cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On the frequency-domain properties of Savitzky-Golay filters

This paper is concerned with the frequency-domain properties of the so called Savitzky-Golay lowpass filters, which are based on the principle of local least-squares fitting of a polynomial. A summary of the important frequency-domain properties is given along with an empirically-derived formula for 3 dB cutoff frequency as a function of polynomial order N and impulse response half-length M.
A method for finding the maximally robust weights of a feed forward neural network with step function neurons

The authors consider a method by which backpropagation is used to find the appropriate interpolating parameters in a network with hard limiter transfer functions. This method has two features: first, it defines a family of sigmoidal functions which converge to the hard limiter so that BP may be used as the appropriate training method; and second, it finds the place to start so that gradient descent yields the absolute minimum and does not become trapped in a relative minimum. The interpolating parameters yield a maximally robust solution. >
Field‐Emission Microscopy of Germanium

Samples of n-type germanium with resistivity 5 ωcm which are cleaned by field desorption are examined using a field emission microscope. Some characteristics of the patterns obtained from the atomically clean surfaces are discussed. The adsorption of oxygen at pressures of 10−8 to 10−6 Torr is examined at room temperature. Adsorption occurs primarily on {001} planes and near {011} planes, whilst the actual {011} planes and the {111} plane seem to adsorb relatively less. The mean sticking probability is found to be about 0.1. The patterns show that oxide clusters also develop in the course of adsorption. Hence only a possible minimum value of the increase in the work function may be calculated from the change of slope of the Fowler-Nordheim characteristic. Germaniumspitzen aus n-leitendem Material mit einem spezifischen Widerstand von 5 ωcm, die durch Felddesorption gereinigt waren, wurden mit einem Feldemissionsmikroskop untersucht. Einige charakteristische Merkmale der Bilder der atomar sauberen Oberflachen werden diskutiert. Die Adsorption von Sauerstoff bei Drucken von 10−8 bis 10−6 Torr wird bei Zimmertemperatur untersucht. Die Adsorption findet hauptsachlich an den {001}-Ebenen und in der Nahe der {011}-Ebenen statt, wahrend die vorhandenen {011}-Ebenen und die (111)-Ebene relativ wenig zur Adsorption beizutragen scheinen. Die mittlere Haftwahrscheinlichkeit wurde zu 0,1 gefunden. Die Bilder zeigen, das sich im Verlauf der Adsorption auch Oxydkorner bilden. Deshalb lassen sich nur mogliche Minimalwerte des Anstiegs der Austrittsarbeit aus der Anderung des Verlaufs der Fowler-Nordheim-Charakteristik berechnen.
Development and use of monoclonal antibodies against an oncofetal protein associated with carcinogenesis and tumorigenesis.

An oncofetal protein (OFP) studied in our laboratory associated with embryogenesis, carcinogenesis and tumorigenesis has as its known biological function the modification of RNA release from isolated nuclei. In the present study, we have developed and investigated the use of monoclonal antibodies against OFP. Six hybridoma cell lines (A-F) were isolated by screening the hybridoma culture media for anti-OFP antibodies (MOFP) with an indirect ELISA and by testing the ability of these antibodies complexed with antimouse IgG-agarose to bind to rat OFP and remove its associated RNA transport activity from solution (Immunobioassay). An inhibition ELISA developed to measure OFP gave a linear response up to 20 ng of plasma protein from a tumor-bearing rat. Western blot analysis using these monoclonals showed that OFP from a rat tumor (H7777) cytosol that shed to the blood consisted of two species exhibiting molecular weights of 50 and 55 kD respectively. In order to show the usefulness of our assays, a preliminar...
Environmentally Preferable Procurement: Greening U.S. State Government Fleets

Since passage of the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) in 1992, the U.S. federal government has imposed procurement restrictions on state government fleets. Regulations, overseen by the Department of Energy (DOE) require that a high percentage of new state fleet acquisitions be "green" alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs). This paper first reviews AFV technologies, advanced technology designs, and alternative fuels. A discussion of the EPAct mandates and other policy incentives for state fleets follows. We present findings of a survey of state fleet managers regarding their compliance obligations. We conclude with a discussion of the recently passed EPAct of 2005 and how its provisions may affect the continued greening of state fleets.
Facility Location Model for Booster Disinfection of Water Supply Networks

Secondary or postdisinfection is widely used to maintain protective levels of disinfectant within water distribution systems. In contrast to conventional methods that apply disinfectant only at the treatment works, booster disinfection reapplies disinfectant at strategic locations within the distribution system to compensate for the losses that occur as it decays over time. Building on the writers' previous work, this paper addresses the problem of locating disinfectant booster stations that minimize the dosage required to maintain residuals throughout the supply network, and introduces a useful parameterization for disinfectant source types. The model is related to the general fixed-charge facility location problem and is formulated as a mixed integer linear programming problem. Results for an example network show that disinfectant dosage savings are achievable with the adoption of booster disinfection, and that the rate of savings decreases as the number of booster stations utilized increases. Furthermore, booster disinfection may provide a more even distribution of disinfectant concentrations throughout the network, and has the potential to reduce aggregate exposure of the population to chlorine (and its by-products) while simultaneously improving residual coverage in the periphery of the distribution system.
Ultrasound imaging in brachial plexus blockade

