cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Emergency department discharge prescription interventions by emergency medicine pharmacists

Study objective We determine the rate and details of interventions associated with emergency medicine pharmacist review of discharge prescriptions for patients discharged from the emergency department (ED). Additionally, we evaluate care providers' satisfaction with such services provided by emergency medicine pharmacists. Methods This was a prospective observational study in the ED of an academic medical center that serves both adult and pediatric patients. Details of emergency medicine pharmacist interventions on discharge prescriptions were compiled with a standardized form. Interventions were categorized as error prevention or optimization of therapy. The staff of the ED was surveyed related to the influence and satisfaction of this new emergency medicine pharmacist–provided service. Results The 674 discharge prescriptions reviewed by emergency medicine pharmacists during the study period included 602 (89.3%) for adult patients and 72 (10.7%) for pediatric patients. Emergency medicine pharmacists intervened on 68 prescriptions, resulting in an intervention rate of 10.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 8.0% to 12.7%). The intervention rate was 8.5% (95% CI 6.4% to 11.1%) for adult prescriptions and 23.6% for pediatric prescriptions (95% CI 14.7% to 35.3%) (difference 15.1%; 95% CI 5.1% to 25.2%). There were a similar number of interventions categorized as error prevention and optimization of medication therapy, 37 (54%) and 31 (46%), respectively. More than 95% of survey respondents believed that the new pharmacist services improved patient safety, optimized medication regimens, and improved patient satisfaction. Conclusion Emergency medicine pharmacist review of discharge prescriptions for discharged ED patients has the potential to significantly improve patient care associated with suboptimal prescriptions and is highly valued by ED care providers.
Sweat testing infants detected by cystic fibrosis newborn screening

Objective Describe and define limitations of early pilocarpine iontophoresis (sweat testing) for cystic fibrosis (CF) newborn screening (NBS). Study design Population-based results from follow-up of CF NBS–positive newborns. Results Insufficient quantity of sweat is more likely if the sweat test is done too early, but testing is generally successful after 2 weeks of age. Sweat chloride levels drop over the first weeks of life. CF carriers have higher sweat chloride concentrations than non-carriers. Conclusions Sweat testing can be performed effectively after 2 weeks of age for CF NBS–positive newborns. Earlier testing has a higher risk of insufficient sweat for completing testing.
Emulsion polymerization of vinyl acetate using a polymerizable surfactant. II. Polymerization mechanism

The mechanism of growth of latex particles in the emulsion polymerization of vinyl acetate using a polymerizable surfactant, sodium dodecyl allyl sulfosuccinate (TREM LF-40; Henkel) was investigated. Both the aqueous phase and the particle/water interface were found to be loci for the copolymerization of TREM LF-40 with vinyl acetate. The results suggest that the reactions at the particle/water interface are more important and that the particlesize of the latices is a key parameter controlling the polymerization rate through copolymerization and chain transfer to the polymerizable surfactant at the particle surface
ANOVA versus Regression Analysis of ATI Designs: An Empirical Investigation:

The theory indicating that general linear model methods can be superior to ANOVA analogs is well known. However, the magnitudes of differences induced by different analysis choices has not been emp...
Propagation of Tectonic Waves

[1] Mountain building depends on the disequilibrium between boundary stresses, either at the base of the deforming lithosphere or its lateral boundaries, and buoyancy stresses arising form lateral density variations within the lithosphere itself. On the basis of the thin viscous sheet approximation, we propose a model which accounts for both crustal and lithospheric thickness variations. The deformation is controlled by the sum of the moments of density anomalies (i.e. density anomalies times depth) of compositional and thermal origins. The transport of the compositional moment is obtained from the continuity equation while the transport of the thermal moment is obtained from the heat equation. The resulting set of equations controls the coupled behavior of the crust and lithosphere. It shows that various type of solutions can exist: unstable, stable and propagating. When propagation occurs, the crustal and the lithospheric thickness variations are out of phase. The tectonic waves propagate with velocities around 5 mm yr−1 that increase with the crustal thickness and decrease with the lithospheric viscosity. We discuss these solutions and argue that continents may in large part be in a domain of propagating tectonic waves.
Chemokine receptor antagonists: overcoming developmental hurdles

Chemokine receptors have a key role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, inflammation and viral infection. However, with the exception of selective CCR5 antagonists for HIV, the promise of obtaining new therapeutics related to chemokine receptors has not yet been realized. This article highlights some of the recent failures in the clinical trials of chemokine receptor antagonists and explores possible reasons as to why this might have occurred. Such reasons include the lack of predictability of animal models and redundancy of the target. A potential solution could be to develop drugs that target more than one receptor--known as polypharmacology--which could be a novel way to generate effective therapeutics.
Enhanced ratio of linoleic acid to arachidonic acid in erythrocyte phosphatidylcholine in rats during withdrawal from ethanol

