cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
In Reply: Association of Overlapping Neurosurgery With Patient Outcomes at a Large Academic Medical Center

BACKGROUND Limited data exist on the safety of overlapping surgery, a practice that has recently received widespread attention. OBJECTIVE To examine the association of overlapping neurosurgery with patient outcomes. METHODS A total of 3038 routinely scheduled, elective neurosurgical procedures were retrospectively reviewed at a single, multihospital academic medical center. Procedures were categorized into any overlap or no overlap and further subcategorized into beginning overlap (first 50% of procedure only), end overlap (last 50% of procedure only), and middle overlap (overlap at the midpoint). RESULTS A total of 1030 (33.9%) procedures had any overlap, whereas 278 (9.2%) had beginning overlap, 190 (6.3%) had end overlap, and 476 (15.7%) had middle overlap. Compared with no overlap patients, patients with any overlap had lower American Society of Anesthesiologists scores (P = .0018), less prior surgery (P < .0001), and less prior neurosurgery (P < .0001), though they tended to be older (P < .0001) and more likely in-patients (P = .0038). Any-overlap patients had decreased overall mortality (2.8% vs 4.5%; P = .025), 30- to 90-d readmission rate (3.1% vs 5.5%; P = .0034), 30- to 90-d reoperation rate (1.0% vs 2.0%; P = .03), 30- to 90-d emergency room (ER) visit rate (2.1% vs 3.7%; P = .018), and future surgery on index admission (2.8% vs 7.3%; P < .0001). Multiple regression analysis validated noninferior outcomes for overlapping surgery, except for the association of increased future surgery on index admission with middle overlap (odds ratio 3.99; 95% confidence interval [1.91, 8.33]). CONCLUSION Overlapping neurosurgery is associated with noninferior patient outcomes that may be driven by surgeon selection of healthier patients, regardless of specific overlap timing.
Accelerating Bayesian Inference on Structured Graphs Using Parallel Gibbs Sampling

Bayesian models and inference is a class of machine learning that is useful for solving problems where the amount of data is scarce and prior knowledge about the application allows you to draw better conclusions. However, Bayesian models often requires computing high-dimensional integrals and finding the posterior distribution can be intractable. One of the most commonly used approximate methods for Bayesian inference is Gibbs sampling, which is a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) technique to estimate target stationary distribution. The idea in Gibbs sampling is to generate posterior samples by iterating through each of the variables to sample from its conditional given all the other variables fixed. While Gibbs sampling is a popular method for probabilistic graphical models such as Markov Random Field (MRF), the plain algorithm is slow as it goes through each of the variables sequentially. In this work, we describe a binary label MRF Gibbs sampling inference architecture and extend it to 64-label version capable of running multiple perceptual applications, such as sound source separation and stereo matching. The described accelerator employs a chromatic scheduling of variables to parallelize all the conditionally independent variables to 257 samplers, implemented on the FPGA portion of a CPU-FPGA SoC. For real-time streaming sound source separation task, we show the hybrid CPU-FPGA implementation is 230x faster than a commercial mobile processor, while maintaining a recommended latency under 50 ms. The 64-label version showed 137x and 679x speedups for binary label MRF Gibbs sampling inference and 64 labels, respectively.
Chitosan-Derived Three-Dimensional Porous Graphene for Advanced Supercapacitors

Graphene for energy storage devices suffers from the preparation method and deficient quality, hindering their further widespread application. Here, we report a facile and cost-effective approach to derive three-dimensional porous graphene (3DPG) from biocompatible chitosan for massive production. Taking advantage of the large surface area, excellent electrical conductivity and high electrochemical activity of the 3DPG, an advanced symmetric supercapacitor (3DPG//3DPG SCs) is achieved by coupling two 3DPG electrodes in commercial DLC301 organic electrolyte. The device delivers a remarkable capacitance of 168.9 F g-1 at the scan rate of 10 mV s-1 and displays a superior rate capability, witnessing 81.5% capacitance retention from 10 to 100 mV s-1. Furthermore, the 3DPG//3DPG SCs exhibits prominent cyclic durability, as evidenced by its 96% capacitance after 10000 cycles. This work might shed light on the probable application of graphene at industrial level for efficient energy storage.
Lysosome-targeting chimaeras for degradation of extracellular proteins.

