cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
What are social work students being taught about palliative care

ObjectivePalliative social workers have taken steps to increase the numbers of social workers trained and competent to deliver effective psychosocial palliative care. Despite these developments, masters of social work (MSW) programs have only begun to develop curricula preparing students for entry-level practice. This study sought to determine the type and extent of content areas included in MSW courses dedicated to palliative care or with content related to palliative care practice.MethodA cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire was conducted. All 248 accredited MSW programs in the United States and 32 programs in Canada were invited to participate. Participants were asked to name the courses in their MSW program that were dedicated to, or included content on, palliative care, and submit the syllabi for these courses. Data comprised course content for each class session and required readings. A grounded theory approach was used to identify the topics covered.ResultOf the 105 participating programs that responded to the survey, 42 submitted 70 syllabi for courses with at least some palliative care content. There were 29 topics identified. The most common topic was grief, loss, and bereavement, followed closely by behavioral and mental health issues, and supporting family and friends; cultural perspectives and advance care planning were also common topics. For the 10 syllabi from courses dedicated to palliative care, supporting family was the most common topical area, followed closely by interprofessional practice and advance care planning.Significance of resultsAlthough there are many challenges to introducing palliative care content into MSW programs, including unqualified faculty and competing course material and electives of equally compelling content, there are model curricula for dedicated palliative care courses. With the large growth of palliative care programs, the time is ripe to add specialty palliative care courses and to add palliative care content into existing courses.
School Discipline, Race, and the Discursive Construction of the “Deficient” Student

Research has demonstrated how, in the current era of mass incarceration, the punitive arm of the state now extends beyond traditional criminal justice structures into institutions typically associa...
Influence of hydrogen addition to pipeline natural gas on the combustion performance of a cooktop burner

Abstract Displacing pipeline natural gas with renewable hydrogen is a promising way to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide, which is a major greenhouse gas. However, due to significantly differing characteristics of hydrogen and natural gas, such as flame speed, adiabatic flame temperature and stability limits, the combustion performance of hydrogen/natural gas mixture differs from pure natural gas. From the perspective of residential end users, a key question is: how much hydrogen can be injected into the pipeline natural gas without influencing the performance of the residential burners? A representative cooktop burner is selected to study the influence of hydrogen addition on the combustion and cooking performance. Flashback limits, ignition time, flame characteristics, cooking performance, combustion noise, burner temperature, and various emissions (NO, NO2, N2O, CO, unburned hydrocarbon (UHC), NH3) are evaluated for different levels of hydrogen addition. According to the experimental results, the combustion performance of the cooktop burner is not significantly affected with up to about 15% hydrogen addition by volume, which shows the feasibility of utilizing hydrogen on existing cooking appliances without any modification. The experiment methodologies and results in this study will serve as a reference for future test and emission regulation standards on domestic burners.
Heart Disease Prediction Using Data Mining Techniques

Studies have shown that heart diseases have emerged as the number one cause of deaths. Heart disease is accountable for deaths in all age groups and is common among males and females. A good solution to this problem is to be able to predict what a patient's health status will be like in the future so the doctors can start treatment much sooner which will yield better results. It's a lot better than acting at the last minute where the patient is already at risk and hence the prediction of heart disease is widely researched area. A lot of research and technological advancement has been recorded in similar fields. This paper aims to report about taking advantage of the various data mining techniques and develop prediction models for heart disease survivability.
Formal and informal institutional pressures on corporate social responsibility: A cross‐country analysis

This study examines the influences of cross‐country institutional pressures on multinational enterprises' corporate social responsibility (CSR). Building on institutional and stakeholder theory, we propose that different formal and informal environments have direct impacts on firm CSR. Specifically, we investigate informal institutions as they relate to self‐transcendent and self‐enhancement values. We propose that the firm's consideration of multiple stakeholder expectations moderates these complex formal and informal institutional relationships. Utilizing hierarchical linear modeling, this study analyzes institutional constraints on nearly 1,000 firms in 47 different countries. The empirical results reveal that informal values that are aligned with the firm's strategies and stakeholder desires have a strong impact on firms' CSR actions. Multiple stakeholder consideration strengthens this important relationship. These findings provide insight on how managers can utilize informal institutions to meet the global challenge of satisfying profit needs and still maintain social responsibility.
Exploring the Moderating Role of Gender in Juvenile Hacking Behaviors

Criminological research has demonstrated the significant relationship between deviant peer associations, a lack of self-control, and individual delinquency. These relationships also account for inv...
Clinical Significance of AR-V567es in Prostate Cancer-Letter.

