cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Art as mode and medium: a pedagogical approach to teaching and learning about self-reflexivity and artistic expression in qualitative research†

ABSTRACTThis article highlights the ways in which arts-based approaches to research can be used in teaching and learning about the qualitative research process. Specifically, in our qualitative research class graduate students used the arts as a form of reflexivity to highlight various aspects of their research process, including their positionality, their values, any ethical issues that arose during the research process, and the various methodological steps taken. This collaborative article features the voices of the instructor and three graduate students, who used the mediums of visual art, a blog and a digital diary approach to represent their reflexivity. From the voice of the instructor, we share her rationale for using arts-based approaches in the classroom, her detailed assignment, and the ways in which we can incorporate the arts in teaching about qualitative research. In the form of case examples, three graduate students illustrate their unique qualitative research studies, describing their appro...
Nature of composite fermions and the role of particle-hole symmetry: A microscopic account

Motivated by the particle-hole symmetry at the half-filled lowest Landau level, many articles have taken the point of view, following D. T. Son, that composite fermions are Dirac particles and their Fermi sea is akin to that occurring at the surface of a three dimensional topological insulator. This presents a paradox, because the microscopic theory of composite fermions, which treats composite fermions as non-relativistic particles, has been confirmed in great detail. The authors discuss what features of the Dirac-composite fermion view can be reconciled with the microscopic theory. They also show how particle-hole symmetry can emerge in the Chern-Simons formulation of composite fermions.
Working Wrongly And Seeking The Straight: Remedial Remedies On Enewetak Atoll

Classical approaches to righting wrongs among Pacific societies have been couched in terms of normative models of authority, and particularly in relation to societies with positions of ascribed authority, chiefs, and those with acquired authority like Melanesian center persons ("big-men"). In this article, I contend that typological approaches to the analysis of perceived wrongdoing are of limited utility in the assessment of how wrongdoing is culturally fashioned and socially redressed. Instead, I suggest that constructions of wrongdoing are culturally relative. Moreover, ideas and feelings about just and unjust action within the community are also relative and depend upon varied logical scenarios that community members use to construct and project their social identities. Specific cases from Ujelang and Enewetak Atolls in the Republic of the Marshall Islands are considered in relation to contested issues such as land and chieftainship, the moral value of monogamy versus polygamy, and the symbolic use and social valuation of alcohol and suicide. These cases demonstrate that differently positioned social actors rationalize their ideas about wrongdoing and injustice in a variety of ways as they develop and maintain empowered senses of identity within the community.
CHAPTER 180 – Signaling and the Immunological Synapse

More than a contact surface, the immunological synapse is a specific arrangement of proteins in the contact area. Many different patterns of the immunological synapse have been discovered, and it is suggested that these patterns are related to the biological outcome of T-cell activation. Although exactly what determines the morphology of the immunological synapse remains unknown, it almost certainly is due to differences in the antigen-presenting cell as well as differences in the particular T cell studied. It will be important as this field grows to analyze this phenomenon in greater detail. Although the immunological synapse was first proposed to function to initiate T-cell signaling, it is clear now that T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling can occur in the absence of organized synapse formation. Rather, the formation of the immunological synapse appears to be a consequence of activation rather than a requirement for activation. The jury is still out on whether the synapse functions to sustain TCR signaling, but it seems very likely that the synapse is required for several hours to commit the naive T cell to enter cell cycle. Although much remains to be learned, all can agree that the immunological synapse does represent the polarization of the T cell, a process that is required to allow T-cell effector functions to be accomplished—be that cytolysis or cytokine release. It seems likely, given the rapid progress in this field, that much more will be known about immunological synapses in the very near future.
An Overview of First-Order Model Management for Engineering Optimization

First-order approximation/model management optimization (AMMO) is a rigorous methodology for solving high-fidelity optimization problems with minimal expense in high-fidelity function and derivative evaluation. AMMO is a general approach that is applicable to any derivative based optimization algorithm and any combination of high-fidelity and low-fidelity models. This paper gives an overview of the principles that underlie AMMO and puts the method in perspective with other similarly motivated methods. AMMO is first illustrated by an example of a scheme for solving bound-constrained optimization problems. The principles can be easily extrapolated to other optimization algorithms. The applicability to general models is demonstrated on two recent computational studies of aerodynamic optimization with AMMO. One study considers variable-resolution models, where the high-fidelity model is provided by solutions on a fine mesh, while the corresponding low-fidelity model is computed by solving the same differential equations on a coarser mesh. The second study uses variable-fidelity physics models, with the high-fidelity model provided by the Navier-Stokes equations and the low-fidelity model—by the Euler equations. Both studies show promising savings in terms of high-fidelity function and derivative evaluations. The overview serves to introduce the reader to the general concept of AMMO and to illustrate the basic principles with current computational results.
Pre‐Exit Bundling, Turnover of Professionals, and Firm Performance

