cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Treatment of acute visceral aortic pathology with fenestrated/branched endovascular repair in high-surgical-risk patients

Objective The safety and feasibility of fenestrated/branched endovascular repair of acute visceral aortic disease in high-risk patients is unknown. The purpose of this report is to describe our experience with surgeon-modified endovascular aneurysm repair (sm-EVAR) for the urgent or emergent treatment of pathology involving the branched segment of the aorta in patients deemed to have prohibitively high medical and/or anatomic risk for open repair. Methods A retrospective review was performed on all patients treated with sm-EVAR for acute indications. Planning was based on three-dimensional computed tomographic angiogram reconstructions and graft configurations included various combinations of branch, fenestration, or scallop modifications. Results Sixteen patients (mean age [± standard deviation], 68 ±10 years; 88% male) deemed high risk for open repair underwent urgent or emergent repair using sm-EVAR. Indications included degenerative suprarenal or thoracoabdominal aneurysm (six), presumed or known mycotic aneurysm (four), anastomotic pseudoaneurysm (three), false lumen rupture of type B dissection (two), and penetrating aortic ulceration (one). Nine (56%) had previous aortic surgery and all patients were either American Society of Anesthesiologists class IV (n = 9) or IV-E (n = 7). A total of 40 visceral vessels (celiac, 10; superior mesenteric artery, 10; right renal artery, 10; left renal artery, 10) were revascularized with a combination of fenestrations (33), directional graft branches (six), and graft scallops (one). Technical success was 94% (n = 15/16), with one open conversion. Median contrast use was 126 mL (range, 41-245) and fluoroscopy time was 70 minutes (range, 18-200). Endoleaks were identified intraoperatively in four patients (type II, n = 3; type IV, n = 1), but none have required remediation. Mean length of stay was 12 ± 15 days (median, 5.5; range, 3-59). Single complications occurred in five (31%) patients as follows: brachial sheath hematoma (one), stroke (one), ileus (one), respiratory failure (one), and renal failure (one). An additional patient experienced multiple complications including spinal cord ischemia (one) and multiorgan failure resulting in death (n = 1; in-hospital mortality, 6.3%). The majority of patients were discharged to home (63%; n = 10) or short-term rehabilitation units (25%; n = 4), while one patient required admission to a long-term acute care setting. There were no reinterventions at a median follow-up of 6.2 (range, 1-16.1) months. Postoperative computed tomographic angiogram was available for all patients and demonstrated 100% branch vessel patency, with one type III endoleak pending intervention. There were two late deaths at 1.4 and 13.4 months due to nonaortic-related pathology. Conclusions Urgent or emergent treatment of acute pathology involving the visceral aortic segment with fenestrated/branched endograft repair is feasible and safe in selected high-risk patients; however, the durability of these repairs is yet to be determined.
Metabolism of methapyrilene by rat-liver homogenate.

1. The metabolism of methapyrilene(I) in rat-liver 9000g supernatant fraction produced four new metabolites positively identified by comparison of g.l.c. retention times and mass-spectral fragmentation patterns with those of authentic materials. These compounds are 2-thiophene-methanol(VI), 2-thiophenecarboxylic acid(VII), N-2-pyridyl-N′-dimethylethylenediamine(IX) and 2-aminopyridine(X).2. In addition, the previously known metabolite 2-[(2-thienylmethyl)amino]-pyridine(VIII) was also positively identified.3. Six other metabolites were tentatively identified by analysis of the mass-spectral fragmentation patterns of both the trimethylsilyl and the tertiary butyldimethylsilyl derivatives of each compound. These compounds are tentatively identified as: normethapyrilene(II), (hydroxypyridyl)-methapyrilene(XII), methapyrilenamide(XIV), (hydroxypyridyl)-normethapyrilene(XVI), (hydroxypyridyl)-desmethylmethapyrilenamide(XVII), and (hydroxypyridyl) methapyrilenamide(XVIII).4. Quantification of II, VI-X, XII and ...
The physical properties of microcellular composite foams

Recently we reported on a method of preparing microcellular composite foams. In this procedure an open-celled polystyrene foam is prepared by the polymerization of a high-internal-phase water-in-oil emulsion containing styrene, divinylbenzene, surfactant, free-radical initiator and water. After drying, the cells of the polystyrene foam are then filled with other materials such as aerogel or resoles. The physical properties of these materials e.g., surface area, density, thermal conductivity, and compressive strength will be presented.
Existence of dual mass: experimental evidence.

