cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Outcome of Liver Transplantation in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma in the United States Between 1988 and 2001: 5-Year Survival Has Improved Significantly With Time

Purpose: We hypothesized that the outcome of liver transplantation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has improved over the past decade because of the application of published criteria for patient selection. In this study, we compared the outcome of liver transplantation in patients with and without HCC at different time periods using the United Network for Organ Sharing data. Patients and Methods: We excluded children, patients with multiple organ transplantation or retransplantation, and those with incomplete survival data. The study period was arbitrarily divided into three time intervals: 1987 to 1991, 1992 to 1996, and 1997 to 2001. Results: During the study period, 985 patients with HCC (HCC group), and 33,339 without HCC underwent liver transplantation (control group). Kaplan-Meier patient and graft survivals were significantly lower for the HCC group compared with the control group. Cox regression analysis (after adjusting for other confounding variables) confirmed a lower patient sur...
Identifying Muir-Torre syndrome in a patient with glioblastoma multiforme

Patients with Muir-Torre syndrome, an autosomal-dominant familial tumor condition caused by germline mutation of the DNA mismatch repair genes, MSH2 or MLH1, present with tumors of the sebaceous gland and visceral malignancies characterized by microsatellite instability. Here we show development of glioblastoma multiforme in a patient with Muir-Torre syndrome. Immunohistochemical analysis of the brain tumor and colon cancer revealed loss of the DNA mismatch repair gene detected by the genetic test, suggesting a pathogenic link.
A BAYESIAN ANALYSIS OF WEAK IDENTIFICATION IN STOCK PRICE DECOMPOSITIONS

This paper employs the state-space model to reexamine the fundamental issue in finance of whether it is the expected returns or the expected dividends growth that is primarily responsible for stock price variations. We use Bayesian methods to show that there is a substantial uncertainty about the contributions of expected returns and expected dividends to fluctuations in the price–dividend ratio when the aggregate returns and dividends data are used. The substantial uncertainty of the contributions results from the model being weakly identified. Our finding challenges the notion long held in the existing literature that it is the expected returns that contribute most to price–dividend variations.
Short Communication: Fracture Risk by HIV Infection Status in Perinatally HIV-Exposed Children

Abstract The objective of this study was to examine the incidence of fractures in HIV-infected children and comparable HIV-exposed, uninfected (HEU) children in a multicenter, prospective cohort study (PACTG 219/219C) in the United States. The main outcome was first fracture during the risk period. Nine fractures occurred in 7 of 1326 HIV-infected and 2 of 649 HEU children, corresponding to incidence rates of 1.2 per 1000 person-years and 1.1 per 1000 person-years, respectively. The incidence rate ratio was 1.1 (95% CI 0.2, 5.5). There was no evidence of a substantially increased risk of fracture in HIV-infected compared to HEU children.
The effects of mental contamination on the hindsight bias: Source confusion determines success in disregarding knowledge

We present data from eight experiments in which we explored the effects of source confusion on the hindsight bias; participants' success in disregarding information when they were instructed to do so was affected by participants' level of source confusion. In Experiment 1 we demonstrated participants' failure to disregard Revolutionary War information they recently learned while reading an essay; this failure to discount was not affected by participants' essay reading times (Experiment 1a). In Experiment 2 participants successfully discounted obscure War of 1812 information; this discounted information remained available in memory (Experiment 2a). In a direct test of source confusion (Experiment 3) we showed that participants discriminated between presented and not-presented War of 1812 information better than they discriminated presented and not-presented Revolutionary War information. In Experiments 4 and 4a we tested and rejected a motivational explanation for our findings, namely that subjects voluntarily withheld information when asked to disregard it. We tested a debiasing technique in Experiment 5 and found it was successful in helping participants discount familiar information. Results throughout are discussed as being attributable to source confusion. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Prediction of sudden cardiac death in patients with coronary heart disease: the challenge ahead.

