cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Changing concepts in the management of choroidal melanoma.

Abstract Purpose To review emerging information related to changing concepts in the management of choroidal melanoma. Design and methods This perspective reviews and discusses selected studies from the past two decades that have influenced management strategies for large, medium, and small-size choroidal melanomas. Results Large choroidal tumors continue to be managed primarily by enucleation. The large tumor trial of the Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study (COMS) demonstrated neither a positive nor negative effect on 5- and 8-year mortality rates among more than 1,000 patients whose eyes containing large choroidal melanomas were randomized to treatment between enucleation alone or enucleation preceded by external radiation. The medium-size tumor trial of the COMS randomized more than 1,300 patients between iodine-125 brachytherapy and enucleation. Mortality rates following brachytherapy did not differ from mortality rates following enucleation for up to 12 years after treatment. Iodine-125 has become the most commonly used isotope for brachytherapy in North America. Ten-year follow-up of eyes treated with helium ion and 20 years of experience with proton beam confirm the relative safety and efficacy of these modalities for treatment of choroidal melanoma. Although there is a trend toward earlier treatment of small melanomas, controversy exists regarding the indications for treatment as well as the choice of specific therapy. Recurrences of melanoma after eye-sparing treatment appear to be associated with an increased rate of metastatic disease. Effective adjunctive therapy to prevent or treat melanoma metastasis is lacking. Conclusions Choroidal melanoma is a lethal tumor. Although evidence suggests that patients with untreated choroidal melanomas have a poorer prognosis than patients who receive treatment, our current treatments are unable to prevent tumor-related deaths for many patients. The use of preoperative external radiation as an adjunct to enucleation for large choroidal melanomas is unsupported by data from the COMS trial. The use of radiation with either brachytherapy or charged particles for the management of medium-size choroidal melanomas is well supported on the basis of long-term follow-up studies. There is a trend toward treatment of smaller choroidal melanomas. Treatment of melanomas should be directed toward minimizing the potential for recurrences as recurrent melanomas are associated with an increased rate of metastatic disease. Gains in our ability to manage choroidal melanoma will likely be modest at best until effective systemic therapies can be identified.
Oscillations in ciliary beat frequency and intracellular calcium concentration in rabbit tracheal epithelial cells induced by ATP

To investigate how Ca2+ regulates airway ciliary activity, changes in ciliary beat frequency (CBF) and intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) of rabbit tracheal ciliated cells, in response to ATP, were simultaneously quantified with high-speed phase-contrast and fast fluorescence imaging. [ATP] 1 μm induced an increase in [Ca2+]i and CBF that declined to the initial basal levels and was followed by irregular brief increases in [Ca2+]i and CBF. [ATP] > 1 but < 16 μm induced a similar increase in [Ca2+]i and CBF but this was followed by oscillations in CBF and [Ca2+]i. The minimum CBF of the oscillations in CBF remained elevated above the basal rate while the minimum concentration of the [Ca2+]i oscillations returned to the basal level. The minimum and maximum CBF of the oscillations in CBF were independent of the [ATP], whereas the frequency of the oscillations in CBF was dependent on the [ATP]. Similar oscillations in CBF and [Ca2+]i were induced by ATP- γ -S. Although ADP, AMP and adenosine induced a Ca2+-independent increase in CBF, neither ATP nor ATP- γ -S induced an increase in CBF when the Ca2+ increases were abolished by 20 μm BAPTA AM, a result suggesting that ATP hydrolysis was minimal. [ATP]16 μm induced a sustained elevation in CBF and only a temporary, non-oscillating increase in [Ca2+]i. A similar response was induced by thapsigargin (2 μm). Flash photolysis of caged Ca2+ (NP-EGTA) produced both transient and prolonged increases in [Ca2+]i which were accompanied by transient and sustained increases in CBF, respectively. From these results, we propose that CBF can be increased by a direct Ca2+ -dependent mechanism that generates the rapid increases in CBF associated with the oscillations or by an indirect Ca2+-dependent mechanism that is responsible for the sustained minimum increase in CBF.
Family Centred Brief Solution‐focused Therapy with Chronic Schizophrenia: a Pilot Study

The purpose of the study was to pilot a family centred brief solution-focused therapy model (BSFT) with families and clients diagnosed with schizophrenia. A control group of clients and their families received traditional outpatient therapy, while an experimental group of clients and their families were treated with a BSFT model. All participants were pre-tested and then post-tested with the Family Environment Scale after five therapy sessions over a ten-week period. Significant differences between the groups were found on expressiveness, active-recreational orientation, moral-religious emphasis and family incongruence. The participation of families and clients with schizophrenia in family centred brief solution-focused therapy produced encouraging results and demonstrated the need for expanded studies using BSFT with other chronically mentally ill clients and their families.
On convergence rates of mixtures of polynomial experts

In this letter, we consider a mixture-of-experts structure where m experts are mixed, with each expert being related to a polynomial regression model of order k. We study the convergence rate of the maximum likelihood estimator in terms of how fast the Hellinger distance of the estimated density converges to the true density, when the sample size n increases. The convergence rate is found to be dependent on both m and k, while certain choices of m and k are found to produce near-optimal convergence rates.
Experimental burns accompanied by histamine administration abets the ulcer diathesis.