This second article on dual mass investigates the physical evidence for the existence of dual mass. We discuss three possible observations that could be used to bound the amount of dual mass in the solar system: the Eotvos experiment, the relativistic pendulum, and planetary orbits. The Eotvos experiment is used to conclude that the ratio of dual mass to ordinary mass is a constant. Under this assumption the dual mass effects are proportional to a dimensionless parameterκ which is proportional to the ratio of dual to ordinary mass. We consider two effects: First we show that a pendulum swinging in the gravitational field of the earth would be subject to a precession of the plane of oscillation; second, we show that dual mass in the solar system creates a lifting of planetary orbits. Observations of a pendulum should yieldκ to an accuracy of 10−4 and limits on the detectability of the planetary lifting puts an upper bound onκ of about 10−1.
Patellar tension band wiring: a revised technique.

Using a modified AO tension band wiring technique to treat a patellar fracture has become popular and has achieved a high success rate. However, the technique of Kirschner wire insertion has not been considered in detail, which may migrate and consequently introduce fragments loss of reduction. A revised technique involving bending both ends of the Kirschner wires was prospectively studied. Sixty-eight consecutive patients were so treated, and 62 patients were followed-up for at least 2 years (range 2–6 years). All fractures healed with a union rate of 100% (62/62) and a union period of 2.5 ± 0.5 months. Skin irritation was noted in 2 patients (3%). All patients achieved a satisfactory result. We therefore recommend this revised technique to treat all patellar fractures because of its high union rate and low complication rate.
Student-faculty collaboration on design of innovative agile software engineering curriculum

The use of agile methodology components — agile methods, techniques, framework, tools, and applications — has more than tripled in the several most recent years because multiple large-size, middle-size and mostly small-size enterprises move from traditional heavily regulated processes-driven business approaches towards customer-focused and value-driven flexible business approaches. The performed analysis of the current status of agile methodology applications in industry clearly shows that it will soon need a significant number of well educated and highly skilled specialists in this area — agile software development project managers, agile software engineers, analysts, developers, testers, etc. The findings and outcomes of performed research motivated the authors — faculty and graduate student at Bradley University (Peoria, IL, U.S.A.)-to propose and design innovative Agile Software Engineering academic curriculum. This paper presents the main findings and outcomes of analysis, design and development phases of innovative Agile Software Engineering curriculum and courseware creation.
Heat activation of plant virus infections.

Abstract When bean or cowpea leaves were inoculated with certain viruses and, within 8 seconds after mechanical inoculation, held in water or mercury for 0.5-4 seconds at 45–65°, the number of resulting lesions were increased. As the interval from inoculation to heating was increased beyond 10 seconds, heat activation decreased and heat inactivation occurred from 1 minute to 3 hours after inoculation, followed by heat activation again from 5 to 24 hours after inoculation, after which heat had little effect on numbers of lesions. As the duration of heat increased beyond 4 seconds, heat activation decreased and heat inactivation increased. The optimum heating time for increasing the number of lesions, and minimum time for maximum reduction in lesion formation decreased with increasing temperature. The greatest increase in infection from heating inoculated leaves was with the sweet potato strain of tobacco mosaic virus on Pinto bean.
Discriminant Analysis via Statistical Packages.

The two aspects of discriminant analysis are briefly reviewed: predictive discriminant analysis (PDA) and descriptive discriminant analysis (DDA). Use of three popular statistical packages (BMDP, SAS, and SPSS) to obtain computational results for a PDA and for a DDA is generally reviewed. Results yielded by two BMDP procedures (7M and SM) are discussed, as are four SAS procedures (DISCRIM, STEPDISC, CANDISC, and GLM), and two SPSS procedures (DISCRIMINANT and MANOVA). It is pointed out which procedures are used to obtain PDAresults and which are used for PDAresults. Examples of printout information are given. Some of these examples pertain to misleading information-one to incorrect information, and some, of course, to very useful information. The need for nonpackage analyses to generate specific PDA and DDA information is also mentioned.
The Child with Cancer. Influence of Culture on Truth‐telling and Patient Care

The definition, understanding, and shaping of childhood and adolescence vary widely. The cultural life of a community determines how children are valued and what measures will be taken to insure their health. It will also determine the family's responses to an ill child. It is for these reasons that health-care professionals should be sensitive to culturally defined health beliefs and practices that may explain behaviors such as nonadherence to prescribed therapies, the degree and quality of parents' involvement in patient care, and the family's relationship with health-care staff. Assessments of health beliefs and practices, family composition, religious rites, and beliefs about illness causation should be routinely made on each family. These assessments provide important information that will facilitate the design of treatment plans that are congruent with a family's cultural heritage. Knowledge of cultural factors should not exclude an individualized approach to families. Each family should be evaluated in ways that allow us to identify their individual as well as culturally defined characteristics. This will eliminate the cultural stereotyping that may occur in the context of behaviors that are not well understood in a particular health-care setting. Research studies in which health behaviors are correlated with culturally defined values and practices need to be carried out. The International Psycho-Oncology Society, through its National Representation Committee, is currently investigating oncology practices around the world. Nearly 30 countries are participating in this attempt to identify cultural variations in truth-telling, palliative care, pain control, and use of alternative medicine in oncology. The importance of this study lies not only in the results that it will yield, but also in the joint effort that it has required to share professional experiences and to enhance efficient communication among oncologists internationally. This study may also be used as a model to investigate oncology practices in pediatric health-care settings.
US Workfare: Neither Deliverance Nor Delusion

