cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Menstrual control in the developmentally delayed adolescent: new treatment options.

Menstruation can be a difficult transition for many adolescents. It often results in the loss of school time and may curtail extra-school activities. For the developmentally delayed teenager menstruation can be stressful not only for the adolescent but also for her caretakers. Many of these adolescents do not have the ability to care for themselves and as a result the responsibility for menstrual hygiene will fall upon family members or other responsible individuals. A significant proportion of these girls will need continued care throughout their lives so they will not be involved in bearing or raising children. Fertility issues are often a major concern and this should be addressed in considering treatment options. Indeed some of these teenagers may become sexually active and the prevention of unintended pregnancies should be considered an important aspect of their care. The physician making recommendations for these adolescents often faces difficult choices as to the proper management. However more medical and surgical treatment options are becoming available and will be discussed below. (excerpt)
Liver glycogen and blood sugar levels in x-irradiated newborn rats.

Liver glycogen and blood sugar levels were determined in normal prenatal and postnatal rats as a function of age. The liver glycogen of the fetal rats rose rapidly to a maximum value shortly before the expected time of parturition, fell precipitously during birth, and then rose gradually. The blood sugar levels of the fetal rat more than doubled during the last 2 days of gestation and continued to increase slowly after birth. Liver glycogen and blood sugar levels also were determined in newborn rats 24 hours after being subjected to fasting and whole body x-irrad;ation. Up until the 6th day after birth the irradiation had no effect on the liver glycogen levels, and the blood sugar levels were quite unstable. On the 7th day after birth the blood sugar levels became stabilized, and the expected mild hyperglycemia and increased liver glycogen due to whole body irradiation were demonstrable. It thus appears that pituitary- adrenal regulation of carbohydrate metabolism becomes effective on or about the 7th day...
Review Article: Recent Work in Caribbean Literature

Review article of: Carole Boyce Davies, Caribbean Spaces: Escapes from Twilight Zones (Urbana: U of Illinois P, 2013); Jason Frydman, Sounding the Break: African American and Caribbean Routes of World Literature (Charlottesville: U of Virginia P, 2014); Yolanda Martinez-San Miguel, Coloniality of Diasporas: Rethinking Intracolonial Migrations in a Pan-Caribbean Context (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014); Valerie Orlando and Sandra Cypress, eds., Reimagining the Caribbean: Conversations among the Creole, English, French, and Spanish Caribbean (Lexington Books, 2014).
Increased Smooth Muscle Cell Activation and Neointima Formation in Response to Injury in AIF-1 Transgenic Mice

Objective— Allograft Inflammatory Factor-1 (AIF-1) is a calcium binding scaffold protein which is rapidly induced in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in response to injury and inflammation. A transgenic mouse in which AIF-1 expression was driven by a VSMC-specific SM22α promoter was generated to establish a direct relationship between AIF-1 expression and intimal hyperplasia. Methods and Results— Morphological analysis of partially ligated carotid artery demonstrate a significant increase in neointimal area of AIF-1 Tg versus wild-type mice (569±64 um versus 256±49um, P =0.004). Immunohistochemistry using antibody to the proliferation marker Ki-67 show a significantly greater number of proliferating cells in the AIF-1 Tg lesion compared with wild-type arteries (10.6%±1.0 versus 3.6%±.9, P =0.0007). AIF-1 Tg arteries also had a greater number of cells with activated signal transduction kinase p38 (55.4%±7.0 versus 22.6%±5.4, P =0.002) and PAK1 (67.5%±6.7 versus 35.3%±10.2, P =0.02) compared with wild-type. Cultured VSMCs explanted from AIF-1 Tg proliferate (55.5±3.6×10 3 versus 37.2±2.0×10 3 cells/mL, P =0.0001) and migrate more rapidly (39.2±3.2 versus 17.1±1.5 VSMCs per HPF, P =0.0003) than wild-type, and have significantly greater levels of activated p38 and PAK1 than did VSMCs from wild-type littermates ( P Conclusions— These data indicate that AIF-1 expression results in increased signal transduction, neointimal formation, and VSMC proliferation in injured mouse carotid arteries.
Optimal stochastic scheduling of connected queues with switching costs

Structural properties of optimal policies for the problem of scheduling a single server in a forest network of N queues (without arrivals) subject to switching penalties are presented. In addition to linear holding costs, either lump sum switching costs or batch set-up delays that are incurred at each instant the server processes a job in a queue different than the previous one are composed. Reward rate notions are used to unearth conditions on the holding costs and service distributions for which an exhaustive policy is optimal. For the case of two nodes connected probabilistically in tandem, an optimal policy under similar conditions is explicitly defined. >
Implementation of first-trimester risk assessment for trisomy 21: Ethical considerations

