cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Virtual Network Embedding in Hybrid Data Centers

As the advanced development of directional antenna, wireless technique has been introduced into data center networks, denoted as hybrid data center networks (HDCN). HDCN shows its great potential to mitigate the over-subscription problem in higher level links in traditional data centers. However, how to implement network virtualization in HDCN such that all the wireless links can be sufficiently utilized remains a challenging problem. In this paper, we study virtual network embedding problem in HDCN, by jointly considering embedding virtual networks and scheduling the directional antennas. We first summarize this problem into an integer programming problem, then propose a heuristic algorithm to find a near optimal solution for the studied problem. The simulation based evaluation shows the great efficiency for the proposed algorithm deriving a suboptimal solution in HDCN.
Deposition-based synthesis of nickel-based superalloy microlattices

Abstract Nickel-based superalloy microlattices with periodic hollow struts were fabricated through a combination of two deposition-based methods - electrodeposition and pack cementation - via the following steps: (i) creating a template by self-propagating photopolymer waveguide prototyping, (ii) coating the template with nickel by electroplating, (iii) etching away the template, (iv) coating the Ni lattice with Cr, Al, and Ti by pack cementation, (v) diffusing the Cr, Al, and Ti rich coatings into the nickel to achieve a homogenized alloy and (vi) optionally, aging the alloy to create γ′-precipitates. The resulting nickel-based superalloy microlattices are 2–4 times stronger than pure Ni counterparts.
Anterior Lumbar Dural Tear: A Transthecal Route for Primary Closure After Iatrogenic Durotomy.

Background Durotomies are not infrequent in spine surgery and have increased complication rates. Primary repair is the gold standard and is feasible when access is not limited by the anatomy. A patient who presented 1 week after spinal fusion with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak underwent a novel transthecal approach to repair an anterior dural tear. Objective To demonstrate the feasibility, durability, and safety of a transthecal reconstruction to repair an anterior dural tear. Methods A patient with spinal stenosis at L4–L5 and a spondylolisthesis at L5–S1 underwent an L4–S1 posterior lumbar interbody fusion. The procedure was complicated by a CSF leak during graft placement of the anterior dura. This location did not allow for a primary closure, and a fat graft was placed with fibrin glue. Nine days later, the patient developed postural headaches, and CSF was leaking from the wound. The patient underwent an exploration, and the most lateral aspect of the tear was visualized when retracting medially, although not enough for a primary repair. A posterior durotomy was made and the anterior dural tear was repaired from the inside. Results The patient symptoms resolved and had radiologic improvement of the pseudomeningocele. This represents the first reported transthecal route to repair an anterior dural tear in the lumbar spine. The procedure was technically feasible, effective, and durable, with the patient having complete resolution of his CSF leak. Conclusions Dorsal transthecal access to the ventral aspect of the lumbar thecal sac for inadvertent anterior dural tears is a safe, feasible, and durable surgical management strategy.
Two Pools of Vesicles Associated with Synaptic Ribbons Are Molecularly Prepared for Release

Abstract Neurons that form ribbon-style synapses are specialized for continuous exocytosis. To this end, their synaptic terminals contain numerous synaptic vesicles, some of which are ribbon associated, that have difference susceptibilities for undergoing Ca 2+ -dependent exocytosis. In this study, we probed the relationship between previously defined vesicle populations and determined their fusion competency with respect to SNARE complex formation. We found that both the rapidly releasing vesicle pool and the releasable vesicle pool of the retinal bipolar cell are situated at the ribbon-style active zones, where they functionally interact. A peptide inhibitor of SNARE complex formation failed to block exocytosis from either pool, suggesting that these two vesicle pools have formed the SNARE complexes necessary for fusion. By contrast, a third, slower component of exocytosis was blocked by the peptide, as was the functional replenishment of vesicle pools, indicating that few vesicles outside of the ribbon-style active zones were initially fusion competent. In cone photoreceptors, similar to bipolar cells, fusion of the initial ribbon-associated synaptic vesicle cohort was not blocked by the SNARE complex-inhibiting peptide, whereas a later phase of exocytosis, attributable to the recruitment and subsequent fusion of vesicles newly arrived at the synaptic ribbons, was blocked. Together, our results support a model in which stimulus-evoked exocytosis in retinal ribbon synapses is SNARE-dependent; where vesicles higher up on the synaptic ribbon replenish the rapidly releasing vesicle pool; and at any given time, there are sufficient SNARE complexes to support the fusion of the entire ribbon-associated cohort of vesicles. An important implication of these results is that ribbon-associated vesicles can form intervesicular SNARE complexes, providing mechanistic insight into compound fusion at ribbon-style synapses.
Effects of bus transit-oriented development (BTOD) on single-family property value in Seattle metropolitan area:

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is considered to be a powerful model intended to achieve sustainable urban development. A well-designed TOD enhances the accessibility of different kinds of activ...
Array tilt in the atmosphere and its effect on optical phased array performance.

