cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Home Health Service Provision After Hurricane Harvey.

OBJECTIVE To determine the extent of service disruption among home health agencies impacted by Hurricane Harvey. METHODS Structured interviews with optional open-ended questions were conducted with home health agencies in and around Houston, Texas. A random sample of 277 agencies was selected and contacted via telephone during the study period, from February to May of 2018. RESULTS Only 45% of 122 participating agencies indicated that their offices were open during Hurricane Harvey, and three-fourths reported that home visits were disrupted. The length of disruption varied: 7% reported a disruption of 1 day or less and 46% indicated a disruption of 1 week or longer. Disruption occurred even though nearly all (99%) of the agencies had-and close to all (92%) of them activated-an emergency preparedness plan. CONCLUSIONS Although most of the participating home health agencies activated their emergency preparedness plan, significant disruption in home health services occurred. While agencies are required to have clear, detailed plans in place, gaps in effective implementation of emergency preparedness plans remain.
Electroweak probes of ground state densities

The weak nuclear force is a crucial probe of both fundamental physics and nuclear structure. This paper reviews the idea of using precision electroweak probes to measure the neutron skin of nuclei. This, in turn, is used to tune parameters in density functional theory not otherwise tightly constrained in finite nuclei---but which have a critical impact on the equation of state for neutron stars.
Designer thin-film based perfect light absorption and its applications in structural coloring, gas sensing, and solar-thermal conversion (Conference Presentation)

Perfect light absorption (PLA) in nanophotonics has a wide range of applications from solar-thermal based applications to radiative cooling. However, most of the proposed platforms require intense lithography which makes them of minor practical relevance. On the other hand, thin-film light absorbers are lithographically free and can be deposited cheaply on large area based on matured technologies. However, thin-film light absorbers were thought to have major limitation and cannot be tailored compared to metamaterials. Here, we show how to design PLA using thin-films in terms of wavelength range, bandwidth, spatial profile of optical losses, directionality and iridescence. We also show that iridescent free, PLA can occur by simply heating metallic thin-films when the metal is of low reflectance and its oxide is of high refractive index. We theoretically and experimentally demonstrate Generalized Brewster angle effect in thin film light absorbers. In addition, we demonstrate hydrogen sensing using three different PLA strategies showing record sensitivity and figure of merit. Furthermore, we show various strategies to create ultra-pure structural colors. Finally, we demonstrate different solar-thermal applications for novel thin-film PLA designs.
Are Epithelial Ovarian Cancers of the Mesenchymal Subtype Actually Intraperitoneal Metastases to the Ovary

Primary ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) has been classified into 4 molecular subtypes: Immunoreactive, Proliferative, Differentiated, and Mesenchymal (Mes), of which the Mes subtype (Mes-HGSC) is associated with the worst clinical outcomes. We propose that Mes-HGSC comprise clusters of cancer and associated stromal cells that detached from tumors in the upper abdomen/omentum and disseminated in the peritoneal cavity, including to the ovary. Using comparative analyses of multiple transcriptomic data sets, we provide the following evidence that the phenotype of Mes-HGSC matches the phenotype of tumors in the upper abdomen/omentum: (1) irrespective of the primary ovarian HGSC molecular subtype, matched upper abdominal/omental metastases were typically of the Mes subtype, (2) the Mes subtype was present at the ovarian site only in patients with concurrent upper abdominal/omental metastases and not in those with HGSC confined to the ovary, and (3) ovarian Mes-HGSC had an expression profile characteristic of stromal cells in the upper abdominal/omental metastases. We suggest that ovarian Mes-HGSC signifies advanced intraperitoneal tumor dissemination to the ovary rather than a subtype of primary ovarian HGSC. This is consistent with the presence of upper abdominal/omental disease, suboptimal debulking, and worst survival previously reported in patients with ovarian Mes-HGSC compared to other molecular subtypes.
Developed Country Trade Barriers and the Least Developed Countries: The Economic Results of Freeing Trade

The Doha Ministerial Declaration emphasized that priority should be given to improving market access for products originating in the Least Developed Countries. In this paper, we analyze the importance of this proposition with respect to market access in the Triad economies. We first present a brief history of non-reciprocal preferences granted by the Triad. This covers GSP programs in each, and further preferences granted to ACP countries by the EU and preferences granted to Caribbean Basin, Andean, and African countries by the United States. This history is followed by an assessment of trade generated by these preferences in the year 2000, and of the extent to which LDC exports might be expected to increase should the preferences be made comprehensive. Preferences in 2000 are shown to have led to an increase of $3.5 billion in LDC exports, while a complete duty-free treatment could expand LDC exports by as much as $7.6 billion, 90 percent of which will be absorbed by the United States. As this represents a doubling of LDC exports to these countries, we interpret these results as an endorsement of this priority in the Doha Round of negotiations.
Effect of pressure on TATB and LX-17 thermal decomposition