Context-emergent turnover theory (CETT) focuses on the contextual factors that influence the turnover-firm performance relationship, yet to date, has not investigated how particular firms weather the detrimental effects of loss more effectively than others. We build on the CETT literature by theorizing that different human resource bundling strategies are central contextual factors that impact human resource exit. Specifically, we argue that bundling human resources prior to exit in greater concentrations deflects some harmful effects of turnover. Pre-exit bundling ensures that remaining professionals post-exit retain both the capacity necessary to meet job demands and the critical tacit knowledge of firm routines that maintain effectiveness. Our study examines the loss of professionals in a panel of the largest U.S.-based law firms. We find general support for our theory. Results show that losing professionals when the pre-exit bundling had produced greater service-, hiring-, and geographic-concentration lessens the negative effects of loss. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Triangle counting for scale-free graphs at scale in distributed memory

Triangle counting has long been a challenge problem for sparse graphs containing high-degree "hub" vertices that exist in many real-world scenarios. These high-degree vertices create a quadratic number of wedges, or 2-edge paths, which for brute force algorithms require closure checking or wedge checks. Our work-in-progress builds on existing heuristics for pruning the number of wedge checks by ordering based on degree and other simple metrics. Such heuristics can dramatically reduce the number of required wedge checks for exact triangle counting for both real and synthetic scale-free graphs. Our triangle counting algorithm is implemented using HavoqGT, an asynchronous vertex-centric graph analytics framework for distributed memory. We present a brief experimental evaluation on two large real scale-free graphs: a 128B edge web-graph and a 1.4B edge twitter follower graph, and a weak scaling study on synthetic Graph500 RMAT graphs up to 274.9 billion edges.
Three-Year Treatment Outcomes of Water Vapor Thermal Therapy Compared to Doxazosin, Finasteride and Combination Drug Therapy in Men with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: Cohort Data from the MTOPS Trial

Purpose: We evaluated the long-term outcomes of treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia to compare a 1-time water vapor thermal therapy procedure with daily medical therapy in cohorts from the MTOPS (Medical Therapy of Prostatic Symptoms) study.Materials and Methods: Results in the treatment arm of a randomized, controlled trial of thermal therapy using the Rezūm® System were compared to MTOPS subjects treated with doxazosin and/or finasteride. Evaluations were restricted to medical therapy subjects, representing 1,140 of the original 3,047 (37.4%), with a prostate volume of 30 to 80 cc and an International Prostate Symptom Score of 13 or greater to include men who met key criteria of the Rezūm and MTOPS trials. Outcomes were compared during 3 years for symptom changes and clinical progression rates.Results: Thermal therapy improved symptom scores by approximately 50% throughout 36 months (p <0.0001). Symptom improvement was greater than with either drug alone but sim...
Clinical and electrodiagnostic correlations of paraproteinemic neuropathies (P5.129)

Objective: To perform an institutional based retrospective chart review to correlate the clinical presentation and electrodiagnostic features of neuropathies in patients diagnosed with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), multiple myeloma (MM), Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia(WM), and Polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M protein and Skin changes (POEMS). Background: Paraproteinemia associated neuropathies show a varied clinical and electrophysiological presentation while early diagnosis is required for specific treatment of underlying disease. Design/Methods: Retrospective chart review of patients seen at an academic neurology practice (ICD9) for monoclonal gammopathies (MGUS, MM, WM and POEMS) and neuropathy over a 10 year period (2005 to 2015). Patients were grouped into those with malignant (MM, WM, POEMS) and non-malignant paraproteinemia (MGUS) as determined by immune diagnosis with immunofixation and electrophoresis. Neuropathy diagnosis was based on clinical and electrodiagnostic characterization and exclusion of potential other etiologies. Study was approved by the Institutional Review Board. Results: Twenty nine of 45 subjects were included in the analysis, 20 (69%) presented with MGUS, 4 (14%) with MM, 4 (14%) with WM and 1 (3%) with POEMS. Age ranged 32–85 (mean 65) with female predominance (16/29). Initial symptoms were distal numbness and paresthesia. MGUS (IgG) and IgG kappa were associated primarily with length dependent axonal sensory peripheral neuropathy while a demyelinating sensorimotor polyneuropathy was seen in MGUS-IgG lambda. Patients with elevated IgM had demyelinating sensory motor neuropathy and but also clinical evidence for small fiber neuropathy. Three patients with MGUS (IgM-Kappa) had positive anti MAG antibodies. All MM had clinical evidence of large fiber sensorimotor neuropathy. Four patients with WM showed symptoms of severe small fiber neuropathy. The patient with POEMS had severe distal paresthesia and was found to have a median and ulnar mononeuropathy as well. Conclusions: Paraproteinemic neuropathies are rare but when suspected, need to be carefully characterized to facilitate timely hematological treatment. Disclosure: Dr. Daniel has nothing to disclose. Dr. Jani-Acsadi has nothing to disclose.
Treatment of PTLD