The majority of therapies that target individual proteins rely on specific activity-modulating interactions with the target protein—for example, enzyme inhibition or ligand blocking. However, several major classes of therapeutically relevant proteins have unknown or inaccessible activity profiles and so cannot be targeted by such strategies. Protein-degradation platforms such as proteolysis-targeting chimaeras (PROTACs)1,2 and others (for example, dTAGs3, Trim-Away4, chaperone-mediated autophagy targeting5 and SNIPERs6) have been developed for proteins that are typically difficult to target; however, these methods involve the manipulation of intracellular protein degradation machinery and are therefore fundamentally limited to proteins that contain cytosolic domains to which ligands can bind and recruit the requisite cellular components. Extracellular and membrane-associated proteins—the products of 40% of all protein-encoding genes7—are key agents in cancer, ageing-related diseases and autoimmune disorders8, and so a general strategy to selectively degrade these proteins has the potential to improve human health. Here we establish the targeted degradation of extracellular and membrane-associated proteins using conjugates that bind both a cell-surface lysosome-shuttling receptor and the extracellular domain of a target protein. These initial lysosome-targeting chimaeras, which we term LYTACs, consist of a small molecule or antibody fused to chemically synthesized glycopeptide ligands that are agonists of the cation-independent mannose-6-phosphate receptor (CI-M6PR). We use LYTACs to develop a CRISPR interference screen that reveals the biochemical pathway for CI-M6PR-mediated cargo internalization in cell lines, and uncover the exocyst complex as a previously unidentified—but essential—component of this pathway. We demonstrate the scope of this platform through the degradation of therapeutically relevant proteins, including apolipoprotein E4, epidermal growth factor receptor, CD71 and programmed death-ligand 1. Our results establish a modular strategy for directing secreted and membrane proteins for lysosomal degradation, with broad implications for biochemical research and for therapeutics. Lysosome-targeting chimaeras—in which a small molecule or antibody is connected to a glycopeptide ligand to form a conjugate that can bind a cell-surface lysosome-shuttling receptor and a protein target—are used to achieve the targeted degradation of extracellular and membrane proteins.
Dietary Supplements: Knowledge and Adverse Event Reporting Practices of Department of Defense Health Care Providers.

Introduction The purpose of the study was to assess the knowledge of dietary supplements (DS) and adverse event (AE) reporting practices of the Department of Defense health care providers. AEs related to use of DS are not uncommon. However, it is estimated that less than 2% of AEs are reported. This is problematic given the Food and Drug Administration relies on AE reports to identify and ultimately remove unsafe products from the market. Inadequate reporting of AE puts all DS users at risk. Materials and methods Cross-sectional design was used. Electronic surveys were sent to the Department of Defense health care professionals (HCPs) and Emergency Medicine (EM) physicians asking questions about practices regarding DS and AE knowledge and reporting behaviors. The surveys were open for 5 months. During this period of time, HCPs received three email reminders following the initial email to enhance participation. The computer package IBM SPSS version 25 software (IBM Corp. Released 2017. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21.0, Armonk, New York) was used for statistical analysis. Frequency distributions of the responses were analyzed. Results Of the 1,700 surveyed, 270 HCPs and 68 EM physicians completed the surveys. At least 39% of HCPs reported never receiving formal DS training. Seventy-two percent of HCPs reported asking their patients about the use of DS. However, when asked if they knew where to report an AE, only 40% of HCPs knew where to report an AE and only 38% knew how to report an AE. Of the EM physicians, only 38% asked their patients about DS. However, a majority (78%) reported that they had encountered an AE. EM physicians also reported they lacked knowledge regarding where (87%) and how (87%) to report AE. Conclusions It is clear that physician and nonphysician HCPs would benefit from additional training about DS and how and where to report suspected AE. Providing regular training on risks, common AE, and how and where to report an AE would help fill the knowledge gap in the ever-changing DS industry. Addressing these issues and coming up with a solution to integrating AE reporting into clinical care could improve health care practices and increase AE reporting to the Food and Drug Administration, which would have a beneficial impact on patient care, public safety, and mission readiness.
Recasting the nation: transforming heroes of the Soviet Union into symbols of Kazakhstani patriotism

In 1997 a monument dedicated to Heroes of the Soviet Union Aliya Moldagulova and Manshuk Mametova was unveiled on the former site of the monument to Lenin in central Almaty. This case study investi...
Sensitivity of a physically realizable heliogyro root pitch control system to inherent damping models

Abstract The heliogyro solar sail employs high aspect ratio blades that are rigidized by spinning about the central spacecraft, eliminating the need for structural booms typically used to tension traditional square sails. The easily scalable heliogyro gains its maneuverability by actuating the blades at their root with sinusoidal pitch profiles. The blade vibration caused by maneuvering must be attenuated using active control since there is little inherent damping in the blade material. Due to the small root pitch control torques required, on the order of 2 µNm, compared to the large friction torques associated with a root pitch actuator, it has only recently been shown that a single blade heliogyro impedance controller can add damping to the lowest frequency torsional modes of the blade in the presence of modeled actuator friction torques. However, the need to measure blade twist away from the actuator at the root creates a non-collocated control system. Some inherent damping at the blade’s higher frequency modes is therefore needed to stably add damping to the larger-magnitude low-frequency modes, hence control design is sensitive to the accuracy of the blade damping model. Recently, damping characterization tests performed on a small-scale heliogyro blade in a high-vacuum chamber invalidated the assumption of a linear viscous torsional blade damping model that was previously used in blade control designs. This paper describes the formulation of three modal damping models based on the new experimental data and their integration into the single blade heliogyro model. A comparison of the robustness and performance envelopes for the baseline proximal blade twist feedback controller using these damping models shows the ability to meet the required settling time of less than 720 seconds necessary for a heliogyro technology demonstration mission. This comparison of physically realizable root pitch control systems for a heliogyro blade is critical to increasing the sailcraft to Technology Readiness Level three.
The War on Health Care

