cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Long-term surveillance of zinc implant in murine artery: Surprisingly steady biocorrosion rate.

Abstract Metallic zinc implanted into the abdominal aorta of rats out to 6 months has been demonstrated to degrade while avoiding responses commonly associated with the restenosis of vascular implants. However, major questions remain regarding whether a zinc implant would ultimately passivate through the production of stable corrosion products or via a cell mediated fibrous encapsulation process that prevents the diffusion of critical reactants and products at the metal surface. Here, we have conducted clinically relevant long term in vivo studies in order to characterize late stage zinc implant biocorrosion behavior and products to address these critical questions. We found that zinc wires implanted in the murine artery exhibit steady corrosion without local toxicity for up to at least 20 months post-implantation, despite a steady buildup of passivating corrosion products and intense fibrous encapsulation of the wire. Although fibrous encapsulation was not able to prevent continued implant corrosion, it may be related to the reduced chronic inflammation observed between 10 and 20 months post-implantation. X-ray elemental and infrared spectroscopy analyses confirmed zinc oxide, zinc carbonate, and zinc phosphate as the main components of corrosion products surrounding the Zn implant. These products coincide with stable phases concluded from Pourbaix diagrams of a physiological solution and in vitro electrochemical impedance tests. The results support earlier predictions that zinc stents could become successfully bio-integrated into the arterial environment and safely degrade within a time frame of approximately 1–2 years. Staement of significance Previous studies have shown zinc to be a promising candidate material for bioresorbable endovascular stenting applications. An outstanding question, however, is whether a zinc implant would ultimately passivate through the production of stable corrosion products or via a cell mediated tissue encapsulation process that prevented the diffusion of critical reactants and products at the metal surface. We found that zinc wires implanted in the murine artery exhibit steady corrosion for up to at least 20 months post-implantation. The results confirm earlier predictions that zinc stents could safely degrade within a time frame of approximately 1–2 years.
Patient Facial Emotion Recognition and Sentiment Analysis Using Secure Cloud with Hardware Acceleration

Abstract This chapter conducts sentiment analysis of medical patients through facial emotion recognition. In this work, a patient's facial expression is dynamically captured from a video stream, recognized using machine learning-based image classifiers, and put into one of the result categories including angry, disgusted, fearful, happy, sad, surprised, and neural. The system design includes three primary components: a video processor, a face detector, and an image classifier. The video processor captures a frame with a patient face from its video feed, converting it to a grayscale image that is then passed to the face detector. The face detector performs face detection by cropping the image around the face. The cropped face image is then resized and fed into the image classifier that will eventually recognize the facial emotion. The current state-of-the-art facial emotion recognition model makes use of a convolutional neural network (CNN) with three hidden layers and a linear support vector machine as the output layer. The model presented in this chapter expands on the state-of-the-art model by using pre-processed video stream frames as the input to our CNN model. Face detection, RGB to grayscale color conversion, and Gaussian normalization are applied to the image before it is input to the CNN. Besides expanding on the architecture of the state-of-the-art model, this work also adds an additional optimization step during training that detects saturation in the validation accuracy and decreases the learning rate in an attempt to combat this saturation. This added optimization allows the model to “narrow-in” on the values of trainable parameters that minimize the output value of the error function. The implemented system shows inference accuracy comparable to state-of-the-art facial emotion classifiers. Furthermore, the proposed design is carried out on a remote, cloud-based GPU platform using programming techniques developed specifically for the GPU devices (i.e., the CUDA language). As a result, the model training is significantly accelerated compared to being run on a traditional CPU. This also enables the system to be run in real time. Finally, a case study has been conducted to automatically understand patients' pain intensity levels using the proposed facial emotion recognition system. This framework, named “DeepPain”, correlates the pain intensity with the probabilities that the patient image falls into different facial emotion categories. In particular, two emotion probabilities, “fearful” and “sad”, are determined to be closely related to the pain intensity level, and used as the input to the DeepPain framework. Detecting and understanding pain intensity at a fine-grained level, as performed by DeepPain, will play a crucial role in healthcare.
Effect of Transosseous Tunnels on Patella Fracture Risk After Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction: A Cadaveric Study