Abstract Thermal decomposition of TATB (1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene) and its formulation LX-17 is studied at pressures from 0.1 to 7 MPa for both isothermal heating at 340 K and ramped heating at 1 to 6 K min−1. Conditions that eliminate self-heating are thoroughly explored to avoid experimental artifacts. The increase in pressure accelerates the rate of decomposition by only about 10 %, but it substantially increases the enthalpy of the reaction, presumably because of longer volatile product residence times in the heated zone. The narrowness of the decomposition profile and the acceleratory phase during isothermal pyrolysis are consistent with a multistep autocatalytic mechanism, and the lack of a significant pressure effect suggests that the autocatalytic species have low volatility. The apparent activation energy is about 210 kJ/mol.
Urgent-Start Peritoneal Dialysis

Despite similar clinical outcomes to hemodialysis (HD), peritoneal dialysis (PD) remains an underutilized modality of dialysis worldwide. Of the many barriers to PD uptake, lack of dialysis preparation results in a high percentage of unplanned urgent dialysis starts. Since the advent of modern dialysis infrastructure, HD with a central venous catheter (CVC) has become the default pathway to kidney replacement therapy for patients who need urgent dialysis but do not have an established dialysis access or plan for dialysis therapy. Several recent reports have described the feasibility of urgent initiation of peritoneal dialysis (PD) in advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients using low-volume recumbent PD soon after PD catheter placement. Utilizing specific protocols, many centers have demonstrated that urgent-start PD, as part of a structured program, can result in clinical and catheter-related outcomes similar to patients who start PD in a conventional manner. Moreover, clinical outcomes, hospitalizations, and infections in urgent-start PD patients appear to be similar if not better than patients who start HD with a CVC. In this chapter, we will present the definition of urgent-start PD, define patient candidacy, demonstrate how to perform the therapy, and review pertinent studies comparing to conventional-start PD and urgent HD with a CVC.
Efficient Passive Signal Linewidth Narrowing by Q-Engineered χ (2) Parametric Oscillators

We extend our proposal of efficient passive "noise eaters" based on Q-engineered Kerr OPOs to χ(2) systems, which could approach 100% conversion efficiency. We show that existing state-of-the-art integrated devices can implement significant passive signal linewidth narrowing using this concept.
The Primate Eye

The principal part of the visual organ [organum visus] is the eyeball [bulbus oculi], also called bulb or globe (Fig. 1). It is suspended within the orbital cavity of the skull by six ocular muscles. The wall of the orbit, the eyelids, the conjunctiva, and the lacrimal apparatus are the protective structures of the eye.
Syntheses of Cortisone and Related teroids

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the variety of starting materials, which have been converted to cortisone. The automatic limitation of the starting material—animal bile—and the more or less fixed number of chemical steps represent a very considerable handicap. In a completely chemical process, sarmentogenin of all the plant steroids might well be the most attractive one, but the supply situation appears to be so hopeless and the question of cultivation so difficult that it is certain that sarmentogenin will not be employed. Hecogenin possesses the advantage that it contains a 12-keto group as well as the readily degradable sapogenin side chain, but so far no plant sources have been discovered, which contain more than approximately 1% hecogenin. Diosgenin and ergosterol are probably the most promising starting materials, the former possessing the spiroketal system so useful for degradation to the pregnane skeleton, and the latter possessing the ∆ 5,7 -diene system, which so far has proved to be essential for the chemical introduction of the 11-oxygen function into a ring C-unsubstituted steroid.
AESTHETICS AND CULTURAL POLITICS IN THE AGE OF DREYFUS: MAURICE DENIS'S HOMAGE TO CÉZANNE

This article examines the alliance between painterly modernism and right-wing politics in France at the height of the Dreyfus Affair. Political struggles took on an aesthetic dimension in the cultural battles waged around 1900. Maurice Denis's monumental group portrait Homage to Cezanne (1900) serves as the focus of my inquiry. This painting is often cited and reproduced in histories of French modernism, but has yet to be examined within its historical and political moment. Although Homage does not directly reference contemporary political events, Denis's formal and compositional choices in Homage were informed by Adrien Mithouard's right-wing nationalist cultural politics.
Development and application of a polymicrobial, in vitro, wound biofilm model

Aims The goal of this investigation was to develop an in vitro, polymicrobial, wound biofilm capable of supporting the growth of bacteria with variable oxygen requirements.
Detergent-dispersed Adenylate Cyclase from Rat Brain EFFECTS OF FLUORIDE, CATIONS, AND CHELATORS