Conclusions1. Experimental burns, when accompanied by administration of histamine-in-beeswax mixture, produce gastric and/or duodenal ulceration in which the incidence of hemorrhage is high. 2. Experimental burns abet the ulcer diathesis.
THE SOCIAL FORECASTING INDUSTRY

Abstract. This is an essay and report on the social forecasting industry-the collection of individuals and organizations, both profit and nonprofit, supplying forecasts of social futures in direct exchage for pay. It begins with a review of the industry’s size, growth, and scope; contrary to initial impressions, the industry is by any comparative standard quite small, occupying a precarious niche in the much larger market for statistical services. Hallmark methodologies of the industry, including the Delphi method and cross-impact analysis, are discussed extensively. These methodologies are linked to a domain assumption of the industry-namely, that the complexities of the social world are best rendered tractable by forming consensuses of experts’ judgments. It is argued that the key characteristic differentiating the social forecasting industry from forecasting in the social sciences proper-the existence of a direct, paying market for services—is an important element in maintaining the most salient methodological and product differences between the two arenas: The marketplace for forecasts is not the same as the marketplace for ideas.
Gas chromatographic method for the measurement of gas sorption on polymeric materials

Abstract Gas chromatographic method was applied to obtain sorption data for various gases such as H 2 , N 2 , O 2 , CO, CO 2 , CH 4 , and C 3 H 8 , onto various polymeric materials such as cellulose acetate E-398, cellulose triacetate, and polyethersulfone. The sorption data so obtained correspond to those under the gas pressure below 100 kPa. The Henry's constants calculated from the above sorption data were further compared with those reported in the literature. The data on the sorption of binary gas mixtures showed that there is slight deviation from ideal sorption under the investigated gas pressures.
Measurement of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mrna in clinical samples: A new parameter in analysis of leukemia cells

A 1750 base pair cDNA to human terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) has been cloned. This cDNA detects a dominant 2200 base pair messenger RNA species in normal and leukemic cells synthesizing the enzyme. A quantitative dot blot assay was utilized to survey a number of clinical samples from patients with TdT positive and negative leukemias as well as cells from normal volunteers. A linear relationship was detected between the amount of TdT mRNA and the amount of enzyme activity in bone marrow cells. The assay is sensitive enough to detect normal TdT levels in bone marrow, and distinguish these levels from the lack of such mRNA in peripheral blood and bone marrow of patients with myeloid leukemia. Elevated levels of mRNA were found in two cases of patients in clinical remission. The prognostic significance of these observations must await further study.
Purification and characterization of two tRNA-(guanine)-methyltransferases from rat liver.

Abstract tRNA(guanine-1-)-methyltransferase (EC 2.1.1.31) and tRNA( N 2 -guanine)-methyltransferase I (EC 2.1.1.32) were isolated from rat liver. The (guanine-1)-methyltransferase preparation is 6800-fold purified and is free from contaminating methyltransferases or ribonuclease. The molecular weight of (guanine-1-)-methyltransferase is 83 000. Of seven purified Escherichia coli tRNAs examined, only tRNA Met f was utilized as substrate by (guanine-1-)-methyltransferase. The methylation of tRNA Met f is maximally stimulated by 40 mM putrescine with a pH optimum of 8.0. Using E. coli K-12 tRNA, the K m for S -adenosylmethionine is 3 μM and K i for S -adenosylhomocysteine is 0.11 μM for (guanine-1-)-methyltransferase. ( N 2 -Guanine-)-methyltransferase is 6200-fold purified and is also free of interfering enzymes. It has a molecular weight of 69 000. E. coli tRNA Phe , tRNA Val and tRNA Arg are substrates for this enzyme which introduces a methyl at the 2-amino group of the guanine at position 10 from the 5′-terminus of these tRNAs. The methylation of tRNA Phe is maximally stimulated by 100 μM spermidine with a pH optimum of 8.0. ( N 2 -Guanine-)-methyltransferase has a K m for S -adenosylmethionine of 2 μM and a K i for S -adenosylhomocysteine of 23 μM with E. coli K-12 tRNA as methyl acceptor.
Vitamin D (25OHD) Serum Seasonality in the United States

