cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The AOA: A Comprehensive House with Compassionate Leaders. Presidential Address to the AOA, June 15, 2020: AOA Critical Issues.

ABSTRACT The American Orthopaedic Association (AOA) is the world's oldest orthopaedic association and it has been responsible for the founding of many prominent organizations as well as The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. While the AOA has traditionally focused on academic orthopaedic leadership, the time has come to expand our horizons and look to include all orthopaedic leaders from the wide variety of leadership roles in which they currently serve.Orthopaedic surgeons who demonstrate compassionate leadership will find that they create stronger, more successful teams. Compassionate leadership is a skill that can be learned, and investing the energy to develop this skill will have a profound impact on our success as orthopaedic surgeons and leaders.
Murmurs of War

Egypt and Ethiopia have been at odds with each other over Nile water use from as early as the 1900s to the present. Despite years of acrimony and efforts to find ways to peacefully share this vital resource, the first two decades of this century have been marked by murmurs of war as the two riparian states spar over the Renaissance Dam’s negative effects downstream.
Multifocal Anaplastic Pancreatic Carcinoma Requiring Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy and Total Pancreatectomy: Report of a Case

Context Anaplastic pancreatic carcinoma is a rare tumor with poor survival. Data on surgical and medical therapies are currently limited to case reports and case series with small numbers. Case report We describe a case of multifocal anaplastic pancreatic carcinoma treated with neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX (oxaliplatin, irinotecan, fluorouracil and leucovorin) and total pancreatectomy with subsequent patient disease-free survival currently at 12 months. Discussion The goal for anaplastic pancreatic carcinoma treatment should continue to be complete surgical resection. Optimum chemotherapeutic options continue to be investigated. Image: Foreign body giant cells.
Correcting inhomogeneity-induced distortion in FMRI using non-rigid registration

Magnetic field inhomogeneities in echo planar images (EPI) can cause large distortion in the phase encoding dimension. In functional MRI (fMRI), this distortion can shift activation loci, increase inter subject variability, and reduce statistical power during group analysis. Distortion correction methods that make use of acquired magnetic field maps have been developed, however, field maps are not always acquired or may not be available to researchers. An alternative approach, which we pursue in this paper, is to estimate the distortion retrospectively by spatially registering the EPI to a structural MRI. We describe a constrained non-linear registration method for correcting fMRI distortion that uses T 1 -weighted images and does not require field maps. We compared resting state results from uncorrected fMRI, fMRI data corrected with field maps, and fMRI data corrected with our proposed method in data from 20 subjects. The results show that the estimated field maps were similar to the acquired field maps and that the proposed method reduces the overall error in independent component location.
Abstract 3839: Oxidative damage in predicting early adverse skin reactions from adjuvant radiotherapy in a tri-racial/ethnic breast cancer population

Adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) following breast conservation surgery has significantly improved survival. However, may patients develop adverse skin reactions, pain, breast edema and poor cosmetic results that impact quality of life. Inter-individual variability in the development of RT-induced adverse reactions in normal tissue is well-documented for both acute and late effects. Therefore, we evaluated the first 161 patients in an ongoing prospective study of conservatively managed breast cancer patients using the NCI CTCAE v3.0 criteria. We recorded patient characteristics, smoking history, body mass index (BMI), and treatments. We pilot tested urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) as an oxidative damage marker in predicting RT-induced skin toxicity. Women younger than 50 years of age had a significantly (p=0.016) higher post-RT skin toxicity (grade 2); higher proportion of African Americans have grade 3 skin (p=0.008) compared to other races; and obesity (BMI>30) was associated with worse skin toxicity. In multivariate analysis, women with a higher pre-RT 8-OHdG had a significantly higher risk of worse skin toxicity at week 3 (OR=11.77; 95C%CI=1.21-114.45; p=0.034). Obesity (BMI>30) was associated with worse skin toxicity at the end of RT (OR=2.27; 95C%CI=1.14-4.50; p=0.019). This is the first study evaluating oxidative damage in RT-induced skin toxicity. We reported significant racial/ethnic differences in urinary 8-OHdG levels and a significant association between pre-RT 8-OHdG and worse skin toxicity at week 3. If confirmed in our larger ongoing study of 1,255 patients, our study will lead to effective treatment strategies and improve quality of life of breast cancer patients undergoing RT. Citation Format: Omar L. Nelson, Cristiane Takita, Jean Wright, Eunkyung Lee, Jennifer J. Hu. Oxidative damage in predicting early adverse skin reactions from adjuvant radiotherapy in a tri-racial/ethnic breast cancer population. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 3839. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-3839
Density of states reflects diameter in nanotubes

Dresselhaus1 asked recently why scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy experiments2,3 find a similar number of peaks, in the density of states near the Fermi level, for a range of semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotubes with roughly the same diameters. After all, semiconducting achiral zigzag single-wall nanotubes can have translational unit cells more than an order of magnitude smaller than those of chiral semiconducting single-wall nanotubes with a similar diameter, so they might be expected to have fewer but sharper peaks in their density of states1. We show that all semiconducting single-wall nanotubes with similar diameters should have a similar density of states near the Fermi level, independent of translational unit cell size or chiral angle.
Three-stage multilayer formation kinetics during adsorption of an anionic fluorinated surfactant onto germanium. 1. Concentration effect.