Abstract Some properties of particulate and detergent-dispersed preparations of adenylate cyclase from rat brain have been studied. The activity of the particulate enzyme was greater with Mn2+ than with Mg2+ and the activity in the presence of either cation was enhanced by F- or nonionic detergents. In the presence of the non-ionic detergent Lubrol-PX, enzyme activity was further enhanced by dithiothreitol but inhibited by F-. Adenylate cyclase activity was dispersed into a 27,000 x g for 20 min supernatant fraction by Lubrol-PX. Inclusion of dithiothreitol in the homogenizing medium facilitated the solubilization of enzyme activity. More total activity was extracted from cerebellum than from cerebrum. The activity of the dispersed enzyme was essentially unchanged by filtration (0.22-µm pore) or by centrifugation at 100,000 x g for 1 hour. Separation of the detergent from the enzyme by gel filtration resulted in a turbid fraction, the activity of which was increased by F- or Lubrol-PX. Detergent-dispersed adenylate cyclase was inhibited by Ca2+, the degree of inhibition being dependent on whether Mg2+ or Mn2+ was present. In the presence of 8 mm Mg2+, ethylene glycol bis(β-aminoethyl ether)-N,N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) markedly decreased enzyme activity. The concentration causing 50% inhibition was dependent on protein concentration, but was usually about 30 µm. The inhibition by EGTA was completely prevented by the addition of an equimolar concentration of Ca2+, Mn2+, or Co2+, and was partially prevented by several other divalent cations. Gel chromatographic removal of EGTA from an inhibited enzyme completely restored activity. EDTA and several other metal-binding agents, at concentrations up to 1 mm, had little or no effect on adenylate cyclase activity. EGTA had no appreciable effect on either ATPase or cyclic 3':5'-nucleotide phosphodiesterase activities from brain or on adenylate cyclase activity prepared from partially purified plasma membranes from liver. The data suggest that adenylate cyclase from brain requires some metal in addition to added Mg2+ for full expression of activity and that the metal is bound tightly to the enzyme.
Towards a Discipline of Financial Informatics

This paper provides a description of the proposed discipline of Financial Informatics. Financial Informatics is the application of Computer and Information Science to the storage, retrieval and processing of financial data. Given the ever increasing complexity of the financial marketplace, providing more targeted training in Financial Technology will create a pool of skilled financial information systems professionals who will enable continued growth in the financial services industry.
Why did QT dispersion die

Background: Considerable controversy exists about the meaning of QT dispersion(QTD). The working hypothesis of the present paper was that the necessary although not sufficientcondition for the validity of QTD concept is the association of QTD with nondipolar voltage (NDPV)in T waves of the 12-lead ECG. Methods and Results: ECGs of 4890 subjects, 966 with coronary heart disease (CHD) and3844 considered CHD-free were processed using computer programs for measurement of the ratio of the first twoeigenvalues (E2/E1), nondipolar voltage (NDPV), terminal T wave direction and ECGestimate of left ventricular mass (LVM). The mean NDPV in T wave was 11 μV (SD 3.9),with 6 μV (SD 1.3) in terminal 40 ms. NDPV alone explained only 6% and NDPV, E2/E1 andLVM combined 13% of QTD variance. There was a modest increase in the fraction of subjects with QTD>60 ms among subjects with NDPV in terminal T > 7 μV compared to those with NDPV ≥7 μV(15% vs. 10%). A more profound increase was associated with terminal T wave directiondeviating from normal (37% vs. 12% among those with normal direction), reflectingdipolar rather than nondipolar components. Conclusions: The association between QTD and NDPV is weak, and QTD is unlikely to represent anymeaningful myocardial repolarization event in the interval domain. It seems more logical to use directmeasurement of NDPV as a potential marker of localized dispersion and heterogeneity of ventricularrepolarization for evaluation of the risk of adverse cardiac events.
The Hybrid Cochlear Implant: A Review

The Hybrid S or 'short-electrode' cochlear implant was developed to treat patients with a severe to profound hearing loss limited to the high frequencies. The short electrode is implanted into just the base or high-frequency region of the cochlea, with the goal of preserving residual low-frequency hearing. As a result, electric stimulation can be combined with acoustic stimulation in the same ear (and the opposite ear); this is one instance of 'acoustic plus electric' (A + E) stimulation. In this paper, we will review the latest findings from the first two stages of the clinical trial for the Hybrid concept in the United States. Generally, we will review surgical techniques, clinical trial criteria, residual hearing preservation, improvements in speech perception in quiet, and predictive factors for patient benefit. We will also discuss the significant benefit of A + E stimulation for speech perception in noise and musical measures of melody and instrument recognition, as well as valuable insights into central auditory nervous system plasticity gained from the use of a very short electrode array.
Facilitating scholarly writing in academic medicine.

Scholarly writing is a critical skill for faculty in academic medicine; however, few faculty receive instruction in the process. We describe the experience of 18 assistant professors who participated in a writing and faculty development program which consisted of 7 monthly 75-minute sessions embedded in a Collaborative Mentoring Program (CMP). Participants identified barriers to writing, developed personal writing strategies, had time to write, and completed monthly writing contracts. Participants provided written responses to open-ended questions about the learning experience, and at the end of the program, participants identified manuscripts submitted for publication, and completed an audiotaped interview. Analysis of qualitative data using data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification showed that this writing program facilitated the knowledge, skills, and support needed to foster writing productivity. All participants completed at least 1 scholarly manuscript by the end of the CMP. The impact on participants’ future academic productivity requires long-term follow-up.
The interrelationships between electrical stimulation, the environment surrounding the vascular endothelial cells of the skin, and the role of nitric oxide in mediating the blood flow response to electrical stimulation.

