cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Preserving the posterior superior synovial recess during allograft TMJ diskal condylar transplantation in the adult goat

Objective. The purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis that sparing the posterior superior synovial recess during the resection of temporomandibular joint condyle and disk would maintain a critical mass of synovium necessary to predictably achieve a successful allograft joint reconstruction. Study design. A group of 15 adult goats underwent unilateral resection of their temporomandibular condyle and meniscus. The fossa and posterior superior synovial recess were left intact. They were immediately reconstructed with cryogenically preserved allograft mandibular condyles and temporomandibular joint disk harvested from 15 adult donor goats. The animals were evaluated clinically and radiographically at 6 and 12 months and histologically at 12 months. Results. Of the 15 animals, 13 met all the criteria to be declared a success and retained the posterior superior synovial recess. Conclusion. Immediate joint reconstruction using cryogenically preserved mandibular condyles and temporomandibular joint disk can have a high rate of success if the native posterior superior synovial recess remains intact.
Two-dimensional Echocardiographic Automatic Boundary Detection for Evaluation of Left Ventricular Function in Unselected Adult Patients

Recent modications in two-dimensional echocardiography imaging include automatic boundary detection (ABD) that permits instantaneous quantification of left ventricular (LV) function. To define its clinical application from different views in consecutive patients ( n = 68), we performed both conventional two-dimensional imaging and ABD with lateral gain compensation and compared the ability of each method for visualization of myocardial segments. From each view (short-axis and apical four- and two-chamber), the LV was divided into six wall segments. The short-axis view was obtained successfully in 53 of 68 patients; of the possible 318 segments, 96% were visualized adequately by two-dimensional echocardiography and 89% by ABD. From the four-chamber view, obtained in 63 of 68 patients, visualization of 378 possible segments was 93% by two-dimensional imaging and 86% by ABD, respectively. From the two-chamber view obtained in 58 of 68 patients, the success rate was 88% and 80% (two-dimensional imaging and ABD, respectively). ABD detected LV endocardial/blood borders in all six segments of each view in 73%, 72%, and 72% of cases, concordant with adequate two-dimensional imaging. Discrepancies between two-dimensional imaging and ABD were usually in the short-axis inferior and lateral, four-chamber lateral, and two-chamber anterior segments. There were 46 patients with normal LV wall motion and 22 with wall-motion abnormalities. The average time required to perform ABD was 375 seconds (range 180 to 780 seconds). Thus ABD is clinically applicable, has similar yield in parasternal and apical views, does not add excessive time for analysis, and provides comparable visualization of LV segments if acceptable conventional two-dimensional images are obtained.
Satisfaction with Early Retirement: Making Choices in the Auto Industry

In recent decades, the expanded availability of early retirement incentive plans has allowed an increasing number of workers to retire at an age younger than normally allowed by their pension plans. On the surface, these retirement incentives appear to offer older workers more flexibility in deciding when to retire. However, the offer of early retirement incentives frequently occurs when employers are attempting to reduce employment; therefore, the opportunity for early retirement may be counterbalanced by downsizing goals that place older workers' continued employment in jeopardy. Early retirement incentive programs are thereby characterized by an unusual combination of inducement and coercion. In this study, we examined how the structure of the early retirement program shapes the way older male auto workers evaluate their retirement transitions. We conclude that the structure of the early retirement program, the timing of the retirement decision, and job security are important in framing the retirement transition and in distinguishing levels of satisfaction with the retirement experience.
Ages of large lunar impact craters and implications for bombardment during the Moon’s middle age

Abstract Standard lunar chronologies, based on combining lunar sample radiometric ages with impact crater densities of inferred associated units, have lately been questioned about the robustness of their interpretations of the temporal dependance of the lunar impact flux. In particular, there has been increasing focus on the “middle age” of lunar bombardment, from the end of the Late Heavy Bombardment (∼3.8 Ga) until comparatively recent times (∼1 Ga). To gain a better understanding of impact flux in this time period, we determined and analyzed the cratering ages of selected terrains on the Moon. We required distinct terrains with random locations and areas large enough to achieve good statistics for the small, superposed crater size–frequency distributions to be compiled. Therefore, we selected 40 lunar craters with diameter ∼90 km and determined the model ages of their floors by measuring the density of superposed craters using the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Wide Angle Camera mosaic. Absolute model ages were computed using the Model Production Function of Marchi et al. (Marchi, S., Mottola, S., Cremonese, G., Massironi, M., Martellato, E. [2009]. Astron. J. 137, 4936–4948). We find that a majority (36 of 40) of our superposed crater size–frequency distributions are consistent with the Model Production Function. A histogram of the original crater floor model ages indicates the bombardment rate decreased gradually from ∼3.8 Ga until ∼3.0 Ga, implying an extended tail to the Late Heavy Bombardment. For large craters, it also preliminarily suggests that between ∼3.0 and 1.0 Ga bombardment may be characterized by long periods (>600 Myr) of relatively few impacts (“lulls”) broken by a short duration (∼200 Myr) of relatively more impacts (“spike”). While measuring superposed craters, we also noted if they were part of a cluster or chain (named “obvious secondary”), and analyzed these craters separately. Interestingly, we observe a wide variety of slopes to the differential size–frequency power-law, which demonstrates that there can be considerable variation in individual secondary crater field size–frequency distributions. Finally, four of the small, superposed crater size–frequency distributions are found to be inconsistent with the Model Production Function; possible reasons are: resurfacing has modified these distributions, unrecognized secondary craters, and/or the Model Production Function has incorrect inputs (such as the scaling law for the target terrain). The degraded appearance of the superposed craters and indications of resurfacing suggest that the first cause is the most likely.
FrameNet, current collaborations and future goals

