cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Endoscopic stent insertion into the gallbladder for symptomatic gallbladder disease in patients with end-stage liver disease.

Background Endoscopic stent insertion into the gallbladder entails placement of a double-pigtail polyethylene stent between the gallbladder and the duodenum at ERCP. This procedure may be an effective temporary measure in patients with severe comorbid conditions, especially end-stage liver disease, that subsequently allows more definitive therapy, including liver transplantation. Methods The records for 29 patients who underwent attempted endoscopic gallbladder stent insertion between May 1999 and May 2004 were reviewed retrospectively. Results Mean patient age was 47 years; 86% of the patients were listed for liver transplantation, with a mean model for end-stage liver disease score of 15; 72% had Child's class B cirrhosis. Indications for gallbladder stent placement included recurrent biliary colic (69%), acute cholecystitis (17%), acalculous cholecystitis (7%), and gallstone pancreatitis (7%). Of the 29 patients who underwent ERCP, stent placement was successful in 26 (90%). Median follow-up was 9.4 months (range 0.1-40.5 months). Of those who had a stent placed, 6 (22%) subsequently underwent liver transplantation and another 15 (56%) were alive, most awaiting liver transplantation. Only 3 patients had late a complication or recurrence of biliary symptoms after stent placement. Conclusions Endoscopic stent placement in the gallbladder is a safe and an effective palliative treatment for patients with symptoms caused by gallbladder disease who are poor surgical candidates.
Detecting Coriolis force via slow light

We consider a moving ultra-dispersive medium and demonstrate the enhanced Fizeau effect due to dragging the light. We have shown that the enhanced Fizeau effect on a single atom in a cavity can be observed. It has been shown that the change of phase is sensitive to the motion the speed of the order of 10 −15 cm/Hz 1/2 and for possible displacements as small as 10 −17 cm/Hz 1/2 . One of application can be the detection of weak forces exerted on a single atom. In particular, the Coriolis force as small as 10 −42 N/Hz 1/2 can be detected that would provide opportunity to detect rotation with sensitivity 10 −17 s −1 Hz −1/2 .
A consensus strategy for combining HLA-DR binding algorithms

Diverse approaches have generated algorithms for predicting the binding of peptides and human leukocyte antigen DR (HLA-DR) molecules. As prediction tools appear online, interesting questions arise. Are the various predictions accurate? Do the predictions agree? Is there a value to combined results over individual predictions? Three directly accessible online HLA-DR binding prediction tools are evaluated here to address these questions. The three algorithms generate predictions for high affinity binding that partially agree. No one algorithm is consistently superior or inferior. When a consensus strategy provides a fourth prediction, it is consistently best or second best, regardless of the performance measure being utilized.
Exosite-driven substrate specificity and function in coagulation.

Summary. Macromolecular substrate recognition and serine proteinase specificity lie at the heart of the tightly regulated hemostatic response. Mechanisms established for the less specific serine proteinases of digestion have played a dominant role in guiding investigations of the basis for the narrow specificities exhibited by the coagulation enzymes. These concepts have also dominated the development of specific inhibitors of coagulation for therapeutic purposes. Studies of the enzymology and physical biochemistry of prothrombinase challenge these prevailing ideas by establishing a principal role for exosites within the enzyme in determining substrate recognition and directing the action of the enzyme on its biological substrate. Mechanisms by which narrow protein substrate specificity is achieved by prothrombinase also apply to several other reactions of coagulation. These strategies are increasingly evident in the action of other families of enzymes that act with high specificity on protein substrates. Exosite-driven enzymic function probably represents a widely employed biological strategy for the achievement of high macromolecular substrate specificity.
Use of a paracorporeal left ventricular bypass pump in experimental heart failure

Abstract Pneumatically powered Baylor-Rice diaphragm pumps designed for paracorporeal left ventricular bypass were studied in a mock circulatory system, and the modified swirl model exhibited the most desirable flow characteristics. This pump, lined with Dacron velour and incorporating cageless hollow metallic inflow and outflow ball valves, was attached to exteriorized connectors sutured to the left atrium and descending thoracic aorta in 15 healthy calves and 15 calves with cardiac decompensation as a result of experimentally induced mitral stenosis, mitral insufficiency, aortic stenosis or coronary artery insufficiency. Relatively few hemodynamic changes were detected in healthy calves during chronic left ventricular bypass pumping. Mean aortic pressure, mean left coronary arterial flow, mean left renal arterial flow and heart rate did not change; however, the pulsatile contours of these pressure and flow measurements were altered as one would expect with pump ejection. Mean left atrial and pulmonary arterial pressures decreased slightly and effective cardiac output increased slightly with pumping. Significant hemodynamic changes occurred during left heart bypass in the animals with heart failure. Left ventricular bypass pumping caused marked reductions in left atrial, pulmonary arterial and left ventricular end-diastolic pressures, and it increased cardiac output and left coronary arterial flow.
Adaptive Precision Floating-Point Arithmetic and Fast Robust Geometric Predicates,