Vitamin D is an important micronutrient for health. Hypovitaminosis D is thought to play a role in the seasonality of a number of diseases and adverse health conditions. To refine hypotheses about the links between vitamin D and seasonal diseases, good estimates of the cyclicality of serum vitamin D are necessary. The objective of this study is to describe quantitatively the cyclicality of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) in the United States. We provide a statistical analysis with weekly time resolution, in comparison to the quarterly (winter/spring/summer/fall) estimates already in the literature. We analyzed time series data on 25OHD, spanning 287 consecutive weeks. The pooled data set comes from 3.44 million serum samples from the United States. We statistically analyzed the proportion of sera that were vitamin D sufficient, defined as 25OHD [Formula: see text] ng/mL, as a function of date. In the United States, serum 25OHD follows a lagged pattern relative to the astronomical seasons, peaking in late summer (August) and troughing in late winter (February). Airmass, which is a function of solar altitude, fits the 25OHD data very well when lagged by 8 weeks. Serum vitamin D levels can be modeled as a function of date, working through a double-log transformation of minimal solar airmass (easily calculated from solar altitude, retrievable from an online solar altitude/azimuth table).
Harvesting Wind Energy Using a Galloping Piezoelectric Beam

Galloping of structures such as transmission line supports and bridges is a classical aeroelastic instability phenomenon that has been looked upon as a harmful and destructive effect. However, there exists potential to harness useful energy from this phenomenon. The study presented in this paper focuses on harvesting wind energy that is being transferred to a galloping beam. The beam has a rigid tip body with a D shaped cross section. Piezoelectric sheets are bonded on the top and bottom surface of beam. During galloping, vibrational motion is input to the system due to aerodynamic forces on the D-section, which is converted into electrical energy by the piezoelectric (PZT) sheets. The significance of various parameters in the system such as wind velocity, material properties of the beam, electrical load and beam natural frequency is discussed. Experimental and analytical investigations of power output are performed on a representative device. A maximum output power of 1.14 mW was measured at a wind velocity of 10.5 mph. A potential application for this device is to power wireless sensor networks on outdoor structures such as bridges and buildings.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Effect of Some Application Variables on Maintenance Coating Performance

Abstract Because data indicate that good practices adopted and reported in a 1956 report to NACE have been successful in reducing protective coatings costs to a plateau, authors investigated applic...
Radiobrightness Of Diurnally Heated, Freezing Soil

Freezing and thawing soils exhibit unique radiometric characteristics. To examine these characteristics, diurnal insolation is modeled as one-dimensional heating of a moist soil half-space during a typical fall at a northern Great Plains site. The one-dimensional heat flow equation is nonlinear because both the enthalpy (the change in internal energy with temperature at constant pressure) and the thermal conductivity of freezing soils are nonlinear functions of temperature. The problem is particularly difficult because phase boundaries propagate in time, and because soils, particularly clay-rich soils, freeze over a range of temperatures rather than at 0 C. Diurnal radiobrightness curves at 10.7, 18.0, and 37.0-GHz were computed for each month. The 37.0-GHz radiobrightness best tracks soil surface temperature; the 10.7-37.0-GHz spectral gradient of thawed soils is strongly positive; the spectral gradient of frozen soils is slightly negative; and the midnight-to-noon spectral gradient is shifted by approximately +0.1 K/GHz by diurnal changes in the surface temperature and the thermal gradient. These observations support the use of the scanning multichannel microwave radiometer 37.0-GHz radiobrightness and its 10.7-37.0-GHz spectral gradient as discriminants in a frozen soil classifier for high-latitude prairie.
Prediction of long-term fertilizer nitrogen requirements of maize in the tropics using a nitrogen balance model

A simple N balance model was used to calculate fertilizer requirement for a target N uptake by maize. Nitrogen uptake from soil sources and target uptake of N with fertilizer N additions were obtained from fertilizer trials in Africa and Latin America. Most experiments had data for only one cropping period, although some from Latin America had data for four to six crops. The transfer coefficient of fertilizer N to the crop was adjusted to realize maximum recovery of fertilizer N under best methods of fertilizer application. The time constants of transfer of soil N to the crop were allowed to vary and were affected mainly by soil texture. Where 4 to 6 cropping periods were available good agreement between actual and predicted fertilizer N requirements was obtained. With this approach long-term fertilizer N requirements for 14 sites were predicted using first cropping period N uptake. This study showed that pools of organic N in more coarse-textured soils were usually smaller and declined more rapidly than in fine-textured soils. Labile organic N pools declined with time under all simulations, but approached equilibrium within 10 croppings seasons. Equilibrium N uptake from the soil organic N pool was predicted to be 31 kg ha−1 for the more coarse-textured soils and 36 kg ha−1 for the fine-textured soils. Long-term projections of fertilizer requirements using input data of the field experiments were reasonable, and effects of legume green manures and other amendments could be clearly evaluated.
Coarse Barley Straw in Dairy Rations Containing Alfalfa Hay Cubes

Abstract Forty-eight cows were in a double switchback trial in which 4% coarse barley straw was substituted for an equal weight of alfalfa cubes in rations of both low and high roughage. The low roughage control contained 55.4% concentrate, 39.6% alfalfa cubes, and 5.0% molasses while the high roughage control contained 35.8% concentrate, 59.2% alfalfa cubes, and 5.0% molasses. For the four resulting rations, low roughage-control, low roughage-straw, high roughage-control, and high roughage-straw, differences were: higher percent fat by both high roughage diets; low digestibility of combustible energy, protein, and fat by the high roughage-control diet; lower digestibility of fiber by both control diets as compared to their added straw counterparts; and lower digestibility of fiber by both low roughage diets as compared to their high roughage counterparts.
Construction and applications of a highly transmissible murine retrovirus shuttle vector.

