to improve social and emotional competence of preschool children

Research over the past few decades has highlighted the importance of social and emotional competence in preschool children on later academic, social, and psychological outcomes. Children who are socially and emotionally competent have increased socialization opportunities with peers, develop more friends, have better relationships with their parents and teachers, and enjoy more academic and social successes. Children who lack social and emotional competence are at risk for reduced socialization opportunities, rejection, withdrawal, behavioral disturbance, and achievement problems. Intervention programs that target social–emotional development in preschool are ideally situated to bolster these skills before the problems exacerbate. In this paper, research on the importance of social and emotional competence in young children is reviewed as it relates to immediate and long-term outcomes. Assessments of social and emotional development and behavioral adjustment are briefly reviewed, followed by a review of intervention programs with demonstrated empirical efficacy. Although preliminary evidence supports the utility of these intervention programs, additional research on short- and long-term efficacy is recommended, and more programs designed specifically for early childhood are needed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Imaging butyrylcholinesterase activity in Alzheimer's disease

Brain-Mind Project and University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL, Departments of Medicine, Anatomy and Neurobiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Drug Design & Development Section, Laboratory of Neurosciences, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, and Laboratory for Neurodegenerative and Aging Research, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Multi-stage IIR decimation filter design technique for high resolution sigma-delta A/D converters

A design technique for a multistage halfband decimation filter structure to enhance the effective resolutions of sigma-delta ( Sigma - Delta ) analog-to-digital (A/D) converters is discussed. In particular, a series of six halfband filters is implemented to obtain more than 18 bits of effective resolution from a digital signal with 12-bit effective resolution. Since this multistage structure is flexible to change the filter design specification, the number of stages in the decimation process can be adjusted to fit the needs for a specific application. By taking advantage of the oversampling methodology and third-order noise shaping by the Sigma -D modulator, more than 120 dB of SNR can be achieved. The theoretical analysis and experimental results with a currently available Sigma - Delta converter are also included. >
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy With Adjunctive Hypnosis for Social and Performance Anxiety in Emerging Adulthood

This is a single case study of a college aged woman with generalized anxiety disorder. Treatment consisted of psychodynamic psychotherapy, with an emphasis on facilitating separation and individuation, using hypnosis as a supportive, self-regulation skill for anxiety management. The patient’s symptoms were tracked using daily subjective, self-report measures over the 13-month treatment period. The simulation modeling approach for time-series (SMATS) was used to assess the phase change from baseline to treatment. Symptoms tracked included anxiety peaks, preoccupation with time, interpersonal closeness, and self-sacrificing of self for others. The patient’s worries about time decreased significantly over the course of treatment. There was also a trend of both less interference of anxiety in the patient’s daily tasks and less self-sacrificing behaviors in her interpersonal relationships. Utility of an idiographic and also quantified research methodology for treatment outcome studies is discussed.
Nonbinding recommendations: the relative effects of focal points versus uncertainty reduction on bargaining outcomes

This article focuses on the effects of nonbinding recommendations on bargaining outcomes. Recommendations are theorized to have two effects: they can create a focal point for final bargaining positions, and they can decrease outcome uncertainty should dispute persist. While the focal point effect may lower dispute rates, the uncertainty reduction effect is predicted to do the opposite for risk-averse bargainers. Which of these effects dominates is of critical importance in the design of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures, which are increasingly utilized in a variety of settings. We theoretically examine the effects of recommendations on the contract zone using a framework which allows bargainers’ final positions to influence a binding outcome should negotiations fail. This provides a more stringent test of focal points than previously considered. We also present data from controlled laboratory experiments consistent with our model. Recommendations are empirically shown to influence final bargaining positions and negotiated settlement values. In fact, recommendations significantly reduce dispute rates, even where they are completely ignored in final-stage arbitration. This highlights a potentially significant role for the use of nonbinding procedures, such as mediation, as a preliminary stage in more efficient ADR procedures.
Transient Compartmentalization of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Variants in the Breast Milk of African Green Monkeys