The performance and evaluation of first-trimester risk assessment should meet standards of scientific and ethical excellence. Scientific standards are well understood. Ethical standards are less well understood. On the basis of the ethical concept of the physician as fiduciary, and the ethical principles of respect for autonomy, beneficence, and justice, we show that the obstetrician has an ethical obligation to routinely offer pregnant women first-trimester risk assessment in high quality centers. On the basis of the professional virtues of integrity and self-sacrifice, we then show that both obstetricians and specialists in risk assessment have a strict ethical obligation to identify, responsibly manage, and disclose both economic and noneconomic conflicts of interests, especially when they are hidden. We conclude that ethics is an essential dimension of implementation of first-trimester risk assessment for trisomy 21.
Conditional IL-2 Gene Deletion: Consequences for T Cell Proliferation

To explore the role of interleukin-2 (IL-2) in T cell proliferation, and to circumvent the IL-2 deficiency autoimmune syndrome of conventional il2 gene deletion, mice were created to allow conditional il2 gene deletion when treated with the estrogen analogue, tamoxifen (TAM) as adults. Splenocytes from four different mouse strains, C57Bl/6 wild type (WT), conventional IL-2 (-/-), TAM-treated Cre recombinase negative (Cre-)/IL2fl/fl, and Cre+/IL-2fl/fl (Cre+), were activated with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28, and monitored for CD4+ and CD8+ T cell lymphocyte blastogenesis, aerobic glycolysis, BrdU incorporation into newly synthesized DNA, and CFSE dye dilution to monitor cell division. IL-2 production was monitored by quantitative ELISA and multiple additional cytokines were monitored by protein-bead arrays. Splenocytes from conventional IL-2 (-/-) and TAM-treated Cre+ mice resulted in undetectable IL-2 production, so that both strains were IL-2 deficient. As monitored by flow cytometry, activated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from WT, Cre+ and Cre- mice all underwent blastogenesis, whereas far fewer cells from conventional IL-2 (-/-) mice did so. By comparison, only cells from IL-2 sufficient WT and Cre- switched to aerobic glycolysis as evidenced by a drop in media pH. Blastogenesis was mirrored by BrdU incorporation and CFSE dye dilution by CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from WT, Cre+ and Cre- mice, which were all equivalent, while proliferation of cells from conventional IL-2 (-/-) mice was compromised. Splenocytes from IL-2 deficient conventional IL-2 (-/-) mice produced low or undetectable other γc-chain cytokines (IL-4, IL-7, IL-9, IL-13, IL-15, and IL-21), whereas production of these γc-chain cytokines from IL-2-deficient conditional IL-2 (-/-) Cre+ mice were comparable with WT and Cre- mice. These results indicate that CD4+ and CD8+ T cell blastogenesis cannot be attributable to IL-2 alone, but a switch to aerobic glycolysis is attributable to IL-2, and proliferation after CD3/CD
Calcination of pulverized limestone particles under furnace injection conditions

The calcination behaviour of limestone particles (6–90 μm) under furnace injection conditions (1073–1673 K) was determined. Scanning electron microscopic analysis of partially calcined particles revealed that calcination occurred over the total (internal and external) surface area with different calcination rates at different locations. A model consistent with experimental rate data indicated that the calcination rate was influenced by heat transfer, mass transfer and chemical kinetics. Internal temperature and CO2 partial pressure gradients produced a location-dependent calcination rate. For particles >20 μm and gas temperatures >1473 K, external heat transfer and pore diffusion of CO2 offered the major resistances to calcination. For particles <10 μm and gas temperatures <1073 K, chemical kinetics were rate-controlling.
The matK gene: sequence variation and application in plant systematics

Although the matK gene has been used in addressing systematic questions in four families, its potential application to plant systematics above the family level has not been investigated. This paper examines the rates, patterns, and types of nucleotide substitutions in the gene and addresses its utility in constructing phylogenies above the family level. Eleven complete sequences from the GenBank representing seed plants and liverworts and nine partial sequences generated for genera representing the monocot families Poaceae, Joinvilleaceae, Cyperaceae, and Smilacaceae were analyzed. The study underscored the high rate of substitution in the gene and the presence of mutationally conserved sectors. The use of different sectors of the gene and the cumulative inclusion of informative sites showed that the 3' region was most useful in resolving phylogeny, and that the topology and robustness of the tree reached a plateau after the inclusion of 100 informative sites from that region for the taxa used. The impact of using partial sequencing on sample size is addressed. The presence of a relatively conserved 3' region and the less conserved 5' region provides two sets of characters that can be used at different taxonomic levels from the tribal to the division levels.
Clinical Expertise and the Limits of Explicit Knowledge

This article questions the view that medical decision-making can be reduced to a series of explicit rules, adherence to which will necessarily improve outcomes. Instead, it attempts to rehabilitate the concepts of clinical expertise and clinical experience, arguing that medicine, like other areas of expertise, depends on forms of implicit knowledge that can only be acquired through years of experience. Recent research on "fast and frugal" heuristics in medical decision-making suggest that statistical techniques are not necessarily superior to clinician judgment. Since clinical decisions are made on individual patients within the constraint of limited information, they must rest on clinical expertise and not clinical rules.
Suppression of breakers in stormy seas by an oil film