Abstract We develop a murine retrovirus shuttle vector system for the efficient introduction of selectable and nonselectable DNA sequences into mammalian cells and recovery of the inserted sequences as molecular clones. Three protocols allow rapid recovery of vector DNA sequences from mammalian cells. Two of the methods rely on SV40 T-antigen-mediated replication of the vector sequences and yield thousands of bacterial transformants per 5 × 10 6 mammalian cells. The majority of plasmids recovered by all three protocols exhibited the proper structure and were as active as the parental vector in the generation of transmissible retrovirus genomes upon transfection of mammalian cells. One of the rescue methods, which relies on "onion skin" replication and excision of an integrated provirus from the host chromosome, enables facile recovery of the chromosomal site of proviral integration. The system was also used to generate, and then efficiently recover, a cDNA version of a genomic insert from the adenovirus E1A region.
Literary Hybridization In The Zajal: Ibn Quzmān’s Zajal 88 (The Visit of Sir Gold)

This article examines Ibn Quzmān's Zajal 88 from the vantage point of recent theoretical studies on the various manifestations of intercultural hybridization. On the basis of an Old Irish zajalesque text, it draws attention to the possibility that the zajal genre may well have existed in Europe as early as the ninth century AD, if not earlier, in the seventh, thereby suggesting that previously proposed Eastern, Arabic sources for the origin of that genre are unlikely—at least, insofar as its strophic structure is concerned. In contrast, the literary materials out of which the zajal is composed are, in the case of this poem (and many others by the same author), largely borrowed from the Classical Arabic qasīda, although they are subverted in a comic and parodic manner. This burlesque approach, in turn, allows the author to criticize the cupidity and insincerity of contemporary poets, at a time when the poet-patron relationship was undergoing a severe crisis in Andalus. An analysis of the poem's thematic structure further reveals it to be a tightly knit masterpiece, based on that form of chiastic patterning known to literary critics as ring composition, commonly found, not only in the Colloquial zajal of Ibn Quzmān, but also in Classical Arabic poetry. Finally, such a conclusion further helps to dispel that now largely discredited, if still not entirely abandoned view, according to which medieval Arabic poetry is a disorderly, line-by-line agglomerate of random and incoherent thoughts poorly organized into a whole.
A Comparison of Inductive and Deductive Approaches to Teaching Foreign Languages

structures, foreign language teachers often offer rules first and then examples (a deductive approach). The problem many students have applying these various rules indicates that they may not in fact fully understand the concepts involved. This approach tends to emphasize grammar at the expense of meaning and to promote passive rather than active participation of the students. The question needs to be raised, then, regarding the merits of not presenting the rule first but allowing the students to perceive and formulate the underlying governing patterns presented in meaningful con-
The Sea Monster: An Ethnographic Drama

The characters are Laurel, a sociologist, and Ernest, a novelist. They live together, and they have been writing, and talking about writing for years. There is also a discussant who lives in Laurel's study. The drama begins in a neo-colonial home in the heartland of America, where Laurel—who has been invited to be a “Discussant” of “Ethnographic Novels” at the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interactionism-Stone Symposium at St. Petersburg Beach—is waking up.
Diagnosing bone lesions: a practical non-pathology centric formulaic approach.

Bone lesions are perceived to be some of the most difficult lesions that pathologists encounter. The reasons for this are multiple and include lack of experience/familiarity, the need to rely heavily on non-pathology information and data, and the fact that many lesions are associated with either procedures or treatments with significant moribidity. However, in fact, the majority of bone lesions can be accurately assessed on the basis of data not directly related to traditional pathologic based assessment. In order to acheive this state, the pathologist must understand the consistent clinical parameters of most bone lesions, including their clinical presentation, the bone involved, particularly the anatomic site of the bone involved, and a fundamental, basic understanding of imaging studies, especially the plain radiograph. Once these priniciples are understood and mastered, the pathologist can easily diagnose most bone lesions, using traditional pathologic assessment to confirm the diagnosis.
A low ripple on-chip charge pump for bootstrapping of the noise-sensitive nodes

Charge pump with less than 1 mV ripple of the output voltage employs on-chip capacitors with large parasitic capacitance between bottom plate and substrate and does not generate pulsed supply current or noticeable substrate noise during switching. It operates in current mode and is developed with structural approach to analog design that uses dedicated feedback loop for every important parameter.
INFOSHARE - An Information Sharing Tool for Public Health during the 2009 Presidential Inauguration and H1N1 Outbreak

