cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of Latent Errors on the Reliability of Data Storage Systems

The reliability of data storage systems is adversely affected by the presence of latent sector errors. As the number of occurrences of such errors increases with the storage capacity, latent sector errors have become more prevalent in today's high capacity storage devices. Such errors are typically not detected until an attempt is made to read the affected sectors. When a latent sector error is detected, the redundant data corresponding to the affected sector is used to recover its data. However, if no such redundant data is available, then the data of the affected sector is irrecoverably lost from the storage system. Therefore, the reliability of data storage systems is affected by both the complete failure of storage nodes and the latent sector errors within them. In this article, closed-form expressions for the mean time to data loss (MTTDL) of erasure coded storage systems in the presence of latent errors are derived. The effect of latent errors on systems with various types of redundancy, data placement, and sector error probabilities is studied. For small latent sector error probabilities, it is shown that the MTTDL is reduced by a factor that is independent of the number of parities in the data redundancy scheme as well as the number of nodes in the system. However, for large latent sector error probabilities, the MTTDL is similar to that of a system using a data redundancy scheme with one parity less. The reduction of the MTTDL in the latter case is more pronounced than in the former one.
Queer politics in the 1990s: Identity and issues

(1994). Queer politics in the 1990s: Identity and issues. New Political Science: Vol. 15, No. 3-4, pp. 55-76.
Temporal Trends and Improved Outcomes of Percutaneous Coronary Revascularization in Nonagenarians

Objectives The aim of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics and the outcomes of patients 90 years of age or older who were treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Background There is a paucity of outcomes data among nonagenarians undergoing PCI. Methods We evaluated the outcomes of all patients 90 years of age or older in the Mayo Clinic PCI registry and examined trends over time. Results Over a period of 19 years, we identified 138 nonagenarians (66% women; age 92.2 ± 2.0 years). Mean duration of hospitalization was 3.7 ± 3.1 days, and the median follow-up duration was 3.6 years. Ninety-one percent of patients presented with an acute coronary syndrome and underwent urgent or emergent revascularization. Technical success rate was 91%. Overall, the frequency of in-hospital death, Q-wave myocardial infarction, and major adverse cardiac events (composite of death, Q-wave myocardial infarction, urgent or emergent coronary artery bypass grafting, and cerebrovascular accident) were 9.4%, 0.7%, and 12.3%, respectively. The long-term survival of the cohort was not significantly different than that of an age, gender, and calendar year of birth-matched Minnesota cohort. The cohort was divided into 2 groups according to the time of their intervention: pre-2000 (n = 32) and 2000 to 2006 (n = 106). The in-hospital mortality decreased markedly: 22% to 6% (p = 0.006), respectively. Conclusions Our study demonstrates that, in carefully selected patients, PCI in contemporary practice may be performed with high technical success with relatively low mortality and morbidity. Thus, advanced age alone must not be considered a contraindication to performing coronary angiography and PCI when clear indications are present.
A reservation-based coordination protocol for Web services

Traditional transaction semantics are not appropriate for business activities that involve long-running transactions in a loosely-coupled distributed environment, in particular, for Web services that operate between different enterprises over the Internet. In this paper we describe a novel reservation-based extended transaction protocol that can be used to coordinate such business activities. The protocol avoids the use of compensating transactions, which can result in undesirable effects. In our protocol, each task within a business activity is executed as two steps. The first step involves an explicit reservation of resources. The second step involves the confirmation or cancellation of the reservation. Each step is executed as a separate traditional short-running transaction. We show how our protocol can be implemented as a reservation protocol on top of the Web services transaction specification or, alternatively, as a coordination protocol on top of the Web services coordination specification.
A performance comparison of fast distributed mutual exclusion algorithms

Several fast and low-overhead distributed mutual exclusion algorithms have been proposed. Each of these algorithms required O(log n) messages per critical section entry and O(log n) bits of storage per processor. In this paper, we make a comparative performance study of four distributed mutual exclusion algorithms. Since the algorithms we study are the basis for distributed synchronization, distributed virtual memory, coherent caches, and distributed object systems, our results have implications about the best methods for their implementation. We find that the distributed synchronization algorithm of Chang, Singhal, and Liu (1990) has the overall best performance, though other algorithms are more efficient in special cases. In a system of 350 processors, the CSL algorithm requires only six messages per critical section entry, including the initial request and the token response messages. >
Combined Intravenous Ganciclovir and Foscarnet for Children with Recurrent Cytomegalovirus Retinitis