Exact computer arithmetic has a variety of uses, including the robust implementation of geometric algorithms. This article has three purposes. The first is to offer fast software-level algorithms for exact addition and multiplication of arbitrary precision floating-point values. The second is to propose a technique for adaptive precision arithmetic that can often speed these algorithms when they are used to perform multiprecision calculations that do not always require exact arithmetic, but must satisfy some error bound. The third is to use these techniques to develop implementations of several common geometric calculations whose required degree of accuracy depends on their inputs. These robust geometric predicates are adaptive; their running time depends on the degree of uncertainty of the result, and is usually small.
Performance analysis of discrete event dynamic systems via common random numbers

Examines the effectiveness of the scheme of common random numbers for improving the rates of convergence for finite-difference estimates over infinite-horizon for a special class of discrete event dynamic systems-the homogeneous discrete-time Markov chains. The author gives sufficient conditions for the effectiveness of this scheme. >
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy of the Cleaved Surfaces of Bi-Containing Superconductors

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images of the cleaved surfaces of Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O 8 (2212), Bi 2 Sr 2 CuO 6 (221), and the Pb-substituted Bi 1.5 Pb 0.5 Sr 2 CuO 6 (Pb-substituted 221) at room temperature have been obtained. On the 2212 (T c =85 K) compound, high resolution images show striations ˜10 A to 30 A wide. Similar striations of a periodicity of ˜27 A are also observed on the 221 (T c =10 K) compound. On the Pb-substituted 221 (T c =25 K) compound, no periodic structure can be observed. On samples oriented with Laue reflection, the striations are observed to run parallel to the a or b axis of the crystal. These striations are likely to be associated with the undulations along the b axis of the Bi layer observed in recent transmission electron micrographs. For the 2212 compound, comparison of the dependence of scan line characteristics on tunneling bias with calculations on the density of states of each elemental component around the Fermi energy also suggests that tunneling occurs on the Bi face. The topographical and tunneling bias dependence results show that the Bi-rich surfaces of these new superconductors is essentially a termination of the bulk structure even though structural or chemical defects are common.
A BOLD search for baseline

While we occasionally observe negative BOLD signals, its physiological basis has remained uncertain. This is in part due to the qualitative use of fMRI where the baseline is conveniently differenced away to reveal focal area(s) of interest. Recently, however, there has been a noticeable trend towards quantitative neuroimaging where changes in oxidative energetics (CMRO2) are quantified by calibrated fMRI. Pasley et al. [Pasley, B.N., Inglis, B.A., Freeman, R.D., 2007. Analysis of oxygen metabolism implies a neural origin for the negative BOLD response in human visual cortex. NeuroImage] used calibrated fMRI in conjunction with a novel stimulus paradigm to investigate the neural basis of the negative BOLD signal in awake humans. They hypothesized – based on prior results – that if the baseline was lowered then ΔCMRO2 would have to be larger. While their main findings point to an energetic basis for the negative BOLD signal, their results have far reaching implications for the present definition of baseline as well as for future research investigating the neural and/or energetic basis of baseline.
The Embedded Rule

First-year law students can readily identify expressed rules found in judicial opinions. Those same students, however, often fail to identify a rule of law when a court fails to express the rule in its opinion. These implied, unexpressed, or embedded rules are employed by a court to resolve a legal issue. An unexpressed rule can have the same authoritative weight as an expressed rule, and therefore, students must learn to extract these rules from opinions.
Lipoproteins as Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets in the Setting of Acute Coronary Syndrome

The period following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) represents a critical time frame with a high risk for recurrent events and death. The pathogenesis of this increase in clinical cardiovascular disease events after ACS is complex, with molecular mechanisms including increased thrombosis and inflammation. Dyslipoproteinemia is common in patients with ACS and predictive of recurrent cardiovascular disease events after presentation with an ACS event. Although randomized clinical trials have provided fairly convincing evidence that high-dose statins reduce the risk of recurrent cardiovascular events after ACS, there remain questions about how aggressively to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in ACS. Furthermore, no other lipid-related interventions have yet been proven to be effective in reducing major cardiovascular events after ACS. Here, we review the relationship of lipoproteins as biomarkers to cardiovascular risk after ACS, the evidence for lipid-targeted interventions, and the potential for novel therapeutic approaches in this arena.
Effects of corpus luteum removal on ovarian cyclicity of the rat.