No therapies are based on data from randomized clinical trials Current outcomes are suboptimal, both in adults and children Death is most common in the first year after diagnosis Success of therapy must include evaluation of allograft outcomes Several new therapies have emerged over the last decade including monoclonal antibody therapies against B cell surface antigens and cellular immunotherapy
Low-Back Orthoses

Spinal orthoses may serve as appropriate adjuncts to both surgical and nonsurgical intervention in the case of thoracolumbar frac-tures or painful conditions. Use of spinal orthoses requires econsideration of normal spinal biomechanics as well as the path-omechanics specific to a given clinical situation. A knowledge of the general principles of bracing, in addition to the indications for and limitations of specific braces, is critical for successful orthotic prescription. This article reviews spinal biomechanics and kinematics, surgical and nonsurgical treatment of thoracolumbar fractures, classification of spinal orthoses, and orthotic management of fracture and surgery of the thoracolumbar spine as well as of low back pain.
Gold Nanocages for Cancer Imaging and Therapy

Gold nanocages are hollow nanostructures with porous walls that can be simply prepared via the galvanic replacement reaction between silver nanocubes and chloroauric acid. Their optical resonance peaks can be precisely tuned into the near-infrared region, in which the adsorption caused by blood or soft tissue is essentially negligible. Significantly, the strong absorption of gold nanocages makes them attractive as a novel class of contrast enhancement and photothermal agents for cancer detection and treatment. The well-established chemistry for gold also allows them to target specific cells by functionalizing their surface with various moieties such as antibodies, peptides, and DNAs. In this chapter, we focus on their use as a photothermal agent for the ablation of cancer cells and as a contrast agent for the in vivo noninvasive photoacoustic imaging of blood vessels and the sentinel lymph nodes in rats.
Shifting responsibilities: student e-mail excuses and how faculty perceive them

Abstract This study examines e-mail excuses sent by undergraduate university students to professors. First an initial corpus of 200 messages is analyzed according to the type of infraction, the nature of the excuse and the different strategies used. Secondly, a small group of ten professors was asked to evaluate a random sample of 50 messages on an effectiveness scale of 1–5 and explain their ratings. The metadiscursive comments (n = 500) were coded and quantified in order to determine a ranking of the factors influencing the professors’ reactions. Overall, the body of messages received an average numerical rating of 2.7, between “ineffective” and “neutral”. While aspects related to the legitimacy of the excuse motive and an informal writing style were shown to impact faculty perceptions, the findings in this study reveal another area of primary concern for professors, the expectation for students to be responsible, proactive and self-directed individuals when dealing with the consequences of their transgression. This Responsibility category was found to be the most influential factor affecting both positive and negative evaluations of the excuses, followed by issues concerning Motive, and to a much lesser extent, Style and Timing. One broader implication is that the deficiencies identified in students’ e-mail excuses imply areas for improvement in their soft skills development overall.
An analysis of the fish assemblages around 23 oil and gas platforms off California with comparisons with natural habitats

Between 1995 and 2013, we surveyed fishes living around 23 California offshore oil and gas platforms (midwaters, bases, and shell mounds) and 70 natural habitats. These platforms were distributed between about Point Arguello, central California, and Huntington Beach, southern California, had seafloor depths between 49 and 363 m, and were surveyed between one and 16 times. A total of 1,526,437 fishes were observed. Fish densities were highest around platform bases, followed by platform midwaters, shell mounds, and natural habitats. Of all fishes observed, 90.4% were in the genus Sebastes. Water depth was the strongest driver of the fish species assemblages, although habitat type and geographic location were also important. Most of the fishes living around platforms and natural habitats were relatively small, primarily ≤20 cm in length. Many of these individuals were the juveniles of larger taxa or the juveniles and adults of dwarf species. Larger fishes were less common and these were most often found around platform bases and on natural habitats. Most young-of-the-year (YOY) fishes occurred at water depths of ≤150 m at all four habitats. At platforms, YOY densities were highest in platform midwaters and bases. On average, densities of these young fishes were somewhat higher compared to natural habitats and it is likely that many, although not all, California platforms play a significant role as nursery grounds for a variety of fishes, particularly for a number of Sebastes species.
A Preliminary Laboratory Evaluation: Effects of Consequence Quality and Ratio-Schedule Arrangements on Staff Performance

Supplementary, contingent pay arrangements can result in improved employee productivity and increased job satisfaction. We examined the effects of four stimulus delivery arrangements on performance...
From the stylet of the temple to the tongue in so-called Riolan's bouquet.