This paper will focus on recent and near-term future developments at FrameNet (FN) and the interoperability issues they raise. We begin by discussing the current state of the Berkeley FN database including major changes in the data format for the latest data release. We then briefly review two recent local projects, "Rapid Vanguarding", which has created a new interface for the frame and lexical unit definition process based on the Word Sketch Engine of Kilgarriff et al. (2004), and "Beyond the Core", which has developed tools for annotating constructions, and created a sample "construction" of especially "interesting" constructions which are neither simply lexical nor easy for the standard parsers to parse. We also cover two current collaborations, FN's part in the development of the manually annotated subcorpus of the American National Corpus, and a pilot study on aligning WordNet and FrameNet, to exploit the complementary strengths of these quite different resources. We discuss FN-related research on Spanish, Japanese, German (SALSA), Chinese and other languages, and the language-independence of frames, along with interesting FN-related work by others, and a sketch of a large group of image-schematic frames which are now being added to FN. We close with some ideas about how FrameNet can be opened up, to allow broader participation in the development process without losing precision and coherence, including a small-scale study on acquiring data for FN using Amazon's Mechanical Turk crowd-sourcing system.
Synthesis of immunoglobulin and nuclear protein in synchronized mouse myeloma cells

The synthesis of immunoglobulin and of nuclear proteins has been studied in synchronized mouse myeloma cells of the C1 line. Synchronization has been obtained by a double thymidine block. C1 cells synthesize immunoglobulin at a relatively constant rate throughout the cell cycle except for mitosis, when a decrease in the rate of synthesis of total protein and of immunoglobulin is observed. Cell synchrony around mitosis is not sufficiently good to determine whether immunoglobulin is synthesized at all. Nuclear protein and in particular histones appear to be synthesized synchronously with DNA during the S phase of the cell cycle.
Hemopoietic growth factors show promise as therapeutic agents.

Hemopoietic growth factors such as erythropoietin and colony-stimulating factors may have important therapeutic applications.
Silicon neurons that inhibit to synchronize

We present a network of silicon neurons that achieve robust synchrony using mutual inhibition. Synchrony strongly influences neuronal spike timing within many brain regions, potentially playing a crucial role in computation. Yet it has been largely ignored in neuromorphic systems, which use mixed analog and digital circuits to model neurobiology in silicon. Our neurons synchronize by using shunting inhibition (conductance-based) with a synaptic rise-time. Synaptic rise-time promotes synchrony by delaying the effect of inhibition, providing an opportune period for neurons to spike together. Shunting inhibition, through its voltage dependence, inhibits neurons that are late more strongly (delaying the spike further), pushing them into phase (in the next cycle). We fabricated a chip with 256 inhibitory neurons and 1,024 excitatory neurons in 0.25mum CMOS. We show that synchronized inhibitory neurons (population of 256) spike with a period that is proportional to the synaptic rise-time. We use these neurons to entrain the excitatory neurons, implementing a form of object binding
Probability density functions of rotations in loop-synchronous polarization scrambling for recirculating loop experiments

The performance in a recirculating loop with a loop-synchronous polarization scrambler is independent of the choice of probability density function (pdf) for the rotations in the polarization scrambler, unless the pdf is strongly biased.
The Contribution of Dry Deposition to Snowpack Acidity in Michigan

Wet deposition, dry deposition, and snowpack chemistry were studied during two winters at a rural location in northern Michigan and during one winter at an urban location in southern Michigan. The dry deposition rates were determined by measuring concentration changes in exposed snow samples. Dry deposition velocities were calculated from multi-day measurements of both the deposition rate and the atmospheric concentration of the depositing species. The average deposition velocities of HNO3, SO2, NH4 +, and Ca+2 were 1.1, 0.09, 0.09, and 2.0 cm/s, respectively. HNO3 was the dominant source of the dry deposited NO3 -, while SO2 was the dominant source of the dry deposited SO4 -2. Good agreement was found between the cumulative wet and dry deposition of most species and the snowpack content before the first melt period. Comparisons between wet and dry deposition showed that dry deposition contributed only 6 and 11% of the total acidity deposited at the rural and urban locations, respectively. The dry deposition contribution for species other than H+ ranged from 14 to 80%. The greatest dry deposition contributions for all species were at the urban site. It is concluded that dry deposition has a large impact on the snowpack content of some species, but little net effect on the acidity.
Nutritional Management of Hyperkalemic Infants With Chronic Kidney Disease, Using Adult Renal Formulas

