cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
KTP/532 * laser laparoscopy in the treatment of endometriosis-associated infertility †

Objective To determine the clinical effectiveness of the KTP/532 laser in treating endometriosis-associated infertility and to analyze the impact of additional infertility factors on outcome. Design Prospective cohort analysis of 74 consecutive patients followed up to 24months after surgery. Setting Tertiary institutional infertility clinic. Main Outcome Measures Cumulative pregnancy rates (PRs), monthly fecundity rates, monthly probability of pregnancy, crude PRs, and cure rates. Results Thirty-eight percent (28) of patients conceived with a mean±SE time to conception of 7.2±0.8months. The cure rates were 74% for the total patient sample, 51% for stage I, 69% for stage II, and 64% for stage III disease. Patients who had a cervical factor ( P =0.05), who underwent intrauterine insemination ( P =0.03), who received human menopausal gonadotropin ( P =0.03), or who had additional infertility factors ( P =0.02) had significantly lower crude PRs. The presence of additional infertility factors ( P P Conclusion The results indicate that the KTP/532 laser is an effective tool for the treatment of endometriosis-related infertility. The high prevalence of subtle adhesions may lend further impetus to operative laparoscopy for stage I and II disease. Additional infertility factors may adversely affect outcome.
Pathogen Manipulation of cIL-10 Signaling Pathways: Opportunities for Vaccine Development?

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a tightly regulated, pleiotropic cytokine that has profound effects on all facets of the immune system, eliciting cell-type-specific responses within cells expressing the IL-10 receptor (IL-10R). It is considered a master immune regulator, and imbalances in IL-10 expression, resulting from either inherent or infectious etiologies, have far reaching clinical ramifications. Regarding infectious diseases, there has been accumulating recognition that many pathogens, particularly those that establish lifelong persistence, share a commonality of their natural histories: manipulation of IL-10-mediated signaling pathways. Multiple viral, bacterial, protozoal, and fungal pathogens appear to have evolved mechanisms to co-opt normal immune functions, including those involving IL-10R-mediated signaling, and immune effector pathways away from immune-mediated protection toward environments of immune evasion, suppression, and tolerance. As a result, pathogens can persist for the life of the infected host, many of whom possess otherwise competent immune systems. Because of pathogenic avoidance of immune clearance, persistent infections can exact incalculable physical and financial costs, and represent some of the most vexing challenges for improvements in human health. Enormous benefits could be gained by the development of efficient prevention and/or therapeutic strategies that block primary infection, or clear the infection. There are now precedents that indicate that modalities focusing on pathogen-mediated manipulation of IL-10 signaling may have clinical benefit.
A Novel Anomaly Detection Scheme Based on Principal Component Classifier

Abstract : This paper proposes a novel scheme that uses robust principal component classifier in intrusion detection problems where the training data may be unsupervised. Assuming that anomalies can be treated as outliers, an intrusion predictive model is constructed from the major and minor principal components of the normal instances. A measure of the difference of an anomaly from the normal instance is the distance in the principal component space. The distance based on the major components that account for 50% of the total variation and the minor components whose eigenvalues less than 0.20 is shown to work well. The experiments with KDD Cup 1999 data demonstrate that the proposed method achieves 98.94% in recall and 97.89% in precision with the false alarm rate 0.92% and outperforms the nearest neighbor method, density-based local outliers (LOF) approach, and the outlier detection algorithm based on Canberra metric.
Hemodynamic measurements with an abdominal 4D flow MRI sequence with spiral sampling and compressed sensing in patients with chronic liver disease

BACKGROUND The test-retest/interobserver repeatability and diagnostic value of 4D flow MRI in liver disease is underreported. PURPOSE To determine the reproducibility/repeatability of flow quantification in abdominal vessels using a spiral 4D flow MRI sequence; to assess the value of 4D flow parameters in diagnosing cirrhosis and degree of portal hypertension. STUDY TYPE Prospective. SUBJECTS Fifty-two patients with chronic liver disease. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE 1.5T/spiral 4D flow acquired in one breath-hold. ASSESSMENT Thirteen abdominal vessels were identified and segmented by two independent observers to measure maximum and time-averaged through-plane velocity, net flow, and vessel cross-section area. Interobserver agreement and test-retest repeatability were evaluated in 15 and 4 cases, respectively. Prediction of the presence and severity of cirrhosis and portal hypertension was assessed using 4D flow parameters. STATISTICAL TESTS Cohen's kappa coefficient, coefficient of variation (CV), Bland-Altman, Mann-Whitney tests, logistic regression. RESULTS For all vessels combined, measurements showed acceptable agreement between observers, with Cohen's kappa = 0.70 (P < 0.001), CV < 21%, Bland-Altman bias <5%, but high limits of agreement ([-75%,75%]). Test-retest repeatability was excellent in large vessels (CV = 1-15%, bias = 1-25%, Bland-Altman limits of agreement [BALA] = [4%,150%]), and poor in small vessels (CV = 7-130%, bias = 10-200%, BALA = [8%,190%]). Average velocity in the right hepatic vein and average area of the splenic vein were higher in cirrhosis (P = 0.027/0.0039). Flow in the middle hepatic vein strongly correlated with Child-Pugh score (ρ = 0.84, P = 0.0238), while flow in the splenic vein (ρ = 0.43, P = 0.032), time-average (ρ = 0.46, P = 0.02) and peak velocity in the superior mesenteric vein (ρ = 0.45, P = 0.032), and peak velocity in the infrarenal IVC (ρ = 0.39, P = 0.032) positively correlated with an imaging-based portal hypertension score. Average area of the splenic vein predicted cirrhosis (P = 0.019; area under the curve AUC [95% confidence interval, CI] = 0.87 [0.71,1.00]) and clinically significant portal hypertension (P = 0.042; AUC [95% CI] = 0.78 [0.57-0.99]). DATA CONCLUSION Spiral 4D flow allows comprehensive assessment of abdominal vessels in one breath-hold, with substantial interobserver reproducibility, but variable test-retest repeatability. 4D flow may potentially reflect vascular changes due to cirrhosis and portal hypertension. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;49:994-1005.
Barcelona encantada en el mirall de la novel·la