Abstract The styloglossus muscle is a key landmark for staging and surgery of certain squamous cell cancers of the oropharynx. The purpose of this historical note is to try to determine when the styloglossus muscle was described for the first time, and to understand its integration into the so-called Riolan's bouquet.
Laparoscopic appendectomy for complicated appendicitis in children

Objective To compare laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) with open appendectomy (OA) in the treatment of appendicitis complicating gangrene,perforation and abscess in children.Methods This study included 614 consecutively admitted patients with acute complicated appendicitis undergoing laparoscopic (267 cases) or open (347 cases) appendectomy.Clinical outcomes were compared between the 2 groups in relation to operative time,length of hospital stay,postoperative complications and in hospital cost. Results There was no mortality.Conversion to open surgery was necessary in 7 patients in LA group.Laparoscopic appendectomy was associated with a shorter hospital stay (4.6 d vs.8.1 d,P =0.00),lower incidence of wound infection(5.3％ vs.12.8％,P =0.03),less bowel obstruction(5.0％vs.10.0％,P =0.04) and nosocomial infection (9.7％ vs.18.3％,P =0.04).Intra-abdominal abscess formation was significantly higher after laparoscopic surgery (4.1％ vs.1.1％,P =0.04 ).The cost of treatment and operative time were higher in the laparoscopic group than in open appendectomy,however,there was no statistically significant difference. Conclusions Laparoscopic technique is a safe and clinically beneficial operative procedure for complicated appendicitis in children with short hospital stay,early recovery,good cosmetic appearance,and low complication rate,except for a higher incidence of intraabdominal abscess. Key words: Appendicitis; Laparoscopes; Appendectomy
On increasing the visibility of women and other groups underrepresented in medicine: To be it, you must see it.

The composition of speakers' rosters at medical conferences is receiving increasing attention as awareness of inequities in representation in medicine grows. In 2019, the director of the NIH, Dr. Francis Collins, publicly declared that he would no longer accept speaking invitations to panels that were composed solely of men, or so-called manels.1 Turning the focus to neurology, Singhal and colleagues,2 the authors of “Representation of Women Plenary Speakers at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting” in this issue of Neurology ®, present data on the gender representation of plenaries sessions over the last 6 decades at the American Academy of Neurology's (AAN’s) Annual Meeting. Analysis of the data provided reveal a nonequitable representation of women among the plenary speakers for the majority of the years studied, with a notable increase in representation more recently, especially for the years 2017 to 2019. A striking finding was that for 33 years (1958–1990), there were zero women speakers in any plenary session. While improvements were made from 1990 to 2016, the presence of women plenary speakers was noncommensurate with the number of women neurologists or women AAN members.2 These striking inequities echo previous scholarly work revealing disparities in nearly every aspect of the practice of neurology, from compensation3 and academic rank4 to recognition awards5 and burnout.6,7
Synthesis of Molybdenum Perfluorophenylimido 2-Adamantylidene Complexes

Addition of 2-adamantylMgBr in diethyl ether to Mo(NArF)2(Cl)2(DME) (ArF = C6F5) gave Mo(NArF)2(Ad)2 (2, Ad = 2-adamantyl, DME = 1,2-dimethoxyethane). Addition of HCl and 2,2′-bipyridyl (bipy) to 2...
SBS Suppression techniques in high-power, narrow-linewidth fiber amplifiers

Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) is typically the lowest order nonlinearity encountered in ytterbium doped fiber amplifiers (YDFA), and the simplest means of suppressing it is though linewidth broadening from phase modulation. However, to maintain compatibility with beam combining techniques critical to scaling to high output powers, narrow linewidths are needed, and bandwidth efficient means of suppressing SBS are key to scaling to high powers. Here, the scalability of novel phase modulation techniques in combination with laser gain competition are explored. Ultimately, LGC is shown to improve the TMI threshold by 15%, and reduce the linewidth by a factor of 2.1. A 1.8 kW fiber amplifier with 7 Ghz linewidth is demonstrated.
Tissue-specific tregs in cancer metastasis: opportunities for precision immunotherapy.

Decades of advancements in immuno-oncology have enabled the development of current immunotherapies, which provide long-term treatment responses in certain metastatic cancer patients. However, cures remain infrequent, and most patients ultimately succumb to treatment-refractory metastatic disease. Recent insights suggest that tumors at certain organ sites exhibit distinctive response patterns to immunotherapy and can even reduce antitumor immunity within anatomically distant tumors, suggesting the activation of tissue-specific immune tolerogenic mechanisms in some cases of therapy resistance. Specialized immune cells known as regulatory T cells (Tregs) are present within all tissues in the body and coordinate the suppression of excessive immune activation to curb autoimmunity and maintain immune homeostasis. Despite the high volume of research on Tregs, the findings have failed to reconcile tissue-specific Treg functions in organs, such as tolerance, tissue repair, and regeneration, with their suppression of local and systemic tumor immunity in the context of immunotherapy resistance. To improve the understanding of how the tissue-specific functions of Tregs impact cancer immunotherapy, we review the specialized role of Tregs in clinically common and challenging organ sites of cancer metastasis, highlight research that describes Treg impacts on tissue-specific and systemic immune regulation in the context of immunotherapy, and summarize ongoing work reporting clinically feasible strategies that combine the specific targeting of Tregs with systemic cancer immunotherapy. Improved knowledge of Tregs in the framework of their tissue-specific biology and clinical sites of organ metastasis will enable more precise targeting of immunotherapy and have profound implications for treating patients with metastatic cancer.
Suicide Risk Among Adults With Mental Health Emergency Department Visits With and Without Suicidal Symptoms.

