cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Biosurveillance applying scan statistics with multiple, disparate data sources

Researchers working on the Department of Defense Global Emerging Infections System (DoD-GEIS) pilot system, the Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-Based Epidemics (ESSENCE), have applied scan statistics for early outbreak detection using hoth traditional and nontraditional data sources. These sources include medical data indexed byInternational Classification of Disease, 9th Revision (ICD-9) diagnosis codes, as well as less-specific, but potentially timelier, indicators such as records of over-the-counter remedy sales and of school absenteeism. Early efforts employed the Kulldorff scan statistic as implemented in the SaTScan software of the National Cancer Institute. A key obstacle to this application is that the input data streams are typically based on time-varying factors, such as consumer behavior, rather than simply on the populations of the component subregions. We have used both modeling and recent historical data distributions to obtain background spatial distributions. Data analyses have provided guidance on how to condition and model input data to avoid excessive clustering. We have used this methodology in combining data sources for both retrospective studies of known outbreaks and surveillance of high-profile events of concern to local public health authorities. We have integrated the scan statistic capability into a Microsoft Access-based system in which we may include or exclude data sources, vary time windows separately for different data sources, censor data from subsets of individual providers or subregions, adjust the background computation method, and run retrospective or simulated studies.
The Banking Act of 1935

I. The Conditioning Economic Context, 97.— II. Federal Deposit Insurance, 99.— III. General Nature of Federal Reserve Law Amendments, 104.— IV. Changes in the Organization of the Federal Reserve System, 107.— V. The Instruments of Credit Control, 109.— VI. The Dilemma of Credit Policy, 114.
Annihilation of E′ center defects in silica glass by hydrogen treatment

Abstract It was found, using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), that the signal of E′ centers in silica glass totally disappeared following a 1 h heat-treatment at 1000 °C under hydrogen atmosphere. However, by subsequent heat-treatment at the same temperature under a dry nitrogen atmosphere, some of the E′ centers re-appeared.
Auditory evoked responses to unpredictable stimuli.

The auditory evoked response (AER) to unpredictable stimuli was studied in 18 Ss. 100 msec sound bursts consisting of either a pure tone or white noise were presented every sec. One type of stimulus constituted the frequent expected stimulus and the other the infrequent stimulus that occurred as a random substitution. For the low probability (LP) stimulus condition, the mean ratio of infrequent to frequent was 1:30; for the intermediate probability (IP), 1:15; and for the high probability (HP), 1:7.5. Ss were instructed to ignore the sounds. The amplitude of a late positive wave (P3) of the AER was largest in the LP and smallest in the HP condition. There was a general decrease of all AER components over the course of a session. No evidence of dishabituation in the AER to the stimuli following the infrequent stimuli was obtained. The results of a detailed analysis of two orbital leads make it unlikely that eye movement or eye blink could account for the results.
Tobacco-specific nitrosamines in tobacco from U.S. brand and non-U.S. brand cigarettes.

Tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) are one of the major classes of carcinogens found in tobacco products. As part of collaborative efforts to reduce tobacco use and resulting disease, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) carried out a two-phase investigation into the worldwide variation of the levels of TSNAs in cigarette tobacco. In the first phase, representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) purchased cigarettes; scientists from the CDC subsequently measured the levels of TSNAs in tobacco from 21 different countries. Although the data collected from this initial survey suggested that globally marketed U.S.-brand cigarettes typically had higher TSNA levels than locally popular non-U.S. cigarettes in many countries, the number of samples limited the statistical power of the study. To improve statistical power and to ensure adequate sampling, the CDC conducted a second survey of 14 countries. In addition to the United States, the CDC selected the world's 10 most populous countries and three additional countries, so that at least two countries from each of the six WHO regions were represented. For each country, the CDC compared 15 packs of Marlboro cigarettes, which is the world's most popular brand of cigarettes, with 15 packs of a locally popular non-U.S. brand in the study country. Marlboro cigarettes purchased in 11/13 foreign countries had significantly higher tobacco TSNA levels than the locally popular non-U.S. brands purchased in the same country. The findings suggest that TSNA levels in tobacco can be substantially reduced in some cigarettes.
The genomic organization of immunoglobulin VH genes in Xenopus laevis shows evidence for interspersion of families

Abstract The complete genomic sequences of Xenopus laevis immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region (VH) genes comprising families IV-XI are reported. Using VH family-specific probes, linkage relationships for Xenopus VHI-VHXI have been determined. With the possible exceptions of VHIII and VHVII, Xenopus VH genes appear to be interspersed. When from two to five VH segments are identified in individual clones, the elements are found to be in the same relative transcriptional orientation. Although the relationships of promoter sequences, including the regulatory octamer, resemble those seen in other vertebrate VH genes, several Xenopus VH families are associated with additional 5' octamer sequences and octamer-like motifs. The similarities between the genomic organization of VH genes in Xenopus and higher vertebrates, indicate an early phylogenetic emergence of the mammalian-type of gene organization and regulation.
Compiling self-adjusting programs with continuations