Abstract Purpose: Children with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis may not complain of symptoms despite the presence of advanced sight-threatening disease. Although little data exist regarding CMV retinitis in this population, the treatment of this disease may be difficult because of frequent, extensive recurrences after reduction of drug dose from induction to maintenance levels. The authors reported the results of the use of combined ganciclovir and foscarnet for treatment of recurrent CMV retinitis in three children with AIDS. Methods: Three children with recurrent CMV retinitis were treated with combined ganciclovir and foscarnet administered intravenously. All patients initially received induction dosages of ganciclovir followed by maintenance therapy, at which time they experienced reactivation of their disease. The dosing regimen for induction with the combined therapy was foscarnet (60 mg/kg every 8 hours) and ganciclovir (5 mg/kg daily for 3 weeks). Maintenance with combined therapy consisted of foscarnet (90 mg/kg daily) and ganciclovir (5 mg/kg daily). Results: All patients showed complete healing of the retinitis during the first 3 weeks of combined therapy. Median survival after initiation of combined therapy was 15 weeks (range, 12-33 weeks). None of the children experienced reactivation of CMV retinitis during combined therapy with ganciclovir and foscarnet. Combined therapy was well tolerated in all patients without major side effects. No patient required discontinuation or interruption of either drug during combined therapy. Conclusion: Children with recurrent CMV retinitis may not report visual symptoms, which can delay therapeutic intervention. Therefore, recurrent disease in children should be treated aggressively to avoid potentially devastating visual loss. A combination of ganciclovir and foscarnet appears to be a safe and effective therapeutic option for treatment of recurrent CMV retinitis in children with AIDS. This approach causes no additional toxic reactions and may provide improved long-term control of recurrent CMV retinitis in children.
TRANSPARENT: a system for RTL testability analysis, DFT guidance and hierarchical test generation

We discuss a methodology for analyzing the testability of large hierarchical RTL designs, based upon the existence of module reachability paths, suitable for automatically deriving globally applicable test from locally generated vectors. Such reachability paths utilize module transparency behavior, as captured by the introduced channel transparency definition. Lack of transparency and unreachable module UOs pinpoint testability bottlenecks apt for efficient DFT modifications. Application of this methodology on example designs results in significant fault coverage improvement and test generation speedup, as compared to complete design gate-level ATPG.
Investment-specific technological changes: The source of long-run TFP fluctuations

Abstract Technological innovations originating in the capital–producing sector may spillover to the rest of the economy and enhance aggregate TFP in the long-run. This paper assesses the quantitative importance of investment-specific technological changes in long-run movements in aggregate TFP. To this end, we construct a two-sector business cycle model where an IST diffusion process influences long-run movements in aggregate TFP via spillover. We then establish the linkage between the primitive shocks of the model and two shocks that can be identified from a VAR approach: one shock accounting for the long-run movement in aggregate TFP and the other accounting for the long-run movement in the inverse of the relative price of investment. We show analytically that the correlation of these two long-run shocks can be fruitful in distinguishing the quantitative importance of IST innovations in long-run movements in aggregate TFP. Using post-war U.S. data, we find that these two long-run shocks identified by the MFEV approach are almost perfectly collinear. Moreover, these two shocks can explain a significant, and surprisingly similar, fraction of the business-cycle fluctuations in other important macro variables. Our findings suggest that embodied technological changes are an important driver of long-run movements in aggregate TFP.
Gender Differences in the Correlates of Volunteering and Charitable Giving

Psychological research has found that women score higher on most measures of the traits, motivations, and values that predict helping others, and women are more likely to help family and friends. H...
Subunit Interactions in the mariner Transposase

We have studied the Mos1 transposase encoded by the transposable element mariner. This transposase is a member of the “D,D(35)E” superfamily of proteins exhibiting the motif D,D(34)D. It is not known whether this transposase, or other eukaryote transposases manifesting the D,D(35)E domain, functions in a multimeric form. Evidence for oligomerization was found in the negative complementation of Mos1 by an EMS-induced transposase mutation in the catalytic domain. The transposase produced by this mutation has a glycine-to-arginine replacement at position 292. The G292R mutation strongly interferes with the ability of wild-type transposase to catalyze excision of a target element. Negative complementation was also observed for two other EMS mutations, although the effect was weaker than observed with G292R . Results from the yeast two-hybrid system also imply that Mos1 subunits interact, suggesting the possibility of subunit oligomerization in the transposition reaction. Overproduction of Mos1 subunits through an hsp70 promoter also inhibits excision of the target element, possibly through autoregulatory feedback on transcription or through formation of inactive or less active oligomers. The effects of both negative complementation and overproduction may contribute to the regulation of mariner transposition.
Permutation tests for detecting and estimating mixtures in task performance within groups.