The mechanism by which an oil film is able to still stormy seas has remained mysterious. Accounts by shipmasters of the effective use of oil collected by the US Hydrographic Office in the 1880s contain little quantitative information. In only one episode was the time of response to a sudden application of oil recorded. In this case, storm breakers were annulled by use of fish oil to enable a small open boat to rescue the crew of a sinking vessel. The cessation of breaking seas occurred only after the oil had spread over a large area to windward of the ships. It appears that wave growth stopped in this oiled region. The reaction of regulatory bodies and public responses to the rescue illustrate features of the political and social contexts in which shipping and trading activity was conducted in the late nineteenth century.
Beam-beam effect and dynamic aperture of the muon collider

We consider the combined effects of the beam-beam interaction and the lattice nonlinearities for one specific design of the muon collider ring. The beam-beam interaction is represented by a thick gaussian lens, and the ring is described by a 9th-order Taylor map. At the single-particle level we compare the tune footprints and the dynamic aperture with and without the beam-beam effect. At the multiparticle level, using a "weak-strong" description of the beam-beam interaction, we compare the time evolution of the rms beam sizes with a linear lattice map and with the full nonlinear map.
An assessment model for requirements identification in component-based software development

Software development literature is replete with studies that demonstrate how ineffective requirements analysis (RA) has led to failed applications. Some of the difficulties encountered in RA however are due to inherent limitations in traditional approach to software development. On the other hand, component-based software development (CBSD) presents a unique approach to developing software. Components advertise the services they offer and could be organized in a knowledge-base (i.e., repository). CBSD paradigm provides an effective communication vehicle for users and analysts by enabling them to uncover requirements as they navigate through the component knowledge-base.In this paper, we draw from the information processing theory (IPT) on problem solving to develop an assessment model for evaluating the impact of CBSD on requirements identification, arguing that the access to components in a knowledge-base facilitates the requirements identification. The key elements of the IPT on problem solving are information processing system of the problem solver, task environment and internal representation of the problem space. We propose that access to a component knowledge-base enhances information processing system of the problem solver and simplifies the task environment which together improve user's internal representation of the problem space. This theoretical framework makes it possible to empirically test the impact of CBSD on requirements identification process.
Remarkable Case of Anuran Sexual Size Dimorphism: Platymantis rhipiphalcus Is a Junior Synonym of Platymantis boulengeri

Abstract Herein I synonymize the ranid frog Platymantis rhipiphalcus, from New Britain, with Platymantis boulengeri, from the same island. The four mensural characters originally used to separate these frogs covary continuously with body size, and sex is highly correlated with body size, with females much larger than males. Consequently, no features other than size separate these presumptive species, and specimens described as P. rhipiphalcus merely represent males and juvenile females of P. boulengeri. Males of P. boulengeri are here recognized as such for the first time, which leads to the discovery that this species has the most extreme sexual size dimorphism yet reported for any anuran. Female body length averages >3 times that for males, and female body mass averages >40 times that for males. The physical mechanics of reproduction in a species exhibiting such extreme size dimorphism are unknown but will certainly merit future investigation.
Anthropogenic and topographic correlates of natural vegetation cover within agricultural landscape mosaics in Turkey

Natural vegetation enhances the value of agricultural landscapes for people and wildlife. However, the role of anthropogenic versus topographic factors in driving the extent of natural vegetation cover within agricultural lands at large spatial scales remains unexplored. I assessed the influence of anthropogenic and topographic variables on the extent of agricultural mosaics with high natural vegetation cover in the country of Turkey where a large extent of natural and semi-natural vegetation is maintained by traditional agriculture. GIS layers depicting human land use, elevation, slope, roads and population data were obtained and summarized at two spatial scales, within provinces and for 100 km2 grid cells covering the country’s entire agricultural land area. Average farm size was also obtained at province level. Hierarchical Partitioning was conducted to determine the independent effect of anthropogenic and topographic variables on the variation in agriculture with high natural vegetation. Slope had the largest independent effect on the variation in the proportion of agricultural mosaic with high natural vegetation cover. The extent of agricultural and settlement area also explained much of the variation in natural vegetation across both grid cells and provinces. The proportion of natural vegetation increased as human population and road density decreased across grid cells and as average farm size decreased across provinces. These results suggest that while topography is the primary driver of natural vegetation cover within agricultural mosaics in Turkey, the pressures associated with urban development and agricultural industrialization may also influence the cultural and wildlife value of agricultural landscapes.
Is portable ultrasonography accurate in the evaluation of Schanz pin placement during extremity fracture fixation in austere environments