The 2009 Presidential Inauguration and H1N1 outbreak called for real-time electronic information-sharing and surveillance across multiple jurisdictions to better understand the health of migrating populations. The InfoShare web application proved to be an efficient tool for users to share disease surveillance information. During both high profile events, public health users shared information within a secure access-controlled website across regions in the U.S. and among agencies. Due to its flexible design, InfoShare was quickly modified from its 2009 Inauguration interface to an interface that supports H1N1 surveillance. Through discussions and post-use surveys, a majority of InfoShare users revealed that the tool had provided a valuable and needed function. InfoShare allowed individual jurisdictions to receive timely and useful information, which, when merged with neighboring jurisdictions, significantly enhanced situational awareness for better decision-making and improved public health outcomes.
A robust evolutionary strategy for generative validation of agent-based models using adaptive simulation ensembles

Few studies examine distinct characteristics of problems studied by agent-based models and their implications on operational validation. This paper focuses on exploratory and generative modeling perspective advocated by the agent-based modeling paradigm. The significance of robustness is emphasized, and a robust generative validation strategy is proposed for models used in scientific problems in which ambiguity and deep uncertainty pervade. The strategy is predicated on the premise of creative evolutionary systems perspective that enables viewing validation within the scientific method of falsification. That is, the strategy mimics the way scientific knowledge is constructed and validated by groups of scientists within a scientific discipline. The utility and feasibility of the method is demonstrated using a case study.
Evaluation of Automated Arrhythmia Monitors Using an Annotated ECG DATABASE

This paper documents the design and development of the MIT/BIH arrhythmia database. This two-channel, digital database which contains a wide variety of ventricular and supraventricular arrhythmias is suitable for algorithm evaluation and development. Procedures ate suggested for its use, and examples of a variety of output formats are presented.
DHCP for mobile networking with TCP/IP

Mobile-IP and the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) are two protocols which are likely to be implemented together for use with wireless computers. We explore the ways that they can be used with in mobile computers. These protocols interact in subtle ways, presenting a system architect with a variety of trade-offs that need careful analysis. We detail the important interactions and system design issues, and also explain the design and implementation of a new DHCP option for mobile computers. The difference between mobility and portability is explained; this paper only emphasizes approaches for mobility. We explore implementation issues that we have encountered.
RESOLUTION OF THE FLUORESCENCE EXCITATION SPECTRUM OF INDOLE INTO THE 1La AND 1Lb EXCITATION BANDS

— The fluorescence excitation spectrum and the excitation polarization spectrum of indole in propylene glycol were measured at — 58°C, after selecting by optical filters the emission originating from the 1La electronic level. From the analysis of these spectra, the excitation spectrum was resolved into the 1La and 1La excitation bands. A similar resolution of the excitation spectrum of tryptophan is given. This method can also be applied to the resolution of the emission spectrum in cases of dual emission.
A low-jitter PLL clock generator for microprocessors with lock range of 340-612 MHz

A fully integrated, phase-locked loop (PLL) clock generator/phase aligner for the POWER3 microprocessor has been designed using a 2.5-V, 0.40-/spl mu/m digital CMOS6S process. The PLL design supports multiple integer and noninteger frequency multiplication factors for both the processor clock and an L2 cache clock. The fully differential delay-interpolating voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) is tunable over a frequency range determined by programmable frequency limit settings, enhancing yield and application flexibility. PLL lock range for the maximum VCO frequency range settings is 340-612 MHz. The charge-pump current is programmable for additional control of the PLL loop dynamics. A differential on-chip loop filter with common-mode correction improves noise rejection. Cycle-cycle jitter measurements with the microprocessor actively executing instructions were 10.0 ps rms, 80 ps peak to peak (P-P) measured from the clock tree. Cycle-cycle jitter measured for the processor in a reset state with the clock tree active was 8.4 ps rms, 62 ps P-P. PLL area is 1040/spl times/640 /spl mu/m/sup 2/. Power dissipation is <100 mW.
Conservation of tropical forest birds in countryside habitats

The pressing need to increase agricultural production often seems at odds with conserving biodiversity. We find that if managed properly, the tropical countryside may provide a substantial opportunity for tropical bird conservation. We detected 144 bird species from 29 families in agricultural areas outside of extensive native forest in southern Costa Rica. The majority of the species detected were observed foraging, often kilometres from extensive native forest. We estimate that 46% of those native to this region (excluding nocturnal species and waterfowl) are utilizing the countryside in some manner. Forecasts of biodiversity change under various land-use scenarios indicate that policies that affect habitat composition could greatly impact the persistence of these species in the countryside. In particular, if tall trees and edge habitats were removed from this landscape, we predict that bird richness in the countryside would decline by approximately 40%.
Flow-Dependent Dilation and Myogenic Constriction Interact to Establish the Resistance of Skeletal Muscle Arterioles