We propose a two-sample permutation test incorporating mixture models as a general tool for detecting and quantifying effects on task performance. We illustrate the proposed method with examples where the dependent measures under investigation are recorded for normal controls and relatives of patients with schizophrenia on a delayed response, spatial and object working memory task. Our mixture modelling in relatives allows the component distributions to arise from different continuous parametric families. We also investigate the effects of the within-family correlation and the prior distribution of the mixing proportion on the test results. The power of the test depends on sample sizes, the mixing proportion, the difference in component means and the ratio of component variances. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effects of organochlorine compounds on cytochrome P450 aromatase activity in an immortal sea turtle cell line

Many classes of environmental contaminants affect the reproductive function of animals through interactions with the endocrine system. The primary components affected by endocrine active compounds (EACs) are the steroid receptors and the enzymes responsible for steroidogenesis. This study sought to develop an in vitro model for assessing EAC effects in sea turtles by examining their ability to alter cytochrome P450 aromatase (CYP19) activity. Aromatase is the enzyme responsible for the conversion of testosterone to estradiol. This enzyme is critical in the sexual differentiation of reptiles which demonstrate temperature-dependent sex determination. An immortal testis cell line GST-TS from a green sea turtle was grown in culture at 30 °C in RPMI 1640 media. The cells were exposed to three known aromatase inducers; dexamethasone (Dex), 8Br-cyclic AMP, or human chronic gonadotropin (HCG) and one aromatase inhibitor 4-androstenol-dione (4-OHA). In addition, the GST-TS cells were exposed to 0.1–30 μM atrazine and 3–100 μM 4,4′-DDE. The inducing compounds that have been shown to increase aromatase activity in other systems failed to induce aromatase activity in the GST-TS cells, yet exposure to the inhibiting compound, 4-OHA, did result in a significant reduction. Atrazine (0.1, 1.0 and 10 μM) significantly induced aromatase activity following a 24 h exposure, and 4,4′-DDE inhibited the activity but only at cytotoxic concentrations (100 μM). Based on these results, this in vitro model can be useful in examining the endocrine effects of EACs in sea turtles.
Assessing the Burdens of Leadership: Effects of Formal Leadership Roles on Individual Performance Over Time

This study adopted a role-based perspective in examining whether changes in performance over time (i.e., dynamic criteria) were a function of changes in individual leadership role responsibilities. Longitudinal data from captains in the modern era of the National Hockey League (N = 201) were used to test a dynamic criterion hypothesis using multilevel growth modeling. Time (k = 10) was modeled as a random effect, whereas captain status (i.e., leadership role responsibility) was included as a time-varying covariate. Individual performance was measured as the adjusted points (goals scored plus assists adjusted for individual and historical effects). Results of a series of model building steps that included the examination of alternative complex error structures indicated an overall negative performance trend. Those seasons in which a player assumed formal leadership responsibilities (i.e., team captain) were associated with better performance compared to seasons in which the player had no leadership responsibilities. These results were found to be robust even after controlling for individual performance in the previous season. Results are discussed in terms of the possible positive implications for individual performance and the motivation to lead through developing a culture in which leadership positions are highly valued by the organization, visible to others on the team, and where leadership responsibilities do not interfere with task performance. A topic of considerable interest and attention in the job performance literature is whether criteria are static (i.e., stable) or dynamic over time. The notion of dynamic criteria (Ghiselli, 1956) was challenged nearly 20 years ago as a “received doctrine” in the industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology literature (Barrett, Caldwell, & Alexander, 1985). This challenge initiated a number of responses and empirical examinations using a variety of methods and populations. An overall assessment of this Tina T. Chen is now with Sempra Energy, San Diego, CA. We thank the National Hockey League Hall of Frame for providing the rosters of team captains. We also thank Kimberly Erickson for her help with data coding and Rick DeShon for providing comments on an earlier draft manuscript. Correspondence and request for reprints should be addressed to David V. Day, 124
Service Learning 201: Beyond the Basics

Abstract Service learning is not a new concept in the field of education or communication disorders, involving a partnership that is formed between a community agency and a university training prog...
Observations on France: Economy, Society, and Polity

A HISTORIAN is always uneasy when he writes of his own time. The present is too fleeting. It changes as his pen moves; it is transformed by the time his manuscript becomes the printed page—nothing at all like the past, which poses problems of its own to the scholar but at least has the decency to stay put.
AGU elects 16 Fellows

Sixteen distinguished scientists have been elected Fellows of AGU. The total number of Fellows elected each year does not exceed 0.1% of the total membership at the time of election.
FUNDAMENTAL STUDY OF CLAY: PREPARATION OF A PURIFIED KAOLINITE SUSPENSION, I*

A method of preparing clean clay suspensions is described. Organic matter is removed by hydrogen peroxide and sodium hydroxide digestion, followed by an electro-dialysis treatment to remove other inorganic salts and to prepare a clay-water suspension. After NaOH is added, viscosity and titration values are given for (a) a regular water-washed Florida clay, (b) the same clay after electrodialysis, and (c) the same clay after a thorough cleaning according to the method described. If the sample contains lignite, a clean clay exhibits rheopexy at certain concentrations of NaOH.
Equivalent thin lens model for thermal blooming compensation