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of ultrasonography to confirm Schanz pin placement in a cadaveric model, and the interobserver repeatability of the ultrasound methodology. Design: This investigation is a repeated measures cadaveric study with multiple examiners. Participants: Cadaveric preparation and observations were done by an orthopaedic traumatologist and resident, and two general surgery traumatologists. Interventions: A total of 16 Schanz pins were equally placed in bilateral femora and tibiae. Four examiners took measurements of pin protrusion beyond the distal cortices using first ultrasonography and then by direct measurement after gross dissection. Main Outcome Measure(s): Distal Schanz pin protrusion length measurements from both ultrasonography and direct measurement post dissection. Results: Schanz pin protrusion measurements are underestimated by ultrasonography (p 0.8). Conclusions: Despite the statistical imparity of pin protrusion measurement via ultrasound compared to that of gross dissection, a consideration of the clinical relevance of ultrasound measurement bias during an austere operating theatre leads to the conclusion that ultrasonography is an adequate methodology for Schanz pin protrusion measurement.
Quasi-Cyclotomic Polynomials

(1932). Quasi-Cyclotomic Polynomials. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 39, No. 7, pp. 383-389.
Optical biomedical sensors: what can nanophotonics bring?

We discuss how nanophotonics is influencing the field of optical biomedical sensors. View points are exemplified in the context of developing integrated silicon photonic wire molecular sensor systems. Article not available.
Leukocyte rolling velocity and its relation to leukocyte-endothelium adhesion and cell deformability

To explore the relationship between the rolling velocity of leukocytes (VWBC) and wall shear rates (gamma), measurements of VWBC were made along the length of rat mesenteric venules in which a gradient in gamma was induced by compressing the venule with a blunted microprobe to form a stenosis in which gamma varied from 300 to 1500 s-1. For individual WBCs that rolled through stenosis, VWBC was proportional to gamma for its entire range, in contrast to previous studies that have shown a plateau in VWBC vs. gamma for the ensemble population. Comparisons of the slope of VWBC/gamma for individual cells with ensemble values of VWBC obtained in the entrance region of the stenosis were made during suffusion of the tissue with the chemoattractant N-formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP), to increase WBC-EC adhesion and WBC stiffness, or colchicine and cytochalasin B to increase WNC deformability. Under control conditions, the slope of individual cells was significantly 20% greater than VWBC/gamma, whereas it was significantly reduced by 48% during suffusion with FMLP. With exposure to colchicine, the slope was 78% lower than VWBC/gamma and compared with control was similar in magnitude to that obtained with FMLP. Cytochalasin also reduced the slope by 22% compared with control and 34% compared with VWBC/ gamma. The diminished slopes of VWBC vs. gamma were consistent with published theoretical models that suggest a reduced slope with increased strength of adhesion of WBC deformability. It is thus concluded that the apparent plateau in VWBC vs. gamma arises due to the heterogeneity of adhesive and/or deformability properties in the ensemble population of circulating WBCs.
Requirements management interface to building product models

In current practice to design buildings requirements are recorded in a building program, which is used as the starting point of the design. Later in the design process, however, changes are often made based on the previous design solution. Without any decisions to change the scope, this can lead to a design solution that may not meet the original requirements. In addition, design is an iterative process and the design solutions often cause evolution in the requirements. However, the requirements documentation is usually not updated accordingly because a method to link requirements and design solutions does currently not exist. My research is based on the observation that an active link between the client requirements and design tools can increase the use of requirements documentation throughout the process and facilitate updates of the requirements. The key limitation is the lack of a theory to link the requirements to the design systems. I addressed this problem by formalizing a requirements model specification which can be linked to building-product-model-based design models. The specification is based on an extensive and inclusive analysis of client requirements. The specification covers 300 requirements in 14 main and 35 sub-categories. These requirements are organized into 7 main-level and 30 sub-level requirements objects. The requirements model specification is based on three main concepts: (1) division of a project's data set into requirements, design, production, and maintenance models, (2) requirements related to the different levels of details in building product models, and (3) direct and indirect requirements. Although the detailed requirements relate mainly to the architectural design, the main concepts of the specification are not domain-specific and apply to a general interface between objects in different models. The main practical implications of my research are that it enables implementation of requirements management applications linked to building product models, and that the use of such applications can improve requirements management in the building process. I also propose some improvements in the current specifications for the IFC (Industry Foundation Classes)—a standard format for the representation of building product models. The research also creates a basis for many future research topics to expand the requirements model specification and its use.
Assimilation of Satellite Oceanic and Atmospheric Products to Improve Emission Forecasting

Satellite data presents an unprecedented opportunity to improve emission inventories at a near-real-time pace. Here we demonstrate how to utilize satellite oceanic and atmospheric products to improve emission forecasting. First, we present the development and validation of a global high resolution marine isoprene emission product. Isoprene emission is calculated from NOAA global weather forecasting data and Chlorophyll-a and light attenuation rate at 490 nm (K490) data derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) aboard Aqua. The emission product is validated with isoprene measurements from field campaigns. In the second case, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) data from the EPA Air Quality System (AQS) and the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) are used to examine the long-term trends in nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions for the NOAA National Air Quality Forecasting Capability (NAQFC). Comparing of summertime NOx data from OMI, NAQFC and AQS over New York between 2005 and 2011 shows a similar reduction level from all datasets (33 % reduction from 2005 to 2011), but OMI and AQS agree better while NAQFC emission inventories fail to catch the gradual progression of emission reduction. These case studies, in addressing various aspects of emission uncertainty, collectively demonstrate that satellite remote sensing can play an important role in improving emission forecasting and, hopefully, air quality predictions.
Passive Optical Sensing of the Near-Surface Wind-Driven Current Profile

