cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Molecular Physiology of G-Proteins in Olfactory Transduction and CNS Neurotransmission in the Lobster

Complementary DNAs encoding four G-protein subunits (Gαi, Gαs, Gαq, and Gβ), a phospholipase C-β (lobPLCβ), and a G-protein coupled receptor kinase (lobGRK2) were isolated from lobster olfactory organ cDNA libraries. All five proteins were detected in the olfactory dendrites. Functional assays demonstrated that Gαq, Gβ, lobPLCβ, and lobGRK2 were sensitive to stimulation with odorants. These results imply that Gαq, Gβ, and lobPLCβ are directly involved in excitatory olfactory transduction, and that lobGRK2 participates in desensitization. Similar evidence indicates that these same gene products are also involved in neurotransmission in the brain. The cDNA clones are expressed in the brain, and the proteins they encode are most abundant in brain neuropil. In brain homogenates, Gαq, Gβ, lobPLCβ, and lobGRK2 were sensitive to stimulation with neurotransmitters. In addition, we found that several neurotransmitters stimulated labeling of Gαi by a GTP photoaffmity analog. These results indicate that the lobster brain is richly endowed with neuromodulator/ G-protein pathways.
The outcomes of two robotic platforms performing transanal minimally invasive surgery for rectal neoplasia: a case series of 21 patients.

Colorectal cancer remains the third most common cancer effecting adults. Surgical guidelines recommend transanal excision of early rectal neoplasia up to 8 cm from the anal verge. A retrospective review of two novel approaches for transanal robotic local excision with R0 resections of rectal cancers which was, on average, higher than 8 cm. Twenty-one cases of robotic assisted transanal surgery for early stage disease (T0–T1, N0) were reviewed. The first 10 cases performed with the da Vinci® Si robotic platform between 2013 and 2016, and the first 11 cases performed using the Flex® Medrobotics platform between August 2017 and August 2018. The average distance from the anal verge was 11.1 cm and 9.5 cm for the da Vinci® Si and Flex® Colorectal Drive, respectively. The average operative time was 167.6 min for the da Vinci® Si and 110.1 min for the Flex® Colorectal Drive; the average EBL was 37.5 cc and 9.1 cc for the da Vinci® Si and Flex® Colorectal Drive. In the da Vinci® series, four cases required intraoperative conversion. In the Flex® series, one case was aborted due to unfavorable robotic positioning. All margins were histologically negative when surgically complete with no recurrences to date. Transanal robotic surgery may provide a method to address rectal lesions farther from the anal verge than previously described. The Flex® Colorectal Drive platform may provide superior ability to navigate the nonlinear anatomy of the rectum and distal sigmoid colon.
Primary Infectious Mononucleosis Masquerading as Post-operative Fever in a Young Patient with Cemento-ossifying Fibroma of the Skull Base.

The typical presentation of infectious mononucleosis (IM) is characterized by a triad of fever, pharyngitis, and lymphadenopathy. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the most common etiologic agent for IM. Humans are the reservoir for EBV, and it is transmitted via intimate contact between individuals. This case presents a 19-year-old male with recurrent cemento-ossifying fibroma of the skull base with a complicated post-operative course including bacterial meningitis, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak, and intermittent fevers despite treatment with intravenous cefepime. Head computed tomography (CT) revealed a nonspecific subdural collection that could represent an empyema. However, exploratory craniotomy revealed no empyema. CT chest demonstrated bilateral hilar mediastinal lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly. Blood work for fever of unknown origin was positive for EBV immunoglobulin M, and EBV deoxyribonucleic acid 180,565 IU/mL. The diagnosis of EBV IM in this case was elusive because it presented post-operatively, symptoms aligned with the patient’s CSF leak, and he reported no sexual or sick contacts. For post-operative young patients with recurrent fevers of unknown origin, it is important to consider EBV IM in the differential. Earlier diagnosis could have saved the patient unneeded tests, prevented surgical re-exploration, and resulted in a shorter hospital stay.
Hyperspectral vegetation identification utilizing polynomial fitting for dimensionality reduction

Identification of vegetation species and type is important in many chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive sensing applications. For instance, emergence of non-climax species in an area may be indicative of anthropogenic activity which can complement prompt signatures for underground nuclear explosion detection and localization. To explore signatures of underground nuclear explosions, we collected high spatial resolution (10 cm) hyperspectral data from an unmanned aerial system at a legacy underground nuclear explosion test site and its surrounds. These data consist of 274 visible and near-infrared wavebands over 4.3 km2 of high desert terrain along with high spatial resolution (2.5 cm) RGB context imagery. Previous work has shown that a vegetation spectral derivative can be more indicative of species than the measured value of each band. However, applying a spectral derivative amplifies any noise in the spectrum and reduces the benefit of the derivative analysis. Fitting the spectra with a polynomial can provide the slope information (derivative) without amplifying noise. In this work, we simultaneously capture slope and curvature information and reduce the dimensionality of remotely sensed hyperspectral imaging data. This is performed by employing a 2nd order polynomial fit across spectral bands of interest. We then compare the classification accuracy of a support vector machine classifier fit to the polynomial dimensionality reduction technique and the same support vector machine fit to the same number of components from principle component analysis.
Racial and ethnic disparities in care for health system-affiliated physician organizations and non-affiliated physician organizations.