By expressing the solution to the nonlinear wage equation in operator form, we derive two methods for calculating a corrective phase to compensate for thermal blooming. The first method employs a form of glint return in which the uncorrected beam is first propagated through free space to the target. The resulting field is then propagated backward through the heated atmosphere to the aperture. The final phase of the beam represents the conjugate phase correction. The second method is based on the assumption that the atmospheric lens can be represented by a thin lens at the aperture. In this method one simply propagates the thermally bloomed beam through free space to the aperture. Again the final phase represents the conjugate phase correction. The second scheme performs as well as other predictive schemes and has the combined virtues of simplicity and versatility.
Structural Matching Via Optimal Basis Graphs

The basis graph approach to structural matching uses a fixed set of small (4 node) graphs to characterize local structure. We compute mapping probabilities by first finding the probability of a basis graph being an induced subgraph of the input graph. The similarity of these probabilities is used to compare nodes of the input graphs. The method permits common subgraphs to be identified without the use of any node or edge coloring. We report on an improved, simpler, version of the algorithm, which has also been optimized. Performance is compared with the LeRP method, which is based on length-r paths. Both methods are approximate with polynomial bounds on both memory and on the worst-case compute effort. These methods work on arbitrary types of undirected graphs, and tests with strongly regular graphs are included. Monte Carlo test trials (3000+) included up to 100% additional (noise) nodes.
Creating the Evidence Base for Quality Improvement Collaboratives

Intensive efforts are under way to improve health care quality and safety throughout the United States and abroad. Many of these efforts use the quality improvement collaborative method, an approach emphasizing collaborative learning and exchange of insights and support among a set of health care organizations. Unfortunately, the widespread acceptance and reliance on this approach are based not on solid evidence but on shared beliefs and anecdotal affirmations that may overstate the actual effectiveness of the method. More effective use of the collaborative method will require a commitment by users, researchers, and other stakeholders to rigorous, objective evaluation and the creation of a valid, useful knowledge and evidence base. Development of this evidence base will require improved conceptions of the nature of quality problems, quality improvement processes, and the types of research needed to elucidate these processes. Researchers, journal editors, and funding agencies must also cooperate to ensure that published evaluations are relevant, comprehensive, and cumulative.
Ethics Education in Medical Schools: Problems, Practices, and Possibilities

Medical ethics education in the United States has reached a crisis. Recent surveys and studies suggest that newly minted physicians do not feel confident (and many are not capable) when it comes to handling medical ethics issues. A detailed look at medical ethics curricula across medical schools shows that there is currently no standardized – let alone preferred – approach to teaching medical ethics, in contrast to legal ethics education. This article examines current problems and practices in the field of medical ethics education before drawing on innovative implementations, best practices, and progressive educational theories to offer concrete suggestions for forging a consistent national model that all medical schools can use for improving their medical ethics pedagogy.
Outpatient Ultrasound Urethrogram for Assessment of Anterior Urethral Stricture: Early Experience.

Objective To describe the technique of ultrasound urethrogram (USUG) for the diagnosis of anterior urethral stricture performed in an ambulatory setting without any adjunctive imaging. Materials and Methods Between September 2013 and September 2015, 35 consecutive adult men (>18 years old) presenting for anterior urethral reconstruction underwent outpatient USUG prior to definitive management. No alternative imaging test was performed. Lengths of the strictures as determined by outpatient USUG and via direct intraoperative measurements were compared by a paired t test. Results Strictures were in the bulbar urethra in 24 men and in the penile urethra in 11 men. The differences between the outpatient USUG length measurements (mean = 1.86 cm) and the intraoperative stricture length measurements (mean = 2.02 cm) were not significantly different ( P = .10). Additionally, the correlation coefficient between these length measurements was 0.84 ( P Conclusion Preoperative USUG performed in the ambulatory setting for the diagnosis and characterization of anterior urethral strictures is safe and feasible. This outpatient imaging modality offers an alternative to retrograde urethrogram.
Miscue Analysis: A Transformative Tool for Researchers, Teachers, and Readers

When a reader produces a response to a written text (the observed response) that is not expected by the listener, the result is called a miscue. Using psychosociolingustic analyses of miscues in th...
Kinetic and Mechanistic Study of Glucose Isomerization Using Homogeneous Organic Brønsted Base Catalysts in Water

The isomerization of glucose to fructose represents a key intermediate step in the conversion of cellulosic biomass to fuels and renewable platform chemicals, namely, 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF), 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), and levulinic acid (LA). Although both Lewis acids and Bronsted bases catalyze this reaction, the base-catalyzed pathway received significantly less attention due to its lower selectivity to fructose and the poor yields achieved (<10%). However, we recently demonstrated that homogeneous organic Bronsted bases present a similar performance (∼31% yield) as Sn-containing beta zeolite, a reference catalyst for this reaction. Herein, we report on the first extensive kinetic and mechanistic study on the organic Bronsted base-catalyzed isomerization of glucose to fructose. Specifically, we combine kinetic experiments performed over a broad range of conditions (temperature: 80–120 °C; pH 9.5–11.5; reactant: glucose, fructose) with isotopic studies and in situ 1H NMR spectroscopy. Pat...
Mechanism of the Emetic Action of the Chaulmoogrates.