Self-adjusting programs respond automatically and efficiently to input changes by tracking the dynamic data dependences of the computation and incrementally updating the output as needed. In order to identify data dependences, previously proposed approaches require the user to make use of a set of monadic primitives. Rewriting an ordinary program into a self-adjusting program with these primitives, however, can be difficult and error-prone due to various monadic and proper-usage restrictions, some of which cannot be enforced statically. Previous work therefore suggests that self-adjusting computation would benefit from direct language and compiler support.In this paper, we propose a language-based technique for writing and compiling self-adjusting programs from ordinary programs. To compile self-adjusting programs, we use a continuation-passing style (cps) transformation to automatically infer a conservative approximation of the dynamic data dependences. To prevent the inferred, approximate dependences from degrading the performance of change propagation, we generate memoized versions of cps functions that can reuse previous work even when they are invoked with different continuations. The approach offers a natural programming style that requires minimal changes to existing code, while statically enforcing the invariants required by self-adjusting computation.We validate the feasibility of our proposal by extending Standard ML and by integrating the transformation into MLton, a whole-program optimizing compiler for Standard ML. Our experiments indicate that the proposed compilation technique can produce self-adjusting programs whose performance is consistent with the asymptotic bounds and experimental results obtained via manual rewriting (up to a constant factor).
Transspecies Urban Theory

Contemporary urban theory is anthropocentric. In an effort to foreground a transspecies urban theory, we critically assess research on the impacts of urbanization on the natural environment, the range of human–animal interactions in the city, dimensions of urban wildlife ecology, and urban wildlife management and conservation practices. An heuristic device designed to guide the future development of transspecies urban theory is proposed, building upon recent social theoretic debates.
Energy impacts of envelope tightening and mechanical ventilation for the U.S. residential sector

Abstract Effective residential envelope air sealing reduces infiltration and associated energy costs for thermal conditioning, yet often creates a need for mechanical ventilation to protect indoor air quality. This study estimated the potential energy savings of implementing airtightness improvements or absolute standards along with mechanical ventilation throughout the U.S. housing stock. We used a physics-based modeling framework to simulate the impact of envelope tightening, providing mechanical ventilation as needed. There are 113 million homes in the US. We calculated the change in energy demand for each home in a nationally representative sample of 50,000 virtual homes developed from the 2009 Residential Energy Consumption Survey. Ventilation was provided as required by 2010 and proposed 2013 versions of ASHRAE Standard 62.2. Ensuring that all current homes comply with 62.2-2010 would increase residential site energy demand by 0.07 quads (0.07 exajoules (EJ)) annually. Improving airtightness of all homes at current average retrofit performance levels would decrease demand by 0.7 quads (0.74 EJ) annually and upgrading all homes to be as airtight as the top 10% of similar homes would double the savings, leading to roughly $22 billion in annual savings in energy bills. We also analyzed the potential benefits of bringing the entire stock to airtightness specifications of IECC 2012, Canada's R2000, and passive house standards.
Passive capture and ensuing issues for a personal lifetime store

Passive capture lets people record their experiences without having to operate recording equipment, and without even having to give recording conscious thought. The advantages are increased capture, and improved participation in the event itself. However, passive capture also presents many new challenges. One key challenge is how to deal with the increased volume of media for retrieval, browsing, and organizing. This paper describes the SenseCam device, which combines a camera with a number of sensors in a pendant worn around the neck. Data from SenseCam is uploaded into a MyLifeBits repository, where a number of features, but especially correlation and relationships, are used to manage the data.
Preparation and characterisation of tritiated derivates of galactosylceramide and glucosylceramide

Radiolabelled glucosylceramide and galactosylceramide have been prepared by the catalytic tritiation of a mixture of the corresponding unlabelled sphingolipids, and purified by preparative thin-layer chromatography. The localisation of the label was determined by degrading the individual monohexosyl ceramides with aqueous methanolic hydrochloric acid and measuring the radioactivity content of the liberated fragments. Under the particular experimental conditions described, more than 98% of incorporated tritium was found in the ceramide portion of each sphingolipid, while the greater part (> 80%) of this radioactivity was detected in the long-chain fatty acid moieties. The method offers a convenient means of preparing labelled substrates suitable foruse in metabolic studies. The data suggest that to reduce costs, mixtures rather than individual sphingolipids, can be tritiated.
Concentration fluctuations in a mesoscopic oscillating chemical reaction system.