OBJECTIVE To assess racial and ethnic disparities in care for Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries and whether disparities differ between health system-affiliated physician organizations (POs) and nonaffiliated POs. DATA SOURCES We used Medicare Data on Provider Practice and Specialty (MD-PPAS), Medicare Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS), IRS Form 990, 100% Medicare FFS claims, and race/ethnicity estimated using the Medicare Bayesian Improved Surname Geocoding 2.0 algorithm. STUDY DESIGN Using a sample of 16 007 POs providing primary care in 2015, we assessed racial/ethnic disparities on 12 measures derived from claims (2 cancer screenings; diabetic eye examinations; continuity of care; two medication adherence measures; three measures of follow-up visits after acute care; all-cause emergency department (ED) visits, all-cause readmissions, and ambulatory care-sensitive admissions). We decomposed these "total" disparities into within-PO and between-PO components using models with PO random effects. We then pair-matched 1853 of these POs that were affiliated with health systems to similar nonaffiliated POs. We examined differences in within-PO disparities by affiliation status by interacting each nonwhite race/ethnicity with an affiliation indicator. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS Medicare Data on Provider Practice and Specialty identified POs billing Medicare; PECOS and IRS Form 990 identified health system affiliations. Beneficiaries age 18 and older were attributed to POs using a plurality visit rule. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We observed total disparities in 12 of 36 comparisons between white and nonwhite beneficiaries; nonwhites received worse care in 10. Within-PO disparities exceeded between-PO disparities and were substantively important (>=5 percentage points or>=0.2 standardized differences) in nine of the 12 comparisons. Among these 12, nonaffiliated POs had smaller disparities than affiliated POs in two comparisons (P < .05): 1.6 percentage points smaller black-white disparities in follow-up after ED visits and 0.6 percentage points smaller Hispanic-white disparities in breast cancer screening. CONCLUSIONS We find no evidence that system-affiliated POs have smaller racial and ethnic disparities than nonaffiliated POs. Where differences existed, disparities were slightly larger in affiliated POs.
Bending Analysis of Functionally Graded Axisymmetric Circular Plates using the Dual Mesh Finite Domain Method

Abstract The dual mesh finite domain method (DMFDM) introduced by Reddy employs one mesh for the approximation of the primary variables (primal mesh) and another mesh for the satisfaction of the governing equations (dual mesh). The present study deals with the extension and application of the DMFDM to functionally graded circular plates under axisymmetric conditions. The formulation makes use of the traditional finite element interpolation of the primary variables with a primal mesh and a dual mesh to satisfy the integral form of the governing differential equations, the basic premise of the finite volume method. The method is used to analyze axisymmetric bending of through-thickness functionally graded circular plates using the classical plate theory (CPT) and first-order shear deformation plate theory (FST). The displacement model of the FST and the mixed model of the CPT using the DMFDM are developed along with the displacement and mixed finite element models. Numerical results are presented to illustrate the methodology and a comparison of the generalized displacements and bending moments computed with those of the corresponding finite element models. The influence of the extensional-bending coupling stiffness (due to the through-thickness grading of the material) on the deflections is also brought out.
High-lying vibrational levels of ozone observed by resonance Raman scattering

Ozone is a molecule of major importance in the atmosphere. Both the spectroscopy and reactivity are of considerable interest. Vibrational excitation of the ground state will considerably affect both the ultraviolet absorption and the chemical reactivity of the molecule. We have used resonance Raman scattering to observe many vibrational bands up to and even above the thermo-chemically determined dissociation limit1 of 8880 cm−1. Such accurate band origin frequencies and correct assignments are essential to determining a correct potential energy surface.
Brief Announcement: An Improved Distributed Approximate Single Source Shortest Paths Algorithm

This brief announcement presents an algorithm for (1+e) approximate single-source shortest paths for directed graphs with non-negative real edge weights in the CONGEST model that runs in O ((n^1/2 +D+n^2/5+o(1) D^2/5 )log W / e^2) rounds, where W is the ratio between the largest and smallest non-zero edge weights.
Early Warning Signals from Automaticity Diagnostic Instruments for First- and Second-Semester General Chemistry