Objective This study sought to evaluate the use of adult renal formulas in hyperkalemic infants with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Design This was a retrospective, single-center cohort study. Setting This study took place at the Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Dialysis, and Transplantation at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital (Grand Rapids, MI). Patients Seven hyperkalemic infants (mean age, 6.9 months) comprised the study population: 29% with stage 3 CKD, 29% with stage 4 CKD, and 42% with stage 5 CKD. Intervention Infants were empirically treated with adult renal formulas for an average duration of 9.6 months. Six of seven infants were started on breast milk or infant formula (Similac PM 60/40, Abbott Laboratories, Columbus, OH), but because of inadequate growth and hyperkalemia, were transitioned to adult renal formulas (Suplena, Abbott Laboratories, Columbus, OH; Nepro, Abbott Laboratories, Columbus, OH; and/or Renalcal, Nestle Nutrition, Minnetonka, MN). One infant received adult renal formula at birth. Main Outcome Measures The outcome measures included amount of potassium delivered by infant and adult renal formulas, level of serum potassium, and anthropometric measurements adjusted for age and gender (z-scores). Results The transition from infant to adult renal formula resulted in a decrease in mean amount of potassium delivered by formula (from 2.6 to 1.0 mEq/kg/day, P P P =.03). Adult renal formulas were well-tolerated. Conclusions Hyperkalemic infants with CKD can be nutritionally managed on adult renal formula.
New Strategies To Improve Food Marketing To Children

Federal efforts to address the impact of food marketing on children began more than thirty years ago, when the Federal Trade Commission sought comment on strategies to reduce young children’s exposure to food advertising. The food, advertising, and television industries mounted a virulent response, and Congress withdrew the commission’s authority to regulate unfair advertising to children. The same industries and Congress responded equally aggressively to the proposed nutrition criteria for food products marketed to children drafted by a working group of federal agencies in 2011. Although federal efforts over the past thirty years have led to modest improvements in food quality and marketing practices, commercial interests have consistently overridden the health concerns of children. Mobilization of parents as a political force to improve standards for food marketed to children, use of social media for counteradvertising, and the development of new technologies to decrease exposure to food advertisements ...
Multicriteria optimization informed VMAT planning

We developed a patient-specific volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) optimization procedure using dose-volume histogram (DVH) information from multicriteria optimization (MCO) of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) plans. The study included 10 patients with prostate cancer undergoing standard fractionation treatment, 10 patients with prostate cancer undergoing hypofractionation treatment, and 5 patients with head/neck cancer. MCO-IMRT plans using 20 and 7 treatment fields were generated for each patient on the RayStation treatment planning system (clinical version 2.5, RaySearch Laboratories, Stockholm, Sweden). The resulting DVH of the 20-field MCO-IMRT plan for each patient was used as the reference DVH, and the extracted point values of the resulting DVH of the MCO-IMRT plan were used as objectives and constraints for VMAT optimization. Weights of objectives or constraints of VMAT optimization or both were further tuned to generate the best match with the reference DVH of the MCO-IMRT plan. The final optimal VMAT plan quality was evaluated by comparison with MCO-IMRT plans based on homogeneity index, conformity number of planning target volume, and organ at risk sparing. The influence of gantry spacing, arc number, and delivery time on VMAT plan quality for different tumor sites was also evaluated. The resulting VMAT plan quality essentially matched the 20-field MCO-IMRT plan but with a shorter delivery time and less monitor units. VMAT plan quality of head/neck cancer cases improved using dual arcs whereas prostate cases did not. VMAT plan quality was improved by fine gantry spacing of 2 for the head/neck cancer cases and the hypofractionation-treated prostate cancer cases but not for the standard fractionation-treated prostate cancer cases. MCO-informed VMAT optimization is a useful and valuable way to generate patient-specific optimal VMAT plans, though modification of the weights of objectives or constraints extracted from resulting DVH of MCO-IMRT or both is necessary.
Reply to M.C. Garassino et al