Background: Electrical stimulation (ES) is a commonly used modality in physical therapy for treating wounds snch as diabetic ulcers and pressure sores but the mechanism of its effect on skin blood flow (BF) has not been determined. Material/Methods: Ten subjects were examined during ES of the skin above the quadriceps muscle with biphasic sine wave slimulation at a frequency of 30 Hertz, pulse width 250 microseconds. BE was measured between the electrodes with a Laser Doppler Flow meter. In one series of experiments, N-Nitro-L-Arginine Methyl Ester (L-NAME) was infused to determine the effect of blocking nitric oxide production on the blood flow response to ES. In another series, acelylcholine and epinephrine were infused to determine the effects of the initial blood flow prior to stimulation on the magnitude of the BF response to ES. Results: The apparent mechanism of the increase in blood flow during electrical stimulation seems to be mediated by nitric oxide since the increase in blood flow as a result of stimulation was blocked by L-NAME. Modulation of the vasoconstrictor or vasodilator tone of the skin blood vessels altered the magnitude of the BF response to electrical stimulation; epinephrine blocked the response and acetylcholine increased the response. Conclusions: The BF response to ES is caused by NO and can be modulated by changing the environment of the vascular endothelial cell.
REVGEN, a real-time reverberation generator

REVGEN computes samples of reverberation from samples of the transmitted ping and a model of the ocean. If the ping and return are each time- and bandwidth-limited, they can be encoded by N and M samples, respectively (where N and M are related to their time-bandwidth products). Then the ocean can be described by an M × N matrix. This matrix is computed for a point-scatterer model. Some simplifications are made which allow a convenient physical interpretation of a related matrix. REVGEN is being developed to perform the signal processing and portions of the ocean modeling tasks in real time.
Timing of shoot development transitions affects degree of perenniality in Arabidopsis lyrata (Brassicaceae)

Perenniality is best understood in quantitative terms, involving the relationship between production vs. turnover of meristems, biomass, or energy reserves. Previous quantitative trait locus (QTL) studies using divergent populations of the perennial rock cress Arabidopsis lyrata have shown that trade-offs in vegetative growth vs. reproduction are due to cascading effects of differences in early vegetative development, which contribute to local adaptation. However, details of the developmental differences and how they affect perenniality remained unclear. In this study, we investigated in detail the developmental differences in perenniality between populations. A. lyrata from Norway and North Carolina populations, representing contrasting environments and degrees of perenniality, were grown under controlled conditions, and data were collected on plant phenology and shoot-level development. We tested hypotheses that differences in perenniality involve strict allocation of lateral meristems to vegetative vs. reproductive fates, or alternatively quantitative effects of pre-reproductive vegetative development. The two populations showed large differences in the degree of vegetative development on individual shoots prior to reproductive transitions. The number of leaves produced on shoots prior to bolting, and not strict meristem allocation or variation in apical dominance, was able to explain variation in the number of inflorescences on individual plants. These results suggested that allocation of time to shoot vegetative vs. reproductive development could be a major factor in resource allocation differences between the populations. Based on these results and those of previous QTL studies, we propose a model in which the degree of shoot vegetative development shapes the developmental context for reproduction and subsequent vegetative growth in different environments. Climate-specific effects of shoot development patterns on reproductive output and survival may result in divergent evolutionary trajectories along a perenniality continuum, which may have broader relevance for plant life history evolution.
IMEMS accelerometer testing-test laboratory development and usage

An economical IMEMS accelerometer test lab was developed by adding acceleration stimulation equipment to an IC test lab. This paper will describe an R&D approach to testing these accelerometers. Descriptions and usage of the equipment are presented. Accelerometer pulse stream data and their analysis are described. A production test facility is being developed from this work.
Physical Motif Clustering within Intrinsically Disordered Nucleoporin Sequences Reveals Universal Functional Features

Bioinformatics of disordered proteins is especially challenging given high mutation rates for homologous proteins and that functionality may not be strongly related to sequence. Here we have performed a novel bioinformatic analysis, based on the spatial clustering of physically relevant features such as binding motifs and charges within disordered proteins, on thousands of Nuclear Pore Complex (NPC) FG motif containing proteins (FG nups). The biophysical mechanism by which FG nups regulate nucleocytoplasmic transport has remained elusive. Our analysis revealed a set of highly conserved spatial features in the sequence structure of individual FG nups, such as the separation, localization, and ordering of FG motifs and charged residues along the protein chain. These functionally conserved features provide insight into the particular biophysical mechanisms responsible for regulation of nucleocytoplasmic traffic in the NPC, strongly constraining current models. Additionally this method allows us to identify potentially functionally analogous disordered proteins across distantly related species.
MING DISSERTATIONS: AN UPDATE