La novel·la fou el producte d’una burgesia interessada a dominar la realitat empiricament. Des dels seus inicis, l’escriptura de la realitat es divideix entre periodisme i novel·la. Mentre que el periodisme es intervencionista, la novel·la posa mes atencio en la dimensio subjectiva dels personatges. El periodisme cerca captar els fets en la seva evanescencia, mentre que la novel·la es demora en els detalls de l’ambientacio i en els replecs psicologics de l’accio. Aquest vincle amb l’actualitat dels fets (a excepcio de la novel·la historica) privilegia l’espai urba. Igual que en d’altres literatures, l’entroncament de novel·la, periodisme i ciutat te en la literatura catalana una amplia representacio en autors que fan de Barcelona el tema principal de les seves novel·les, com si les accions novel·lades fossin un pretext per aixecar acta de la vida urbana. Una gran part de les novel·les contemporanies sobre Barcelona exploten llocs i escenaris previament mitificats. Hi ha una clara predileccio per una franja historica d’aproximadament un segle i mig i, en aixo, la novel·la catalana mostra limitacions considerables en la seva capacitat per a generar nous mites. Avui, a la Barcelona que es refa de la greu crisi economica i que protagonitza la primera gran crisi politica de l’estat postfranquista, el cronotop ja no pot ser el mateix del de la Barcelona mitificada dels anys vuitanta, ni el de la memoria historica de la rosa de foc o de les dictadures. Pero atrapada en l’historicisme i en el culte de la modernitat, la novel·la cerca encara el paradigma narratiu de la contemporaneitat.
CHAPTER 3 – Spectroscopy of Nitrogenase

The presence of transition metals introduces the available use of many spectroscopic techniques, which would ordinarily be useless in the study of organic molecules. The majority of spectroscopic studies on nitrogenase have been performed on the component proteins in their as-isolated or resting state, usually in the presence of dithionite, as a reductant. The initial spectroscopic studies performed on the Fe–protein used electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). The circular dichroism (CD) spectrum of the Fe–protein shows significant shifts upon MgATP binding. On the other hand, X-ray absorption spectroscopy detects no measurable difference in Fe–S or Fe–Fe distances in the Fe–protein with or without MgATP, suggesting that the observed EPR, nuclear magnetic resonance, and CD changes are associated with the protein environment and not the cluster. The use of spectroscopy has now shifted from characterization of the metal clusters in their resting states to probing the clusters during enzymatic turnover. Under turnover conditions in the absence of substrate, the resting-state EPR signals of both the MoFe–protein and Fe–protein significantly decrease. This occurs because during turnover the Fe–protein donates an electron, converting its metal cluster to the diamagnetic state, while the MoFe–protein receives the electron, converting the M-center to the integer spin.
The dynamics of Hawaiian speakerhood in the family

While the majority of studies on new speakers focuses on language use in educational and community contexts, the family is becoming an increasingly relevant site since new speakers are now incorporating their languages into their home life. This article reports on how people of Native Hawaiian ancestry express their speakerhood with regard to their use of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, or the Hawaiian language, in the context of the family. It explores Hawaiians’ stances towards different ways of speaking Hawaiian with regard to authenticity, an issue which has been found to be central among new speakers of minority languages in other contexts. Drawing on interview data with six Hawaiians, this article investigates Hawaiian speakerhood by focusing on how the participants view linguistic authority and translanguaging in family settings. The article offers insights into the range of linguistic practices and sociolinguistic authenticities in families that may enhance continued language revitalization efforts.
A case against the trickle-down effect in technology ecosystems.