Under sustained pumping, kinetics of macroscopic nonlinear biochemical reaction systems far from equilibrium either can be in a stationary steady state or can execute sustained oscillations about a fixed mean. For a system of two dynamic species X and Y, the concentrations nx and ny will be constant or will repetitively trace a closed loop in the (nx, ny) phase plane, respectively. We study a mesoscopic system with nx and ny very small; hence the occurrence of random fluctuations modifies the deterministic behavior and the law of mass action is replaced by a stochastic model. We show that nx and ny execute cyclic random walks in the (nx, ny) plane whether or not the deterministic kinetics for the corresponding macroscopic system represents a steady or an oscillating state. Probability distributions and correlation functions for nx(t) and ny(t) show quantitative but not qualitative differences between states that would appear as either oscillating or steady in the corresponding macroscopic systems. A diffusion-like equation for probability P(nx, ny, t) is obtained for the two-dimensional Brownian motion in the (nx, ny) phase plane. In the limit of large nx, ny, the deterministic nonlinear kinetics derived from mass action is recovered. The nature of large fluctuations in an oscillating nonequilibrium system and the conceptual difference between “thermal stochasticity” and “temporal complexity” are clarified by this analysis. This result is relevant to fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and metabolic reaction networks.
Contributing factors to complications and surgical success in mouse kidney transplantation

PURPOSE: Mouse kidney transplantation is a challenging technique for novice microsurgeons. Factors that affect transplant outcomes for a clinical surgeon starting microsurgery have not yet been investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 110 consecutive mouse kidney transplants were performed over a 9-month period. Data were recorded, and surgical results and complication were analyzed. RESULTS: Three and thirty day survival rates improved from 0 (0/6) to 92.3% (12/13) between months 1 and 9. Bleeding, arterial thrombosis, kidney failure and hydronephrosis were the most common causes of transplant failure. From month 1 to month 7, using the same surgical technique, practice significantly decreased the incidence of bleeding and increased the 3-day survival rate; however, it didn't significantly decrease the incidence of thrombosis, kidney failure, but improved the 30-day survival rate. From month 8, when surgical technique used on artery anastomosis switched from continuous suture to interrupted suture, surgical survival rate at 3 and 30 days improved significantly. Interestingly, ischemia time was not a significant factor determining the success of transplantation in this study. CONCLUSIONS: Practice is essential for novice microsurgeons, and the choice of surgical techniques significantly affects surgical results. The use of interrupted arterial sutures can significantly improve mouse kidney transplantation outcomes compared with continuous sutures. Ischemic time was not a factor in determining successful of kidney transplantation in mice in this study.
Graduating internal medicine residents’ self-assessment and performance of advanced cardiac life support skills

Internal medicine residents in the US must be competent to perform procedures including Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) to become board-eligible. Our aim was to determine if residents near graduation could assess their skills in ACLS procedures accurately. Participants were 40 residents in a university-based training program. Self-assessments of confidence in managing six ACLS scenarios were measured on a 0 (very low) to 100 (very high) scale. These were compared to reliable observational ratings of residents’ performance on a high-fidelity simulator using published treatment protocols. Residents expressed strong self-confidence about managing the scenarios. Residents’ simulator performance varied widely (range from 45% to 94%). Self-confidence assessments correlated poorly with performance (median r = 0.075). Self-assessment of performance by graduating internal medicine residents was not accurate in this study. The use of self-assessment to document resident competence in procedures such as ACLS is...
Focusing an Advertising Campaign to Combat Medical Quackery

A national mail survey of 644 subjects solicited attitudes and experiences regarding the use of questionable medical products. Although respondents perceived quack medical products as harmful they also perceived quackery and health fraud as occurring quite frequently. A sizeable proportion believed that many people are helped by unproven products and that there is a conspiracy among medical professionals to hold back effective cures. Decreased credibility of the medical establishment and increased belief in the body's natural curative powers appears to underlie the public's acceptance of questionable health products and practices.
Analysis of Systems with Element-by-Element Bounded Uncertainties

This paper considers the problem of assessing the stability of multivariable system in the presence of a class of structured uncertainties, characterized by upper bounds on the absolute values of the individual elements of the uncertainty matrix. Explicit sub-optimal solutions are given and an optimal result is motivated, for determining the stability margin as well as for a Nyquist-type treatment of the problem.
Pressor effects of the tail-cuff method in awake normotensive and hypertensive rats.

RUBEN D. BUWAG Eansas City, MO.* Blood pressure standards established previously by using the tail-cuff method in awake rats usually include the cardiovascular effects of heating and restraint. To study the influence of these extraneous factors, arterial pressures were measured in unanesthetized normotensive and hypertensive rats with chronically implanted aortic catheters. When both tail-cuff and aortic pressures were recorded, rats had to be heated and restrained, and average aortic pressures were all high, But when aortic pressures were recorded alone, rats were neither heated nor restrained because the tail-cuff method was not used and consequently all average aortic pressures were low. These data suggest that the tail-cuff method by itself produces significant pressor effects. Rats with a clipped renal artery could invariably be classified as hypertensive when the tail-cuff method was used to measure pressure, but when tail-cuff measurements were omitted, aortic pressures in more than half of them were within normotensive range. However, in rats with spontaneous hypertension, aortic pressures remained consistently elevated even when tail-cuff determinations were not made. I t was recently shown that tail-cuff values approximate true arterial pressures accurately only when normotensive rats are anesthetized, but not when they are awake.3 Because the tail-cuff method is so widely used for defining normotensive and hypertensive states in awake rats, the present studies were done primarily to determine validity of such classifications.
Influence of Aging on the Physical-Mechanical Properties of Acrylic Resin Films Cast from Aqueous Dispersions and Organic Solutions