Male Sprague-Dawley rats were pair-fed for 8 weeks either an alcohol diet or a control diet made isocaloric with dextrose. Those on the alcohol diet were then fed the control diet for 3 days and both groups were killed. Analysis of the fatty acid composition of the various blood lipids showed that the relative level of 18:2 to 20:4 was significantly greater in the phosphatidylcholine fraction from erythrocytes of rats withdrawn from alcohol as compared to that from control animals. It has been suggested that in alcohol-fed animals the hepatic capacity to produce 20:4 from 18:2 is reduced. Therefore the increase in the ratio of 18:2/20:4 in erythrocyte phosphatidylcholine could serve as an index to detect the liver malfunction and to confirm recent chronic alcohol consumption.
Revisiting the weather effect on energy consumption: Implications for the impact of climate change

Abstract We revisit statistical estimates for the relation between weather and energy consumption in Massachusetts using times series for heating degree hours that are calculated from hourly data with different set points and set backs. Using hourly values to calculate heating degree hours supports models that generate more accurate out-of-sample forecasts than models estimated from time series for heating degree-days calculated the traditional way. Furthermore, the set point and set back used to calculate heating degree hours generates statistically measurable differences in the accuracy of out-of-sample forecasts. These results indicate that assuming a set point of 65 °F biases statistical estimates for the effect of a warming climate on energy use. We also quantify a new mechanism by which climate change will affect energy use—the temperature of tap water. As climate warms, the temperature of tap water that supplies hot water tanks rises, which reduces the amount of energy consumed to provide hot water. Finally, we use the statistical models to generate a spatial (1 km×1 km) and temporal (hourly) downscaling of carbon emissions that will be used to simulate a model for atmospheric transport and validate our understanding of the sources and sinks of carbon for the urban atmosphere.
Automatic Activation of Addition and Multiplication Facts in Elementary School Children.

Abstract When adults are asked to indicate whether a probe had been present in a previously viewed number pair, probes that are the sum of the pair take more time to reject than unrelated numbers. In Experiment 1, we explore how factors such as the size of the numbers and the delay between the pair and probe influence this effect in adults. In Experiment 2, we present evidence that this interference effect is also present in elementary school children although it varies with the size of the numbers in the pair and the age of the child. In our third experiment, we explore a related interference effect known as the associative confusion effect which arises for adults in arithmetic verification tasks when multiplicative answers are given to addition problems and additive answers are given to multiplication problems. The results of our third experiment suggest that children in grades 3 through 5 also exhibit associative confusion effects but that again these effects vary with the size of the numbers. We argue that the processes that underlie mental arithmetic are partially autonomous in elementary school children and that although integer size has a more pronounced effect on performance of younger children, the temporal parameters that govern these effects are similar for children and adults.
Design and control of lossless multi-way power combining and outphasing systems

A lossless multi-way power combining and outphasing system has been recently proposed which offers major performance advantages over conventional approaches such as Chireix power combining. This paper presents a new outphasing control strategy for the proposed system that enables output power control through effective load modulation of the power amplifiers while minimizing susceptive variations in loading. Moreover, a simple methodology for designing the combiner is introduced.
Effects of foliar applied harpin protein on cotton lint yield, fiber quality, and crop maturity*

Yield-enhancing compounds are among the many inputs used in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) production systems across the United States Cotton Belt. Some of these products, however, have not been adequately tested in field settings and their impact on cotton yield and quality is unknown. Messenger, marketed by the Eden Bioscience Corporation (Bothell, WA), is a new product containing a protein that may stimulate the hypersensitive response of higher plants, resulting in increased yields. The objective of our investigation was to determine if Messenger applications would result in enhanced cotton crop maturity, lint yield or fiber quality. Messenger studies were conducted in Colquitt, Grady, and Tift Counties in South Georgia and at the University of Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station (UGA-CPES) in Tifton in 2000. Plot size at each location ranged from 1.2 ha (Grady County) to 0.01 ha (UGA-CPES). Messenger was applied as a foliar treatment at several stages of crop development at each location with ei...
Purification and characterization of four Bence-Jones proteins.

Abstract Bence-Jones proteins from four multiple myeloma patients were isolated and studied with regard to homogeneity, composition, immunotype, and physical properties. One protein with molecular weight of 28,000 was unique in having two chains of unequal length. The protein from another patient was separated chromatographically into three components that differed in composition and properties. Two samples were homogeneous on chromatography, yet one of these was separable into three components in free boundary electrophoresis. The fact that the protein had a molecular weight of 56,000 and a C-terminal content of 2.8 serine residues per molecule indicated the possibility of three chains being associated in a molecule. The amino acid composition of these Bence-Jones proteins was compared with that of 15 other samples described in the literature. The report of van Eijk and Monfoort of a compositional difference between antigenic Types I and II was supported.
Corneal ablation with picosecond laser pulses at 211 and 263 nm