Objective: To describe risk factors and suicide rates during the year following discharge from mental health emergency department (ED) visits by adults with suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, or neither.Methods: National cohorts of patients with mental health ED visits for suicide attempts or self-harm (n = 55,323), suicidal ideation (n = 435,464), or other mental health visits (n = 9,144,807) from 2008 to 2012 Medicaid data were followed for suicide for 1 year after discharge. Suicide rates per 100,000 person-years were determined from National Death Index data. Poisson regression models, adjusted for age, sex, and race/ethnicity, estimated suicide rate ratios (RRs). Suicide standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were estimated from National Vital Statistics System data.Results: Suicide rates per 100,000 person-years were 325.4 for suicide attempt or self-harm visits (RR = 5.51, 95% CI, 4.64-6.55), 156.6 for suicidal ideation visits (RR = 2.59, 95% CI, 2.34-2.87), and 57.0 for the other mental health ED visits (1.0, reference). Compared to expected suicide general population rates, SMRs were 18.2 (95% CI, 13.0-23.4) for suicide attempt or self-harm patients, 10.6 (95% CI, 9.0-12.2) for suicidal ideation patients, and 3.2 (95% CI, 3.1-3.4) for other ED mental health patients. Among patients with suicide attempt ED visits in the 180 days before their index mental health ED visit, suicide rates per 100,000 person-years were 687.2 (95% CI, 396.5-978.0) for attempt or self-harm visits, 397.4 (95% CI, 230.6-564.3) for ideation visits, and 328.4 (95% CI, 241.5-415.4) for other mental health visits.Conclusions: In the year following discharge, emergency department patients with suicide attempts or self-harm, especially repeated attempts, have a high risk of suicide.
WE-D-207-03: CT Protocols for Screening and the ACR Designated Lung Screening Program

UNLABELLED: In the United States, Lung Cancer is responsible for more cancer deaths than the next four cancers combined. In addition, the 5 year survival rate for lung cancer patients has not improved over the past 40 to 50 years. To combat this deadly disease, in 2002 the National Cancer Institute launched a very large Randomized Control Trial called the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST). This trial would randomize subjects who had substantial risk of lung cancer (due to age and smoking history) into either a Chest X-ray arm or a low dose CT arm. In November 2010, the National Cancer Institute announced that the NLST had demonstrated 20% fewer lung cancer deaths among those who were screened with low-dose CT than with chest X-ray. In December 2013, the US Preventive Services Task Force recommended the use of Lung Cancer Screening using low dose CT and a little over a year later (Feb. 2015), CMS announced that Medicare would also cover Lung Cancer Screening using low dose CT. Thus private and public insurers are required to provide Lung Cancer Screening programs using CT to the appropriate population(s). The purpose of this Symposium is to inform medical physicists and prepare them to support the implementation of Lung Screening programs. This Symposium will focus on the clinical aspects of lung cancer screening, requirements of a screening registry for systematically capturing and tracking screening patients and results (such as required Medicare data elements) as well as the role of the medical physicist in screening programs, including the development of low dose CT screening protocols. LEARNING OBJECTIVES: 1.To understand the clinical basis and clinical components of a lung cancer screening program, including eligibility criteria and other requirements.2.To understand the data collection requirements, workflow, and informatics infrastructure needed to support the tracking and reporting components of a screening program.3.To understand the role of the medical physicist in implementing Lung Cancer Screening protocols for CT, including utilizing resources such as the AAPM Protocols and the ACR Designated Lung Screening Center program.UCLA Department of Radiology has an Institutional research agreement with Siemens Healthcare; Dr. McNitt-Gray has been a recipient of Research Support from Siemens Healthcare in the past. Dr. Aberle has been a Member of Advisory Boards for the LUNGevity Foundation (2011-present) and Siemens Medical Solutions. (2013).
Individual and Family Factors That Decrease Depression in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean Youth

This study examined the risk and promotive factors that contribute to or decrease depression in late adolescents. Chinese, Japanese and Korean adolescents were surveyed in order to examine the individual and family factors influencing adolescents. Correlation and regression were used to examine the relationship among variables. Findings from the analysis revealed that promotive factors: autonomy, easy temperament, emotional intelligence, humor, moral development, optimism and physical beauty decreased depression. Risk factors that increased depression were history of physical abuse, history of sexual abuse, domestic violence, favoritism of siblings, parental depression and parent not aware. Implications of these findings for theory, research, policy and clinical practice are explored.
The International Ultraviolet Explorer: Case study in spacecraft design