The Math-Up Skills Tests (MUST) has been used in multiple research projects conducted by the Networking for Science Advancement (NSA) team to determine how automaticity skills (what can be done without a calculator) in arithmetic can be used to predict if students will be successful (course average = 69.5%+) in general chemistry. This study expands our investigations to include how students’ quantitative literacy/quantitative reasoning (QL/QR) abilities influence their success. The NSA team studied multiple classes at eight universities (n = 1,915) within a broad geographic setting in one large, majority-minority southwestern US state. In a short amount of required classroom time, it is possible to identify students at the beginning of the semester who will struggle in first- and second-semester general chemistry (Chem I and Chem II). Results show a strong correlation between students’ automaticity MUST skills and their QL/QR ability (r = 0.60) and indicate that when taking both diagnostic assessments into consideration, convincing signals appear allowing for the identification of almost 50% of the Chem I students and about 45% of the Chem II students who will not succeed. With the addition of the QL/QR to the first-week assessments, about 9% more students who enter the courses underprepared were identified than when only the MUST was administered. Outcomes indicate that students with at least average arithmetic and QL/QR automaticity abilities are those who are better prepared for these courses. For on-sequence students with at least one average or above diagnostic score, 88.3% Chem I and 90.5% Chem II were successful.
Dominant Logic, Entrepreneurial

Entrepreneurial dominant logic is a constantly evolving information filter that is economically and managerially oriented and is based on organizational processes, schemas, or mental maps. This filter attenuates the complexity of information in the firm's external environment and shapes the conceptualization and execution of wealth creation within the context of the existing firm and its businesses. Entrepreneurial dominant logic is at the heart of corporate entrepreneurship and drives or guides the configuration or reconfiguration of internal resources and capabilities to reactively or proactively support environmentally related change or diversification via growth into new ventures in order to create or capture entrepreneurial rents in the new competitive landscape. Keywords: logic; dominant thinking; maps; schema
Stress evolution and nitrogen incorporation in GaAsN films

We have investigated stress evolution in GaAsN films, using a combination of in situ and ex situ measurements. A comparison of nuclear reaction analysis and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry in channeling and nonchanneling conditions suggests significant composition dependent incorporation of N into nonsubstitutional sites.
S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase. Stereochemistry and kinetics of hydrogen transfer.

The stereochemistry and kinetics for hydrogen transfer to the catalytically essential NAD+ of S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase (SAHase) have been determined for selected adenosine analogues. Reduced SAHase (ENADH), which was made by reconstituting apoSAHase with NADH, stereospecifically transferred the pro-R hydrogen of NADH to 3'-ketoadenosine, a proposed reaction intermediate. Reduction of SAHase by 5'-deoxyadenosine, alpha-L-lyxofuranosyladenine, or adenosine-5'-carboxylate quenched the intrinsic protein fluorescence and increased the absorbance of the enzyme at 330 nm. The kinetics for reduction were consistent with a two-step mechanism [formula: see text] where E.L was an initial complex between ligand (L) and enzyme (E), and E'.L' was a complex between reduced enzyme and oxidized ligand. Initial complex formation between SAHase and alpha-L-lyxofuranosyladenine (k-1/k-1 = 22.6 microM) was too rapid to be followed by stopped-flow spectrofluorometry at 25 degrees C. The first-order rate constants for reduction (k 2) and oxidation (k-2) of the enzyme were 7.7 and 0.22 s-1, respectively. The dissociation constant for initial complex formation between 5‘-deoxyadenosine and SAHase was 24 microM; k2 and k-2 were 8.4 x 10(-3) and 4.2 x 10(-3) s-1, respectively. The association rate constant for binding of adenosine-5‘-carboxylate to SAHase (k 1) was 2.1 x 10(5) M-1 s-1, and the dissociation rate constant (k-1) was 0.15 s-1; k 2 and k-2 were 0.1 and 0.15 s-1, respectively. The association rate constant for adenine was 5.5 x 10(6) M-1 s-1, and the dissociation rate constant was 6.4 s-1.
Ph2PPy REPLACEMENT OF THE 1,5-COD LIGAND IN THE SULFIDO-CAPPED CLUSTER Fe2(CO)6(μ3-S)2Pt(1,5-COD). X-RAY DIFFRACTION STRUCTURE AND REDOX BEHAVIOR OF Fe2(CO)6(μ3-S)2Pt(Ph2PPy)2

Abstract The replacement of the 1,5-cyclooctadiene (COD) ligand in the cluster Fe2(CO)6(μ3-S)2Pt(1,5-COD) (1) with the pyridylphosphine ligand Ph2PPy (2.0 equiv) occurs readily at room temperature to give the phosphine-substituted cluster Fe2(CO)6(μ3-S)2Pt(Ph2PPy)2 (2). Cluster 2 was isolated by preparative chromatography and characterized in solution by IR and 31P NMR spectroscopy. The solid-state structure was established by X-ray diffraction analysis. Fe2(CO)6(μ3-S)2Pt(Ph2PPy)2 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c, a = 19.8781(5) A, b = 13.4603(3) A, c = 16.3304(4) A, β = 108.828(2)°, V = 4135.6(2) A3, Z = 4, d calc = 1.711 g cm−3; R = 0.0232, R w = 0.0258 for 2212 observed reflections with I ≥ 3σ(I). The X-ray structure confirms the square planar geometry at the platinum center and coordination of the phosphorus centers to the platinum center in cluster 2. The arachno polyhedral shape adopted by cluster 2 is not consistent with PSEP theory, with the deviation from PSEP theory being attribut...
Dynamic Performance Callstack Sampling: Merging TAU and DAQV