The adsorption of tetraethylammonium perfluorooctylsulfonate (TEA-FOS) from aqueous solution onto hydroxylated germanium is studied using in situ polarized attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). The adsorption is monitored at a series of bulk solution concentrations spanning from well below to above the critical micelle concentration (CMC; 1.0 mM). The kinetics of adsorption is followed by monitoring the intensity of the fluorocarbon bands. The orientation of the fluorocarbon director with respect to the germanium surface is determined by circular dichroism measurements of CF2 stretching bands. At bulk concentrations ranging from 10% of the CMC to at least 500% of the CMC, the adsorption occurs in an unusual sequence of three stages. Initially, rapid adsorption occurs within 200 min, leading to coverage of a monolayer or less. A long period of slow adsorption follows, during which we hypothesize that surfactant molecules form clusters, some of which serve as nuclei...
Software safety in medical applications

The use of software in safety-critical medical applications permits sophisticated functionality that would otherwise not be achievable. However, it is very difficult to ensure that software in these systems is dependable. In particular all software development techniques have limitations, and none can provide any guarantee of overall software dependability. Given this shortcoming, the approach that we have taken is to develop techniques that emphasize the verification of properties that are important to overall software dependability. In this paper we describe two techniques that support the implementation and verification of dependable software for an experimental neurosurgical device and safety-critical applications in general. The first technique involves the assurance of critical safety properties by a relatively simple software component known as a safety kernel. Situated between the application software and the application devices, the safety kernel enforces rules that govern the safe operation of the devices. The simplicity of the safety kernel facilitates its implementation and verification. In most cases, it is not possible to rely on testing to provide the necessary verification of the software in a safety-critical application. However, testing can play an appropriate and vital role in the demonstration of safety properties. The second technique takes this approach, utilizing automated testing and selected test cases to demonstrate useful system properties.
A study of the input data selection on the qet calculated intensities of ethylene and propane ions

Abstract Recently developed experimental and calculational methods permit a more accurate investigation of the quasi-equilibriurn theory (QET) than was previously possible. These advances are applied to the theoretical calculation of ion intensity as a function of internal energy in the molecular ion for both ethylene and propane. The agreement between theory and experiment is improved significantly over earlier calculations. The relative importance of the various input data used in these calculations is discussed in terms of the accuracy in experimental measurement of these data and in terms of the sensitivity of the calculated intensities to small variations in the data used to fit the theoretical to the experimental results.
Computable representations for convex hulls of low-dimensional quadratic forms

Let $${\mathcal{C}}$$ be the convex hull of points $${{\{{1 \choose x}{1 \choose x}^T \,|\, x\in \mathcal{F}\subset \Re^n\}}}$$. Representing or approximating $${\mathcal{C}}$$is a fundamental problem for global optimization algorithms based on convex relaxations of products of variables. We show that if n ≤ 4 and $${\mathcal{F}}$$is a simplex, then $${\mathcal{C}}$$has a computable representation in terms of matrices X that are doubly nonnegative (positive semidefinite and componentwise nonnegative). We also prove that if n = 2 and $${\mathcal{F}}$$is a box, then $${\mathcal{C}}$$has a representation that combines semidefiniteness with constraints on product terms obtained from the reformulation-linearization technique (RLT). The simplex result generalizes known representations for the convex hull of $${{\{(x_1, x_2, x_1x_2)\,|\, x\in\mathcal{F}\}}}$$when $${\mathcal{F}\subset\Re^2}$$is a triangle, while the result for box constraints generalizes the well-known fact that in this case the RLT constraints generate the convex hull of $${{\{(x_1, x_2, x_1x_2)\,|\, x\in\mathcal{F}\}}}$$. When n = 3 and $${\mathcal{F}}$$is a box, we show that a representation for $${\mathcal{C}}$$can be obtained by utilizing the simplex result for n = 4 in conjunction with a triangulation of the 3-cube.
Extension and Application of a Local, Minimum Aliasing Method to Multidimensional Problems in Limited-Area Domains

Abstract The minimal aliasing local spectral (LS) method is a numerical technique that embodies features of both finite-difference (FD) and spectral transform (ST) methods. Anderson first described this method in the context of the one-dimensional advection-diffusion equation. In the current paper, we describe the extension of the LS method to multidimensions. First, we review the one-dimensional version of the LS method from a more rigorous view. In addition, we describe interpolation, differentiation, and dealiasing fitters for the LS method based on Lagrange polynomials. Without the dealiasing filters, this version of the LS method collapses to a standard high-order Taylor series FD scheme. When filter lengths span the integration domain and the dealiasing stage is retained, the LS method becomes an ST method, as described by Anderson. Issues concerning the implementation of the LS method in multidimensions are also discussed. These issues include the form of the high-resolution grid, the implementatio...
Type 2 immunity reflects orchestrated recruitment of cells committed to IL-4 production.