The International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) is a geosynchronous scientific satellite that was conceived as an international space observatory capable of measuring UV spectra of faint celestial bodies. Simple operational procedures allow the astronomers to joystick the spaceborne telescope about the sky, using familiar ground-based observatory techniques. The present paper deals with the IUE project objectives, the technical problems, constraints, trade-offs, and the problem solving techniques used in the IUE program.
Airway Gene Therapy

Abstract Given both the accessibility and the genetic basis of several pulmonary diseases, the lungs and airways initially seemed ideal candidates for gene therapy. Several routes of access are available, many of which have been refined and optimized for nongene drug delivery. Two respiratory diseases, cystic fibrosis (CF) and α 1 ‐antitrypsin ( α 1 ‐AT) deficiency, are relatively common; the single gene responsible has been identified and current treatment strategies are not curative. This type of inherited disease was the obvious initial target for gene therapy, but it has become clear that nongenetic and acquired diseases, including cancer, may also be amenable to this approach. The majority of preclinical and clinical studies in the airway have involved viral vectors, although for diseases such as CF, likely to require repeated application, non‐viral delivery systems have clear advantages. However, with both approaches a range of barriers to gene expression have been identified that are limiting success in the airway and alveolar region. This chapter reviews these issues, strategies aimed at overcoming them, and progress into clinical trials with non‐viral vectors in a variety of pulmonary diseases.
Compiling design plans from descriptions of artifacts and problem solving heuristics

An analysis of the design plans in the Pride expert system shows that they integrate knowledge about structure and functionality of artifacts as well as problem-solving heuristics A method is presented by which such plans can be automatically generated by compiling knowledge about artifacts, problem solving heuristics, and characteristics of specific problems. Knowledge compilation allows the creation of plans tailored to particular problems and offers potential benefits in maintaining a knowledge base, in reusing the same knowledge for different purposes, and in providing a framework for more systematic knowledge acquisition.
Middleware for pervasive spaces: balancing privacy and utility

Middleware for pervasive spaces has to meet conflicting requirements. It has to both maximize the utility of the information exposed and ensure that this information does not violate users' privacy. In order to resolve these conflicts, we propose a framework grounded in utility theory where users dynamically control the level of disclosure about their information. We begin by providing appropriate definitions of privacy and utility for the type of applications that would support collaborative work in an office environment---current definitions of privacy and anonymity do not apply in this context. We propose a distributed solution that, given a user's background knowledge, maximizes the utility of the information being disclosed to information recipients while meeting the privacy requirements of users. We implement our solution in the context of a real pervasive space middleware and provide experiments that demonstrate its behaviour.
Jurisdictional Developments and the New Hague Judgments Project

A Working Group of the Hague Conference on Private International Law is revisiting possible multilateral rules on the recognition of foreign judgments. This was the subject of broader negotiations on jurisdiction and judgments that ran from 1992 until 2005, concluding in the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements. Any effort to coordinate judgments recognition rules necessarily requires consideration of the jurisdictional bases of authority of the court from which a judgment originates. Problems of coordination are exacerbated because differences in existing jurisdictional bases are colored by: (1) basic differences between civil law and common law approaches to judicial analysis, (2) differences in the extent to which jurisdiction is a constitutional matter, and (3) differences in focus on the interests of plaintiffs and defendants. Recent developments in both the United States and the European Union have both highlighted existing differences in approaches to adjudicative jurisdiction, and demonstrated some areas in which there may be greater hope for common ground. While rules on general jurisdiction may be moving closer together, rules on specific jurisdiction seem to be suffering greater divergence. Any new multilateral efforts will also have to take into account the impact on parallel efforts to obtain ratifications of the Choice of Court Convention. While there are jurisdictional bases on which agreement should not be difficult in a new judgments project, those are probably the bases for which recognition and enforcement abroad will be least valuable to the judgment creditor.
Comparison of the effects of simulated fallout decay and constant exposure-rate gamma-ray treatments on the survival and yield of wheat and oats

Eight-day-old seedlings of wheat ( Triticum aestivum L. em. Thell. ‘Opal’) and oats ( Avena sativa L. ‘Orbit’) were subjected to 137 Cs gamma radiation in two ways: (1)for 16 hr with constant rate exposures (CR); and (2) for 36 hr with changing exposure rates given as a fallout decay simulation (FDS). After irradiation the wheat was transplanted to the field, and the oats into 6-in, clay pots and placed in a screen-covered “greenhouse”. Survival data were collected three times a week until no more deaths, attributable to the radiation occurred. Seed yield data from survivors were obtained at the end of the growing season. At equal total exposures, the 36-hr FDS treatment was more effective in reducing survival than the 16-hr CR treatments. The ratio of 16-hr CR/FDS LD 50 's was 1·46 for wheat and 1·19 for oats. The FDS was more effective in reducing the yield only at exposures above the LD 10 . The FDS exposures producing a 50 per cent reduction in seed yield (YD 50 ) were 1·73±0·29 kR for ‘Opal’ wheat and 1·42±0·27 kR for ‘Orbit’ oats. The 16-hr CR YD 50 exposures were 2·26±0·61 kR for wheat and 1·51±0·22 kR for oats. In all cases, yield was a much more sensitive end point than survival, indicating that even though a crop might survive fallout exposures in some cases, no appreciable seed yield would be produced. That is, reproductive survival (seed) is more sensitive than somatic survival (plants).
3386 Outcome of ercp in choledocholithiasis: lessons from the cori database.