AbstractEstimation of near-surface current is essential to the estimation of upper-ocean material transport. Wind forcing and wave motions are dominant in the near-surface layer [within O(0.01) m of the surface], where the highly sheared flows can differ greatly from those at depth. This study presents a new method for remotely measuring the directional wind and wave drift current profile near to the surface (between 0.01 and 0.001 m for the laboratory and between 0.1 and 0.001 m for the field). This work follows the spectral analysis of high spatial (0.002 m) and temporal resolution (60 Hz) wave slope images, allowing for the evaluation of near-surface current characteristics without having to rely on instruments that may disturb the flow. Observations gathered in the 15 m × 1 m × 1 m wind-wave flume at the University of Miami’s Surge-Structure-Atmosphere Interaction (SUSTAIN) facility show that currents retrieved via this method agree well with the drift velocity of camera-tracked dye. Application of th...
Bone-Forming Tumors

Bone-forming tumors are defined by neoplastic cells that differentiate along the lines of osteoblasts that deposit neoplastic bone. The morphology and biological spectrum of bone-forming tumors is broad, and their accurate diagnosis requires the careful correlation of their clinical, morphologic, and radiologic characteristics. Immunohistochemical and molecular analyses have an important role in select instances. At present, the identification of neoplastic bone largely depends on histologic analysis, which can be subjective. The major types of osteosarcoma are defined according to their morphology, origin within or on the surface of the bone, and their histologic grade.
Reappraising Zhang Zhidong: Forgotten Continuities During China’s Self-Strengthening, 1884-1901

The recent historiography of China’s late nineteenth-century Self-Strengthening movement emphasizes the successes in Chinese state building. My research expands upon this trend through the perspective of the prominent governor-general Zhang Zhidong 張之洞 (1837-1909) and his military reforms. From 1884 to 1901, Zhang consistently pursued the creation of new military academies and western-style armies with the aim of providing an army capable of defending China. At the turn of the century, Zhang’s military apparatus was arguably one of the best in China. However, his role as a military pioneer of this era was often obscured by the wider narratives of Chinese reforms or subsumed under the reforms of more notorious officials such as Li Hongzhang or Yuan Shikai. Ultimately, the study of Zhang Zhidong’s reforms reveals an often-missed continuity in successful military reform starting in the 1880s and contributes to the developing historical narratives of successful late Qing state building.
HIPK2-Mediated Transcriptional Control of NMDA Receptor Subunit Expression Regulates Neuronal Survival and Cell Death.

NMDA ( N -methyl D -aspartate) receptors are critical for neuronal communication. Dysfunction in NMDA receptors has been implicated in neuropsychiatric diseases. While it is well-recognized that the composition of NMDA receptors undergoes a GluN2B-to-GluN2A switch in early postnatal life, the mechanism regulating this switch remains unclear. Using transcriptomic and functional analyses in brain tissues from male and female Hipk2 +/+ and Hipk2 -/- mice, we showed that the HIPK2-JNK-c-Jun pathway is important in suppressing the transcription of Grin2a and Grin2c , which encodes the GluN2A and GluN2C subunits of the NMDA receptors, respectively. Loss of HIPK2 leads to a significant decrease in JNK-c-Jun signaling, which in turn de-represses the transcription of Grin2a and Grin2c mRNA and up-regulates GluN2A and GluN2C protein levels. These changes result in a significant increase of GluN2A/GluN2B ratio in synapse and mitochondria, a persistent activation of the ERK-CREB pathway and the up-regulation of synaptic activity-regulated genes, which collectively contribute to the resistance of Hipk2 -/- neurons to cell death induced by mitochondrial toxins. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We identify HIPK2-JNK-c-Jun signaling as a key mechanism that regulates the transcription of NMDA receptor subunits GluN2A and GluN2C in vivo. Our results provide insights into a previously unrecognized molecular mechanism that control the switch of NMDA receptor subunits in early postnatal brain development. Furthermore, we provide evidence that changes in the ratio of NMDA subunits GluN2A/GluN2B can also be detected in the synapse and mitochondria, which contributes to a persistent activation of the pro-survival ERK-CREB pathway and its downstream target genes. Collectively, these changes protect HIPK2 deficient neurons from mitochondrial toxins.
The Difference in Clinical Outcomes After Anterior Cervical Fusion, Disk Replacement, and Foraminotomy in Professional Athletes.