SummaryEvidence is presented indicating that the emetic effecr of the chaulmoogrates is central. The action of Cannabis, atropine anti morphine in aliolishing the emetic response in dogs and cats is reported.
Wavelength-Dependent Correlations between Ultraviolet−Visible Intensities and Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopic Enhancement Factors of Aggregated Gold and Silver Nanoparticles

The wavelength-dependent correlations between UV–vis intensities and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopic (SERS) enhancement factors (EFs) of aggregated gold and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs and AuN...
Clinical Application of the Hemagglutination-Inhibition Test for West Nile Virus Antibodies.

This paper reports the utilization in clinical practice of the hemagglutination-inhibition (HAI) technique for the detection and quantitation of antibodies against West Nile virus. The hemagglutinating property of West Nile virus, as well as Japanese B and certain other neurotropic viruses was first demonstrated by Sabin and co-workers.1'2 Further studies by Chanock and others3 and by Casals and co-workers45 established optimal and practicable conditions for the titration of HAI antibodies to West Nile virus. Casals and Brown4
Child Poverty and the Promise of Human Capacity: Childhood as a Foundation for Healthy Aging

The effect of child poverty and related early life experiences on adult health outcomes and patterns of aging has become a central focus of child health research and advocacy. In this article a critical review of this proliferating literature and its relevance to child health programs and policy are presented. This literature review focused on evidence of the influence of child poverty on the major contributors to adult morbidity and mortality in the United States, the mechanisms by which these associations operate, and the implications for reforming child health programs and policies. Strong and varied evidence base documents the effect of child poverty and related early life experiences and exposures on the major threats to adult health and healthy aging. Studies using a variety of methodologies, including longitudinal and cross-sectional strategies, have reported significant findings regarding cardiovascular disorders, obesity and diabetes, certain cancers, mental health conditions, osteoporosis and fractures, and possibly dementia. These relationships can operate through alterations in fetal and infant development, stress reactivity and inflammation, the development of adverse health behaviors, the conveyance of child chronic illness into adulthood, and inadequate access to effective interventions in childhood. Although the reviewed studies document meaningful relationships between child poverty and adult outcomes, they also reveal that poverty, experiences, and behaviors in adulthood make important contributions to adult health and aging. There is strong evidence that poverty in childhood contributes significantly to adult health. Changes in the content, financing, and advocacy of current child health programs will be required to address the childhood influences on adult health and disease. Policy reforms that reduce child poverty and mitigate its developmental effects must be integrated into broader initiatives and advocacy that also attend to the health and well-being of adults.
The Historic Pattern of Sociology in the South

O NE thing we must never forget about the early history of sociology in the South, as well as elsewhere, is that it was not originally developed primarily in the institutions of higher education, but as a private interest and predilection.' There were no chairs in the subject, and few courses, in our colleges before the late eighteen-eighties. Although the South produced the first treatise in the world in sociology, it was not the production of a teacher of the science. The curricula of the colleges of the ante-bellum period were too straightjacketed by the classics and by other traditional subjects to admit of the inclusion of such an upstart modern discipline as sociology. The nearest academic approach to it was to be found in certain phases of the course in moral philosophy, and sometimes, in the larger institutions, in courses in political ethics (itself an outgrowth of moral philosophy) and in the philosophy of history. Sociology thus had to depend upon the private initiative of a few intellectual lights, perhaps all the more inclined to this subject because they were freed from the academic and professorial straight-jacket of the times. These men, accustomed to observe the trends of events in their communities and in the world as a whole, sometimes possessed of leisure in which to think about the deeper meaning of social trends of the times, often pressed in their public life to find solutions for problems that would be more than superficial and stereotyped, and animated by a deep concern for a favorable issue of the new civilization that had been planted here in America; these men, I say, first produced some sort of systematic organization of the principal data of society and of social relationships which was worthy the name sociology. It may strike the uninitiated as strange that the South before the war between the states should have been the first to create something approaching a scientific sociology. But our wonder tends to disappear *Presented at the meeting of the Southern Sociological Society in Birmingham, Alabama, April z,
Electric Field Reversal of Na2SO4, (NH4)2SO4, and Na2CO3 Relative to CaCl2 and NaCl at the Air/Aqueous Interface Revealed by Heterodyne Detected Phase-Sensitive Sum Frequency