Ultrasonography has provided anesthesiologists with the opportunity to visualize anatomy and guide needle insertion to peripheral nerves, as well as ensuring deposition of local anesthetic solutions accurately. Potential benefits include improved efficiency of nerve blockade, reduced patient discomfort, improved block efficacy, and avoidance of undesirable needle trauma or injection trauma to nerves or surrounding structures. Methods of blocking the brachial plexus using ultrasound guidance are reviewed and the existing literature summarized.
Family and seller interactions in farmers' markets in upstate New York

Farmers' markets promote alternatively agriculture by allowing farmers to meet the demand for specialized agricultural products and establish new businesses. Farmers sell at farmers' markets for social and personal, as well as economic, reasons. Successful farmers' marketing involves interactions with customers, but little is known about these interactions. This study aimed to determine what happens when a family shops at farmers' markets, specifically how parents and children interact in the market in relation to each other and to the farmers. Systematic observation was used to follow 22 families with young children. A coding sheet was used to categorize sensory perfunctory, informational interactions, attempts to influence purchases and additional interactions. Results showed information was more likely to be exchanged between farmers and parents or parents and children. Children were more likely to be involved in sensory interactions. Farmers interact with families through perfunctory interactions or informational interactions. rather than encouraging them to buy specific items. Since some important societal benefits of farmers' markets can only be achieved if information is exchanged during interactions, market managers and outreach professionals should encourage and assist farmers with providing information to customers. Further research is needed to understand why farmers favor social over explicitly sales-focused interactions, which interactive strategies may be optimal to achieve the fullest economic and non-economic benefits for both farmers and customers, and what is the economic and non-economic impact of providing information in the farmers' market.
A CONTINGENT VALUATION OF CUSTOMER DELAY IN MEDICAL SERVICES

Waiting at medical practices is a typical feature of the U.S. health care market.Non-monetary factors such as opportunity cost of a patient’s travel time and waitingtime have been included in the analysis of the demand and pricing of medical services[e.g.; Holtmann, 1972; Phelps and Newhouse, 1974; Acton, 1975; DeVany et al., 1983;Coffey, 1983; Cauley, 1987; and Headen, 1991; Iversen, 1993 and 1997]. For example,Coffey’s study of demand for ambulatory female-care services shows that an increasein time required to obtain medical care decreases the probability of choosing a publicprovider (vs. private provider) as well as the probability of seeking care during a year,but the number of visits per year is not affected by time price of medical care in herstudy [Coffey, 1983]. However, the value of waiting time to patients is not
Interactive volume illustration and feature halos

Volume illustration is a developing trend in volume visualization, focused on conveying volume information effectively by enhancing interesting features of the volume and omitting insignificant data. However, the calculations involved have limited the illustration process to non-interactive rendering. We have developed a new interactive volume illustration system (IVIS) that harnesses the power of programmable graphics processors, and includes a novel approach for feature halo enhancement. This interactive illustration system is a powerful tool for exploration and analysis of volumetric datasets.
A Toolbox for Spatiotemporal Analysis of Voltage-Sensitive Dye Imaging Data in Brain Slices

Voltage-sensitive dye imaging (VSDI) can simultaneously monitor the spatiotemporal electrical dynamics of thousands of neurons and is often used to identify functional differences in models of neurological disease. While the chief advantage of VSDI is the ability to record spatiotemporal activity, there are no tools available to visualize and statistically compare activity across the full spatiotemporal range of the VSDI dataset. Investigators commonly analyze only a subset of the data, and a majority of the dataset is routinely excluded from analysis. We have developed a software toolbox that simplifies visual inspection of VSDI data, and permits unaided statistical comparison across spatial and temporal dimensions. First, the three-dimensional VSDI dataset (x,y,time) is geometrically transformed into a two-dimensional spatiotemporal map of activity. Second, statistical comparison between groups is performed using a non-parametric permutation test. The result is a 2D map of all significant differences in both space and time. Here, we used the toolbox to identify functional differences in activity in VSDI data from acute hippocampal slices obtained from epileptic Arx conditional knock-out and control mice. Maps of spatiotemporal activity were produced and analyzed to identify differences in the activity evoked by stimulation of each of two axonal inputs to the hippocampus: the perforant pathway and the temporoammonic pathway. In mutant hippocampal slices, the toolbox identified a widespread decrease in spatiotemporal activity evoked by the temporoammonic pathway. No significant differences were observed in the activity evoked by the perforant pathway. The VSDI toolbox permitted us to visualize and statistically compare activity across the spatiotemporal scope of the VSDI dataset. Sampling error was minimized because the representation of the data is standardized by the toolbox. Statistical comparisons were conducted quickly, across the spatiotemporal scope of the data, without a priori knowledge of the character of the responses or the likely differences between them.
Sulindac inhibits pancreatic carcinogenesis in LSL-KrasG12D-LSL-Trp53R172H-Pdx-1-Cre mice via suppressing aldo-keto reductase family 1B10 (AKR1B10)