Observing the performance of an application at runtime requires economy in what performance data is measured and accessed, and flexibility in changing the focus of performance interest. This paper describes the performance callstack as an efficient performance view of a running program which can be retrieved and controlled by external analysis tools. The performance measurement support is provided by the TAU profiling library whereas tool-program interaction support is available through the DAQV framework. How these systems are merged to provide dynamic performance callstack sampling is discussed.
Cellular Immunology of Sequential Dengue Virus Infection and its Role in Disease Pathogenesis

The increased risk for severe dengue disease during secondary dengue virus (DENV) infections, along with the clinical and pathological evidence pointing to cytokines as the proximal mediators of disease, has interested cellular immunologists in exploring the role of DENV-specific T lymphocytes in the pathogenesis of dengue-associated plasma leakage. Recent technological advances in the analysis of virus-specific T cells, applied to blood samples collected before, during and after acute DENV infections, have demonstrated that memory DENV-specific T cells from a prior infection respond with altered cytokine production to heterologous DENV serotypes and that the level of activation and expansion of these memory cells during acute DENV infection correlates with disease severity. Limited data suggest that specific T cell response profiles may predict a higher risk for severe disease during secondary infection. Application of these techniques and principles to animal models and to clinical trials may advance the development of novel therapeutics and protective vaccines.
Engineering Dialectical Inquiry: Lessons Learned from Lab Explorations

A Design Science approach is applied to the engineering of a dialectical inquiry process for group model building. Insights from three research streams in collaboration literature are used for the practical engineering of a facilitation script. Dialectical inquiry is the process developed by Churchman and used in Comprehensive Situation Mapping (CSM) as recently described by Acar and Druckenmiller. The software artifact developed for this approach was tested with usability testing to compare the ease of use of this computerized technique with the original manual method. While this software was easy to learn and to use, its development did not fully address the accompanying facilitation model that provided a tested script for use in actual field cases. This research uses the principles of user-centered design as an iterative search component of the Design Science approach. Its application to the development of such scripts, as well as the initial results of an exploratory phase of testing are described.
Dynamic traffic assignment for urban road networks

Abstract This paper presents a nonlinear programming formulation of the dynamic user-equilibrium assignment problem (DUE) for urban road networks with multiple trip origins and destinations. DUE is a temporal generalization of the static user-equilibrium assignment problem (SUE) with additional constraints to insure temporally continuous paths of flow. In DUE, the full assignment period of several hours is discretized into shorter time intervals of 10–15 minutes each for which trip departure matrices are assumed to be known. This formulation of DUE includes SUE as a special case in which there is only one time interval for the full assignment period. The assumption of steady-state flows allows SUE to have all linear constraints, but DUE requires nonlinear flow continuity constraints. Whereas SUE is typically solved by methods of linear combinations, these methods create temporally discontinuous flows if applied to DUE. A dynamic traffic assignment heuristic (DTA) is presented that generates approximate solutions to DUE in an efficient manner for large networks. DTA is not a convergent solution algorithm for DUE, but was designed instead to produce assignments that approximate the DUE optimality conditions. An overview of alternative dynamic assignment approaches is given, including the limitations of other optimization and simulation approaches. Test results presented in this paper show that DTA generates both static and dynamic assignments that approximately satisfy the user-equilibrium conditions of these problems.
Memory of Initial Conditions in Gravitational Clustering

We study the nonlinear propagator, a key ingredient in renormalized perturbation theory (RPT) that allows a well-controlled extension of perturbation theory into the nonlinear regime. We show that it can be thought as measuring the memory of density and velocity fields to their initial conditions. This provides a clean definition of the validity of linear theory, which is shown to be much more restricted than usually recognized in the literature. We calculate the nonlinear propagator in RPT and compare to measurements in numerical simulations, showing remarkable agreement well into the nonlinear regime. We also show that N-body simulations require a rather large volume to recover the correct propagator, due to the missing large-scale modes. Our results for the nonlinear propagator provide an essential element to compute the nonlinear power spectrum in RPT.
Quantitative Analysis of Factors Affecting Coal Price

A verification model of coal price (VEC) is established by using cointegration analysis method in this article, and an empirical study is carried on the corresponding statistics from the year 1985 to 2008. It shows that the main factors affecting coal prices are the output value of industry, GNP, retail price index, coal cost and coal supply. Considering the factors, the proposed verification model can predict the actual value of coal price with high forecast accuracy and explain the changes in coal prices, at the same time, the comprehensive short and long term relationship of these variables and coal prices is better than that of the long-term relationship. The model illustrates the factors' affection on the impact of coal price based on quantitative analysis, which will offer certain references for macro-control department and coal enterprises.
Studies on 1-carbadethiacephems, part III: synthesis of 2,3-difunctionalised 1-carbadethiacephem derivatives1

Abstract A novel C(3) chlorination of p-nitrobenzyl 1-carbadethia-2-oxocephem 4-carboxylate 1 with sulphur dichloride is described. Reaction of the resulting 3-chloro-compound 8 with various thiols, and modifications at C(2) provided the title compounds.
Isolation of free-living, anaerobic spirochetes.