Technology evolution describes a change in a technology performance over time. The modeling of technology evolution is crucial for designers, entrepreneurs, and government officials to set reasonable R&D targets, invest in promising technology, and develop effective incentive policies. Scientists and engineers have developed several mathematical functions such as logistic function and exponential function (Moore’s Law) to model technology evolution. However, these models focus on how a technology evolves in isolation and do not consider how the technology interacts with other technologies. Here, we extend the Lotka-Volterra equations from community ecology to model a technology ecosystem with system, component, and fundamental layers. We model the technology ecosystem of passenger aircraft using the Lotka-Volterra equations. The results show limited trickle-down effect in the technology ecosystem, where we refer to the impact from an upper layer technology to a lower layer technology as a trickle-down effect. The limited trickle-down effect suggests that the advance of the system technology (passenger aircraft) is not able to automatically promote the performance of the component technology (turbofan aero-engine) and the fundamental technology (engine blade superalloy) that constitute the system. Our research warns that it may not be effective to maintain the prosperity of a technology ecosystem through government incentives on system technologies only. Decision makers should consider supporting the innovations of key component or fundamental technologies.
Whole-Breast Radiotherapy After Breast-Conserving Surgery

Oncologic advances and the emergence of precision medicine have made organ preservation increasingly achievable in the definitive management of various cancers. Breast-conserving therapy (BCT) is one such paradigm that has emerged from sequential efforts in the basic, clinical, and translational domains. Since the Halstedian era of increasingly aggressive surgical resection, investigators have sought to employ wide-ranging innovations to improve outcomes while simultaneously mitigating the toxicities of curative treatment. Enhanced radiographic techniques, meticulous attention to surgical margins, improvements in systemic therapy, and revolutionary radiation approaches have all converged to supplant the necessity of mastectomy in many cases of early, localized breast cancer. Indeed, while breast-conserving surgery followed by adjuvant whole-breast radiation now portends outcomes similar to mastectomy in most cases, emerging populations may safely omit adjuvant therapy entirely. Thus, whereas breast cancer was historically managed with the radical mastectomy, limited surgical resection and well-tolerated adjuvant treatments now portend among the best outcomes of any disease in the sphere of oncology. Here, we discuss appropriate selection of patients for BCT and elaborate on the necessary considerations for success of this treatment approach.
Access to Primary Care Physicians and Mortality in Washington State: Application of a 2-Step Floating Catchment Area.

OBJECTIVE To measure access to primary care physicians (PCPs) using a 2-step floating catchment area and explore the associations between access to PCPs and mortality related to all-causes, cancers, and heart disease in Washington State. METHODS An ecological study employing generalized linear regression models of access to PCPs and mortality rates in 4,761 block groups in Washington State in 2015. To measure access to PCPs, we used a 2-step floating catchment area approach, taking into account area-level population, supply of PCPs, and travel time between PCPs, as well as area-level population with a distance decay function. RESULTS A 1-unit increase in PCP access score was associated with a reduction of 4.2 all-cause deaths per 100,000 people controlling for socioeconomic characteristics. A 1-unit increase in PCP access score was associated with a reduction of 2.7 cancer deaths and a reduction of 2.1 heart disease deaths per 100,000 people controlling for socioeconomic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS Better access to PCPs was associated with lower mortality from all-causes, cancers, and heart disease. The 2-step floating catchment area approach can help with the identification of PCP shortage areas, the development of rural residency programs, and the expansion of the physician workforce in Washington State and other regions.
Evaluation of CBCT scatter correction using deep convolutional neural networks for head and neck adaptive proton therapy.

Adaptive proton therapy (APT) is a promising approach for the treatment of head and neck cancers. One crucial element of APT is daily volumetric imaging of the patient in the treatment position. Such data can be acquired with cone-beam CT (CBCT), although scatter artifacts make uncorrected CBCT images unsuited for proton therapy dose calculation. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the performance of a U-shape deep convolutive neural network (U-Net) to perform projection-based scatter correction and enable fast and accurate dose calculation on CBCT images in the context of head and neck APT. CBCT projections are simulated for a cohort of 48 head and neck patients using a GPU accelerated Monte Carlo (MC) code. A U-Net is trained to reproduce MC projection-based scatter correction. The accuracy of the scatter correction is experimentally evaluated using CT and CBCT images of an anthropomorphic head phantom. The potential of the method for head and neck APT is assessed by comparing proton therapy dose distributions calculated on scatter-free, uncorrected and scatter-corrected CBCT images. Finally, dose calculation accuracy is estimated in experimental patient images using a previously validated empirical scatter correction as reference. The mean and mean absolute HU differences between scatter-free and scatter-corrected images are -0.8 and 13.4 HU, compared to -28.6 and 69.6 HU for the uncorrected images. In the head phantom, the root-mean square difference of proton ranges calculated in the reference CT and corrected CBCT is 0.73 mm. The average 2%/2mm gamma pass rate for proton therapy plans optimized in the scatter free images and re-calculated in the scatter-corrected ones is 98.89%. In experimental CBCT patient images, a 3%/3mm passing rate of 98.72% is achieved between the proposed method and the reference one. All CBCT projection volume could be corrected in less than 5 seconds.
Duane's Retraction Syndrome with Accommodative Component

We examined two patients with Duane's retraction syndrome Type I, one unilateral and one bilateral. Both of these patients presented with a significant esotropia in primary position and a face turn...
Local News, Information, and the Nationalization of U.S. Elections