Purpose To determine whether (1) tunnels that breach the anterior cortex of the patella result in increased fracture risk and (2) transosseous tunnels drilled across the patella significantly reduce the tensile force needed to fracture the patella. Methods Twenty-six fresh-frozen cadaveric human patellas were randomized to 1 of 3 groups: a control group with unmodified patellas, a group with 2 transverse tunnels (TT) that did not breach the anterior cortex, and a group with 2 TT that breached the anterior cortex of the patella (PA). Patellas were connected in series to a load cell via freeze clamp attachments to the quadriceps and patellar tendons. Pull was fixed at 45° with the patella set in the trochlear groove of a synthetic femur. Patellas were loaded cyclically, then to failure. Results Twenty-six patellas were tested (mean age = 71.4 years; range = 37-95, standard deviation [STD] = 11.5 years). PA patellas were more likely to fracture through the tunnel than TT patellas (100% vs 25%, P = .033). Control, TT, and PA groups failed at 1,915 N (STD = 508 N), 1,901 N (STD = 884 N), and 1,640 N (STD = 625 N), respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in overall load to failure between control and TT ( P = .969), control and PA ( P = .321), and TT and PA ( P = .488) groups. Conclusions Transosseous patellar tunnels for medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction that breached the anterior cortex were more likely to fracture during longitudinal load than those that did not breach the anterior cortex. However, we found no statistically significant difference in the tensile load to failure between native patellas and patellas with either type of transosseous tunnel. Clinical Relevance The results of this study show that breaching the anterior cortex during transosseous drilling increases the risk of a patellar fracture occurring through the transosseous tunnel.
Levels of Trace Data for Social and Behavioural Science Research

The explosion of data available from online systems such as social media is creating a wealth of trace data, that is, data that record evidence of human activity. The volume of data available offers great potential to advance social and behavioural science research. However, the data are of a very different kind than more conventional social and behavioural science data, posing challenges to use. This paper adopts a data framework from Earth observation science and applies it to trace data to identify possible issues in analysing trace data. Application of the framework also reveals issues for sharing and reusing data.
G379 ‘departmental induction…less mandatory and more opportunity’

Aim To consider if a comprehensive clinical induction improves paediatric trainee anxiety and confidence about starting a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) placement. Working in a tertiary NICU is compulsory training for paediatric doctors. Feeling competent and confident to manage common neonatal scenarios is often a cause of trainee anxiety. Departmental inductions deliver a wealth of information to ensure the process of safe handover between rotations of junior doctors. Rarely, however, are they used to cover the topics most needed by the new doctors or used as a teaching experience. Methods A standardised clinical induction was implemented to a tertiary NICU departmental programme. Every trainee rotated through simulated sessions covering airway management, central access, neonatal life support and an emergency simulation scenario. This allowed trainees to practice essential skills for the job in a safe environment with the department’s equipment and resources including permanent NICU staff. Results Qualitative and quantitative feedback was obtained from a total of 14 trainees over a one year period at two separate NICU clinical inductions. Trainees completed questionnaires rating their confidence overall and in relation to NICU specific situations, before and after the induction [1 (least) to 10 (most)]. These responses were analysed using the Mann-Whitney-U test. In all situations, there was an overall improvement in trainee confidence post induction. This was statistically significant (p≤0.05) in trainee confidence to manage a neonatal airway problem with airway manoeuvres or non-invasive respiratory support and trainee confidence to initiate management in situations requiring neonatal resuscitation. Other positive factors trainees reported as a result of the clinical induction included feeling part of the NICU team (13/14 trainees scored ≥7/10) and feeling inspired (11/14≥8/10). Conclusions Empowering trainees through a good clinical induction improves confidence and experience of working in a tertiary NICU, potentially improving patient care and management. The departmental induction is an excellent education opportunity for all involved.
Confucian Image Politics: Masculine Morality in Seventeenth-Century China

The seventeenth century has always been a fascinating period for students of Chinese history; a century spanning from the last few chaotic decades of the late Ming dynasty (1368–1644), known for it...
Helping Gay AIDS Patients in Crisis

The biopsychosocial consequences of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) particularly affect gay patients both in the community and in hospitals. This article describes a crisis intervention ...
Governing the Freshwater Commons: Lessons from Application of the Trilogy of Governance Tools in Australia and the Western United States

Common pool resources, by definition, are difficult to govern. The governance of water as a common pool resource is even more complex because of its unique physical characteristics, our special relation to it, and its necessity for life. Western societies have developed three approaches to governance of common pool resources: (1) government regulation; (2) the division of the resource into private property; and (3) self-organisation involving both governmental and nongovernmental actors. This chapter asserts that the unique nature of water requires the availability of all three approaches for use in combination if society is to rise to the challenge presented by the impact of growing population and climate change on water supply and demand. Long-term drought provides a window on potential future climate scenarios. In the face of long-term drought, Australia and the western United States have responded through innovation in water governance. This provides an opportunity for comparative analysis of reform to begin to understand the combination of governance approaches that lead to greater adaptive capacity.
Classifying Educational Questions Based on the Expected Characteristics of Answers

Question classification is an important part of several tasks, especially in educational systems. In this paper, we present a system that classifies questions asked in an educational context based on the expected characteristics of answers, with a future goal to facilitate the analysis of student responses. To this end, we propose an approach that employs a deep neural network together with features tailored to each question type (expected answer characteristic), word embeddings and inter-class dependency features. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, we use a corpus of questions collected from real science classrooms and augment it with data from online resources from the same domain. Our approach achieves a weighted \(F_1\)-score of 0.678, outperforming the baseline by 56%.
Analysis of Experimental and Epidemiological Data from Exposure to Microwave/Radiofrequency (MW/RF) Energies