There are conflicting results regarding incidence of ARv567es detected by PCR in prostate cancer, displaying frequencies ranging from 3% in metastatic to more than 70% in circulating tumor cells (CTC; refs. [1, 2][1]). To resolve this issue, Bernemann and colleagues performed a comprehensive
A Dialectics of Violence: Making Sense of Neel Mukherjee’s Naxalite Narrative in the ‘Age of Terror’

Neel Mukherjee’s The Lives of Others (2014) tackles the Naxalite Movement in West Bengal between 1967 and 1971. The novel’s final pages, however, spring forward to 2012, narrating an act of non-sta...
(4aSR,7RS,9aRS)-7-tert-Butyl-9a-methyl-5,5-dioxo-1,2,4a,9a-tetra­hydro-8-oxa-5λ6-thia­benzocyclo­heptan-9-one

The title compound, C14H22O4S, crystallizes with two crystallographically independent mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit. In both mol­ecules, the six-membered ring exhibits a sofa conformation while the seven-membered ring is in a boat-like conformation with the tert-butyl group in a pseudo-equatorial position.
Auto-dissemination of commercially available fungal pathogens in a laboratory assay for management of the brown dog tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus.

Rhipicephalus sanguineus is a canine tick that infests dogs throughout the world and is frequently found in homes and dog kennels. Management of this tick species is complicated by the presence of resistance to commonly utilized acaricides. Fungal formulations could provide a valuable alternative tool for management and are especially relevant indoors where detrimental environmental effects on fungal spores are of less concern. Two commercially available fungal formulations, one containing Metarhizium anisopliae and the other containing Beauveria bassiana, were compared for time to death and sporulation in nymphal ticks exposed for 60 min in treated filter paper packets. Beauveria bassiana exposure killed ticks faster than M. anisopliae exposure and B. bassiana was more likely to sporulate on tick cadavers than M. anisopliae. To determine whether infected ticks could disseminate fungus to their conspecifics, ticks were marked and treated with fungus before being placed with untreated ticks. Fungus was successfully transmitted from treated to untreated ticks. Mortality of ticks exposed to B. bassiana-exposed conspecifics occurred sooner than for those exposed to M. anisopliae-exposed conspecifics, indicating faster dissemination in the former. Therefore, although both formulations resulted in decreased longevity of ticks compared with the controls, the B. bassiana formulation holds the most promise for direct or indirect application with respect to brown dog tick management.
Performance Optimization Strategies for Complex Endourologic Procedures.

OBJECTIVE To identify and address factors that may impact a surgeon's performance during endourologic procedures. METHODS A literature review was performed for articles focusing on surgical ergonomics, education, sports and performance psychology. RESULTS As urologists and trainees have become more comfortable approaching complex pathology endoscopically, there remains an opportunity to refine surgeon-related factors and optimize extrinsic factors to maximize efficiency and provide patients with the highest quality outcomes and safety. CONCLUSION Medical centers and training programs should strive to include formal lessons on stress-coping mechanisms, communication, and dedicated ergonomic training, as these all play a role in physician well-being and may lead to improved clinical outcomes.
A new aggregation algorithm for performance metric calculation in serial production lines with exponential machines: design, accuracy and robustness

Performance metric calculation is one of the most important problems in production system research. In this paper, we consider serial production lines with finite buffers and machines following the...
Supervision from Afar: trainees’ perspectives on telesupervision

Telesupervision, or supervision at a distance, has become more widely used due to its many practical and economic benefits, with research suggesting it is as satisfactory as traditional, in-person ...
Nonpartisan election information

2020 is an election year in the United States. As we know from both past elections and the current election season, mudslinging, hyperbole, misinformation campaigns, and fake news proliferate the m...
A statistical approach to fast nowcasting of lightning potential fields

Abstract. Thunderstorms and associated hazards like lightning can pose a serious threat to people outside and infrastructure. Thus, very short-term prediction capabilities (called nowcasting) have been developed to capture this threat and aid in decision-making on when to bring people inside for safety reasons. The atmospheric research and operational communities have been developing and using nowcasting methods for decades, but most methods do not rely on formal statistical approaches. A novel and fast statistical approach to nowcasting of lightning threats is presented here that builds upon an integro-difference modeling framework. Inspiration from the heat equation is used to define a redistribution kernel, and a simple linear advection scheme is shown to work well for the lightning prediction example. The model takes only seconds to estimate and nowcast and is competitive with a more complex image deformation approach that is computationally infeasible for very short-term nowcasts.
Castle in the Sky: Dynamic Sky Replacement and Harmonization in Videos.