AbstractThe physical-mechanical properties of the enteric copolymers, poly(methacrylic acid, ethyl acrylate) Eudragit® L100-55, and Eudragit® L30D have been investigated. Free films of the copolymer containing varying levels of glyceryl triacetate (triacetin) and citrate ester (Citroflex®) plasticizers were prepared by both aqueous and solvent casting techniques. Conditioned films were stored at different humidities and temperatures for predetermined time periods prior to testing. Free films with plasticizer concentration ranging from 0 to 30% by weight of the polymer demonstrated that physical aging at room temperature resulted in physical-mechanical changes as the stress-strain curves indicated a decrease in the percent elongation with increases in the tensile strength. Films prepared from the aqueous latex approached a constant state of equilibrium at a faster rate than films prepared from isopropyl alcohol, where the mechanical properties approach a relatively constant value. Free films containing var...
Pyk2 and FAK differentially regulate progression of the cell cycle.

We have previously identified FAK and its associated signaling pathways as a mediator of cell cycle progression by integrins. In this report, we have analyzed the potential role and mechanism of Pyk2, a tyrosine kinase closely related to FAK, in cell cycle regulation by using tetracycline-regulated expression system as well as chimeric molecules. We have found that induction of Pyk2 inhibited G(1) to S phase transition whereas comparable induction of FAK expression accelerated it. Furthermore, expression of a chimeric protein containing Pyk2 N-terminal and kinase domain and FAK C-terminal domain (PFhy1) increased cell cycle progression as FAK. Conversely, the complementary chimeric molecule containing FAK N-terminal and kinase domain and Pyk2 C-terminal domain (FPhy2) inhibited cell cycle progression to an even greater extent than Pyk2. Biochemical analyses indicated that Pyk2 and FPhy2 stimulated JNK activation whereas FAK or PFhy1 had little effect on it, suggesting that differential activation of JNK by Pyk2 may contribute to its inhibition of cell cycle progression. In addition, Pyk2 and FPhy2 to a greater extent also inhibited Erk activation in cell adhesion whereas FAK and PFhy1 stimulated it, suggesting a role for Erk activation in mediating differential regulation of cell cycle by Pyk2 and FAK. A role for Erk and JNK pathways in mediating the cell cycle regulation by FAK and Pyk2 was also confirmed by using chemical inhibitors for these pathways. Finally, we showed that while FAK and PFhy1 were present in focal contacts, Pyk2 and FPhy2 were localized in the cytoplasm. Interestingly, both Pyk2 and FPhy2 (to a greater extent) were tyrosine phosphorylated and associated with Src and Fyn. This suggested that they may inhibit Erk activation in an analogous manner as the mislocalized FAK mutant (Δ)C14 described previously by competing with endogenous FAK for binding signaling molecules such as Src and Fyn. This model is further supported by an inhibition of endogenous FAK association with active Src by Pyk2 and FPhy2 and a partial rescue by FAK of Pyk2-mediated cell cycle inhibition.
What are the dielectric “constants” of proteins and how to validate electrostatic models?

Implicit models for evaluation of electrostatic energies in proteins include dielectric constants that represent effect of the protein environment. Unfortunately, the results obtained by such models are very sensitive to the value used for the dielectric constant. Furthermore, the factors that determine the optimal value of these constants are far from being obvious. This review considers the meaning of the protein dielectric constants and the ways to determine their optimal values. It is pointed out that typical benchmarks for validation of electrostatic models cannot discriminate between consistent and inconsistent models. In particular, the observed pKa values of surface groups can be reproduced correctly by models with entirely incorrect physical features. Thus, we introduce a discriminative benchmark that only includes residues whose pKa values are shifted significantly from their values in water. We also use the semimacroscopic version of the protein dipole Langevin dipole (PDLD/S) formulation to generate a series of models that move gradually from microscopic to fully macroscopic models. These include the linear response version of the PDLD/S models, Poisson Boltzmann (PB)-type models, and Tanford Kirkwwod (TK)-type models. Using our different models and the discriminative benchmark, we show that the protein dielectric constant, ep, is not a universal constant but simply a parameter that depends on the model used. It is also shown in agreement with our previous works that ep represents the factors that are not considered explicitly. The use of a discriminative benchmark appears to help not only in identifying nonphysical models but also in analyzing effects that are not reproduced in an accurate way by consistent models. These include the effect of water penetration and the effect of the protein reorganization. Finally, we show that the optimal dielectric constant for self-energies is not the optimal constant for charge-charge interactions. Proteins 2001;44:400–417. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Vibrations of Ballooning Elastic Strings