This paper reports observations on the physiology and morphology of three strains of anaerobic spirochetes isolated from mud by a selective procedure involving differential filtration of the inoculum.
Peritoneal Dialysis in Renal Replacement Therapy for Patients with Acute Kidney Injury

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) was the first modality used for renal replacement therapy (RRT) of patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) because of its inherent advantages as compared to Hemodialysis. It provides the nephrologist with nonvascular alternative for renal replacement therapy. It is an inexpensive modality in developing countries and does not require highly trained staff or a complex apparatus. Systemic anticoagulation is not needed, and it can be easily initiated. It can be used as continuous or intermittent procedure and, due to slow fluid and solute removal, helps maintain hemodynamic stability especially in patients admitted to the intensive care unit. PD has been successfully used in AKI involving patients with hemodynamic instability, those at risk of bleeding, and infants and children with AKI or circulatory failure. Newer continuous renal replacement therapies (CRRTs) are being increasingly used in renal replacement therapy of AKI with less use of PD. Results of studies comparing newer modalities of CRRT versus acute peritoneal dialysis have been conflicting. PD is the modality of choice in renal replacement therapy in pediatric patients and in patients with AKI in developing countries.
17O relaxation time and NMR sensitivity of cerebral water and their field dependence

17O spin relaxation times and sensitivity of detection were measured for natural abundance H(2)(17)O in the rat brain at 4.7 and 9.4 Tesla. The relaxation times were found to be magnetic field independent (T(2) = 3.03 +/- 0.08 ms, T(*)(2) = 1.79 +/- 0.04 ms, and T(1) = 4.47 +/- 0.14 ms at 4.7T (N = 5); T(2) = 3.03 +/- 0.09 ms, T(*)(2) = 1.80 +/- 0.06 ms, and T(1) = 4.84 +/- 0.18 ms at 9.4T (N = 5)), consistent with the concept that the dominant relaxation mechanism is the quadrupolar interaction for this nucleus. The (17)O NMR sensitivity was more than fourfold higher at 9.4T than at 4.7T, for both the rat brain and a sodium chloride solution. With this sensitivity gain, it was possible to obtain localized (17)O spectra with an excellent signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) within 15 s of data acquisition despite the relatively low gyromagnetic ratio of this nucleus. Such a 15-s 2D (17)O-MRS imaging data set obtained for natural abundance H(2)(17)O in the rat brain yielded an SNR greater than 40:1 for a approximately 16 microl voxel. This approach was employed to measure cerebral blood flow using a bolus injection of H(2)(17)O via one internal carotid artery. These results demonstrate the ability of (17)O-MRS imaging to reliably map the H(2)(17)O dynamics in the brain tissue, and its potential for determining tissue blood flow and oxygen consumption rate changes in vivo. Magn Reson Med 45:543-549, 2001.
Proteomics of Neuroendocrine Secretory Vesicles Reveal Distinct Functional Systems for Biosynthesis and Exocytosis of Peptide Hormones and Neurotransmitters

Regulated secretory vesicles produce, store, and secrete active peptide hormones and neurotransmitters that function in cell-cell communication. To gain knowledge of the protein systems involved in such secretory vesicle functions, we analyzed proteins in the soluble and membrane fractions of dense core secretory vesicles purified from neuroendocrine chromaffin cells. Soluble and membrane fractions of these vesicles were subjected to SDS-PAGE separation, and proteins from systematically sectioned gel lanes were identified by microcapillary LC-MS/MS (microLC-MS/MS) of tryptic peptides. The identified proteins revealed functional categories of prohormones, proteases, catecholamine neurotransmitter metabolism, protein folding, redox regulation, ATPases, calcium regulation, signaling components, exocytotic mechanisms, and related functions. Several novel secretory vesicle components involved in proteolysis were identified consisting of cathepsin B, cathepsin D, cystatin C, ubiquitin, and TIMP, as well carboxypeptidase E/H and proprotein convertases that are known to participate in prohormone processing. Significantly, the membrane fraction exclusively contained an extensive number of GTP nucleotide-binding proteins related to Rab, Rho, and Ras signaling molecules, together with SNARE-related proteins and annexins that are involved in trafficking and exocytosis of secretory vesicle components. Membranes also preferentially contained ATPases that regulate proton translocation. These results implicate membrane-specific functions for signaling and exocytosis that allow these secretory vesicles to produce, store, and secrete active peptide hormones and neurotransmitters released from adrenal medulla for the control of physiological functions in health and disease. In summary, this proteomic study illustrates secretory vesicle protein systems utilized for the production and secretion of regulatory factors that control neuroendocrine functions.
What is the most effective way to communicate results after endoscopy