AbstractThis update supplements early reports published in Ming Studies 38 (Fall 1997) and Ming Studies 40 (Fall 1998). Readers who know of doctoral dissertations completed or in progress in any language should send the relevant information to Dietrich Tschanz, Rutgers University, Asian Languages and Cultures, Scott Hall 330, 43 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1164 or by e-mail to dtschanz@rci.rutgers.edu.
Mixed lymphocyte culture studies reveal complexity in the bovine MHC not detected by class I serology

Summary. The genetic structure of the bovine major histocompatibility complex (MHC) was investigated using the lymphocyte microcytotoxicity test for class I typing and the mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) assay for class II typing. Using locally produced alloantisera and antisera from the Third International BoLA Workshop, 14 class I BoLA-A locus alleles were identified in the study population, a single herd of approximately 700 Holstein-Friesian cattle. Eleven of these were alleles recognized in the International Workshop and three were new alleles. An MLC titration assay was employed in conjunction with class I typing to define BoLA haplotypes and identify BoLA complex homozygotes. An embryo transfer family consisting of eight full sibling cattle including one BoLA complex homozygote was produced by half sibling mating. Five other BoLA complex homozygotes were subsequently identified in the herd. Six MLC defined class II haplotypes investigated in detail were designated BoLA-D1, D2, D3, D4, D5 and D7. BoLA-D1 was associated with the class I specificity BoLA-Aw6, D2 with Aw6 and the new class I specificity Ac3, D3 with Aw6 and Aw11, D4 with Aw10, D5 with Aw31 and Aw11, and D7 with Aw20. The discovery of four groups of class I identical-class II disparate haplotypes, and three pairs of class I disparate-class II identical haplotypes indicates the presence of considerable complexity in the BoLA complex that is not detected using class I serology.
Using an encounter form to develop a clinical database for documenting nurse practitioner primary care.

A clinical database will enable nurse practitioners to document and improve characteristics of their practices. This information is vital if nurse practitioners expect to achieve success in the changing U.S. health care system. This article describes the process of creating an encounter form and a related clinical database. Changes made in a family practice clinic that were derived from using a clinical database are presented. Additional uses for a clinical database, such as quality assurance, clinical evaluation, and clinical research, are discussed.
The reduction of the multi-dimensional schrödinger equation to a one-dimensional integral equation

Abstract A method is proposed for reducing the multi-dimensional Schrodinger equation to a one-dimensional integral equation. The reduction is exact; and the resulting integral equation although complicated, may be treated by any of a number of numerical methods. Two 2-dimensional problems, the harmonic oscillator and the S-limit for helium and one 3-dimensional problem, the helium ground state are treated in this way.
Applying Digital Training Technologies to Shape User Representations

Training methods are needed to apply the power of digital technology to shape user representations. This paper examines how digital training methods might shape users' mental representations to improve pattern and situation recognition skills. The methods described exploit the ability of digital technology to control information representations and training conditions. These methods may apply to numerous educational and training contexts. The method application examples illustrate how computers could help soldiers develop more meaningful battlefield representations.
Conditional-likelihood approach to material decomposition in spectral absorption-based or phase-contrast CT

Material decomposition in absorption-based X-ray CT imaging suffers certain inefficiencies when differentiating among soft tissue materials. To address this problem, decomposition techniques turn to spectral CT, which has gained popularity over the last few years. Although proven to be more effective, such techniques are primarily limited to the identification of contrast agents and soft and bone-like materials. In this work, we introduce a novel conditional likelihood, material-decomposition method capable of identifying any type of material objects scanned by spectral CT. The method takes advantage of the statistical independence of spectral data to assign likelihood values to each of the materials on a pixel-by-pixel basis. It results in likelihood images for each material, which can be further processed by setting certain conditions or thresholds, to yield a final material-diagnostic image. The method can also utilize phase-contrast CT (PCI) data, where measured absorption and phase-shift information can be treated as statistically independent datasets. In this method, the following cases were simulated: (i) single-scan PCI CT, (ii) spectral PCI CT, (iii) absorption-based spectral CT, and (iv) single-scan PCI CT with an added tumor mass. All cases were analyzed using a digital breast phantom; although, any other objects or materials could be used instead. As a result, all materials were identified, as expected, according to their assignment in the digital phantom. Materials with similar attenuation or phase-shift values (e.g., glandular tissue, skin, and tumor masses) were especially successfully when differentiated by the likelihood approach.
3D selective pulse design with variable spoke trajectories for parallel excitation

Three dimensional spatial selective RF pulse of practical length has been demonstrated using parallel transmission technique in Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Currently, spoke trajectory, which is a set of parallel k-space straight lines, is widely used for 3-D slab excitation to achieve sharp slice profile and a uniform or smoothly varying in-plane profile. The better control of in-plane profile mainly comes from an increased number of spokes. In this paper, we proposed three types of modified spoke trajectories for the 3-D tailored RF pulse design which traverse k-space more efficiently. Simulations are used to characterize the proposed trajectories.
Investigation of the Adsorption and Reactions of Thiophene on Sulfided Cu, Mo, and Rh Catalysts†