Laser ablation of human and rabbit corneas has been studied at 211 and 263 nm with 25 ps pulses. The pulses are obtained from the 4th and 5th harmonics of the output of a Nd:YLF laser system. This system provides laser pulses with maximum pulse energy of 25 (mu) J at 211 nm and 31 (mu) J at 263 nm simultaneously on a cornea at a repetition rate of 1 kHz. The linear incisions and morphology of the collateral tissue damage have been examined by electron microscopy. The dependence of the etch rate on laser fluence has been measured at both of wavelengths. The ablation threshold for human cornea is determined to be 3.0+/- 0.6mJ/cm2 at 211 nm while the thresholds for rabbit cornea are 2.3+/- 0.5mJ/cm2 at 211 nm and 8.0+/- 2mJ/cm2 at 263 nm. We compare these results with the existing data on the corneal ablation by nanosecond UV pulses and discuss the deficiency of the photochemical model. A model of plasma ablation assisted by chromophore absorption has been proposed to interpret the experimental results.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The Ecological Context of In-Home Nonrelative Child Care.

In‐home, nonrelative child care providers and their parents/employers were surveyed to provide a description of in‐home child care environments. Both similarities and differences were noted between these caregivers and caregivers in other types of child care. The in‐home caregivers were young, relatively well educated, worked long hours and were committed to working with children. Their financial compensation and fringe benefits were poor to moderate. The caregivers rarely planned activities for children, but did provide materials and opportunities for play. Caregivers’ typical level of child‐related training was high school coursework suggesting an entry point for influencing the quality of in‐home care. The parents using in‐home care were relatively affluent, committed to, and satisfied with this type of care. ∗An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual Conference of the American Educational Research Association, April, 1996, New York. This study was presented to the Graduate Faculty o...
Oxygenates formed from ethanol during Fischer-Tropsch synthesis

Abstract Addition of 14C labeled ethanol to a syngas feed ( H 2 CO = 0.78 ) results in dehydrogenation to acetaldehyde to establish an equilibrium ratio of alcohol to aldehyde. In addition, ethyl acetate and acetal have been identified, using both gas chromatographic-mass spectroscopic and gas chromatographic-infrared techniques, as significant reaction products that, because of 14C content, are shown to be derived from the added ethanol. Alcohols with greater than two carbons are also formed from ethanol; their relative concentrations suggest that aldol condensation of acetaldehyde contributes to the overall reaction mechanism. In the stirred autoclave reactor, more ethanol is converted to other oxygenates than is incorporated into higher carbon number hydrocarbons; however, ethanol is a chain growth initiator. The data is consistent with significant accumulation of ethanol in the reactor above the concentration in the gas feed when octacosane is used as a solvent with a 10 wt% Fe on high surface area (700 m2/g) silica support.
Transformation of the free propagator to the quadratic propagator

Abstract A space and time transformation is found, which changes the classical action for a quadratic lagrangian into that for a free particle. It is shown that the propagator for a time-dependent damped oscillator can be obtained from the free propagator.
Cadherin-11 Regulates Calcific Nodule Formation by Aortic Valve Interstitial Cells

Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is characterized by the stiffening and calcification of the aortic valve leaflets which result in impaired valve function and increased load on the myocardium. In vitro models of CAVD involve the formation the calcific nodules via aortic valve interstitial cells (AVICs). Transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) induced myofibroblast differentiation of AVICs, which is evidenced by increased αSMA expression, has been shown to be a key mediator of dystrophic calcific nodule formation. Benton et al. demonstrated the critical role of αSMA in nodule formation in that when αSMA was suppressed, calcific nodules did not form [1]. Confoundingly, preventing phosphorylation of Erk1/2 with a MEK1/2 inhibitor leads to increased αSMA expression yet prevents calcific nodule formation [2], suggesting the requirement of another essential component of nodule formation that has yet to be revealed.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
An enzymatic procedure for dechorionating the fish embryo, Oryzias latipes.