Using IL-4 reporter mice we identified eosinophils, basophils, and Th2 cells as the three IL-4-producing cell types that appear in the lungs of mice infected with the migrating intestinal helminth, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis. Eosinophils were most prevalent, peaking by ∼1000-fold on day 9 after infection, with Th2 cells and basophils at 3- and 10-fold lower numbers, respectively. Eosinophil and basophil expansion in blood in response to parasites and their capacity for IL-4 expression required neither Stat6 nor T cells. Th2 induction and expansion in draining lymph nodes was also Stat6 independent. In contrast, eosinophil (and Th2 cell) recruitment to the lung was dependent on Stat6 expression by a bone marrow-derived tissue resident cell, whereas basophil recruitment was Stat6 and IL-4/IL-13 independent but T cell dependent. Primary type 2 immune responses in the lung represent the focal recruitment and activation of discrete cell populations from the blood that have previously committed to express IL-4.
Forced Alfvén-wave turbulence and subgrid-scale closure

Application de la methode du groupe de renormalisation au probleme de la turbulence forcee dans le modele d'Alfven simplifie de Chen et Mahajan
Interplanetary magnetic field dependence of the suprathermal energetic neutral atoms originated in subsolar magnetopause

Using energetic neutral atom (ENA) emission observations of the subsolar magnetopause measured by the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX), we study the correlation between the upstream interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions and the spectral index of the source ion population. Our ENA data set includes hour-averaged ENA measurements at energies between ∼0.5 and ∼6 keV obtained by the IBEX High Energy ENA imager from January 2009 to May 2011. Under the condition of quiet geomagnetic activity (SYM-H index >−20 nT), we find that the shallower spectra in the suprathermal tail of the ion population of the subsolar magnetopause is weakly correlated (correlation coefficient of −0.30) with the shock angle of the Earth's bow shock, but not correlated with parameters related to magnetic reconnection (i.e., elevation and clock angle of the interplanetary magnetic field orientation). The observed correlation suggests suprathermal ion energization from diffusive shock acceleration and thus that the suprathermal ions in the subsolar magnetopause are of shocked solar wind origin. We also argue that the roles of magnetospheric ion leakage or ion acceleration by magnetic reconnection are reduced in the magnetopause emissions compared to shock acceleration processes.
Influence of wetlands and coal mining on stream water chemistry

Comparisons of stream water chemistry over a 2 yr period in East Fork, which drains an entirely forested watershed, and Big Run, which drains a forested watershed 8 % of which is occupied by Big Run Bog, indicated that Big Run Bog had no effect on stream water H+ or Cl− concentrations, but with increasing stream discharge the wetland was a source of Ca++ Mg++, K+, Na+, NO3−, and SO4−, and a sink for Fe+ +. Further comparisons with Tub Run, which drains a forested watershed, 13 and 12% of which is occupied by Tub Run Bog and an abandoned, unreclaimed coal surface mine, respectively, suggested that Tub Run Bog removes H+, Ca ++, Mg++, Fe++, and 504− from inputs of acid mine drainage. Wetland areas on the landscape contribute to the regulation of stream water chemistry in ways that are different from upland areas, and wetlands may have considerable applied potential for minimizing the impact of the mine drainage on stream water quality.
Direct Supervision in Outpatient Psychiatric Graduate Medical Education.

Objective The authors describe a stimulus case that led training staff to examine and revise the supervision policy of the adult and child and adolescent psychiatry clinics. To inform the revisions, the authors reviewed the literature and national policies. Methods The authors conducted a literature review in PubMed using the following criteria: Supervision, Residents, Training, Direct ,a ndIndirect and a supplemental review in Academic Psychiatry. The authors reviewed institutional and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education resident and fellow supervision policies to develop an outpatient and fellow supervision policy. Results Research is limited in psychiatry with three experimental articles demonstrating positive impact of direct supervision and several suggesting different techniques for direct supervision. In other areas of medicine, direct supervision is associated with improved educational and patient outcomes. The authors present details of our new supervision policy including triggers for direct supervision. Conclusions The term direct supervision is relatively new in psychiatry and medical education. There is little published on the extent of implementation of direct supervision and on its impact on the educational experience of psychiatry trainees and other medical specialties. Direct supervision has been associated with improved educational and patient outcomes in nonpsychiatric fields of medicine. More research is needed on the implementation of, indications for, and effects of direct supervision on trainee education and on patient outcomes.
Advanced Mechanics and General Relativity: Scalar field theory