Throughout history, America’s methods of providing health care have always had an understated yet powerful impact on the way she chooses to wage war. And yet, this may be the first time that health care is itself under siege. Indeed, the specter of war has provided countless opportunities to test society’s mettle in battle, while forcing those in power to prioritize in terms of their country’s health care. As sides are drawn and campaigns evolve, the strategies of combat take shape in ways previously unforeseen. This is certainly true in contemporary America, though in our modern age of reform it is health care itself that has come under attack.For the challenges facing health care today, the lines are blurry, the objectives complex and the future uncertain. All wars must one day end, however, and when the dust finally settles on the issue of reform, we as a nation can only hope there will be something or someone left to tend to the casualties that remain.
Centrifugal and Centripetal Forces in the Marketing and Cultivation of GMOs in the EU

Directive 2001/18/EC was amended by Directive 2015/412 with a view of granting the Member States the right to prohibit or to limit the cultivation of GMOs in accordance with a harmonised authorisation procedure. This chapter explains the rationale for this reform, which might at first sight appear to be somewhat disconcerting from the viewpoint of the proper functioning of the internal market.
Association of Hospital Public Quality Reporting With Electronic Health Record Medication Safety Performance.

Importance Despite billions spent in public investment, electronic health records (EHRs) have not delivered on the promise of large quality and safety improvement. Simultaneously, there is debate on whether public quality reporting is a useful tool to incentivize quality improvement. Objective To evaluate whether publicly reported feedback was associated with hospital improvement in an evaluation of medication-related clinical decision support (CDS) safety performance. Design, Settings, and Participants This nonrandomized controlled trial included US hospitals that participated in the Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) Evaluation Tool in the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, a national quality reporting program that evaluates safety performance of hospital CDS using simulated orders and patients, in 2017 to 2018. A sharp regression discontinuity design was used to identify the association of receiving negative feedback with hospital performance improvement in the subsequent year. Data were analyzed from January through September 2020. Exposures Publicly reported quality feedback. Main Outcomes and Measures The main outcome was improvement from 2017 to 2018 on the Leapfrog CPOE Evaluation Tool, using regression discontinuity model estimates of the association of receiving negative publicly reported feedback with quality improvement. Results A total of 1183 hospitals were included, with a mean (SD) CPOE score of 59.3% (16.3%) at baseline. Hospitals receiving negative feedback improved 8.44 (95% CI, 0.09 to 16.80) percentage points more in the subsequent year compared with hospitals that received positive feedback on the same evaluation. This change was driven by differences in improvement in basic CDS capabilities (β = 8.71 [95%CI, 1.67 to 18.73]) rather than advanced CDS (β = 6.15 [95% CI, −9.11 to 26.83]). Conclusions and Relevance In this nonrandomized controlled trial, publicly reported feedback was associated with quality improvement, suggesting targeted measurement and reporting of process quality may be an effective policy lever to encourage improvement in specific areas. Clinical decision support represents an important tool in ensuring patient safety and decreasing adverse drug events, especially for complex patients and those with multiple chronic conditions who often receive several different drugs during an episode of care.
Learning-Based Prostate Needle Position Prediction for HDR Brachytherapy.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S) During prostate high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy, physicians select needle positions in a peripheral loading technique based on experience but without knowledge of the achievable dose distribution. Sub-optimal needle placement may lead to unfavorable dose distributions even after plan optimization. We propose a new deep learning-based method to predict HDR needle position for prostate HDR brachytherapy. MATERIALS/METHODS The proposed framework consists of three major steps: (1) deformable registration via registration network (Reg-Net), (2) multi-atlas ranking and (3) needle regression. To model the global spatial relationship among multiple organs, binary masks of the target and organs at risk are transformed into distance maps which describe the distance of each local voxel to the organ surfaces. Reg-Net is utilized to deformably register the distance maps from multi-atlas set to match a patient's distance map and then bring needle maps from multi-atlas to this patient via spatial transformation. Several criteria are used for multi-atlas ranking including prostate volume similarity, multi-organ semantic image similarity and needle position criteria. Finally, needle regression is used to refine the final needle positions. A retrospective study of consecutively treated patients was used to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed method. We performed a five-fold cross validation to evaluate the proposed method. We generated a new dose plan for each patient based on predicted needle location. Target and organ dose volume histogram (DVH) metrics were used to quantify the difference between the clinical and predicted needle plans. All plans were normalized to prostate V100 of 95%. RESULTS Ninety predicted needle plans were compared to clinical plans. In each case, the needle prediction algorithm completed within 1 minute. See table for comparison of target and organ DVH metrics (mean and standard deviation). Predicted needle plans had slightly greater target dose heterogeneity. The RTOG constraints of bladder V75% < 1 cc, rectum V75% < 1cc, and urethra V125% < 1 cc were met in all predicted plans. CONCLUSION It is feasible to use this novel deep-learning-based method to predict needle locations for HDR prostate brachytherapy a priori. This strategy merits further study to improve utilization and quality of prostate brachytherapy.
Analytical Longitudinal Speed Planning for CAVs with Previewed Road Geometry and Friction Constraints