The tough, fibrous resilient, acellular capsule (chorion) of fish embryos has been characterized as protein-keratin-like in composition. It has resisted digestion by common proteinases, such as trypsin, chymotrypsin, pepsin, and papain. We have been able to remove the chorion with pronase, a commercially available (Calbiochem) proteolytic enzyme of bacterial origin with broad substrate specificity. The enzyme at concentrations of between 0.5 and 0.00625% was tested at room temperatures in several Ca++ and Mg++-free solutions including a weak salt solution (0.1% NaCl), Yamamoto solution (0.7% NaCl), and distilled water with either phosphate or Tris buffer at pH 6.0–11.5. The embryos were in their first day of development at the start of the treatment. It was found that the enzyme was most effective in Tris-buffered water, less so in weak salt solution and least effective in Yamamoto solution. Phosphate buffer caused some precipitation of the enzyme. The chorion was thinned over a wide range of pH (7.0–11.0) and in concentrations of enzyme between 0.5–0.0125% within 21–36 hours. Although the embryos frequently escaped from the thinned chorion by rhythmical movements, many of the embryos could be removed easily with the aid of common forceps. Once removed from the chorion the embryos were placed in phosphate buffered weak salt solution (Rugh), where, with few exceptions, they developed normally. Considering least mortality and highest yield of embryos with maximally thinned chorions, Tris-buffered distilled water at pH 9.5 or 10.0 in an enzyme concentration of 0.025% was found to be optimal. Under these conditions 78% of the total number of embryos treated had completely thinned chorions within 24 hours.
Sustained formation of α-(4-pyridyl-1-oxide)-N-tert-butylnitrone radical adducts in mouse liver by peroxisome proliferators is dependent upon peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α, but not NADPH oxidase

Abstract Reactive oxygen species are thought to be crucial for peroxisome proliferator-induced liver carcinogenesis. Free radicals have been shown to mediate the production of mitogenic cytokines by Kupffer cells and cause DNA damage in rodent liver. Previous in vivo experiments demonstrated that acute administration of the peroxisome proliferator di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) led to an increase in production of α-(4-pyridyl-1-oxide)- N-tert -butylnitrone (POBN) radical adducts in liver, an event that was dependent on Kupffer cell NADPH oxidase, but not peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)α. Here, we hypothesized that continuous treatment with peroxisome proliferators will cause a sustained formation in POBN radical adducts in liver. Mice were fed diets containing either 4-chloro-6-(2,3-xylidino)-2-pyrimidinylthioacetic acid (WY-14,643, 0.05% w/w) or DEHP (0.6% w/w) for up to 3 weeks. Liver-derived radical production was assessed in bile samples by measuring POBN radical adducts using electron spin resonance. Our data indicate that WY-14,643 causes a sustained increase in POBN radical adducts in mouse liver and that this effect is greater than that of DEHP. To understand the molecular source of these radical species, NADPH oxidase-deficient ( p47 phox -null) and PPAR α-null mice were examined after treatment with WY-14,643. No increase in radicals was observed in PPAR α - null mice that were treated with WY-14,643 for 3 weeks, while the response in p47 phox -nulls was similar to that of wild-type mice. These results show that PPARα, not NADPH oxidase, is critical for a sustained increase in POBN radical production caused by peroxisome proliferators in rodent liver. Therefore, peroxisome proliferator-induced POBN radical production in Kupffer cells may be limited to an acute response to these compounds in mouse liver.
PURIFICATION and ANALYSIS OF HEMATOPORPHYRIN and HEMATOPORPHYRIN DERIVATIVE BY GEL EXCLUSION and REVERSE‐PHASE CHROMATOGRAPHY

A ternary-solvent HPLC method for analysis of the components of the tumor-localizing product HPD is described. This HPLC system was used to assess the utility of a new method, based on gel exclusion chromatography, for purification of hematoporphyrin.
Hydro-politics in the Nile basin: in search of theory beyond realism and neo-liberalism

Abstract In response to runaway population growth in the Nile basin, the reality and perils of desertification and the frequent cycles of drought, human demand on Nile water resources has intensified in recent years. Nothing captures the enormity of the challenge more than the fact that the present combined 360 million population of the 10 Nile states is projected to reach 850 million in a generation or so. Because of this, the riparian states have formed the Nile Basin Initiative as an inter-state water regime, entrusted to fashion a framework for the allocation of Nile water resources among the co-basin states. The initiative has yet to take root however, precisely because the approach to the hydrographic problem is informed by conventional regional geopolitics and international development assistance.
MindNet: Acquiring and Structuring Semantic Information from Text

As a lexical knowledge base constructed automatically from the definitions and example sentences in two machine-readable dictionaries (MRDs), MindNet embodies several features that distinguish it from prior work with MRDs. It is, however, more than this static resource alone. MindNet represents a general methodology for acquiring, structuring, accessing, and exploiting semantic information from natural language text. This paper provides an overview of the distinguishing characteristics of MindNet, the steps involved in its creation, and its extension beyond dictionary text.
Not just a dollhouse: what The Sims2 can teach us about women's IT learning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe how a popular computer game, The Sims2, engages players in computing practices that are foundational to information technology (IT) fluency, and to draw implications for engaging young people, particularly girls and women, in computer‐related learning.Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is framed within a conceptual perspective on learning as a process of acquiring situated understandings through participation in meaningful activity. The paper draws on two years of work with girls developing IT fluency through playing and modding The Sims. It also draws on interviews with adult women who are highly engaged in creating Sims content.Findings – The paper identifies a set of practices inherent in Sims game play that are foundational to IT fluency: managing complex systems; cheating and glitching; tinkering with tools; and making, manipulating, and reasoning with spatial representations.Practical implications – The paper suggests how existing practices ...
Evaluation of UAS Concepts of Operation for Severe Storm Penetration using Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulations

ight through severe storms is described. The system combines a full six degree-of-freedom aircraft dynamic model with wind and precipitation data from simulated and actual severe convective storms. Interfaces have been written to enable the use of system hardware where possible to achieve the highest delity in the simulations. Several runs using simulated storm data sets and dierent aircraft sampling strategies were conducted. Results are analyzed to determine survivability of the aircraft, with an attempt to characterize the accuracy of the wind estimation algorithms. Based on the analysis, recommended changes to the initial concept of operations for the storm penetration and sampling mission are presented.
Tamil liquids: An investigation into the basis of the contrast among five liquids in a dialect of Tamil

The Brahmin dialect of Tamil (Dravidian) has an unsual inventory of five distinctive liquid sounds : plain and retroflex rhotics, and plain and retroflex laterals, and a fifth liquid which has been variously described as a rhotic, a lateral, a glide and/or a fricative. This paper investigates the articulatory, acoustic, and perceptual properties of these liquids, and, in particular, the fifth liquid. Electropalatography (EPG) and static palatography were used to examine the articulatory properties of the liquids, the acoustic properties of the liquids were examined, and we tested the intelligibility of the EPG recordings in a perception experiment. Our intent is to propose a classification for the fifth liquid based on these studies. The fifth liquid is classified as a retroflex central approximant, with characteristics that make it distinct from the other liquids along three dimensions of contrast : static ∼ dynamic, central ∼ lateral and retroflex ∼ non-retroflex
Development of trigeminal nucleus principalis in the rat: effects of target removal at birth.

Little is known about how neurons develop in the trigeminal nucleus principalis (PrV) despite their acknowledged role in establishing whisker-related patterns in the thalamus and cortex. Golgi-impregnated PrV cells were studied in newborn, 4-day-old and adult rats. Adult neurons typically had short dendrites that were confined to a hemisphere around the soma. In contrast, at birth PrV neurons had radial trees and more primary dendrites than did adults, but adult-like numbers of dendritic spines. By day 4, most neurons had eccentric dendritic trees and the numbers of primary dendrites per neuron were adult-like, yet spines were more prevalent than in adults and newborns. Thus, it appears that there is a pruning of the dendritic tree during the first postnatal week. To assess the role of retrograde signals from the thalamus on PrV development, the right thalamus was destroyed at birth. By postnatal day 6, the number of neurons in the left PrV was 59% of that in the right PrV, PrV transverse area was reduced by 21%, cell density was reduced by 48%, and somatic diameter was increased by 36%, relative to the intact right PrV. By contrast, in the left V subnucleus interpolaris, which has only a weak thalamic projection, these measures were unaffected. Thus, neonatal thalamic lesions selectively depopulated the PrV. The morphology of PrV neurons was affected by the thalamic lesions: e.g. the total dendritic length, the number of dendritic branch points and the total number of spines were increased. The number of primary dendrites and the tree's eccentricity, area, and volume of influence were unaffected by the lesion. The structure of neurons in subnucleus interpolaris was unaffected by the lesion. Thus, normal afferent patterning is insufficient for normal development of PrV cells. Interactions among dendrites and retrograde signals from a target are also important.
Simulated application of trellis coded modulation to the indoor wireless channel

A performance analysis of trellis-coded modulation (TCM) schemes for indoor wireless communications is presented. The statistical model proposed by A.A. Saleh and R.A. Valenzuela (1987) for an indoor wireless channel is implemented to simulate the performance of TCM schemes over this type of multipath channel. The indoor channel is known to have very slowly varying frequency-selective Rayleigh fading. Simulations over a series of different fixed-channel amplitude responses are averaged to approximate the effect of the slowly varying multipath fading. Simple TCM constellations and bandwidth-efficient trellises that provide their own error control coding are discussed. Bit-error-rate performances of TCM with differential encoding are discussed. Preliminary results indicate that a linear equalizer improves the TCM performance as the delay spread of the channel impulse response increases. >
Exhibiting a War in progress: Entertainment and Propaganda in Vienna, 1914–1918

On the morning of July 1, 1916, prominent members of Viennese high society gathered in a large imperial park not far from the center of Vienna. This park, the Prater, had been the site of many fairs, exhibits, and festivals in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It accommodated the World's Fair in 1873 and since then had housed circuses, variety shows, children's exhibits, and the Luna Park amusement complex. The Prater was a favorite destination of Viennese of all classes in search of recreation and entertainment. On this particular morning, those in attendance were more notable than usual; they included Archduke Franz Salvator, War Minister Alexander Krobatin, Education Minister Max von Hussarek, the Austrian defense minister, ambassadors of several allied countries, and local and regional government officials. They were on hand to celebrate the grand opening of what sponsors promised would be an exhibition unlike any Vienna had ever seen. At eleven o'clock, the prestigious entourage entered the first hall of the grandest entertainment spectacle of the wartime home front: the Vienna War Exhibition.
Fetal growth and maternal glomerular filtration rate: a systematic review.