The surface chemistry of thiophene (C4H4S) on sulfided Cu/Al2O3, Mo/Al2O3, and Rh/Al2O3 catalysts has been investigated under well-defined conditions using infrared (IR) spectroscopy and temperatur...
Hibernating Myocardium: A Historical Perspective

Hibernating myocardium refers to the presence of persistent myocardial and left ventricular dysfunction at rest, associated with conditions of severely reduced coronary blood flow. This left ventricular dysfunction probably represents an adaptive mechanism preventing irreversible myocardial cell damage, since myocardial and left ventricular dysfunction in hibernating myocardium improve following the restoration of coronary blood flow. This review examines the evolution of the concept of hibernation from a clinical observation to the potential underlying mechanisms recently proposed.
Insight from Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 Investigations using MELCOR

During the emergency response period of the accidents that took place at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) in March of 2011, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) conduc...
Consensus Versus Disagreement in Imaging Research: a Case Study Using the LIDC Database

Traditionally, image studies evaluating the effectiveness of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) use a single label from a medical expert compared with a single label produced by CAD. The purpose of this research is to present a CAD system based on Belief Decision Tree classification algorithm, capable of learning from probabilistic input (based on intra-reader variability) and providing probabilistic output. We compared our approach against a traditional decision tree approach with respect to a traditional performance metric (accuracy) and a probabilistic one (area under the distance–threshold curve—AuCdt). The probabilistic classification technique showed notable performance improvement in comparison with the traditional one with respect to both evaluation metrics. Specifically, when applying cross-validation technique on the training subset of instances, boosts of 28.26% and 30.28% were noted for the probabilistic approach with respect to accuracy and AuCdt, respectively. Furthermore, on the validation subset of instances, boosts of 20.64% and 23.21% were noted again for the probabilistic approach with respect to the same two metrics. In addition, we compared our CAD system results with diagnostic data available for a small subset of the Lung Image Database Consortium database. We discovered that when our CAD system errs, it generally does so with low confidence. Predictions produced by the system also agree with diagnoses of truly benign nodules more often than radiologists, offering the possibility of reducing the false positives.
Gender, race, and subjective social class and their association with leisure preferences

Abstract This study examines the leisure preferences of subgroups defined by gender, race, and subjective social class. The multiple hierarchy stratification perspective and the class polarization perspective provided the theoretical rationale for the study, and a secondary data set from a national probability telephone survey was used. The interviews obtained information regarding the leisure preferences of adults age 21 to 65. From 2,148 contacts, 1, 711 interviews were completed. The results provide partial support for the study's hypotheses. Poor‐working‐class Black women were distinct from White men and women and middle‐class Black men, but they were similar to the other Black groups. As hypothesized, the leisure preferences of middle‐class Black and White men were similar. However, contrary to the study's hypothesis, Black men of different classes did not exhibit greater dissimilarity when compared with Black women of different classes.
Quantum-well excitonic devices for optical computing

Some of the remarkable properties of excitonic transitions in QW structures as they pertain to devices that can make an impact on optical computing are examined. An MQW-HBT device is discussed where the large built-in gain in the device as well as the ability to control the device response optically or electronically provides a versatile building-block device. Applications of this device to thresholding switching, light ''amplification'', and programmable memory are considered, and the wavelength selective properties of excitonic detectors are explored.
Policy-seeking candidates who value the valence attributes of the winner

Several recent spatial modeling studies incorporate valence issues—e.g., voters’ evaluations of the candidates’ competence, integrity, and charisma—that may give one of the candidates an electoral advantage that is independent of his policy positions. However to date all such models assume that while voters value positive valence characteristics, the candidates themselves do not. We develop a spatial model where the candidates are valence-seeking, i.e.—like the voters—the candidates prefer that the winning candidate possess qualities, such as integrity, diligence, and competence, that will enhance his job performance. We analyze a spatial model where the candidates value both the valence qualities and the policies of the winning candidate, and we show that the candidates’ optimal policy choices typically diverge as the valence differential between them increases, and in particular that the valence-disadvantaged candidate normally has incentives to become more extreme as the valence advantage of her opponent increases.
Hospital medicine in the internal medicine clerkship: Results from a national survey