This paper investigates atmospheric array tilt and its effect on target-in-the-loop optical phased array (OPA) performance. Assuming a direct-solve, piston-only-phase-compensation OPA, two expressions for the atmospheric array tilt variance are derived using Mellin transform techniques. The first—the “full” array tilt variance—is germane when the OPA is sensitive to atmospheric tilt and is shown to significantly impact OPA target-plane intensity. The second—the Zernike-tilt-removed array tilt variance—is relevant when a separate system compensates for atmospheric tilt (the more likely scenario) and is shown to negligibly affect OPA performance. To show how atmospheric array tilt errors affect target-plane intensity, moments of the far-zone (or focused) array intensity, as functions of the array tilt variance, are derived and discussed. Lastly, Monte Carlo simulation results are presented to validate the theoretical array tilt variance expressions.
A mixed-methods analysis of patient reviews of hospital care in England: Implications for public reporting of health care quality data in the United States

Article-at-a-Glance Background In the United States patients have limited opportunities to read and write narrative reviews about hospitals. In contrast, the National Health Service (NHS) in England encourages patients to provide feedback to hospitals on their quality-reporting website, NHS Choices. The scope and content of the narrative feedback was studied. Methods All NHS hospitals with more than 10 reviews posted on NHS Choices were included in a cross-sectional mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative) analysis of patients' reviews of 20 randomly selected hospitals. Results The final sample consisted of 264 hospitals and 2,640 patient responses to structured questions. All 200 reviews from the 20 hospitals randomly selected were subjected to further quantitative and qualitative analysis. Comments about clinicians and staff were common (179 [90%]) and overwhelmingly positive, with 149 (83%) favorable to workers. In 124 (62%) of the 200 reviews, patients commented on technical aspects of hospital care, including quality of care, injuries, errors, and incorrect medical record or discharge documentation. Perceived medical errors were described in 51 (26%) hospital reviews. Comments about the hospital facility appeared in half (52%) of reviews, describing hospital cleanliness, food, parking, and amenities. Hospitals replied to 56% of the patient reviews. Discussion NHS Choices represents the first government-run initiative that enables any patient to provide narrative feedback about hospital care. Reviews appear to have similar domains to those covered in existing satisfaction surveys but also include detailed feedback that would be unlikely to be revealed by such surveys. Online narrative reviews can therefore provide useful and complementary information to consumers (patients) and hospitals, particularly when combined with systematically collected patient experience data.
Golgi apparatus and epithelial cell polarity

The MDCK model, introduced three decades ago (Cereijido et al. 1978; Rodriguez-Boulan et al. 1978; Rodriguez-Boulan and Pendergast 1980), allowed the elucidation of biosynthetic and recycling routes of epithelial cells and the compartments that sort apical and basolateral proteins as the trans Golgi network (TGN) and recycling endosomes (RE). These compartments were originally believed to operate in separate biosynthetic and recycling routes but discoveries over the past decade have revealed that TGN and RE cooperate in biosynthetic protein sorting. TGN and RE display clathrin-dependent and clathrin-independent exocytic routes to the plasma membrane (PM), equivalent to the clathrin-dependent and clathrin-independent endocytic routes at the PM. In epithelial cells, clathrin-mediated exocytosis (CME) from TGN and RE is utilized only by basolateral PM proteins. With the exception of AP1B, which sorts a subgroup of basolateral proteins in RE, the clathrin adaptors and regulatory proteins involved in CME remain largely unknown. The clathrin-independent routes from TGN and RE to the apical membrane remain enigmatic; their generation involves a clustering event mediated by proteinaceous motifs or by N-or O-linked carbohydrates, which may or may not promote lipid raft association, as well as the key participation of the MT and actin cytoskeletons.
Minimally Invasive Surgery for Spontaneous Cerebellar Hemorrhage: A Multicenter Study.

Background Spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) of the cerebellum can be life threatening because of mass effect on the brainstem and fourth ventricle. Suboccipital craniectomy is currently the treatment of choice for cerebellar ICH evacuation. Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is currently being investigated for the treatment of supratentorial ICH. However, its utility for cerebellar ICH is unknown. The aim of this multicenter, retrospective cohort study is to evaluate the outcomes of MIS for cerebellar ICH. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the records of all patients with cerebellar ICH who underwent MIS using either the Apollo or Artemis Neuro Evacuation Device (Penumbra Inc., Alameda, California, USA) at 3 institutions from May 2015 to July 2018. Data from each contributing center were deidentified and pooled for analysis. Results The study cohort comprised 6 patients with a median age of 62.5 years. The median pre- and postoperative Glasgow Coma Scale scores were 10.5 and 15, respectively. The median degree of hematoma evacuation was 97.5% (range, 79%–100%). There were no procedural complications, but 1 patient required subsequent craniectomy (retreatment rate 17%). The median discharge modified Rankin scale score was 4, including 3 patients who improved to functional independence at follow-up durations of 3 months. Two patients died from medical complications (mortality rate 33%). Conclusions MIS could represent a reasonable alternative to conventional surgery for the treatment of appropriately selected patients with cerebellar ICH. However, further studies are needed to clarify the perioperative and long-term risk to benefit profiles of this technique.
A holistic optimization approach for inverted cart-pendulum control tuning