The question raised by Garassino et al whether chemotherapy should be preferred in patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) wild-type non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is relevant, given that approximately 85% to 90% of patients belong in this category in the western world. Interestingly, gefitinib is registered in Europe only for patients with mutant EGFR NSCLC, whereas erlotinib is registered for patients with NSCLC regardless of mutation status in both Europe and United States. There is little data in support of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) being given to patients with wildtype EGFR and some evidence that there is actually a detriment in comparison with chemotherapy in the first-line setting. There is a need to assess the value, if any, of using an EGFR TKI in any line of treatment of NSCLC in patients with wild-type EGFR. Patients with wild-type EGFR include patients whose tumor is KRAS mutant, a setting in which EGFR TKIs are essentially inactive, if not detrimental. Although it is clear that EGFR TKIs improve progression-free survival in the first-line treatment of patients with mutant EGFR, on the basis of several randomized comparisons, as delineated in the recently published American Society of Clinical Oncology provisional clinical opinion, there are insufficient data in subsequent lines of treatment. Garassino et al are to be commended, as they are in fact currently conducting a prospective randomized study in second-line treatment of advanced NSCLC, in which patients with wild-type EGFR are being randomly assigned to receive docetaxel or erlotinib (NCT00637910; Tarceva Italian Lung Optimization Trial [TAILOR] study). EGFR mutation status for patients in whom treatment has failed is often based on archival tissue available from the diagnostic specimen. Because the mutational status may change under the pressure of systemic treatment and lead to resistance, the data obtained with pretreatment archival material may not be reliable. Although there may be differences among EGFR TKIs in terms of activity on wild-type EGFR cells, these differences are trivial in comparison with presence versus absence of EGFR-activating mutations. Treating patients with advanced NSCLC with EGFR TKIs in the absence of EGFR mutation testing or in wild-type EGFR is questionable and needs to be studied more. Fortunately, we are finally in an era in the treatment of patients with NSCLC when we have TKIs that are exquisitely active in specific subsets of patients. The availability of drugs on the market that hardly have an impact on survival but may have substantial toxicity should not be a reason to treat all unselected patients until the end of their lives.
Epidemiology, public health, and health surveillance around point sources of pollution

Abstract In industrial society a large number of point sources of pollution exist, such as chemical plants, smelters, and nuclear power plants. Public concern has forced the practising epidemiologist to undertake health surveillance of the usually small populations living around point sources. Although not justifiable as research, such epidemiologic surveillance activities are becoming a routine part of public heath practice, and this trend will continue. This introduction reviews concepts of epidemiologic surveillance, and institutional problems relating to the quality of such applied research.
A double blind, placebo-controlled trial of demeclocycline treatment of polydipsia-hyponatremia in chronically psychotic patients.

Excessive fluid intake (polydipsia) and accompanying polyuria occur frequently in chronically ill psychiatric patients 0ose and Perez-Cruet 1979; Vieweg et al 1988, 1989). A significant subgroup Gf these polydipsic patients experience episodes of symptomatic dilutional hyponatremia, that is, water intoxication (Jose and Perez-Cruet 1979). The symptoms of water intoxication, thought to be due to serum hyponatremia and hypo-osmolality, include lethargy, confusion, seizures, coma, and death. Common strategies for the treatment of chronic psychiatric patients with polydipsia-hyponatremia involve restriction of fluid intake and/or attempts to promote free water excretion. One of the most promising potential treatments is demeclocycline, an antibiotic in the tetracycline family. Demeclocyc!ine blocks the action of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) at the kidney and can induce a reversible nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (Feldman and Singer 1974). It has been used to treat the syndrome of inappropriate se-
Effect of starvation on hypothalamic content of "somatotropin releasing factor" and pituitary growth hormone content.

The effects of acute starvation on hypothalamic content of “somatotropin releasing factor” (SRF) and on pituitary growth hormone content were studied in rats. After complete food removal for 5-7 days or after ad lib. feeding, adult male donor rats were decapitated and their hypothalami were removed and extracted with cold O.IN HC1. The neutralized extract was injected into the left common carotid artery of adult male recipient rats and 30 min later the rats were sacrificed and their pituitaries were removed. The pituitaries were assayed for somatotropin (STH) by the standard tibia test in young hypophysectomized rats. A log-dose relationship was demonstrated between the dose of hypothalamic extract injected and the amount of STH released by the recipient's pituitary, indicating that rat hypothalamic extract contains a factor which stimulates STH release. When the hypothalami of starved rats were compared with hypothalami of ad lib. fed controls in 2 separate experiments, it was found that starvation marke...
Elders as leaders in 1 Peter and the early Church

Addressing a hostile situation that called for courageous and exemplary leaders, the letter of 1 Peter employed in 5:1-5 a cluster of vocabulary and images (elders, overseers/exercise oversight, shepherds, flock) representing a growing coalescence of terms for leaders and their functions in the early Jesus movement. As one of the earliest witnesses to this constellation and its symbolization of community leaders as elders-pastors-overseers, the text of 1 Peter 5:1-5a deserves more attention than it has hitherto been accorded in the study of early Christian ministry and church order.
The Escherichia coli FKBP-type PPIase SlyD is required for the stabilization of the E lysis protein of bacteriophage phi X174.