The effect of corpora lutea removal (CLR) and sham operations (SO) performed on different days of the estrous cycle and pseudopregnancy was studied in the rat. SO and CLR in cyclic rats had little or no effect on the operation cycle or the 2 subsequent cycles, as judged by the vaginal smears. CLR in pseudopregnant rats, however, resulted in a return to an estrous, or proestrous, vaginal smear within 2 to 5 days and these estrous and proestrous smears were often accompanied by behavioral estrus and ovulation. SO, by contrast, had little effect on pseudopregnancy. CLR from day 0 (estrus) through day 6 of pseudopregnancy resulted in a pseudopregnancy occurring in one or both of the 2 cycles subsequent to the operation cycle in over 75% of the animals. CLR on day 7, or later, and SO at any time in pseudopregnant animals rarely elicited a pseudopregnancy in either of the 2 subsequent cycles. Comparison of the effects of CLR in the pseudopregnant rat with that in farm animals led to the conclusion that the pseu...
Tactual size perception with the method of magnitude estimation

Three experiments which employed the psychophysical method of direct magnitude estimation were conducted in order to scale the stimulus dimension of size via active touch perception. Power functions were adequately fitted to the data for both one-trial and multi-trial presentations of an assigned modulus. Results obtained when Ss provided their own primary modulus were characterized by small, nondiscriminating ranges of size estimation. Various sensing and exploring movements made by Ss during the active touch perception tasks were discussed.
1D River Hydraulic Model for Operational Flood Forecasting in the Tidal Potomac: Evaluation for Freshwater, Tidal, and Wind-Driven Events

AbstractThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is working toward improving water forecasts in the river-estuary transition zone. One operationally viable method is to extend one-dimensional (1D) hydraulic models downstream well into the tidal estuarine environment. Recent advances in NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) operational software infrastructure have made this method easier to implement. This paper evaluates the strengths and limitations of an unsteady implementation for the tidal Potomac River. The model was calibrated and validated to propagate tidal signals upstream for a wide range of freshwater events. Focusing on water-level gauges near Washington, DC, root-mean-squared error for tide simulation at the Washington Waterfront gauge was 0.05 m (0.16 ft) with a phase error of approximately 2 h. For historic flood events, simulated peak water-level error varied from −0.40 m (−1.34 ft) to 0.40 m (1.34 ft) with a mean absolute error of 0.25 m (0.82 ft) at the Wisconsin Aven...
A methodology for speech codec FEC design and optimisation based upon the ITU-T Rec. P.861 objective speech quality measure

This paper describes a methodology for designing and optimizing a forward error correction (FEC) scheme which has been employed in the standardization of the ETSI TETRA 2 speech codec. The method involves using a modified version of ITU-T Rec. P.861 [1] in order to measure the peak distortions between the error-free and channel impaired decoded speech samples averaged over approximately 2 minutes. This objective measure provides bit priority ordering which is close to that obtained by conventional subjective methods and has permitted a degree of FEC optimization which would otherwise be time consuming and prohibitively costly.
What Long-Term Changes in Lung Function Can Tell Us About Asthma Control

Asthma severity is typically classified according to lung function, but asthma control in relation to lung function is often harder to define. In this paper, we will review how lung function measured at rest, as well as over time, relates to asthma control. We will explore not only conventional lung function as measured by spirometry, such as peak expiratory flow and forced expiratory volume in 1 s, but also more sophisticated measurements of peripheral airway function related to respiratory system impedance and ventilation heterogeneity. In particular, we will review the emerging area of assessing the fluctuation of lung function over time and how it may correlate to both past and future asthma control.
Research Note-Two Competing Perspectives on Automatic Use: A Theoretical and Empirical Comparison

Although much research has examined conscious use, which involves deliberate evaluation and decision making, we know less about automatic use, which occurs spontaneously with little conscious effort. The objective of this study is to compare two contrasting views in the literature on the nature of automatic use, namely, the habit/automaticity perspective (HAP) and the instant activation perspective (IAP). According to HAP, automatic use occurs because of the force of habit/automaticity without the formation of evaluations and intention; thus, past use-which is a proxy for habit/automaticity-is believed to weaken the evaluations-intention-usage relationship. In contrast, IAP posits that automatic use is simply an expedited form of conscious use; accordingly, as with conscious use, automatic use is still a function of evaluations/intention, so past use will not weaken the evaluations-intention-usage relationship. We tested the competing hypotheses using 2,075 cross-sectional and 990 longitudinal responses from actual users of two online news sites. Our results show that the evaluations-intention-usage relationship is generally weaker among heavier users than among lighter users. These findings suggest that with an increase in past use, user behavior becomes less evaluative and less intentional, in support of the argument that automatic use is driven more by habit/automaticity than by instant activation of cognitions. Overall, this research shows an initial piece of evidence of the moderating role of past use in postadoption phenomena, and it is expected to help the information systems community systematically investigate the important yet underexplored subject of habit/automaticity.
In vivo ultra-high-field magnetic resonance imaging of trabecular bone microarchitecture at 7 T.