The inverted cart-pendulum (ICP) is a nonlinear underactuated system, which dynamics are representative of many applications. Therefore, the development of ICP control laws is important since these laws are suitable to other systems. Indeed, many nonlinear control strategies have emerged from the control of the ICP. For these reasons, the ICP remains a canonical and fundamental benchmark problem in control theory and robotics that is of interest to the scientific community. Till now, the trial-and-error method is still widely applied for ICP controller tuning as well as the sequential tuning referring to tune the swing-up controller and thereafter, the stabilization controller. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to automate and facilitate the ICP control in one step. Thus, this paper proposes to holistically optimize ICP controllers. The holistic optimization is performed by a simplified Ant Colony Optimization method with a constrained Nelder–Mead algorithm (ACO-NM). Holistic optimization refers to a simultaneous tuning of the swing-up, stabilization and switching mode parameters. A new cost function is designed to minimize swing-up time, achieve high stabilization performance and consider system constraints. The holistic approach optimizes four controller structures, which include controllers that have never been tuned by a specific method besides by the trial-and-error method. Simulation results on a ICP nonlinear model show that ACO-NM in the holistic approach is effective compared to other algorithms. In addition, contrary to the majority of work on the subject, all the optimized controllers are validated experimentally. The simulation and experimental results obtained confirm that the holistic approach is an efficient optimization tool and specifically responds to the need of optimization technique for the potential-well controller structure and for the Q [diagonal of the matrix and the full matrix] in the linear–quadratic regulator (LQR) technique. Moreover, ICP experimental response analysis demonstrates that using the full Q provides greater experimental stabilization performance than using its diagonal terms in the LQR technique.
Stochastic Gradient Descent on Modern Hardware: Multi-core CPU or GPU? Synchronous or Asynchronous?

There is an increased interest in building data analytics frameworks with advanced algebraic capabilities both in industry and academia. Many of these frameworks, e.g., TensorFlow, implement their compute-intensive primitives in two flavors—as multi-thread routines for multi-core CPUs and as highly-parallel kernels executed on GPU. Stochastic gradient descent (SGD) is the most popular optimization method for model training implemented extensively on modern data analytics platforms. While the data-intensive properties of SGD are well-known, there is an intense debate on which of the many SGD variants is better in practice. In this paper, we perform a comprehensive experimental study of parallel SGD for training machine learning models. We consider the impact of three factors – computing architecture (multi-core CPU or GPU), synchronous or asynchronous model updates, and data sparsity – on three measures—hardware efficiency, statistical efficiency, and time to convergence. We draw several interesting findings from our experiments with logistic regression (LR), support vector machines (SVM), and deep neural nets (MLP) on five real datasets. As expected, GPU always outperforms parallel CPU for synchronous SGD. The gap is, however, only 2-5X for simple models, and below 7X even for fully-connected deep nets. For asynchronous SGD, CPU is undoubtedly the optimal solution, outperforming GPU in time to convergence even when the GPU has a speedup of 10X or more. The choice between synchronous GPU and asynchronous CPU is not straightforward and depends on the task and the characteristics of the data. Thus, CPU should not be easily discarded for machine learning workloads. We hope that our insights provide a useful guide for applying parallel SGD in practice and – more importantly – choosing the appropriate computing architecture.
Adaptively Accelerating Map-Reduce/Spark with GPUs: A Case Study

In this paper, we propose and evaluate a simple mechanism to accelerate iterative machine learning algorithms implemented in Hadoop map-reduce (stock), and Apache Spark. In particular, we describe a technique that enables data parallel tasks in map-reduce and Spark to be dynamically and adaptively scheduled on CPU or GPU, based on availability and load. We examine the extent of performance improvements, and correlate them to various parameters of the algorithms studied. We focus on end-to-end performance impact, including overheads associated with transferring data into and out of the GPU, and conversion between data representations in the JVM and on GPU. We also present three optimizations that, in our analysis, can be generalized across many iterative machine learning applications. We present a case study where we accelerate four iterative machine learning applications – multinomial logistic regression, multiple linear regression, K-Means clustering and principal components analysis using singular value decomposition, implemented in three data analytics frameworks – Hadoop Map-Reduce (HMR), IBM Main-Memory Map-Reduce (M3R) and Spark. We observe that the use of GPGPUs decreases the execution time of these applications on HMR by up to 8X, M3R by up to 18X, and Spark by up to 25X. Through our empirical analysis, we offer several insights that can be helpful in designing middleware and cluster managers to accelerate map-reduce and Spark applications using GPUs.
Choosing between Muscle and Fasciocutaneous Free Flap Reconstruction in the Treatment of Lower Extremity Osteomyelitis: Available Evidence for a Function-Specific Approach.