This paper investigates the nonlinear dynamic response of a linearly elastic string fixed at one boundary and undergoing constant speed circular motion at the other boundary. The response divides into nonlinear steady-state ballooning that is fixed relative to a rotating coordinate system and linearized vibration about the steady state. Single-loop balloons have high tension and purely imaginary eigenvalues. The single-loop vibration frequencies generally decrease with increasing balloon length. Highly extensible strings whirl in first and higher modes with forward whirling modes having lower frequencies. Axially stiff strings exhibit whirling only in higher modes. If the nondimensional string stiffness is larger than 1000, then the inextensible steady-state solutions and the lowest six vibration frequencies match the extensible results to within three percent. One-and-a-half loop balloons are divergently unstable. Long and/or sufficiently extensible strings form low-tension double-loop balloons. Inextensible double balloons are coupled mode flutter unstable. The steady-state balloons, steady-state eyelet tension, and balloon stability are experimentally verified.
Daily Well Being of Cancer Survivors: The Role of Somatic Amplification

Objective: The current study examined the role that somatic amplification plays in placing cancer survivors at an increased risk of impairments in daily well-being, specifically severity of physical symptoms, positive affect and negative affect. Methods: Participants were drawn from Midlife Development in the United States National Study of daily health and well-being (MIDUS) and the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE, Project 2). One hundred eleven individuals with a cancer history were compared with a matched comparison group of individuals who did not have a cancer history. Results: Results show that across both groups, somatic amplification is associated with higher negative affect and higher severity of physical symptoms. However, results also show that a somatic amplification by cancer status interaction predicts severity of physical symptoms. The significant interaction indicates that in the comparison group, level of physical symptom severity is the same regardless of whether the individual is high or low on somatic amplification. However, in the group of individuals with a cancer history, individuals who are high on somatic amplification report more severe physical symptoms than individuals who are low on somatic amplification. Conclusions: These findings suggest that heightened attention to minor bodily symptoms impacts individuals with a cancer history differently than individuals who have not experienced cancer, and therefore, may have important implications for the manner in which continued care is provided to cancer survivors. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Contingency assessment for voltage dip and short term voltage stability analysis

This paper proposes a novel approach for contingency filtering, ranking and assessment for contingencies that cause power quality and voltage instability problems. The approach consists of two-block technique: the first block filters out dangerous contingencies from a list of credible contingencies; then second block ranks and assesses them. Apart from ranking contingencies in order of their severity (CSI); a new concept of finding dynamic bus voltage vulnerability index (DBVVI) is proposed and is used to rank buses in order of their vulnerability. This filtering, ranking and assessment (FRA) approach uses decoupled time domain method for analysis. Decouple time-domain method is a good blend of accuracy and computational efficiency. The proposed FRA approach is totally generic; it can adapt itself to any specifics of power system (i.e. modeling, protection), any contingency scenario (i.e. N-1, N-2), and for any type of application (planning, operation). The approach is illustrated on IEEE 39 Bus system. The capability of filtering and ranking methodology is illustrated by its performance criteria: reliability, effectiveness and computational efficiency. Finally, the information obtained from filtering and ranking is used for assessment to provide planner/operator with sound information to aid them in deciding an effective control strategy to make power system more robust.
Post‐folding remagnetization that passes the fold test

SUMMARY The palaeomagnetism of folded Cretaceous redbeds in the Methow-Pasayten belt of Washington was studied in an attempt to resolve the tilt versus translation origin of shallow inclinations found in most Cretaceous plutonic rocks of the Pacific Northwest. After elimination of results from apparently strained, overturned beds, correction to palaeohorizontal of the high-temperature, dominant components produced two distinct directions, one from each of two areas. Treated separately, the magnetizations from these two areas appear to pass the fold test. Both directions are anomalously shallow which is typical of the region, but the discrepancy between them casts doubt that both could have been acquired when the strata were horizontal. Instead we propose that they date from at least two episodes of remagnetization after the planar strata were tilted but before development of the tighter folds observed today. Our caution is that a positive fold test only establishes that a magnetization likely was acquired when strata in an area were planar. Other arguments are required to demonstrate that this planar surface was in fact horizontal during magnetization.
A unifying link abstraction for wireless sensor networks

Recent technological advances and the continuing quest for greater efficiency have led to an explosion of link and network protocols for wireless sensor networks. These protocols embody very different assumptions about network stack composition and, as such, have limited interoperability. It has been suggested [3] that, in principle, wireless sensor networks would benefit from a unifying abstraction (or "narrow waist" in architectural terms), and that this abstraction should be closer to the link level than the network level. This paper takes that vague principle and turns it into practice, by proposing a specific unifying sensornet protocol (SP) that provides shared neighbor management and a message pool.The two goals of a unifying abstraction are generality and efficiency: it should be capable of running over a broad range of link-layer technologies and supporting a wide variety of network protocols, and doing so should not lead to a significant loss of efficiency. To investigate the extent to which SP meets these goals, we implemented SP (in TinyOS) on top of two very different radio technologies: B-MAC on mica2 and IEEE 802.15.4 on Telos. We also built a variety of network protocols on SP, including examples of collection routing [53], dissemination [26], and aggregation [33]. Measurements show that these protocols do not sacrifice performance through the use of our SP abstraction.
Surgeons' preferences and practice patterns regarding intraoperative frozen section during partial nephrectomy.