Purpose To investigate the feasibility of 7T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to visualize and quantify trabecular bone structure in vivo by comparison with 3T MRI and in vivo three-dimensional (3D) high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT). Materials and Methods The distal tibiae of 10 healthy volunteers were imaged. Therefore, fully balanced steady state free precession (bSSFP) and spin-echo (bSSSE) pulse sequences were implemented and optimized for 7T. Structural bone parameters, such as apparent bone-volume over total-volume fraction (app.BV/TV), apparent trabecular plate separation (app.TbSp), apparent trabecular plate thickness (app.TbTh), and apparent trabecular plate number (app.TbN), were derived. Results All structural trabecular bone parameters correlated well (r > 0.6) between 7T and 3T, and between 7T and HR-pQCT (r > 0.69), with the exception of app.TbTh, which correlated modestly (r = 0.41) between field strengths and very low with HR-pQCT (r < 0.16). Regarding absolute values, app.TbN varied only 4% between field strengths, and only 0.6% between 7T and HR-pQCT. App.TbSp correlated best between 7T and HR-pQCT (r = 0.89). Using bSSSE, significant smaller trabecular thickness and significant higher trabecular number were found compared to bSSFP. Conclusion We concluded that imaging and quantification of the trabecular bone architecture at 7T is feasible and preferably done using bSSSE. There exists great potential for ultra-high-field (UHF) MRI applied to trabecular bone measurements. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2008;27:854–859. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Craters as “fossils”: The remote dating of planetary surface materials

The need to determine relative ages of materials and surfaces on moons and planets other than the Earth has resulted in the development of dating techniques that are based on the density or the morphology of craters and that supplement the classical techniques of physical stratigraphy. As is the case with the fossil-based relative time scale on Earth, crater-based relative ages can, in principal, be calibrated with radiometric ages of returned samples. Relative ages determined by crater density or crater morphology rest on a small number of basic assumptions concerning the morphology of fresh craters, the randomness of crater-formation processes, and the rates and areal constancy of crater-degradation processes. The validity of these assumptions varies from planet to planet. Despite the problems and controversies that inevitably accompany the development of major new techniques, the basic principles underlying the use of craters to determine relative ages are well established and logically sound.
Rates of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion after initial posterior cervical foraminotomy

Abstract Background context In select patients, posterior cervical foraminotomy (PCF) and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) result in similar clinical outcomes when used to treat cervical radiculopathy. Nonetheless, ACDF is performed more frequently, in part because of surgeon perception that PCF requires operative revisions more frequently. The present study investigates the rate of ACDF reoperation at the index level after initial PCF. Purpose To determine the rate of ACDF after initial PCF and to further describe any patient characteristics or preoperative or operative data that increase the rate of reoperation after PCF. Study design Retrospective chart review. Methods Demographic, operative, and reoperation information was collected from the electronic medical records for all patients who underwent PCF at one institution between 2004 and 2011. All patients were subsequently contacted by telephone to identify postoperative complications and more conclusively determine whether any revision operation was performed at the index level. Results One hundred seventy-eight patients who underwent a PCF were reviewed, with an average follow-up of 31.7 months. Nine (5%) patients underwent an ACDF revision operation at the index level. The reason for reoperation in these patients included cervical radiculopathy, foraminal stenosis, disc herniation, and cervical spondylosis. Patients who subsequently underwent ACDF at the index level were significantly younger (25 vs. 35 years, p=.03), had lower body mass index (25 vs. 29, p=.01), and more likely to take anxiolytic (56% vs. 22%, p=.04) or antidepressant medication (67% vs. 27%, p=.02), compared with those that did not have a revision operation. Conclusions This is the first study to determine conversion to ACDF after PCF. The present study demonstrates that PCF is associated with a low reoperation rate, similar to the historical reoperation for ACDF. Accordingly, spine surgeons can operate via a PCF approach without a significant increased risk for ACDF revision surgery at the index level.
Computational Models of B cell and T cell Receptors

We review computational models of B cell and T cell receptors. We first consider string models where both antigen specific receptors on immune cells and antigens are represented by binary strings, or more generally, digit strings with a given number of letters. Various match rules are presented to describe the binding interaction between receptors and antigens. A second class of models is geometric models where receptors and antigens are represented as geometric shapes. A rule of interaction among receptors in shape space is introduced. Lastly, the random energy model is introduced where the binding interaction between receptors and antigens is quantified with an energy function derived from the physics of protein interaction. To compare these approaches, we explicitly calculate how receptor-ligand affinity is affected by a point mutation in different models. These calculations are relevant to understanding the correlation between the change in the sequence and the change in the binding strength. We finally review a method for connecting string models and shape space models in the context of analyzing antibody binding assay data relevant to the immune response against the influenza virus.
Picosecond Photoresponse in Polycrystalline Silicon

Polycrystalline silicon films, deposited on fused silica substrates, have been implemented as fast-response-time photoconductive switches. The switches were illuminated with 800-nm, 100-fs optical pulses from a Ti:sapphire mode-locked laser, and the photoresponse was observed using both a 34-GHz sampling oscilloscope and a subpicosecond electro-optic (EO) sampling system. We observed a 3-ps transient with the EO sampler, which is the fastest signal ever reported for this type of material. The switch also responded to 1.55-µm femtosecond laser pulses with transient signals as short at 36 ps, limited by the switch geometry.
Two-Sex Fertility Models

This chapter discusses TWOGRO and TWOFIDS, the two different types of two-sex fertility models identified in Table 6.1. It also explores the “birth squeeze,” the fertility counterpart of the marriage squeeze.
SUSTAINED RESPONSE OF THE DIFFUSE THALAMIC PROJECTION SYSTEM.