Much of the research on biological effects of microwave/radiofrequency (MW/RF) energies has been done with small rodents having coefficients of heat absorption, field concentration effects, body surface areas and thermoregulatory mechanisms significantly different from man. Even closely related species can differ widely in their responses. The literature is replete with “anomalous” reactions. Thus, results of exposure of common laboratory animals cannot be readily extrapolated to man unless a comparative biology approach and some form of “scaling” among different animal species, and from animal to man, is used in an appropriate manner to obtain quantitatively valid extrapolation relationships from the observed data.
Multiyear Evaluation of an Orange Peel Oil-based Spray Additive for Managing Insect Pests and Brown Rot of Nectarine

Abstract Adjuvants are often added to pesticide formulations to enhance their effectiveness. In this multiyear field study, a proprietary formulation of orange peel oil-based spray additive contain...
Licensed Acupuncturists Join the Veterans Health Administration

Abstract This article introduces changes occurring in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) with respect to the delivery of acupuncture. The VHA has published a new occupation code and job quali...
A Parameterized Linear Magnetic Equivalent Circuit for Air Core Radial Flux Coaxial Magnetic Gears with Halbach Arrays

This paper describes a systematic way to create a 2D linear magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) from node cells in a radial flux coaxial magnetic gear with Halbach arrays and without back irons. Three base designs are used to validate the accuracy of the MEC against a nonlinear 2D FEA in terms of torque and air gap flux densities. Guidelines based on each design's pole arcs are presented for distributing the node cells inside the inner ring of magnets and outside the outer ring of magnets. Based on these guidelines, an extensive parametric study is performed to compare the MEC and FEA results. The MEC is able to very accurately track design parameter trends. Even for the worst cases, the MEC predicts a torque within 6.9% of the FEA for a relatively coarse node cell mesh and within 4.2% with a finer mesh. However, the MEC is significantly faster than the FEA. With the coarser mesh, the MEC is almost two orders of magnitude faster than the FEA. Thus, this systematic linear MEC can be a useful tool for performing rapid initial optimizations.
P-curve accurately rejects evidence for homeopathic ultramolecular dilutions.

Background P-curve has been proposed as a statistical test of evidential value. The distributions of sets of statistically significant p-values are tested for skewness. P-curves of true effects are right-skewed, with greater density at lower p-values than higher p-values. Analyses of null effects result in a flat or left-skewed distribution. The accuracy of p-curve has not been tested using published research analyses of a null effect. We examined whether p-curve accurately rejects a set of significant p-values obtained for a nonexistent effect. Methods Homeopathic ultramolecular dilutions are medicinal preparations with active substances diluted beyond Avogadro's number. Such dilute mixtures are unlikely to contain a single molecule of an active substance. We tested whether p-curve accurately rejects the evidential value of significant results obtained in placebo-controlled clinical trials of homeopathic ultramolecular dilutions. Results P-curve accurately rejected the evidential value of significant results obtained in placebo-controlled clinical trials of ultramolecular dilutions. Robustness testing using alternate p-values yielded similar results. Conclusion Our results suggest that p-curve can accurately detect when sets of statistically significant results lack evidential value.
On Punishment, Bribery and Government Performance

The paper identifies the relative utility of government and voters to define the threshold for working or not. It accepts for a finite move game, non-performance of the incumbent, and shows how such a behavior can be reversed in the presence of bribery and punishment in the form of loss of office and utility of the incumbent. Consequently, eight possible SPNE are identified, each contingent on relative utility rankings, rent from holding office, per unit rent and punishment co-efficient.
Blind Web Development Training at Oysters and Pearls Technology Camp in Uganda

Despite a growing emphasis and vocational demand for STEM education and code literacy, many coding resources and curricula are not easily accessible to individuals with vision impairments. Given the international demand for code literacy and web development skills, we must strive to create accessible educational materials that are effective across multiple cultures. In this paper we describe formative work in the development and evaluation of a 7-day course in web development that we taught at the Oysters and Pearls Technology Camp in Gulu, Uganda to 13 Blind and Low-Vision students who had no experience building websites. We describe our curriculum design, development of custom tactile and software educational tools, and student experiences taking the course. Students in the course learned new web development skills and self-reported a strong sense of pride and enthusiasm to continue their studies upon completion of the course. We make suggestions for future iterations of this curriculum and generalizable advice to others interested in developing accessible programming courses.
Early identification of struggling learners: using prematriculation and early academic performance data