This paper proposes a vision-based method for video sky replacement and harmonization, which can automatically generate realistic and dramatic sky backgrounds in videos with controllable styles. Different from previous sky editing methods that either focus on static photos or require inertial measurement units integrated in smartphones on shooting videos, our method is purely vision-based, without any requirements on the capturing devices, and can be well applied to either online or offline processing scenarios. Our method runs in real-time and is free of user interactions. We decompose this artistic creation process into a couple of proxy tasks including sky matting, motion estimation, and image blending. Experiments are conducted on videos diversely captured in the wild by handheld smartphones and dash cameras, and show high fidelity and good generalization of our method in both visual quality and lighting/motion dynamics. Our code and animated results are available at \url{this https URL}.
Design of Mirrors and Apodization Functions in Phase-induced Amplitude Apodization Systems

Phase-induced amplitude apodization (PIAA) coronagraphs are a promising technology for imaging exoplanets, with the potential to detect Earth-like planets around Sun-like stars. A PIAA system nominally consists of a pair of mirrors that reshape incident light without attenuation, coupled with one or more apodizers to mitigate diffraction effects or provide additional beam shaping to produce a desired output profile. We present a set of equations that allow apodizers to be chosen for any given pair of mirrors, or conversely mirror shapes chosen for given apodizers, to produce an arbitrary amplitude profile at the output of the system. We show how classical PIAA systems may be designed by this method and present the design of a novel four-mirror system with higher throughput than a standard two-mirror system. We also discuss the limitations due to diffraction and the design steps that may be taken to mitigate them.
Emerging investigator series: disaggregating residential sector high-resolution smart water meter data into appliance end-uses with unsupervised machine learning

The residential sector accounts for a significant amount of water consumption in the United States. Understanding this water consumption behavior provides an opportunity for water savings, which are important for sustaining freshwater resources. In this study, we analyzed 1-second resolution smart water meter data from a 4-person household over one year as a demonstration. We disaggregated the data using derivative signals of the influent water flow rate at the water supply point of the home to identify start and end times of water events. k-means clustering, an unsupervised machine learning method, then categorized these water events based on information collected from the appliance/fixture end uses. The use of unsupervised learning reduces the training data requirements and lowers the barrier of implementation for the model. Using the water use profiles, we determined peak demand times and identified seasonal, weekly, and daily trends. These results provide insight into specific water conservation and efficiency opportunities within the household (e.g., reduced shower durations), including the reduction of water consumption during peak demand hours. The widespread implementation of this type of smart water metering and disaggregation system could improve water conservation and efficiency on a larger scale and reduce stress on local infrastructure systems and water resources.
Emergency Department Patients Who Leave Before Treatment Is Complete.

Author(s): Smalley, Courtney M.; Meldon, Stephen W.; Simon, Erin L.; Muir, McKinsey R.; Delgado, Fernando; Fertel, Baruch S. | Abstract: Introduction: Emergency department (ED) patients who leave before treatment is complete (LBTC) represent medicolegal risk and lost revenue. We sought to examine LBTC return visits characteristics and potential revenue effects for a large healthcare system.Methods: This retrospective, multicenter study examined all encounters from January 1–December 31, 2019 at 18 EDs. The LBTC patients were divided into left without being seen (LWBS), defined as leaving prior to completed medical screening exam (MSE), and left subsequent to being seen (LSBS), defined as leaving after MSE was complete but before disposition. We recorded 30-day returns by facility type including median return hours, admission rate, and return to index ED. Expected realization rate and potential charges were calculated for each patient visit.n Results: During the study period 626,548 ED visits occurred; 20,158 (3.2%) LBTC index encounters occurred, and 6745 (33.5%) returned within 30 days. The majority (41.7%) returned in l24 hours with 76.1% returning in 10 days and 66.4% returning to index ED. Median return time was 43.3 hours, and 23.2% were admitted. Urban community EDs had the highest 30-day return rate (37.8%, 95% confidence interval, 36.41-39.1). Patients categorized as LSBS had longer median return hours (66.0) and higher admission rates (29.8%) than the LWBS cohort. There was a net potential realization rate of $9.5 million to the healthcare system. Conclusion: In our system, LSBS patients had longer return times and higher admission rates than LWBS patients. There was significant potential financial impact for the system. Further studies should examine how healthcare systems can reduce risk and financial impacts of LBTC patients.
A Prolonged Neurological Presentation of Legionnaire's Disease.

Legionnaire's disease is an uncommon pneumonic disease that can carry a mortality rate up to 20%. It commonly presents as an atypical lower respiratory illness. However, it is important to be mindful of the various extra-pulmonic presentations of the infection. Here, we present a case of a 51-year-old female who presented to the emergency department with lethargy, slurred speech, and confusion. Legionella has been reported to present with neurological symptoms but it is not a common occurrence in each hospitalization. These neurological symptoms often lead to an extensive workup and the complexity of the diagnostic workup can significantly influence patient outcome. However, it is crucial that physicians follow a systemic approach to establish a diagnosis in an expedited manner. This case emphasizes the importance of key objective evidence of legionella that can help guide a physician's diagnostic approach.
The Important Role of Antenna Pattern Characterization in the Absolute Calibration of GNSS-R Measurements