Abstract Purpose Intraoperative frozen section (FS) evaluation for tumor margin during partial nephrectomy (PN) is a matter of controversy in urologic oncology. We evaluated the preferences and practice patterns of urologists regarding intraoperative FS during PN. Methods A 17-item questionnaire was designed to collect information on surgeons’ preferences and practice patterns regarding FS during PN. The survey was sent to the members of the Society of Urologic Oncology and Endourological Society. Results A total of 197 responses were received. Overall, 69% and 58% of respondents chose to obtain FS (always or sometimes) during open PN (OPN) and laparoscopic PN (LPN), respectively. There was a strong correlation between the surgeons’ preferences during OPN and LPN. Younger surgeons are less likely to obtain FS during OPN. For surgeons who did not routinely obtain FS, “confidence about complete resection” was the most common reason (79%), followed by “no change in management with positive margins” (35%). Most surgeons (75%) believed the margins to be negative, if surgical margin was free of tumor microscopically by a single cell layer. Older surgeons considered negative margins to be free of tumor microscopically by ≥5 mm. Overall, 54% and 42% of respondents would repeat FS for positive microscopic margins during OPN and LPN, respectively. Of the respondents, 95% would not recommend additional treatment for positive margins on final pathology. Conclusion Despite recent literature pointing to low clinical utility of FS, most surgeons still obtain FS during PN. Older surgeons tend to obtain FS more often. Fellowship training and practice type do not appear to influence preferences and practice patterns in regard to FS.
Blade penetration into a vortex core with and without axial core flow

A computational study of the penetration of a blade into the core of an initially columnar vortex in an incompressible viscous fluid and the subsequent cutting of the vortex is reported for the case where the blade axis is initially orthogonal to the vortex axis. The vortex is advected toward the fixed blade by a free-stream velocity oriented tangent to the blade chord, where the free-stream speed is sufficiently large that the vortex does not induce ejection of vorticity from the blade boundary layer prior to impact of the vortex core with the blade leading edge. A range of computations are performed for cases both with and without ambient axial flow in the vortex core. As the blade leading edge penetrates into the vortex core, cross-diffusion between the columnar vortex and the blade boundary layer causes vortex lines originating in the columnar vortex to rapidly reconnect to those in the blade boundary layer. This cutting process is found to be always incomplete however, due to a change in sign of the spanwise vortex-induced velocity along the leading edge as the vortex is cut, leaving a thin vortex sheet that wraps around the blade leading edge. Cutting of a vortex with non-zero axial flow causes an asymmetry that results in an impulsive lift force on the blade. This lift force has maximum magnitude during the time period where the blade leading edge penetrates into the vortex core. Both the vortex cutting process and the unsteady lift force on the blade are found to be approximately independent of Reynolds number for the various cases examined.
Telephone focus groups: Strengths, challenges, and strategies for success

Telephone focus groups offer an alternative to the limitations of traditional face-to-face focus groups for conducting research with rural research participants or those who are unable to meet in a...
Effects of digoxin and enalapril on heart period variability and response to head-up tilt in normal subjects☆

Abstract To test the effects of digitalis and angiotensinconverting enzyme inhibition on the RR interval variability in an electrocardiogram, 20 normal subjects were given digoxin 0.25 mg, enalapril 10 mg, and placebo twice daily in a randomized, doubleblind, crossover study. Continuous 24-hour electrocardiographic recordings obtained on day 5 of each treatment were analyzed and several time domain and power spectral measures of heart period variability were calculated. Digoxin markedly increased (up to 51%) indexes of vagal modulation of heart period without changing mean RR interval. Enalapril did not change any measure of heart period variability despite a modest hypertensive effect. To determine the effect of each treatment on the response to orthostatic stress, 10 subjects also underwent 15 minutes of 60 ° headup tilt; power spectra were calculated for 15 minutes at 0 ° and at 60 ° of tilt. Neither active treatment affected the response to head-up tilt.
The Effects of Supplemental Pantothenic Acid in Grow-Finish Pig Diets on Growth Performance and Carcass Composition