Objective: To test the hypothesis that the diameter of skeletal muscle arterioles is determined by the interaction of responses elicited by intravascular pressure and flow.Methods: Experiments were conducted on isolated, cannulated, first-order arterioles of cremaster muscle of male Wistar rats. The diameter of arterioles was followed by videomicroscopy. Perfusion pressures and flows were controlled.Results: In the absence of perfusate flow, increases in perfusion pressure (from 0 to 120 mm Hg), after initial dilation, elicited endothelium independent constrictions of arterioles. At 60 mm Hg of perfusion pressure, the active diameter of vessels was 84.9 ± 1.9 μm. The passive diameter of arterioles (Ca2+-free solution) was 150.6 ± 2.4 μm. Increases in perfusate flow resulted in a significant upward shift in the pressure—diameter curves; in the presence of perfusate flows of 20, 40, and 60 μL/min, the constriction of the vessels at a pressure of 60 mm Hg was attenuated by 25.1 ± 3.9%, 35.2 ± 3.0%, and 46.8 ...
Groundwater recharge from Lake Chad

The open waters of Lake Chad are reasonably free of salt (∼120–320 mg liter−1) even though it is a shallow, old, closed-basin lake located in the highly evaporative environment of sub-Saharan Africa. It is possible that the lake remains relatively fresh due to significant removal of water and solutes by seepage into the groundwater beneath the lake. Directly measured seepage rates (seepage meters and core tracer methods) through the sandy lake bottom are 1.15 × 10−1 m d−1. The regional water table derived in this study indicates the lake to be at a higher hydraulic elevation than the phreatic aquifer, and measurements of the groundwater flow direction determined from minipiezometric nests confirm that flow is SW, away from the lake. Preliminary calculations indicate that seepage plays a significant role in water and solute budgets, since it removes as much as 18% of the annual water input and 40–160% of the annual salt input to the lake.
Studying Culture as an Integral Aggregate Variable: Organizational Culture and Innovation in a Group of Nonprofit Organizations:

The appropriate level of analysis for the study of culture has been contested. There is a tradition of conceptualizing culture apart from the individuals who interact within a society. Alternately, there is a tradition of seeing culture only in the minds of individuals in society. The authors’ contention is that there is no choice here; both perspectives are valid and can be integrated within a single framework. Borrowing the concept of integral aggregate variable from epidemiology, they argue that there are both integral aggregate properties of culture and integral individual properties of culture. Both dimensions of culture can be examined using cultural consensus analysis. With data on organizational culture, the authors show how an investigator can move from one level of analysis to another. These results illustrate how integral aggregate properties of culture can be extracted from individual data using consensus analysis and be used as measures of aggregate units of analysis.
Connectivity and creativity in semantic neural networks

Creativity and insight are distinctive attributes of human cognition, but their neural basis remains poorly understood due to the difficulty of experimental study. As such, computational modeling can play an important role in understanding these phenomena. Some researchers have proposed that creative individuals have a “deeper” organization of knowledge, allowing them to connect remote associates and form novel ideas. It is reasonable to assume that the depth and richness of semantic organization in individual minds is related to the connectivity of neural networks involved in semantic representation. In this paper, we use a simple and plausible neurodynamical model of semantic networks to study how the connectivity structure of these networks relates to the richness of the semantic constructs, or ideas, they can generate. This work is motivated, in part, by research showing that experimentally obtained semantic networks have a specific connectivity pattern that is both small-world and scale-free. We show that neural semantic networks reflecting this structure have richer semantic dynamics than those with other connectivity structures. Though simple, this model may provide insight into the important issue of how the physical structure of the brain determines one of the most profound features of the human mind - its capacity for creative thought.
Stability of Cefepime Hydrochloride in AutoDose Infusion System Bags

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the physical and chemical stability of cefepime (as the hydrochloride) 1 g/100 mL and 4 g/100 mL admixed in NaCl 0.9% injection and packaged in AutoDose Infusion System bags.DESIGN:Triplicate test samples of cefepime hydrochloride in NaCl 0.9% injection were packaged in ethylene vinyl acetate plastic containers, AutoDose bags, designed for use in the AutoDose Infusion System. Samples were stored protected from light and evaluated at appropriate intervals for up to 7 days at room temperature of approximately 23 °C and 30 days under refrigeration at 4 °C. Physical stability was assessed using turbidimetric and particulate measurement, as well as visual inspection. Chemical stability was assessed by HPLC.RESULTS:All of the admixtures were initially clear and light yellow when viewed in normal fluorescent room light and with a Tyndall beam. Measured turbidity and particulate content were low initially but increased over time, eventually becoming a yellow or orange precipitate. The higher...
Sunderland school of Science and Art, 1869–1902

(1966). Sunderland school of Science and Art, 1869–1902. The Vocational Aspect of Education: Vol. 18, No. 41, pp. 164-180.
Abiotic mediation of a mutualism drives herbivore abundance