SummaryWhen certain intralaminar thalamic nuclei are stimulated at intensities slightly above threshold for the cortical recruiting response, a response of similar wave form, latency and cortical distribution maintains a sustained amplitude between epochs of recruitment. This sustained response differs from the recruiting response in its reaction to reticular activating system stimulation and barbiturate anesthesia.
Classical conditioning in the cat as a function of the CS-US interval

Classical leg flexion conditioning was studied in 24 cats using CS-US intervals of 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 msec. and 100 CS-US pairings. Learning, as evidenced by a significant positive slope of the function relating anticipatory flexion to trials, could be demonstrated only with the 250 and 500 msec. intervals. The 500 msec. CS-US appeared optimal, yielding 99% CRs at the end of 100 trials. Final response levels of 58%, 42% and 33% were recorded for the 250, 1000 and 2000 msec. groups, respectively. Comparison of these results with those of other studies of conditioning of overt responses in mammals (including man) indicates that, in the case of discrete adaptive responses, the functions relating CS-US interval to levels of conditioning are essentially similar. However, when diffuse preparatory responses are studied, other relationships may apply.
Nonassociative Number Theory

(1957). Nonassociative Number Theory. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 64, No. 5, pp. 299-309.
Optimizing network robustness by edge rewiring: a general framework

Spectral measures have long been used to quantify the robustness of real-world graphs. For example, spectral radius (or the principal eigenvalue) is related to the effective spreading rates of dynamic processes (e.g., rumor, disease, information propagation) on graphs. Algebraic connectivity (or the Fiedler value), which is a lower bound on the node and edge connectivity of a graph, captures the "partitionability" of a graph into disjoint components. In this work we address the problem of modifying a given graph's structure under a given budget so as to maximally improve its robustness, as quantified by spectral measures. We focus on modifications based on degree-preserving edge rewiring, such that the expected load (e.g., airport flight capacity) or physical/hardware requirement (e.g., count of ISP router traffic switches) of nodes remain unchanged. Different from a vast literature of measure-independent heuristic approaches, we propose an algorithm, called EdgeRewire, which optimizes a specific measure of interest directly. Notably, EdgeRewire is general to accommodate six different spectral measures. Experiments on real-world datasets from three different domains (Internet AS-level, P2P, and airport flights graphs) show the effectiveness of our approach, where EdgeRewire produces graphs with both (i) higher robustness, and (ii) higher attack-tolerance over several state-of-the-art methods.
Meconium peritonitis and spontaneous gastric perforations.

Congenital abdominal wall defects are among the more common anomalies encountered by pediatric surgeons. The author's experience with omphalocele and gastrochisis is presented.
A Review of Gay and Lesbian Themed Early Childhood Children's Literature

On the third floor of the downtown library, my world began to open up. It was in the gay and lesbian literature section that I began to reclaim my life. I would spend nights alone, sitting on the floor reading coming out stories, sections of fiction, gay and lesbian history, and anything else I could find. Those nights on the third floor, alone on the cold cement floor, were where I took my first breaths of life. It was where I discovered that I would survive. It was literature and literacy that helped save my life.
Striated Sphincter Participation in Distal Passive Urinary Continence Mechanisms: Studies in Male Subjects Deprived of Proximal Sphincter Mechanism

AbstractStriated urethral sphincter function was studied in passive incontinent and continent male subjects who were deprived of the proximal sphincter mechanism. Functional assessment of striated urethral sphincter included electromyography and electrostimulation. Varying degrees of diminished striated sphincter excitability and reflex activity were observed in passive incontinent male subjects who also had varying degrees of somatomotor neuron lesions. The studies indicate that the participating role of periurethral striated musculature in distal passive continence mechanisms cannot be ignored.
Reduced oxygen precipitation in heavily arsenic‐doped Cz‐silicon crystals

Oxygen precipitation in heavily arsenic doped Czochralski silicon is investigated for a wide dopant concentration range (from 3 × 1018 cm–3 to 4 × 1019 cm–3) and it is compared with that observed in lightly doped silicon having similar initial oxygen concentration. A lower density of oxide precipitates after an anneal of 4 h at 800 °C followed by 16 h at 1000 °C is measured in the case of arsenic doped samples, in comparison to lightly doped ones, when the dopant concentration exceeds 1.6 × 1019 cm–3. In addition, no radial bands (rings) of precipitation are observed in arsenic-doped samples, contrary to lightly doped samples grown at the same V/G (ratio between pull rate V and axial thermal gradient G). These findings are explained by considering the role played by vacancies in the formation of oxygen precipitates and the impact of the arsenic concentration on the total concentration of point defects in silicon. Data obtained by computer simulation of microdefect formation in silicon are also presented in support of this explanation. (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
The Association Between a History of Lifetime Traumatic Events and Pain Severity, Physical Function, and Affective Distress in Patients With Chronic Pain.