A perennial difficultly for remediation programmes in medical school is early identification of struggling learners so that resources and assistance can be applied as quickly as is practical. Our study investigated if early academic performance has predictive validity above and beyond pre-matriculation variables. Using three cohorts of medical students, we used logistic regression modelling and negative binomial regression modelling to assess the strength of the relationships between measures of early academic performance and outcomes—later referral to the academic review and performance committee and total module score. We found performance on National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) exams at approximately 5 months into the pre-clerkship curriculum was predictive of any referral as well as the total number of referrals to an academic review and performance committee during medical school (MS)1, MS2, MS3 and/or MS4 years. NBME exams early in the curriculum may be an additional tool for early identification of struggling learners.
Towards Multicellular Biological Deep Neural Nets Based on Transcriptional Regulation

Artificial neurons built on synthetic gene networks have potential applications ranging from complex cellular decision-making to bioreactor regulation. Furthermore, due to the high information throughput of natural systems, it provides an interesting candidate for biologically-based supercomputing and analog simulations of traditionally intractable problems. In this paper, we propose an architecture for constructing multicellular neural networks and programmable nonlinear systems. We design an artificial neuron based on gene regulatory networks and optimize its dynamics for modularity. Using gene expression models, we simulate its ability to perform arbitrary linear classifications from multiple inputs. Finally, we construct a two-layer neural network to demonstrate scalability and nonlinear decision boundaries and discuss future directions for utilizing uncontrolled neurons in computational tasks.
Synthetic Chemicals and Cardiometabolic Health Across the Life Course Among Vulnerable Populations: a Review of the Literature from 2018 to 2019

Although vulnerable populations are disproportionately exposed to synthetic chemicals with endocrine disrupting properties, few recent reviews have summarized the impact of synthetic chemicals on cardiometabolic health among these groups. Of 37 eligible epidemiological studies among vulnerable populations published between January 2018 and April 2019 in which over half were prospective, the most investigated populations were pregnant women and children. Racial/ethnic minorities, individuals of low socioeconomic status (SES), and those occupationally exposed were studied the least. The most studied persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were per-/poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and the most studied non-POPs were phenols. Across chemical classes, studies found certain POPs (e.g., PFAS) and non-POPs (i.e., phenols, phthalates, and parabens) to be associated with gestational diabetes and dysregulated glucose metabolism. Results for other cardiometabolic health outcomes were inconsistent but suggested certain chemicals may negatively affect cardiometabolic health. Synthetic chemicals likely adversely affect cardiometabolic health, but current findings were inconclusive. Few recent studies focused on racial/ethnic minorities, low SES, and occupationally exposed populations. To address poor cardiometabolic health and related disparities, more studies across vulnerable populations are warranted.
Fisheries Management with Stock Growth Uncertainty and Costly Capital Adjustment

We develop a dynamic model of a fishery which simultaneously incorporates random stock growth and costly capital adjustment. Numerical techniques are used to solve for the resource-rent-maximizing harvest and capital investment policies. Capital rigidities bring diminishing marginal returns to the current period harvest, and introduce an incentive to smooth the catch over time. With density-dependent stock growth, however, catch smoothing increases stock variability resulting in reduced average yields. The optimal management policy balances the catch smoothing benefits against yield loss. We calibrate the model to the Alaskan pacific halibut fishery to demonstrate the main insights.
Facial Nerve Palsy: Clinical Practice and Cognitive Errors

Facial paralysis is the most common cranial nerve paralysis and the majority of these are idiopathic. Idiopathic facial nerve paralysis, or Bell palsy, typically presents acutely, affects the entire face, may be associated with hyperacusis, a decrease in lacrimation, salivation, or dysgeusia, and typically resolves spontaneously. The diagnosis of idiopathic facial paralysis is made after a thorough history and physical examination to exclude alternative etiologies and follow-up to ensure recovery of facial function. Atypical presentation, recurrent paralysis, additional neurologic deficits, lack of facial recovery in 2-3 months, or a history of head and neck or cutaneous malignancy are concerning for alternative causes of facial paralysis requiring workup. The erroneous use of the eponym Bell palsy to refer to all causes of facial paralysis, regardless of the history and presentation, may result in cognitive errors, including premature closure, anchoring bias, and diagnosis momentum. Hence, we recommend replacing the eponym Bell palsy with idiopathic facial nerve paralysis.
Developmental dislocation of the hip in infants: the hip′s ultrasound quantitative analysis