Has workfare worked in the United States? Professor John Addison of the University of South Carolina describes the experiments with workfare in the United States and concludes that although more research is needed the idea could be adapted successfully for other countries including Britain.
Ecology of the American Dog Tick, Dermacentor variabilis, in a Study Area in Virginia. 3. Studies on Dispersal of Immature Ticks by Small-Mammal Hosts

Dispersal of radioisotope-tagged immature ticks, Dermacentor variabilis (Say), by small-mammal hosts was observed, extending to 990 feet from an area where they were released. Most dispersal occurred during the spring activity period, when survivors of the marked population released the previous summer were seeking hosts. Wide-ranging white-footed mice, Peromyscus leucopus (Rafinesque), appeared to have been especially important in dispersing these ticks. White-footed mice infested with tagged ticks in the control area (where no tagged ticks had been released) had significantly greater spacing and range than other mice in the same area not infested with these ticks. This information may be important in evaluating the potential spread of tick-borne diseases, e.g. Rocky Mountain fever.
Detection limit for carbon in InSb during SIMS depth profiling

Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is commonly used to determine the depth distribution of carbon in semiconductors. Carbonaceous residual gases in SIMS insturumentation and memory effects associated with carbon redeposition within the sputtered craters normally limit the detectability of carbon to ∼ 1 × 1017 C cm−3. In this investigation, the effects of primary ion (Cs+ and O2+), primary ion current (also current density), secondary ion, secondary ion energy discrimination, cryogenic cold finger and vacuum on the SIMS analysis of carbon in InSb were examined and optimized. Under optimized analysis conditions, the detection limit for carbon was reduced to ∼ 1 × 1016 C cm−3. Detection of the 123SB12C− molecular ion rather than 12C− was found to increase the sensitivity to carbon by ∼ 3 ×. In addition, 123Sb12C− was found to be less sensitive to carbon contamination present on as-received surfaces or incorporated from the analytical environment.
Hepatitis B and Alterations of the p53 Tumor Suppressor Gene in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

In areas of the world where hepatitis B and aflatoxin ingestion are common, alterations of the p53 tumor suppressor gene have frequently been reported in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In particular, G-to-T transversions at codon 249 of the p53 gene have been consistently observed in hepatocellular carcinomas in China and sub- Saharan Africa. The goal of this study was to determine the frequency and relationship of p53 gene alterations and hepatitis B in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded HCCs resected in the United States. Since immunoreactivity for p53 correlates closely with the presence of missense mutations in the p53 gene, we performed immunohistochemical staining with the monoclonal antibody PAbl801. Only seven of 37 cases (19%) demonstrated nuclear accumulation of p53 gene product, in contrast to 10 of 20 cases (50%) of colon carcinoma metastatic to the liver. Staining was not observed in seven liver cell adenomas, 10 cases of focal nodular hyperplasia, or eight cases of cirrhosis. DNA was extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin sections for additional analysis with use of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). G-to-T transversions of the third nucleotide of codon 249 were demonstrated in only four of 37 cases (11%), three of which had stained with PAbl801. Of 13 patients for whom there was information about a restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) for BstUl within the fourth exon of the p53 gene, allelic loss of p53 was demonstrated in only two cases (15%), both of which stained with PAbl801. Because of previous reports specifically associating hepatitis B with p53 mutations in HCC, we performed nested PCR for hepatitis B virus DNA. Five of 37 cases (14%) contained hepatitis B virus DNA, two of which stained diffusely for p53 and three of which had codon 249 mutations. Our findings indicate that alterations in the p53 gene, particularly at codon 249, are uncommon in HCCs in the United States, and when present are associated with hepatitis B. Since hepatitis B is infrequently associated with HCC in our patient population, the role of p53 alterations in hepatocellular carcinogenesis may not be as significant as in other parts of the world where hepatitis B and aflatoxin are more prevalent
Patterned redox arrays of polyarylamines. III. Effect of molecular structure and oxidation potential on film morphology and hole-injection in single-layer organic diodes

A series of organic diodes made from arylamines has been prepared by vapor deposition onto silver electrodes. Under forward bias a hole current flows through the diode when a turn-on voltage is exceeded. The results demonstrate that the turn-on voltage for hole-injection is directly proportional to the first oxidation potential of the arylamine. The turn-on voltage is found to increase linearly with increasing film thickness, suggesting an electric-field-mediated hole-injection mechanism. The molecular structure was also found to influence film morphology with the larger dendritic arylamines tending to produce smoother, more continuous films than those observed from the smaller, more symmetric amines.
A new extension of fuzzy convergence