Background The growing demand for endoscopy associated with colorectal cancer screening has resulted in busier endoscopy units and an increase in the practice of open-access endoscopy, in which patients are referred for procedures without prior consultation by the gastroenterologist, all of which may result in less-informed patients. Objective We sought to determine whether providing patients with a written copy of their standard endoscopy report at the conclusion of their procedure enhanced recall of the findings and recommendations. Design Eighty consecutive outpatients who presented to 3 endoscopists were randomized to receive the results of their upper or lower endoscopy via standard verbal report (VR) or by standard VR followed by receipt of a computer-generated endoscopy report (VR + WR) from the Olympus ImageManager report generator. The endoscopist communicated the VR after a standard postprocedure recovery period of 30 to 60 minutes and routinely discussed all findings and recommendations as mentioned in the WR. The endoscopist was blinded as to whether the patient subsequently received the WR. Recall of the endoscopic procedure was assessed by using a piloted 11-question survey instrument to be filled out 3 days after the procedure. Results were calculated by using the Fisher exact and Wilcoxon rank sum tests. Patients Referral for endoscopy from University of Chicago physicians. Results Seventy-eight of 80 patients (98%) approached about the study agreed to participate. The response rate was 77%. Patients in the VR + WR group overall had a greater composite score than patients in the VR group (8.9/10 vs 7.7/10, P Limitations Patients with an education beyond the 10th-grade level were not formally accessed in this study. Because of this, we could not evaluate whether differences in educational attainment affected patient understanding of endoscopy procedure details and findings. Conclusions A computer-generated endoscopy report (WR) significantly improved patient recall of endoscopic procedure information compared with a VR alone. Despite this, patients were unable to recall 28% of recommendations. Additional study to determine if such enhanced physician-patient communication improves patient satisfaction or follow-up, and whether more specific patient-directed results further improve recall needs to occur.
Supercharging Protein Complexes from Aqueous Solution Disrupts their Native Conformations

The effects of aqueous solution supercharging on the solution- and gas-phase structures of two protein complexes were investigated using traveling-wave ion mobility-mass spectrometry (TWIMS-MS). Low initial concentrations of m-nitrobenzyl alcohol (m-NBA) in the electrospray ionization (ESI) solution can effectively increase the charge of concanavalin A dimers and tetramers, but at higher m-NBA concentrations, the increases in charge are accompanied by solution-phase dissociation of the dimers and up to a ~22% increase in the collision cross section (CCS) of the tetramers. With just 0.8% m-NBA added to the ESI solution of a ~630 kDa anthrax toxin octamer complex, the average charge is increased by only ~4% compared with the “native” complex, but it is sufficiently destabilized so that extensive gas-phase fragmentation occurs in the relatively high pressure regions of the TWIMS device. Anthrax toxin complexes exist in either a prechannel or a transmembrane channel state. With m-NBA, the prechannel state of the complex has the same CCS/charge ratio in the gas phase as the transmembrane channel state of the same complex formed without m-NBA, yet undergoes extensive dissociation, indicating that destabilization from supercharging occurs in the ESI droplet prior to ion formation and is not a result of Coulombic destabilization in the gas phase as a result of higher charging. These results demonstrate that the supercharging of large protein complexes is the result of conformational changes induced by the reagents in the ESI droplets, where enrichment of the supercharging reagent during droplet evaporation occurs.
Current and Future Options for Anticoagulant Therapy in the Acute Management of ACS.

Anticoagulation with a parenteral (intravenous or subcutaneous) antithrombin agent is foundational to the early management of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). While indications for, the timing of, and the choice among agents (other than aspirin) that provide antiplatelet effects are all subject to discussion, the need for acute anticoagulation is beyond question. There are a number of agents that can be used for anticoagulation in ACS, depending upon the intended near-term management of the patient (medical vs interventional), the patient’s ischemic risk, and the patient’s hemorrhagic risk. It is usually appropriate for therapy to be initiated in the emergency department (ED), which in turn supports close collaboration between “upstream” providers and interventional cardiologists. Clinical trial data suggest that “switching” agents during ACS care affords no efficacy advantage and may increase bleeding risk. At least 1 potential new agent (otamixaban) that can be used in all ACS care settings is on the near-term horizon, with the drug currently in late Phase III testing.
Surgical pathologic spread patterns of endometrial cancer: A gynecologic oncology group study

The surgical pathologic features of 621 patients with Stage I carcinoma of the endometrium are presented. All patients were treated with primary surgery consisting of total abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, selective pelvic and paraaortic lymphadenectomy and peritoneal cytology. An appreciable number of patients (144—22%) with Stage I cancers have disease outside of the uterus (lymph node metastasis, adenexal disease, intraperitoneal spread and/or malignant cells in peritoneal washings). Multiple prognostic factors particularly grade and depth of invasion are related to extrauterine disease. This study adds credence to the primary surgical approach with individualized postoperative therapy as indicated.
Strategic implications of a multi‐dimensional pricing environment