Background Limb salvage in the setting of extremity osteomyelitis, though previously dependent on amputation, has been markedly improved through the application of free tissue flaps. Concern exists as to the utility of the fasciocutaneous flap to combat infection verses the traditional muscle flap. Prior studies have shown success with fasciocutaneous flaps in these patients, but given the small series, the choice remains controversial. The goal of this article was to determine if there is statistical evidence for flap choice in the setting of extremity osteomyelitis. Methods A systematic review utilizing Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was completed of the current literature pertaining to the treatment of extremity osteomyelitis and flap reconstruction within the MedLine and PubMed databases. Six hundred forty-six studies were reviewed and ultimately 31 were included in the final analysis. Results Eight hundred seventy-eight flap reconstructions were identified. Of the 588 muscle flaps, 7.8% (n = 46) had recurrence of osteomyelitis after an average of 36.1 (8.0–111.6) months follow-up. There were seven cases (4.3%) of osteomyelitis recurrence in the 163 fasciocutaneous flap group after an average of 29.8 (18.2–44.6) months follow-up (p = 0.165). Secondary outcomes such as flap loss, hematomas, and infection were analyzed without statistically significant differences between the muscle and fasciocutaneous flap groups. Conclusion Selection of flap type is less important than adequate debridement, appropriate antibiotic selection, and sufficient duration of treatment. This study demonstrates that within the literature, fasciocutaneous flaps have a lower recurrence rate of osteomyelitis compared with muscle flaps. As such, fasciocutaneous flaps are appropriate for reconstruction and treatment of extremity osteomyelitis.
Religion, Spirituality, and Meaning in the Wake of Disasters

Disasters are a considerable threat to meaning. People often turn toward religion and spirituality in times of adversity as a way to make sense of their situation, maintain a sense of significance, and discover a sense of purpose. Thus, in this chapter, we review how religion/spirituality (R/S) serves as a potential source of meaning in the wake of disasters. First, we explain how variations in religious cognitions, orientations, and attributions affect meaning making processes. Next, we explicate some of the reasons why some disaster survivors turn toward R/S, and how R/S meaning may have an unintended dark side. Finally, we describe how positive psychology interfaces with disasters and conclude by providing a framework to guide future research.
Sub-Arctic Field Degradation of Metsulfuron-Methyl in Two Alaskan Soils and Microbial Community Composition Effects

Metsulfuron-methyl is a sulfonylurea herbicide, primarily with postemergence activity but also with occasional pre-emergent activity, used for control of weeds and woody plants on agricultural lands and natural areas. The active ingredient is popular in Alaska as Ally XP formulation; little is known about its high-latitude environmental behavior and potential adverse impacts on soil health in cold regions. Our study determined field degradation rates at two experimental farms in Alaska and assessed whether laboratory-incubated soil amended at 1× or 100× label rates would adversely impact microbial community diversity. DT50 was observed at 4.12–5.13 days, with the compound below 1 μg/kg detection limit at 90 days. Interestingly, this is faster than the reported range of field half-lives in the literature (7–42 days). Microbial community composition was not affected by MSM at both 1× and 100× rates. High-latitude regions exhibit extreme summer photoperiods that may exacerbate the MSM degradation/dissipation rate; we postulate that timing of application may have large impacts on MSM attenuation.
Band Directors' Perceptions of Instrumental Conducting Curricula.

The purpose of this study was to examine inservice band directors’ perceptions of their undergraduate instrumental conducting curricula. Members (N = 141) of the Facebook Band Directors Group who h...
On the Origin of the Cosmic Radiation

A theory of the origin of cosmic radiation is proposed according to which cosmic rays are originated and accelerated primarily in the interstellar space of the galaxy by collisions against moving magmetic fields. One of the features of the theory is that it yields naturally an inverse power law for the spectral distribution of the cosmic rays. The chief difficulty is that it fails to explain in a straight-forward way the heavy nuclei observed in the primary radiation.
Infant perception of causal motion produced by humans and inanimate objects.

Abstract Both the movements of people and inanimate objects are intimately bound up with physical causality. Furthermore, in contrast to object movements, causal relationships between limb movements controlled by humans and their body displacements uniquely reflect agency and goal-directed actions in support of social causality. To investigate the development of sensitivity to causal movements, we examined the looking behavior of infants between 9 and 18 months of age when viewing movements of humans and objects. We also investigated whether individual differences in gender and gross motor functions may impact the development of the visual preferences for causal movements. In Experiment 1, infants were presented with walking stimuli showing either normal body translation or a “moonwalk” that reversed the horizontal motion of body translations. In Experiment 2, infants were presented with unperformable actions beyond infants’ gross motor functions (i.e., long jump) either with or without ecologically valid body displacement. In Experiment 3, infants were presented with rolling movements of inanimate objects that either complied with or violated physical causality. We found that female infants showed longer looking times to normal walking stimuli than to moonwalk stimuli, but did not differ in their looking time to movements of inanimate objects and unperformable actions. In contrast, male infants did not show sensitivity to causal movement for either category. Additionally, female infants looked longer at social stimuli of human actions than male infants. Under the tested circumstances, our findings indicate that female infants have developed a sensitivity to causal consistency between limb movements and body translations of biological motion, only for actions with previous visual and motor exposures, and demonstrate a preference toward social information.
Manifestations of thyroid disease post COVID-19 illness: Report of Hashimoto thyroiditis, Graves' disease, and subacute thyroiditis.