The v3 CYGNSS Level 1 calibration algorithm uses the direct signal received by the navigation channel to estimate the GPS EIRP for calibration of the NBRCS. Three sets of antenna patterns play an important role in this calibration algorithm, including the GPS transmit antenna and the CYGNSS zenith and nadir receive antennas. In this paper, we examine how the three antenna patterns are characterized on-orbit and how they are used by the CYGNSS Level 1b calibration algorithm. The impact of antenna pattern knowledge on calibration uncertainty is evaluated and discussed.
Follow-up Study on Simplification of the Strength and Physical Fitness Indexes

Abstract This study attempted to substantiate the findings of Clarke and Carter in Oregon concerning simplification of the strength and physical fitness indexes. Test results of 316 Massachusetts senior high school boys were compared with the Oregon data. The Massachusetts results were almost identical with the original data and likewise indicated the possibility of reduction of test items with virtually no loss of accuracy. Additional examination of the Massachusetts data indicated that 15, 16, and 17 year old boys could be included in a single category of senior high school and did not require treatment by individual age.
Nucleic Acids: Overview and Analytical Strategies

Mass spectrometry is finding increased utility for the analysis of nucleic acid constituents at all structural levels, from the heterocyclic bases to intact small nucleic acids. Problems of structure elucidation of modified nucleosides in nucleic acids and their quantification, and sequence determination of oligonucleotides are major areas of investigation. This review emphasizes the most practical approaches to solutions of these types of problems. In particular, the analysis of nucleic acid constituents in mixtures, and the techniques of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) for structure elucidation and oligonucleotide analysis using electrospray and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization are emphasized.
Comparison of heparin and bivalirudin in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention without use of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors

Objectives The primary objective of this study is the compare the association between bleeding and the use unfractionated heparin (UFH) versus bivalirudin during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Background In patients undergoing PCI, the risk of bleeding with use of bivalirudin compared with UFH in the absence of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors is not well defined. Methods: Patients undergoing PCI with either UFH or bivalirudin monotherapy at a single institution between 2007 and 2014 were included (n = 6,143). Propensity score matching was used to adjust for baseline characteristics yielding 2,984 well matched patients (1,492 in each group). The primary endpoint was major non-coronary artery bypass graft (non-CABG) related bleeding as defined by a Bleeding Academic Consortium type 3 or 5. Secondary outcomes included combined major and minor bleeding, in-hospital death, periprocedural myocardial infarction, and recurrent ischemia requiring urgent revascularization (repeat PCI). Results In the propensity matched cohort, there was no difference in major bleeding between UFH and bivalirudin monotherapy (1.8% versus 2.4%, P = 0.305). Combined major and minor bleeding was also similar between the two groups (4.3% versus 4.3%, P = 1.0). Likewise, no differences were observed between the bivalirudin and UFH groups in terms of in-hospital death (0.4% versus 0.5%, P = 0.592), periprocedural myocardial infarction (1.5% versus 2.0%, P = 0.332) and repeat PCI (0.7% versus 0.8%, P = 0.669). Conclusion Among patients undergoing PCI, there was no significant difference in rate of bleeding between bivalirudin and heparin monotherapy in a real-world setting. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Future of the Past: Archeologists, Native Americans, and Repatriation.

The Future of the Past: Archeologists, Native Americans, and Repatriation. Tamara L. Bray. New York: Garland Publishing. 2001. 252 pp.
Image restoration using optical correlation

An efficient technique for restoring the original from a blurred image using the concept of fringe-adjusted joint transform. Correlation is proposed. This technique employs Fourier plane apodization using the reference image power spectrum to deblur the distorted image. The performance of the proposed technique has been enhanced significantly by employing the Fourier plane image subtraction especially for noisy input scenes involving multiple objects. The image subtraction technique eliminates the unwanted zero-order term and crosscorrelation terms produced by similar input scene objects while alleviating the effect of noise that may be present in the unknown input scene. Computer simulation results using noise-free and noise corrupted input scenes are presented to verify the performance of the proposed technique.
The cost of model reference adaptive control - Analysis, experiments, and optimization

In this paper the performance of Model Reference Adaptive Control (MRAC) is studied in numerical simulations and verified experimentally with the objective of understanding how differences between the plant and the reference model affect the control effort. MRAC is applied analytically and experimentally to a single degree of freedom system and analytically to a MIMO system with controlled differences between the model and the plant. It is shown that the control effort is sensitive to differences between the plant and the reference model. The effects of increased damping in the reference model are considered, and it is shown that requiring the controller to provide increased damping actually decreases the required control effort when differences between the plant and reference model exist. This result is useful because one of the first attempts to counteract the increased control effort due to differences between the plant and reference model might be to require less damping, however, this would actually increase the control effort. Optimization of weighting matrices is shown to help reduce the increase in required control effort. However, it was found that eventually the optimization resulted in a design that required an extremely high sampling rate for successful realization.
The effect of an anaerobic environment on the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase and other enzymes of corn seedlings