ABSTRACT Natural hosts of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), African green monkeys (AGMs), rarely transmit SIV via breast-feeding. In order to examine the genetic diversity of breast milk SIV variants in this limited-transmission setting, we performed phylogenetic analysis on envelope sequences of milk and plasma SIV variants of AGMs. Low-diversity milk virus populations were compartmentalized from that in plasma. However, this compartmentalization was transient, as the milk virus lineages did not persist longitudinally.
American Policing at a Crossroads

As victimization rates have fallen, public preoccupation with policing and its crime control impact has receded. Terrorism has become the new focal point of concern. But satisfaction with ordinary police practices hides deep problems. The time is therefore ripe for rethinking the assumptions that have guided American police for most of the past two decades. This essay proposes an empirically grounded shift to what we call a procedural justice model of policing. When law enforcement moves toward this approach, it can be more effective, at lower cost and without the negative side effects that currently hamper responses to terrorism and conventional crime. This essay describes the procedural justice model, explains its theoretical and empirical foundations, and discusses its policy implications, both for ordinary policing and for efforts to combat international terrorism.
Determination of dosimetric characteristics of OptiSeedTM a plastic brachytherapy 103Pd source

Abstract A new 103Pd plastic brachytherapy source, OptiSeedTM Model 1032P, is being introduced by International Brachytherapy sa (IBt). Measurements of the dose distributions about the source were performed using LiF thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD-100) in Virtual WaterTM. MCNP5 calculations were performed to determine the dose distributions in Virtual WaterTM and liquid water. The source dose rate constant, radial dose function, anisotropy function and anisotropy factor have been determined following the updated AAPM TG-43 recommendations. The measured dose rate constant in the Virtual WaterTM phantom was determined to be 0.727±6.9% cGy h−1 U−1, and the computed value is 0.716±2.1% cGy h−1 U−1. The Monte-Carlo simulation yielded a dose rate constant of 0.665±2.1% cGy h−1 U−1 in water. The measured dose rate constant in water is 0.675±7.5% cGy h−1 U−1. It is determined by multiplying the dose rate constant measured in the Virtual WaterTM phantom with the ratio of the value calculated in water to that in Virtual WaterTM. The average of the measured and calculated dose rate constant is 0.670±5.5% cGy h−1 U−1. The radial dose functions of the new source were measured for distances ranging from 1 to 7 cm in a Virtual WaterTM phantom. The anisotropy functions in Virtual WaterTM phantom were measured for distances of 2, 3, 5, and 7 cm. The Monte-Carlo computed radial dose functions, anisotropy functions, and anisotropy factors in both Virtual WaterTM phantom and water are reported.
Molecular design of ultra-low-k hybrid glasses

Bridged organosilicates have recently emerged as potential ultra-low-k (ULK) candidates for the 32 nm technology node and beyond due to their superior mechanical properties [1]. While the organic bridge provides enhanced network connectivity, the presence of terminal Si-Me groups has the opposite effect. Predicting the influence of the precursor structure and network connectivity on resulting material mechanical properties would be of tremendous interest to the semiconductor industry. Toward that goal, we have developed computational tools to generate highly accurate molecular models of a broad range of ULK organosilicates and make quantitative predictions about both their elastic and fracture properties (Fig 1) [2]. Here we demonstrate the enormous potential of these models for guiding the molecular design of new ULK materials to enable reliable integration in the future technology nodes.
Renal Volume, Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System, Hypertension, and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Patients with Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease

The relationship between renal volume and hypertension in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) occurs in childhood. Hypertension is associated not only with increased kidney volume but also with significantly increased left ventricular mass index. Moreover, this increase in left ventricular mass index occurs in children who have ADPKD with borderline hypertension (75th to 95th percentile) and is prevented with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) monotherapy. Progression from borderline to overt hypertension (≥95th percentile) occurs during a 5-yr follow-up in approximately 50% of children with ADPKD and borderline hypertension. Renal cyst enlargement in ADPKD in adults is associated with stimulation of both the circulating and intrarenal renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. In addition to hypertension, the resultant angiotensin in ADPKD is a pivotal factor in cyst proliferation and expansion, increased sympathetic and endothelin activity, oxidant injury, and fibrosis. There is a close correlation between the level of hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, deterioration of GFR, and the progressive enlargement of the cystic kidneys in adult ADPKD. Randomized clinical investigation indicates that ACEI and a BP goal of 120/80 mmHg are associated in a 7-yr study to reverse left ventricular hypertrophy. The effect of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibition with dual blockade, ACEI and angiotensin receptor antagonists, on renal volume and kidney function is under study in the Halt Progression of Polycystic Kidney Disease (HALT PKD) trial.
Gastroesophageal reflux in infants: more than just a pHenomenon.

Importance Rarely have the best methods of diagnosis or the treatment of a disease engendered more controversy than gastroesophageal reflux (GER), a highly prevalent condition in infants. Objective To discuss the latest controversies in the diagnosis and treatment of GER in infants. Evidence Review All articles related to the diagnosis and treatment of GER were reviewed and, whenever possible, literature about infants was weighted with greater importance than literature about older children and adults. Findings Although as many as 60% of infants have signs of GER, the role of GER in causing disease is difficult to elucidate. Despite new diagnostic tools to detect acid and nonacid reflux, our understanding of the relationship between reflux events and symptoms is complex. Furthermore, acid suppression, the mainstay of therapy for GER, increases the burden of nonacid reflux, which is already much higher in infants than in older children and which may worsen symptoms. Therefore, more conservative therapies are recommended for symptomatic infants. Conclusions and Relevance Although GER is a common reason for visits to primary care providers and specialists, few data suggest that GER results in many of the symptoms to which it has been attributed. A strong shift away from acid-suppression therapy in infants has occurred because of the adverse effects, lack of efficacy, and increase of nonacid reflux burden relative to acid burden. Nonpharmacologic measures should be used whenever possible because most infant GER will resolve without intervention.
Emergence of Fibroblasts with a Proinflammatory Epigenetically Altered Phenotype in Severe Hypoxic Pulmonary Hypertension

Persistent accumulation of monocytes/macrophages in the pulmonary artery adventitial/perivascular areas of animals and humans with pulmonary hypertension has been documented. The cellular mechanisms contributing to chronic inflammatory responses remain unclear. We hypothesized that perivascular inflammation is perpetuated by activated adventitial fibroblasts, which, through sustained production of proinflammatory cytokines/chemokines and adhesion molecules, induce accumulation, retention, and activation of monocytes/macrophages. We further hypothesized that this proinflammatory phenotype is the result of the abnormal activity of histone-modifying enzymes, specifically, class I histone deacetylases (HDACs). Pulmonary adventitial fibroblasts from chronically hypoxic hypertensive calves (termed PH-Fibs) expressed a constitutive and persistent proinflammatory phenotype defined by high expression of IL-1β, IL-6, CCL2(MCP-1), CXCL12(SDF-1), CCL5(RANTES), CCR7, CXCR4, GM-CSF, CD40, CD40L, and VCAM-1. The proinflammatory phenotype of PH-Fibs was associated with epigenetic alterations as demonstrated by increased activity of HDACs and the findings that class I HDAC inhibitors markedly decreased cytokine/chemokine mRNA expression levels in these cells. PH-Fibs induced increased adhesion of THP-1 monocytes and produced soluble factors that induced increased migration of THP-1 and murine bone marrow-derived macrophages as well as activated monocytes/macrophages to express proinflammatory cytokines and profibrogenic mediators (TIMP1 and type I collagen) at the transcriptional level. Class I HDAC inhibitors markedly reduced the ability of PH-Fibs to induce monocyte migration and proinflammatory activation. The emergence of a distinct adventitial fibroblast population with an epigenetically altered proinflammatory phenotype capable of recruiting, retaining, and activating monocytes/macrophages characterizes pulmonary hypertension-associated vascular remodeling and thus could contribute significantly to chronic inflammatory processes in the pulmonary artery wall.
Transient Response to Localized Episodic Heating in the Tropics. Part I: Excitation and Short-Time Near-Field Behavior.