STUDY DESIGN Retrospective case series. OBJECT To compare postoperative outcomes of professional athletes treated for cervical disk herniation after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) and posterior foraminotomy (PF), or total disk replacement (TDR). SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA ACDF, PF, and TDR have all led to excellent outcomes in the general population but the unique demands in the professional athlete necessitate specific study. METHODS Athletes of 4 major American professional sports leagues-National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Hockey League and National Basketball Association-diagnosed with cervical disk herniation and managed operatively were identified. Athletes were grouped into cohorts based on operation type. Athlete performance outcome measures were calculated based on sport-specific statistics and assessed as a percentage change after surgery to standardize comparison across sports. RESULTS A total of 101 professional athletes were identified (ACDF=86, PF=13, and TDR=2). The PF cohort had a significantly greater return to play rate and shortest time to return after surgery (P=0.03 and P=0.04, respectively). However, the reoperation rate at the index level was significantly higher in PF athletes compared with ACDF (46.2% vs. 5.8%; P<0.001) over the study follow-up period (average, 13.5 y). There was no significant difference in performance score after surgery for all surgical cohorts (P=0.41) and among cohorts (P=0.41). When analyzed by sport only baseball athletes experienced a significant decrease in performance after surgery (P=0.049). CONCLUSIONS ACDF and PF are both viable options with excellent outcomes in professional athletes. PF allows a significantly higher rate and quicker return to play but portends a higher risk for reoperation compared with ACDF. TDR results are limited in our cohort and require further study to determine professional athlete outcomes. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level IV.
A Medical Curriculum for Post Graduate Year - 1 Psychiatric Residents

The educational and training goals of the general medical experience in the first postgraduate year of the newly mandated, four year, psychiatric residency are discussed. Important didactic and experiential aspects of such medical training are considered. Possible concrete approaches to them which are incorporated in a suggested medical curriculum for PGY-1 psychiatric residents are proposed. Evaluation methods and procedures to monitor the efficacy of such a curriculum and to provide a data base for ongoing modification of it are also suggested.
The Hopf ring for bo and its connective covers

Abstract In this work we recompute the known ordinary mod 2 homology of the spectrum b o as a Hopf ring. In addition, our study computes the Hopf modules over the Hopf ring H ∗ b o ¯ ∗ for the connective covers b o 〈 1 〉 , b o 〈 2 〉 , and b o 〈 4 〉 . These results are calculated using the bar spectral sequence, which allows us to advance from one space to the next in the spectrum, and by using maps from our spectra to the mod 2 Eilenberg–Mac Lane spectrum H ¯ in order to facilitate the simplification of our result. These calculations yield, in turn, the Hopf ring for b o 〈 n 〉 for all n .
Likelihood Based Confidence Intervals for the Tail Index

For the estimation of the tail index of a heavy tailed distribution, one of the well-known estimators is the Hill estimator (Hill, 1975). One obvious way to construct a confidence interval for the tail index is via the normal approximation of the Hill estimator. In this paper we apply both the empirical likelihood method and the parametric likelihood method to obtaining confidence intervals for the tail index. Our limited simulation study indicates that the normal approximation method is worse than the other two methods in terms of coverage probability, and the empirical likelihood method and the parametric likelihood method are comparable.
The Role of Diagnosis in Behavior Therapy

Traditional psychiatric diagnosis is based on the assumption that the various psychiatric disorders are due to distinctly different pathological processes and that all members in the category show similarities in etiological factors, in the course of the disorder and in prognostic outlook. This model of psychological disturbances defines the task of the clinician and of the researcher. Their work centers on discrimination of significant symptom patterns on one hand, and discovery of causal factors and the nature of the disease process on the other. The clinician perceives a syndrome, derives a prognosis and selects an appropriate treatment. The researcher’s task is to refine the conceptualization of the mechanisms by which the disorder originated, study the nature of its course as it affects normal procedures that stop or reverse the pathological process. Unfortunately, this view of direct (single or multiple) causes, universal disease processes, and similarities in reactions to treatment among patients who manifest similar syndromes has been supported only for a small fraction of disturbances, those that are linked to pathophysiologic or organic processes. In recognition of the inadequacies of this underlying model, DSM-III has provided additional diagnostic axes. Axis 3, 4 and 5 include some individual characteristics that influence prognosis and treatment.
A Comparative Study of Cluster Analysis and MANCOVA in the Analysis of Mathematics Achievement Data

This article is based upon the author's Ph.D. dissertation (Lockley, 1970), which was one of the first attempts to use cluster analytic techniques in the analysis of educational data. It is published here to illustrate an alternative approach to the analyses of covariance of student achievement utilizing large numbers of related social, demographic, environmental and educational covariates which are widely applied in educational research. In this alternative approach, covariates relating to school environment and teaching method are used to identify clusters of school- community-teaching environments. Such environments are then compared for their effects on student achievement using analysis of variance (with adjustments only for covariates that reflect students’ individual prior abilities and achievements). If successful, such an approach both increases statistical power and provides insight into the effects of school environments on student achievement.
Myths about ICT for the Other Billions