Has the decline in traditional sources of local news contributed to the nationalization of U.S. elections? I hypothesize that local news coverage mitigates nationalization by providing voters with information that allows them to assess down-ballot candidates separately from their national, partisan assessment. The geography of media markets places some voters in a neighboring state’s market and others in in-state markets. I demonstrate that residents of in-state markets have access to vastly more local television news coverage of their governor and U.S. senators, and this increased coverage translates into greater knowledge of these officeholders. Further, access to in-state television news substantially increases split-ticket voting in gubernatorial and senatorial races. Supplementary analyses provide strong evidence that the estimated effects are not the result of unobserved differences between residents of in-state and out-of-state media markets. These results imply that local news coverage attenuates the nationalization of elections even in the present polarized context.
MicroRNA-128 Confers Anti-Endothelial Adhesion and Anti-Migration Properties to Counteract Highly Metastatic Cervical Cancer Cells' Migration in a Parallel-Plate Flow Chamber

Despite the distant metastasis of cervical cancer cells being a prominent cause of mortality, neither the metastasis capacity nor the in vitro conditions mimicking adhesion of cervical cancer cells to endothelial cells have been fully elucidated. Circulating metastatic cancer cells undergo transendothelial migration and invade normal organs in distant metastasis; however, the putative molecular mechanism remains largely uncertain. In this study, we describe the use of an in vitro parallel-plate flow chamber to simulate the dynamic circulation stress on cervical cancer cells and elucidate their vascular adhesion and metastasis. We isolate the viable and shear stress-resistant (SSR) cervical cancer cells for mechanistic studies. Remarkably, the identified SSR-HeLa and SSR-CaSki exhibited high in vitro adhesive and metastatic activities. Hence, a consistently suppressed miR-128 level was revealed in SSR cell clones compared to those of parental wild-type (WT) cells. Overexpressed miR-128 attenuated SSR-HeLa cells' adherence to human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells (HUVECs); in contrast, suppressed miR-128 efficiently augmented the static adhesion capacity in WT-HeLa and WT-CaSki cells. Hence, amplified miR-128 modestly abolished in vitro SSR-augmented HeLa and CaSki cell movement, whereas reduced miR-128 aggravated the migration speed in a time-lapse recording assay in WT groups. Consistently, the force expression of miR-128 alleviated the SSR-enhanced HeLa and CaSki cell mobility in a wound healing assay. Notably, miR-128 mediated SSR-enhanced HeLa and CaSki cells' adhesion and metastasis through suppressed ITGA5, ITGB5, sLex, CEACAM-6, MMP9, and MMP23 transcript levels. Our data provide evidence suggesting that miR-128 is a promising microRNA that prevented endothelial cells' adhesion and transendothelial migration to contribute to the SSR-enhanced adhesion and metastasis progression under a parallel-plate flow chamber system. This indicates that the nucleoid-based miR-128 strategy may be an attractive therapeutic strategy to eliminate tumor cells resistant to circulation shear flow, prevent vascular adhesion, and preclude subsequent transendothelial metastasis.
Numbing - Nose to Tail

In this paper, local anesthetic techniques for the most common surgical and medical conditions will be described. These include eye surgery, dehorning, castration, teat surgery, surgery of the foot and epidural anesthesia.
Task recommendations for self-assigning spontaneous volunteers

Abstract Spontaneous volunteers are a critical and often overlooked resource during disaster response. Frameworks that do consider spontaneous volunteers often rely on the use of a central controller to assign them to tasks, which is not always feasible due to privacy and legal liabilities. We investigate a new paradigm in which volunteers self-assign to tasks from an ordered list of recommendations. We present the problem of generating task recommendations as the Online Task Recommendation problem. Subsequently, we present the Maximal Ordered Multiple Matching problem, an integer optimization approach to construct task recommendations for volunteers by matching tasks and volunteers based on the expected volunteer utility from completing each task and the societal value of completing each task. We prove the presented matching model is polynomially solvable. We present a method to calculate improved objective coefficients by iteratively solving the proposed integer program and computing the likelihood that volunteers would select each recommended task. We demonstrate the benefit of the proposed methods with both real-world and synthetic case studies with spatially distributed tasks using Monte Carlo simulations. We find that recommendations generated by the proposed models guide the completion of the most critical tasks by reducing task over-service redundant volunteer responses often associated with spontaneous volunteers while recommending tasks that are preferred by the volunteers.
Correlation of nitric oxide emission from a diesel engine with measured temperature and burning rate

The exhaust nitric oxide (NO) emission from a divided-chamber diesel engine was correlated with a function which included the effects of temperature, mixing time, and phasing between the temperature and fuel-burning histories. The correlation was evaluated for variations in combustion timing, overall air-fuel ratio, engine speed, intake-manifold pressure and intake-air temperature.
Hospital Nurses’ Lived Experience of Power