Abstract The dynamical response to localized, unsteady tropical heating is studied in a stochastic framework. Spectral statistics of the random wave response are derived from those of tropical convection using the primitive equations for a spherical baroclinic atmosphere. Short-time near-field behavior emerges in the form of a transient wavepacket which disperses away the source region. Two principal components characterize the response: 1) a projection response which matches the vertical scale of the heating and 2) a barotropic response involving Rossby normal modes. The projection response consists of a continuum of frequencies and vertical scales centered about vertical wavelengths twice the effective depth of the heating. This scale discrimination is shown to be insensitive to variations in the heating distribution. The associated disturbance is trapped laterally about the equator but radiates vertically away from the source region. It corresponds to the tropical waves traditionally studied on the equ...
The Effect of Taurine Supplementation on Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is the fifth leading cause of death in the US. Nearly 80% of diabetic mortality is secondary to cardiovascular disease resulting from atherosclerosis. Current therapy is based upon control of blood glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides, primarily through insulin replacement in Type 1 diabetes or oral hypoglycemic agents and/or insulin replacement in Type 2 diabetes. The more intensive the control, the lower the incidence of diabetic complications such as atherosclerosis. The principal investigators were interested in finding safe and effective nutritional supplements that would reduce the need for insulin replacement therapy, provide tighter glucose control, and protect against oxidative stress and the vascular pathology associated with diabetes mellitus. One such supplement is taurine.
Relative Impacts of Quantitative and Qualitative Indicators of International Competitiveness

This paper provides an analysis of the relative impacts of quantitative (micro-level) and qualitative (macro-level) factors that determine a country’s international competitiveness. Utilizing a total factor productivity approach that depicts competitiveness as the relative ability of a country’s industries to make efficient use of their resources to produce and market products at globally competitive prices, the study classifies the determining parameters of competitiveness in terms of the two categories of quantitative and qualitative factors. It then applies data from a sample of five U.S. manufacturing industries to carry out an empirical analysis to verify the relative impacts of these two categories of competitiveness indicators on the country’s state of international competitiveness. The results are useful for a determination of relevant policy parameters that would be helpful for stabilizing a country's long-term international competitiveness in an increasingly competitive global economy.
Controlled living polymerization of carbodiimides using versatile, air-stable nickel(II) initiators: Facile incorporation of helical, rod-like materials

The new polymerization of carbodiimides using two, simple [bis(triphenylphosphino)aryl]nickel(II) bromide complexes has been discovered to occur in a controlled, living fashion. These initiators are substantially more air and moisture stable compared to their titanium(IV) counterparts making them significantly easier to synthesize, purify, and utilize. The polymerization is initiated via aryl ligand transfer to the electrophilic center carbon of the carbodiimide. Sequential insertions of the carbodiimide π-bond into the nickel–nitrogen amidinate coordination bond propagates the polymer chain in a living chain growth manner as evident by the linear relationship in the plots of percent conversion vs Mn, ln([M]o/[M]) vs time, and monomer: initiator ratio vs Mn. The transferred aryl ligand was confirmed to be appended to the terminus of the polymer chain by MALDI–TOF and 19F NMR. This added control element offers new opportunities to end functionalize rigid-rod, helical polycarbodiimides. This new technique a...
A Study of 13C Chemical Shifts for a Series of 2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-substituted-3-phenyl-1,3-thiazolidin-4-ones