Objective To evaluate the biological characteristics of hip joint in infants with developmental dislocation of the hip (DDH). Methods From January 2013 to June 2016, 30 patients (age from 1 to 8 months, 25 females and 5 males) who were diagnosed as DDH, underwent ultrasound examination in Shenzhen Children′s Hospital, in these patients 20 cases were treated surgically, and 10 cases were treated with non-surgical treatment. There were 34 hips (26 unilateral dislocation and 4 bilateral dislocation) dislocation in 60 hips. All the patients were confirmed by X-ray, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination or operation. All the patients were examined by ultrasound through the coronal and transverse plane of the hip joint. The α angle, femoral head coverage ratio by acetabulum (FHC), femoral head length and width, distance from pubis to femoral head (P-H) and distance from ischium to femoral head (I-H) were measured. The dislocation joints were compared with contralateral joints. Results The α angle in the hip dislocation group was smaller than the contralateral group [(50.5±3.75)° vs (64.8±3.38) °], and there was significant difference between the two groups (t=-15.181, P<0.001). The FHC, femoral head length and width in the hip dislocation group were all smaller than the contralateral group [(23.4±17.63)% vs (64.3±6.45)%, (0.98 ±0.15) cm vs (1.19 ±0.11) cm, (1.38±0.21) cm vs (1.61±0.16) cm ], and there were significant differences between the two groups (t= -12.469, -6.034, -4.568, all P<0.001). The P-H and I-H in the hip dislocation group were larger than the contralateral group [(0.97±0.45) cm vs (0.27±0.05) cm, (0.75±0.30) cm vs (0.17±0.05) cm], and there were significant differences between the two groups (t= 8.805, 10.696, both P<0.001). The α angle, femoral head length and width in bilateral dislocation of hip group were slightly smaller than the unilateral dislocation of hip group [(50.3±2.75)° vs (51.3±4.77)°, (0.90 ±0.15) cm vs (0.97 ±0.12) cm, (1.25±0.20) cm vs (1.37 ±0.17) cm], but there were no significant differences between the two groups. The P-H and I-H in bilateral dislocation of hip group were slightly larger than the unilateral dislocation of hip group [(0.97±0.49) cm vs (0.80±0.31) cm, (0.92±0.26) cm vs (0.68±0.18) cm], but there were no significant differences between the two groups. The value of acetabular index in the ultrasound group was slightly larger than the X-ray group [(33.13±7.82)° vs (31.20±8.31)°], and there were no significant differences between the two groups. Conclusions The characteristics of DDH includes acetabulum and femoral head dysplasia, and femoral head and acetabulum position relationship abnormalities. Quantitative ultrasonography of the hip can be used to quantitatively evaluate the structural features of DDH, and it is helpful to the early diagnosis and follow-up of DDH. Key words: Ultrasonography; Developmental dysplasia of the hip; Dislocation; Infant
Hickam’s Dictum: Pseudoxanthoma elasticum and Usher syndrome in a single patient

To report the case of a patient with two distinct genetic systemic diseases – pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) and Usher syndrome – confirmed by genetic testing.Single Retrospective Case ReportA 36-y...
The Pacific Decay in Rachelle Dang’s Southern Oceans

Stepping into the gallery, we are immediately immersed in artist Rachelle Dang’s large-scale installation Southern Oceans (Figure 1). First on view at Motel Gallery in Brooklyn, New York from 15 Se...
Exploring Factors Associated With Long-Term Opioid Therapy in Cancer Survivors: An Integrative Review.

Abstract Context The prevalence of chronic pain in cancer survivors is double that of the general U.S. population. Opioids have been the foundation of cancer pain management for decades; however, there is a paucity of literature on long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) in cancer survivors. An understanding of factors related to LTOT use in cancer survivors is needed to address chronic pain and balance opioid harms in the expanding population of cancer survivors. Objectives To analyze the research of LTOT utilization and factors associated with persistent opioid use in cancer survivors. Methods A five-stage integrative review process was adapted from Whittemore and Knafl. Data sources searched included Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Google Scholar. Quantitative research studies from 2010 to present related to cancer survivors managed on LTOT were included. Editorials, reviews, or abstracts were excluded. Results After reviewing 315 articles, 21 articles were included. We found that there were several definitions of LTOT in the reviewed studies, but the duration of opioid use (i.e., more than three months after completion of curative treatment) was the most common. The reviewed literature describes a relationship between LTOT and important biopsychosocial factors (cancer type, socioeconomic factors, and comorbidities). Conclusion The studies in this review shed light on the factors associated with LTOT in cancer survivors. LTOT was common in certain populations of cancer survivors and those with a collection of patient-specific characteristics. This review suggests that there is a critical need for specialized research on chronic cancer pain and opioid safety in cancer survivors.
Initial Tests of Whether Crowd Out Can Be Offset by Increases in Loanable Funds

This chapter provides the initial tests to determine if the “crowd out” effect of deficits on consumer and investment spending can be offset by increased Federal Reserve purchases of securities from banks in the open market for the purpose of increasing their loanable funds so as to provide banks with the additional liquidity necessary to offset crowd out. The tests indicate crowd out effects can be offset this way, allowing the stimulative effects of deficits to be felt.
Ongoing response in a multiply relapsed metastatic posterior fossa ependymoma a after vorinostat and concomitant irradiation