Abstract One hundred eighty pigs were used in a 15-wk experiment to determine the effects of supplementing pantothenic acid (PA) to the diet for 49 or 105 d prior to slaughter on growth performance and carcass characteristics. Pigs were blocked by sex and BW (initial = 29 kg) and were randomly assigned to pens (30 pens; six pigs per pen). Treatments included 1) control (13.2 ppm of PA), 2) control + 30 ppm of PA for 105 d preslaughter, and 3) control + 30 ppm of PA for 49 d preslaughter. Pig BW and pen feed intake were recorded biweekly. Ultrasonic estimates of 10th rib longissimus area (LEA) and fat thickness were recorded at 4-wk intervals on 3 pigs per pen. After 105 d, pigs were slaughtered, and individual hot carcass weights, American Ultrasound Services (AUS) backfat, and loin muscle depths (LMD) were recorded. Supplementation of PA did not affect (P> 0.10) overall ADG, ADFI, or feed efficiency. Tenth and last rib ultrasound thickness and LEA were not different (P> 0.10) between control-fed pigs and PA-supplemented pigs. Tenth rib carcass fat depths were numerically less for pigs fed diets with supplemental PA, but differences were not significant (P>0.10). Similarly, there was no effect of PA supplementation on carcass 10th rib LMD (P> 0.10). However, carcass lean percentage tended (P 13.2 ppm alters carcass composition.
Reconciling provenance policy conflicts by inventing anonymous nodes

In scientific collaborations, provenance is increasingly used to understand, debug, and explain the processing history of data, and to determine the validity and quality of data products. While provenance is easily recorded by scientific workflow systems, it can be infeasible or undesirable to publish provenance details for all data products of a workflow run. We have developed ProPub, a system that allows users to publish a customized version of their data provenance, based on a set of publication and customization requests, while observing certain provenance publication policies, expressed as logic integrity constraints. When user requests conflict with provenance policies, repair actions become necessary. In prior work, we removed additional parts of the provenance graph (i.e., not directly requested by the user) to repair constraint violations. In this paper, we present an alternative approach, which ensures that all relevant nodes are retained in the provenance graph. The key idea is to introduce new anonymous nodes to represent lineage dependencies, without revealing information that the user wants to protect. With this new approach, a user may now explore different provenance publication strategies, and choose the most appropriate one before publishing sensitive provenance data.
Behavioural, Mucosal and Systemic Immune Parameters in HIV-infected and Uninfected Injection Drug Users.

Objective: Injection drug use (IDU) remains a major risk factor for HIV-1 acquisition. The complex interplay between drug use, non-sterile injection, and Hepatitis C remains poorly understood. We conducted a pilot study to determine the effect of IDU on immune parameters among HIV-uninfected and -infected individuals. We hypothesized that IDU could further augment immunological changes associated with HIV-1 infection, which could in turn affect HIV pathogenesis Methods: HIV-uninfected and -infected subjects with IDU, and non-IDU controls were recruited to obtain socio-demographic and drug-related behaviours. Blood (PBMC) and mucosal (MMC) mononuclear cells were analysed for cellular markers of immune activation (CD38 and Ki67). Serum ELISA was performed to determine levels of soluble CD14, a marker of immune activation. Results: No significant quantitative differences in CD4+ and CD8+ T cell levels were observed between IDU and non-IDU subjects when accounting for the presence of HIV-1 infection. However, increased levels of cellular and soluble markers of immune activation were documented in cells and plasma of HIV-uninfected IDU subjects compared to non-injectors. Additionally, sharing of injection paraphernalia was related to immune activation among HIV-uninfected IDU subjects. Conclusion: IDU, with or without HIV-1 infection, results in a significant increase in immune activation in both the peripheral blood and the GI tract. This may have significant impact on HIV transmission, pathogenesis, and immunologic responses to combination antiviral therapy. This study provides compelling preliminary results which in turn support larger studies to better define the relationship between IDU, infection with HIV-1, co-infection with Hepatitis C and immunity.
Explanation in the Psychology of Personality

During an informal presentation given for interested departmental colleagues several years ago, I characterized personality psychology as a discipline concerned to provide theoretically based explanations for and hence an understanding of the behavior/psychological functioning of individuals. Immediately, a colleague with scholarly interests in the area of sensation/perception challenged the adequacy of my circumscription of the field on the grounds that, in the final analysis, it would fail to differentiate the study of personality from various other subdisciplines of psychology. Conceding that he was probably correct on this point, I hastened to add that, for reasons once well put by Gordon Allport, that prospect did not particularly trouble me: Every mental function is embedded in personal life. In no concrete sense is there such a thing as intelligence, space perception, color discrimination, or choice reaction; there are only people who are capable of performing such activities and of having such experiences (Allport, 1937, p. 18).
Raman spectroscopy of Fe-Ti-Cr-oxides, case study: Martian meteorite EETA79001