Despite widespread advances in coronary heart disease (CHD) treatment and the growing use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), sudden cardiac death (SCD) remains a major cause of CHD death in the United States,1 and identification of patients at risk for SCD remains a challenge. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) has been found to be the strongest independent predictor of SCD among traditional clinical markers,2 and risk of SCD exponentially increases as LVEF decreases.3 Based on data from observational studies, clinical trials were designed to test the hypothesis that ICD therapy would prolong life in patients with clinically recognized left ventricular dysfunction. Although these trials have demonstrated convincing survival benefits,4,5 there continues to be great debate regarding the overall effectiveness, and in particular cost-effectiveness, of the current strategy of allocating ICD therapy on the basis of LVEF.6,7 Article see p 180 Stratifying SCD risk based solely on LVEF has 2 important well-recognized limitations. First, LVEF lacks specificity in that it not only predicts SCD but other modes of cardiovascular death as well.8 Indeed, most current clinical predictors, with the possible exception of invasive electrophysiological testing,9 predict cardiovascular death in general rather than mode of death. Thus, these predictors in isolation are unable to discriminate those who will die suddenly from those who will die from other causes. Although defibrillators are highly effective at terminating potentially lethal ventricular arrhythmias, recent estimates suggest that allocating ICD therapy on the basis of LVEF may not be cost-effective until 8 years after implantation,10 a timeline that exceeds the length of follow-up in completed randomized trials.4,5 If patients deemed “high-risk” for SCD are at an equally high risk of dying from other causes, the benefit of the ICD may not be realized. Second, the measurement of LVEF lacks …
Angle Resolved Thermal Desorption Studies for Poly(methylvinylidene cyanide) and Poly(vinylidenefluoride trifluoroethylene)

We compare water adsorption and desorption on ferroelectric copolymer poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene), and the dipole ordered polymer poly(methylvinylidene cyanide). The angle-resolved thermal desorption spectra prove that the absorbed water species interacts more strongly with poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) than with poly(methylvinylidene cyanide). The angle resolved thermal desorption spectra shows large deviations from the cosine distribution for light illuminated poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene). Water desorption from poly(methylvinylidene cyanide) deviates from the cosine distribution without illumination.
Effect of Finite Exposure Slits in Determination of the Line Spread Function and Modulation Transfer Function

The modulation transfer function of radiologic imaging systems is commonly obtained by determining the line spread function (LSF) of the system and computing its Fourier transform. Ideally, LSF should be obtained with infinitesimally narrow slits. The use of finite slits for obtaining the LSF is analyzed theoretically. An expression for the MTF of a finite rectangular slit is derived. Slit width correction of observed MTF is discussed as well as the correction for any generalized slit configuration.
Re-Imagining Social Democracy after Neo-Liberalism: Progressive-Era Feminist Insights

To expunge the market logic from the political, I argue for a robust political theory of social democracy that incorporates four Progressive-era feminist insights. Social democracy is not narrowed to state bureaucracies that dispense services and checks to politically passive social citizen clients. American social democracy has not been served well by liberalism (Rawls and Shklar) and therefore requires its own distinct tradition. The feminists stressed two relationships: family and state, and social and political. A new democratic social space recasts them by combining deep participation and egalitarian human flourishing (cf. Walzer and Pateman) The feminists attacked laissez-faire because it applied market logic to politics (cf. Wendy Brown). The "neo" label refers to reviving the market logic after the successes of social democracy. I develop 4 feminist insights. The first socializes democracy by tying it to nurturing of human development. All work is care work. The second expands collective self-government by extending the vote and by forging new social relations among the less powerful to keep political leaders accountable to a social justice common good. The third insight shows how a social democratic care ethic can replace an imperialist one through a new kind of multileveled politics. The fourth pointed to two relevant motors: a woman's bloc vote for social welfare and cross-class relations with immigrants and racial minorities.
Computer Aids in Integrated Circuits Design

A very large-scale integrated (VLSI) circuit is commonly defined as a single chip which contains more than 100,000 devices. This year (1980) several industrial electronic firms are designing IC’s with device counts of more than 100,000. These circuits are either in initial design or are possibly in initial prototype production. Generally, the NM0S technology is being used with a minimum feature size in the 1–2 micron range. The design methodology and the computer aids used in the VLSI design, in general, are those that are also being used in today’s LSI production or are relatively modest extensions of these methodologies and computer aids for design.
LUMBOSACRAL FACETECTOMY FOR RELIEF OF SCIATIC PAIN