Summary Most bacteriophages abruptly terminate their vegeta- tive cycle by causing lysis of the host cell. The ssDNA phage fX174 uses a single lysis gene, E, encoding a 91-amino-acid membrane protein that causes lysis of Escherichia coli by inhibiting MraY, a conserved enzyme of murein biosynthesis. Recessive mutations in the host gene slyD (sensitivity to lysis) absolutely block E-mediated lysis and fX174 plaque formation. The slyD gene encodes a FKBP-type peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase). To investigate the mole- cular basis of this unique FKBP-dependence, sponta- neous plaque-forming mutants of fX174 were isolated on a slyD lawn. All of these Epos ('plates on slyD') suppressors encode proteins with either a R3H or L19F change. The double mutant was also isolated and generated the largest plaques on the slyD lawn. A c-myc epitope tag sequence was incorporated into the parental E and Epos genes without effect on lytic function. Western blots and pulse-chase labelling ex- periments showed that both Epos and E are highly unstable in a slyD background; however, Epos is syn- thesized at a higher rate, allowing a lysis-sufficient level of Epos to accumulate. Our results indicate that SlyD is required for stabilizing the E protein and allowing it to accumulate to the levels required to exert its lytic effect. These data are discussed in terms of a model for the specific role of the SlyD PPIase in E folding, and of the use of the very strict SlyD- dependence phenotype for identifying elements of PPIase selectivity.
Deconstructing identity in/and difference: Voices “under erasure”

Voices as distinguishing markers of individual expression have neither a direct nor simple relationship to the social interactions and self‐identities from which they arise. The foregoing WJC series places the notion of voice “under erasure,” critically interrogating the authorizing assumptions and disciplinary conventions whereby voices have come to represent pregiven, unitary identities in the production of communication scholarship. This essay explicates several complicating themes that emerge from the WJC series: the investments and possibilities of scholarly representations of voice; the embeddedness of voice in discursive practices that enable and constrain identity formation; and the usefulness of voice as an analytic trope for charting the material course of cultural ideologies during particular historical periods.
LuciPHOr2: site localization of generic post-translational modifications from tandem mass spectrometry data.

We present LuciPHOr2, a site localization tool for generic post-translational modifications (PTMs) using tandem mass spectrometry data. As an extension of the original LuciPHOr (version 1) for phosphorylation site localization, the new software provides a site-level localization score for generic PTMs and associated false discovery rate called the false localization rate. We describe several novel features such as operating system independence and reduced computation time through multiple threading. We also discuss optimal parameters for different types of data and illustrate the new tool on a human skeletal muscle dataset for lysine-acetylation. Availability and implementation: The software is freely available on the SourceForge website http://luciphor2.sourceforge.net. Contact: gs.ude.shun@iohc_now_gnuyh, ude.hcimu.dem@ivsen Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Prediction of concrete creep and shrinkage: past, present and future

The first part of the paper summarizes various aspects of the prediction of concrete creep and shrinkage to be discussed in the conference lecture. They include the theories of physical mechanism, prediction models, constitutive equations, computational approaches, probabilistic aspects, and research directions. The second part then presents two new prediction models. One of them deals with the approximate prediction formulae for pore relative humidity distributions, required for realistic creep and shrinkage analysis, and the other deals with the extrapolation of short time measurements of creep and shrinkage into long times.
Transitions to Parenthood His, Hers, and Theirs

This study explores marital processes that may underlie the apparent decline in satisfaction with marriage in partners becoming parents for the first time. We assessed 47 couples expecting a first child and 15 couples not yet decided about having children at pretest, post 1 (6 months postpartum or 9 months after pretest) and post 2 (18 months postpartum or 21 months after pretest). Questionnaires examined (1) psychological sense of self; (2) partners' role arrangements and communication; (3) parenting ideology; (4) perceptions of the family of origin; and (5) social support and life stress, including parents' work patterns. Support was found for three hypotheses: (1) In four of the five family domains men and women having a first child showed more negative changes over time than nonparent spouses; (2) New fathers and mothers grew increasingly different from one another in most of these domains; (3) A combination of gender differentiation and change (increasing conflict) apparently contributed to lowered s...
Focused transthoracic echocardiography by sports medicine physicians: measurements relevant to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to investigate whether sports medicine physicians can use portable echocardiography to obtain measurements pertinent to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. METHODS Thirty male collegiate athletes, aged 18 to 21 years, were prospectively enrolled. Focused portable echocardiography was performed by a board-certified sports medicine physician and a resident physician, followed by comprehensive echocardiography within 2 weeks by a registered diagnostic cardiac sonographer. A left parasternal long-axis view was acquired to measure 3 dimensions: (1) end-diastolic interventricular septal thickness (IVSd), (2) end-diastolic left ventricular internal diameter (LVIDd), and (3) end-diastolic left ventricular posterior wall thickness (LVPWd). RESULTS Intraclass correlation coefficients between the sports medicine physician and the sonographer were strong: 0.77 for IVSd, 0.73 for LVIDd, and 0.64 for LVPWd. Intraclass correlation coefficients between measurements by the resident physician and sonographer were strong to moderate: 0.61 for IVSd, 0.62 for LVIDd, and 0.63 for LVPWd. Across all 3 readers, intraclass correlation coefficient calculations were 0.77 for IVSd, 0.81 LVIDd, and 0.75 for LVPWd, which indicated strong inter-rater reliability. CONCLUSIONS Sports medicine physicians are able to obtain measurements relevant to the diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with focused portable echocardiography that are consistent with comprehensive echocardiography by a registered sonographer.
Shrub encroachment in North American grasslands: shifts in growth form dominance rapidly alters control of ecosystem carbon inputs