Abstract Evidence suggests that pain patients who report lifetime abuse experience greater psychological distress, have more severe pain and other physical symptoms, and greater functional disability. The aim of the present study was to determine the associations between a history of lifetime abuse and affective distress, fibromyalgianess (measured using the 2011 Fibromyalgia Survey), pain severity and interference, and physical functioning. A cross-sectional analysis of 3,081 individuals presenting with chronic pain was performed using validated measures and a history of abuse was assessed via patient self-report. Multivariate logistic regression showed that individuals with a history of abuse (n = 470; 15.25%) had greater depression, greater anxiety, worse physical functioning, greater pain severity, worse pain interference, higher catastrophizing, and higher scores on the Fibromyalgia Survey criteria ( P P s Perspective This article examines the associations between a history of lifetime abuse and affective distress, fibromyalgianess, pain severity and interference, and physical functioning in chronic pain patients. Our findings support a novel biopsychosocial paradigm in which affective distress and fibromyalgianess interact to play roles in the association between abuse and pain.
Plasma-Based Device Concepts Based on the Pseudospark and BLT

This chapter discusses several new approaches to the development of practical plasma based devices needed to test and develop concepts for plasma based accelerators, electromagnetic sources, and related devices such as plasma lenses. Although there has been considerable simulation effort, there are very few practical devices, and the realization of such devices is one of the most important limitations in the further development of plasma-based devices for applications. These concepts are based on recent results wherein a uniform, high repetition rate, pulse repeatable, high density plasma source has been developed, and a very high emission cathode has been demonstrated in the hollow cathode pseudospark-type device. Applications to electron beam devices, accelerators, and electromagnetic wave sources are considered.
Towards machine learned quality control: A benchmark for sharpness quantification in digital pathology.

Abstract Pathology is on the verge of a profound change from an analog and qualitative to a digital and quantitative discipline. This change is mostly driven by the high-throughput scanning of microscope slides in modern pathology departments, reaching tens of thousands of digital slides per month. The resulting vast digital archives form the basis of clinical use in digital pathology and allow large scale machine learning in computational pathology. One of the most crucial bottlenecks of high-throughput scanning is quality control (QC). Currently, digital slides are screened manually to detected out-of-focus regions, to compensate for the limitations of scanner software. We present a solution to this problem by introducing a benchmark dataset for blur detection, an in-depth comparison of state-of-the art sharpness descriptors and their prediction performance within a random forest framework. Furthermore, we show that convolution neural networks, like residual networks, can be used to train blur detectors from scratch. We thoroughly evaluate the accuracy of feature based and deep learning based approaches for sharpness classification (99.74% accuracy) and regression (MSE 0.004) and additionally compare them to domain experts in a comprehensive human perception study. Our pipeline outputs spacial heatmaps enabling to quantify and localize blurred areas on a slide. Finally, we tested the proposed framework in the clinical setting and demonstrate superior performance over the state-of-the-art QC pipeline comprising commercial software and human expert inspection by reducing the error rate from 17% to 4.7%.
Bio-Based Wood Adhesive from Camelina Protein (a Biodiesel Residue) and Depolymerized Lignin with Improved Water Resistance.

The aim of this study was to improve water resistance of camelina protein (CP) for wood adhesives with depolymerized lignin. Kraft lignin was depolymerized by H2O2-induced oxidation in the presence of ultrasound (US) irradiation to reduce lignin’s particle size and thermal stability and increase the hydroxyl group. Coupling with depolymerized lignin camelina protein exhibited increased hydrophobicity. Fluorescence spectroscopy analysis revealed that the oxidation treatment of lignin further stimulated the hydrophobization effect of the protein–lignin copolymer due to the increased reactivity of depolymerized lignin to camelina protein. Accordingly, the water resistance of CP–lignin adhesives was significantly improved. When copolymerized with US-induced oxidized lignin, the camelina protein had increased wet shear adhesion strength from 0.28 to 1.43 MPa, with wood panels passing the three-cycle water-soaking test. The CP resin, with depolymerized lignin as an economical, green, and bio-based hydrophobic e...
Mortal Beings: How Evolution Helps Us Understand Illness and Aging