Raman spectral features of chromite, ulvospinel, magnetite, ilmenite, hematite, and some of their solid solutions are presented. Although most Fe-Ti-Cr-oxides produce relatively weak Raman signals compared to oxyanionic minerals, sufficient information can be extracted from their spectra to identify the end-member mineral phases as well as some information about compositional variations in solid solutions. Correlations between Raman spectral features and mineral chemistry are used to interpret the Raman data of Fe-Ti-Cr oxides found during Raman point-count measurements on rock chips of Martian meteorite EETA79001, as an analog to Mars on-surface planetary investigations. In general, ulvospinel, magnetite, and chromite end-members are readily distinguished by their Raman spectral patterns, as are ilmenite and hematite. In the low signal-to-noise (S/N) spectra generally obtained from the Raman point-count procedure, the position and shape of the strongest peak of Fe-Ti-Cr oxides in the region 660–680 cm−1 (A1g mode) is the most useful for discriminating Fe3+-Ti-Cr-Al substitutions in the magnetite-ulvospinel, ulvospinel-chromite, and chromite-spinel series, but minor peaks in the range 300–600 cm−1 also assist in discrimination. These spectral features are useful for investigating the variability among Fe-Ti-Cr-Al oxide solid solutions in natural samples. In EETA79001, a Martian basaltic meteorite, most of the oxide grains (as measured with the electron microprobe) are ulvospinel, chromian ulvospinel, and chromite, but ilmenite, titanian chromite, and titanomagnetite are also observed. The Fe-Ti-Cr-oxides identified by Raman point-count include end-member ilmenite, low-Al chromite-spinel solid solutions, ulvospinel-magnetite solid solutions, and more complex chromite-spinel-ulvospinel-magnetite solid solutions; the latter exhibit a wide range of main peak positions and broadened peak widths that may reflect structural disorder as well One Raman spectrum suggests end-member magnetite, and one spectrum from a different rock chip appears to be that of non-terrestrial hematite, reflecting local oxidizing alteration, which has not been observed previously in this meteorite. These results show that analyses done in an automated mode on the surface of an unprepared Martian rock sample can provide useful constraints on the Fe-Ti-Cr oxide mineralogy present and on compositional variations within those minerals, including an indication of oxygen fugacity.
Portal Vein Recanalization and Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt Creation for Chronic Portal Vein Thrombosis: Technical Considerations

Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is common in cirrhotic patients and presents a challenge at the time of transplant. Owing to the increased posttransplant morbidity and mortality associated with complete PVT, the presence of PVT is a relative contraindication to liver transplantation at many centers. Our group began performing portal vein (PV) recanalization and transjugular intrahepatic portostystemic shunt placement (PVR-TIPS) several years ago to optimize the transplant candidacy of patients with PVT. The procedure has evolved to include transsplenic access to assist with recanalization, which is now our preferred method due to its technical success without significant added morbidity. Here, we describe in detail our approach to PVR-TIPS with a focus on the transsplenic method. The procedure was attempted in 61 patients and was technically successful in 60 patients (98%). After transitioning to transsplenic access to assist with recanalization, the technical success rate has improved to 100%. The recanalized portal vein and TIPS have maintained patency during follow-up, or to the time of transplant, in 55 patients (92%) with a mean follow-up of 16.7 months. In total, 23 patients (38%) have undergone transplant, all of whom received a physiologic anastomosis (end-to-end anastomosis in 22 of 23 patients, 96%). PVR-TIPS placement should be considered as an option for patients with chronic PVT in need of transplantation. Transsplenic access makes the procedure technically straightforward and should be considered as the primary method for recanalization.
Distribution and Status of the Wolverine in Montana

Wolverines ( Gulo gulo ) were probably distributed throughout the mountainous areas of Montana until the western fur trade became active. If Coues (1893) was correct in his interpretation of remarks in the journals of the Lewis and Clark expedition, possibly the earliest recorded observations of the wolverine in Montana were made in 1805 near the present city of Great Falls and in the Big Hole Valley near the Idaho-Montana border. Even as late as 1927 the wolverine population of Yellowstone Park was estimated at six or eight by Skinner (1927), but from information available from trappers and fur buyers it seems likely that in most areas of Montana the wolverine was near extinction before that time. In recent years, however, wolverines have been seen and shot or trapped with increasing frequency in the northwestern portion of the state. In an effort to evaluate this apparent regrowth of population the authors investigated many reports provided by trappers, hunters and other woodsmen. All reports which were not supported by specimens were carefully evaluated and it is believed that all presented here are completely authentic. Although the 21 capture records date back to 1932, 18 were taken since 1939. Eleven have been shot or trapped since 1950. To our knowledge, recent sight records of wolverines began only in 1944 and since then at least twenty observations have been made. The records obtained can be seen in Figure 1 and Tables 1 and 2. Fig. 1 Recent records of wolverine in Montana. View this table: Table 1 Sight records of wolverine in Montana View this table: Table 2 Capture records of wolverine in Montana Material from eight of the wolverines taken is in the Montana State …