I am going to start with a photograph of a project that was actually mentioned several times already (Fig. 1). As you can see, this is a village inthe middle of India. No paved walls. There is thatched roofing. And on the roof you can see a VSAT satellite dish that is providing Internet connectivity to that village. The reason why I want to show you this photograph is just to show that especially in India there is an immense desire by agencies outside of rural areas to take technology into the villages. And, that is itself met with a lot of enthusiasm on the village side. These villagers are actually very attracted to the technology.
BOGO: Buy Spatial Memory Safety, Get Temporal Memory Safety (Almost) Free

A memory safety violation occurs when a program has an out-of-bound (spatial safety) or use-after-free (temporal safety) memory access. Given its importance as a security vulnerability, recent Intel processors support hardware-accelerated bound checks, called Memory Protection Extensions (MPX). Unfortunately, MPX provides no temporal safety. This paper presents BOGO, a lightweight full memory safety enforcement scheme that transparently guarantees temporal safety on top of MPX's spatial safety. Instead of tracking separate metadata for temporal safety, BOGO reuses the bounds metadata maintained by MPX for both spatial and temporal safety. On free, BOGO scans the MPX bound tables to invalidate the bound of dangling pointers; any following use-after-free error can be detected by MPX as an out-of-bound error. Since scanning the entire MPX bound tables could be expensive, BOGO tracks a small set of hot MPX bound table pages to check on free, and relies on the page fault mechanism to detect any potentially missing dangling pointer, ensuring sound temporal safety protection. Our evaluation shows that BOGO provides full memory safety at 60% runtime overhead and at 36% memory overhead for SPEC CPU 2006 benchmarks. We also show that BOGO incurs reasonable 2.7x slowdown for the worst-case malloc-free intensive benchmarks; and moderate 1.34x overhead for real-world applications.
Undifferentiated Embryonal Sarcoma of the Liver Presents as a Molecular Mimic of Parasitic Infection.

Medical laboratory tests are becoming more reliable with increased specificity and sensitivity, leading to their use as definitive diagnostic tests for many medical conditions. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests are convenient, sensitive, and standardly used for rapid detection and quantification of antigens or patient antibodies against specific antigens. However, based upon the specificity and sensitivity of an ELISA test, the results may not be definitive for a specific disease but merely suggestive, due to potential cross-reactivity of antigens and antibodies. Here, we present a case of a 15-year-old male who presented with fever, nausea, and right upper quadrant pain. Computed tomography scan showed an 18-cm liver mass with cystic features. Biopsy results confirmed a diagnosis of undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver; however, the clinical picture was complicated by positive ELISA results for Echinococcus, Entamoeba histolytica, and histoplasmosis. Due to the absence of travel and positive ELISA result for three different infectious agents, we hypothesize that tumor molecular mimicry might have led to false-positive ELISA results in the absence of infection in this case, demonstrating a limitation of ELISA serology. Critical appraisal of all possible evidence to ensure alignment when assigning the final diagnosis is essential for optimal patient outcomes.
A threshold density of helium bubbles induces a ductile-to-brittle transition at a grain boundary in nickel

Abstract This paper describes molecular dynamics simulations of fracture along a grain boundary (GB) in nickel (Ni) decorated with helium (He)-filled bubbles. We find that the quantity governing embrittlement of the GB is its areal coverage by He bubbles. Indeed, there is a threshold coverage—approximately 18%, for the GB studied here—above which the GB undergoes brittle fracture. During brittle fracture, intergranular cracks advance by the growth and coalescence of He-filled cavities ahead of the crack front. This process is enabled by plastic deformation of inter-bubble ligaments. In models with lower He bubble coverage, dislocation activity initiates in the adjoining grains prior to cavity growth and coalescence, relaxing crack tip stresses and averting brittle crack propagation. We conclude that the ductile-to-brittle transition observed in this study is governed by a competition between dislocation emission ahead of the crack tip and localized deformation confined to the inter-cavity ligaments.
Further recognition of severe hand, foot and mouth disease caused by Enterovirus 71

The severe hand, foot and mouth disease(HFMD) caused by Enterovirus 71 (EV71) has become a serious threat to children′s health.It is an important issues which need to be faced and resolved by pediatrician and di-sease prevention and control system, especially pediatric critical care specialist.The pathogenesis of severe HFMD caused by EV71 has not been clearly defined so far, and the clinical treatment is controversial.So, to further explore the mechanism of EV71 infection in severe HFMD and explore new effective prevention and control methods, have important significance in reducing the mortality and improve the quality of life of patients with severe HFMD. Key words: Enterovirus 71; Severe hand, foot and mouth disease; Pathogenesis; Clinical manifestation; Treatment
Orthographic Systems and Developmental Dyslexia: A Reformulation of the Syndrome