Objective: We present three cases of thyroid dysfunction such as Hashimoto thyroiditis, Graves' disease and subacute thyroiditis which developed few weeks after resolution of acute phase of COVID -19 infection in patients with no prior thyroid disease. Methods: We discuss clinical presentation, diagnostic evaluation and subsequent management and follow-up in three patients. Results: All three patients tested positive for COVID-19 infection prior to diagnosis. Patient 1. A 38-year-old female developed hypothyroidism 6 weeks after COVID-19 infection, confirmed by TSH 136 mIU/L (range 0.34-5.6), free T4 level 0.2 ng/dL (range 0.93-1.7). Patient 2. A 33-year-old female developed Graves' disease 8 weeks after COVID-19 infection, with a TSH <0.01 mIU/L (range 0.4-4.5), Free T4 2.1 ng/dl (range 0.8-1.8), total T3 216 ng/dl (range 76-181), elevated TSI 309 (normal <140). A 24-h thyroid uptake was calculated at 47.1% (normal values between 8% and 35). Patient responded favorably to methimazole 10 mg in few weeks. Patient 3. A 41-year old healthy female developed thyroiditis at 6 weeks after COVID-19 infection, with a TSH 0.01 mIU/L and free T4 1.9 ng/dL accompanied by low 24-h thyroid uptake, calculated at 0.09%. Three weeks later, she developed hypothyroidism, with a TSH 67.04 mIU/L and free T4 0.4 ng/dl. Conclusion: The temporal relationship between COVID-19 infection in the patients described here raises the question of possible effects of COVID-19 on the immune system and the thyroid gland.
Designing Actionable Solutions and Curriculum for Pain Disparities Education.

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) require medical schools to teach their students how to recognize and work towards eliminating health disparities. However, time constraints and a dearth of guidance for educators in teaching pain disparities curricula, pose significant challenges. Herein, we describe successes and lessons learned after designing, implementing, and evaluating an innovative pain disparities curriculum that was embedded in a longitudinal health equity curriculum for third year medical school students at an academic institution. Although the curriculum was developed for medical school students, the concepts may be broadly applicable to other training settings such as residency and fellowship programs.
Quantum feedback control of coherent oscillations in a solid-state qubit

The performance of a quantum feedback loop designed to maintain a desired phase of quantum coherent oscillations in a single solid-state qubit is analyzed using the quantum Bayesian formalism. The degree of oscillations synchronization with classical reference signal is calculated as a function of feedback strength, taking also into account finite detector bandwidth, dephasing due to environment, and qubit energy asymmetry.
Structure of the Eukaryotic Chromosome and the Karyotype

Higher organisms are eukaryotes in contrast to bacteria and blue-green algae, which are prokaryotes. The eukaryotic chromosome is a complicated structure that contains DNA and several different types of proteins. Chromosomes of higher organisms are studied most frequently at mitotic metaphase. This is the stage at which the chromosomes reach their greatest condensation. Microscopic study of chromosomes generally utilizes cells that have been treated with a fixative to preserve the structure of chromosomes and other cell components. Then the chromosomes are stained with one or more of a variety of dyes. Because these treatments can alter the structure of cellular components, it may be necessary to study cells treated with several different fixatives and stains in order to ascertain that features seen under the microscope are real. The natural condensation of mitotic chromosomes is increased by a prefixation treatment with various drugs, for example, colchicine. During mitotic metaphase, the condensed chromosomes appear in identifiable shapes (the karyotype) characteristic of the species being studied.
Interfacing video capture, editing and publication in a tangible environment

The paper presents a novel approach to collecting, editing and performing visual and sound clips in real time. The cumbersome process of capturing and editing becomes fluid in the improvisation of a story, and accessible as a way to create a final movie. It is shown how a graphical interface created for video production informs the design of a tangible environment that provides a spontaneous and collaborative approach to video creation, selection and sequencing. Iterative design process, participatory design sessions and workshop observations with 10-12 year old users from Sweden and Ireland are discussed. The limitations of interfacing video capture, editing and publication in a self-contained platform are addressed.
A framework for variational data assimilation with superparameterization

Abstract. Superparameterization (SP) is a multiscale computational approach wherein a large scale atmosphere or ocean model is coupled to an array of simulations of small scale dynamics on periodic domains embedded into the computational grid of the large scale model. SP has been successfully developed in global atmosphere and climate models, and is a promising approach for new applications, but there is currently no practical data assimilation framework that can be used with these models. The authors develop a 3D-Var variational data assimilation framework for use with SP; the relatively low cost and simplicity of 3D-Var in comparison with ensemble approaches makes it a natural fit for relatively expensive multiscale SP models. To demonstrate the assimilation framework in a simple model, the authors develop a new system of ordinary differential equations similar to the two-scale Lorenz-'96 model. The system has one set of variables denoted {Yi}, with large and small scale parts, and the SP approximation to the system is straightforward. With the new assimilation framework the SP model approximates the large scale dynamics of the true system accurately.
Varieties of clinical reasoning.