Phase-sensitive sum frequency generation (PS-SFG) spectroscopy, heterodyne detected, was used to investigate the average direction of the transition dipole moment of interfacial water molecules that is intrinsically contained in the sign of the second-order nonlinear susceptibility, χ(2). The organization of water at air/aqueous inorganic salts interfaces of CaCl2, NaCl, Na2SO4, (NH4)2SO4, and Na2CO3 was inferred. We attribute our findings to the net charge separation arising from the ion distributions at the air/water interface assuming similar ion distribution widths for all systems studied. This is most evident for the aqueous ammonium sulfate solution where the electric field has a greater magnitude relative to the other salt solutions studied. The magnitude of the electric field in the interfacial region decreases in the order (NH4)2SO4 > Na2SO4 > Na2CO3 ≥ CaCl2 > NaCl; the electric field is opposite in direction for the sulfate and carbonate salts relative to the chloride salts.
Review of patient registries in dermatology

Background Patient registries are datasets containing information on patients with a particular disease or patients who are undergoing a specific treatment. Objective Our objective was to search for and catalog the types of registries being used in dermatology and investigate their characteristics and uses. Methods We searched Google, the Registry of Patient Registries, Orphanet, and ClinicalTrials.gov to compile a list of dermatology disease registries. We also conducted a literature review on the uses of dermatology registries using PubMed. Results We identified 48 dermatology patient registries, with 23 distinct diseases represented. We also identified 11 registries used for postmarketing surveillance of skin disease. Limitations Our search was limited to registries in English. Conclusions Registries are commonly used for the study of rare dermatologic diseases and for postsurveillance monitoring of systemic therapies in more common dermatologic diseases, such as psoriasis.
OPHIOLITES AND OCEANIC CRUST: NEW INSIGHTS FROM FIELD STUDIES AND THE OCEAN DRILLING PROGRAM

Every few years the people who work on ophiolites and the people who work on oceanic crust decide that it is time to get together and compare notes. The ophiolite people are primarily but not exclusively traditional “land” geologists who combine geologic mapping with structural, petrologic, and geochemical studies; the ocean crust people are primarily (but not exclusively) marine geologists and geophysicists who drill and dive on the real thing. There is some overlap of people who do both, but since most do either one or the other, these get-togethers are a critical reality check for everyone. GSA Special Paper 349 “Ophiolites and Oceanic Crust: New Insights from Field Studies and the Ocean Drilling Program,” presents results from a Penrose Conference on this topic convened by the editors in 1999 in northern California. In Penrose tradition, the meeting combined keynote speakers, short oral presentations, and poster sessions with extended discussion sessions, moderated and summarized, on the …
Priorities in Urinary Diversion Following Pyeloplasty

AbstractDebate continues regarding optimal drainage following pyeloplasty. We reviewed the method of drainage in 100 consecutive dismembered pyeloplasties performed from 1983 to 1987. Of the children 20 per cent underwent pyeloplasty with placement of a nephrostomy tube and transanastomotic stent (group 1), while 80 per cent underwent pyeloplasty performed in a nonintubated fashion (group 2). A urethral bladder catheter was used in 20 per cent of the patients in group 1 and in 90 per cent in group 2. While the over-all complication rates and long-term results were similar for both groups, the nature of complications for each group differed. The intubated group had a 10.5 per cent incidence of urinary tract infection, while the nonintubated group demonstrated an 8.6 per cent incidence of postoperative anastomotic leakage. A nephrostomy tube and stent appear to be unnecessary in the routine pyeloplasty and may prolong hospitalization. Selective use of upper tract drainage may help to decrease the incidence ...
How to Be a Good Mentor

This chapter focuses on the academic mentor’s role in the two-sided ­mentoring relationship, that of a more-senior physician or scientist involved in a formal, personal, and primarily in-person dyadic and interactive relationship with a less-experienced, more-junior physician or scientist (the mentee). Although ideally both the mentor and the mentee may benefit from this relationship, the mentor must be aware that it is an asymmetrical one, primarily focused on the educational, professional, and personal development and benefit of the mentee.
To Remember or Forget? A Question of Justice and Peace

History education is, largely, the study of how we transmit selected historical accounts to the next generation and that generation’s capacity to learn them. We tend to legitimize this work as cruc...
Dose escalation of definitive radiation is not associated with improved survival for cervical esophageal cancer: a National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) analysis.