Shrub encroachment into grass-dominated biomes is occurring globally due to a variety of anthropogenic activities, but the consequences for carbon (C) inputs, storage and cycling remain unclear. We studied eight North American graminoid-dominated ecosystems invaded by shrubs, from arctic tundra to Atlantic coastal dunes, to quantify patterns and controls of C inputs via aboveground net primary production (ANPP). Across a fourfold range in mean annual precipitation (MAP), a key regulator of ecosystem C input at the continental scale, shrub invasion decreased ANPP in xeric sites, but dramatically increased ANPP (41000gm � 2 ) at high MAP, where shrub patches maintained extraordinarily high leaf area. Concurrently, the relationship between MAP and ANPP shifted from being nonlinear in grasslands to linear in shrublands. Thus, relatively abrupt (o50 years) shifts in growth form dominance, without changes in resource quantity, can fundamentally alter continental-scale pattern of C inputs and their control by MAP in ways that exceed the direct effects of climate change alone.
Resolving the Cassini/Huygens relay radio anomaly

NASA's Cassini mission to Saturn carries the European Space Agency's (ESA's) Huygens probe, which it will release shortly before an encounter with Saturn's moon, Titan, a possible location for extraterrestrial life within our Solar System. As it parachutes towards Titan's surface, Huygens will acquire scientific information which will be relayed to Earth through Cassini. Comprehensive testing of this relay radio link was not performed prior to Cassini launch and cannot be done during cruise. A test using NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) to mimic the probe's signal was performed in 2000 and uncovered an anomaly that, unchecked, would result in nearly complete loss of the Huygens mission. An international team of experts from NASA and ESA was assembled to solve this problem: the Huygens Recovery Task Force (HRTF.) This team, co-chaired by the author, performed extensive testing, modeling, and simulation to understand the failure mechanism. Each Huygens science team determined mission impacts for various scenarios based on these results. This led to a suggested modification to the Cassini trajectory that will result in nearly complete data return for Huygens with minimal impact on Cassini.
Physicians' explanations for apparent gaps in the quality of rheumatology care: Results from the US Medicare Physician Quality Reporting System

Objective The metrics used to assess quality of care and pay for performance in rheumatology are increasingly important. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services established the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) to allow physicians to report performance measures for many conditions, including osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We described the frequency and nature of physician-reported reasons why recommended care for individual osteoporosis and RA patients was not provided. Methods Using national data on Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries (2007–2009), we identified health care providers reporting on quality of care for any of 3 osteoporosis or 3 RA measures. PQRS reason codes allowed physicians to submit explanations why recommended care was not given. Results In 2009, 1,775 physicians reported on ≥1 osteoporosis PQRS measure and 630 physicians reported on ≥1 RA measure. For the older women whose physician reported on lifetime dual x-ray absorptiometry screening at least once since the age of 60 years via PQRS, 76% received such screening. Among the patients with physician-diagnosed osteoporosis reported via PQRS, 82% received prescription osteoporosis medication in the preceding year. For RA medication use reported via PQRS, 89% of patients received a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug or a biologic agent. For the remaining 11–24% of osteoporosis and RA patients, physicians reported medical, patient, system, or other reasons why care was considered but not provided. Conclusion A substantial fraction of Medicare enrollees who did not receive recommended osteoporosis or RA care had physician-documented reasons for why care was not provided. For Medicare and other health plans that implement penalties for apparent nonperformance or delivery of suboptimal care, it will be important to allow physicians to provide reasons that care was considered medically inappropriate, refused, or otherwise not feasible.
Sensitivity Analysis of a Spatially-Explicit Stochastic Simulation Model of the Evolution of Resistance in Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) to Bt Transgenic Corn and Cotton