Abstract Comparable sets of corn seedlings were grown for short (24-hr.) periods under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The effect of these environmental conditions on the level of activity and rate of development of several enzymes extractable from the corn seedlings was compared. The specific and total alcohol dehydrogenase activities extractable from the embryonic axis and scutellum of corn seedlings were increased from two- to fivefold when the seedlings were grown under anaerobic conditions. The activity of triosephosphate dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and aldolase was not significantly affected by the treatments. The specific and total cytochrome oxidase activity was depressed by the anaerobic treatments. The data suggest that environmental conditions favor or retard the synthesis of specific enzymes. Three different substrates, pyruvate, acetaldehyde, and ethanol, were used to induce or cause adaptive formation of alcohol dehydrogenase in intact corn seedlings and excised shoots. These experiments indicate that acetaldehyde is the natural inducer of alcohol dehydrogenase in young corn seedlings.
Unsupervised learning of stochastic AND-OR templates for object modeling

This paper presents a framework for unsupervised learning of a hierarchical generative image model called ANDOR Template (AOT) for visual objects. The AOT includes: (1) hierarchical composition as “AND” nodes, (2) deformation of parts as continuous “OR” nodes, and (3) multiple ways of composition as discrete “OR” nodes. These AND/OR nodes form the hierarchical visual dictionary. We show that both the structure and parameters of the AOT model can be learned in an unsupervised way from example images using an information projection principle. The learning algorithm consists two steps: i) a recursive Block-Pursuit procedure to learn the hierarchical dictionary of primitives, parts and objects, which form leaf nodes, AND nodes and structural OR nodes and ii) a Graph-Compression operation to minimize model structure for better generalizability, which produce additional OR nodes across the compositional hierarchy. We investigate the conditions under which the learning algorithm can identify, (i.e. recover) an underlying AOT that generates the data, and evaluate the performance of our learning algorithm through both artificial and real examples.
BMP and FGF regulatory pathways control cell lineage diversification of heart valve precursor cells

The atrioventricular heart valve leaflets and chordae tendineae are composed of diverse cell lineages and highly organized extracellular matrices that share characteristics with cartilage and tendon cell types in the limb buds and somites. During embryonic chicken valvulogenesis, aggrecan and sox9, characteristic of cartilage cells, are observed in the AV valve leaflets, in contrast to tendon-associated genes scleraxis and tenascin, present in the chordae tendineae. In the limb buds and somites, cartilage cell lineage differentiation is regulated by BMP2, while FGF4 controls tendon cell fate. The ability of BMP2 and FGF4 to induce similar patterns of gene expression in heart valve precursor cells was examined. In multiple assays of cells from prefused endocardial cushions, BMP2 is sufficient to activate Smad1/5/8 phosphorylation and induce sox9 and aggrecan expression, while FGF4 treatment increases phosphorylated MAPK (dpERK) signaling and promotes expression of scleraxis and tenascin. However, these treatments do not alter differentiated lineage gene expression in valve progenitors from fused cushions of older embryos. Together, these studies define regulatory pathways of AV valve progenitor cell diversification into leaflets and chordae tendineae that share inductive interactions and differentiation phenotypes with cartilage and tendon cell lineages.
Periodic Decomposition of Sequential Machines

Given a minimal sequential machine M and a positive integer T, it is desired to partition the state set of M into T classes, say S0, S1, · · ·, ST-1, such that all states in S1, under all possible inputs, pass into states in Si+1 (mod T). If such a T-partition exists, M can be realized by means of periodically-varying logic, which often results in the saving of memory elements. The period of M is defined as the greatest common divisor of all cycle lengths of M—a quantity which can be readily evaluated since it depends only on a finite set of independent loops exhibited by the state graph.The main result is that a T-partition exists for M if and only if T is a divisor of the period of M. For every such T, an algorithm is given for constructing the corresponding partition. If M is not required to be minimal, it is shown (constructively) that a T-partition exists for every T.
Conditional variance and the risk premium in the foreign exchange market

Abstract We investigate the existence of a risk premium in the foreign exchange market, based on the conditional variance of market forecast errors. The forecast errors are assumed to follow the ARCH process introduced by Engle (1982) . Estimation and diagnostic testing of the model are discussed, and results are presented for the currencies of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland.
LANGUAGES FOR HIGH-PRODUCTIVITY COMPUTING: THE DARPA HPCS LANGUAGE PROJECT

We present a summary of the current state of DARPA's HPCS language project. We describe the challenges facing any new language for scalable parallel computing, including the strong competition presented by MPI and the existing Partitioned Global Address Space (PGAS) Languages. We identify some of the major features of the proposed languages, using MPI and the PGAS languages for comparison, and describe the opportunities for higher productivity along with the implementation challenges. Finally, we present the conclusions of a recent workshop in which a concrete plan for the next few years was proposed.
Parkinson's disease and quality of life: issues and challenges beyond motor symptoms.