The ultimate goal of the next two chapters is to connect Einstein's equation to relativistic field theory. The original motivation for this shift away from geometry, and toward the machinery of field theory, was (arguably) the difficulty of unifying the four forces of nature when one of these is not a force. There was a language for relativistic fields, and a way to think about quantization in the context of that language. If gravity was to be quantized in a manner similar to E&M, it needed a formulation more like E&M's. We will begin by developing the Lagrangian description for simple scalar fields, this is a “continuum”-ization of Newton's second law, and leads immediately to the wave equation. Once we have the wave equation, appropriate to, for example, longitudinal density perturbations in a material, we can generalize to the wave equation of empty space, which, like materials, has a natural speed. This gives us the massless Klein–Gordon scalar field theory. We will explore some of the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian ideas applied to fields, and make the connection between these and natural continuum forms of familiar (point) classical mechanics. In the next chapter, we will extend to vector fields, discuss electricity and magnetism, and move on to develop the simplest second-rank symmetric tensor field theory. This is, almost uniquely, Einstein's general relativity, and the field of interest is the metric of a (pseudo-)Riemannian space-time.
Development of a Big Area BackLighter for high energy density experiments

A very large area (7.5 mm2) laser-driven x-ray backlighter, termed the Big Area BackLighter (BABL) has been developed for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to support high energy density experiments. The BABL provides an alternative to Pinhole-Apertured point-projection Backlighting (PABL) for a large field of view. This bypasses the challenges for PABL in the equatorial plane of the NIF target chamber where space is limited because of the unconverted laser light that threatens the diagnostic aperture, the backlighter foil, and the pinhole substrate. A transmission experiment using 132 kJ of NIF laser energy at a maximum intensity of 8.52 × 1014 W/cm2 illuminating the BABL demonstrated good conversion efficiency of >3.5% into K-shell emission producing ∼4.6 kJ of high energy x rays, while yielding high contrast images with a highly uniform background that agree well with 2D simulated spectra and spatial profiles.
The motor organization of claw closer muscles in snapping shrimp

1. The motor supply to the closer muscles of the snapper and pincer claws in alpheid shrimp was examined using electrical stimulation and recording techniques. Closer muscles of both claws are innervated by two excitatory and two inhibitory axons. Details of the relative distribution of the two excitatory axons to both sets of closer muscle fibers in each claw are similar. 3. Properties of synaptic transmission at the neuromuscular junction in the pincer claw resemble those in developing or regenerating muscle, with frequent failures and fluctuating ejp amplitudes. 4. We conclude that gross reorganization of claw motor innervation does not occur during the phenomenon of pincer-snapper transformation. Moreover the developmentally primitive state of neuromuscular transmission in the pincer provides a clue to possible control mechanisms in the transformation of the closer muscle.
Relationship between preoperative patency of the inferior mesenteric artery and subsequent occurrence of type II endoleak in patients undergoing endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Abstract Objectives: The purpose of this study was (1) to find out whether preoperative inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) patency (on radiographic imaging) predicts IMA-related endoleaks after endovascular repair of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms, (2) to determine feasibility of measuring aneurysm sac pressures in patients with endoleaks, and (3) to report early evidence of effective endovascular obliteration of IMA endoleaks. Methods: We studied 76 consecutive cases of infrarenal aortic aneurysms that were repaired with an endovascular approach (March 1998–April 1999). Results: There were 13 (17%) endoleaks persistent 30 days after the procedure. Eleven (85%) of these 13 were IMA-related endoleaks, which were documented with selective superior mesenteric artery angiography. The preoperative finding (on computed tomographic scan) of a patent IMA does not always predict an IMA-related endoleak, but results in a statistically and clinically significant higher ratio of patients with IMA-related endoleaks in the immediate postoperative period (24% versus 3%, P Conclusions: Many endoleaks are caused by a patent IMA, and this can result in persistence of systemic pressure within the aneurysm sac. The preoperative finding (on computed tomographic scan) of a patent IMA is a predictor of increased rates of IMA endoleaks, and IMA endoleaks can be successfully obliterated through endovascular procedures, after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. (J Vasc Surg 2000;32:777-88.)
A FAST ALGORITHM FOR THE ANALYSIS OF RADIATION AND SCATTERING FROM MICROSTRIP ARRAYS ON FINITE SUBSTRATES

The analysis of radiation and scattering from a multiregion () quasiplanar structure using the conentional method of moments MoM is computationally expensie. To circument this difficulty, a computa- tional scheme that supplements the classical MoM with the steepest descent fast-multipole algorithm is presented in this paper. This proposed methodology is particularly well suited to the analysis of finite microstrip antenna arrays. Q 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 23: 306)310, 1999. . ory costs of a naive approach . The SDFMM achieves its efficiency by casting terms in an MoM matrix)vector product in the form of discrete, inhomogeneous plane-wave expan- sions arising from a representation of the homogeneous medium Green's function in terms of a steepest descent-path integral and a two-dimensional fast-multipole expansion. The presented fast iterative solution permits the analysis of scattering and radiation from large and complex structures within realistic CPU times on laboratory workstations. These structures include large microstrip patch arrays on finite substrates and ground planes modeled using 100,000 or more MoM basis functions.
Prolonged Intracorporeal Support of Gas Exchange with an Intravenacaval Oxygenator