A significant amount of research in pricing has focused on price as a unidimensional construct – one consisting of a single number (e.g. $1.99). However, the evolving marketing environment, combined with notable growth in services and goods categories that require the communication of complex price information, has led to the use of multi‐dimensional prices. Multi‐dimensional prices consist of multiple numbers (e.g. $199 a month for 36 months) and as a result require the consumer to carry out specific mental computations to determine the cost of the offer. In this paper, empirical evidence on consumer difficulty in evaluating multi‐dimensional prices is examined. Then the strategic impact of such difficulties for pricing managers as well as regulators is examined. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of multi‐dimensional pricing on past research findings, and reflects on existing understanding of consumer response to price.
An Augmented Affective-Cognition Framework for Usability Studies of In-Vehicle System User Interface

Vehicles with better usability have become increasingly popular due to their ease of operations and safety for driving. However, the way how usability of in-vehicle system user interface is studied still needs improvement. This paper concerns how to use advanced computational, neurophysiology- and psychology-based tools and methodologies to determine affective (emotional) states and behavioral data of an individual in real time and in turn how to adapt the human-vehicle interaction to meet the user’s cognitive needs based on this real-time assessment. Specifically, we set up a set of neuro-physiological equipment that is capable of collecting EEG, facial EMG (electromyography), skin conductance response, and respiration data and a set of motion sensing and tracking equipment that is capable of eye ball movement and objects that the user interacts. All hardware components and software is integrated into a cohesive augmented sensor platform that can perform as “one coherent system” to enable multi-modal data processing and information inference for context-aware analysis of affective and cognitive states based on the rough set inference engine. Meanwhile subjective data is also recorded for comparison. A usability study of in-vehicle system UI is shown to demonstrate the potential of the proposed methodology.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
The role of breast-feeding in the development of allergies and asthma

Breast-feeding is the preferred method of infant nutrition for numerous reasons. However, its role in the prevention of allergic disease remains controversial. Reasons for this controversy include methodological differences and flaws in the studies performed to date, the immunologic complexity of breast milk itself and, possibly, genetic differences among patients that would affect whether breast-feeding is protective against the development of allergies or is in fact sensitizing. The preponderance of evidence does suggest, however, that there would be much to lose by not recommending breast-feeding. In general, studies reveal that infants fed formulas of intact cow's milk or soy protein compared with breast milk have a higher incidence of atopic dermatitis and wheezing illnesses in early childhood. Consistent with these findings, exclusive breast-feeding should be encouraged for at least 4 to 6 months in infants at both high and low risk of atopy and irrespective of a history of maternal asthma.
Training Health Educators for Social Change

Health education practice reflects the ideology of the social forces that support it. Currently, health educators approach their task from two divergent viewpoints: one group emphasizes changing individual behavior while the other focuses on organizing people to change health-damaging institutions, policies and environments. This report provides a rationale and examples of the latter approach. It then describes the kind of training program that would be necessary to prepare health educators to work effectively for social change. Specifically, it is suggested that graduate students in health education need more preparation in social epidemiology, environmental sciences and policy analysis, particularly the analysis of the impact of non-health policies on health status. Health education training programs also need new approaches to the process of learning. The social movement of the last decades, health education programs in developing and socialist countries and some projects in this country provide a rich source of case studies. Training programs also need to recruit students who will be prepared to serve populations most in need of help. This suggests attracting students who have in the past been excluded from graduate education. Finally, several methods are suggested by which students, faculty and practitioners can begin the process of transforming the institutions that prepare professional health educators.
Evaluating Novel Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Can We Better Predict Heart Attacks?

Myocardial infarction often occurs among persons without traditional risk factors, and it has been hypothesized that assessment of "novel" markers may help identify persons who are prone to premature atherothrombosis. However, when considering the clinical utility of screening for any new marker for cardiovascular disease, physicians should consider whether there is a standardized and reproducible assay for the marker of interest; whether there is a consistent series of prospective epidemiologic studies indicating that baseline elevations of the novel marker predict future risk; and whether assessment of the novel marker adds to the predictive value of other plasma-based risk factors, specifically, the ratio of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. In this article, these criteria are used to evaluate five promising markers of cardiovascular risk: lipoprotein(a), total plasma homocysteine, fibrinolytic capacity, fibrinogen, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. Background is also provided to assist physicians in deciding whether one or more of these novel markers deserve clinical consideration in general outpatient settings.
Physician coverage of therapeutic apheresis

A "snapshot" survey of physician coverage for evaluation and supervision of therapeutic apheresis procedures shows significant variation in current clinical practice between 39 blood center-and 41 non-blood center-based programs. Whereas 56% of blood center-based programs usually require physician's "in person" evaluation of the patient, 86% of non-blood center programs do (P < .005). Similarly, non-blood center-based programs were more likely to have physicians on the premises to supervise first and subsequent procedures and to bill separately for medical coverage. These differences were unrelated to location of the procedure (in hospital, blood bank, outpatient department, or other), the size of the program, or any information provided on adverse reactions.
Spontaneous and electrically-evoked catecholamine secretion from long-term cultures of bovine adrenal chromaffin cells