The sensitivities of a model simulating the evolution of resistance in Helicoverpa zea to Bt toxins in transgenic crops were investigated by examining effects of each of the model parameters on the frequency of resistance alleles after 8 yr. The functional dominance of resistance alleles and the initial frequency of those alleles had a major impact on resistance evolution. The survival of susceptible insects on the transgenic crops and the population dynamics of the insect, driven by winter survival and reproductive rates, were also important. In addition, agricultural practices including the proportion of the acreage planted to corn, and the larval threshold for spraying cotton fields affected the R-allele frequency. Many of these important parameters are inherently variable or cannot be measured with accuracy, so model output cannot be interpreted as being a forecast. However, this analysis is useful in focusing empirical research on those aspects of the insects’ life system that have the largest effects on resistance development, and indicates ways in which to improve products and agricultural practices to increase the expected time to resistance. The model can thus be used as a scientific basis for devising a robust resistance management strategy for Bt crops.
Disparities in Heart Failure Care: Now Is the Time to Focus on Health Care Delivery

Over the past 3 decades, heart failure patients have enjoyed major improvements in survival and quality of life. Well-conducted clinical trials have proven the effectiveness of neurohormonal antagonists, cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), and
A study of PET patient delay of care

2713 Objectives Froedtert Hospital (FH) performs many PET exams and should the patient fail to show up for their appointment or follow their prep, it can be costly for both the patient and FH. A patient who has not undergone their PET procedures for various reasons usually results in a wasted dose of FDG, a delay of care to the patient, and a revenue loss for FH. The objective of this study was to determine whether a reminder letter or phone call prior to the patient’s exam decreased the amount of patients receiving delayed care. Methods The unperformed PET scans from March 2010 to July 2011 were reviewed and it was found that the main reasons a patient’s exam was not performed was 1) poor preparation 2) miscommunication 3) the patient could not be contacted and 4) other miscellaneous reasons. Starting October 2010 a reminder letter was sent out to patients prior to their exam which included information such as date, time and location of the exam, who to contact with concerns, and patient prep information. The patient prep information included prep requirements for those who are or are not diabetic. Another attempt to decrease the amount of no-shows/scans not performed at FH included a phone call to the patient two days prior to their examination. This phone call included the same information as the reminder letter. Results There has been a 20% increase in compliance since the reminder letters and phone calls have been initiated. Figure 1 demonstrates the decrease/increase of delay in care prior to or after the reminder letter was sent out. As an incidental finding, it was determined that patients were admitted to the hospital without a follow up phone call to us. In some cases, FH was still able to perform the exam on admitted inpatients. Conclusions By reminding the patient about prep requirements and when their exam is, the cost to FH will decrease, and quick, effective care will increase. One idea to help continue to decrease delayed patient care could be to call the patient the day of the exam. Another idea would be to get patients to use the electronic health record which allows the patient to check prep and appointment times
Effects of vitamin A malnutriture on resistance to stress.

SummaryExperiments were conducted on the effects of graded doses of vit. A on resistance to low environmental temperature and x-irradiation injury in the male rat. The average survival time of rats depleted of vit. A was 1.9 days at an environmental temperature of 2°C and 19.3 days under standard laboratory conditions (23 °C). Adjustment to low environmental temperature (as judged by per cent surviving an experimental period of 30 days) was significantly increased in animals fed an average daily intake of 2.5 U.S.P. units of vit. A, but a minimal intake of approximately 5 U.S.P. units of vit. A daily was required for optimal adjustment to cold. A direct correlation was observed between the vit. A content of the diet and resistance to x-irradiation. All rats administered an average intake of 2.5 U.S.P. units of vit. A daily succumbed following a single exposure of 750 r x-irradiation; 90% of the rats receiving a daily intake of 50 U.S.P. units of vit. A and exposed to a similar dose of x-irradiation surviv...
An Unfinished Republic: Leading by Word and Deed in Modern China

An Unfinished Republic: Leading by Word and Deed in Modern China David Strand (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011) One of the most interesting unanswered questions in modern Chinese his...
Study on the first human H7N9 avian influenza infection and corresponding close contacts in Nanchang

Objective The research was designed to explore the possibility of transmission from the first human case of avian influenza to the close contacts. Methods Close contacts of the first human case of avian influenza in Nanchang were identified according to the definition and methodology publicized by the National Board of Health and Family Planning Commission, People's Republic of China. Epidemiological investigation and medical observation were carried out. Serum antibodies from some of the close contacts were examined. Results The avian influenza patient had never left Nanchang prior to the disease onset. No contact history of dead or diseased poultry was found. Fourteen close contacts and another confirmed case that may be correlated with the first case were brought under medical observation for seven days. The 14 close contacts included the family members, hospital staffs that had taken care of him, and other patients in the same ward.. None of the close contacts showed signs of infection. Conclusion Direct contact with patient contracted with avian influenza at the end of incubation period and in the stage of illness through air, body fluids,vomit, and human wastes will not lead to human-to-human transmission, indicating the ability of the virus to transmit from human to human is limited. But the possibility of other transmitting ways should not be eliminated.
Acoustic Liner Drag: Measurements on Novel Facesheet Perforate Geometries