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore hospital nurses’ lived experience of power. Design A hermeneutic phenomenological approach informed by Merleau-Ponty's philosophy of the phenomenology of perception was used to further an understanding of nurses’ embodiment of power. Fourteen hospital clinical nurses employed in intensive care units and on medical floors in two major medical centers in the northeastern United States participated in 1-hr semistructured interviews about their lived experience of power. Findings A hermeneutic analytic approach and reflexive (cultural) bracketing produced three relational themes of power: (a) knowing my patients and speaking up for them; (b) working to build relationships that benefit patients; and (c) identifying my powerful self. Conclusions Hospital clinical nurses develop a sense of power. Nurses believe power develops through acquisition of knowledge, experience, and self-confidence; this process is enhanced by exposure to good mentors. Nurses use their power to build relationships and advocate for patients. They consciously use power to improve patient care. Nurses’ voices need to be heard and acknowledged. To do this in the clinical setting and beyond, hospital nurses must invite themselves or find ways to be invited into the authoritative discourse of hospital organizations. Clinical Relevance Nurses use their power to advocate for positive outcomes for patients and families. The satisfaction that comes from these positive relationships may improve nurses’ perceptions of their work environment. Nurses’ understanding and use of sociopolitical knowing needs further study, so that nurses may understand how to participate in current and future debates and decisions about our changing healthcare delivery systems and services.
An alternative laboratory designed to address ethical concerns associated with traditional TAS2R38 student genotyping.

The TAS2R38 alleles that code for the PAV/AVI T2R38 proteins have long been viewed as benign taste receptor variants. However, recent studies have demonstrated an expanding and medically relevant role for TAS2R38. The AVI variant of T2R38 is associated with an increased risk of both colorectal cancer and Pseudomonas aeruginosa-associated sinus infection and T2R38 variants have been implicated in off-target drug responses. To address ethical concerns associated with continued student TAS2R38 gene testing, we developed an alternative to the traditional laboratory genotyping exercise. Instead of determining their own genotype, introductory level students isolated plasmid DNA containing a section of the human TAS2R38 gene from Escherichia coli. Following PCR-mediated amplification of a section of the TAS2R38 gene spanning the SNP at position 785, students determined their assigned genotype by restriction enzyme digestion and agarose gel electrophoresis. Using the course wide genotype and phenotype data, students found that there was an association between TAS2R38 genotype and the age of persistent P. aeruginosa acquisition in cystic fibrosis “patients.” Assessment data demonstrated that students taking part in this new TAS2R38 laboratory activity made clear learning gains. © 2015 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 43(2):100–109, 2015.
Dietary fat intake and plasma homocysteine in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients (810.3)

Objective: Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. We assessed the relationship between diet and plasma homocysteine (Hcy) in HIV-infection. Methods: After con...
A Method for Measurement of Cholesterol in Blood Serum

A method for measuring cholesterol in 0.1 ml. of blood serum is described. This uses the saponification and extraction procedure of Abell et al. (4) and the color reaction of Zlatkis et al. (7). The procedure is shown to be accurate and reproducible. It is compared with several commonly used procedures and shown to be equal or superior to these. An adaptation of the method to filter-paper stored samples described. The method is recommended for use in clinical laboratories.
INCIDENTALLY DISCOVERED ACTH-SECRETING PITUITARY ADENOMA ON A SESTAMIBI SCAN IN A PATIENT WITH HYPERPARATHYROIDISM

ABSTRACT Objective: Sestamibi scanning is performed to evaluate hyperparathyroidism; however, finding an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-secreting pituitary adenoma on a sestamibi scan is not common. Methods: A 49-year-old Caucasian female with increased thirst and urination and weight gain was referred for evaluation of primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT). Her serum calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels were at the upper normal limit, and 24-hour urinary calcium was elevated. Sestamibi scan did not reveal a parathyroid adenoma, but showed increased uptake in the pituitary gland. Morning serum cortisol, 11 pm salivary cortisol levels, and 24-hour urinary free cortisol (UFC) levels were elevated on 2 occasions. Cortisol levels were only suppressed with an overnight 8-mg dexamethasone suppression test (DST) and not with 1- or 2-mg DST. Two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the pituitary and pan-body computed tomography (CT) scan did not reveal an ACTH source. Inferior petrosal sinus samplin...
Artifact-based functional comparison of software processes

Sound methods of analysis and comparison of software processes are crucial for such tasks as process understanding, process correctness verification, evolution management, process classification, process improvement, and process selection. The aim of this work is to lay the foundations for a systematic and rigorous comparison of processes by establishing fixed methods and conceptual frameworks that are able to assure that comparison efforts will yield predictable, reproducible results. It is assumed that the compared processes are functionally similar The comparison process presented here assumes that comparisons will be done relative to fixed standard feature classification schemas, and with the use of a fixed formalism for modeling the processes. This thesis is focused on the functional comparison of processes according to predefined comparison topics. The suggested comparison process is based on comparison of artifacts produced by the processes when given the same input. This fixed feature classification schema for artifact elements is used as a point of reference for the comparison and it enables one to avoid making conclusions based on interpretation of process activities' names. The comparison is focused on the artifacts produced by two processes when given the same input; how these artifacts are produced is secondary to what is in fact produced.
E‐books: discussions of production, content, and future at the 2011 Frankfurt Book Fair