Species abundance is typically determined by the abiotic environment, but the extent to which such effects occur through the mediation of biotic interactions, including mutualisms, is unknown. We explored how light environment (open meadow vs. shaded understory) mediates the abundance and ant tending of the aphid Aphis helianthi feeding on the herb Ligusticum porteri. Yearly surveys consistently found aphids to be more than 17-fold more abundant on open meadow plants than on shaded understory plants. Manipulations demonstrated that this abundance pattern was not due to the direct effects of light environment on aphid performance, or indirectly through host plant quality or the effects of predators. Instead, open meadows had higher ant abundance and per capita rates of aphid tending and, accordingly, ants increased aphid population growth in meadow but not understory environments. The abiotic environment thus drives the abundance of this herbivore exclusively through the mediation of a protection mutualism.
On the existence of altruistic value and utility functions

Altruism is a popular economic explanation for a wide range of pro-social decisions and actions. It has been applied frequently in several different streams of literature, and is a descriptively compelling model of behavior. This paper provides a theoretical framework for the existence of ordinal and cardinal altruistic value functions, as well as altruistic utility functions, based on an altruistic preference relation. Representation theorems are developed to specify relatively weak conditions under which altruistic value and utility functions can be shown to exist. In addition, conditions that lead to additive forms of these functions are provided.
Learning Across Church and State: Student Experience of a Released Time Program

AbstractThis article examines student perceptions of religious Released Time Educational (RTE) programming. Through interviews and surveys, we found that students made little distinction between public school attendance and RTE attendance and that many believed their RTE program to be part of their school. Moreover, many students found it to be a compelling and important element of their education, even though they also found it to be not very rigorous. The students’ impressions of their own schooling and education offer crucial insights into the ways in which students navigate their own education across church and state.
Abstract B19: A clinical evaluation of the clinical utility of genotype risk scores in cancer health disparities

Background: Substantial uncertainty exists as to whether combining multiple disease-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) into a genotype risk score (GRS) can provide clinically useful information. Methods: We critically evaluated the ability of a simple count GRS to predict the risk of a dichotomous outcome, under both a multiplicative (log additive) and linear additive model of combined effects. We also evaluated the ability of a count GRS to predict the level of a continuous outcome variable. We then compared the results of these simulations with the observed results of published GRS measured within multiple epidemiologic cohort studies on cancer health disparities. Results: If the combined effect of each disease-associated SNP included in a GRS is multiplicative on the risk scale, then a count GRS score should be useful for risk stratification with as few as 10-20 SNPs. Adding additional SNPs to the GRS under this model dramatically improves risk stratification with modest gains in risk discrimination. By contrast, if the combined effect of each SNP included in a GRS is linearly additive on the risk scale, a simple count GRS is unlikely to provide clinically useful risk prediction or discrimination. Adding additional SNPs to the GRS under this model does not improve any measures of clinical utility. The combined effect of SNPs included in a GRS measured in several epidemiologic cohort studies appears to be more consistent with a linearly additive combined effect. Unlike the case for predicting a dichotomous outcome, a simple count GRS can potentially provide clinically useful information to predict the level of a continuous outcome variable under a wide variety of circumstances, even when the amount of explained variance is low. Conclusion: A simple count GRS can provide clinically useful information to predict the level of a continuous variable under a variety of circumstances. By contrast, a count GRS is unlikely to be clinically useful for predicting the risk of a dichotomous outcome. To provide clinically useful information about the genetic risk of dichotomous outcomes, alternative methods for constructing GRS that attempt to identify and include SNPs whose combined effect is at least multiplicative are needed. Citation Format: Wonsuk Yoo. A clinical evaluation of the clinical utility of genotype risk scores in cancer health disparities. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Sixth AACR Conference: The Science of Cancer Health Disparities; Dec 6–9, 2013; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2014;23(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B19. doi:10.1158/1538-7755.DISP13-B19
Narratives and Politics: An Analysis of Qualitative and Quantitative Arguments within the Context of the Medical Marijuana Legalization Debate

Narratives are frequently employed by political elites to persuade citizens regarding the most ideal course of public policy. In this paper, I describe the features of narratives including their structure, content and characteristics. Building on Iyengar’s and other’s work on framing, I argue that the power of narratives lies in their ability to augment the effect of frames on political attitudes. In my study, I conduct a content analysis of media coverage about the political debate regarding the legalization of medical marijuana in 2013. Through this analysis, I reconstruct arguments made either in favor of, or in opposition to, legalization and provide a thick description of the types of narratives forwarded by political elites to sway public opinion during this period. This will inform the next steps in my dissertation project.
Bulgaria in Transition: An Overview

Bulgaria is one in the group of Eastern European countries in which single-party communist rule came to an end in 1989. This paper presents an overview of the consequent political change and economic policy in Bulgaria as the transition progressed, up until the end of 1994.
Präventive Ernährungsdienste für ältere Populationen