Patients with severe respiratory failure undergoing conventional mechanical ventilation typically are exposed to levels of ventilator support that place the patient at risk of barotrauma or oxygen toxicity. In severe cases, gas exchange may be inadequate despite maximal ventilator support. We report two cases of advanced respiratory failure in which augmentation of gas exchange was provided for prolonged periods (18 and 13 days) with an intravenacaval hollow-fiber membrane oxygenator (IVOX). Following implantation, significant reductions in ventilator support were possible with improvement in arterial blood gas values. No significant complications were noted. IVOX can provide clinically useful augmentation of gas exchange in respiratory failure and can be used for prolonged periods.
Kolmogorov Turbulence in a Random Force Driven Burgers Equation

The dynamics of velocity fluctuations, governed by the one-dimensional Burgers equation, driven by a white-in-time random force f with the spatial spectrum \ensuremath{\Vert}f(k)${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Vert}}}^{2}$\ensuremath{\propto}${\mathit{k}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$, is considered. High-resolution numerical experiments conducted in this work give the energy spectrum E(k)\ensuremath{\propto}${\mathit{k}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\beta}}}$ with \ensuremath{\beta}=5/3\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.02. The observed two-point correlation function C(k,\ensuremath{\omega}) reveals \ensuremath{\omega}\ensuremath{\propto}${\mathit{k}}^{\mathit{z}}$ with the ``dynamic exponent'' z\ensuremath{\approxeq}2/3. High-order moments of velocity differences show strong intermittency and are dominated by powerful large-scale shocks. The results are compared with predictions of the one-loop renormalized perturbation expansion.
Isolation and Purification of Leaf Starch Components

A procedure was developed for the separation and purification of amylose and amylopectin isolated from cotton leaves. Cotton leaves were homogenized in 0.02 molar phosphate buffer at pH 7.0 containing HgCl2 plus toluene. Crude starch granules were collected by centrifugation and partially purified by treating with acetone and toluene. The starch granules were then dispersed in dimethylsulfoxide and precipitated with ethyl alcohol. The precipitate was suspended in boiling water. Amylose was separated from amylopectin and cell wall particles on a Sepharose 2B column and further purified with thymol and butanol. Amylopectin was then separated from the colloidal cell wall contaminants by its specific interaction with concanavalin A. Purities of starch components were verified by specific biochemical and enzymic tests in addition to their iodine-binding capacity. This procedure should also be suitable for purification of starch components from other plant sources.
Microstructure measurements in a thermohaline staircase

Abstract Horizontal microscale measurements of temperatur and velocity at the interfaces of a well-developed thermohaline staircase show narrow-banded and large-amplitude temperature gradients and no measurable shear, features which previously have been interpreted fingers. However, the computed fluxes of heat and potential energy are nearly 2 orders of magnitude smaller than estimates based on laboratory measurements, and a vertically coherent and organized system of salt fingers was not observed. The horizontal temperature gradient variance appears to be isotropic and chaotic.
A reply to “magic numbers in Cn+ and Cn− abundance distribution” based on experimental observations

Abstract The Cn− abundance distributions for laser vaporization into a pulsed He stream reported by Hahn et al. (Chem. Phys. Letters 130 (1986) 12) in which C60− was not special are here contradicted by observation of a Cn− distribution by laser vaporization where C60− is prominent.
Ridge preservation for implant therapy: a review of the literature

Healing of the extraction socket after tooth removal involves retention of the blood clot followed by a sequence of events that lead to changes in the alveolar process in a three dimensional fashion. This normal healing event results in a minimal loss of vertical height (around 1 mm), but a substantial loss of width in the buccal-lingual plane (4-6 mm). During the first three months following extraction that loss has been shown to be significant and may result in both a hard tissue and soft tissue deformity affecting the ability to restore the site with acceptable esthetics. Procedures that reduce the resorptive process have been shown to be predictable and potentially capable of eliminating secondary surgery for site preparation when implant therapy is planned. The key element is prior planning by the dental therapist to act at the time of extraction to prevent the collapse of the ridge due to the loss of the alveolus. Several techniques have been employed as ridge preservation procedures involving the use of bone grafts, barrier membranes and biologics to provide a better restorative outcome. This review will explore the evidence behind each technique and their efficacy in accomplishing site preparation. The literature does not identify a single technique as superior to others; however, all accepted therapeutic procedures for ridge preservation have been shown to be more effective than blood clot alone in randomized controlled studies.
The spatial distribution of umbral dots and granules