Interest in characterization of the aerodynamic drag of acoustic liners has increased in the past several years. This paper details experiments in the NASA Langley Grazing Flow Impedance Tube to quantify the relative drag of several perforate-over-honeycomb liner configurations at flow speeds of centerline flow Mach number equals 0.3 and 0.5. Various perforate geometries and orientations are investigated to determine their resistance factors using a static pressure drop approach. Comparison of these resistance factors gives a relative measurement of liner drag. For these same flow conditions, acoustic measurements are performed with tonal excitation from 400 to 3000 hertz at source sound pressure levels of 140 and 150 decibels. Educed impedance and attenuation spectra are used to determine the impact of variations in perforate geometry on acoustic performance.
Current Status of Classification and Staging of Prostate Cancer.

The international TNM classification system for prostatic cancer has been recently revised and is most helpful for comparisons between various groups of patients. Today in the United States, the evaluation of certain factors related to clinical and pathologic staging are being further altered. These include primary grade of tumor and the extent and techniques of tumor staging. New tests for acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase isozymes are being concurrently evaluated. Advances in the past six years have contributed to further redefinition and subgrouping of previous conventional staging or prognostic assessment of prostatic cancer. Localized (Stage B, C), occult (Stage A), or generalized (Stage D) tumors are being subdivided. Although grade of the primary tumor has been thought to be important only recently has a consensus been achieved by the National Prostatic Cancer Project for a system of assessment that uses cellular patterns and nuclear changes. Aspiration cytology may be a useful adjuvant. The role and type of pelvic lymph node assessment, whether operative, radiographic, or by thin needle percutaneous aspiration, is undergoing additional study. In dealing with the so-called occult (Stage A) lesions, a further subdivision, Stage A,/A2 has been employed. Similar changes in so-called B1 /B2 , C1 /C2 , and D1 /D2 also exist. These are valid attempts to further define extent of disease and overall true tumor burden. Nevertheless, it is still the privilege of the physician to determine the necessity and extent of the use of such classification. Today, the decision to provide therapeutic care based only on a clinical stage must be made with the knowledge of these variations of classification and staging as well as of other developments.
Suicide among people with epilepsy: A population-based analysis of data from the U.S. National Violent Death Reporting System, 17 states, 2003–2011

Objective This study analyzed suicide data in the general population from the U.S. National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) to investigate suicide burden among those with epilepsy and risk factors associated with suicide and to suggest measures to prevent suicide among people with epilepsy.
The eyes reveal uncertainty about object distinctions in semantic variant primary progressive aphasia.

Abstract At least three distinct variants of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) have been described, but they are difficult to distinguish early in the course, when individuals experience primarily anomia. People with svPPA are often the hardest to care for, because they have impaired comprehension of words and objects and often have negative changes in comportment. We sought to identify an early marker of semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (svPPA) and to enhance the understanding of the semantic deficit in svPPA. We hypothesized that the pattern of eye tracking in a word picture matching task can differentiate svPPA from other variants and can predict which participants with unclassifiable PPA will progress to svPPA. We tested 19 individuals with PPA on a word picture matching task with eye tracking. We found that individuals with svPPA were less accurate than other variants when the foils were semantic coordinates (horse-cow) or schematically related (horse-saddle), but not when they were thematically related (saw-horse) or unrelated. Moreover, even in the condition in which they were highly accurate (unrelated foils) they looked much more often to the foils and for longer, than other variants or controls. Unclassifiable PPA participants who eventually developed svPPA showed the same pattern. This abnormal pattern was associated with atrophy in bilateral temporal poles.
Ensuring scalability and reusability of spreadsheet linear programming models

Abstract Linear programming models implemented in spreadsheets are understood to be difficult to reuse, whether with modified data that increases or decreases model scale (such as routine model maintenance), as well as with new data (such as deploying a model to a new business setting). The difficulty arises because spreadsheets commingle cell formulas with data, which requires editing cell formulas when the data changes. We provide a novel technique to implement a linear programming model in a spreadsheet that allows for full re-use of the spreadsheet code. It robustly accommodates modified or new data, and enables a spreadsheet LP easily to be reused or even deployed to a new setting with an entirely new dataset. This technique applies to any linear programming model up to approximately 1 million non-zero constraint coefficients, and operates in native Excel without use of macros or VBA. Spreadsheet LP models can now be re-used, re-deployed, and re-optimized as easily as with algebraic software.
Fixed Final Time: Tests for a Minimum

Before going on to the second differential, two tests for a minimal control are derived. The Weierstrass condition is based on strong variations, which means that control changes are large but that state changes are small. The Weierstrass condition requires that the Hamiltonian be an absolute minimum with respect to the control at every point of a minimal path. The Legendre-Clebsch condition is obtained by reducing strong variations to weak variations. It requires that the Hamiltonian be a local minimum with respect to the control at every point of the minimal path.