Sulindac has been identified as a competitive inhibitor of aldo-keto reductase 1B10 (AKR1B10), an enzyme that plays a key role in carcinogenesis. AKR1B10 is overexpressed in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and exhibits lipid substrate specificity, especially for farnesyl and geranylgeranyl. There have been no studies though showing that the inhibition of PDAC by sulindac is via inhibition of AKR1B10, particularly the metabolism of farnesyl/geranylgeranyl and Kras protein prenylation. To determine the chemopreventive effects of sulindac on pancreatic carcinogenesis, 5-week-old LSL-KrasG12D-LSL-Trp53R172H-Pdx-1-Cre mice (Pankras/p53 mice) were fed an AIN93M diet with or without 200 p.p.m. sulindac (n = 20/group). Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed that average animal survival in Pankras/p53 mice was 143.7±8.8 days, and average survival with sulindac was increased to 168.0±8.8 days (P < 0.005). Histopathological analyses revealed that 90% of mice developed PDAC, 10% with metastasis to the liver and lymph nodes. With sulindac, the incidence of PDAC was reduced to 56% (P < 0.01) and only one mouse had lymph node metastasis. Immunochemical analysis showed that sulindac significantly decreased Ki-67-labeled cell proliferation and markedly reduced the expression of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), c-Raf and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1 and 2. In in vitro experiments with PDAC cells from Pankras/p53 mice, sulindac exhibited dose-dependent inhibition of AKR1B10 activity. By silencing AKR1B10 expression through small interfering RNA or by sulindac treatment, these in vitro models showed a reduction in Kras and human DNA-J homolog 2 protein prenylation, and downregulation of phosphorylated C-raf, ERK1/2 and MEK1/2 expression. Our results demonstrate that sulindac inhibits pancreatic carcinogenesis by the inhibition of Kras protein prenylation by targeting AKR1B10.
The composition of the zebrafish intestinal microbial community varies across development

The assembly of resident microbial communities is an important event in animal development; however, the extent to which this process mirrors the developmental programs of host tissues is unknown. Here we surveyed the intestinal bacteria at key developmental time points in a sibling group of 135 individuals of a model vertebrate, the zebrafish (Danio rerio). Our survey revealed stage-specific signatures in the intestinal microbiota and extensive interindividual variation, even within the same developmental stage. Microbial community shifts were apparent during periods of constant diet and environmental conditions, as well as in concert with dietary and environmental change. Interindividual variation in the intestinal microbiota increased with age, as did the difference between the intestinal microbiota and microbes in the surrounding environment. Our results indicate that zebrafish intestinal microbiota assemble into distinct communities throughout development, and that these communities are increasingly different from the surrounding environment and from one another.
Perspectives on pediatric and adolescent gynecology from the allied health care professional. Teens, periods, and pregnancy.

Jeanne is 16 and has been coming to you for care since she was a toddler. Her younger siblings see you also. Todays appointment she made herself because she is having "some trouble with her periods." Since menarche at age 12 she has had monthly periods but two months ago she had a one-day period and missed her period this past month. She had sex once at a party after having a few drinks. She is afraid she might be pregnant and remembers that you told her when she was about 12 that you would respect her confidentiality about sensitive issues. Irregular periods are common in adolescence; many teens do not ovulate monthly for a year or two after their menarche. However pregnancy is the most likely cause of "irregular" periods in a teen. It is wise to suspect or at least rule out pregnancy when a teen has some irregular periods especially if: use of drugs/alcohol is suspected; there is some instability in the teens family life such as parents divorce or separation remarriage death or parent has a new partner; poor intrafamily communication; family abuse of drugs/alcohol; family history of mental illness especially in a parent; domestic violence. (excerpt)
A comparative evaluation of the sensitivity of the L.E. cell test performed simultaneously by different methods

1) A group of at least three types of L.E. cell tests should be performed in order to adequately screen strongly suspected cases of SLE. This battery consists of the sieved two hour clot, the Snapper-Nathan ring method and the Zinkham-Conley rotary glass bead technic. Utilizing these three methods in studying a group of 47 proven cases of SLE both treated and untreated, 63 batteries were performed. In 42 of these batteries there was at least one positive test. In 5 batteries only the rotary method was positive, in 4 the clotted method and in 2 the ring method. The largest numbers of L.E. cells and hematoxylin bodies were found by the rotary method. If only one test is to be performed this latter technic is the method of choice. 2) The use of excessive amounts of heparin over 0.75 mg./10 cc. of blood resulted in a depression of the L.E. phenomenon. The technic of adding "small amounts" of heparin to blood or "heparinizing a syringe" to draw specimens for L.E. studies is to be avoided. 3) The explanation for the augmentation of the L.E. phenomenon by clotting or rotation with glass beads seemed to be the production of leukocyte trauma by either method. This explained the poor results obtained when the clotted blood specimen is broken up with wooden applicator sticks rather than macerated through a fine sieve. The clotting mechanism itself probably has little to do with the increased numbers of L.E. cells. 4) With adequate treatment the L.E. cells disappeared in many patients. Forty patients with positive L.E. cell tests treated two months or more had a simultaneous battery performed on them as described above. All the tests were negative in eighteen patients, seven patients had fewer than 5 L.E. cells per 500 leukocytes and fifteen patients had more than that number.
Estimates of small Indian mongoose densities: Implications for rabies management