For cervical esophageal cancer (CEC), National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines support RT to 50-50.4 Gy with chemotherapy but acknowledge higher doses may be appropriate. This study uses the National Cancer Database (NCDB) to characterize RT practices and identify if a dose-response relationship exists for overall survival (OS) for definitive treatment of CEC. We queried the NCDB for patients diagnosed with Stage I-III CEC from 2004 to 2013, and selected patients receiving definitive RT with doses between 50 and 74 Gy. Using multivariate logistic regression, the database was analyzed to determine factors associated with use of RT > 50.4 Gy. Patients were then stratified into three dose categories. Predictors of OS were analyzed with univariate and multivariate methods using the Kaplan-Meier curves, the log-rank test, and the Cox proportional hazards analysis. We stratified 789 patients with CEC who were treated with definitive radiation ± chemotherapy: 50-50.4 Gy ('standard'), >50.4 and 50.4 Gy. Sex, histology, distance to treatment facility, and academic/community facility type were not significantly associated with receipt of >50.4 Gy. There was no association between dose and OS for the medium or high groups when using univariate analysis or analysis adjusted for demographic, facility, and clinical attributes. Stage III disease and the Charlson-Deyo scores of 1 or 2 were associated with higher mortality (P 50.4 Gy. Higher radiation doses were not associated with increased OS in CEC patients in the NCDB.
Beverage Intake, Smoking Behavior, and Alcohol Consumption in Contemporary China-A Cross-Sectional Analysis from the 2011 China Health and Nutrition Survey.

Chinese residents enjoy various types of beverages in their daily life. With the rapid Westernization of contemporary China, several adverse health concerns—such as diabetes linked to sweetened beverages—have emerged. Until now, no research that examines associations between beverage consumption and smoking/drinking behaviors has been made available, despite the large Chinese populations partaking in such activities. We conducted a cross-sectional study to explore the association between beverage intake frequencies and smoking/drinking behaviors in 12,634 adult respondents who participated in the latest wave (2011) of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). Further, we applied Tukey’s Honest Significance test for pairwise comparisons. We defined the consumption categories as daily (at least one serving per day), weekly (less than one serving per day, at least one serving per week), monthly (less than one serving per week, at least one serving per month), and less than monthly or none—for sweetened beverage, water, tea, and coffee consumptions. The data showed that both tea and sweetened beverages are associated with smoking/drinking behaviors. Compared to respondents who consume tea and sweetened beverages daily, the odds of smoking behaviors are lower for those who consume such beverages less frequently. Further policy implications are discussed, including higher taxes on sweetened beverages and lessons from other countries.
Economics of Composting Municipal Refuse

Economic analysis of 2 composting plants in Israel is presented in order to illustrate economic feasibility of refuse composting under certain favorable conditions; data, although not directly translatable into costs for similar plants in United States, tend to point out that composting plants may be in same cost range as refuse disposal by incinerators; if market for sale of compost, even at normal price, could be developed, composting might eventually prove to be economical alternative to incineration in certain areas of United States.
Decision Conflict in Children in a Risk Situation

Approach-avoidance conflict in children was related to a risk situation where risk was defined as the relative magnitude of approach and avoidance tendencies. In this context the risk was a specific win-lose ratio fixed by E. Decision latency was measured for each S on a series of decisions leading to a final decision to quit or play a game. Both win-lose ratio and incentive affected the number of children who quit playing and their trial of longest latency.
Nostalgia and Astrometry as Precursors of Superstitious Beliefs: An Abstract

Many people espouse superstition, whether individually (e.g., wearing a lucky charm) or collectively (e.g., applying feng shui to the home) as a means for generating favorable life outcomes. Although psychologists acknowledge the value of studying superstition at the personal level (Marques, Leite, & Benvenuti, 2012), marketing scholars have yet to account fully for the antecedents of consumers’ superstitious attitudes and concomitant behaviors (e.g., Fluke, Webster, & Saucier, 2014); this inchoate understanding compromises the efforts of marketing theoreticians, marketing practitioners, and public-policy makers.
Screening Colonoscopy Withdrawal Time Threshold for Adequate Proximal Serrated Polyp Detection Rate.

For adequate adenoma detection rate (ADR), guidelines recommend a mean withdrawal time (MWT) of ≥ 6 min. ADR has been shown to correlate strongly with proximal serrated polyp detection rate (PSP-DR), which is another suggested quality measure for screening colonoscopy. However, the impact of directly measured withdrawal time on PSP-DR has not been rigorously studied. We examined the relationship between MWT to ADR and PSP-DR, with the aim of identifying a functional threshold withdrawal time associated with both increased ADR and PSP-DR. This was a retrospective study of endoscopy and pathology data from average-risk screening colonoscopy examinations performed at a large system with six endoscopy laboratories. A natural language processing tool was used to determine polyp location and histology. ADR and PSP-DR were calculated for each endoscopist. MWT was calculated from colonoscopy examinations in which no polyps were resected. In total, 31,558 colonoscopy examinations were performed, of which 10,196 were average-risk screening colonoscopy examinations with cecal intubation and adequate prep by 24 gastroenterologists. When assessing the statistical significance of increasing MWT by minute, the first significant time mark for PSP-DR was at 11 min at a rate of 14.2% (p = 0.01). There was a significant difference comparing aggregated MWT < 11 min compared to ≥ 11 min looking at the rates of adenomas [OR 1.65 (1.09–2.51)] and proximal serrated polyps [OR 1.81 (1.06–3.08)]. While ADR linearly correlated well with MWT (R = 0.76, p < 0.001), the linear relationship with PSP-DR was less robust (R = 0.42, p = 0.043). In this large cohort of average-risk screening colonoscopy, a MWT of 11 min resulted in a statistically significant increase in both ADR and PSP-DR. Our data suggest that a longer withdrawal time may be required to meet both quality metrics.
A Lattice-Structured Proof of a Minimum Spanning Tree Algorithm