Posterior fossa ependymomas A confer the worst prognosis among all subtypes. They demonstrate distinct epigenetic changes, which can be targeted with epigenetic modifiers like histone deacetylase inhibitors (Vorinostat). We describe a 3-year-old male diagnosed with a posterior fossa ependymoma who had a number of recurrences requiring multimodal therapy. Molecular analysis demonstrated a BCL-6 corepressor mutation, and methylation profiling matched with posterior fossa ependymomas A. He received craniospinal irradiation and focal boost with Vorinostat. Serial imaging after irradiation revealed a progressively decreasing tumor burden with nearly complete resolution of disease at 15 months. Histone deacetylase inhibitors demonstrate promise in treatment of carefully selected cases of ependymoma.
Regulation of U.S. Marine Resources: An Overview of the Current Complexity

Regulation of the United States' marine resources suffers as a result of fragmented jurisdiction and legal authorities. This short article provides an overview of just how complex and uncoordinated regulation of those resources has become -- a fact that both the Pew Oceans Commission and the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy emphasized in their respective reports in 2003 and 2004.
A comprehensive model to predict the microwave spectrum of propyne in the region 17–70 GHz for the ground and v10 = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 vibrational states

Abstract A comprehensive model for predicting rotational frequency components in various v 10 vibrational levels of propyne was developed. A number of components of the rotational spectra in the ground and v 10 = 1, 2, 3, 4 excited vibrational states of propyne in the frequency range 17–70 GHz have been obtained. Molecular constants for these vibrationally excited states have been determined from more than 100 observed rotational transitions. From these experimentally observed components and a model based upon first principals for C 3 v molecules, rotational constants have been expressed in a form which enables one to predict rotational components for vibrational levels for propyne up to v 10 = 5. The model also appears to be useful in predicting rotational components in more highly excited vibrational levels but data were not available for comparison with the theory. Experimentally measured frequencies are presented and compared with those calculated using the results of basic perturbation theory.
Recurrent Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia and empyema treated with novobiocin; review of the literature, with report of a case.

Summary A case of recurrent Staph. aureus hemolyticus pneumonia and empyema treated with novobiocin (Cathomycin) has been described. The recurrence followed the use of penicillin, Chloromycetin, and erythromycin. To our knowledge, this is the first report in the pediatric literature of this disease in early infancy treated with this antibiotic. Novobiocin was administered in a dosage of 50 mg. per kilogram daily. It was given as a powder every six hours, mixed with formula or fruit. Despite the continuous administration of the drug in adequate dosage for nineteen days, there were no side effects or toxic manifestations of any sort. Since the staphylococcus has acquired increasing resistance not only to penicillin but to other antibiotics as well, the search for newer and more potent drugs against this ubiquitous and ever-dangerous organism must be unceasing.
Using Necessary Information to Identify Item Dependence in Passage-Based Reading Comprehension Tests

Applications of traditional unidimensional item response theory models to passage-based reading comprehension assessment data have been criticized based on potential violations of local independence. However, simple rules for determining dependency, such as including all items associated with a particular passage, may overestimate the dependency that actually exists among the items. The current study proposed a more refined method based on cognitive principles and substantive theories to determine those items that pose a threat. Specifically, the use of common necessary information from text was examined as a contributor of local dependence. Cognitively similar item pairs, those with connected necessary information, had higher local dependence values than item pairs with no connected necessary information. Results suggest that focusing on necessary information may be useful to some extent for understanding and managing item dependence for passage-based reading comprehension tests.
Serological Relatedness of the Ribonucleic Acid-Containing Coliphages

The serological relationship of the ribonucleic acid (RNA)-containing coliphages MS-2, M-12, R-17, f(2), beta, fr, f(4), and Qbeta was determined. Antisera against MS-2, R-17, f(2), fr, and Qbeta neutralized the infectivity of all of these RNA phages to varying degrees. Although each phage was serologically distinct, the antisera cross-reacted with certain phages to approximately the same degree, indicating the antigenic relationship of the coat proteins of these phages. Adsorption of anti-MS-2 sera with varying concentrations of all of the phages demonstrated that these viruses contain similar yet unique antigenic determinants. It is suggested that these RNA phages are mutants of two related phages rather than of the same phage.
Environmental Concern in Cross‐National Perspective: The Effects of Affluence, Environmental Degradation, and World Society*