Due to the lack of information, current vehicle control systems generally assume that the road friction conditions ahead of a vehicle are unchanged relative to those at the vehicle's current position. This can result in dangerous situations if the friction is suddenly decreasing from the current situation, or overly conservative driving styles if the friction of the current situation is worse than the roadway ahead. However, with connectivity either to other vehicles, infrastructure, or cloud services, future vehicles may have access to upcoming roadway information; this is particularly valuable for planning velocity trajectories that consider the friction and geometry in the road path ahead. This paper introduces a method for planning longitudinal speed profiles for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) that have previewed information about path geometry and friction conditions. The novelty of this approach is to explicitly include consideration of the friction ellipse available along the intended path. The paper derives an analytical solution for certain preview cases that upper-bounds the allowable vehicle velocity profile while preventing departure from the friction ellipse. The results further define the relationship between a lower bound on friction, the path geometry, and minimum friction preview distance. This relationship is used to ensure the vehicle has sufficient time to take action for upcoming hazardous situations. The efficacy of the algorithm is demonstrated through an application case where a vehicle navigates a curving road with changing friction conditions, with results showing that, with sufficient preview, the vehicle could anticipate allowable and stable path keeping speed.
Studies in prebiotic synthesis. 3. Synthesis of pyrimidines from cyanoacetylene and cyanate.

Abstract Cyanoacetylene (I) is one of the major nitrogen-containing products of the action of an electric discharge on a mixture of nitrogen and methane. Hence we believe it may have been important in prebiotic chemistry. Cyanoacetylene undergoes hydrolysis in dilute alkali to give cyanoacetaldehyde which may then form the aldol dimer (IV). In the reaction of cyanoacetylene with cyanate, cytosine is formed mainly in a reaction sequence involving the stable intermediate cyanovinylurea. Cyanogen or cyanoformamide can replace cyanate in this synthesis. Since cytosine hydrolyzes quite readily to uracil, these reactions constitute a prebiotic synthesis of the pyrimidines. The concentrations of reactants required to give reasonable cytosine yields are quite low. However, the instability of cyanate and cyanoacetylene restricts severely the range of prebiotic environments in which such a synthesis could have occurred.
Simultaneous Heat and Mass Transfer

In process operations where material is transferred between phases, usually between liquid and vapor phases, the transport process may be described in terms of heat transfer and mass transfer. When both expressions are developed and handled simultaneously, the resulting equations show that heat and mass transfer affect each other. Equations applied to humidification and dehumidification processes are presented. These expressions could equally well be applied to drying, evaporation, or crystallization processes. The conceptual design of counterflow cooling towers or dehumidification towers is discussed, as are the mechanical and operating features of these columns, costs, and environmental impacts. In all of these processes the air–water system is usually of concern. Thus the properties of moist air are developed and displayed on psychrometric charts. Keywords: Simultaneous heat transfer; Simultaneous mass transfer; Humidification; Dehumidification; Gas-vapor systems; Condensation; Vaporization; Equipment
Improving the Use of Cyclic Zippers in Finding Lower Bounds for van der Waerden Numbers

For integers $k$ and $l$, each greater than $1$, suppose that $p$ is a prime with $p\equiv1\,(\textrm{mod}\, k)$ and that the $k^{\rm th}$-power classes $\textrm{mod}\, p$ induce a coloring of the integer segment $[0,\, p-1]$ that admits no monochromatic occurrence of $l$ consecutive members of an arithmetic progression. Such a coloring can lead to a coloring of $[0,\,(l-1)p]$ that is similarly free of monochromatic $l$-progressions, and, hence, can give directly a lower bound for the van der Waerden number $W(k,l)$. P. R. Herwig, M. J. H. Heule, P. M. van Lambalgen, and H. van Maaren have devised a technique for splitting and "zipping" such a coloring of $[0,\, p-1]$ to yield a coloring of $[0,\,2p-1]$ which, for even values of $k$, is sometimes extendable to a coloring of $[0,\,2(l-1)p]$ where both new colorings still admit no monochromatic $l$-progressions. Here we derive a fast procedure for checking whether such a zipped coloring remains free of monochromatic $l$-progressions, effectively reducing a quadratic-time check to a linear-time check. Using this procedure we find some new lower bounds for van der Waerden numbers.
External Labeling of Cell Surface Galactose and Galactosamine in Glycolipid and Glycoprotein of Human Erythrocytes