Orthography can be defined as the graphemic patterns of a written language and their mapping onto phonology, morphology, and meaning (Henderson, 1984, p. 1). The preceding Chapters in this book have examined a variety of orthographies that bear different degrees of relationship to phonology. Some orthographies have consistent, almost one-to-one, correspondence with their spoken linguistic counterparts. Because letters in the words written in these orthographies convey almost all the information needed to pronounce the words correctly, these orthographies are considered as shallow or transparent. Some orthographies have a much less straight-forward relationship with phonology. Words written in these orthographic systems cannot be readily pronounced by sounding out the constituent letters of the word but require morphemic and semantic knowledge that are not inherent in the word itself. These orthographies are, therefore, considered as opaque or deep. Other orthographies fall in between these extremes.
Time Delay Effects on Compactability of Soil-Cement Materials during Proctor Testing:

The Proctor test method, as specified in AASHTO T134 and ASTM D558, continues to play a vital role in design and construction quality control for soil-cement materials. However, neither test method...
Preservation of the Capacity to Appoint a Proxy Decision Maker: Implications for Dementia Research

Research involving persons with impaired decision-making capacity (such as persons with Alzheimer disease [AD]) remains ethically challenging, especially when the research involves significant risk. If individuals incapable of consenting to research studies were able to appoint a research proxy, it would allow for an appointed surrogate (rather than a de facto surrogate) to represent the subject. To assess the extent to which persons with AD retain their capacity to appoint a research proxy. Interview study. Academic research. One hundred eighty-eight persons with AD were interviewed for their capacity to appoint a proxy for research and to provide consent to 2 hypothetical research scenarios, a lower-risk randomized clinical trial testing a new drug (drug RCT) and a higher-risk randomized clinical trial testing neurosurgical cell implants using a sham control condition (neurosurgical RCT). Categorical capacity status for each subject was determined by independent videotaped reviews of capacity interviews by 5 experienced psychiatrists. Categorical capacity determinations for the capacity to appoint a research proxy, capacity to consent to a drug RCT, and capacity to consent to a neurosurgical RCT. Data showed that 37.7% (40 of 106) of those deemed incapable of consenting to the drug RCT and 54.8% (86 of 157) of those deemed incapable of consenting to the neurosurgical RCT were found capable of appointing a research proxy. Only 7 of 186 (3.8%) were deemed capable of consenting to the neurosurgical RCT by all 5 psychiatrists. A substantial proportion of persons with AD who were thought incapable of consenting to lower-risk or higher-risk studies have preserved capacity for appointing a research proxy. Because few persons are found to be unequivocally capable of providing independent consent to higher-risk AD research, providing for an appointed surrogate even after the onset of AD, which might best be done in the early stages of the illness, may help address key ethical challenges to AD research.
Marginal ulcer with erosion into splenic artery in a patient with a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass

A female patient in her 70s with a remote history of an open Roux-en-Y gastric bypass for weight loss was admitted to the medical intensive care unit (ICU) for septic arthritis of the hip and associated bacteremia. On hospital day 7, the patient was found to have a significant drop in hemoglobin to 55 g/L. Despite undergoing a CT angiography of the abdomen and pelvis, no source of bleeding was identified. She received two units of blood and responded appropriately. On hospital day 9, the patient4 began to experience melanic stools and hematemesis. At that time, she was found to have a hemoglobin of 40g/L, a base deficit of −15, and was requiring three vasopressors to maintain adequate blood pressure. Both acute care surgery as well as gastroenterology were emergently consulted. A femoral venous introducer was placed and a massive transfusion protocol (MTP) was initiated. The patient was intubated, and …
Provision of Infertility Care for the Underserved in REI Practices Associated with OB/GYN Residency Training Programs in the United States

Abstract Objective To survey practice patterns designed to increase access to infertility care and assess exposure of OB/GYN residents to infertility care for the underserved. Design Cross-sectional Setting REI practices associated with ACGME-accredited OB/GYN residency training programs Patients None Intervention Questionnaire survey Main Outcome Measures Presence of clinical programs designed to improve access to care, resident involvement in such programs, and perceived barriers to expanding access to care. Results Clinical initiatives to expand access included discounted infertility services (38%, n=30), utilization of a low-cost IVF program (28%, n=22), and utilization of a resident and/or fellow staffed clinic to provide infertility care (39%, n=31). The most commonly discounted infertility services were IVF (73%, n=22), clinical consultation (70%, n=21), and IUI (53%, n=16). The provision of discounted prices was correlated with increasing practice size (OR 2.29, 95% CI 1.23, 4.24, p=0.01) and number of ART cycles performed annually (OR 3.65, 95% CI 1.48, 9.02, p=0.005). Academic REI practices (OR 3.6, 95% CI 0.98, 13.25, p=0.05) trended to be more likely to have a low-cost IVF program. Less than half of OB/GYN residency programs (39%, n=31) have an associated REI clinic in which OB/GYN residents provide direct infertility care to the medically underserved. Frequency and services offered in trainee clinics varied. Multiple barriers to expanding access to care were reported. Conclusion REI practices associated with OB/GYN residency programs utilize a diverse range of approaches to provide infertility care to the undeserved in the backdrop of considerable challenges and barriers, but significant gaps exist.