Abstract Fuzzy net-theory and fuzzy ideal-theory are both very important tools in fuzzy topology. In this paper, a new extension of fuzzy convergence is presented. The N-limit point and N-cluster point of an L-fuzzy net (resp. an L-fuzzy ideal), N-closed set and N-open set in an L-fuzzy topological space are defined by means of the near N-compactness, and their various properties and mutual relationships are discussed. The N-convergence theory which is a proper generalization of the Moore–Smith convergence theory in fuzzy setting is established.
Preadmission to a Children's Residential Program

The prospect of a child's admission to a psychiatric residential unit represents a crisis for the entire family. It also represents a change in the equilibrium established within the present population of children and staff of the residential program. A preadmission program is a response to the needs of the family, needs of the child, and needs of the program. It is an attempt to minimize anxiety, clarify distortions, and provide a model for future therapeutic endeavors. The preadmission phase is the first of three separate and over-lapping phases of treatment that comprise a children's residential program, the other phases being the admission or inpatient phase, and the aftercare or follow-up phase. In practice one cannot distinctly separate these three treatment phases, just as one cannot separate diagnosis and treatment. However, for the purpose of this paper the preadmission phase will be examined alone. Preadmission begins following the referral and a tentative acceptance of the referral based on objective criteria such as vacancy, age range, appropriate sex for segregated programs, and any other specific requirements. In general, children who are being considered for psychiatric residential treatment should have had an outpatient experience prior to their referral. This follows a heirarchy of treatment approaches and supports the idea that almost regardless of pathology, a child should be in therapy within his current life situation to determine if therapeutic modification can occur before residential treatment is initiated. Preadmission ends with the official admission of the child to the treatment program, and the child being physically admitted to the facility.
Atrazine, Deethylatrazine, and Deisopropylatrazine in Surface Runoff from Conservation Tilled Watersheds

Atrazine and two of its metabolites, deethylatrazine (DEA) and deisopropylatrazine (DIA), are frequently detected in surface runoff. Although their health and environmental effects may be similar to that of atrazine and ratios of their concentrations are useful in delineating sources of contamination, there have been few long-term studies of the factors affecting their losses in runoff. Therefore, losses of atrazine, DEA, and DIA were monitored for six years in runoff from seven small (0.45-0.79 ha) watersheds under three tillage practices. Weather year and the timing of runoff-producing rainfall had a greater effect on atrazine, DEA, and DIA concentrations and losses than did tillage practice. DEA was the most frequently detected metabolite with an average concentration in the year of atrazine application, of 2.5 microg L(-1) compared to 0.7 microg L(-1) for DIA. Atrazine exceeded its 3 /g L(-1) maximum contaminant level (MCL) up to 100 days after application. DEA and DIA exceeded the atrazine MCL up to 50 days after atrazine application; thus, failure to monitor their presence may result in underestimation of the environmental impact of atrazine usage. The molar concentration ratio of DEA to atrazine (DAR) was affected by tillage treatment, weather year, and possibly soil type. These factors may need to be taken into account when DAR is used as an index of atrazine movement. The ratio of DIA to DEA (D2R) was fairly constant and should be useful in determining the parent compounds contributing DIA to surface waters.
Structural analysis of MHC class I molecules with bound peptide antigens

Three-dimensional structures of human and murine MHC class I molecules in complex with peptide antigens have begun to elucidate the mechanism of peptide binding. The MHC molecule has a highly conserved structure in which important variation occurs only in the residues lining the central polymorphic portion of the peptide binding cleft. Peptides bind in extended conformations deep within the cleft and have highly specific and conserved interactions at their amino and carboxyl termini and divergent interactions in the middle. Peptides longer than the canonical length for a given allele appear to bulge in the middle but maintain their interactions at their ends. One or more anchor residues are used by the peptide to establish tight and enduring presentation to T cells. Peptide-associated conformational differences in the MHC molecule itself may contribute to the T cell recognition process.
Improving address space randomization with a dynamic offset randomization technique

Address Space Randomization (ASR) techniques randomize process layout to prevent attackers from locating target functions. Prior ASR techniques have considered single-target attacks, which succeed if the attacker can locate a single, powerful system library function. These techniques are not sufficient to defend against chained return-into-lib(c) attacks, each of which calls a sequence of system library functions in order.In this paper, we propose a new ASR technique, code islands, that randomizes not only the base pointers of memory mapping (mmapping), but also relative distances between functions, maximally and dynamically. Our technique can minimize the utility of information gained in early probes of a chained return-into-lib(c) attack, for later stages of that attack. With a pre-defined rerandomization thresh-old, our code islands technique not only is exponentially more effective than any prior ASR technique in defending against brute-force searches for locations of multiple targets---a key component of chained return-into-lib (c) attacks, but can also maintain high service availability even under attack. Our overhead measurement on some well-known GNU applications shows that it takes less than 0.05 second to load/rerandomize a process with the necessary C system library functions using code islands, and our technique introduces a 3-10% run-time overhead from inter-island control transfers. We conclude that the code island technique is well-suited to dedicated multi-threaded servers.
Renal Hemodialysis and Maternal Serum Triple Analyte Screening