A statistical analysis is made of the spatial distribution of umbral dots and photospheric granules. The dots and granules are more evenly spaced than random points, though dots mapped by different observers have different distributions.
Natural Progression of Biochemical Markers of Biliary Tract Obstruction in Patients with Gallstone Pancreatitis

The presenting pattern and natural progression of biochemical markers of biliary tract obstruction in patients with gallstone pancreatitis have not been elucidated. We analyzed serial values of bilirubin levels following admission to discharge in 143 patients. Ninety-four of patients demonstrated a Decrescendo (falling) pattern of bilirubin levels from admission until normalization at 21 hours (median). Forty-nine patients demonstrated a Crescendo-Decrescendo (initially rising) pattern with peak levels of bilirubin occurring at 39 hours after admission followed by a subsequent normalization after a median of 119 hours. Patients in the Decrescendo group were significantly younger (33 versus 41 years, P = .02) and more patients had experienced symptoms for greater than 48 hours (65% versus 47%, P = .05). Ten percent of patients in the Decrescendo group and 29% of patients in the Crescendo-Decrescendo group underwent ERCP (P = .02). Normalization of biochemical markers after ERCP was significantly delayed in both groups compared to no ERCP. Older patients present earlier, with higher bilirubin levels and normalize slower than younger patients, perhaps due to fibrosis of the ampulla and decreased compliance of the common bile duct. Patients who disobstruct spontaneously (90%) normalize quicker than patients undergoing ERCP.
Ideal Perturbed Equilibria in Tokamaks and Control of External Magnetic Perturbations

Tokamaks are sensitive to deviations from axisymmetry as small as δB /B0 ∼ 0.01% with significant degradation or improvement in performance. Ideal Perturbed Equilibrium Code (IPEC) has been developed in order to understand plasma response to such a small non-axisymmetric perturbation in tokamaks. IPEC has been benchmarked in cylindrical limits, with CAS3D code, and has been validated through Resonant Field Amplification (RFA) measurements and error field correction results. The calculations of perturbed equilibria, such as IPEC in tokamaks, can be used to decompose the distributions of external magnetic perturbations on a control surface by their importance to critical plasma properties. The coupling between the external field at the control surface and the resonant field driving islands at the rational surfaces determine the most important distribution of external magnetic field on the control surface for island opening and plasma locking. It has been shown that the most important distribution of external magnetic field changes little across various plasma profiles and parameters, indicating the possibility of robust error field corrections. The described IPEC method can be also applied to general 3D geometry if a relevant perturbed equilibrium code such as CAS3D is utilized (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
An experimental investigation of the bioacoustics of cowbird song

Female cowbirds (Molothrus ater ater), maintained in isolation from males during the breeding season, respond to the playback of male song with copulatory postures. They respond to some songs more than to others. Cowbird song potency can thus be operationally defined by the proportion of copulatory postures a song elicits across multiple playbacks. The purpose of the present study was to explore whether song potency changes with distance in the field. No field recordings elicited high levels of responding by the females. When songs of known high potency are systematically degraded, the results indicate that female cowbirds are sensitive to small changes in signal to noise ratio and to atmospheric attenuation. The data suggest that cowbird song potency degrades very rapidly with transmission distance in the field.
An In Vitro Biomechanical Comparison of a Prototype Intramedullary Pin‐Plate with a Dynamic Compression Plate for Equine Metacarpophalangeal Arthrodesis

Objectives To compare the biomechanical properties of a prototype intramedullary pin-plate (IMPP) implant specifically designed for equine metacarpophalangeal (MCP) arthrodesis with a dynamic compression plate (DCP) system. Study Design In vitro biomechanical testing of paired cadaveric equine forelimbs with a simulated traumatic disruption of the suspensory apparatus, stabilized by one of two methods for MCP arthrodesis. Animal Population Twenty-one pairs of adult equine cadaveric forelimbs. Methods Each forelimb had the distal sesamoidean ligaments severed to create a disrupted suspensory apparatus. For each forelimb pair, the MCP joint was stabilized with the IMPP in one limb, and a DCP in the other limb. Seven matching limb pairs were tested in axial compression in a single cycle to failure, 7 matching limb pairs were tested in torsion in a single cycle to failure, and 7 matching limb pairs were fatigued tested in axial compression. Mean test variable values for each method were compared using a paired t-test within each group. Significance was set at P<.05. Results The mean yield load, yield stiffness, and failure load (axial compression, torsional loading) was significantly greater for the IMPP compared with the DCP system. Mean cycles to failure for axial compression was significantly greater for the IMPP compared with the DCP system. Significance in all tests was P<.0001. Conclusion The IMPP was superior to the DCP system in resisting the biomechanical forces most likely to cause failure of MCP joint arthrodesis. Clinical Relevance The IMPP implant should be considered for MCP arthrodesis in horses with traumatic disruption of the suspensory apparatus. The specific design of the IMPP implant may facilitate equine MCP arthrodesis and avoid convalescent complications related to cyclic fatigue.
Population-Based Initiatives in College Mental Health: Students Helping Students to Overcome Obstacles