There are few systematic data on the effectiveness of therapeutic ERCP in routine clinical practice in the community. These data are important for third party payers and for quality assurance in endoscopy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the success of ERCP in community based practice and to demonstrate the feasibility of a computerized database in gathering outcome data on a large scale. Methods: We studied 333 patients who underwent ERCP for choledocholithiasis at 32 centers (academic, VA and private practices) in 23 states with 116 endoscopists. Data were captured immediately after the procedure using defined criteria that include indications, procedural findings, complications and outcome. The data are obtained at each site using the Clinical Outcomes Research Initiative a computerized record of endoscopic procedues. The database for this study was developed by upload of the data from individual sites to a central database. Results. Between 6/1997 and 9/1999, 332 patients underwent 365 attempts at ERCP for choledocholithiasis. Mean age was 57±20 years. Stone diameters ranged from 1mm-30 mm with the majority (88%) between 5 and 15 mm in diameter. The bile duct was successfully cannulated in 299 cases (82%). Sphincterotomy was performed in 264 patients and stones were successfully cleared from the duct in 333/365 attempts (93%). Balloon extraction was the most frequently used method in 267 cases and failed in 23; basket extraction was used in 48 cases and failed in 8. It was generally used following failed balloon extraction. Lithotripsy was necessary in 18 patients and was successful in 12. Immediate complications were very rare and no bleeding or perforation was reported. Conclusions: (1) Large databases may be used to collect community based outcome data in endoscopy. (2) The effectiveness of ERCP in choledocholithiasis in routine clinical practice is high with duct clearance rates of 93% (3) Bleeding or perforation are very rare with sphincterotomy performed in the setting of choledocholithiasis.
Aluminum-dominated acute toxicity to the cladoceran Ceriodaphnia dubia in neutral waters downstream of an acid mine drainage discharge

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is traditionally considered to impact aquatic ecosystems by acidification, metal precipitation smothering stream substrates, and sediment toxicity in association with trace metals. Using Ceriodaphnia dubia as a test organism, we conducted whole effluent toxicity (WET) tests with both field-collected and laboratory-synthesized AMD samples to investigate possible mechanisms of reduced benthic macroinvertebrate community diversity in neutral (pH > 7.0) waters downstream of an acidified tributary. Our results indicate that Al and Fe in transition from acidic waters to neutralizing receiving streams can cause acute toxicity to standard invertebrate test organisms at neutral pH. Aluminum, with an average LC50 (50% lethal concentration) of 2880 µg·L1, was determined to be the cause of acute toxicity in the field for up to a mile downstream of the AMD-influenced tributary and was the likely cause of reduced community diversity at those sites. Although Fe singly may cause acute toxicity i...
Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis in a renal transplant patient: Case report and review of the literature

Background.Human ehrlichiosis, a newly described zoonotic infection, can be classified as human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME) or human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE). Although the clinical manifestations of HME and HGE are similar, the type of leukocyte infected, the etiologic agent, and the tick ve
Mechanism and the Intrinsic Rates of Reduction of Metallic Oxides

The reduction of metallic oxides to metals represents an important class of heterogeneous reactions in which the role of nucleation and growth phenomena, although significant, has not been investigated fully. The micromechanism of reduction involves the formation of metallic nuclei and their subsequent growth at the expense of the parent phase. The present paper systematizes the evidence so far available and reports some experimental work on the nucleation and growth mechanisms in the reduction of wustite. The rate of nucleation, the mode of growth of a metallic nucleus and their relationship to a macroscopic rate parameter such as the mass rate of reduction have been fully explored. The method of determining the intrinsic rate of reduction from high temperature stage optical microscopic measurements has been placed on a firm quantitative basis. The influence of pore diffusion of gaseous species on the shape of the growing nucleus has been examined in some detail.
Extension of lattice strain theory to mineral/mineral rare-earth element partitioning: An approach for assessing disequilibrium and developing internally consistent partition coefficients between olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and basaltic melt