Rationale, aims and objectives Clinical reasoning comprises a variety of different modes of inference. The modes that are practiced will be influenced by the sociological characteristics of the clinical settings and the tasks to be performed by the clinician. Methods This article presents C.S. Peirce's typology of modes of inference: deduction, induction and abduction. It describes their differences and their roles as stages in scientific argument. The article applies the typology to reasoning in clinical settings. Results The article describes their differences, and their roles as stages in scientific argument. It then applies the typology to reasoning in typical clinical settings. Conclusions Abduction is less commonly taught or discussed than induction and deduction. However, it is a common mode of inference in clinical settings, especially when the clinician must try to make sense of a surprising phenomenon. Whether abduction is followed up with deductive and inductive verification is strongly influenced by situational constraints and the cognitive and psychological stamina of the clinician. Recognizing the inevitability of abduction in clinical practice and its value to discovery is important to an accurate understanding of clinical reasoning.
Kinetics of desulfurization of hot fuel gas with calcium oxide. Reaction between carbonyl sulfide and calcium oxide

The reaction between carbonyl sulfide and calcium oxide was studied since the typical concentration of COS is 0.01Vertical Bar3< in the fuel gases from commercially available coal gasifiers. Rates of sorption of 0.1Vertical Bar3< COS in N/sub 2/, with 10Vertical Bar3< CO added to suppress decomposition of COS, were measured at 500/sup 0/-900/sup 0/C, a total pressure of 1 atm and a flow rate of 2000 std cc/min. The CaO sample was a reagent-grade fine powder with a particle size of 1-5 jm. The over-all rates at 600/sup 0/-900/sup 0/C correlated satisfactorily with the grain model (with a shape factor of 1.5), where chemical reaction was the rate-limiting step. The rate of reaction of COS with CaO was first order in COS with an activation energy of 4.3 kcal. The rate of sorption of COS by CaO was slightly higher than that of H/sub 2/S, using the literature data on the H/sub 2/S sorption. Significant sorption of COS takes place parallel to the sorption of H/sub 2/S in the coal gasification processes in which lime is used.
The Relationship Between the Trajectory of Body Mass Index and Health Trajectory Among Older Adults: Multilevel Modeling Analyses

Little is known about the cross-sectional or longitudinal relationships between body weight and health at older ages. Using multilevel modeling analyses, this study examined the trajectories of body mass index (BMI), chronic health conditions (CHC), and functional disability (FD); factors associated with the trajectories; and the relationships between the trajectories. The sample of elders aged 65 and older participated in the Americans Changing Lives longitudinal study. Participants showed decreasing BMI and increasing CHCand FD with time. Current smokers presented lowerBMI at Wave 1 and showed a slower decrease inBMIover time than those who never smoked. Obesity was associated with more CHC and greater FDatWave 1 but did not influence their changes. Elders who experienced a slower decrease in BMI showed a slower increase in CHC and FD; the change in health was not related to the change in BMI.
FSHβ knockout mouse model: a decade ago and into the future

In 1997, more than 10 years ago now, we first reported the phenotypes of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) β null mice. Since then, these mice have been useful for various physiological and genetic studies in reproductive biology. More recently, extra-gonadal functions of FSH have been discovered in bone. These studies opened up exciting avenues of new research on osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Several genomics and proteomics tools and novel strategies to spatio-temporally restricting gene expression in vivo are available now. It is hoped that with the aid of these and other emerging technologies, an integrated network of FSH signaling pathways in various tissues would emerge in the near future. Undoubtedly, the coming 10 years should be more exciting to explore this “fertile” area of reproductive physiology research.
Metallothionein isoform 3 expression in the human prostate and cancer-derived cell lines.

BACKGROUND Expression of metallothionein isoform 3 (MT-3) was initially reported to be confined to neural tissues. However, it was recently demonstrated that MT-3 is expressed in epithelial cells of the human kidney. This motivated the current examination of the expression of MT-3 in the human prostate. METHODS Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to localize the expression of MT-3, RT-PCR to determine the expression of MT-3 mRNA, and Western blot analysis to determine the level of MT-3 protein. RESULTS Selected epithelial and stromal cells of the normal human prostate were shown to have low levels of MT-3 expression. MT-3 was increased in prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) lesions and further increased in a highly variable fashion in prostatic adenocarcinoma. In some adenocarcinomas, MT-3 expression exceeded that of nerve. Three cell culture models of prostate cancer were also shown to variably express MT-3. Restriction enzyme analysis confirmed the expression of MT-3 in the cells and tissues. CONCLUSIONS MT-3 is expressed in the normal human prostate, and expression is enhanced and highly variable in PIN lesions and primary prostate cancer cells. The variable nature of MT-3 expression was also noted in commonly utilized prostate cancer cell lines. Prostate 41:196–202, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Recent advances in the synthesis, characterization and applications of mesoporous molecular sieves