College students' need for mental health care has increased dramatically, leaving campus counseling and mental health centers struggling to meet the demand. This has led to the investigation and development of extra-center, population-based interventions. Student-to-student support programs are but one example. Students themselves are a plentiful, often-untapped resource that extends the reach of mental health services on campus. Student-to-student programs capitalize on students' natural inclination to assist their peers. A brief review of the prevalence and effects of mental disorders in the college population is provided, followed by a broad overview of the range of peer-to-peer programs that can be available on college campuses. Two innovative programs are highlighted: (1) a hospital- and community-based program, the College Mental Health Program (CMHP) at McLean Hospital, and 2) the Student Support Network (SSN) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The subsequent section reviews the literature on peer-to-peer programs for students with serious and persistent mental illness for which there is a small but generally positive body of research. This lack of an empirical basis in college mental health leads the authors to argue for development of broad practice-research networks.
Interferometric spectrum analyzer.

Dynamic range is a key performance parameter for spectrum analyzers. The dynamic range of a Bragg cell power spectrum analyzer is generally limited by the dynamic range of self-scanned photodetector arrays. Interferometric techniques can be used to increase the dynamic range; but it is at the expense of increasing the number of photodetectors required, when the interference is introduced in the spatial domain, or a large photodetector bandwidth, when the interference is introduced in the temporal domain. In this paper we describe an interferometric approach wherein a second Bragg cell generates a spatially modulated reference waveform to produce an interference term that has a constant temporal frequency for all spatial frequencies. The advantages of this approach are lower photodetector bandwidth, improved dynamic range, improved cross talk suppression, more efficient use of the Bragg cell time–bandwidth product, immunity to scattered noise, and improved short pulse detectability. The chief disadvantage is the need for a discrete element photodetector array; when such arrays become available in hybrid or integrated packages, an additional advantage will be that of parallel postdetection processing.
Evening chronotypes have the increased odds for bronchial asthma and nocturnal asthma

Earlier studies have found associations of chronotypes with a range of health-related factors. In the light of these findings, the behavioral trait of eveningness in particular associates with determinants that might have a negative impact on health. In this study, based on a random sample of population aged 25–74 years living in five large geographical areas in Finland (N = 6089), we tested whether the evening chronotypes have the increased odds for respiratory symptoms and diseases. As a result, after controlling for socio-demographic and lifestyle factors, evening-types had wheezy breathing without respiratory infection, a diagnosed or treated bronchial asthma, awoken in shortness of breath, awoken in heavy to breath, wheezy breathing with dyspnea, wheezy breathing as such and medication for asthma more often than morning-types (odds ratios (ORs) of 1.5–1.9) and intermediate-types (ORs of 1.3–1.6). In addition, evening-types had current medication for asthma, and awoken in coughing more often (OR = 1.5...
1135 DETERMINANTS OF LONG-TERM RENAL FUNCTION FOR PATIENTS UNDERGOING RADICAL CYSTECTOMY WITH URINARY DIVERSION

patient age was 66.0 years and 84% were male. Complete data was available for 463 at pre-op, 460 at discharge, 420 at 6 months, 361 at 1 year, 267 at 2 years, and 183 at 3 years. There was a small but statistically significant reduction in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and creatinine clearance by 6 months post-operatively which remained stable from year 1 to year 3 (Table 1). Of patients with a pre-operative eGFR 60 (MDRD), 28.1% (79/281) progressed to an eGFR of 60 at 1 year, 27.9% (57/204) at year 2, and 30.4% (45/148) a year 3. Findings were similar with the MDRD, CKD-EPI, and CG equations and when controlled for decades of life. These significant differences were maintained after exclusion of patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (48) or had moderate or worse pre-operative hydronephrosis (32), and censoring at the development of moderate or worse post-operative hydronephrosis (32), or induction of adjuvant chemotherapy (148). HCO3 levels at 6 months and beyond remained unchanged from pre-operative values. CONCLUSIONS: There is a small albeit statistically significant decline in renal function during the first year following RC and ON which stabilizes after 1 year. There were no appreciable differences in the estimation of renal function by various equations (MDRD, CKD-EPI, CG). Except in the initial post-operative period, serum HCO3 did not change after surgery.
Making Sat Scores Optional in Selective College Admissions: A Case Study.