Abstract Catecholamine release was measured from bovine adrenal medullary chromaffin cell (CC) cultures maintained over a period of three months. Cells were plated over simple biocompatible cell platforms with electrical stimulation capability and at specified times transferred to an acrylic superfusion chamber designed to allow controlled flow of superfusate over the culture. Catecholamine release was measured from the superfusates using fast cyclic voltammetry before, during and after electrical stimulation of the cells. Immunocytochemical staining of CC cultures revealed that they were composed of epinephrine (EP) and/or norepinephrine (NE) type cells. Both spontaneous and evoked-release of catecholamines from CCs were observed throughout the testing period. EP predominated during spontaneous release, whereas NE was more prevalent during electrically-evoked release. Electrical stimulation for 20 s, increased total catecholamine release by 60–130% (measured over a period of 500 s) compared to that observed for an equivalent 20 s period of spontaneous release. Stimulus intensity was correlated with the amount of evoked release, up to a plateau which was observed near the highest intensities. Shorter intervals between stimulation trials did not significantly affect the initial amount of release, and the amount of evoked release was relatively stable over time and did not decrease significantly with age of the culture. The present study demonstrates long-term survival of CC cultures in vitro and describes a technique useful for rapid assessment of cell functionality and release properties of cultured monoaminergic cell types that later can be transplanted for neurotransmitter replacement following injury or disease.
Interactions of Tetrahedrane and Tetrasilatetrahedrane with CH2 and SiH2: A Computational Study†

Ab initio exploration of the interactions of triplet and singlet methylene (CH2) and singlet silylene (SiH2) with both tetrahedrane and tetrasilatetrahedrane has yielded a number of stable optimized species. Structures 5−7 have been found on the triplet C4H4 plus CH2 potential energy surface (PES), structures 8−13 on the singlet C4H4 plus CH2 PES, structures 14−20 on the triplet Si4H4 plus CH2 PES, structures 21−30 on the singlet Si4H4 plus CH2 PES, structures 31−35 on the singlet C4H4 plus SiH2 PES, and structures 36−44 on the singlet Si4H4 plus SiH2 PES. These structures display a wide variety of geometrical features that in some cases are unusual. Characterization of the transition states connecting several of these species leads to a partial understanding of the various potential energy surfaces. The computational results suggest that some aspects of this chemistry might be profitably explored experimentally, particularly for substituted derivatives.
Reduction of non-specific radioactive counts in a whole blood microtiter plate assay of mitogenesis.

Abstract Non-specific radioactive counts retained on the glass fiber filters from a multiple automatic sample harvester were reduced markedly by 3 simple changes in the procedure for harvesting thymidine-labeled whole blood cultures from microtiter plates. These modifications increased the sensitivity, precision and accuracy of the lymphocyte transformation assay.
Spin-excitation spectra and resistance minima in amorphous ferromagnetic alloys

Resistance minima have been found in recent years to occur in amorphous ferromagnetic alloys below the magnetic ordering temperature. Although a well-developed theory exists for resistance minima in very dilute alloys, the meaning of the phenomena has remained in question for alloys in which the neglect of spin-spin interactions is not justifiable. In this paper it is shown that the observation of resistance minima implies that these alloys have a finite density of near zero frequency excitations. Specifically, the theory of inverse transport coefficients, reformulated in terms of linear response, is used to derive a general expression for the resistivity due to the conduction-electron-spin interaction. Expanding perturbatively, the nth-order contribution is determined by an nth-order spin correlation function. To third order it is shown that the coefficient of the lnk T term responsible for the resistance anomaly according to the accepted Kondo theory receives contributions in the low-temperature limit only from those parts of the spin correlation functions which have frequencies less than k TK /ℏ where TK is the Kondo temperature.
CLINICAL TECHNIQUE: Intrathecal Drug Administration in Turtles and Tortoises

Abstract Intrathecal (subdural) administration of anesthetic and analgesic drugs in turtles and tortoises is a novel technique for the induction of spinal anesthesia and analgesia. Possible indications for spinal anesthesia include surgical procedures of the tail, phallus, cloaca, and hind limbs. Intrathecal injections are performed at the level of the coccygeal vertebrae. In red-eared sliders the intrathecal administration of lidocaine (2% preservative free, 4mg/kg) and bupivacaine (0.5% preservative free, 1mg/kg) provides regional anesthesia of the tail, cloaca, and hind limbs for about 1 and 2 hours, respectively. The intrathecal administration of morphine provides regional analgesia for up to 48 hours. Strict aseptic techniques should be used to avoid iatrogenic complications, and only preservative-free drugs should be injected into the intrathecal space so that spinal toxicity and secondary neurologic complications are avoided.
D-terms and supersymmetry breaking from branes

Abstract Metastable supersymmetry breaking configurations of D-branes and N S 5 -branes in string theory often owe their existence to classical gravitational interactions between the branes. We show that in the effective theory of the light fields, these interactions give rise to a non-canonical Kahler potential and other D-terms. String theory provides a UV completion in which these non-renormalizable terms can be computed. We use these observations to clarify the relation between the phase structure of ISS-type models and their brane realizations.