BACKGROUND: Hospital medicine is growing rapidly. This changing inpatient work force has had consequences on medical education, with an increasing hospitalist presence in resident and student training. Initially met with apprehension, there is growing literature to suggest that hospitalists are perceived to be more effective clinical teachers than non-hospitalists. However, the extent to which hospitalists are involved in teaching Internal Medicine (IM) to medical students is not known. METHODS: In order to determine the role of hospitalists in medical student education within the United States and Canada, we queried clerkship directors in Internal Medicine as part of the 2010 annual Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine (CDIM) survey. In June 2010, CDIM surveyed its North American institutional members, which represent 110 of 143 Departments of Medicine in the US and Canada. RESULTS: Eight-two of 107 departments responded to the survey (77%). Seventy-five (91%) indicated that hospitalists served as teaching attendings at their teaching hospital. In twenty-two (27%) IM departments, 75% to 100% of students rotate with a hospitalist during their IM clerkships. Thirty-three (42%) departments report that students are directly supervised by in-house hospitalists during their nighttime call requirements. Sixty-six (81%) indicated that academic hospitalists hold educational administrative positions. Hospitalists are significantly less likely to have additional clinical commitment as compared to non-hospitalist teaching attendings (16% vs 53%, (χ = 33.1; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Hospitalists are involved in medical student education in the large majority of Departments of Internal Medicine throughout the US and Canada, reflecting the growth of hospital medicine nationally. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2012; © 2012 Society of Hospital Medicine
Effects of amperozide and tiospirone, atypical antipsychotic 5-HT2 drugs, on food-reinforced behavior in rats

Amperozide (AMPZ) is a 5-HT2 receptor antagonist that can decrease consumption of ethanol and prevent cocaine conditioning of a place preference. Tiospirone (TSP) is a 5-HT2 receptor antagonist with affinity for D2, 5-HT1a, and 5-HT7, and sigma receptors, which can decrease consumption of ethanol while increasing food intake. Both drugs were tested for inhibition of food reinforced bar-pressing behavior. Fasted Sprague-Dawley male rats were trained daily on a 15-min FR-5 schedule. After response rates stabilized, each rat in one group received a 60-min pretreatment s.c. with saline, 0.25,0.75, or 2.5 microlmol/kg of AMPZ (injections were twice per week and counterbalanced). Each rat in a second group received a 60-min pretreatment with saline, 0.1,0.3, or 1.0 micromol/kg of TSP. The dose of 2.5 micromol/kg of AMPZ reduced the number of food reinforcements by 21% from saline. The effect was due to a greater decline in bar pressing during the last 5-min block. TSP, 0.3 and 1.0 micromol/kg, significantly reduced the number of reinforcements by 45 and 94% from saline, respectively. In a study of catalepsy, TSP at 0.3 and 1.0 micromol/kg produced akinesia and catalepsy, respectively. Our results indicate that AMPZ-induced reduction of alcohol intake is not due to a nonspecific effect on reward, but the akinetic effects of TSP masks whether or not it has effects on reward.
Studying lightning strikes

Scientists studying thunderstorms hope that using an “uninhabited aerial vehicle,” or UAV will allow them to overcome speed limitations of conventional aircraft to gain a better understanding of weather data and forecasting. Researchers with the Altus Cumulus Electrification Study (ACES) say that the Altus UAV flies at between 129 and 185 kilometers per hour, slower than conventional aircraft. This should allow the 55-foot wingspan vehicle to provide a longer-duration picture of thunderstorms without putting pilots and airborne researchers at risk during an August field campaign, based out of Naval Air Station Key West in Florida.
Behavioral effects of inhibition of cannabinoid metabolism: The amidase inhibitor AM374 enhances the suppression of lever pressing produced by exogenously administered anandamide.

Biochemical investigations have identified putative enzymatic pathways for the synthesis and metabolism of endogenous cannabinoids. Anandamide amidase is an enzyme that metabolizes anandamide into arachadonic acid and ethanolamine. Using in vitro methods, various inhibitors of amidase have been identified. The present studies were undertaken to determine if the amidase inhibitor AM 374 could enhance the effects of intraperitoneal (IP) injections of anandamide. Three studies were conducted to investigate the effects of various drug treatments on fixed ratio 5 operant lever pressing for food reinforcement. In the first study, the effects of different doses of anandamide were assessed, and it was demonstrated that 5.0 and 10.0 mg/kg anandamide IP significantly suppressed lever pressing, while 2.5 mg/kg produced very little effect. The second study tested the effects of intraventricular (ICV) injections of AM 374, and it was observed that doses up to 10.0, 20.0 and 40 μg AM 374 had no significant effect upon lever pressing. The third study investigated the combined effect of AM374 with a low dose of anandamide. Rats received two drug injections: one ICV and one IP. Four different drug treatments were assessed: 1) ICV vehicle + IP vehicle, 2) ICV vehicle + 2.5 mg/kg anandamide IP, 3) ICV 20.0 μg AM 374 + IP vehicle, and 4) ICV 20 μg AM 374 + 2.5 mg/kg anandamide IP. Combined administration of AM 374 plus anandamide led to a significant decrease in lever pressing compared to either AM374 or anandamide administered alone. Observations of the animals treated with the combination of AM374 plus anandamide indicated that the drug combination resulted in motor slowing, which is consistent with the notion that stimulation of cannabinoid receptors produced a motor deficit that interfered with lever pressing. Although AM374 produced no effect on its own, this amidase inhibitor did enhance the behavioral effect of a low dose of anandamide. These results are consistent with the notion that AM 374 inhibited the enzymatic breakdown of exogenously injected anandamide. This type of procedure can be used to assess a variety of different compounds for their ability to inhibit cannabinoid metabolism.
Family Routines and Rituals ‐ Edited by Barbara H. Fiese