Abstract The past year has seen an explosive growth in research on mesoporous molecular sieves. Major advances in understanding and exploiting the synthesis protocols and mechanism of formation of these materials have allowed designed tailoring of their composition, pore size, structure and texture. The concept of ‘supramolecular templating’ with molecular aggregates of surfactants, which has been proposed as a mechanistic step in the formation of molecular sieves, has expanded our idea of the classical single molecular interaction. Well documented, simplified synthesis preparation of these materials have allowed study of their application in fields ranging from catalytic conversion of large molecules to their functioning as nanoscopic homes where polymers, atomic arrays of metal atoms, and electronic materials can reside.
Cancer screening among older women in a culturally insular community.

Abstract Background . “Culturally insular communities” are defined by a religious or ethnic orientation that effectively places them outside mainstream sources of information on health promotion. We investigated whether older women in one such community were less likely to be screened for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer than other women in the same geographic area. Methods . A random sample of older orthodox Jewish women in Borough Park, Brooklyn, was compared to white women of the same age in the New York metropolitan area who were surveyed in the Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System (BRFSS). Results . Borough Park women aged 50–69 were less likely to report they had been screened for colorectal cancer, and women over age 70 were less likely to report screening for all three cancer prevention modalities. Among Borough Park women, functional and cognitive deficits, elicited by self-report, also reduced the likelihood of screening. Conclusions . Cultural and religious prescriptions are important to consider in health promotion. These factors should be taken into account in designing strategies to promote cancer screening.
Individual differences in readers’ narrative experiences

Readers often have quite different experiences of literary texts. In this article, I suggest that readers’ life experiences affect the knowledge they bring to bear on narrative experiences as well as the responses they encode as those experiences unfold. I use an episode from the novel Transmission to illustrate potential individual differences in a literary context.
Group Sequential Designs for Phase II Trials With Historical Controls

Abstract Two-step tests based on historical control data are proposed for detecting different means when experimental and control populations are normally distributed with possibly different known variances. The results readily extend to the case where the control and experimental data are dichotomous. Provisions for early acceptance and early rejection are included. Control Clin Trials 1999;20:353–364
Monoclonal antibodies to avian lipoprotein lipase. Purification of the enzyme by immunoaffinity chromatography

Abstract Three monoclonal antibodies to avian lipoprotein lipase have been isolated by fusing spleen cells from immunized BALB/c mice with myeloma P3X-63 Ag 8. The antibodies were detected by their ability to bind immobilized lipoprotein lipase in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and by immunoprecipitation of purified enzyme in the presence of second (rabbit anti-mouse) antibodies. Two of these antibodies, CAL1-7 and CAL1-11, inhibited catalytic activity, whereas with CAL1-2 interaction with lipoprotein lipase could be demonstrated only in ELISA and in Western blot assays following denaturation of the enzyme with sodium dodecyl sulfate. An immunoadsorbent column was prepared by coupling immunopurified CAL1-11 to Sepharose-4B. When acetone powder extracts of adipose tissue were applied on the column, 70% of the catalytic activity bound to the matrix. Effective elution was achieved with 1.8 M NaCl, 40% glycerol, 5% acetone, 20 mM Chaps (3[(3-holamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]propanesulfonate), 0.5 mM EDTA, 1 mM phosphate (pH 6.5). After concentration of the active fractions on a heparin-Sepharose 4B column, the purified enzyme was obtained with an overall recovery of 25%. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis demonstrates that the preparation is homogeneous with a major band at Mr 60900. Thus, avian adipose lipoprotein lipase has been purified by a one-step immunoaffinity followed by a concentrating step on heparin-Sepharose 4B.
Glycerides, waxes and sterols in ovaries ofAscaris lumbricoides (Nematoda)

Glycerides (65%), ascaroside esters (33%), waxes (1.5%) and sterols (0.26%) accounted for essentially all the neutral lipids inA. lumbricoides ovaries. Nineteen per cent by weight of the triglycerides contained only long chain fatty acids. Nearly all the remaining triglycerides contained 1 mol volatile acid. Mono- and diglycerides, free fatty acids and triglycerides containing 2 mol volatile acids were present in very small amounts. Mole percentages of glyceride volatile acids were α-methylavaleric (70), α-methylbutyric (23),n-valeric (ca. 7), and traces of acetic, propionic, isobutyric andn-butyric. Mole percentages of the alcoholic component of the waxes were 96% 1-octadecanol, and 4% of its 16, 17 and 19 carbon homologs. The acid components were α-methylbutyric (75 mol%), acetic (16 mol%), propionic andn-valeric (each 4 mol%), and traces ofn-butyric and α-methylvaleric. Sterols (42 wt% cholesterol, 30% cholestanol, 9.5% campestanol, 8.2% stigmastanol, 6.6% β-sitosterol, and 3.8% campesterol) were essentially the same as those found in the whole worm, except that no esterified sterols were present.
Downstream clinical implications of abnormal myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography based on appropriate use criteria