Abstract Despite heightened scrutiny of the use of standardized tests in college admissions, there has been little public empirical analysis of the effects of an optional SAT score submission policy on college admissions. This paper examines the results of the decision by Mount Holyoke College to make SAT scores optional in the admissions process. We find that students who “under-performed” on the SAT relative to their high school GPA were more likely to withhold their scores; the admissions office rated applicants who withheld their scores more highly than they otherwise would have been rated; and, matriculants who withheld their scores had a lower average GPA than those who submitted their standardized test results.
Photodynamic therapy augments the efficacy of oncolytic vaccinia virus against primary and metastatic tumours in mice

Therapies targeted towards the tumour vasculature can be exploited for the purpose of improving the systemic delivery of oncolytic viruses to tumours. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a clinically approved treatment for cancer that is known to induce potent effects on tumour vasculature. In this study, we examined the activity of PDT in combination with oncolytic vaccinia virus (OVV) against primary and metastatic tumours in mice. The effect of 2-[1-hexyloxyethyl-]-2-devinyl pyropheophorbide-a (HPPH)-sensitised-PDT on the efficacy of oncolytic virotherapy was investigated against subcutaneously implanted syngeneic murine NXS2 neuroblastoma and human FaDu head and neck squamous cell carcinoma xenografts in nude mice. Treatment efficacy was evaluated by monitoring tumour growth and survival. The effects of combination treatment on vascular function were examined using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and immunohistochemistry, whereas viral replication in tumour cells was analysed by a standard plaque assay. Normal tissue phototoxicity following PDT-OV treatment was studied using the mouse foot response assay. Combination of PDT with OVV resulted in inhibition of primary and metastatic tumour growth compared with either monotherapy. PDT-induced vascular disruption resulted in higher intratumoural viral titres compared with the untreated tumours. Five days after delivery of OVV, there was a loss of blood flow to the interior of tumour that was associated with infiltration of neutrophils. Administration of OVV did not result in any additional photodynamic damage to normal mouse foot tissue. These results provide evidence into the usefulness of PDT as a means of enhancing intratumoural replication and therapeutic efficacy of OV.
Terrestriality in the cyprinodontid fish Rivulus marmoratus: potential utility in H2S and other bioassays.

Currently, several members of the family Cyprinodontidae are employed in biological monitoring, most notably Jordanella floridae, Cyprinodon variegatus, and Fundulus heteroclitus. The objective of this paper is to propose an addition to that list, the euryhaline cyprinodontid Rivulus marmoratus, whose suitability as a bioassay fish compares favorably to and in some areas surpasses that of other species currently used in that capacity. The unique genetic composition of the species, the ability of R. marmoratus to leave the water and respire in air, plus other attributes suggest that R. marmoratus may be useful as a bioassay organism. Hydrogen sulfide was selected as a reference toxicant for this study because H/sub 2/S is an extremely potent metabolic poison found in industrial effluent into aquatic environments and is also a product of sewage decomposition. Additionally, a concurrent project was examining the role of H/sub 2/S produced from natural organic decomposition in eliciting terrestriality in the habitat of Rivulus marmoratus.
Evaluation of Drugs for Treating Obesity

Criteria for the evaluation of new drugs to treat obesity are important as guides for designing clinical trials to test these agents. These criteria must be developed in relation to the realities of obesity, which is a chronic disease associated with morbidity and mortality that is increased by visceral fat deposits. The observation that patients regain weight after stopping drug treatment for obesity argues for the proposition that drugs work only when taken and NOT that the drugs are ineffective. The analogy between the development of treatments for obesity to those for the treatment of hypertension is used to highlight potential areas for new developments. Several features of an ideal drug for the treatment of obesity are suggested. Criteria for evaluating new drugs include both primary and secondary endpoints. The primary endpoint for an anti-obesity drug should be weight loss, possibly by category of success. Losses of total body fat or visceral fat might be alternative primary endpoints. Secondary endpoints include reduction in risk factors for associated diseases and improvement in the quality of life. In trials where vigorous placebo designs including highly aggressive behavior modification or very-low-calorie diets were used, it may be difficult or impossible to detect a response to a drug.
A STOCHASTIC MARKOVIAN APPROACH TO TRIP DISTRIBUTION

Experience with trip-distribution models shows that the discrepancy between actual and estimated values of trip production, attraction, decay, and interchange cannot be completely eliminated. To improve upon this situation, this paper attributed a random structure to the trip-generation process by introducing a random error. Within this stochastic context, it was possible to develop a solution procedure to the trip-distribution problem based on a Markovian travel demand model, using only aggregate time-series trip-generation data. The proposed procedure is based on statistical estimation minimizing the errors sum of squares associated with the flow conservation constraint on trip attraction, subject to the trip-production flow constraint and a given trip-decay function. It is noteworthy to observe that the random error can be introduced into the trip-decay constraint or the trip-production constraint to generate the objective function to be minimized. The choice of the appropriate objective should be based on the predictive ability and the computational efficiency of the solution procedures associated with each of these two alternatives. The performance and efficiency of the proposed solution procedure in comparison with existing techniques have still to be demonstrated through empirical testing and computational experience. The model presented here, however, has a theoretical basis sound enough to suggest that an improvement in the efficiency of the resulting solution procedures could be expected in its application.