Objective This study assesses competing macro-level explanations of national-level environmental concern. Drawing on previous research, we test the effects of national affluence, environmental degradation, and world society integration on various dimensions of environmental concern. Method We utilize factor analysis to separate distinct dimensions of concern. Then, we estimate bivariate correlations using data from the latest (fifth) wave of the World Values Survey (WVS) and a multivariate panel regression model using data from four WVS waves (1990–2008). Results Bivariate correlations reveal inconsistent relationships across the various dimensions of environmental concern. The panel analysis suggests that environmental degradation is positively associated with environmental concern expressed as willingness to pay higher taxes, affluence is either negatively or not associated, and international nongovernmental organizations are not significantly associated. Conclusion Environmental conditions significantly influence levels of environmental concern around the world. It should not be assumed that affluence is the determining factor in global environmental concern.
The National Cancer Data Base report on soft tissue sarcoma

oft tissue sarcoma is a rare solid tumor that accounts for less than S 1% of the annual new diagnoses of malignancy in adults in the United States.’ This disease encompasses more than 20 histologically and biologically distinct sarcoma subtypes. American Joint Committee on Cancer staging takes into account tumor size, tumor grade, and the presence or absence of lymph node and/or distant metastases. There have been gradual improvements in patient survival and quality of life discernible as a trend over the past 20 years, with overall 5-year survival currently at approximately 50-60% for all stages.’ Most
Statistical Inference of Biological Structure and Point Spread Functions in 3D Microscopy

We present a novel method for detecting and quantifying 3D structure in stacks of microscopic images captured at incremental focal lengths. We express the image data as stochastically generated by an underlying model for biological specimen and the effects of the imaging system. The method simultaneously fits a model for proposed structure and the imaging system's parameters, which include a model of the point spread function. We demonstrate our approach by detecting spores in image stacks of Alternaria, a microscopic genus of fungus. The spores are modeled as opaque ellipsoids and fit to the data using statistical inference. Since the number of spores in the data is not known, model selection is incorporated into the fitting process. Thus, we develop a reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo sampler to explore the parameter space. Our results show that simultaneous statistical inference of specimen and imaging models is useful for quantifying biological structures in 3D microscopic images. In addition, we show that inferring a model of the imaging system improves the overall fit of the specimen model to the data.
Major role for tonic GABAA conductances in anesthetic suppression of intrinsic neuronal excitability

Anesthetics appear to produce neurodepression by altering synaptic transmission and/or intrinsic neuronal excitability. Propofol, a widely used anesthetic, has proposed effects on many targets, ran...
Lipolytic degradation of human very low density lipoproteins by human milk lipoprotein lipase: the identification of lipoprotein B as the main lipoprotein degradation product

Although the direct conversion of very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) into low density (LDL) and high density (HDL) lipoproteins only requires lipoprotein lipase (LPL) as a catalyst and albumin as the fatty acid acceptor, the in vitro-formed LDL and HDL differ chemically from their native counterparts. To investigate the reason(s) for these differences, VLDL were treated with human milk LPL in the presence of albumin, and the LPL-generated LDL1-, LDL2-, and HDL-like particles were characterized by lipid and apolipoprotein composition. Results showed that the removal of apolipoproteins B, C, and E from VLDL was proportional to the degree of triglyceride hydrolysis with LDL2 particles as the major and LDL1 and HDL + VHDL particles as the minor products of a complete in vitro lipolysis of VLDL. In comparison with native counterparts, the in vitro-formed LDL2 and HDL + VHDL were characterized by lower levels of triglyceride and cholesterol ester and higher levels of free cholesterol and lipid phosphorus. The characterization of lipoprotein particles present in the in vitro-produced LDL2 showed that, as in plasma LDL2, lipoprotein B (LP-B) was the major apolipoprotein B-containing lipoprotein accounting for over 90% of the total apolipoprotein B. Other, minor species of apolipoprotein B-containing lipoproteins included LP-B:C-I:E and LP-B:C-I:C-II:C-III. The lipid composition of in vitro-formed LP-B closely resembled that of plasma LP-B. The major parts of apolipoproteins C and E present in VLDL were released to HDL + VHDL as simple, cholesterol/phospholipid-rich lipoproteins including LP-C-I, LP-C-II, LP-C-III, and LP-E. However, some of these same simple lipoprotein particles were present after ultracentrifugation in the LDL2 density segment because of their hydrated density and/or because they formed, in the absence of naturally occurring acceptors (LP-A-I:A-II), weak associations with LP-B. Thus, the presence of varying amounts of these cholesterol/phospholipid-rich lipoproteins in the in vitro-formed LDL2 appears to be the main reason for their compositional difference from native LDL2. These results demonstrate that the formation of LP-B as the major apolipoprotein B-containing product of VLDL lipolysis only requires LPL as a catalyst and albumin as the fatty acid acceptor. However, under physiological circumstances, other modulating agents are necessary to prevent the accumulation and interaction of phospholipid/cholesterol-rich apolipoprotein C- and E-containing particles.
Is It Time to Rethink Distributed Shared Memory Systems

We present core elements of Samhita, a new user level software distributed shared memory (DSM) system. Our work is motivated by two observations. First, the rise of many-core architectures is producing a growing emphasis on threaded codes to achieve performance. Second, architectural trends, especially in high performance interconnects, suggest a new look at overcoming the bottlenecks that have hindered DSM performance. Samhita leverages the capabilities of remote direct memory access (RDMA) interconnects, and views the problem of providing a shared global address space as a cache management problem. Performance results on two 256 processor clusters demonstrate scalability on micro benchmarks and two real applications. The results are the largest scale tests and achieve the highest performance of any DSM system reported to date.
Electoral business cycle in industrial democracies