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on panels and discussions about e‐books taking place at the 2011 Frankfurt Book Fair.Design/methodology/approach – The author chose to attend several panels discussing the current issues and the future of e‐books, particularly in relation to libraries.Findings – Publishers' and libraries' views on e‐books vary widely between countries, but all agree that e‐books are a burgeoning marketplace that is here to stay, although nobody can say in what form.Originality/value – This international conference allowed for leaders in the industry from multiple countries to come together and share their diverse viewpoints on the topic of e‐books and their value, marketing, and future.
Policy issues in assessing indigenous languages: a Navajo case

L'article decrit quelques unes des questions politiques que souleve le developpement d'un test de comprehension du Navajo pour jeunes enfants. Utilisant le cadre theorique de Cooper (1989) sur la planification linguistique et la distinction faite par Ruiz (1993) entre politiques linguistiques endoglossique et exoglossique, les As. expliquent en quoi le processus de developpement du test est similaire ou different du modele typique de developpement des tests
Phase I safety assessment of intrathecal ketorolac

Spinal prostaglandin synthesis has been implicated in acute pain processes and in generation and maintenance of central sensitization, and intrathecal injection of cyclo-oxygenase (COX) inhibitors produce antinociception and reduce hypersensitivity in animals. We herein report a Phase I safety assessment of intrathecal injection of the COX inhibitor, ketorolac, in healthy volunteers, and demonstrate no serious side effects. Preclinical studies suggest a major site of action of COX inhibitors for analgesia lies in the central nervous system, especially the spinal cord. For example, COX isoenzymes are expressed in the spinal cord, acute noxious stimuli and inflammation increase spinal prostaglandin production, and spinally administered prostaglandins excite dorsal horn projection neurons, induce release of excitatory neurotransmitters, and cause nociceptive behavior. Intrathecal injection of COX inhibitors increases thermal and mechanical withdrawal threshold in animals with inflammation or nerve injury at doses several 100-fold less than those required systemically. Following pre-clinical neurotoxicity screening and regulatory agency approval, we examined the safety of intrathecal injection of a preservative-free formulation of the COX inhibitor, ketorolac. In an open label, dose-escalating design, 20 healthy volunteers received intrathecal ketorolac, 0.25, 0.5, 1, or 2mg (n=5 per group). Ketorolac did not alter blood pressure, although there was small (10-12%), dose-independent reduction in heart rate for the first hour after injection when data from all subjects were pooled. Ketorolac did not affect sensory or motor function or deep tendon reflexes, and there were no subjective sensations, neurologic or otherwise, reported by the volunteers. Ketorolac did not reduce pain report to heat stimuli applied to the lateral calf. One subject had a mild headache 24h after study, resolving the next day. There were no long-term side effects 6 months after study. These data suggest that intrathecal ketorolac does not produce a high incidence of serious adverse events, and they support further investigation for analgesia.
The effects of continuous versus interrupted noise exposures on distortion product otoacoustic emissions in guinea pigs

Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) were measured serially in guinea pigs before and following 4-h exposures to a half-octave band of noise centered at 6 kHz. Stimulus parameters used to elicit the DPOAE were f2/f1 = 1.26 and L2 = L1-10. The 80 dB SPL exposures resulted in attenuation of emissions, which was maximal at the frequency one-half octave above the exposure when referenced to the f2 stimulus, and which recovered back to baseline after 2 days. The 90 dB SPL exposures resulted in a permanent deficit in emissions elicited by high-frequency stimuli, as measured after 8 days of recovery. A statistically significant difference was also found between animals exposed continuously for 4 h versus animals given two 2-h exposures separated by a 1-h break. Measures of f2-f1 and 3f1-2f2 indicated that they were more sensitive than 2f1-f2 to alterations in cochlear function after noise exposure.
TRANSPORT AND ELECTRON TRANSFER DYNAMICS IN A POLYETHER-TAILED COBALT BIPYRIDINE MOLTEN SALT: ELECTROLYTE EFFECTS

Transport, ionic conductivity, and viscosity properties of the metal complex molten salt [Co(bpy(CO2MePEG-350)2)3](ClO4)2 (MePEG = monomethyl-terminated polyether, average MW = 350) are strongly af...
Magnetic stars with an external non-linear force-free field

The possible existence of strong magnetic fields in stars is discussed and a method of constructing highly distorted models of magnetic, rotating stars developed. For stars with both poloidal and toroidal fields at the surface a force-free outer boundary condition is necessary. Non-linear solutions of the force-free equations must be used. The force-free equations and the structure equations for a white dwarf are solved simultaneously by a finite difference method.
Comments on "Effects of Band Limiting on the Detection of Binary Signals"

It is suggested that signal design to eliminate intersymbol interference will significantly improve the performance of all cases considered in the correspondence by Park.
Seasonal changes in energy and the energy cost of spawning in Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod

In the Gulf of Alaska, adult Pacific cod exhibited an annual cycle of condition, gonad index and liver index in which maximum values occurred in ripe fish in March and minima in July. About 30–31 % of prespawning stored energy was expended during the spawning effort. The energy associated with spawning derived from liver (24% and 18%), somatic tissue (22% and 33%) and gonad (53% and 48%) for females and males, respectively. Liver index and gonad index at the time of sampling were directly related in females, but in males gonad index was best related to liver index 1–3 months earlier. The Pacific cod is very similar to the Atlantic cod in terms of energy cycling, maximum gonad sizes, energy expended during spawning and gonadal contribution to energy expenditure. However, in Pacific cod, somatic tissue contributes markedly to energy expended during reproduction. The Pacific cod cod differs from the walleye pollock with respect to gonad index (13% and 20%ν. 20% and 8% for females and males, respectively), spawning weight loss (25%ν. 38%), liver energy loss during spawning (71%ν. 55%) and energy cost of spawning.
Crystal Engineering with the Uranyl Cation I. Aliphatic Carboxylate Coordination Polymers: Synthesis, Crystal Structures, and Fluorescent Properties

Four novel U(VI) containing coordination polymers, UO2(C7H10O4) (1), UO2(C8H12O4) (2), UO2(C9H14O4) (3), and UO2(C10H16O4) (4), were synthesized from UO2(NO3)2·6H2O and aliphatic dicarboxylic acids (pimelic, suberic, azelaic, and sebacic acids, respectively) using hydrothermal techniques and were characterized by single-crystal diffraction. Compounds 1 and 4 consist of (UO2)2O8 dimers connected by the acid molecules to form layers, whereas 2 and 3 are constructed of chains of hexagonal bipyramids connected to form layers. These materials complete the series of aliphatic uranyl carboxylates to C10 (sebacic acid) and may be considered to be carboxylate “end-members” of a series of dipyridyl/carboxylate structures described in part II of this investigation (following in this issue).
Mass balance of the northeast sector of the Greenland ice sheet: A remote-sensing perspective

Synthetic-aperture radar interferometry data and airborne ice-sounding radar (ISR) data are employed to obtain modern estimates of the inland ice production from Nioghalvfjerdsbrae (NB) and Zachariae Isstrom (ZI), the two largest glaciers draining the northeast sector of the Greenland ice sheet. Ice fluxes are measured at the grounding line (14.2 ± 1 km3 ice a-1 for NB and 10.8 ± 1 km3 ice a-1 for ZI) with an ice thickness deduced from ice-shelf hydrostatic equilibrium, and along an ISR profile collected upstream of the grounding line (14.3 ± 0.7 km3 ice a-1 for NB and 11.6 ± 0.6 km3 ice a-1 for ZI). Balance fluxes calculated from a map of snow accumulation and model predictions of surface melt are 11.9 ± 2 km3 ice a-1 for NB and 10.0 ± 2 km3 ice a-1 for ZI at the grounding line, and 12.2 and 10.3 km3 ice a-1, respectively, at the ISR line. The two glaciers therefore exhibit a negative mass balance equivalent to 14% of their balance flux, with a ±12% uncertainty. Independently, we detect a retreat of the grounding line of NB between 1992 and 1996 which is larger at the glacier center (920 ± 250 m) than on the sides (240 ± 50 m). The corresponding ice-thinning rates (2±1 m a-1 at the glacier center and 0.6±0.3 m a-1 on the sides) are too large to be accommodated by temporal changes in ablation or accumulation, and must be due to dynamic thinning.
The bigraphical t‐wise balanced designs of index 1

In this article we study the group Sm × Sn acting on the mn ordered pairs and classify all t-wise balanced designs of index 2 that have such an automorphism group. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Sexual response in women with complete spinal cord injury

There is still much we do not know about sexuality and women with SCI. Nevertheless, positive steps are being taken to learn more about the physiological and interpersonal aspects of sexuality. Ultimately, these efforts will enhance the quality of life for women with SCI.
Synthesis and structural determinations of zinc(II) complexes containing dithiol and N,N-heterocyclic ligands

Abstract Syntheses and single crystal structural determinations of four zinc complexes are presented: a mononuclear species, Zn(bdt)(biq); two binuclear species, [Zn(bdt)(phen)]2 and [Zn(tdt)(phen)] 2 ·1,4-diphenyl-1,3-butadiene; and an unusual trinuclear species, Zn 3 (tdt) 3 (phen) 2 , in which the zinc ions display either a four- or five-coordination geometry in a single molecule. The heterocyclic ligands used are 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) and biquinoline (biq), and the dithiols are 1,2-benzenedithiol (bdt) and 3,4-dimercaptotoluene (tdt). Long range interactions due to overlapping π systems of the heterocycles are also indicated by the structures.
Knowledge Management in Global Software Development

In today's global economy, shrinking business cycles and global competetition are changing the landscape of software development. Frequently, multiple and geographically dispersed development teams are working together on large complex software systems. The complexity of global software development (GSD) warrants investigation into practices for building highly effective geographically diverse teams. GSD introduces challenges such as physical distance, time-zone differences, and diversity of languages and cultures. Frequently, different parts of an organization might use different terms and naming schemes and may have unique ways of expressing concepts. Knowledge of dependencies between software components and a variety of technical platforms must be recognized and shared across the organization. Such a global environment requires a high degree of collaboration and knowledge sharing. The use of a flexible, user-friendly knowledge management system that allows natural language query processing across knowledge captured throughout the software development lifecycle (SDLC) is required to improve knowledge sharing and reuse. A variety of knowledge management techniques can be introduced into the SDLC to enhance the understanding and knowledge sharing between dispersed team members. Within the commercial realm, applications to capture and effectively disseminate knowledge are becoming more prevalent; however, many are specific to a business domain rather than focused on facilitating knowledge sharing across the SDLC. A high level design of a system that provides an integrated view of work products extracted from different sources in the enterprise, providing “just in times” knowledge to the user either through explicit search capabilities or through intelligence-based alerting that notifies users of new knowledge, is proposed. Our proposed KMS architecture seeks to facilitate a knowledge sharing environment by stressing ease of retrieval through natural language querying and proactive notification. The KMS should be designed to present the most relevant knowledge to the user. With knowledge stored in a variety of formats and on different technical platforms, it is imperative that a tool be provided that will be able to integrate and correlate knowledge from different sources and enable ease of extraction.
Lipid nanotube formation from streptavidin-membrane binding.