In these two books, biological anthropologist Richard Bribiescas and developmental psychologist David Geary address sex differences in health and aging from the perspectives of evolutionary biology and psychology. Bribiescas explores the aging process in men and describes why and how men age differently from women, with earlier mortality and greater susceptibility to the diseases of aging. Geary provides a comprehensive survey of the animal and human literature on sex differences in vulnerabilities to the effects of stress on psychological and physical traits. Both authors focus on the role of Darwinian sexual selection as the source of different health outcomes for men and women. These works make valuable contributions to our understanding of why humans get sick and age and argue convincingly for approaching medical research with a greater sensitivity to the role played by biological sex in poor health.
Community pharmacists' understanding and perceptions of FDA therapeutic equivalence standards

Abstract Background Pharmacists need to demonstrate knowledge of and have confidence in Food and Drug Administration (FDA) therapeutic equivalence (TE) standards to improve acceptance of generic medicines amongst patients and other healthcare professionals. Objective To evaluate community pharmacists' understanding, interpretation and perceptions of the FDA TE standards to identify if further education is needed on this topic. Methods An anonymous, 13-item survey was piloted and then distributed by e-mail to a random sample of 287 Indiana community pharmacists. The 5-min survey included demographic, knowledge-based, and perception-based questions on FDA TE criteria that participants were given one week to complete. Participants completed the survey using a Web-based survey tool (Qualtrics). Results 192 pharmacists completed the survey achieving a response rate of 66.9%. Only 7.3% of respondents correctly identified FDA bioequivalence criteria for approval of generic drug products. Two questions presented TE codes from the Orange Book and asked respondents to identify if a pair of drug products were therapeutically equivalent: 62.6% and 61.0% of respondents answered correctly. However, 89.4% of respondents correctly indicated that the Orange Book is the location of FDA TE evaluations. 74.9% of responding pharmacists indicated a positive perception of the rigor of FDA approval standards associated with generic medications and 66.0% believed that generic drug products made by different manufacturers are of similar quality. Conclusions The results suggest that community pharmacists need additional education on the interpretation of TE codes and FDA bioequivalence criteria for approval of generic drug products. The safety and efficacy of generics are often questioned by patients and physicians. It is important for pharmacists to be knowledgeable of FDA TE standards as they are experts in medicines and need to be confident with the criteria to effectively convey them to patients and healthcare professionals.
Experimental demonstration of Rabi Oscillations produced by adiabatic pulse due to initial atomic coherence

We experimentally demonstrate that initial atomic coherence yields Rabi oscillations in a two-level system driven by an adiabatic pulse. This method can be used to achieve Quantum Amplification by Superradiant Emission of Radiation (QASER) in atomic vapors.
Russia’s relationship with China: the role of domestic and ideational factors

Over the past few years, Russian–Chinese relations have grown steadily closer. This article examines the domestic and ideational motivations that underlie Russia’s interactions with China. It is argued that Russia’s behavior toward China demonstrates in particular the importance of ideas at the domestic level. Moscow’s increasingly close relationship with China serves to confirm Russia’s perceived status as a great power, which functions as a fundamental tool of regime legitimacy. In addition, Russia and China have grown closer on national identity issues that are constituted in opposition to political and ideological principles endorsed by the West as universal values.
Coral Reef Drag Coefficients—Surface Gravity Wave Enhancement

AbstractA primary challenge in modeling flow over shallow coral reefs is accurately characterizing the bottom drag. Previous studies over continental shelves and sandy beaches suggest surface gravi...
Heat-induced testicular apoptosis occurs independently of hormonal depletion.

Previous studies have demonstrated that testicular germ cell apoptosis can be induced both by heat stress and by withdrawal of androgens and gonadotrophins. To investigate whether heat-induced germ cell apoptosis occurs independently of the altered levels of hormones that occur with heat exposure, mouse testicular apoptosis was studied using an in vitro system with controlled levels of testosterone, FSH and LH. It was observed that cells underwent apoptosis sooner in the absence of hormones at the same temperature. Apoptosis also occurred earlier at abdominal temperature compared to scrotal temperature with the same hormonal levels. No somatic tissues studied underwent apoptosis at 37°C under the same culture conditions. These results suggest that heat stress may independently activate an apoptotic pathway in the testis, and that hormone deprivation may induce apoptosis via a separate mechanism.
Part A: Hemodialysis-Clinical Management and Follow Up

World wide, more than 500,000 patients are treated for End Stage Renal Disease. While transplantation and peritoneal dialysis are therapies to be considered, hemodialysis remains the mainstay of treatment. The tremendous and rapid growth of this therapy, which was first reported for the treatment of chronic renal failure in 1960 (1) has made it imperative for all health care providers to become familiar with the care of the dialysis patient. Most of the topics covered in this chapter are dealt with in greater detail in the rest of this book. The following will cover some practical aspects of how to initiate and monitor dialysis in routine and high risk patients
A Manager's Checklist for Validating Software Cost and Schedule Estimates