A case is reported of sciatic pain, due to impingement of the fifth lumbar nerve in the intervertebral foramen, which was successfully treated by facetectomy and lumbosacral fusion.
Correlation of CT Cerebral Vascular Territories with Function: 3. Middle Cerebral Artery

Schematic displays are presented of the cerebral territories supplied by branches of the middle cerebral artery as they would appear on axial and coronal computed tomographic (CT) scan sections. Companion diagrams of regional cortical function and a discussion of the fiber tracts are provided to simplify correlation of clinical deficits with coronal and axial CT abnormalities.
Fast algorithm for 3D localization through scattering media: forward model and physics

We propose a physics model for volumetric scattering that leads to a fast algorithm for localizing point emitters in 3D. The input is a high-resolution 4D phase-space measurement. Our algorithm has small complexity for solving atomic norm based inverse problems with Terabyte-sized 4D datasets, enabling us to run our solver in almost real-time.
Intrathecal administration of 4-aminopyridine in chronic spinal injured patients.

Study design: Intrathecal administration of 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) in chronic spinal cord injured (SCI) patients. Objective: To determine the safety and effects of intrathecal administration of 4-AP in a small population of chronic SCI patients. Setting: The post anesthesia care unit of a tertiary care hospital. Methods: Following animal mode studies to establish dosing safety, six subjects with chronic SCI were examined. In each subject, an intrathecal catheter was placed with the tip as close to the lesion level as possible. 4-AP was infused at 5 μg/h for a period of 4–5 h. Vital signs were recorded and sensory-motor physical examinations and pain questionnaires were administered for 24 h. In two patients, samples of cerebrospinal fluid for analysis were drawn from a second intrathecal catheter. Results: No adverse systemic side effects were noted. One patient showed transient improvement in sensory function; two showed transient increases in spasticity; three showed transient increases in cutaneomuscular reflexes and two showed an apparent small increase in volitional motor control. The concentration of 4-aminopyridine in the cerebrospinal fluid reached a peak of 163 ng/ml at 4 h in one subject and 122 ng/ml at 5 h in the other subject examined. Conclusion: Intrathecal administration of 4-aminopyridine at a rate of 5 μg/h does not appear to cause adverse effects and may modify spinal cord function. This route of administration allows local cerebrospinal fluid concentrations equivalent to those produced by maximum tolerable systemic doses, which require 1000 times more drug substance to be delivered to the subject as a whole. Intrathecal administration offers the potential to focus therapeutic effects to the lesion site while minimizing systemic side effects.
EFFECT OF NEO-NATAL AND ADOPTIVE IMMUNIZATION ON TUMOR TRANSPLANT SUSCEPTIBILITY IN MICE.

Summary1. A strain of mice resistant to the transplanted CD/5 lymphoma (DBA/2), and a tumor susceptible strain (BALB/C), were rendered mutually graft-tolerant by neonatal cross-immunization with spleen cells. At 6–8 weeks mice of both strains were injected subcutaneously with CD/5 lymphoma, which is isologous in BALB/C mice. Growing tumors in BALB/C mice were then challenged by an “adoptive” immunization procedure using spleen and lymph nodes from resistant DBA partners. 2. Neo-natally cross-immunized BALB/C mice were more resistant (45%) to the tumor than control animals (13%). 3. Following adoptive immunization, complete tumor regression was observed in 20% and partial regression in 25% of tumor bearing animals. Corresponding figures for a control group of normal BALB/C subjected to the same adoptive immunization were: complete regression (0%), partial regression (8%). 4. Antibody titers in DBA/2 mice against tumor protein did not correlate with tumor rejection. Neo-natally cross-immunized DBA/2 mice we...
Blacks and Hispanics in Urban Politics