AbstractObjective: Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) may influence concentrations of biomarkers of exposure and their etiologic significance in observational studies of associations between environmental contaminants and fetal growth. It is unknown whether the size of a developing fetus affects maternal GFR such that a small fetus leads to reduced plasma volume expansion (PVE), reduced GFR and subsequent higher concentrations of biomarkers in maternal serum. Our objective was to answer the question: “Is there an association between fetal growth and maternal GFR in humans?”Methods: We adapted and applied the Navigation Guide systematic review methodology to assess the evidence of an association between fetal growth and GFR, either directly or indirectly via reduction in PVE.Results: We identified 35 relevant studies. We rated 31 human and two non-human observational studies as “low” quality and two experimental non-human studies as “very low” quality. We rated all three evidence streams as “inadequate”. The...
Predicting the birth of a spoken word

Children learn words through an accumulation of interactions grounded in context. Although many factors in the learning environment have been shown to contribute to word learning in individual studies, no empirical synthesis connects across factors. We introduce a new ultradense corpus of audio and video recordings of a single child's life that allows us to measure the child's experience of each word in his vocabulary. This corpus provides the first direct comparison, to our knowledge, between different predictors of the child's production of individual words. We develop a series of new measures of the distinctiveness of the spatial, temporal, and linguistic contexts in which a word appears, and show that these measures are stronger predictors of learning than frequency of use and that, unlike frequency, they play a consistent role across different syntactic categories. Our findings provide a concrete instantiation of classic ideas about the role of coherent activities in word learning and demonstrate the value of multimodal data in understanding children's language acquisition.
Overexpression of diacylglycerol kinase η enhances Gαq-coupled G protein-coupled receptor signaling.

Multiple genome-wide association studies have linked diacylglycerol kinase η (DGKη) to bipolar disorder (BPD). Moreover, DGKη expression is increased in tissue from patients with BPD. How increased levels of this lipid kinase might affect cellular functions is currently unclear. Here, we overexpressed mouse DGKη in human embryonic kidney 293 cells to examine substrate specificity and signaling downstream of endogenous G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs). We found that DGKη can phosphorylate diacylglycerol (DAG) with different acyl side chains (8:0, 12:0, 18:1). In addition, overexpression of DGKη enhanced calcium mobilization after stimulating muscarinic receptors with carbachol and after stimulating purinergic receptors with ATP. This effect required DGKη catalytic activity, as assessed using a kinase-dead (G389D) mutant and multiple truncation constructs. DGKη was localized throughout the cytosol and did not translocate to the plasma membrane after stimulation with carbachol. Since protein kinase C (PKC) can be activated by DAG and promotes receptor desensitization, we also examined functional interactions between PKC and DGKη. We found that acute activation of PKC with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate shortened carbachol-evoked calcium responses and occluded the effect of overexpressed DGKη. Moreover, inhibition of PKC activity with bisindolylmaleimide I (BIM I) produced the same enhancing effect on carbachol-evoked calcium mobilization as overexpressed DGKη, and overexpression of DGKη produced no additional effect on calcium mobilization in the presence of BIM I. Taken together, our data suggest that DGKη enhances GPCR signaling by reducing PKC activation.
An improved parallel singular value algorithm and its implementation for multicore hardware

The enormous gap between the high-performance capabilities of today's CPUs and off-chip communication poses extreme challenges to the development of numerical software that is scalable and achieves high performance. In this article, we describe a successful methodology to address these challenges---starting with our algorithm design, through kernel optimization and tuning, and finishing with our programming model. All these lead to development of a scalable high-performance Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) solver. We developed a set of highly optimized kernels and combined them with advanced optimization techniques that feature fine-grain and cache-contained kernels, a task based approach, and hybrid execution and scheduling runtime, all of which significantly increase the performance of our SVD solver. Our results demonstrate a many-fold performance increase compared to currently available software. In particular, our software is two times faster than Intel's Math Kernel Library (MKL), a highly optimized implementation from the hardware vendor, when all the singular vectors are requested; it achieves a 5-fold speed-up when only 20% of the vectors are computed; and it is up to 10 times faster if only the singular values are required.
Social ontology: Some basic principles

The aim of this article is to explore the problem of social ontology, by developing the argument presented in The Construction of Social Reality (1995). After some preliminary distinctions (section 1), the article describes the logical structure of society using three concepts: collective intentionality, the assignment of function, and constitutive rules and procedures (section 2). Some further developments of this approach are presented: the analysis of status indicators, and the case of institutions where there is a status function but no physical object on which it is imposed (section 3). Some remarks are also made about the taxonomy of institutional facts (section 4), about the relationship between conceptual analysis and empirical data (section 5), and, finally, about the concept of institutional facts (section 6).
Albuminuria risk in Hispanic populations not so black and white