Abstract Treatment of erythrocytes with galactose oxidase (EC 1.1.3.9) followed by reduction with tritiated sodium borohydride (NaB3H4) at pH 7.4 allowed the labeling of galactosyl and N-acetylgalactosaminyl residues on external surfaces of cells with tritium (3H). Labeling patterns and specific activities of galactose and galactosamine in glycolipids and glycoproteins were determined after separation with gel electrophoresis and thin layer chromatography. The labeling patterns of normal adult cells differed greatly from fetal cells, and were significantly altered when cell surfaces were modified by proteases and neuraminidase. The results of analysis indicated that (a) the carbohydrate moieties of two glycolipids (globoside and ceramide trihexoside) and at least three glycoproteins (molecular weight 9.5, 8.2, and 6.4 x 104) were exposed to the external environment, but not ceramide dihexoside, ceramide monohexoside, or other glycoproteins with higher molecular weights; (b) the specific activities of galactosamine in glycolipid and of galactose in glycoprotein increased after protease treatment, although total activity of glycoprotein did not change; (c) labeling of glycoprotein was greatly enhanced by neuraminidase treatment, while that of glycolipid was enhanced to a lesser degree; (d) "the relative exposures" of glycoprotein and glycolipid differed greatly between normal and fetal erythrocyte surfaces. Glycoproteins of fetal cells had a very low label as compared to glycolipid.
An assessment of the 59Ni isotopic tailoring technique to study the influence of heliumdpa ratio

Abstract The 59Ni isotopic tailoring experiment conducted in the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) to study the effects of helium on the radiation-induced evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties of austenitic steels has been assessed. The experiment has been judged to be very successful in reaching its objectives, and guidelines are presented to aid in planning similar experiments. Conducting such experiments successfully requires etching the surface regions of specimens before measuring the helium. Attempts to calculate in advance the helium dpa ratio resulted in 20 to 40% underestimates of the measured levels. These underestimates appear to arise from uncertainties in the near-edge and out-of-core regions of both the neutron flux spectra and the neutron cross sections for 59Ni in the epithermal energy region.
Does analytical thinking improve understanding of accumulation

People have difficulties inferring the behavior of a stock variable from its inflows and outflows. Our goal is to offer low-cost interventions to help overcome this difficulty. We hypothesize that the failure to understand accumulation relates to the cognitive mode of thinking: if people use their System 2 mode of thinking (analytical thinking), they are more likely to answer stock–flow questions correctly. We conduct an experiment with 400 participants and test effects of two interventions. The study replicates previously observed stock–flow failure and uncovers several variables that can influence subjects' response to the department store task. One particular finding is that having participants answer an analytical question right before the department store task marginally increases their chances of answering stock–flow questions correctly. Copyright © 2015 System Dynamics Society
Kuhn and cognitive psychology: Reply

I would like to thank Roy Lachman and Eric Amsel* for their insightful commentary and criticism. Both Lachman and Amsel have pointed out putative weaknesses in my paper, “The Convergence of Kuhn and Cognitive Psychology.” However, because Amsel’s critique is the more negative of the two, I will confine this rejoinder to rebutting his claim that my paper represents a radical version of psychologism. Lachman’s disappointment in my use of schema theory, on the other hand, is unfortunately beyond immediate comment as I am not yet sure (or convinced) that schema theory is outside Smith & Medin’s (1981) analysis. For instance, the notion of a script (which is essentially equivalent to the notion of a schema) was recently called “promising” in a review of concept formation by Medin SC Smith (1984). At any rate, I will now confront Amsel’s contention. I must admit before proceeding that I did not intend to make the claim that my paper provided evidence for the reduction of philosophy to (cognitive) psychology; indeed, I have generally been opposed to any form of radical reductionism. Evidently, however, I have not been able to practice what I preach, for Anise1 contends in his opening remarks that my approach (or the “psychology of science” approach) in general is consistent with strong psychologism or the view that “philosophical questions can be completely reduced to ones requiring cognitive psychological analyses” (1~. 265). As such, my approach is based on the assumption “that questions of justification are ultimately answered by cognitive psychological analyses” (p. 265) and “that [the] philosopher’s search for normative standards of scientific inquiry w;li be ultimately derived from fine-grained cognitive explanations of scientist;” (p. 265). This brand of psychologism, he then argues, is implausible; but that is not to say that psychology is irrelevant to philosophy. On the contrary, Anise1 suggests that a more plausible account of the relation between philosophy (and in particular epistemology) and psychology is called mainstrea~l psychologism. Specifically, Amsel advocates a version of psychologism which “does not suppose that philosophy of science is reducible to cognitive psychology, but that psychological evidence is relevant in justifying normative propositions” (p. 266). In short, the bulk of Amsel’s argumentation is directed against the notion that normative propositions can be successfully derived from cognitive psychological analyses in favor of the more tenable view that cognitive psychology is (in some way) relevant to logic and epistemology.
The adsorption of NO2 and the NO+O2 reaction on Na-Y,FAU: an in situ FTIR investigation