The 13C substituent chemical shifts C-2, C-4 and C-5 (with a particular focus at C-2) for disubstituted 2,3-diphenylthiazolidin-4-ones with one substituent in each phenyl ring are systematically being investigated. The substituents in question are p-NO2, m-NO2, p-F, m-F, p-Cl, m-Cl, p-Br, m-Br, H, p-CH3, m-CH3, p-OCH3 and m-OCH3. This combination of substituents leads to a 13 x 13 matrix array of compounds with the fixed substituents in the 2-phenyl ring constituting the columns and the fixed substituents in the 3-phenyl rings constituting the rows. Including this present study, 81 of the total 169 compounds in the matrix have been analyzed. A single para-methoxy group interacting with another fixed substituent, as measured by 13C substituent chemical shift values at C-2 in either the C-2 phenyl or N-3 phenyl rings, shows little deviation. This changes however when the moiety is either an alkyl group at N-3 or when a para-methoxy group is the fixed substituent on the N-3 phenyl ring. This present study shows that a para-methoxy group on a C-2 phenyl ring shows a similar deviation in the efficacy in the transmission of electronic effects witnessed in this set of matrix compounds and mimics the issues seen with a previously studied para-methoxy substituted system with the para-methoxy group on the N-3 phenyl ring. Reasons for these aberrations are discussed.
Love and compassion meditation: a nondual perspective

This paper discusses meditation from the unique perspective of the nondual approach and explores the possible relevance of this approach to applications of love and compassion meditation in clinical settings. It contrasts the nondual approach with the better known gradual or goal-oriented, dualistic view of meditation. This paper also introduces one of the central ideas of the nondual approach-that love and compassion, like other positive qualities that are ordinarily considered as goals of meditation practice, can be found to be already present within oneself as innate dimensions of one's authentic being.
The rationale for using computer navigation with minimally invasive THA.

Computer assisted orthopedic surgical techniques are being developed to increase the accuracy and reproducibility of a number of steps in THA...
Thyroidal effect of alcohol.

Since the thyroid radioiodine uptake of alcoholics shortly after admission to hospital has been found in the high euthyroid and hyperthyroid ranges, the effect of alcohol on thyroid function in rat...
Projektionen und Schnitte Konvexer Mengen, Funktionen und Subdifferentiale

Sei π die kanonische Projektion von E × F in E, d.h. fur (x,y) e E × F gilt $$\pi \left( {x,y} \right) = x.$$
How service customers tidy their service quality perceptions

A system dynamics simulation model shows the interdependence of strategy and performance in a typical service company. Computed with the model, decision scenarios trace the firm's sinister service quality dynamics to the inauspicious blunder of pulling on internal policy levers too hard. The resulting dysfunctional behavior jolts the entire service organization, including its customers, defectors and profit per customer metric. As a method for modeling service organizations, system dynamics provides the integrated process required for comprehending self-inflicted problems in services. Along with insights toward effective and productive service quality design, management and performance, the model's simulation results also unveil the morphology of a likely topology, showing how service customers might aptly tidy their perceptions of good and poor service quality. These results urgently call for service quality research, aimed at effective and productive, customer-centric service quality design and management that entail high-quality service production, delivery and consumption processes.
An Inconvenient Truth—Is It Still Effective at Familiarizing Students with Global Warming?

Chemistry courses for nonscience majors emphasize chemical concepts and the relationship of chemical knowledge to everyday life while teaching the utility of quantitative analysis. As an introduction to the topic of global warming, the first half of An Inconvenient Truth, released in 2006, has been shown annually since 2008 in the chemistry course for nonscience majors at a large public university. The initial goal of the current study was to determine the effectiveness of this introduction. Even though the results indicate that the percentage of students who have watched this documentary has declined over the years, nearly all students enjoy learning from this relatively jargon-free, broad overview. The documentary causes students to formulate questions about the data presented and to want to learn what has been done about this issue since the documentary was released and whether the trends have continued. All of these are then addressed in subsequent lectures. By collecting the data about the documentar...
Bloch wave buckling analysis of axially loaded periodic cylindrical shells