Family Routines and Rituals. Barbara H. Fiese. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. 2006. 159 pp. ISBN 0-3000-11696-6. $55.00. (cloth) Barbara Fiese's Family Routines and Rituals is indeed, as she writes, "broad-reaching" (p. 9) in that she addresses a variety of ways in which routines and rituals are important to family life. In her first chapter, Fiese covers the five major areas of family life she will connect to routines and rituals, each corresponding to a different chapter. In each area, Fiese integrates research on family routines and rituals from different areas, such as developmental psychology, family therapy, and research conducted at her Family Research Lab at Syracuse University. Unfortunately, Fiese does not give any detail about research participants or the methodological approach(es) used at the Family Research Lab. Thus, readers have no information about the social and economic backgrounds of the participants. This book would have benefited from such an inclusion, if only as an appendix. The author examines how the media misconstrues family routines and rituals and provides an interesting overview of the historical development of family rituals in Chapter 2. In this chapter, Fiese makes an important point that the amount of time families spend in routines or rituals, or both is not as important as the repetition of and the "emotional investments made in sustaining such activities" (p. 41). Drawing on the family life cycle approach in Chapter 3, Fiese examines how major transitions in many families' lives involve routines and rituals. Although some might critique Fiese's use of family life cycle, she includes a nice discussion of why scholars have to consider the family life cycle with this topic. In the six transitions, Fiese describes, she discusses how the meanings of rituals evolve for each developmental stage and how families negotiate rituals. Chapter 4 covers cultural variation in routines and rituals. Fiese does this by examining dinner table interactions of various cultures, rituals for rites of passage (i.e., Bar Mitzvahs and mujercitas), and how immigration affects family routines and rituals. Fiese, in Chapter 5, looks at the role rituals and routines play in a person's health status. This is the weakest chapter of the book in that the links Fiese makes do not seem supported by the data she uses and they lack explicit connections. She does make an interesting case for a connection between perceptions about an illness/condition and health outcomes. Fiese argues that how a family perceives and responds to a member's illness/condition and the routines that develop in response to it can either negatively or positively affect that person's health status. …
Mass Spectrometry of Spacecraft Contamination Using Direct Analysis in Real-Time Ion Source

Spacecraft contamination was analyzed using mass spectrometry with the direct analysis in real-time ionization source. This source uses metastable helium for soft ionization and to mediate atmospheric desorption of samples into a mass spectrometer. The sampling methodology allows polymers to be assessed for the presence of vacuum labile components. Vacuum labile residues are significant sources of contamination on spacecraft optics, science instruments, and thermal control surfaces. The methodology also provides sensitive analysis of molecular contamination on spacecraft surfaces using existing spacecraft sampling procedures. This provides identification information for a wide range of molecular components including biomarker compounds.
GURBANI KIRTAN RENAISSANCE: REVIVING MUSICAL MEMORY, REFORMING SIKH IDENTITY

This article examines the modes of revival within the contemporary renaissance of traditional Gurbani Kirtan (Sikh devotional music) in an effort to differentiate historically operative practices from modern products being sold as tradition. Modern reformist tendencies have attempted to institutionalize a normative Sikh musical identity into one homogeneous ‘Gurmat Sangeet’ genre through codifying Sikh raga forms and promoting a particular Sikh musical orthopraxy and history. The process of institutionalization privileges written sources as authoritative, erasing the memory of operative practices passed down orally since the time of the Sikh Gurus through the Gurbani Kirtan parampara (tradition). In questioning how Sikh musical knowledge has been propagated and authenticated since modernity, I propose a reassessment of what values and musical modes are indelible to the fabric of Gurbani Kirtan, what aspects are modern derivatives, and what aspects are negotiable. I believe such an approach will not limit ...
Synthesis of nanocrystalline barium-hexaferrite from nanocrystalline goethite using the hydrothermal method: Particle size evolution and magnetic properties

To characterize particle size/magnetic property relationships, 9 to 50 nm in diameter barium hexaferrite, BaFe{sub 12}O{sub 19} (BHF), particles were prepared using a new synthesis route. By replacing the conventional 50 to 100 nm particles of goethite with nanocrystalline goethite produced via the microwave anneal method of Knight and Sylva, nanocrystalline BHF was synthesized using the hydrothermal method. Evolution of particle size and morphology with respect to concentration and heat treatment time is reported. Hysteresis properties, including coercivity (0.2--1.0 kOe), magnetization saturation (0.1--33.4 emu/g), and magnetization remanence (0.004--22.5 emu/g) are discussed as a function of particle size. The magnetization saturation and remanence of the 7 nm particles is nearly zero, suggesting the superparamagnetic threshold size for BHF is around this size. In addition, the equilibrium morphology of BHF crystals was calculated to be truncated hexagonal prisms which was verified by experiment, and the isoelectric point, pH of 4.1, was measured for 18 nm BHF particles.