The adsorption of NO and NO2 and the reaction between NO and O2were investigated on a Na-Y,FAU zeolite. The interaction between NO and Na-Y is weak and no IR absorption feature is seen upon room temperature adsorption. On the other hand, several NOx species were identified in the adsorption of NO2 bonded to Lewis acidic (NO3−, NO2−) and basic sites (NO+ and [NO+][NO2] and [NO+][N2O4]). In the NO + O2 reaction, N2O3 was formed and adsorbed N2O3 was observed in addition to the species detected upon NO2 adsorption. A series of experiments were conducted to unambiguously assign the IR features in the 2000–2120 cm−1 spectral range. Through reaction and isotopic substitution (15NO and 18O2) experiments, these bands were assigned to NO+ adsorbed onto framework O− sites as charge compensating cations.
Photometric alignment for surround view camera system

Surround view camera system is an emerging automotive ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) technology that helps drivers park safer by allowing him/her to see the complete 360-degree surrounding of the vehicle. Such a system normally consists of four to six wide-angle cameras mounted around the vehicle, each facing one direction. From these camera inputs, a composite bird-eye view of the vehicle is synthesized and shown to the driver in real time during parking. One common problem in existing solutions is that the composite view has noticeable boundaries between adjacent views due to different lighting conditions faced by different cameras, as well as different auto-exposure (AE) and auto white balance (AWB) each camera has. This paper describes a computationally efficient method to correct for the photometric misalignment, i.e., brightness and color mismatch, across different cameras. With the proposed methods and proper calibration of the cameras, we achieved a seamlessly stitched 360 degree surround view.
IRF-1 suppresses tumor formation and protects against tumor rechallenge in a murine model of breast carcinoma: The role of tumor specific immunity

Abstract Introduction. IRF-1 is involved in multiple stages of the immune response. We previously demonstrated that IRF-1 causes apoptosis in breast cancer; however, the role of immune up regulation by IRF-1 remains to be elucidated. We hypothesize that IRF-1 expression results in enhanced tumor immunogenicity of murine breast cancer in vivo. Methods. Murine breast carcinoma C3L5 cells were mock, Ad-Psi5 (empty vector), or Ad-IRF-1 (recombinant adenovirus expressing IRF-1) infected and then injected s.c. into syngeneic C3H/HeJ and nude mice at 500,000 cells/mouse. In subsequent experiment, mock, Ad-Psi5 or Ad-IRF-1-infected cells were injected into C3H/HeJ mice, and at 3 weeks, tumor, if present, was excised, and mice were rechallenged with 500,000 uninfected, parental tumor cells into contralateral flank. Results. Ex vivo transduction of C3L5 cells with Ad-IRF-1 prevented tumor formation in 80% of syngeneic mice, whereas 0% of nude mice were protected. Mock and Ad-Psi5 animals all developed tumor. “Vaccination” with Ad-IRF-1-treated cells protected 60% syngeneic mice from tumor formation after rechallenge with parental tumor cells. Vaccination with mock and Ad-Psi5-treated cells did not provide any protection. Median tumor-free survival was 70 days for Ad-IRF-1 (the length of the experiment), 27 days for Ad-Psi5, and 29 days for mock (P
The Effectiveness of an Interactive Hearing Conservation Program for Elementary School Children

An educational hearing conservation program (HCP) emphasizing student participation and supplemental in-class activities led by a teacher was presented in two 1-hour sessions to two classes of fourth-grade children enrolled in regular education programs. Questionnaires assessing their knowledge of hearing, noise-induced hearing loss, and hearing conservation practices were administered before and after the HCP. Significant increases in knowledge concerning noise-induced hearing loss and hearing conservation practices were seen in both classes, with greater gain seen among students receiving more extensive supplemental activities. Post-HCP responses revealed that the majority of the children intend to use ear protection when engaged in noisy activities. Teachers indicated they would increase coverage of hearing and hearing conservation in their classrooms and use hearing protection when exposed to loud noise.
Optimization of active-layer and cavity design parameters for low-threshold GaN/AlGaN double-heterostructure diode lasers

Calculations are presented aimed at optimizing the design of GaN/AlGaN double- heterostructure diode lasers emitting in the near-UV spectral region. Material parameters of GaN active medium are reviewed and specified for modeling of both edge- and surface- emitting laser devices. Comparison with published experimental results indicates that nonradiative recombination in the active region (most likely occurring at heterojunction interfaces) limits the carrier lifetime to approximately 1 ns. Theoretical minimum threshold current density is shown to depend weakly on the assumed band parameters.
A retrospective study on patient characteristics and telehealth alerts indicative of key medical events for heart failure patients at a home health agency.

Abstract Objective: To explore association of patient characteristics and telehealth alert data with all-cause key medical events (KMEs) of emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations as well as cardiac-related KMEs of ED visits, hospitalizations, and medication changes. Materials and Methods: A 6-month retrospective study was conducted of electronic patient records of heart failure (HF) patients using telehealth services at a Massachusetts home health agency. Data collected included patient demographic, psychosocial, disease severity factors and telehealth vital signs alerts. Association between patient characteristics and KMEs was analyzed by Generalized Estimating Equations. Results: The sample comprised 168 patients with a mean age of 83 years, 56% females, and 96% white. Ninety-nine cardiac-related KMEs and 87 all-cause KMEs were recorded for the subjects. Odds of a cardiac-related KME increased by 161% with the presence of valvular co-morbidity (p=0.001) and 106% with increased number of t...
Projecting the cost-effectiveness of adherence interventions in persons with human immunodeficiency virus infection.