Are local political institutions responsive to the demands of racial minorities for a more equitable share of scarce public resources? Does an enhanced political presence improve black and Hispanic prospects in the struggle for public jobs? Based upon data for 1200 cities, my analysis reveals that while minority council members make a substantial contribution to employment success, minority mayors do not. For blacks, an interactive effect was also discovered for the relationship between the level of political representation, governmental structure, and employment outcomes. This research reveals that the political process does work. However, its effectiveness for minorities is mediated by a complex of factors that includes an interaction between political power, racial polarization, and the nature of local political institutions.
Abstract C90: Working to double pancreatic cancer survival by 2020

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is the national organization creating hope in a comprehensive way through research, patient support, community outreach and advocacy for a cure. The organization is leading the way to increase survival for people diagnosed with this devastating disease through a bold initiative - The Vision of Progress: Double Pancreatic Cancer Survival by 2020. Together, we can Wage Hope in the fight against pancreatic cancer by intensifying our efforts to heighten awareness, raise funds for comprehensive private research, and advocate for dedicated federal research to advance early diagnostics and better treatments and increase chances of survival. Citation Format: Maurice L. Bason. Working to double pancreatic cancer survival by 2020. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eighth AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 13-16, 2015; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2016;25(3 Suppl):Abstract nr C90.
Physical activity, vitamin D, and incident atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in whites and blacks: The ARIC study

Context Physical activity (PA) is associated with 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels. Both are associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), but their joint association with ASCVD risk is unknown. Objective To examine the relationship between PA and 25(OH)D, and assess effect modification of 25(OH)D and PA with ASCVD. Design Cross-sectional and prospective study. Setting Community-dwelling cohort. Participants A total of 10,342 participants free of ASCVD, with moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA assessed (1987 to 1989) and categorized per American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines (recommended, intermediate, or poor). Main Outcome Measures Serum 25(OH)D levels (1990 to 1992) and ASCVD events (i.e., incident myocardial infarction, fatal coronary disease, or stroke) through 2013. Results Participants had mean age of 54 years, and were 57% women, 21% black, 30% 25(OH)D deficient [<20 ng/mL (<50 nmol/L)], and <40% meeting AHA-recommended PA. PA was linearly associated with 25(OH)D levels in whites. Whites meeting recommended PA were 37% less likely to have 25(OH)D deficiency [relative risk, 0.63 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.56, 0.71)]; there was no significant association in blacks. Over 19.3 years of follow-up, 1800 incident ASCVD events occurred. Recommended PA was associated with reduced ASCVD risk [hazard ratio [HR], 0.78 (95% CI, 0.65, 0.93) and 0.76 (95% CI, 0.62, 0.93)] among participants with intermediate [20 to <30 ng/mL (50 to <75 nmol/L)] and optimal [≥30 ng/mL (≥75 nmol/L)] 25(OH)D, respectively, but not among those with deficient 25(OH)D (P for interaction = 0.04). Conclusion PA is linearly associated with higher 25(OH)D levels in whites. PA and 25(OH)D may have synergistic beneficial effects on ASCVD risk.
Crack incubation in shot peened AA7050 and mechanism for fatigue enhancement

Shot peening is a dynamic cold-working process involving the impingement of peening media onto a substrate surface. Shot peening is commonly used as a surface treatment technique within the aerospace industry during manufacturing to improve fatigue performance of structural components. The compressive residual stress induced during shot peening results in fatigue crack growth retardation, improving the performance of shot-peened components. However, shot peening is a compromise between the benefit of inducing a compressive residual stress and causing detrimental surface damage. Because of the relatively soft nature of AA7050-T7451, shot peening can result in cracking of the constituent precipitate particles, creating an initial damage state. The aim of this paper is to understand the balance and fundamentals of these competing phenomena through a comparative study throughout the fatigue lifecycle of baseline versus shot-peened AA7050-T7451. Microstructure and surface topology characterization and comparison of the baseline and shot-peened AA7050-T7451 has been performed using scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and optical profilometry techniques. A residual stress analysis through interrupted fatigue of the baseline and shot-peened AA7050-T7451 was completed using a combination of X-ray diffraction and nanoindentation. The fatigue life performance of the baseline versus shot-peened material has been evaluated, including crack initiation and propagation. Subsurface particles crack upon shot peening but did not incubate into the matrix during fatigue loading, presumably due to the compressive residual stress field. In the baseline samples, the particles were initially intact, but upon fatigue loading, crack nucleation was observed in the particles, and these cracks incubated into the matrix. In damage tolerant analysis, an initial defect size is needed for lifetime assessment, which is often difficult to determine, leading to overly conservative evaluations. This work provides a critical assessment of the mechanism for shot peening enhancement for fatigue performance and quantifies how incubation of a short crack is inhibited from an initially cracked particle into the matrix within a residual stress field.
Jackson v. Payday Financial, LLC.