Parkinsons disease (PD) is more treatable than other neurodegenerative disorder, such as Alzheimer disease or Huntington disease. There are pharmacologic and surgical interventions that provide effective relief of motor features and considerably diminish the motor disability of the disease. Nevertheless, many features of PD are resistant to treatment immediately or over time. In addition, PD patients experience significant changes in many other aspects of their lives. Patients commonly suffer from depression, decreased social interaction, anxiety, role alteration, and cognitive changes [1]. Gage’s [2] study of 14,000 veterans emphasized the impact of PD using the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) to measure overall health status and quality of life (QOL): Veterans with PD had lower scores (worse health) on physical and mental health scales than did those with angina/coronary heart disease, arthritis, chronic low back pain, congestive heart failure, diabetes, or stroke. Even when pharmacologic treatments restore dexterity and speed of movement, they may not restore QOL, which is defined as a person’s sense of well-being, purpose in life, autonomy, ability to assume worthwhile roles, and ability to participate in significant relationships [3–5]. These issues are especially urgent. The aging of the population and the overall increase in life expectancy mean that clinicians are likely to see increasing numbers of cases of PD and will be increasingly called upon to help maintain QOL in patients living longer with this disease. An important issue facing clinicians and researchers is the need to expand our conceptual approach to patient care and research to better address broader issues facing
Limits on magnetic moments of heavy neutrinos from nucleosynthesis

Abstract Dirac neutrinos with masses in the MeV range and having “standard model” magnetic moments are known to violate the cosmological 4 He bound. We calculate the value of the magnetic dipole moment of Dirac neutrinos in the mass range 5–35 MeV which would allow for consistency with the inferred primordial abundances of 2 H, 3 He, 4 He and 7 Li.
Reducing postischemic paraplegia using conjugated superoxide dismutase.

Abstract Paraplegia after thoracic aortic aneurysm repair has an incidence of 2.2% to 24%. Oxygen-derived free radicals after reperfusion of an ischemic spinal cord may be partly responsible for neuronal destruction. We studied the effects of polyethylene glycol-conjugated superoxide dismutase (PEG-SOD), a free radical scavenger, as a way of increasing spinal cord tolerance to ischemia. Thirty rabbits underwent 40 minutes of aortic occlusion (a known model of paraplegia). Ten of these animals received 25,000 U/kg of PEG-SOD 24 hours before aortic occlusion and two additional doses of 10,000 U/kg, one before and one subsequent to spinal ischemia. Ten animals received superoxide dismutase in the same dosages as those receiving PEG-SOD. Ten control animals received placebo. All animals were studied for 96 hours, at which time a final neurological examination was performed and the results were recorded. Of the 10 animals treated with PEG-SOD, 2 were completely paralyzed whereas 8 had less (7) or no (1) neurological impairment. Eight of the 10 control animals and 9 of the 10 animals receiving superoxide dismutase were completely paralyzed. None of the control animals or animals receiving superoxide dismutase had a normal neurological examination ( p
Coping Skills Training: A Systematic Approach to Stress Management Counseling.

This article reviews coping theory and attribution theory to present a systematic approach to stress management counseling. It shows how to teach stress coping skills.
The Spectral Irradiance Monitor: Measurement Equations and Calibration

The Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM) is a satellite-borne spectrometer aboard the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) that measures solar irradiance between 200 and 2700 nm. This instrument employs a Fery prism as a dispersing element, an electrical substitution radiometer (ESR) as the primary detector, and four additional photodiode detectors for spectral scanning. Assembling unit level calibrations of critical components and expressing the sensitivity in terms of interrelated measurement equations supplies the instrument's radiant response. The calibration and analysis of the spectrometer's dispersive and transmissive properties, light aperture metrology, and detector characteristics provide the basis for these measurement equations. The values of critical calibration parameters, such as prism and detector response degradation, are re-measured throughout the mission to correct the ground-based calibration.
Sarcoidosis of the Head and Neck