Appropriate use criteria (AUC) for single-photon emission computed tomography myocardial perfusion images (SPECT-MPI) were developed to address the growth of cardiac imaging studies. However, these criteria have not been vigorously validated. We sought to determine the rate of abnormal stress SPECT-MPI studies and subsequent revascularization procedures as categorized by AUC. We retrospectively examined 280 patients who underwent stress SPECT-MPI and categorized these studies as appropriate, inappropriate, or uncertain based on AUC. Data regarding subsequent angiography and revascularization within 6 months after stress SPECT-MPI were collected from the electronic medical record. 280 patients met the inclusion criteria (mean age 67.3 ± 11.4 years, 36 % female). When categorized by AUC, 62.9 % (N = 176) of stress SPECT-MPI were considered appropriate, 13.6 % (N = 38) uncertain, and 23.6 % (N = 66) inappropriate. Appropriate stress SPECT-MPI studies were more likely to have intermediate or high risk results than uncertain or inappropriate studies [40 % (N = 71) vs. 21 % (N = 8) and 18 % (N = 12), respectively; P = 0.008)]. Appropriate studies were associated with an increased rate of coronary angiography [14 % (N = 25)] compared to the uncertain (0 %) and inappropriate [3 % (N = 2)] studies (P = 0.003). There was also an increased rate of revascularization after appropriate studies [9 % (N = 16)] compared to the uncertain (0 %) and inappropriate (0 %) studies (P = 0.006). Appropriate stress SPECT-MPI studies are more likely to result in abnormal results requiring subsequent revascularization compared to inappropriate and uncertain stress studies. Inappropriate and uncertain stress SPECT-MPI did not lead to subsequent revascularization.
Arylesterase Phenotype-Specific Positive Association Between Arylesterase Activity and Cholinesterase Specific Activity in Human Serum

Context: Cholinesterase (ChE) specific activity is the ratio of ChE activity to ChE mass and, as a biomarker of exposure to cholinesterase inhibitors, has a potential advantage over simple ChE activity. Objective: To examine the association of several potential correlates (serum arylesterase/paraoxonase activity, serum albumin, sex, age, month of blood collection, and smoking) with plasma ChE specific activity. Methods: We analyzed data from 195 cancer-free controls from a nested case-control study, accounting for potential confounding. Results: Arylesterase activity had an independent, statistically significant positive association with ChE specific activity, and its magnitude was the greatest for the arylesterase phenotype corresponding to the QQ PON1192 genotype followed by phenotypes corresponding to QR and RR genotypes. Serum albumin was positively associated with ChE specific activity. Conclusions: Plasma arylesterase activity was positively associated with plasma ChE specific activity. This observation is consistent with protection conferred by a metabolic phenotype resulting in reduced internal dose.
Adjustable continence therapy for severe intrinsic sphincter deficiency and recurrent female stress urinary incontinence: long-term experience

644Urological Surveyinteractions as being truly sex. It seems that even when the brief interaction only includes sexual fondling or kissing, the interaction is felt to be classified as a hookup. Disconcerting for those hopelessly in love with one special person is that friends and acquaintances compromise 70% of the hookups and even strangers (14%) had a higher degree of hooking up than did ex-boyfriends (12%). Of specific interest to the urologist is the nota-tion that condom use was never used for oral sex during these hookups and surprisingly in only 69% of those interactions involving vaginal sex. This statistic is of particular value to remember when examining a young female patient with the potential presentation of the first occurrence of genital herpes or paroxysmal voiding symptoms. The article is well worth the read especially with regards to the discussion and comparison of the characteristics of the casual affair versus the romantic relationship.
An Ecological Perspective on Environmental Decision-Making

Current research on environmental decision-makers at the professional and nonprofessional levels is reviewed. The potential utility of this research for achieving more adaptive man-environment relations in modern industrial societies is examined. A broader framework of research is suggested for viewing the antecedents and consequences of environmental decision-making from an ecological perspective. Mechanisms for promoting research on man-environment relations are considered. In particular, issues in the training of scientific man-power in this interdisciplinary field are discussed.
Avoiding orthogonality problems in the application of the alternant molecular orbital method to solids

The application of the Alternant Molecular Orbital method to solids has been hampered both by the need to use a cubic Fermi volume as the reference system and by the belief that the AMO state is always an insulating state. We demonstrate here, however, that a simple relabeling of the AMO “occupied” and “virtual” states in an extended zone scheme allows one to use any Fermi volume for the reference state. Furthermore, the AMO state will now represent a metallic or insulating system depending on the presence of partially filled bands. We have applied the method to the interacting electron gas with BCC symmetry and find a metal-insulator transition at approximately rs = 50.