The obstetrical management of women with renal disease is complicated and associated with increased fetal and maternal morbidity. However, maternal serum screening is an integral part of obstetrical c
A prospective study of continuous intravenous milrinone therapy for status IB patients awaiting heart transplant at home

Abstract Background We performed a prospective study to determine the feasibility and safety of continuous intravenous milrinone therapy administered at home in patients listed as Status IB for heart transplant. Methods Patients who were Status IB could participate if they met specific criteria including an optimal dose of milrinone ≤0.5 μg/kg/min, presence of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), and no other serious comorbidity. The primary end-point of the study was survival to transplant. Hospitalizations, quality of life and cost comparisons were assessed. Results From May 1999 through October 2002, a total of 60 patients (51 men, 9 women), aged 55.5 ± 8.4 years, entered the study. Before milrinone therapy, cardiac index was 1.98 ± 0.66 liters/min/m2 and peak oxygen consumption was 11.4 ± 2.6 ml/kg/min. Mean time in the study was 160.1 ± 151.8 days. Fifty-three patients (88.3%) underwent heart transplant. There were only 2 deaths during the study. There were 89 hospital admissions in 46 patients over the 43-month follow-up period; 58 of these admissions were for heart failure. There were 6 episodes of ICD firing for ventricular tachycardia. Quality-of-life measures in a sub-group of patients significantly improved 1 month after discharge. Substantial estimated cost savings occurred. Conclusions Continuous intravenous milrinone therapy can be safely administered at home in selected patients with advanced heart failure who are listed for transplant. This strategy may be an acceptable alternative to prolonged hospitalization for patients dependent on continuous inotropic support. Re-hospitalization is to be expected. An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator should be present due to the incidence of ventricular tachycardia.
Extracellular targeting of choline‐binding proteins in Streptococcus pneumoniae by a zinc metalloprotease

A genetic-based search for surface proteins of Streptococcus pneumoniae involved in adhesion identified a putative zinc metalloprotease (ZmpB). ZmpB shared high amino acid sequence similarities with IgA1 proteases of Gram-positive bacteria, but ZmpB had neither IgA1 nor IgA2 protease activity. Analysis of a family of surface-expressed proteins, the choline-binding proteins (Cbp's), in a zmpB-deficient mutant demonstrated a global loss of surface expression of CbpA, CbpE, CbpF and CbpJ. CbpA was detected within the cytoplasm. The zmpB-deficient mutant also failed to lyse with penicillin, a sign of lack of function of the Cbp LytA. Immunodetection studies revealed that the autolysin (LytA), normally located on the cell wall, was trapped in the cytoplasm colocalized with DNA and the transformation protein CinA. Trafficking of CinA and RecA to the cell membrane during genetic competence was also not observed in the zmpB-deficient mutant. These results suggest a protease dependent regulatory mechanism governing the translocation of CinA and the Cbp's LytA and CbpA of S. pneumoniae.
Peers as literacy informants: A description of young children's literacy conversations in play

Abstract From an interactionist perspective, children's learning is influenced by the social context, through their collaboration with adults and more capable peers as well as their interaction with culturally developed “tools.” To examine these influences, this study reports on the functions of preschoolers' literacy-based verbal exchanges in a print-enriched play environment. Play settings in two preschool classrooms were reorganized and enriched with print materials and literacy-related props. Children's play behavior was recorded through extensive observations over a 2-month period. From these data, 67 literacy-related conversational episodes were isolated and systematically content analyzed. Three types of discourse about literacy were identified in the play context: children's conversations focused on designating the names of literacy-related objects, on negotiating meaning related to a literacy topic, and on coaching another child in some literacy task in order to achieve a goal in play. Results suggest that children's collaborative engagement in literacy through play may have an important influence on their developing understanding of written language.
Predictors of Clinically Significant Sexual Concerns in a Child Welfare Population

This study employed a risk and resilience paradigm to examine the correlates of youth with and without clinically significant sexual concerns (Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children) in a child welfare sample. Participants were 158 youth in substitute care with sexual behavior problems, as well as their caregivers. A multivariate classification tree analysis yielded an overall classification rate of 88%. Youth with clinically significant sexual concerns were more likely to have been sexually abused, have a substantial number of prior placements, and be residing in residential placements. For youth without a sexual abuse history, being female and witnessing community violence was associated with sexual concerns. This study demonstrated that a range of variables interact in complex ways to predict sexual concerns symptoms.
Is program structure related to stigma and community acceptance of justice-involved adolescents?