Abstract Purpose To explore the cost-effectiveness of interventions to improve adherence to combination antiretroviral therapy in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Methods A simulation model of HIV infection, incorporating CD4 cell count and HIV ribonucleic acid levels as predictors of disease progression, was used to estimate the lifetime costs and quality-adjusted life expectancy associated with clinical interventions to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy (e.g., directly observed therapy, automatic medication dispensers, beepers, portable alarms) in a clinical trial cohort with early disease (mean CD4 count, 350 cells/μL), a clinical trial cohort with advanced disease (mean CD4 count, 87 cells/μL), and an urban cohort (mean CD4 count, 217 cells/μL). Data were from clinical trials, national databases, and published literature. Results For relatively healthy patients with early disease, interventions that reduced virologic failure rates by 10% increased quality-adjusted life expectancy by 3.2 months, whereas those that reduced failure by 80% increased quality-adjusted life expectancy by 34.8 months, as compared with standard care. The cost-effectiveness ratio was below $50,000 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) for interventions costing $100 per month provided that failure rates were reduced by at least 10%, and for those costing $500 per month provided that failure rates were reduced by more than 50%. For both patients with advanced disease and those from an urban cohort, adherence interventions costing about $500 per month (e.g., directly observed therapy) had to reduce failure by about 25% to have cost-effectiveness ratios below $50,000 per QALY. Conclusion In patients with lower baseline levels of adherence or advanced disease, even very expensive, moderately effective adherence interventions are likely to confer cost-effectiveness benefits that compare favorably with other interventions.
The relationship between circadian rhythmicity and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of congenitally anophthalmic mice

To date, the search for the clock component that is both necessary and sufficient for generation of circadian rhythms has relied primarily on experimental interventions such as lesions and transplantation of fetal SCN. While these approaches have been fruitful, lesions disrupt adjacent host tissue and fiber pathways, and donor tissue is likewise subject to trauma during harvest and transplantation. The current investigation has used congenitally anophthalmic (eyeless) mice to ask whether VIP-IR SCN neurons are necessary and sufficient for generation of circadian rhythms. In this animal model, arrhythmic mice occur naturally, together with their rhythmic littermates. We have combined recording of wheel-running activity with light microscopic immunocytochemistry for vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and cytoarchitectural analysis of the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) in rhythmic and arrhythmic anophthalmic mice. Our data provide the first definitive evidence that the presence of VIP neurons in the SCN is not sufficient for generation of circadian locomotor rhythms.
Fibroblast Enhancement of Tumor Invasion in a Tumor-Host Interface Recapitulated in-vitro.

Tumor cells and fibroblasts were isolated from the tumor-host interface of a colon 4047 tumor growing subcutaneously in a Fischer 344 rat. The populations were co-cultured to recapitulate the tumor-host interface in vitro. The co-cultured populations grew in a predictable pattern with tumor cells forming nodules surrounded by fibroblasts. Population dynamic experiments demonstrated the fibroblasts enhanced the growth of the tumor cells but tumor inhibited and ultimately destroyed the fibroblasts. Video microscopic examination of the fibroblasts demonstrated intense membrane ruffling adjacent to the tumor nodules followed by membrane fragmentation and detachment. Immunohisto-chemical staining for gelatinase A was markedly positive within the fibroblasts surrounding the tumor nodules; but negative within the tumor and in fibroblasts when tumor was absent. This technique recapitulates many aspects of the tumor-host interface in vitro and may be a useful model for evaluating several aspects of tumor-host interaction.
Resonance hyper-Raman scattering from conjugated organic donor-acceptor "push-pull" chromophores with large first hyperpolarizabilities.

Resonance hyper-Raman spectra have been obtained using 1064 nm excitation for several electron donor−acceptor-substituted, π-conjugated “push−pull” molecules that have large second harmonic hyperpolarizabilities. The hyper-Raman spectra are nearly identical to the resonance Raman spectra measured with 532 nm excitation. This indicates that both the second harmonic hyperpolarizability and the linear absorption are dominated by the same, single electronic transition that is both one- and two-photon allowed. Comparison of resonance Raman and resonance hyper-Raman spectra is proposed as an experimental test of the common two-electronic-state model for the first hyperpolarizability.
Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser Syndrome Diagnosed by Magnetic Resonance Imaging in a 15-Year-Old Girl