In Jackson v. Payday Financial, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held loan a provision requiring arbitration in tribal court was unreasonable and substantially and procedurally unconscionable. The Court rejected Payday’s argument that the dispute belonged in tribal court, because there was no subject matter jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ claims, and the defendants did not raise a colorable claim for tribal jurisdiction or tribal exhaustion.
The Old Boys: The Decline and Rise of the Public School. By David Turner. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2015. Pp. xiv, 336. $65.00.)

Almost every modern study of British public schools begins with Thomas Hughes's Tom Brown's School Days, and so it is with this book, which begins and ends with references to the classic novel. Dav...
AUnit: A Test Automation Tool for Alloy

Software models help improve the reliability of software systems: models can convey requirements, and can analyze design and implementation properties. A key strength of Alloy, a commonly used first-order modeling language, is the Alloy Analyzer tool-set. The Analyzer allows users to execute commands over models by leveraging a fully automatic SAT-based analysis engine. However, prior to the introduction of AUnit – a testing framework for Alloy – users had to rely on ad-hoc practices to validate their models. In this paper, we present our efforts to establish a formal testing environment in the Alloy Analyzer by creating an AUnit extension. We present additional grammar to support test case creation, as well as the details for executing test suites, calculating test suite coverage, and automatically generating test suites. The tool is available as a stand-alone executable at the following URL (https://sites.google.com/view/aunitanalyzer).
Prognostic implications of ploidy and proliferative activity in the diffuse, aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphomas

The International Index is a powerful predictor of outcome in the aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphomas that is based solely on clinical features. Proliferative activity (% S-phase) measured by flow cytometry has been reported to have prognostic significance in many series and may represent a biologic correlate of clinical behavior that further defines prognosis. Flow cytometric analysis of cellular DNA content and proliferative activity (% S-phase) was performed on fixed paraffin-embedded biopsy specimens from 242 previously untreated patients with diffuse, aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphomas entered on phase III intergroup clinical trials. The International Index was calculated for each patient based on stage, lactate dehydrogenase, performance status, number of extranodal sites, and age, as previously reported. The International Index consistently predicted response to therapy (P = .027) and survival (P = .007) in this series. DNA aneuploidy was shown in 57% of cases, but was not predictive of clinical outcome. The median % S-phase was 9.9 (median coefficient of variation, 3.6%), which was highly correlated with mitotic index (P = .0001). Although a trend associating low proliferative activity with good early survival and very high S-phase with a shortened survival was shown, International Index risk was the only significant predictor of survival in the multivariate analysis. Although proliferative activity quantitated by flow cytometric analysis of nuclei extracted from paraffin-embedded specimens is probably predictive of survival, it is a less powerful prognostic indicator than clinical parameters represented by the International Index and provides no additional prognostic information.
The HSV-1 live attenuated VC2 vaccine provides protection against HSV-2 genital infection in the guinea pig model of genital herpes