Abstract Objective The aim of the study is to examine the impact of diversion program characteristics on social stigma of delinquent adolescents in Jordan. Method A street survey of adults was conducted in Amman, Jordan. Respondents were randomly assigned to read one of four vignettes involving a delinquent adolescent who participated successfully in one of four types of juvenile justice interventions: detention center placement; diversion with counseling; diversion with counseling plus victim apology and restitution; and diversion with counseling plus family-based apology and restitution. Respondents reported their willingness to accept the adolescent as a member of their child's school, as a friend of their child, as a spouse for their child, and as a future employee. Seventy seven percent of adults approached participated (N = 137). Results Respondents reported greater willingness to accept the adolescent when he participated in any of the three diversion programs compared to the detention center condition (β = .80, p Conclusion Intervention characteristics can influence public stigma in the Middle East. For justice involved youths, interventions that increase perceptions that youth have learned their lesson is a crucial ingredient to stigma reduction efforts. Social work interventions with delinquent adolescents and their families need to incorporate stigma management strategies that convey lesson-learning as a key intervention outcome.
Natural and anthropogenic influences on the scaling of discharge with drainage area for multiple watersheds

Discharge is the independent variable primarily responsible for shaping the hydraulic geometry and longitudinal profile of rivers. The assumption is frequently made that discharge and drainage area scale linearly or nearly linearly, i.e., Q = kAc , where k is the theoretical discharge for a unit area watershed ( A = 1), Q is river discharge (m3/s), A is drainage area (m2), and c is the scaling power dependency. Watershed and longitudinal profile modeling enjoy simplified assumptions if discharge grows linearly with drainage area, and this assumption is widely applied. This paper investigates the scaling relationship between discharge and drainage area for five large rivers, with an emphasis on exploring the linearity of the discharge-area relationship and suggesting causes for significant departure from linearity. The five large main-stem rivers explored (John Day, Salmon, Wabash, Greenbrier, and Yellowstone) all have a minimum of 60 years of continuous discharge records and have been selected to represent a wide geographic area spanning different land uses, climate, and topography. Peak annual flow and mean annual flow are compiled from the U.S. Geological Survey national surface-water database, and a linear regression analysis was completed for each year for the discharges. The five rivers were selected to minimize, but not eliminate, the impacts of dams and diversions such as for irrigation on river discharges. The scaling factor ( c ) exhibits both secular and nonsecular trends over the length of record for these five rivers. The results show that the studied watersheds can be grouped into two broad categories based on their respective c values: (1) those rivers where c is 1 or nearly 1, and (2) those rivers where c is significantly <1. The John Day, Salmon, Wabash, and Greenbrier rivers scale at values of ∼0.8 with natural variables including slope, elevation, and evapotranspiration potentially accounting for c values slightly <1. The second category is c values of ∼0.5, as exhibited by the Yellowstone River. The Yellowstone watershed is unique for our study because of its secular trend, as well as its overall lower average c values. Climatic trends that control the timing of winter snowpack melting, increased frequency and intensity of forest fires, and increased human consumptive water use in downstream areas may all contribute to the observed behavior in c for this watershed. The results from this set of rivers have broad implications for studies ranging from the modeling of fluvial erosion in numeric landscape evolution models to allocations of water resources for human and environmental purposes.
A graph-based approach to auditing RxNorm

Objectives: RxNorm is a standardized nomenclature for clinical drug entities developed by the National Library of Medicine. In this paper, we audit relations in RxNorm for consistency and completeness through the systematic analysis of the graph of its concepts and relationships. Methods: The representation of multi-ingredient drugs is normalized in order to make it compatible with that of single-ingredient drugs. All meaningful paths between two nodes in the type graph are computed and instantiated. Alternate paths are automatically compared and manually inspected in case of inconsistency. Results: The 115 meaningful paths identified in the type graph can be grouped into 28 groups with respect to start and end nodes. Of the 19 groups of alternate paths (i.e., with two or more paths) between the start and end nodes, 9 (47%) exhibit inconsistencies. Overall, 28 (24%) of the 115 paths are inconsistent with other alternate paths. A total of 348 inconsistencies were identified in the April 2008 version of RxNorm and reported to the RxNorm team, of which 215 (62%) had been corrected in the January 2009 version of RxNorm. Conclusion: The inconsistencies identified involve missing nodes (93), missing links (17), extraneous links (237) and one case of mix-up between two ingredients. Our auditing method proved effective in identifying a limited number of errors that had defeated the quality assurance mechanisms currently in place in the RxNorm production system. Some recommendations for the development of RxNorm are provided.
Imaging of Adnexal Torsion