Olivine/melt and orthopyroxene/melt rare-earth element (REE) partition coefficients consistent with clinopyroxene/melt partition coefficients were determined indirectly from subsolidus partitioning between olivine, orthopyroxene, and clinopyroxene after suitable correction for temperature. Heavy- and middle-REE ratios for olivine/clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene/clinopyroxene pairs correlate negatively with effective cationic radius, whereas those for the light REEs correlate positively with cationic radius, generating a U-shaped pattern in apparent mineral/clinopyroxene partition coefficients versus cationic radius. Lattice strain models of partitioning modified for subsolidus conditions yield negative correlations of olivine/clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene/clinopyroxene with respect to cationic radii, predicting well the measured partitioning behaviors of the heavy and middle REEs but not that of the light REEs. The light-REE systematics cannot be explained with lattice strain theory and, instead, can be explained by disequilibrium enrichment of the light REEs in melt inclusions or on the rims of olivine and orthopyroxene. Realistic light-REE partition coefficients were thus extrapolated from the measured heavy- and middle-REE partition coefficients using the lattice strain model. Light REE olivine/melt and orthopyroxene/melt partition coefficients calculated in this manner are lower than most published values, but agree reasonably well with partitioning experiments using the most recent in situ analytical techniques (secondary-ionization mass spectrometry and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry). These new olivine/melt and orthopyroxene/melt partition coefficients are useful for accurate modeling of the REE contents of clinopyroxene-poor to -free lithologies, such as harzburgitic residues of melting. Finally, the application of the lattice strain theory to subsolidus conditions represents a framework for assessing the degree of REE disequilibrium in a rock.
Maternal knowledge of infant feeding guidelines and label reading behaviours in a population of new mothers in San Francisco, California.

Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between maternal nutrition knowledge and maternal socio-demographics including participation in the Special Supplemental Women, Infants and Children's (WIC) Program. A cross-sectional study of new mothers at two San Francisco hospitals was conducted using some of the American Academy of Pediatrics' guidelines in a structured questionnaire to assess maternal nutritional knowledge. Maternal nutritional attitudes towards product nutrient labels were also assessed in a questionnaire format. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the odds of having high maternal nutrition knowledge and of infrequently reading nutrition labels. In multivariate logistic regression models, higher maternal nutrition knowledge (defined as answering all four nutrition questions correctly) was associated with higher income levels defined as > or =$25 000/year, odds ratio (OR) 10.03 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.51-66.74), and in linear models, higher nutritional knowledge was associated with having more children (P < 0.01), a higher income (P = 0.01) and not being a WIC participant (P < 0.01). Mothers with higher incomes were also more likely to read product nutritional labels OR 4.24, 95% CI (1.24-14.51), compared with mothers with lower incomes as were mothers with higher education levels OR 3.32, 95% CI (1.28-8.63). In San Francisco, lower income mothers are at greatest risk for low maternal nutrition knowledge and not reading product nutritional labels. Higher household income was independently associated with increased maternal nutrition knowledge and likelihood of reading nutritional labels. More comprehensive interventions need to target low-income mothers including current WIC participants to help close the nutritional advantages gap conferred by income and education.
What's new in urologic ultrasound?

Ultrasonography allows providers to noninvasively image an area of interest in real time without the risks of ionizing radiation or nephrotoxic contrast agents. This article presents basic concepts of ultrasound along with new advances in ultrasound technology and their applications in small parts evaluation. Ultrasound remains a key instrument in the diagnostic armamentarium of urologists. Ultrasonography allows providers to noninvasively image an area of interest in real time without the risks of ionizing radiation or nephrotoxic contrast agents. Since its first clinical applications in the 1940s, steady advances in ultrasound technology have continued to expand its role in the diagnosis, management, and follow-up of patients with urologic disorders [1]. This article presents basic concepts of ultrasound along with new advances in ultrasound technology and their applications in small parts evaluation.
Estrogen regulates a tissue-specific calpain in the anterior pituitary ☆

Abstract A PCR-based cDNA subtraction hybridization was performed to identify the genes stimulated by estrogen in the pituitary. A novel tissue-specific calpain (nCL-2 ′ ), previously shown to be expressed mainly in the stomach, was markedly induced in the pituitary after estrogen treatment. The 5 ′ -flanking region of the calpain nCL-2 ′ gene was analyzed to assess the molecular mechanism of estrogen regulation. Sequence analysis of the nCL-2 ′ promoter (1.9 kb) revealed a perfectly palindromic putative estrogen-response element (ERE), GGTCATGCTGACC. In transient transfection studies, the nCL-2 ′ promoter was highly responsive to estrogen in the presence of estrogen receptor (ER). Transcriptional activation by estrogen was prevented by an ERE mutation as well as by mutations in the ER DNA-binding domain. An ER antagonist, ICI 182780, blocked estrogen inducibility of the nCL-2 ′ promoter. We conclude that the nCL-2 ′ form of calpain is expressed in the pituitary and upregulated by estrogen at the transcription level.
Construction of and Measurements with an Extremely Compact Cross-Flow Heat Exchanger

Abstract An extremely compact cross-flow heat exchanger is described. The exchanger is constructed by furnace-brazing together a stack of hundreds of stainless-steel sheets. The resulting structure is leak-tight and very strong, but fluid channels as small as 51 μm (0.002 in) are not plugged by excess brazing material. Measurements of heat transfer between water and liquid propylene flowing through the heat exchanger are in excellent agreement with calculations based on exchanger geometry and fluid properties.