An efficient and accurate method for buckling analysis of axially loaded periodic cylindrical shells is presented.This method incorporates the advantages of the Bloch wave method and the stiffness matrix method.This method does not require any smearing, homogenization, or approximation.This method does not require specific-purpose elements and is developed in the environment of Abaqus. This paper presents an efficient computational method for predicting the onset of buckling of axially loaded, corrugated or stiffened cylindrical shells. This method is a modification of the Bloch wave method which builds on the stiffness matrix method. A numerical method and an efficient algorithm have been developed to implement the proposed method in the commercial finite element package Abaqus. Numerical examples have shown that, compared to the nonlinear buckling analyses based on detailed full finite element models, the proposed method can obtain highly accurate buckling loads and buckling modes and can achieve very significant reductions in computational time.
PRagmatic trial Of Video Education in Nursing homes: The design and rationale for a pragmatic cluster randomized trial in the nursing home setting.

Background/AimsNursing homes are complex healthcare systems serving an increasingly sick population. Nursing homes must engage patients in advance care planning, but do so inconsistently. Video dec...
Ecological predictors and consequences of non-native earthworms in Kennebec County, Maine

Abstract Non-native earthworms are found throughout much of the United States and southern Canada in areas glaciated during the most recent glaciation. Following invasion, these earthworms altered nutrient cycling, soil structure, and diversity in forests throughout the northern United States. There are no comprehensive studies of earthworm distributions in forested areas of Maine. We surveyed earthworms in forested recreation areas in Kennebec County, ME, and investigated ecological and landscape attributes that may predict their presence. To examine whether the presence of worms modifies forests, we measured environmental variables known from other studies to be affected by worms. We found earthworms at 12 out of 23 sites. Sample sites near roads, in deciduous forests, and in small forests were more likely to have earthworms. We also found that locations with worms have less surface litter and more soil phosphorous, suggesting that earthworms modify soils in Maine forests. Our study is the first to expl...
Association Between Thyroid Disease and Uveitis: Results From the Pacific Ocular Inflammation Study.

Importance Common pathophysiological mechanisms may be responsible for immune dysregulation in both thyroid disease and uveitis. Studies investigating a possible association are limited. Objective To determine the association between thyroid disease and uveitis. Design, Setting, and Participants A retrospective, population-based case-control study was conducted from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2007, among 217 061 members of the Kaiser Permanente Hawaii health system during the study period. A clinical diagnosis of uveitis was determined through a query of the electronic medical record followed by individual medical record review for confirmation by a uveitis specialist. Thyroid disease was determined based on International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision , coding. Two control groups were chosen at a 4:1 ratio for comparison with patients with uveitis. A logistic regression analysis was performed with uveitis as the main outcome variable and thyroid disease as the main predictor variable, while adjusting for age, sex, race, smoking status, and history of autoimmune disease. Data analysis was conducted between 2014 and 2016. Main Outcomes and Measures A diagnosis of thyroid disease among patients with uveitis and respective controls. Results Of the 224 patients with uveitis (127 women and 97 men; mean [SD] age, 54.1 [17.8] years) identified during the study period, 29 (12.9%) had a diagnosis of thyroid disease, compared with 62 of 896 patients (6.9%) in the control group ( P = .01) and 78 of 896 patients (8.7%) in the ophthalmology clinic control group ( P = .06). Using the general Kaiser Permanente Hawaii population control group, patients who had thyroid disease had a 1.7-fold (95% CI, 1.03-2.80; P = .04) higher odds of having uveitis compared with patients who did not have thyroid disease when controlling for age, sex, race, smoking status, and autoimmune disease. A similar association was found using the ophthalmology clinic control group (odds ratio, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.1-2.9; P = .02) while adjusting for these factors. Conclusions and Relevance These findings suggest that a history of thyroid disease has a weak to moderate association with uveitis. Similar autoimmune mechanisms could explain the pathogenesis of both conditions. If future studies corroborate these findings, they may have further clinical implications in the laboratory workup of uveitis.
Scalable collective impedance control of an object via a decentralized force control method