While sudden onset of severe pelvic pain in an afebrile woman of reproductive age is considered the classic presentation of a patient with adnexal torsion, this constellation of findings occurs in the minority of patients with adnexal torsion. In fact, many patients with adnexal torsion present with mild or intermittent symptoms and adnexal torsion likely occurs more frequently than originally thought in post menopausal women. Thus, the clinical presentation is often non-specific and may mimic other gynecologic pathology and even renal or gastrointestinal causes of lower quadrant pain. Duplex Doppler ultrasound (US) is typically the initial imaging study performed in female patients with suspected gynecological pathology. Findings of an enlarged amorphous, heterogenous ovary with an underlying mass or peripheral small follicles in an abnormal midline location are suggestive of ovarian torsion on ultrasound examination. Color Doppler interrogation may demonstrate the twisted blood vessels in the adnexal pedicle. Absence of Doppler detected blood flow suggest torsion and/or infarction but the documentation of blood flow should not exclude the diagnosis of torsion in a painful ovary with suspicious morphologic features. Since computed tomography (CT) may be the first imaging study obtained in patients suspected of harboring gastrointestinal or renal pathology, the radiologist should be familiar with the CT findings or ovarian torsion such as the presence of an enlarged, non-enhancing midline ovary/mass with an adjacent thickened or beak shaped tube or hematoma. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has a role in the work-up of pelvic pain when CT or US findings are non-specific. Findings of adnexal torsion on MR are similar to findings observed on CT. However, the presence of high signal intensity stromal edema and numerous peripheral foillicles as well as lack of stromal enhancement are more easily detected on MRI.
Dual‐ascent methods for large‐scale multicommodity flow problems

The capacitated multicommodity network flow problem presents itself in a number of problem contexts including transportation, communication, and production. To solve the large-scale multicommodity flow problems encountered in these fields, we develop dual-ascent heuristics and a primal solution generator. The dual-ascent solutions, in addition to determining lower bounds on the optimal objective function value, provide advanced starting solutions for use with primal-based solution techniques. The primal solution generator uses the dual-ascent solution to obtain heuristically primal solutions to the multicommodity flow problems. Computational experiments performed on three test problem sets show that the dual-ascent and primal heuristic procedures typically determine nearoptimal solutions quickly. In addition, by using the dual-ascent procedure to obtain advanced starting solutions, run times for optimal multicommodity flow procedures are reduced significantly and greatly improved solutions are obtained by the new primal solution generator. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Statically scoped object adaptation with expanders

This paper introduces the expander, a new object-oriented (OO) programming language construct designed to support object adaptation. Expanders allow existing classes to be noninvasively updated with new methods, fields, and superinterfaces. Each client can customize its view of a class by explicitly importing any number of expanders. This view then applies to all instances of that class, including objects passed to the client from other components. A form of expander overriding allows expanders to interact naturally with OO-style inheritance.We describe the design, implementation, and evaluation of eJava, an extension to Java supporting expanders. We illustrate eJava's syntax and semantics through several examples. The statically scoped nature of expander usage allows for a modular static type system that prevents several important classes of errors. We describe this modular static type system informally, formalize eJava and its type system in an extension to Featherweight Java, and prove a type soundness theorem for the formalization. We also describe a modular compilation strategy for eJava, which we have implemented using the Polyglot extensible compiler framework. Finally, we illustrate the practical benefits of eJava by using this compiler in two experiments.
Surgical Treatment of Intramural Esophageal Inclusion Cysts in Three Horses

Three horses were diagnosed as having esophageal inclusion cysts. Clinical signs included dysphagia, swelling of the cervical esophagus, and salivation. Surgical removal of the cyst was attempted in two horses. Both horses survived, but multiple complications occurred, including esophageal fistulation and neurovascular damage. Marsupialization of the cyst was performed in the third horse. The stoma closed 3 weeks after surgery without complications, and endoscopic examination revealed a grossly normal esophagus. Marsupialization may be preferable to surgical removal for treatment of selected esophageal inclusion cysts in horses.
Bone scintigraphy in the diagnosis of sacroiliac injury in twelve horses

Nuclear bone scintigraphy was used to diagnose sacroiliac injury in 12 horses presented for nonspecific rear limb lameness. The most common history was decreased performance and/or a mild chronic rear limb lameness which could not be localised by routine lameness examination. The scintigraphic patterns of the 12 affected horses were compared to 5 normal horses and 10 horses with lameness not related to the pelvic region. Subjective and quantitative evaluation of the bone scans clearly separated the 12 affected horses from the 5 normal horses and the 10 horses with lameness from causes other than the sacroiliac joint disease. The 12 affected horses had a scintigraphic pattern of moderate to marked increased uptake of the radiopharmaceutical within the sacroiliac joint region on the side of lameness. In contrast, the 5 normal horses and 10 horses scanned for other causes of lameness, had a symmetric, or only slightly asymmetric pattern of radioisotope uptake. Although nonspecific for the type of injury, nuclear bone scintigraphy is considered sensitive for the detection of sacroiliac injuries in horses.
Changing Perceptions of Sexual Harassment in the Federal Workforce, 1987–94