A novel transformation of giant lipid vesicles to produce nanotubular structures was observed upon the binding of streptavidin to biotinylated membranes. Unlike membrane budding and tubulation processes caused by proteins involved with endocytosis and vesicle fusion, streptavidin is known to crystallize at near the isoelectric point (pI 5 to 6) into planar sheets against biotinylated films. We have found, however, that at neutral pH membranes of low bending rigidity (<10kT), such as 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC), spontaneously produce tubular structures with widths ranging from micrometers to below the diffraction limit (<250 nm) and lengths spanning up to hundreds of micrometers. The nanotubes were typically held taut between surface-bound vesicles suggesting high membrane tension, yet the lipid nanotubes exhibited a fluidic nature that enabled the transport of entrained vesicles. Confocal microscopy confirmed the uniform coating of streptavidin over the vesicles and nanotubes. ...
Engineering Communication. An Analytical Method of Teaching Engineers to Communicate.

Engineering students, even some who have previously lost interest in English, become enthusiastic learners when they are shown that the ability to communicate precisely is a necessary part of engineering. Accepting this thesis, the Engineering School at Arizona State University in 1955 incorporated an engineering communications course into the core of all degree programs. In the fourteen years the course has been offered, it has been successfully completed by about two thousand students, with an average failure of about three percent. This high percentage of completion is attributed to three things: the communication skills developed are related to the work of engineers; the teaching method is analytical; and the student's work is carefully evaluated by the instructor and revised by the student when not acceptable. The instructor is, of course, another prime factor; a few have been unable to teach the course effectively. In addition to other capabilities, the instructor of this course must be willing to accept the fact that he is teaching the course to make a better engineer-not a journalist, orator, or technical writer. The instructor must also have a firm grasp of English grammar and a certain amount of technology, preferably including prior industrial experience related to the work of engineers.
Driving and Symbolic Interaction

Although it is a prominent feature of modern experience, driving has received little attention from sociologists. Yet social interaction between motorists is an integral part of the traffic situation. This paper explores its bases and some of its typical dynamics. Other sociologically relevant aspects of driving are delineated and the issue of how driving may influence modern culture is addressed.
Cooperative Learning and Dance Education

(1993). Cooperative Learning and Dance Education. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance: Vol. 64, No. 5, pp. 47-56.
The surgical aspects of hemorrhage from peptic ulcer.

A STUDY of the patients who have entered the surgical wards of the New York Hospital with serious hemorrhage from the gastrointestinal tract shows that the large majority were the victims of duodenal or gastric ulcer, whereas a minority presented a variety of other pathologic conditions. I was asked to discuss the large subject of hemorrhage from the gastrointestinal tract in its relation to surgery, but since it is obvious that I cannot cover so large a field in the short time at my disposal, I shall confine myself to the surgical aspects of hemorrhage from peptic ulcer, which, in . . .
A Consensus Insulin Response Element Is Activated by an ETS-related Transcription Factor

Insulin increases expression of somatostatin-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) constructs 10-fold and thymidine kinase-CAT constructs 5-fold in GH4 cells. These responses are similar to our previously reported data on insulin-increased prolactin-CAT expression. They are also observed in HeLa cells and are thus not cell type specific. The evidence suggests that the insulin responsiveness of these genes is mediated by an Ets-related transcription factor. First, linker-scanning mutations and/or deletions of the prolactin, somatostatin, and thymidine kinase promoters suggest that their insulin responsiveness is mediated by the sequence CGGA. This sequence is identical with the response element of the Ets-related transcription factors. Second, CGGA-containing sequences placed at -88 in the ΔMTV-CAT reporter plasmid conferred insulin responsiveness to the mammary tumor virus promoter. Third, expression of the DNA-binding domain of c-Ets-2, which acts by blocking effects mediated by Ets-related transcription factors, inhibits the response of these promoters to insulin. Finally, the Ets-related proteins Sap and Elk-1 bind to the prolactin, somatostatin, and thymidine kinase insulin-response elements. An Ets-like element was found in all insulin-sensitive promoters examined and may serve a similar function in those promoters.
Flow coefficients for supersonic nozzles with comparatively small radius of curvature throats

Small curvature radius/throat radius ratio supersonic nozzles mass flow rate coefficients at high Reynolds numbers, appraising isentropic flow prediction methods