Abstract In this paper we examine the issue of endogenous timing of elections, as well as deepen our investigation of pre-electoral manipulation of both monetary and fiscal policy instruments. First, we test whether politicians may be opportunistic by calling early elections when favorable economic conditions exist, rather than attempting to create short-run favorable economic conditions at the time of elections. Tests of this hypothesis on the 14 OECD democracies with flexible timing of elections, reject this model. We do not find any evidence, except for Japan, that a positive economic situation increases the likelihood of early elections. Second, we consider the manipulation of policy instruments such as the monetary base, which is under direct control of the monetary authority, and two individual components of the budget; taxation and spending. Our results suggest the opportunistic policy maneuvering cannot be ruled out as a plausible description of politicians' behavior. However, the evidence is not overwhelmingly robust, perhaps because politicians cannot go ‘too far’ in macroeconomic policy manipulations for fear of losing their reputation.
Partial Identification, Distributional Preferences, and the Welfare Ranking of Policies

Abstract We discuss the tension between “what we can get” (identification) and “what we want” (parameters of interest) in models of policy choice (treatment assignment). Our nonstandard empirical object of interest is the ranking of counterfactual policies. Partial identification of treatment effects maps into a partial welfare ranking of treatment assignment policies. We characterize the identified ranking and show how the identifiability of the ranking depends on identifying assumptions, the feasible policy set, and distributional preferences. An application to the project STAR experiment illustrates this dependence. This paper connects the literatures on partial identification, robust statistics, and choice under Knightian uncertainty.
Abstract 408: Expression of interferon-stimulated gene 15 is a novel prognostic predictor for patients with advanced stage high-grade serous ovarian adenocarcinoma

Objectives: Utilizing the transcriptome profiling approach to identify genes that are differentially expressed in normal ovaries, and serous borderline ovarian tumors of low-malignant potential (LMP), and low-grade ovarian serous carcinomas compared with high-grade ovarian serous carcinomas (HGSC), we identified ISG15, an ubiquitin-like molecule that is strongly up regulated by type I interferon, to be highly up-regulated in advanced stage HGSCs. We seek to validate the expression patterns of ISG15 and correlated them with clinical outcomes. Methods: Over-expression of ISG15 was confirmed in ovarian cancer cell lines and tissue by real time PCR and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Immunolocalizaation of ISG15 was performed on 155 HGSCs, 10 serous LMPs, 10 normal ovaries, and 10 fallopian tubes. Expression levels of ISG15 were quantified by Image-Pro plus software. The correlation between overall survival and progression free survival and ISG15 expression levels was performed on 155 and 130 HGSC, respectively, using both Kaplan Meier and Cox Regression analyses. Results: ISG15 expression was not detected in normal ovaries, fallopian tubes and LMPs. Over-expressed of ISG15 was confirmed in a majority of HGSC cell lines and tumor tissue. To further evaluate the clinical significance of nuclear ISG15 expression, both Cox and Kaplan-Meier analyses were performed on patients with HGSC. Multivariate Cox analysis showed that ISG15 expression levels were associated with improved overall survival (HR:0.9, P=0.011). In addition, using median ISF15 staining intensity as a cut-off, Kaplan-Meier analysis and log rank test demonstrated that strong ISG15 expression was associated with improved overall and progression free survival (P Conclusion: Over-expression of ISG15 is common in high-grade serous ovarian adenocarcinoma. The expression levels in tumor cells are strongly correlated with overall survivals, suggesting ISG15 may be a powerful prognostic marker for patients with HGSC. Further functional studies on the functional role of ISG15 in ovarian cancer progression are warranted. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 408. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-408
Novel stable blue-light-emitting oligofluorene networks immobilized by boronic acid anhydride linkages

Thermal dehydration of boronic acid groups to form six-membered boronic acid anhydride (boroxine) was employed as a means of immobilizing oligofluorenes. This approach appears to improve the photoluminescenct stability of the cross-linked films compared to polyfluorenes. The emergence of long-wavelength emission upon thermal treatment usually observed in polyfluorenes has been prevented in this system. Initially the fluorene dimer (F2BA), trimer (F3BA), and tetramer (F4BA) containing boronic acid groups were prepared. These compounds were found to be readily soluble in common solvents such as THF, acetone, and DMF. Transparent thin films of these materials could be easily prepared by casting their solutions in THF onto KBr disks or glass substrates. Using mild reaction conditions (60−130 °C under vacuum for 2 h), these oligomers in the solid sate readily undergo cross-linking reactions by the dehydration of boronic acid groups as evidenced by FT-IR spectroscopy and DSC/TGA studies. The resulting cross-lin...