Recent criticisms of sexual harassment law and workplace training policies contend that they have “sanitized” the workplace through their stigmatization of sexual expression that does not amount to actual discrimination. This study assesses some of the empirical foundations for those normative arguments. Using data from the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board's 1987 and 1994 surveys, we examine differences over time in federal workers’ perceptions of what types of behavior constitute sexual harassment. The article draws on a sociolegal theory of the endogenous nature of law as well as research on perceptions of sexual harassment. We hypothesize that, because of increased attention to sexual harassment, and to the hostile environment theory specifically, by scholars, judges, and the news media, and related policy changes in workplace training programs, federal workers likely came to view a wider range of sexual conduct as constituting harassment during this time period. The results support our expectations. We also find that sexual harassment training in their agency increased workers’ likelihood of viewing both hostile environment behavior and quid pro quo behavior as harassment.
Evaluation of Collective I/O Implementations on Parallel Architectures

In this paper, we evaluate the impact on performance of various implementation techniques for collective I/O operations, and we do so across four important parallel architectures. We show that a naive implementation of collective I/0 does not result in significant performance gains for any of the architectures, but that an optimized implementation does provide excellent performance across all of the platforms under study. Furthermore, we demonstrate that there exists a single implementation strategy that provides the best performance for all four computational platforms. Next, we evaluate implementation techniques for thread-based collective I/O operations. We show that the most obvious implementation technique, which is to spawn a thread to execute the whole collective I/O operation in the background, frequently provides the worst performance, often performing much worse than just executing the collective I/O routine entirely in the foreground. To improve performance, we explore an alternate approach where part of the collective I/O operation is performed in the background, and part is performed in the foreground. We demonstrate that this implementation technique can provide significant performance gains, offering up to a 50% improvement over implementations that do not attempt to overlap collective I/O and computation.
A hospital perspective on the cost-effectiveness ofβ-Blockade for prophylaxis of atrial fibrillation after cardiothoracic surgery

Abstract Background: Prophylactic β-blockade is the recommended strategy for suppressing atrial fibrillation after cardiothoracic surgery (CTS). However, β-blockade's impact on the hospital length of stay (LOS) and other economic end points has not been adequately assessed. Objective: The present evaluation sought to determinewhether β-blocker use after CTS is a cost-effective strategy for the prevention of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF). Methods: This was a piggyback cost-effectiveness analysis of a prospective cohort evaluation comprising 1660 patients undergoing CTS at an urban academic hospital from October 1999 to October 2003. Patients receiving β-blocker prophylaxis were matched 1:1 with control patients not receiving prophylaxis based on age >70 years, valvular surgery, history of atrial fibrillation, male sex, and use of preoperative digoxin or β-blockers. The incidence of POAF, total hospital costs, and LOS were compared in each group. Nonparametric bootstrapping analysis was performed to examine the study results as part of a quadrant analysis and to calculate CIs for the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. LOS and total costs were also compared in patients with and without POAF, regardless of β-blocker use. Results: Use of prophylactic β-blockade was associated with a 17.3 % reduction in the incidence of POAF ( P = 0.02) and a 2.2-day reduction in LOS ( P = 0.001) compared with nonuse. It also was associated with a 25.7% reduction in total hospital costs compared with nonuse (mean [SD], $30,978 [$33,108] vs $41,700 [$67,369], respectively; P P P P Conclusions: At the institution studied, β-blocker prophylaxis against POAF after CTS was associated with significantly reduced total costs compared with nonuse of β-blocker prophylaxis. Patients who developed POAF had significantly increased LOS and total costs compared with those who did not develop POAE An adequately powered prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial is necessary to confirm the results of this evaluation.
Differences between the narrow-angle and wide-angle propagators in the split-step Fourier solution of the parabolic wave equation

For tropospheric electromagnetic propagation, Maxwell's equations can be reduced to a parabolic wave equation, which is solved by marching over range steps. In each step, the solution is split into a product of three operators. The first and third account for atmospheric and surface variation, while the center operator propagates the field as though in vacuum. This center operator is the object of interest here. Older versions of the method used the narrow-angle propagator, while more recent versions use the wide-angle propagator. It was thought that the wide-angle propagator was entirely superior to the narrow-angle propagator, but some artifacts observed in experiments have led to the present investigation. The two propagators are examined numerically and analytically and found to exhibit subtle differences at large angles from the horizontal. This has required modifications to the way in which sources are created for starting the split-step solution. The narrow- and wide-angle propagators are also compared on two problems with analytic solutions to quantify the improvement of the wide-angle over the narrow-angle.