In 1983, Gallager, Humblet, and Spira published a distributed algorithm for computing a minimum spanning tree. For several years, I regarded it as a benchmark problem for verifying concurrent algorithms. A couple of times, I attempted to write an invariance proof, but the invariant became so complicated that I gave up. On a visit to M.I.T., I described the problem to Nancy Lynch, and she became interested in it too. I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but we came up with the idea of decomposing the proof not as a simple hierarchy of refinements, but as a lattice of refinements. Being an efficient academic, Lynch got Jennifer Welch to do the work of actually writing the proof as part of her Ph. D. thesis. This paper is the conference version, written mostly by her. There were three proofs of the minimum spanning-tree algorithm presented at PODC that year: ours, one by Willem-Paul de Roever and his student Frank Stomp, and the third by Eli Gafni and his student Ching-Tsun Chou. Each paper used a different proof method. I thought that the best of the three was the one by Gafni and Chou–not because their proof method was better, but because they understood the algorithm better and used their understanding to simplify the proof. If they had tried to formalize their proof, it would have turned into a standard invariance proof. Indeed, Chou eventually wrote such a formal invariance proof in his doctoral thesis. The Gallager, Humblet, and Spira algorithm is complicated and its correctness is quite subtle. (Lynch tells me that, when she lectured on its proof, Gallager had to ask her why it works in a certain case.) There doesn’t seem to be any substitute for a standard invariance proof for this kind of algorithm. Decomposing the proof the way we did seemed like a good idea at the time, but in fact, it just added extra work. (See [124] for a further discussion of this.)
Sources of Exposure to Nitrogen Oxides

There are five primary sources of exposure to nitrite and nitrate: 1. Endogenous production of nitric oxide 2. Dietary exposure to nitrite and nitrate in food 3. Drinking water 4. Swallowing saliva 5. Environmental/atmospheric exposure to nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide The majority of exposure to nitrite and nitrate in most people is through dietary intake of vegetables. Cured and processed meats contribute very little to the overall burden of exposure. Individual levels of exposure are dependent upon where and how one lives and works, what types of food one eats, and lifestyle habits. Low to moderate exposure to these sources poses little risk with known benefits while overexposure can lead to health risks.
EUV mask challenges and requirements for ultimate single exposure interconnects

Extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) is entering an industry production phase for 7nm logic and is under development for next node logic and memory applications. A key benefit of EUVL for logic interconnect lithography comes from the ability to pattern the metal layer at aggressive pitch using a single exposure. We report here a mask process compatible with a 30nm pitch patterning module for the demanding sub 7nm node, single expose interconnect application. We found a large increase in mask to wafer image transfer sensitivity during the 32nm to 30nm pitch shrink development that led to increases in stochastic and systematic wafer defect generation mechanisms. In this work, we describe our steps to characterize, model and improve the mask related factors that reduce this sensitivity as part of a successful 30nm pitch patterning module demonstration. High resolution wide area electron beam mask inspection alongside a suite of advanced mask characterization and optimization(AMCO)tools were key elements in understanding mask process gaps and improvement opportunities. Critical mask parameters optimized in closed loop with wafer response included two and three dimensional pattern fidelity, line roughness and spatial variability. Mask critical dimension targeting was found to be a critical factor for delivering the yielding 30nm pitch wafer process and this targeting was tuned dynamically through mask and wafer co-optimization. Finally, the role of wafer anchored process simulation proved an invaluable guide for linking various mask error source mechanisms to the wafer response.
Peptide-based covalent inhibitors of MALT1 paracaspase.

Abstract Potent and selective substrate-based covalent inhibitors of MALT1 protease were developed from the tetrapeptide tool compound Z-VRPR-fmk. To improve cell permeability, we replaced one arginine residue. We further optimized a series of tripeptides and identified compounds that were potent in both a GloSensor reporter assay measuring cellular MALT1 protease activity, and an OCI-Ly3 cell proliferation assay. Example compounds showed good overall selectivity towards cysteine proteases, and one compound was selected for further profiling in ABL-DLBCL cells and xenograft efficacy models.