For over a century, epidemiological and clinical studies have relied on self-report for race and ethnicity. Subjects have mostly been classified into oversimplified categories such as black, white, and Hispanic. In this issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics , Peralta et al report the results from an investigation of the association between albuminuria and ethnicity and race, measured by both self-report and genetic admixture analysis, which provides an estimate of each subject's unique ancestral heritage.1 Article see p 240 The authors chose to analyze albuminuria as the major phenotype because it is an important marker of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and a risk factor for progression of CKD.2,3 Furthermore, albuminuria has long been recognized as a major risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Mogensen discovered over 25 years ago that albuminuria is associated with increased all-cause mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes.4 Since then, it has been shown that among nondiabetic subjects with hypertension, microalbuminuria is associated with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events5 as well as CKD risk.6 In healthier populations, albuminuria is also a risk factor for mortality7 and for mortality, myocardial infarction, and end-stage renal disease at all levels of glomerular filtration rate.8 The link between albuminuria and increased morbidity and mortality is not well understood but may reflect endothelial dysfunction among multiple vascular beds.9 The importance of microalbuminuria, typically defined as a urine albumin to creatinine ratio between 30 and 300 mg/g, is debated because microalbuminuria often reverts to normoalbuminuria, and the associated risk for morbidity and mortality is significantly less than for macroalbuminuria.5,10,–,12 For this reason, microalbuminuria is …
Insects as Weapons of War, Terror, and Torture

For thousands of years insects have been incorporated into human conflict, with the goals of inflicting pain, destroying food, and transmitting pathogens. Early methods used insects as "found" weapons, functioning as tactical arms (e.g., hurled nests) or in strategic habitats (e.g., mosquito-infested swamps). In the twentieth century the relationship between insects and disease was exploited; vectors were mass-produced to efficiently deliver pathogens to an enemy. The two most sophisticated programs were those of the Japanese in World War II with plague-infected fleas and cholera-coated flies and of the Americans during the Cold War with yellow fever-infected mosquitoes. With continued advances, defenses in the form of insecticides and vaccines meant that insects were no longer considered as battlefield weapons. However, in recent times sociopolitical changes have put insects back into the realm of human conflict through asymmetrical conflicts pitting combatants from nonindustrialized regions against forces from militarily and economically superior nations.
Melatonin: Lowering the high price of free radicals

The endogenous antioxidative defense system reduces molecular toxicity of oxygen and nitrogen-based reactive species. Melatonin is an efficient direct and indirect antioxidant. It detoxifies the highly reactive hydroxyl radical and neutralizes other toxic species, including singlet oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide, and peroxynitrite anion, and stimulates several antioxidative enzymes.
Does Prior Transfusion Worsen Outcomes from Infection in Surgical Patients

Background: Controversy continues to exist regarding the immunomodulatory effects of cellular blood transfusions in the fields of oncology, transplantation, and infectious diseases. Numerous studies have correlated transfusion with hospital-acquired infection, but the impact of transfusion on infection-related mortality has not been addressed. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of transfusion on outcomes among infected surgical patients. Methods: Data on all hospital-acquired infectious episodes among surgical intensive care unit and ward patients were collected prospectively over 39 months at a single university hospital. The relationships between prior transfusion (defined as the receipt of allogeneic red blood cells or platelets during the index hospitalization but prior to the development of infection) and over 100 variables were examined using univariate and multiple logistic regression analysis, with inclusion of a propensity score for prior transfusion to attempt to account for...
Autonomous Technology, Democracy, and the Nimbys

Autonomous technology, in Langdon Winner’s view, is “the belief that technology has gotten out of control and follows its own course, independent of human direction.”1 From this standpoint, meeting the demands of technology and its attendant organizations, institutions, and ideology has become the primary goal of society. Instead of technology serving social ends, society has been put in service of technology. Unlike Jacques Ellul, who regards technological dominance of society as virtually total and irreversible, Winner believes that democratic control of technology is possible. At the end of The Whale and the Reactor, Winner writes about the Diablo Canyon nuclear reactor, describing it as an intrusive object, an insult to its natural and cultural surroundings. In a public lecture at nearby San Luis Obispo, he proposed that the community should take over the plant and make it a monument to the nuclear age. “For generations thereafter parents could take their children to the place, have leisurely picnics on the beach, and think back to the time when we finally came to our senses.”2
Expression of a mutant p53 in lung specific transgenic mice cause age-related demographic shift in lung tumor incidence

AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 14-18, 2007; Los Angeles, CA 3857 To investigate the role of mutant p 5 3 in lung tumorigenesis, a p53(273H) transgenic mouse model was developed. The transgene was placed under control of the human surfactant protein C (SPC) promoter to selectively express the mutant protein in lung tissue. In the previous report we summarized the lung tumor incidence of the transgenic mice up to age cohort of 13-15 months. The p53 (273H) transgenic mice were found to have a higher lung tumor rate compared to the non-transgenic controls at median age of 14 months. We continued our study and collected the lung cancer incidence data up to 24 months. A total of 236 transgenic mice and 189 non-transgenic control mice were evaluated by necropsy at age of 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, 13-15, 16-18, 19-21, and 22-24 months. Among the 236 transgenic mice, 58 lung tumor bearing mice were identified. Among the 189 non-transgenic mice, 22 lung tumor bearing mice were identified. All tumors were identified histopathologically as adenocarcinomas. By comparison, no difference was found in lung tumor rate between the transgenic mice and non-transgenic controls at age of 4-12 and 22-24 months. However, the transgenic mice have a statistically (two tailed t-test) significant higher lung tumor rate than their non-transgenic counterparts during the age of 13-21 months. These results indicate that expression of mutant p53 in mice lungs cause early onset of lung tumor in the transgenic mice. The long latency period for tumors to develop would suggest that in the event that the mutant p53(273H) contributes to the development of lung tumors in these mice, other genetic alterations or age related physiological changes occurring after age of 13 moth are required for malignant transformation. At the age of 22-24 months, many other genetic alterations have occurred so that mutant p53 is no longer a major event in lung tumorigenesis.
Cloud optical depth measurement comparison between a Raman-Mie and Mie elastic lidar

ABSTRACT In this paper, the properties of Low-level clouds are explor ed with a Raman-elastic lidar. In particular, we examine two complementary methods to measure thin cloud optical depth (COD). The first is direct integration of Raman Derived extinction while the second method utilizes a regression techni que. We show that if we corr ect for aerosol influences the regression method for low cloud optical depth can be dramatically improved. Furthermore, estimates of extinction to backscatter ratio can be made within the cloud. We find that when the lidar ratio in cloud is averaged over the vertical extent, an S ratio on the order of 20 sr is found which is consistent with conventional water phase cloud droplet models. Key words: Low cloud, optical depth, Raman lidar. 1. INTRODUCTION Low altitude clouds play an important role in global climate forcing, weather and precipitation. Unfortunately, measurement of low-level optica lly thin clouds from space is very difficult due to low cloud optical depth and the fact that they are relatively warm. And it is still a big challenge to accurately measure and model their optical and microphysical properties in order to assimilate them into global climate models.
'The Upside of Down?' Colonialism as Catastrophe

Catastrophes oftentimes not only conjure images of loss, but also of opportunity. From environmental collapse to earthquakes and other so-called natural disasters, destructive concatenation of events are then recast as opportunities in ways that correlate Joseph Schumpeter’s well-known formulation of capitalism as a dialectic of “creative destruction.” But while scholarly attention is increasingly devoted to natural catastrophes, not enough critical attention is afforded to other, long-term and often dreary catastrophes that cannot be accommodated in the logic of the event which makes these catastrophes visible. Capitalism and colonialism are two preeminent examples of catastrophes that fall from view in narratives of the event and where the dialectic of the “upside of down” at work in catastrophic discourses is clearly discernable. In this essay I seek to make a contribution to filling this gap in relation to the colonialism. Namely, I seek to thematize colonialism as an “unseen” catastrophe by means of an engagement of some currents in Caribbean and Latin American political thought, especially with the writings of Roberto Fernandez Retamar and Enrique Dussel.
Variations in payment patterns for surgical care in the centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Background We investigated provider and regional variation in payments made to surgeons by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) by indexing payments to unique beneficiaries treated and examined the proportion of charges that resulted in payments. Understanding variation in care within CMS may prove actionable by identifying modifiable, and potentially unwarranted, variations. Methods We analyzed the Medicare Part B Provider Utilization and Payment Data released by CMS for 2012. We included Medicare B participants in the fee-for-service program. We calculated for each provider the ratio of number of services provided to individual beneficiaries, and the ratio of total submitted charges to total Medicare payments. We also categorized each provider into deciles of total Medicare payments, and calculated the means per decile of total Medicare payment for surgeons and urologists. To determine any associations with ratio of services to beneficiaries, we conducted multivariate linear regressions. Results The 20th, 40th, 60th, and 80th percentiles for the services-per-beneficiary ratios are 1.6, 2.2, 3.1, and 5.0, respectively (n = 83,376). Greater-earning surgeons offered more services per beneficiary, with a precipitous increase from the lowest decile to the highest. Charges were consistently greater than payments by a factor of 3. In our multivariate analysis of services per beneficiary ratio, female providers had lower ratios (P Conclusion We found significant variation in patterns of payments for surgical care in CMS.