ThesmallIndianmongoose(Herpestesauropunctatus)isaninvasivespeciesandrabiesreservoirin Puerto Rico. In the continental United States, terrestrial wildlife rabies is primarily managed by the National Rabies Management Program (NRMP) of the United States Department of Agriculture through oral rabies vaccination (ORV); the distribution of the vaccine baits is influenced by the population density of the target species.TheNRMPusesadensityindexforestimatingraccoon(Procyonlotor)populationdensitytoguidebait distribution. In Puerto Rico, a wildlife rabies vaccination program does not exist and vaccination of domestic animals is limited and not compulsory. To acquire information on density and other population dynamics, we compared a mongoose density index (MDI) adapted from the NRMP raccoon density index (RDI) to 3 other methods (2 types of capture-mark-recapture (CAPTURE and MARK) and spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR)) for estimating density that incorporate modeling procedures on detection probabilities, and examined the spatial distribution of mongooses within our study plots. We used the RDI trapping protocol modified for mongooses to livetrap mongooses in El Yunque National Forest (El Yunque) andCaboRojoNationalWildlifeRefuge(CaboRojo)infallof2011andspringof2012resultingin4trapping sessions. The MDI estimates were consistently less than those from other methods for estimating mongoose densities.The MDIdetecteda greatermongoosedensityduringthewetseason(0.55mongooses/ha)thanthe dryseason(0.34mongooses/ha)atCaboRojo,consistentwithall3otherdensityestimationmethods.Overall, the correlation coefficient between MDI and the other calculation methods was � 0.68. When we examined known locations of mongooses and travel distances, we detected more mongooses in a smaller area within the study plot at Cabo Rojo than at El Yunque. The MDI provided information on the spatial distribution of mongooses, which will be needed to implement an ORV program to target mongooses in Puerto Rico. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
A multi-period optimization model for the deployment of public electric vehicle charging stations on network

A multi-period multipath refueling location model is developed to expand public electric vehicle (EV) charging network to dynamically satisfy origin–destination (O–D) trips with the growth of EV market. The model captures the dynamics in the topological structure of network and determines the cost-effective station rollout scheme on both spatial and temporal dimensions. The multi-period location problem is formulated as a mixed integer linear program and solved by a heuristic based on genetic algorithm. The model and heuristic are justified using the benchmark Sioux Falls road network and implemented in a case study of South Carolina. The results indicate that the charging station rollout scheme is subject to a number of major factors, including geographic distributions of cities, vehicle range, and deviation choice, and is sensitive to the types of charging station sites.
Computationally Efficient Multiscale Reactive Molecular Dynamics to Describe Amino Acid Deprotonation in Proteins

An important challenge in the simulation of biomolecular systems is a quantitative description of the protonation and deprotonation process of amino acid residues. Despite the seeming simplicity of adding or removing a positively charged hydrogen nucleus, simulating the actual protonation/deprotonation process is inherently difficult. It requires both the explicit treatment of the excess proton, including its charge defect delocalization and Grotthuss shuttling through inhomogeneous moieties (water and amino residues), and extensive sampling of coupled condensed phase motions. In a recent paper (J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2014, 10, 2729-2737), a multiscale approach was developed to map high-level quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) data into a multiscale reactive molecular dynamics (MS-RMD) model in order to describe amino acid deprotonation in bulk water. In this article, we extend the fitting approach (called FitRMD) to create MS-RMD models for ionizable amino acids within proteins. The resulting models are shown to faithfully reproduce the free energy profiles of the reference QM/MM Hamiltonian for PT inside an example protein, the ClC-ec1 H(+)/Cl(-) antiporter. Moreover, we show that the resulting MS-RMD models are computationally efficient enough to then characterize more complex 2-dimensional free energy surfaces due to slow degrees of freedom such as water hydration of internal protein cavities that can be inherently coupled to the excess proton charge translocation. The FitRMD method is thus shown to be an effective way to map ab initio level accuracy into a much more computationally efficient reactive MD method in order to explicitly simulate and quantitatively describe amino acid protonation/deprotonation in proteins.
Environmental management systems and compliance at small and lightly regulated facilities: evidence from the New Hampshire hazardous waste program

This paper examines the regulatory compliance of small and lightly regulated facilities using a unique dataset of hazardous waste generators in New Hampshire. In particular the paper considers the factors that encourage such facilities to adopt environmental management systems (EMS) and how that adoption affects compliance behavior. The analysis provides a relatively rare look into the behavior of small and conditionally-exempt generators (CEG) since such facilities are seldom inspected or examined. The analysis finds that CEGs are less likely to adopt an EMS relative to more strictly regulated facilities as are smaller and privately held facilities, but that local enforcement activity encourages adoption. For CEGs, EMS adoption does have a significant positive effect on overall compliance. Additionally at both small and CEG facilities, EMS adoption has a significant positive effect on one particular aspect of compliance behavior, the presence of best practices for waste storage.
Biocatalysis for Material Science and Drug Discoveries

A novel biomimetic route for the synthesis of conducting homopolymers and copolymers from aniline, phenol, pyrrole and 3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophene in the presence of a polyelectrolyte, such as polystyrene sulfonate (SPS) is presented. A poly(ethylene glycol) modified hematin (PEG-Hematin) and the enzyme horseradish peroxidase (HRP) were used to catalyze the copolymerization of different monomers. UV-vis, FTIR, XPS, TGA and electrical conductivity studies for all complexes indicated the presence of a stable and electrically conductive form of these polymers. Furthermore, the presence of a polyelectrolyte, such as SPS, in this complex provides a unique combination of properties such as processability and water-solubility. Additionally catechins, the active compounds found in green tea, were polymerized and found to exhibit very interesting anti-carcinogenic properties. Here we report a unique enzymatic approach for the synthesis of water-soluble poly(catechins) with enhanced stability and potent anti-proliferative effects on human cancer cells in vitro. Various stereoisomers of catechin [(+), (-), (±)] and (-)-epicatechin have been biocatalytically polymerized using HRP in ethanol/buffer mixtures. This one-pot biocatalytic polymerization is carried out in ambient conditions yielding water-soluble poly(catechins). These synthesized poly(catechins) were tested for their growth inhibitory properties using a variety of normal and cancerous human epithelial cell lines. The poly(catechins) exhibit statistically significant greater growth inhibitory effects when compared to the monomers and exhibited specificity, inhibiting the growth of breast, colorectal and esophageal cancer cells while having little effect on normal epithelial cell growththus achieving a high therapeutic ratio. The synthesis, characterization and the growth inhibitory effects of these novel water-soluble poly(catechins) will also be presented.
Intent: A Method for Calculating Hep Estimates for Decision Based Errors

Contemporary human reliability assessment techniques applied in the nuclear industry need to address more that simple errors of omission, errors of selection, and errors in task execution. The inadvertent selection of the wrong control from a bank of controls, skipping a step in a procedure by mistake, or the misreading of a display or indicator are representative of these classes of error. The distinction between simple errors and errors involving higher level cognitive processes has been acknowledged previously. As a next step, it is desirable to determine (1) the situations which promote the occurrence of low frequency high consequence decision based errors, (2) a classification scheme or framework for these errors, and (3) the expected failure rates for these errors once entry level conditions for their occurrence have been met. This presentation addresses 1 and 3 above, and presents a method for estimating errors associated with misunderstanding procedures, confusion regarding system response and ina...
Factors associated with school nurses' HPV vaccine attitudes for school-aged youth.

School nurses are at the intersection of the healthcare and school communities, thus, they can be considered opinion leaders in providing health advice - including information about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine - to parents and students. This study examined school nurses' attitudes toward the HPV vaccine based on age, years as a school nurse, geographic location, urban vs. rural work setting, HPV and vaccine knowledge, perception of role as opinion leaders, and school district support in providing health education. Participants (n = 413) were systematically sampled from the National Association of School Nurses' membership and completed a web-based survey. Multiple regression was used to predict positive HPV vaccine attitudes. The model was statistically significant accounting for 50.8% of the variance (F [9, 400] = 45.96, p < .001). Positive attitudes regarding the HPV vaccine were predicted by higher HPV and vaccine knowledge (β = .096, p < .001) and stronger perceptions of role as opinion leaders for the vaccine (β = .665, p < .001). No other variables were found to be statistically significant. These results suggest knowledge is essential in predicting positive attitudes, but not the strongest predictor as perceptions of role as opinion leaders was more crucial in terms of predicting school nurses' positive attitudes towards HPV vaccine. Despite school nurses being seen as champions for adolescent vaccines, they need additional professional development to increase their HPV vaccine knowledge and attitudes to encourage parents and adolescents to consider the uptake of HPV vaccination. To engage school nurses' in promoting HPV vaccine uptake, interventions need to focus on increasing school nurses' perception of their role as opinion leaders for HPV vaccine and knowledge to increase positive attitudes towards HPV vaccination for youth.
Hypoxia and angiotensin II infusion redistribute lung blood flow in lambs

To assess the effects of alveolar hypoxia and angiotensin II infusion on distribution of blood flow to the lung we performed perfusion lung scans on anesthetized mechanically ventilated lambs. Scans were obtained by injecting 1-2 mCi of technetium-labeled albumin macroaggregates as the lambs were ventilated with air, with 10-14% O2 in N2, or with air while receiving angiotensin II intravenously. We found that both alveolar hypoxia and infusion of angiotensin II increased pulmonary vascular resistance and redistributed blood flow from the mid and lower lung regions towards the upper posterior region of the lung. We assessed the effects of angiotensin II infusion on filtration pressure in six lambs by measuring the rate of lung lymph flow and the protein concentration of samples of lung lymph. We found that angiotensin II infusion increased pulmonary arterial pressure 50%, lung lymph flow 90%, and decreased the concentration of protein in lymph relative to plasma. These results are identical to those seen when filtration pressure increases during alveolar hypoxia. We conclude that alveolar hypoxia and angiotensin II infusion both increase fluid filtration in the lung by increasing filtration pressure. The increase in filtration pressure may be the result of a redistribution of blood flow in the lung with relative overperfusion of vessels in some areas and transmission of the elevated pulmonary arterial pressure to fluid-exchanging sites in those vessels.
Low-dose aspirin and breast cancer risk: Results from a randomized trial

B33 The Women’s Health Study trial reported a lack of effect of low-dose aspirin (100-mg every other day) on cancer risk, including invasive breast cancer, over an average of 10 years of treatment and follow-up. Outstanding issues that have not been addressed previously for breast cancer include whether low-dose aspirin might reduce the risk in subgroups according to baseline risk factors or tumor characteristics. We randomly assigned 39,876 women aged 45 and older and who were free of cancer and cardiovascular disease to receive 100-mg of aspirin every other day (19,934 participants) or placebo (19,942 participants) from 1993 to 1996. Participants were followed through March 31, 2004. Using intent-to-treat analysis, we compared the risk for breast cancer after randomization between the groups and calculated hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Low-dose aspirin had no significant effect on the risk for total (762 vs. 779 cases, hazard ratio = 0.98; 95% confidence interval: 0.88, 1.08) or invasive breast cancers (608 vs. 622 cases, hazard ratio = 0.98; 95% confidence interval: 0.87, 1.09) compared with placebo. There was also no significant effect of low-dose aspirin on the risk for invasive breast cancers by categories of baseline risk factors for breast cancer, or by tumor characteristics at diagnosis, including tumor size, lymph node metastasis, histology, histologic grading and differentiation, or hormone receptor status. These results suggest that 100-mg aspirin taken every other day over 10 years does not have a chemopreventive effect on breast cancer.
Brownfields as Sites for Urban Farms

Urban agriculture has been receiving renewed interest since 2008. A major focus of this renewed interest is ensuring access to healthier, fresher food in urban population centers in the United States to improve public health. It is likely that urban agriculture can expand to meet a significant portion of this (Brown and Jameton 2000; Mogk et al. 2010). Certainly, it has been found to be successful in improving food security in Cuba and in developing countries (Altieri et al. 1999; Zezza and Tasciottie 2010). Securing access to land can be an obstacle to developing urban agriculture. The EPA and corresponding State and Tribal Brownfield program may assist in that development by converting former Brownfields sites into areas safe and suitable for food production.
Introducing an Advance Tax Ruling (ATR) Regime: Design Considerations for Achieving Certainty and Transparency

Advance tax rulings are a common feature of mature tax systems. The tax systems of the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, and South Africa all have established ruling practices. Taxpayers can obtain an advance tax ruling in nearly all OECD member countries. Increasingly, many non-OECD countries are also offering advance tax rulings. An advance tax ruling regime seeks to promote clarity and consistency regarding the application of the tax law for both taxpayers and the tax authority. However, there are also inherent risks associated with the proliferation of granting confidential advance tax rulings which are not published or otherwise reported. This Tax Law IMF Technical Note focuses on designing an advance tax ruling regime in the nature of private tax rulings.
Smoking and red blood cell phospholipid membrane fatty acids

Smoking is associated with lower n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) concentrations; however, limited studies have accounted for dietary PUFA intake or whether tobacco dose or smoking duration influences this association. We measured red blood cell phospholipid (RBC) membrane concentrations of fatty acids in 126 current smokers, 311 former smokers, and 461 never smokers using gas liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. Smokers had lower RBC membrane percentages of total n-3 LCPUFAs compared to former smokers or never smokers (median percent: 5.46, [interquartile range (IQR) 4.52, 6.28] versus 6.39; [IQR: 5.18, 7.85] versus 6.59; [IQR 5.34, 8.01]) (p<0.001) and this association remained after adjusting for dietary PUFA intake. Duration of smoking and cigarettes per day were not associated with RBC membrane n-3 LCPUFA differences. Smoking is associated with lower n-3 LCPUFA RBC membrane percentages and this association was not influenced by diet or smoking dose or duration.
Children with heart disease: Risk stratification for non-cardiac surgery

Abstract Study objective Children with congenital or acquired heart disease have an increased risk of anesthesia related morbidity and mortality. The child's anesthetic risk is related to the severity of their underlying cardiac disease, associated comorbidities, and surgical procedure. The goal of this project was to determine the ease of use of a preoperative risk stratification tool for assigning pediatric cardiac staff and to determine the relative frequency that children with low, moderate, and high risk cardiac disease present for non-cardiac surgery at a tertiary pediatric hospital. Design A risk-stratification tool was prospectively applied to children with congenital heart disease who presented for non-cardiac surgery. Setting Perioperative. Patients We identified a subset of 100 children with congenital heart disease out of 2200 children who required general anesthesia for surgical or radiological procedures over a 6 week period. Interventions A risk stratification tool was utilized to place the patient into low, moderate, or high risk categories to help predict anticipated anesthetic risk. Each grouping specified assignment of staff caring for the patient, clarified preoperative expectations for cardiac assessment, and determined if patient care could be performed at our freestanding ambulatory surgical center. Measurements Electronic perioperative records were reviewed to obtain demographic information, the underlying heart disease, prior cardiac surgery, associated conditions, anesthetic management, complications, and provider type. Main results Approximately 4.5% of children presented with cardiac disease over a 6 week period. In 100 consecutive children with cardiac disease, 23 of the children were classified as low risk, 66 patients were classified as moderate risk, and 11 of the patients were classified as high risk. Pediatric cardiac anesthesiologists provided care to all high risk patients. There were no serious adverse events. Conclusions We found this risk stratification method an effective method to differentiate children into low, moderate, and high risk categories for anesthesia planning and management.
To the world's end, in 15 questions

The universe is made of (at least) stars and galaxies, dark matter and dark energy, cosmic rays and neutrinos. But cosmology is made of cosmologists.
A specimen-based approach to reconstructing the late Neogene seabird communities of California

Abstract California has experienced major climate change from the early Miocene (~ 23 Ma) to the present. Fossil seabirds are useful for studying marine faunal responses to these changes because they are numerous in museum collections and easily identified to the family-level from fragmentary remains. Because extant seabirds respond quickly to environmental changes, we hypothesize that the fossil record of crown-group Miocene seabirds will reflect past environments. Previous studies of fossil seabird diversity through the Cenozoic of the North Pacific relied mainly on literature records to describe the appearance and disappearance of seabird species and correlated these patterns to geologic and climatic events. Our study uses an empirical, specimen-based approach to describe the seabird response to climate and tectonic change during ~ 12 million years of coastal California's geologic history (middle Miocene to early Pliocene). The foundation of our dataset is 242 fossil seabird specimens from Orange County. The strata from Orange County form the basis for delineating chronostratigraphic bins used for studying 285 additional seabird fossils from other parts of California, for a total of 527 seabird fossils examined. Our results show a relationship between pelagic seabirds and offshore facies as well as a clear increase of pan-alcid abundance and decline of sulid abundance through time. This pattern may be the result of taphonomic bias combined with the effect of shallower facies preserved through time. The increase in pan-alcid abundance is also coincident with global climatic and tectonic changes and with enhanced and stable nutrient upwelling. Upwelling through this time also helps to explain morphological changes in salmon and speciation rates in marine mammals. The specimen-based methodology used here can be applied to contemporaneous taxa, such as marine mammals, to quantitatively analyze diversity during the late Neogene and further explore the relationship between physical drivers and faunal change.
A Case of an Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma Arising from the Innominate Vein Mimicking Cervical Metastatic Lymphadenopathy

Background. Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is a rare tumor usually presenting in soft tissue. EHE is a vascular malignancy of intermediate clinical behavior, with a histologic appearance of endothelial cells growing in nests or cords. Although EHE often originates from a vessel, it is relatively rare for a primary vascular EHE to originate from a large vein or artery. Occurrence in the mediastinum is exceptionally rare. There are no known associations with other malignancies. Case Presentation. We present a case of mediastinal invasive EHE in a 39-year-old female with concurrent papillary thyroid cancer. She initially presented with a thyroid mass found by her primary care provider, with preoperative imaging concerning for extension into the superior mediastinum. Operative exploration revealed a mediastinal mass distinct from her thyroid carcinoma with invasion into the great vessels, requiring off-pump interposition graft bypass for en bloc resection. Final pathology confirmed pT3N1b multifocal papillary thyroid carcinoma with a separate grade 1 pT1b EHE. Review of the literature describes the demographics, updated pathologic outcomes, histologic findings, and reported incidence of EHE. Conclusions. This is the first reported case of thyroid malignancy with separate and concurrent EHE. Surgeons should remain aware of this entity given its variable behavior. Although initially described as an indolent neoplasm, tumors with poor prognostic factors have been shown to be locally aggressive.
Cell-Free Protein Synthesis Approach to Biosensing hTRβ-Specific Endocrine Disruptors.