Sarcoidosis is a complex disorder that often times involves the head and neck. Despite the presence of strong clinical evidence, tissue diagnosis and imaging is needed for confirmation of the disease. Although typically managed medically, when found in the sinonasal tract or intracranially, it may necessitate the intervention of a rhinologist-skull base surgeon. This article seeks to provide a comprehensive review of head and neck sarcoidosis, as this fascinating disorder often poses a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. A brief discussion of surgical treatment for pituitary lesions is also provided. Articles from 1997 to 2013 were selected and reviewed by three researchers utilizing the most recent literature regarding sarcoidosis in the head and neck. PubMed searches were conducted using search terms such as “sarcoidosis”, “neurosarcoid”, and “extra-pulmonary sarcoid”, among many others. A large collection of articles was generated and reviewed by the team of authors, and appropriate information was extracted to compose a thorough and expansive review of the subject. 10–15 % of patients with sarcoidosis have head and neck manifestations. Sinonasal and pituitary sarcoidosis presents a diagnostic challenge owing to its non-specific symptoms. Although systemic steroid therapy is often the first time treatment, endoscopic surgery is commonly used to treat advanced pituitary sarcoidosis refractory to medical management. As tissue diagnosis and imaging is key, a multi-disciplinary team approach is advantageous. Our study collates the available literature on head and neck sarcoidosis to provide a comprehensive review of the subject. This provides helpful information to guide all practitioners involved in the care of these challenging patients, namely pathologists, radiologists, otolaryngologists, and skull base surgeons, in the workup and management of head and neck sarcoidosis.
Domain-Wall Assisted Switching of Single-Domain Nanomagnets

This paper presents experimental and computational results demonstrating that the switching of single-domain permalloy nanomagnets can be assisted by the stray field of a passing transverse domain wall. We applied external magnetic fields with different magnitudes to show that nanomagnets switch for a certain field range only if the field of a domain wall and the externally applied field are superposed. We estimate that the stray field of the domain wall provides an extra 10 mT field in addition to the externally applied field. Micromagnetic simulations are in good agreement with experimental results, revealing that the strongly localized magnetic field of a propagating transverse wall is switching nearby dots. This effect can be exploited to generate clock fields for nanomagnet devices.
Plasticizer concentration and the performance of a diffusion-controlled polymeric drug delivery system

Abstract A study of the competing effects of two plasticizers on the drug release from a diffusion-controlled, polymeric drug delivery system (PDDS) is presented. The formulation was prepared by hot melt extrusion and consisted of soluble starch as the polymer, theophylline as the drug and sorbitol as plasticizer. Through measurement of physical properties, it was demonstrated that both water and sorbitol antiplasticize soluble starch. At low water concentrations, the mechanical strength of the compacts made from soluble starch increased with increasing water concentration. With even higher water concentrations, the strength of the starch compacts began to decrease. A similar trend for mechanical properties was obtained for hot melt extrudates as a function of sorbitol concentration. The drug release profiles obtained exhibit two valleys, which can be explained as the simultaneous plasticizing effect of water from the dissolution medium and the antiplasticizing effect of sorbitol from the formulation. An important consequence is that significant unexplained variability in drug release from sustained release PDDS is possible as a result of small fluctuations in plasticizer concentration in the formulation if antiplasticizing effects are not considered as part of formulation development.
Clinical lectures that do not require prior preparation are of limited value

The objective of this study was to determine whether requiring students to intensively prepare for clinical lectures resulted in improved scores on the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Subject Examination in Obstetrics and Gynecology (subject examination). A new curriculum was developed for the class of 2000/2001 at the Medical College of Ohio. The curriculum required that students, prior to attending clinical lectures, do required reading tested by a take-home test and an in-class quiz. The performances on the subject examination for the classes of 1998/1999 and 2000/2001 were compared. This was done as a cohort study controlling for previous NBME Step I performance, educational site, and timing of the clerkship in the academic year. The 2000/01 class had raw scores 5.7 points higher on average (71.3 versus 65.6). For students in Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) off campus, who attended only half the lectures, the average score was 3 points lower in 1999, p < 0.020. In 2000, these students were required to prepare for take-home examinations and quizzes the same as in-town students, and there was no significant difference between AHEC and in-town students who attended all of the lecture series. We conclude that students have better retention and understanding of clinical information if they prepare prior to lectures. Timely self-directed learning throughout the clerkship offers an advantage over cramming in the final weeks. The timely preparation was more important than the lecture exposure for these sophisticated adult learners.
1002-90 Deletions in Chromosome 22: A Common Cause of Conotruncal and Aortic Arch Defects

The acronym CATCH 22 (Cardiac defects, Abnormal facies, Thymic hypoplasia, Cleft palate, and Hypocalcemia from deletions in chromosome 22) has been coined to describe the occurrence of microdeletions at the 22q11 locus in 75–90% of patients with DiGeorge and Shprintzen syndromes. Because little data are available regarding the frequency of deletions in non-syndromic patients with congenital heart defects, we screened 61 patients with conotruncal cardiac defects and aortic arch abnormalities. Testing included FISH (fluorescent in situ hybridization) studies with the N25 (D22S75) digoxigenin-labeled DNA probe (Oncor, Gaithersburg, MD) and high resolution cytogenetic analysis. FISH revealed deletions in 8 of 20 patients with tetralogy of Fallot, 5 of 6 with absent pulmonary valve, 4 of 9 with pulmonary atresia/malalignment ventricular septal defect, 3 of 11 with truncus arteriosus, 4 of 8 with interrupted aortic arch, 1 of 2 with anomalous origin of the right pulmonary artery (hemitruncus), and 0 of 5 patients with double outlet right ventricle. Only 7 of the 25 patients with a deletion had a clinical diagnosis of DiGeorge or Shprintzen syndromes. FISH testing in 8 sets of parents demonstrated 3 individuals with deletions. These data show a high (41%) prevalence of CATCH 22 deletions in patients with congenital conotruncal or aortic arch defects. Early detection of patients with deletions facilitates genetic counseling and the identification of medical problems associated with CATCH 22 deletions.
What Can We Learn From Clinical Trials of Exon Skipping for DMD