Abstract Study Objective Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a 15-year-old girl with primary amenorrhea is reported. Design The presentation, MRI, and the subsequent evaluation and treatment of an adolescent female patient with Rokitansky syndrome are described. Correlation is made with previous clinical, pathologic, and imaging reports in the literature. Setting An adolescent girl with primary amenorrhea was referred to our institution for completion of her diagnostic work-up. Previous limited evaluations suggested the presence of anomalies of the genitourinary tract. Further delineation of the suspected congenital defects was necessary. Participant The 15-year-old female patient was evaluated by the gynecology service. Diagnostic radiology and pediatric urology were consulted. Interventions MRI, physical examination under anesthesia, and cystoscopy were performed. After initial nonoperative treatment, the patient underwent hysterectomy and sigmoid vaginoplasty. Main Outcome Measures The patient's primary amenorrhea was explained. Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome was diagnosed. Vaginal agenesis and widely separated rudimentary uterine horns were well shown by the MRI. Associated skeletal anomalies were noted. A treatment plan was initiated based on a good understanding of the anatomic defects. Results The MRI and physical examination firmly established the diagnosis. The patient was counseled and managed conservatively at first. Hysterectomy and vaginoplasty were subsequently performed. Conclusions Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome is an unusual mullerian-duct anomaly that is a cause of primary amenorrhea. It can be confidently and noninvasively diagnosed with MRI. The MRI demonstration of vaginal, cervical, and uterine morphology contributes significantly to treatment planning and patient management.
Review: The Role of Cytokines in the Catabolic Consequences of Infection and Injury

During infection and injury a series of metabolic events are activated that leads to a state of negative nitrogen balance and significant loss of lean body mass. This process is characterized by marked anorexia, net whole body protein breakdown, and liver anabolism. This host response initially is beneficial to the body because it helps it to fight disease and enhance healing. However, if such imbalance is maintained for long periods, it will invariably produce significant loss of lean body mass that may lead to a series of untoward clinical events. The role of the proximate cytokines, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin-1 (IL-1), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) as well as glucocorticoids as important mediators of many pathophysiological manifestations of infection and injury has been studied extensively. However, the involvement of other mediators, at least in skeletal muscle proteolysis during sepsis has been hypothesized, because blockade of glucocorticoids, TNF, IL-1, and IL-6 reduces but does not normalize protein breakdown rates nor does the direct application of these mediators to skeletal muscle in vitro enhance proteolysis. Furthermore other studies have suggested that the lymphokine, interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma, type II interferon or immune interferon), produces fever and enhances thermogenesis, body weight loss, and skeletal muscle depletion in rodents in a manner similar to that seen with TNF and IL-1. Cytokines appear to be major components of the host metabolic response during infection and injury. However, neither all the cytokines involved nor the exact mechanisms underlying their metabolic effects are completely understood. The regulation of muscle protein synthesis and breakdown, which largely determines the development of cachexia, appears to depend on the delicate balance between a number of regulatory substances including cytokines, glucocorticoids, catecholamines, insulin, and insulin-like growth factors.
Central idempotent measures on connected locally compact groups

Abstract A measure μ of finite total variation on a locally compact group G is idempotent if μ ∗ μ = μ, and is central if invariant under all inner automorphisms of G . Recent results of D. Rider and D. Ragozin concerning compact groups are combined with results of the authors for noncompact groups to determine all central idempotent measures on a connected G in terms of the structural features of G .
Naphthol as Phosphates as Fluorometric Substrates for Alkaline Phosphatase

Abstract The results of a study of three naphthol AS phosphates indicated that naphthol AS-BI was the best substrate for the analysis of alkaline phosphatase. With the use of naphthol AS-BL phosphate, 0.0005 to 0.5 units of alkaline phosphatase can be determined.
Selective killing of Leishmania infected mouse macrophages by 6-methylpurine 2'-deoxyriboside.

Abstract 6-methylpurine 2′-deoxyriboside killed mouse macrophages infected with amastigotes of Leishmania donovani and Leishmania mexicana , but did not affect the growth of non-parasitized cells. Leishmania extracts cleaved the non-toxic 6-methylpurine 2′-deoxyriboside to 6-methylpurine, a potent adenine antimetabolite for mammalian cells. By eliminating macrophages latently infected with Leishmania donovani amastigotes, 6-methylpurine 2′-deoxyriboside could augment the effects of leishmanicidal agents in vivo .
Maximum-likelihood restoration of nonstationary imagery

A statistical method of extrapolating the bandwidth of nonstationary imagery is outlined. The technique combines the information that is passed by a linear optical systems, an estimate of the modulus of Fourier components in the remainder of the object spectrum, and a priori knowledge about the object to estimate the most-likely values of spectral components beyond the image bandwidth. It can be made to tolerate noise within the image bandwidth. The method is applied to images produced by objects that are finite in extent and by objects that are modulated by periodic gratings.
Laminar free convection in an inclined cavity

Numerical calculations are presented for two-dimensional natural convection flow in an inclined non-rectangular cavity. The governing equations in the stream function-vorticity formulation are solved using fmite differences. Arakawa’s differencing scheme is used to represent the convection terms. Flow characteristics are investigated for Grashof numbers and inclination angles in the range of 1.0 x lo4 to 1.25 x lo5 and -30 to 30 degrees (from the vertical) respectively. A multicellular flow structure is found to exist for all angles of inclination considered. Steady solutions were achieved for all Grashof numbers and angles of inclination considered. In some cases, however, an extremely fine grid (51 x 151) was required in order to achieve the steady solution. -