Employing impedance control during manipulation of an object provides a mean to control its dynamic interactions with the environment. This paper presents a decentralized algorithm to achieve a desired multi-dimensional impedance behavior of the object during a collective manipulation without inter-agent communication. The proposed algorithm introduces the concept of “virtual coordination” arising from an agent-level assumption, which demands every agent to locally coordinate with one “virtual teammate”. Since the real population of the team is unknown to the agents, the resultant force applied to the manipulated object would be directly scaled with the team population. Although this scaling effect proves useful during position control of the object, it leads to a deviation from the desired dynamic response when employed in an impedance control scheme. To minimize such deviations, a gradient descent algorithm is implemented to determine a scaling parameter defined on the control action. The simulation results of a multi-robot system with different populations and formations verify the effectiveness of the proposed method in both generating the desired impedance response and estimating the population of the group. Eventually, as two case studies, the introduced algorithm is used in robotic collective manipulation and human-assistance scenarios.
All-Weather tropospheric 3D wind from microwave sounders

In its 2007 “Decadal Survey” (DS) of earth science missions for NASA [1] the U.S. National Research Council (NRC) recommended that a Doppler wind lidar be developed for a three-dimensional tropospheric winds mission (“3D-Winds”). It is expected that the next DS, currently under way, will put additional emphasis on the still pressing need for wind measurements from space. The first DS also called for a geostationary microwave sounder (GMS) on a Precipitation and All-weather Temperature and Humidity (PATH) mission. Such a sounder, the Geostationary Synthetic Thinned Aperture Radiometer (GeoSTAR), has been developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The PATH mission has not yet been funded by NASA, but a low-cost subset of PATH, GeoStorm was proposed as a hosted payload on a commercial communications satellite. Both PATH and GeoStorm will obtain frequent (every 15 minutes of better) measurements of tropospheric water vapor profiles, and they can be used to derive atmospheric motion vector (AMV) wind profiles even in the presence of clouds. We report on simulation studies of such wind vectors derived from a GMS or possibly from a cluster of low-earth-orbiting (LEO) small satellites (e.g., CubeSats).
Saturation, To Create a Civilized Space

As reported widely (e.g., Belloni 2016; Chlaikhy 2016; Dodd 2016; Nebehay and Balmforth 2016), the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) 23 June 2016 Brexit referendum very clearly demonstrated that intolerance is always ready to erupt and substitute the multiple voices comprising a democracy for the strident voice of fear. The UK’s vote to exit the European Union not only unleashed political backlash and violence—thereby amplifying responses to the migration crisis in Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, and Poland, among other countries—it also functioned as a green light to accelerate racist and xenophobic brutality (e.g., Chakrabortty 2016). Such vehement reclaiming of “traditionally English” values (e.g., Moore 2016; Williams and Fishwick 2016) surprised many. That it did surprise may be a hopeful sign. Yet, such surprise additionally demonstrates that, contrary to hopeful expectations, the ideals of diversity and inclusion cannot simply be translated into well-meaning rules or laws and be expected to flourish. Indeed, as recorded in daily news items reporting on 2016’s vituperative US presidential election, Donald Trump’s anti-immigration stance (e.g., Nowicki 2015), his fueling of racist sentiment (e.g., Henderson 2016), his sexism (e.g., Bennetts 2016), his lowering of civil and fact-based discourse possibly beyond that of any campaign in recent memory (e.g., Zurcher 2016), and both campaigns’ pandering to the rich (e.g., Confessore et al. 2015) have spawned a panoply of responses, including at universities. Thus, on the one hand, thoughtless racist and sexist remarks among students proliferate (e.g., Dreid and Najmabadi 2016) and, on the other hand, push-back responses, such as the enlightened call for sanctuary cities and universities are finding voice (e.g., LoBianco 2016; Shoichet and Ansari 2016). The tendency to close ranks in a climate of aggression suggests that negative reactions to rules or laws are continuously boiling just beneath the surface, and no measure of rhetorical or legal appeal to the greater good alone can quell such aggression and fear of “the other.”