Die Uberalterung der Bevolkerung ist ein globales Phanomen. Aufgrund dieser demographischen Veranderungen hat sich der Gesundheitszustand der Weltbevolkerung dramatisch gewandelt. Chronische Alterskrankheiten versuchen in Entwicklungslandern fast die Halfte der Bevolkerungsmorbiditat und -mortalitat und sind in Industrielandern fur mehr als 85 % der Todesfalle und Invaliditat verantwortlich. Malnutrition ist mit einer Inzidenz von mehr als 60 % bei betagten Kranken die haufigste Komorbiditat Betagter. Malnutrition stellt einen der wenigen vermeidbaren Riskofaktoren bei Chronischkranken dar. Sorgfaltig geplante, bevolkerungsbasierte Ernahrungsinterventionen konnen die Haufigkeit unerwunschter Komplikationen chronischer Kranken, zu denen immer die Malnutrition gehort, stark vermindern. Mit diesen Interventionen bei Hochrisikogruppen fur Malnutrition, wie sie z.B. gebrechliche Betagten darstellen, kann Pravalenz von Nahrstoffdefiziten bei diesen weitgehend verringert werden. Die Pravention ernahrungsbezogener Probleme in der Bevolkerung und speziell bei alteren Personen hat weitreichende Implikationen fur die Weltgesundheit und die Kosten im Gesundheitswesen.
Learning sparse doubly-selective channels

Coherent data communication over doubly-selective channels requires that the channel response be known at the receiver. Training-based schemes, which involve probing of the channel with known signaling waveforms and processing of the corresponding channel output to estimate the channel parameters, are commonly employed to learn the channel response in practice. Conventional training-based methods, often comprising of linear least squares channel estimators, are known to be optimal under the assumption of rich multipath channels. Numerous measurement campaigns have shown, however, that physical multipath channels tend to exhibit a sparse structure at high signal space dimension (time-bandwidth product), and can be characterized with significantly fewer parameters compared to the maximum number dictated by the delay-Doppler spread of the channel. In this paper, it is established that traditional training-based channel learning techniques are ill-suited to fully exploiting the inherent low-dimensionality of sparse channels. In contrast, key ideas from the emerging theory of compressed sensing are leveraged to propose sparse channel learning methods for both single-carrier and multicarrier probing waveforms that employ reconstruction algorithms based on convex/linear programming. In particular, it is shown that the performance of the proposed schemes come within a logarithmic factor of that of an ideal channel estimator, leading to significant reductions in the training energy and the loss in spectral efficiency associated with conventional training-based methods.
Effect of the Goals of Care Intervention for Advanced Dementia: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance In advanced dementia, goals of care decisions are challenging and medical care is often more intensive than desired. Objective To test a goals of care (GOC) decision aid intervention to improve quality of communication and palliative care for nursing home residents with advanced dementia. Design, Setting, and Participants A single-blind cluster randomized clinical trial, including 302 residents with advanced dementia and their family decision makers in 22 nursing homes. Interventions A GOC video decision aid plus a structured discussion with nursing home health care providers; attention control with an informational video and usual care planning. Main Outcomes and Measures Primary outcomes at 3 months were quality of communication (QOC, questionnaire scored 0-10 with higher ratings indicating better quality), family report of concordance with clinicians on the primary goal of care (endorsing same goal as the “best goal to guide care and medical treatment,” and clinicians’ “top priority for care and medical treatment”), and treatment consistent with preferences (Advance Care Planning Problem score). Secondary outcomes at 9 months were family ratings of symptom management and care, palliative care domains in care plans, Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment (MOST) completion, and hospital transfers. Resident-family dyads were the primary unit of analysis, and all analyses used intention-to-treat assignment. Results Residents’ mean age was 86.5 years, 39 (12.9%) were African American, and 246 (81.5%) were women. With the GOC intervention, family decision makers reported better quality of communication (QOC, 6.0 vs 5.6; P = .05) and better end-of-life communication (QOC end-of-life subscale, 3.7 vs 3.0; P = .02). Goal concordance did not differ at 3 months, but family decision makers with the intervention reported greater concordance by 9 months or death (133 [88.4%] vs 108 [71.2%], P = .001). Family ratings of treatment consistent with preferences, symptom management, and quality of care did not differ. Residents in the intervention group had more palliative care content in treatment plans (5.6 vs 4.7, P = .02), MOST order sets (35% vs 16%, P = .05), and half as many hospital transfers (0.078 vs 0.163 per 90 person-days; RR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.26-0.88). Survival at 9 months was unaffected (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.76; 95% CI, 0.54-1.08; P = .13). Conclusions and Relevance The GOC decision aid intervention is effective to improve end-of-life communication for nursing home residents with advanced dementia and enhance palliative care plans while reducing hospital transfers. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier:NCT01565642