On 20 September 2013, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Prosensa announced that GSK's Phase III clinical trial ({"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT01254019","term_id":"NCT01254019"}}NCT01254019) of Drisapersen, an exon skipping drug for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), failed to meet the primary endpoint of a statistically significant improvement in the 6 Minute Walking Distance Test (6MWT) compared to placebo.1 On 12 November 2013, Sarepta Therapeutics announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has considered its application for accelerated approval of Eteplirsen as a DMD drug to be premature.2 The news came as a great disappointment to the scientific community and more specifically to the families and foundations that had followed the trail of research articles and press announcements. Moreover, the clinical trial results and the FDA's view of the relationship between the dystrophin biomarker and functional endpoint of 6MWT in clinic will have a far reaching impact beyond exon skipping therapy in DMD.
Submicron spheres of amorphous calcium phosphate forming in a stirred SBF solution at 55 °C

Abstract X-ray-amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) spheres were synthesized in a simulated/synthetic body fluid (SBF) solution heated to 55 to 70 °C under constant stirring at 850 rpm. The specific SBF solution ( Lac –SBF) was buffered by using Na- l -lactate and lactic acid, and did not contain any Tris or Hepes. The Lac –SBF solution of this study flawlessly matched the concentrations of the inorganic electrolyte ions of the human blood plasma. The monodisperse ACP spheres synthesized at 55 °C were 245 nm in diameter when the Lac –SBF solution contained 67 mg/L gelatin. Samples were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and inductively-coupled atomic emission spectroscopy.
Surprisingly High Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression in Chronic Breathing Disorders

Study objectives The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence, screening, and recognition of depression and anxiety in persons with chronic breathing disorders, including COPD Design Cross-sectional study Setting The Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center (MEDVAMC) Participants A large sample of 1,334 persons with chronic breathing disorder diagnoses who received care at the MEDVAMC Measurements The prevalence of anxiety and depression was measured in a large sample of persons with a chronic breathing disorder diagnosis who received care at the MEDVAMC, using the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD) screening questions. The positive predictive value of the PRIME-MD questions was then determined. The prevalence of anxiety and depressive diagnoses in patients determined to have COPD was then measured, using the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , Fourth Edition (SCID) Results Of patients screened with the PRIME-MD, 80% screened positive for depression, anxiety, or both. The predictive value of a positive phone screen for either depression or anxiety was estimated to be 80%. In the subsample of patients who had COPD and received a diagnosis using the SCID, 65% received an anxiety and/or depressive disorder diagnosis. Of those patients, only 31% were receiving treatment for depression and/or anxiety Conclusions It is troubling that a mere 31% of COPD patients with depression or anxiety are being treated, particularly given their high prevalence in this population. Practical screening instruments may help increase the recognition of anxiety and depression in medical patients, as suggested by the excellent positive predictive value of the PRIME-MD in our study
Accelerated simulation of passive tracers in ocean circulation models

A novel strategy is proposed for the efficient simulation of geochemical tracers in ocean models. The method captures the tracer advection and diffusion in a general circulation model (GCM) without any alteration (or even knowledge) of the GCM code. In comparison with offline tracer models, the proposed method is considerably more efficient and automatically includes all parameterizations of unresolved processes present in the most sophisticated GCMs. A comparison with a global configuration of the MIT GCM shows that the scheme can capture the complex three-dimensional transport of a state-of-the-art GCM. A key advantage of the proposed technique is the ability to directly compute steady-state solutions, a facility particularly well-suited to tracers such as natural radiocarbon. This capability is applied to develop a novel algorithm for accelerating the dynamical adjustment of ocean models.
Dying cancer patients: Choices at the end of life

Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia have recently received considerable attention in the literature and in the courts. Surveys have been conducted assessing physicians' attitudes toward euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Five patients were followed and counseled in a cancer support group from time of diagnosis of their malignancies until death. These case reports demonstrate the need for further studies to include interviews of dying patients. Review of these cases indicates that factors in addition to pain management and the treatment of depression, such as care by family members, support groups, and spiritual concerns, can influence patients not to act on their previous requests for euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide.