cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
NS-66: Project to improve volume of treatment and satisfation-PIVOTS, a quality improvement project

Background The Huntsman Cancer Institute Multiple Myeloma (MM) Program is the primary referral center for the Intermountain West. Over the past 5 years, our Program has experienced a 40% increase in patient volumes, an increase to 4 MM physician providers, and significant expansion of the clinical trial portfolio and clinical/trial support staff. Our previous care model was inefficient and did not optimize the independence of our advanced practice clinicians (APC). Previously, we relied on a traditional “resident model” in which APCs staffed every patient with the attending physician. Our provider group hypothesized that utilizing a more contemporary clinical model would improve clinical efficiency and Relative Value Unit (RVU) generation and enhance job satisfaction for all members of our clinical team while maintaining high patient satisfaction scores. This model, called Project to Improve Volume of Treatment and Satisfaction or PIVOTS, is focused on 4 fundamental pillars including: 1) Modifying physician and APC clinic templates to optimize daily clinic volumes; 2) Establish specific “divisions of labor” for patient follow-up; 3) Standardization of post-autologous transplantation follow-up and disease reassessment; and 4) Standardization of new and return patient clinic notes. The main objective of this project is to fundamentally change our care model to better support our patients and optimize the productivity and moral of our team. Design and implementation Physician templates includes seeing all new patients, follow-up visits with disease reassessments and treatment modification, and per patient request. APC templates shifted to the RCO Model (Revlimid maintenance, Cruising patient, and Outpatient transplant) and acute issue and day 1 treatment visits. Clinic note templates for new, return, and acute patient visits were constructed as a team over the 6 months prior to starting the project Metrics A 12-month period from May 2021 – April 2022 has been specified and the following metrics have been defined pre- and post-PIVOTS implementation. RVU generation will be collected for all providers over this 12-month timeframe and descriptively compared to per provider metrics from the prior 2 years. University Qualtrics and Patient Experience has developed and implemented all job satisfaction surveys that will be completed by all staff (MA, RN, APC, physician) at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Patient satisfaction scores and comments are collected per institutional standards. Research productivity for all members of the MM Program will be collected pre- and post-PIVOTS implementation and will include abstract submissions, grant funding, and manuscript production. Results The PIVOTS project will be instrumental in defining a new standard for structuring a dedicated myeloma clinic to improve clinical and academic productivity and job satisfaction without compromising a high-quality patient experience.
An empirical approach to the nucleation of sulfuric acid droplets in the atmosphere

We use quantum mechanical evaluations of the Gibbs free energy of the hydrates of sulfuric acid, H2SO4. nH2O and (H2SO4)2 . nH2O to evaluate an empirical surface tension for sulfuric acid-water clusters containing few molecules. We use this surface tension to evaluate nucleation rates using classical heteromolecular theory. At low temperatures (T 213 K) the nucleation rates obtained with the empirical surface tensions are signifi cantly greater than those using bulk values of the surface tension. At higher temperatures the difference disappears.
Buried in the Sands of the Ogaden: The United States, the Horn of Africa, and the Demise of Detente

When the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) between the Soviet Union and United States faltered during the administration of Jimmy Carter, National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski claimed that SALT lies buried in the sands of the Ogaden. How did superpower detente survive Vietnam but stumble in the Horn of Africa? Historian Louise Woodroofe takes Brzezinski's claim as a starting point to analyse superpower relations during the 1970s, and in so doing she reveals how conflict in East Africa became a critical turning point in the ongoing Cold War battle for supremacy. Despite representing the era of detente, the 1970s superficially appeared to be one of Soviet successes and American setbacks. As such, the Soviet Union wanted the United States to recognise it as an equal power. However, Washington interpreted detente as a series of agreements and compromises designed to draw Moscow into an international system through which the United States could exercise some control over its rival, particularly in the Third World. These differing interpretations would prove to be the inherent flaw of detente, and nowhere was this better demonstrated than in the conflict in the Horn of Africa in 1974-78. The Ogaden War between Ethiopia and Somalia involved a web of shifting loyalties, as the United States and Soviet Union alternately supported both sides at different points. Woodroofe explores how the war represented a larger debate over U.S. foreign policy, which led Carter to take a much harder line against the Soviet Union. In a crucial post-Vietnam test of U.S. power, the American foreign policy establishment was unable to move beyond the prism of competition with the Soviet Union. The conflict and its superpower involvement turned out to be disasters for all involved, and many of the region s current difficulties trace their historic antecedents to this period. Soviet assistance propped up an Ethiopian regime that terrorised its people, reorganised its agricultural system to disastrous effects in the well-known famines of the 1980s, and kept it one of the poorest countries in the world. Somalia s defeat in the Ogaden War started its descent into a failed state. Eritrea, which had successfully fought Ethiopia prior to the introduction of Soviet and Cuban assistance, had to endure more than a decade more of repression.
Characterization of progesterone receptor binding to the 90- and 70- kDa heat shock proteins

In this study a model system for expression of the chicken progesterone receptor in cultured cells was developed using a quail fibroblast cell line, QT6. The chicken progesterone receptor form A expressed in QT6 cells was evaluated and determined to have a number of similarities to receptor isolated from chicken oviduct. These include hormone binding, sedimentation profile, phosphorylation pattern, heat shock protein (hsp) 70 and hsp90 associations and the ability to stimulate a reporter gene construct. Therefore, the receptor expressed in this system functioned adequately for further evaluation of the particular region (or regions) involved in hsp70 and hsp90 binding. Several receptor deletion mutants were tested for hsp70/hsp90 binding; only the d369-659 mutant, which has the entire steroid-binding domain deleted, was unable to bind hsp90 and hsp70. Three separate regions of the steroid-binding domain were found to partially restore hsp90 and hsp70 binding to the d369-659 mutant protein. However, hsp binding was not abolished when these or other regions of the steroid binding domain were deleted individually. These findings indicate that hsp90 and hsp70 both bind to the steroid-binding domain of the receptor through interactions at multiple locations or through some structural quality that is distributed throughout this region of the protein.
Workers, Firms, and the Dominant Ideology: Hegemony and Consciousness in the Monopoly Core

Theorists of work and class relations have argued that organizational processes within the monopoly ‘core’ induce employees to identify with the firm and consent to the social relations of production. The adequacy of this ‘hegemony’ thesis is evaluated using data from two Bell operating companies, whose workers hold relatively high-paying primary sector jobs and are exposed to a strong corporate culture. Although these factors should favor the thesis of managerial hegemony, the data provide only limited support. In fact, an oppositional consciousness is fairly common among the workers, but with marked variations between occupational groups. The data indicate that hegemony theory inflates the role of ideological mechanisms in the reproduction of managerial control and underestimates workers’ capacity to form a critical consciousness of the employment relationship. Worker consent should be viewed as problematic—that is, as exceptional, occurring only under specific social and organizational conditions.
Evaluation of Fluorocarbon Emissions from the Aluminum Smelting Process

Evolution and emission of carbon tetrafluoride (CF4) and hexafluoroethane (C2F6) were characterized by continuous on-line monitoring of the common exhaust from 40 pots of a commercial potline, using a process mass spectrometer. The average emission rates from the potline section over 510 pot-days determined by statistical analysis of the data were 0.2 kg CF4/tonne Al and 0.02 kg C2F6/tonne Al. Undiluted anode gas was monitored in a pilot-scale Hall cell, where it was demonstrated that fluorocarbons are not produced during steady-state operation, but only during anode effects. The fate of fluorocarbons in dry scrubbing was investigated in both bench-scale and full-scale dry scrubbers; no change in emission rate due to dry scrubbing was observed.
The Pure Phenomenology of Edmund Husserl (1859–1938)

Phenomenology is not confined to Edmund Husserl’s philosophy. That it comprises more is one of the main points I want to establish in this book. But it would not even be correct to say that all of Edmund Husserl’s own philosophy is phenomenology. For it was not until Husserl had nearly reached the age of forty that his philosophical thinking matured into his conception of phenomenology. Nevertheless it remains true that the central figure in the development of the Phenomenological Movement was, and still is, Edmund Husserl. Hence a discussion of his phenomenology will have to be the center of this history of the Movement.
On Hardness of Pricing Items for Single-Minded Bidders

We consider the following item pricing problem which has received much attention recently. A seller has an infinite numbers of copies of n items. There are m buyers, each with a budget and an intention to buy a fixed subset of items. Given prices on the items, each buyer buys his subset of items, at the given prices, provided the total price of the subset is at most his budget. The objective of the seller is to determine the prices such that her total profit is maximized. In this paper, we focus on the case where the buyers are interested in subsets of size at most two. This special case is known to be APX-hard (Guruswami et al [1]). The best known approximation algorithm, by Balcan and Blum, gives a 4-approximation [2]. We show that there is indeed a gap of 4 for the combinatorial upper bound used in their analysis. We further show that a natural linear programming relaxation of this problem has an integrality gap of 4, even in this special case. Then we prove that the problem is NP-hard to approximate within a factor of 2 assuming the Unique Games Conjecture; and it is unconditionally NP-hard to approximate within a factor 17/16. Finally, we extend the APX-hardness of the problem to the special case in which the graph formed by items as vertices and buyers as edges is bipartite . We hope that our techniques will be helpful for obtaining stronger hardness of approximation bounds for this problem.
HEMATOPOIETIC REGULATION MEDIATED BY INTERACTIONS AMONG THE NEUROKININS AND CYTOKINES

This review summarizes the current data regarding the mechanisms by which two mammalian neurokinins (tachykinins), substance P (SP) and neurokinin-A (NK-A) are involved in hematopoiesis. SP and NK-A are derived from the preprotachykinin-I (PPT-I) gene which can be induced by cytokines and neurotrophic factors. In the bone marrow (BM), nerve fibers and stroma are potential sources for the PPT-I gene products. SP and NK-A interact with either of three cloned receptors, neurokinin-1 (NK-1), NK-2 or NK-3, although SP and NK-A exhibit binding preferences for NK-1 and NK-2 respectively. Through specific receptors, SP and NK-A exert dichotomous hematopoietic effects mediated mostly by the BM stroma. SP enhances the proliferation of primitive BM stem cells and progenitors and these effects correlate with the induction of stimulatory hematopoietic growth factors. NK-A appears to be protective to stem cells through the induction of TGF-beta. Proliferation of myeloid progenitors is inhibited by NK-A, effects which correlate with the induction of two suppressive factors, TGF-beta and MIP-1alpha. Stimulation of NK-2 leads to partial blunting of the enhanced stimulatory effects mediated by NK-1. Furthermore, stimulatory hematopoietic cytokines upregulate NK-1 expression and downregulate the constitutively expressed NK-2 in BM stroma. Together, the experimental evidence suggests that NK-A-NK-2 interactions could be a feedback to hematopoietic stimulation. Expression of NK-1 and NK-2 in CD34+ cell lines and also, the presence of SP binding sites on primary CD34+ cells suggest that the neurokinins could be interacting directly with BM progenitors and stem cells. In BM stroma, cytokines and neurokinins regulate the expression of each other and also, their respective receptors. In summary, the current literature pertaining to hematopoietic regulation indicates the involvement of a complex network that includes, but not exclusive of the cytokines and neurokinins. The current models that pertain to stem cell proliferation and differentiation should therefore add neuropeptides to the list of hematopoietic modulators.
The influence of variation in litter habitats on spider communities.

Spider communities were sampled over an artificial gradient of litter depth (created by raking) and compared to those of two other forests exhibiting natural variation in litter depth. More species of spiders were present in areas of greater depth and/or complexity in all sites. Relative abundance of Lycosidae decreased, while relative abundance of Clubionidae, Thomisidae and Gnaphosidae increased over gradients of increasing depth and complexity. Similarity of species composition between areas within a forest was related to site differences in litter depth and structure.
Marketing Educational Programs through Technology and the Right Philosophies

This article uses a real case to illustrate that marketing educational programs through technology is affected by oneâ€™s philosophies positively or negatively, depending on the philosophies adopted. Seven philosophies are discussed in relationship to marketing educational programs via technology. Connections between the seven philosophies and different types of universities/colleges are drawn. Future research directions also revolve around marketing educational programs, Web 2.0 technologies and oneâ€™s philosophies. It is recommended that universities/colleges seriously consider hiring those administrators who have adopted the right philosophies as the wrong philosophies will work against the mission of certain academic departments, hence the whole university or college.
Ferromagnetism in oxide semiconductors

Over the past five years, considerable work has been carried out in the exploration of candidate diluted oxide magnetic semiconductors with high Curie temperatures. Fueled by early experimental results and theoretical predictions, claims of ferromagnetism at and above room temperature in doped oxides have abounded. In general, neither the true nature of these materials nor the physical causes of the magnetism have been adequately determined. It is now apparent that these dilute magnetic systems are deceptively complex. We consider two well-characterizedn-type magnetically doped oxide semiconductors and explore the relationship between donor electrons and ferromagnetism.
Clear cell adenocarcinoma and the current status of DES‐exposed females

Currently, over 400 cases of clear cell adenocarcinoma of the vagina and cervix occurring in females born after 1940 have been accessioned into the Registry for Research on Hormonal Transplacental Carcinogenesis. Cases have been identified throughout the United States as well as Australia, Canada, Mexico, and Europe. Intrauterine exposure to DES and similar nonsteroidal estrogens have been uncovered in about two-thirds of the cases with an available maternal history. A peak in the age incidence curve of the DES-related cases has been observed at about 19 years with the age range being 7-30 years. The five-year survival for 400 patients has been 80%. Numerous nonmalignant epithelial changes have been observed. It appears that there has not been an increase in the occurrence of premalignant or malignant squamous cell lesions among the DES exposed. Premature birth has been more common among DES-exposed women. For those in whom there is evidence of a midpregnancy loss or premature ripening of the cervix during pregnancy, a cerclage procedure has been effective in producing a desirable outcome.
Regression Sampling Plan for Twospotted Spider Mite (Acari: Tetranychidae) in Oregon Peppermint

A sampling plan for detecting aggregations of Tetranychus urticae Koch was developed to aid pest management decisions in peppermint, Mentha piperita L. Ten to 14 sites were sampled for every 74 ha. At each site, 45 leaves (15 top, 15 middle, 15 bottom) were evaluated for the presence of five or more T. urticae . The sample mean was estimated from the equation: log ( x \_bar + 1) = 0.18 + 0.59 log (INF5 + 1), which was based on the relationship between the mean density of mites ( x \_bar) and the number of leaves per sample with five or more mites present (INF5). The coefficient of determination for this relationship is 0.92. The equation provides an accurate estimate of mean mite densities over widely separated regions, during different growing seasons, and for fields with different mite densities.
Principles of fiscal and monetary policy

Abstract This paper describes a complete and internally consistent set of principles for the conduct of a welfare-maximizing fiscal and monetary policy. Issues of time-consistency that arise in applying these principles to actual economics are also discussed.
On Performance and Efficiency of VLIW and Superscalar

Instruction-level parallelism in non-numerical code character as leading to small speeduo (as little) due to its irregularity. Recently, we have developed a new static scheduling algorithm called selective scheduling which can be used as a component of VLIW and superscalar compilers to exploit the irregular parallelism.
Metastasis suppressors in breast cancers: Mechanistic insights and clinical potential

For the most part, normal epithelial cells do not disseminate to other parts of the body and proliferate, as do metastatic cells. Presumably, a class of molecules-termed metastasis suppressors-are involved in this homeostatic control. Metastasis suppressors are, by definition, cellular factors that, when re-expressed in metastatic cells, functionally inhibit metastasis without significantly inhibiting tumor growth. In this brief review, we catalog known metastasis suppressors, what is known about their mechanism(s) of action, and experimental and clinical associations to date.
The PPAR genes, cardiovascular disease and the emergence of PPAR pharmacogenetics

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) comprise a group of related transcription factors that serve to regulate a number of cellular processes that are central to cardiovascular health and disease. Two large bodies of work strongly implicate the PPARs as key factors in normal cardiovascular physiology and in cardiovascular pathophysiology: i) studies demonstrating associations between PPAR and abnormal cardiovascular phenotypes; and ii) pharmacological studies assessing the effects of specific PPAR agonists in clinical trials. With the abundance of data available from these studies as a background, PPAR pharmacogenetics has become a promising and rapidly-advancing field. This review summarises the current state of understanding of PPAR pharmacogenetics and its profound implications for the individualisation of therapy for patients with a diverse group of cardiovascular diseases.
Heat transfer simulation of Alcator C-Mod Advanced Outer Divertor

An Advanced Outer Divertor is being developed for the Alcator C-Mod to study D retention at reactor temperature with high power long-pulse discharges. The divertor will be operated at elevated temperature up to 600°C. To achieve this goal, the divertor will be structurally and electrically continuous along toroidal direction, requiring it to expand radially as temperature increases. This paper describes the finite element analysis and results of heat transfer simulations of the outer divertor. There are four aspects, with focus on the AFrame assembly. First of all, a 1/20th module of the full divertor is composed of divertor tiles, tile mounting plate, heaters, divertor gusset, A-Frame support, spherical bearings, bracket, halo current shunt, vessel gusset, etc. By adjusting the power of each of the seven toroidal divertor heaters, the tiles achieve a uniform temperature poloidally with toroidal temperature variation within allowables. The temperature of each component is evaluated, and results are used to support the design changes. Secondly, radiation simulation of the diverter heater itself is done to understand more details of heat transfer from the heater to the surrounding tiles and support plates. Thirdly, heat transfer analysis is performed with a model including a tile and its mounting plate, to predict the effect of plasma heat load on divertor tiles. Finally, radiation simulation on multilayer thermal shields is presented. All the heat transfer simulations are completed by COMSOL, commercial finite element analysis software.
Reform without revolt: the political economy of economic reform in the Gambia

Abstract The Gambia's Economic Recovery Program differed from most adjustment programs in sub-Saharan Africa because the economy quickly recovered and because the government implemented the reforms with remarkably little public opposition. This paper examines the politics of reform in The Gambia, focusing on both government decisions regarding reform and subsequent public reactions. The analysis highlights the importance of The Gambia's democratic political traditions, the rural political power base, the relationship with neighboring Senegal, weak opposition groups, strong leadership, and lucky breaks. The Gambia provides an example of a democracy that successfully implemented a strong reform program preceding a national election.
Norepinephrine infused into the basolateral amygdala posttraining enhances retention in a spatial water maze task.

Recent evidence indicates that the amygdala plays a role in modulating memory processes in other brain regions. For example, posttraining intra-amygdala infusions of amphetamine enhanced memory in both spatial and cued training water maze tasks; these tasks are known to depend on the integrity of the hippocampus and caudate nucleus, respectively. To determine whether this modulation is dependent on noradrenergic activation within a subregion of the amygdala (the basolateral nucleus), the present study examined the effects of posttraining microinfusions (0.2 microl) of norepinephrine or propranolol into the basolateral amygdala immediately following training in a spatial version of the water maze task. Rats received a four-trial training session on each of 2 consecutive days. On the third day, rats were given a 60-s probe test in the absence of a platform. Retention latencies obtained on the second training day revealed that norepinephrine dose-dependently enhanced retention for the location of the hidden platform. In contrast, propranolol significantly impaired retention. Probe trial analysis revealed that rats treated with 0.25 microg norepinephrine demonstrated a selective spatial bias for the training platform location relative to all other groups. These findings are consistent with others and support the view that the basolateral amygdala has a role in modulating memory storage by interacting with other brain regions.
Reform in statistical education

Two questions are considered in this article: (a) What should professionals in school psychology do in an effort to stay current with developments in applied statistics? (b) What should they do with their existing knowledge to move from surface understanding of statistics to deep understanding? Written for school psychologists who have completed their formal education, this article examines the way in which four kinds of relatively new technological tools—Java applets, electronic discussion groups, blogs, and online books, tutors, and courses—can help professionals increase their knowledge and understanding of statistical concepts and procedures. Because new statistical procedures, over time, enter the arsenal of applied researchers, and given that the National Association of School Psychologists explicitly states that continuing professional development in research is an expectation, the information presented here shows school psychologists that there are useful and efficient ways for them to “keep current” with advances in applied statistics. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 44: 527–533, 2007.
The origin and energetics of CTB 80

Deep narrow-band images of the core of the unusual supernova remnant CTB 80 are presented, and the origin and energetics of the remnant are discussed. Based on a description of the core as a wind-blown bubble or bow shock around a pulsar, a scenario is presented relating the core and extended components to a single supernova explosion about 100,000 yr ago. The physical nature of the interface between the pulsar wind and the ambient thermal plasma is considered, and it is concluded that the pulsar is probably moving through shock-compressed material associated with the evolved remnant. It is argued that the core geometry is probably a bow shock viewed partially face-on.
The Burr Dilemma in Approval Voting

Problems of multicandidate races in U.S. presidential elections motivated the modern invention and advocacy of approval voting; but it has not previously been recognized that the first four presidential elections (1788–1800) were conducted using a variant of approval voting. That experiment ended disastrously in 1800 with the infamous Electoral College tie between Jefferson and Burr. The tie, this paper shows, resulted less from miscalculation than from a strategic tension built into approval voting, which forces two leaders appealing to the same voters to play a game of Chicken. Because the Burr Dilemma poses a significant difficulty for approval voting, this paper urges that researchers give more attention to “instant runoff” reform options, especially the alternative vote and the Coombs rule.
The solution of the scalar wave equation in the exterior of a sphere

We derive new, explicit representations for the solution to the scalar wave equation in the exterior of a sphere, subject to either Dirichlet or Robin boundary conditions. Our formula leads to a stable and high-order numerical scheme that permits the evaluation of the solution at an arbitrary target, without the use of a spatial grid and without numerical dispersion error. In the process, we correct some errors in the analytic literature concerning the asymptotic behavior of the logarithmic derivative of the spherical modified Hankel function. We illustrate the performance of the method with several numerical examples.
Read-backward polyphase sorting

Read-backward Polyphase sorting provides more efficient use of the tapes available to a sort than most other sorting techniques. Backward Polyphase produces a continuous merging process from n - 1 tapes where n is the total number of tapes being used in the sorting process. Any of the available presorting techniques may be used in conjunction with the Polyphase merge sort provided that the presort has the capability of producing both ascending and descending strings and distributing the strings on the various tapes as required by the Polyphase Merge.
The climate of the Holocene and its landscape and biotic impacts

The Holocene Epoch has abundant paleoclimatic archives at relatively high temporal and spatial resolution, which have helped to reveal the patterns of natural climate variation during the present interglacial period and the impacts of that variation on landscapes and biota. This article presents a personal review of some interesting insights that have emerged from analysis of Holocene paleoclimatic records from continental archives at orbital to multidecadal scales. These include how the increased density of sites in Asia, South America and Africa have revealed unforeseen spatial patterns of variation in the dynamics of the monsoon systems at orbital scales and a better characterisation of the magnitude of multidecadal and centennial variation in various parts of the globe. Among interglacial periods, the Holocene is unique as the period in which more complex human civilisations and agriculture developed, and many recent studies have evolved our understanding of the nature of the human impact relative to natural dynamics prior to large-scale population expansion. Keywords: paleoclimate, paleohydrology, paleolimnology, interglacial, Holocene (Published: 10 April 2013) Citation: Tellus B 2013, 65 , 20602, http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/tellusb.v65i0.20602 This publication is part of a Thematic Cluster with papers presented at a conference held in Stockholm 21 - 23 May 2012, to honor the late Professor Bert Bolin for his outstanding contributions to climate science and his efforts to create a dialogue between policy makers and the scientific community. All papers within the cluster will be published online as soon as they have been accepted for publication. When all papers belonging to the cluster have been published, they will be summarized with a foreword describing the background and scope of the conference. Read the other papers from this thematic cluster here
Slavery: Current bibliographical supplement (1987)

(1988). Slavery: Current bibliographical supplement (1987) Slavery & Abolition: Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 207-245.
Regeneration of the long spinal tracts in the goldfish.

Abstract This study investigated the regenerative capacity of the long tracts in the goldfish spinal cord. The spinal cord was transected anterior to the dorsal fin and the regenerative capacity of the descending fiber tracts (tectospinal, cerebellospinal, ventral tract group) assessed. Degenerating axons were stained 9 and 60 days later. Seven animals in the 60-day group underwent a subsequent cord retransection, one segment rostral to the original site of lesion and stained 9 days later. The degenerative patterns of the descending and ascending tracts were determined for a spinal cord segment 2 cm caudal to the original site of lesion. Following spinal cord transection all fish were paralyzed but normal swimming returned by day 25. Nine days postoperatively, the descending tracts were completely degenerated, with no evidence of degeneration in the ascending tracts. Sixty days postoperatively regenerated nerve fibers in the descending tracts were approximately 35–49% of the usual complement of axons. Approximately 94% of the regenerated nerve fibers were 4–8 times of normal diameter. Retransection of the spinal cord one segment rostral to the first lesion resulted in degeneration of the large diameter regenerated axons but not the normal diameter component. The relationship of the return of function to the quality and quantity of regenerated nerve fibers is discussed.
Characteristics of CMOS devices in high-energy boron-implanted substrates

CMOS devices on substrates subject to high-energy implantation of boron for buried-layer fabrication are examined. FET device characteristics, threshold voltage, and breakdown characteristics are investigated, along with mobility and minority-carrier lifetime. In addition, well leakage and breakdown are studied in an effort to provide guidelines for well design in an megaelectronvolt-implanted substrate. It is seen that MOSFET transistor characteristics are virtually unaffected by the implant. Latchup behavior improves with the incorporation of the buried layer, and the holding voltage increases as the well and implant depths decrease. >
Surgical correction of incomplete cryptophthalmos in Fraser syndrome.

Purpose To demonstrate favorable long-term visual outcome after ocular reconstruction in an infant with Fraser syndrome and with complete left cryptophthalmos. Methods Reconstruction of incomplete right cryptophthalmos in our patient was accomplished in a stepwise manner, beginning in the third week of life, by dissecting the eyelids from the cornea, reconstructing the conjunctival fornices with buccal mucosa, and repairing the upper lid coloboma in a flap reconstruction using the inferior eyelid margin. Results At age 3 years, the patient currently has good movement of the right eyelids when blinking, reasonable right tear function, and a visual acuity in the right eye between 20/200 and 20/360 on forced preferential looking. Conclusion In selected cases of incomplete cryptophthalmos, oculoplastic and corneal surgery may result in useful vision and in good eyelid movement when blinking.
Quality Improvement Intitiatives to Minimize Seclustion and Restraint

Much literature exists detailing adverse outcomes associated with the use of seclusion and restraint (S&R). Recognizing the negative effects of this intervention, one organization began a quality improvement project to reduce the use of this behavioral management strategy. A retrospective study using the medical record and the S&R database was initiated to examine clinical symptoms at the point of admission of those individuals who later experienced an S&R and to evaluate S&R practices across treatment areas. This initial project identified the admission processes, early treatment initiatives, and individuals experiencing multiple episodes of S&R as critical foci.
CRISPR-Cas systems for editing, regulating and targeting genomes

Targeted genome editing using engineered nucleases has rapidly gone from being a niche technology to a mainstream method used by many biological researchers. This widespread adoption has been largely fueled by the emergence of the clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) technology, an important new approach for generating RNA-guided nucleases, such as Cas9, with customizable specificities. Genome editing mediated by these nucleases has been used to rapidly, easily and efficiently modify endogenous genes in a wide variety of biomedically important cell types and in organisms that have traditionally been challenging to manipulate genetically. Furthermore, a modified version of the CRISPR-Cas9 system has been developed to recruit heterologous domains that can regulate endogenous gene expression or label specific genomic loci in living cells. Although the genome-wide specificities of CRISPR-Cas9 systems remain to be fully defined, the power of these systems to perform targeted, highly efficient alterations of genome sequence and gene expression will undoubtedly transform biological research and spur the development of novel molecular therapeutics for human disease.
The effects of L1 and orthographic regularity and consistency in naming Chinese characters

The present study examined the influence of the features of Chinese characters, such as frequency, regularity and consistency, on the accuracy with which they were read by two groups of adult Chinese learners. Twenty-two English-speakers and 31 Japanese-speakers studying Chinese at a Taiwanese University read 130 Chinese characters that varied along the dimensions of regularity, consistency, number of strokes and familiarity (frequency with which they appeared in instructional texts). The results suggest that lexical and sub-lexical features, such as regularity and consistency, play an important role in reading Chinese among Chinese language learners. Furthermore, differences between the Japanese- and English-speaking participants suggest that the first language (L1) phonology and writing system may influence Chinese character learning. In addition, the language proficiency of Chinese language learners also influences sensitivity to sublexical features in naming Chinese characters. Finally, Chinese language learners with both L1s follow the same trajectory for developing orthography-to-phonology knowledge reported for native Chinese-speaking children.
Multisensor triplet Markov fields and theory of evidence

Hidden Markov Fields (HMF) are widely applicable to various problems of image processing. In such models, the hidden process of interest X is a Markov field, which must be estimated from its observable noisy version Y. The success of HMF is due mainly to the fact that X remains Markov conditionally on the observed process, which facilitates different processing strategies such as Bayesian segmentation. Such models have been recently generalized to 'Pairwise' Markov fields (PMF), which offer similar processing advantages and superior modeling capabilities. In this generalization, one directly assumes the Markovianity of the pair (X,Y). Afterwards, 'Triplet' Markov fields (TMF) have been proposed, in which the distribution of (X,Y) is the marginal distribution of a Markov field (X,U,Y), where U is an auxiliary random field. So U can have different interpretations and, when the set of its values is not too complex, X can still be estimated from Y. The aim of this paper is to show some connections between TMF and the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence. It is shown that TMF allow one to perform the Dempster-Shafer fusion in different general situations, possibly involving several sensors. As a consequence, Bayesian segmentation strategies remain applicable.
On routing table growth

The Internet has experienced explosive growth since its commercialization. The sizes of the routing tables have increased by an order of magnitude over the past six years. This dramatic growth of the routing table can decrease the packet forwarding speed and demand more router memory space. In this paper, we explore the extent that various factors contribute to the routing table growth and predict the future rate of growth of the routing table. We first perform measurement study to determine the extent that factors such as multi-homing, failure to aggregate, load balancing, and address fragmentation contribute to routing table size, and find that only of prefixes are due to multi-homing, of prefixes are due to failure to aggregate, of prefixes are due to load balancing, and more than of prefixes are due to address fragmentation. This leads us to group all prefixes that are not aggregated due to either failure to aggregate or address fragmentation. We find that the number of prefix clusters is no more than of the number of prefixes. We explore the extent that load balancing contributes to the number of prefix clusters. Furthermore, we predict the growth pattern of prefixes and prefix clusters by observing power-laws on prefixes and prefix clusters. The number of prefixes grows much faster than the number of prefix clusters does. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on the explosive growth of routing tables by systematically comparing factors that contribute to the growth and by observing routing table growth patterns.
Free triiodothyronine toxicosis in two adolescents

Abstract Two male adolescents had subtle symptoms and signs of thyrotoxicosis but normal levels of total and free thyroxine and total triiodothyronine. Serum concentrations of thyrotropin were undetectable in basal specimens and after administration of thyrotropin-releasing hormone; only free triiodothyronine values were elevated. An increase in serum levels of free triiodothyronine may be the earliest secretory abnormality of an overactive thyroid gland. (J P EDIATR 1994;124:276-8)
Trafficking of β2-adrenergic receptors: insulin and β-agonists regulate internalization by distinct cytoskeletal pathways

Insulin and beta-adrenergic agonists stimulate a rapid phosphorylation and sequestration of the beta2-adrenergic receptors (beta2ARs). Although the expectation was that a common pathway would be involved in the trafficking of the beta2AR in response to either hormone, studies reported herein show the existence of unique cytoskeletal requirements for internalization/recycling of G-protein-coupled receptors, such as the beta2AR. Treatment of human epidermoid carcinoma A431 cells with nocodazole, which binds tubulin monomer in vivo and catalyzes the depolymerization of microtubules, effectively blocks beta-adrenergic agonist-induced, but not insulin-induced, sequestration of beta2ARs. Treatment with latrunculin-A, an agent that sequesters actin monomer and leads to loss of actin filaments, had no effect on the ability of beta-adrenergic agonists to stimulate internalization of beta2ARs, but blocked the ability of insulin to stimulate counterregulation of beta2ARs via internalization. Although nocodazole had no effect on insulin-stimulated sequestration of beta2ARs, the recycling of the internalized receptors to the cell membrane was sensitive to depolymerization of microtubules by this agent. Latrunculin-A, by contrast, blocks the recycling of beta2ARs internalized in response to beta-agonist, while attenuating recycling of receptors internalized in response to insulin stimulation. These data show the existence of unique cytoskeletal requirements for G-protein-coupled-receptor trafficking in response to agonist compared with a counterregulatory hormone, and for sequestration versus recycling of the receptors to the cell membrane.
Breakdown Probability of a Low Pressure Gas Discharge

The probability distribution of the number of electrons in an "avalanche" in a low pressure gas discharge is calculated and the result applied to the calculation of the breakdown probability. Under some simplifying assumptions the probability ${P}_{0}$ that the avalanche caused by one initial electron, liberated from the cathode, leads to breakdown is found to be ${{P}_{0},=1\ensuremath{-}\frac{1}{q} ,\mathrm{if} qg1}{{P}_{0},=0 ,\mathrm{if} ql1}$in which $q=\ensuremath{\gamma}(\mathrm{exp}[\ensuremath{\int}{0}^{d}\ensuremath{\alpha}({x}^{\ensuremath{'}})d{x}^{\ensuremath{'}}]\ensuremath{-}1)$ is the average number of secondary electrons liberated at the cathode as a result of the avalanche of the initial electron. The calculation has been generalized to the case that the initial electron is liberated in the gas. Finally the relation between the breakdown probability ${P}_{0}$ and the statistical distribution of sparking time lags is discussed.
Generalized Additive Models versus Linear Regression in Generating Probabilistic MOS Forecasts of Aviation Weather Parameters

Abstract The skill of probabilistic Model Output Statistics forecasts generated from Generalized Additive Models (GAM) is compared to that of traditional multiple linear regression techniques. Unlike linear regression, where each predictor term in the additive model is assumed to vary linearly with the predictand (unless specified otherwise by the developer), GAM is a nonparametric tool that makes use of the data to automatically estimate the appropriate functional (curvative) relationship for each predictor term. This relieves the developer from the chore of identifying and computing the correct predictor transformations and helps uncover certain nonlinearities that may have been missed. Forecast equations for each statistical technique are developed for nine regions encompassing a total of 90 stations in the northeastern United States. Three parameters (cloud amount, ceiling height, and visibility) are forecast for eight thresholds and two lead times (12 h and 24 h). The developmental dataset consists o...
Gene therapy in the treatment of autoimmune disease

Abstract The genetic modification of autoreactive memory T cells and autoimmune target cells to produce immunoregulatory cytokines and regenerative growth factors offers a promising new approach for the treatment of autoimmune disease.
Pilot study to explore effects of low-fat, flaxseed-supplemented diet on proliferation of benign prostatic epithelium and prostate-specific antigen

Abstract Objectives Dietary factors may influence the prostate and have an impact on prostatic growth and disease. A small number of studies have suggested that flaxseed-supplemented, fat-restricted diets may thwart prostate cancer growth in both animals and humans. Unknown, however, is the potential effect of such a diet on benign prostatic epithelium. Methods We undertook a pilot study to explore whether a flaxseed-supplemented, fat-restricted diet affects the proliferation rates in benign epithelium. We also explored the effects on circulating levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), total testosterone, and cholesterol. Fifteen men who were scheduled to undergo repeat prostate biopsy were instructed to follow a low-fat (less than 20% kcal), flaxseed-supplemented (30 g/day) diet and were provided with a supply of flaxseed to last throughout the 6-month intervention period. The PSA, total testosterone, and cholesterol levels were determined at baseline and at 6 months of follow-up. Reports from the original and repeat biopsies were compared, and proliferation (MIB-1) rates were quantified in the benign prostatic epithelium. Results Statistically significant decreases in PSA (8.47 ± 3.82 to 5.72 ± 3.16 ng/mL; P = 0.0002) and cholesterol (241.1 ± 30.8 to 213.3 ± 51.2 mg/dL; P = 0.012) were observed. No statistically significant change was seen in total testosterone (434.5 ± 143.6 to 428.3 ± 92.5 ng/dL). Although 6-month repeat biopsies were not performed in 2 cases because of PSA normalization, of the 13 men who underwent repeat biopsy, the proliferation rates in the benign epithelium decreased significantly from 0.022 ± 0.027 at baseline to 0.007 ± 0.014 at 6 months of follow-up ( P = 0.0168). Conclusions These pilot data suggest that a flaxseed-supplemented, fat-restricted diet may affect the biology of the prostate and associated biomarkers. A randomized controlled trial is needed to determine whether flaxseed supplementation, a low-fat diet, or a combination of the two regimens may be of use in controlling overall prostatic growth.
Degradation of aldoses by means of their disulfones.

Abstract A simple procedure is described for the degradation of hexoses to pentoses in excellent yields. The method involves oxidation of the hexose mercaptal to the disulfone, followed by treatment with very dilute aqueous ammonia, to give the pentose and bis(ethanesulfonyl)methane.
Temporal variation in the mating structure of Sanday, Orkney Islands

SummaryPedigree and vital statistics data from the population of Sanday, Orkney Islands, Scotland, were used to assess temporal changes in population structure. Secular trends in patterns of mate choice were analysed for three separate birth cohorts of spouses: 1855–1884, 1885–1924 and 1925–1964. The degree to which mating was random or assortative with respect to both genealogical and geographic distance was determined by comparing average characteristics of all potential mates of married males with those of actual wives. We integrated this procedure, originally developed by Dyke (1971), into a three-fold investigation of population structure: (1) comparison of random and non-random components of relatedness as measured from pedigree data; (2) an analysis of marital distance distributions for actual and potential mates of married males; and (3) the relationship between genealogical relatedness and geographic distance. As population size decreased from 1881 to the present, total kinship and spatial distan...