Abstract : This report provides a checklist of questions to ask and evidence to look for when assessing the credibility of a software cost and schedule estimate. The checklist can be used either to review individual estimates or to motivate and guide organizations toward improving their software estimating processes and practices
New spacetimes for rotating dust in (2 +1 )-dimensional general relativity

Multiparameter solutions to the Einstein equations in $2+1$ dimensions are presented, with stress-energy given by a rotating dust with negative cosmological constant. The matter density is uniform in the corotating frame, and the ratio of the density to the vacuum energy may be freely chosen. The rotation profile of the dust is controlled by two parameters, and the circumference of a circle of a given radius is controlled by two additional parameters. Though locally related to known metrics, the global properties of this class of spacetimes are nontrivial and allow for new and interesting structure, including apparent horizons and closed timelike curves, which can be censored by a certain parameter choice. General members of this class of metrics have two Killing vectors, but parameters can be chosen to enhance the symmetry to four Killing vectors. The causal structure of these geometries, interesting limits, and relationship to the G\"odel metric are discussed. An additional solution, with nonuniform dust density in a Gaussian profile and zero cosmological constant, is also presented, and its relation to the uniform-density solutions in a certain limit is discussed.
Design of Bandwidth-Enhanced Platform-Mounted Electrically Small VHF Antennas Using the Characteristic-Mode Theory

We present the design of a vehicle-mounted electrically small antenna with enhanced bandwidth operating at the very high frequency (VHF) band. Due to the large wavelength of VHF electromagnetic waves, practical vehicle-mounted VHF antennas tend to have compact or electrically small dimensions. Therefore, they suffer from narrow bandwidth. To alleviate this problem, the platform body can be employed as the main radiator. In this case, the antennas mounted on the platform excite the desired platform mode(s). Efficient and pure excitation of a single mode, however, usually requires the use of multiple coupling elements distributed across the platform. In this work, we demonstrate that a single strategically located electrically small coupling element can be used to excite multiple significant characteristic modes of an electrically large platform. This allows for increasing the bandwidth of the antenna without increasing its occupied volume. This is demonstrated by using a capacitively coupling element with electrical dimensions of 0.06 $\lambda \times {\text{0.06}}\lambda \times {\text{0.06}}\lambda$ mounted on a military vehicle, where $\lambda$ is the free-space wavelength. Our simulation and scaled-model experimental results demonstrate that this approach offers a bandwidth enhancement factor of ${\text{6}}\times$ compared to the isolated antenna and ${\text{3.5}}\times$ compared to an antenna system that excites a single platform mode.
Methods, minds, memory, and kinds

The acquisition of a skill, or knowledge-how, on the one hand, and the acquisition of a piece of propositional knowledge on the other, appear to be different sorts of epistemic achievements. Does t...
Note: Determinants of Cargo Port Choices by Cargo Port Service Providers

Abstract The cargo port choice literature has investigated cargo port choices by users of cargo port services, i.e., by shippers in having their cargo and by transportation carriers in having their ships and vehicles serviced by a cargo port, but little attention has been given to cargo port choices by providers of cargo port services. This paper investigates cargo port choices by providers of cargo port services, i.e., by port: (1) operators, (2) shipper agents (freight forwarders and third-party logistics providers) (3) harbor pilots, (4) tugboat operators, (5) shipping line agents and (6) customs brokers.
Disputes over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands: Communication Tactics and Grand Strategies

This study explores the communication tactics and grand strategies of each of the involved parties in the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands disputes. Under the theoretical balance between liberal optimists and realist pessimists and through the hermeneutic analysis of the primary data of relevant remarks of governmental officials, official statements, letters and memoranda, declassified CIA reports, interview transcripts of scholars and experts, relevant media reports and readers’ online responses from the LexisNexis news database and Google News website as well as secondary data of relevant study results of scholars and researchers, we found that the Japanese have been secretive and opportunistic, the Americans calculated and one-sided, the Taiwanese cooperative and compromising, and the Chinese assertive and ambitious. As grand strategies, Japan plans to become a normal state with a normal army for regional and global leadership. The US makes sure that it has no rivals in all aspects regardless of its close ally Japan or trade-partner China so as to maintain hegemonic supremacy in the world. Taiwan adopts a grand strategy of accommodation and compromise to raise the confidence level in its political identity and economic integration. China pursues its peaceful development by accelerating economic growth, building up defensive military forces, and creating a favorable international environment. The findings provide valuable understanding of the international nature of the Diaoyu/Senkaku Island disputes and insight into a long list of similar territorial and bordering issues in the East and South China Seas.
The Fate of Homograft Versus Polytetrafluoroethylene Conduits After Neonatal Truncus Arteriosus Repair

Background:Despite significant improvement in outcomes with truncus arteriosus (TA) repair, right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) reconstruction with a right ventricular to pulmonary artery (RV-to...