Here we introduce a Rapid Adaptable Portable In vitro Detection biosensor platform (RAPID) for detecting ligands that interact with nuclear hormone receptors (NHRs). The RAPID platform can be adapted for field use, allowing rapid evaluation of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) presence or absence in environmental samples, and can also be applied for drug screening. The biosensor is based on an engineered, allosterically activated fusion protein, which contains the ligand binding domain from a target NHR (human thyroid receptor β in this work). In vitro expression of this protein using cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) technology in the presence of an EDC leads to activation of a reporter enzyme, reported through a straightforward colorimetric assay output. In this work, we demonstrate the potential of this biosensor platform to be used in a portable “just-add-sample” format for near real-time detection. We also demonstrate the robust nature of the cell-free protein synthesis component in the presence...
TGR5 expression in benign, preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions of Barrett’s esophagus: Case series and findings

TGR5 expression in benign, preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions of Barrett’s esophagus: Case series and findings
The Effect of Mindfulness and Implementation Planning on the Process of Granting and Seeking Forgiveness Among Young Adults

Previous research suggests that college-aged students, especially first-year college students, are particularly prone to experience relational conflict. Interpersonal forgiveness has been well-documented as a variable that can reduce relational conflict among young adults. However, limited empirical research to date has explored the motivation and ability of college-aged students to engage in forgiveness granting behaviors when they are the victim of an interpersonal conflict; this lack of empirical research is especially noteworthy when considering the perpetrator’s perspective and why (motivation) and how (ability) perpetrators engage in forgiveness seeking behaviors following conflict. The current research assessed forgiveness granting and seeking behaviors for victims and perpetrators of an interpersonal transgression, respectively. Using behavior change models as a theoretical guide, we exposed young adults to a message pertaining to reasons/motivations for why they should engage in forgiveness behaviors as well as two techniques (i.e., mindfulness or implementation planning) that may promote the ability to express granting/seeking forgiveness. Sampling from 144 young adults, results indicate that participants exposed to reasons/motives for forgiveness as well as a mindfulness or implementation planning technique were more likely to engage in forgiveness grating/seeking behaviors than participants who were not exposed to this information. Participants’ mood and attitudes toward forgiveness granting/seeking were enhanced by receiving both a message and a technique. These results were especially pronounced for victims of an interpersonal transgression who practiced mindfulness. Overall, mindfulness appeared to be the most promising technique in promoting forgiveness.
Patterns of palliative radiation near the end of life: A single-institution retrospective analysis.

9636 Background: The care of patients who receive radiation therapy (RT) at the end of life (EOL) is under scrutiny to ensure effectiveness and value, with many patients not completing RT (Gripp, 2...
A phase III randomized trial of two cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiation (CCRT) regimens for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LAHNSCC).

6035 Background: Excellent outcomes have been reported using both single and multiagent CCRT in LAHNSCC. This trial compares a 5FU/cisplatin regimen to single agent cisplatin CCRT. Methods: Patient...
Analysis of a Community Pharmacy Intervention to Improve Low Adherence Rates to Oral Diabetes Medications

For patients with diabetes, suboptimal medication adherence contributes to disease progression, complications, and increased healthcare costs. Identification of, and intervention for patient-identified reasons for nonadherence are essential to improving medication adherence. This prospective, quality improvement study was conducted at an independent community pharmacy in the Mid-West United States. Patients with a proportion of days covered (PDC) for their oral antidiabetic medications of less than 80% were contacted by telephone and interviewed by a clinical pharmacist. The interviews and corresponding adherence interventions were guided by an abbreviated version of the Drug Adherence Work-Up (DRAW©) tool that focused on oral medications for diabetes. The change in PDC 120-days post-interview was assessed to determine the change in adherence rates. Patients receiving the pharmacist-delivered adherence intervention had significantly higher 120 day PDC values which are likely to indicate more regular medication-taking at home. Almost half of study patients signed up for medication synchronization and these patients trended toward higher PDC values, although the relative difference was not statistically significant from those receiving the intervention and not opting to have their medications synchronized.
Effects of Block Placement and Timing on Students’ Evaluation of Their Psychiatry Clerkship

Students evaluated the redesigned LSUMC psychiatry clerkship after their six-week experience during the 1984–1985 academic year. Although no differences in their evaluations related to clinical placement, they did relate to the timing of the six-week clerkship within the academic year.
The Truth Is Out There…and He Loves You: Depictions of Faith in The X - Files and Touched by an Angel

The X-Files and Touched by an Angel offer a solution for the culture wars schism between traditionalists and progressivists, negotiating a culture peace through a synthesis of science and religion, reason and faith. Each show addresses the postmodern question, what is truth? Weaving in other examples from nineties popular culture, like the radio show, Coast to Coast AM, and the Fox special, Alien Autopsy, this chapter demonstrates how these shows rise above contemporary doubt, giving reason to believe in real and active supernatural beings on earth. These shows suggest such beings have been among us as long as humans have existed. And they are in control.