Abstract Background Although development of an HSV vaccine is a priority there is currently no vaccine available. The recent failure of subunit vaccines suggest that presentation of more antigens via a live attenuated vaccine may be required for protection. We therefore evaluated VC2, a live attenuated HSV vaccine, engineered to be unable to enter into neuronal axons. Methods VC2 pathogenesis was first evaluated in guinea pigs following intravaginal inoculation. VC2 was then evaluated as a prophylactic and therapeutic vaccine and compared protection to a gD2 vaccine adjuvanted with MPL/Alum in the guinea pig model of genital HSV-2. The guinea pig model allows evaluation of acute and recurrent disease, as well as vaginal shedding acutely and during episodes of recurrent activation. Results VC2 was significantly attenuated in guinea pigs compared to the wild type strain, 17syn+. It replicated poorly at the inoculation site, did not produce any genital disease and rarely infected the neural tissue. After prophylactic vaccination, the VC2 vaccine decreased the clinical severity of acute and recurrent HSV-2 disease and shedding and decreased the quantity of virus in the DRGs. When compared to gD2+MPL/Alum, VC2 was somewhat more effective especially as it relates to neural tissue infection. VC2 was not effective as a therapeutic vaccine. Conclusion The live attenuated prophylactic HSV vaccine, VC2, was effective in the guinea pig model of genital HSV-2. Its decreased ability to infect neural tissues provides advantages over other live attenuated vaccines.
P62 A review of near infra-red spectroscopy

Near infra-red spectroscopy (NIRS) is an exciting non-invasive, portable, continuous modality used to assess regional tissue oxygen saturations, expressed as a percentage. The use of NIRS in clinical practice is relatively recent, with its role in measuring cerebral oxygenation originally described in the 1970s. The primary application of NIRS in paediatrics is in monitoring for signs of reduced or differential tissue perfusion, particularly post cardiac surgery. No routine bedside test measures cardiac index directly; the diagnosis of LCOS is currently made based on a number of clinical parameters including lactate, urine output and mixed venous saturations (svO2).The efficacy of NIRS has been compared to these parameters in a number of studies. Averaged cerebral and renal NIRS 3 mmol/L with a sensitivity of 95% and a specificity of 83% (p=0.0001, AUC 0.92). NIRS can detect the redistribution of blood flow occurring as a physiological response to low cardiac output states, assessed by analysing the difference between somatic (flank) and cerebral NIRS. A NIRS difference between somatic and cerebral NIRS of 10% is significant (p NIRS also provides a robust indicator of renal dysfunction with an increased risk of doubling the creatinine level every hour the renal NIRS is Lower cerebral NIRS during the 60 minutes post bypass is associated with a lower psychomotor development index (PDI) of the Bayley Scales and haemosiderin foci on MRI. Further reports have evaluated the predictive value of NIRS on neurodevelopmental outcomes at two years of age, reporting that receptive communication may also be affected by the NIRS nadir. Sceptics refer to studies showing that NIRS values can be ascertained from inanimate objects, including root vegetables. This is not surprising since NIRS evaluates light absorption and even vegetables contain substances that can absorb and/or reflect specific wavelengths. Near-infrared spectroscopy is an exciting development in medical technology which provides the benfit of continuous, real-time, non-invasive monitoring at the bedside. It provides an adjunct to standard investigative modalities, correlating well with transcranial Doppler values and markers of tissue perfusion. NIRS can provide a useful indication that a change in regional blood flow has occurred and interventions performed in response to change in NIRS result in reduced morbidity.
Novel targeted therapies for the management of liver fibrosis

Introduction: Prolonged liver injury results in tissue damage and replacement by extracellular matrix and fibrosis. Cirrhosis represents a leading cause of mortality worldwide and imposes a major financial burden on health-care systems. Fortunately, fibrogenesis has proven to be reversible if halted early, encouraging the development of novel anti-fibrotic agents that may accelerate histological restoration. Preclinical data have elucidated numerous potential therapeutic targets and many anti-fibrotic agents are currently at various stages of clinical research.Areas covered: The present review summarizes recent clinical data regarding anti-fibrotic drugs including monoclonal antibodies, targeted conjugates, and small molecule agents.Expert opinion: Although undeniable progress has been made in the development of anti-fibrotic agents in recent years, most data currently available are derived from preclinical and early clinical studies. The efficacy and safety of these agents will need to be corroborated by larger clinical trials, some of which are ongoing with results expected in the upcoming years. Combination therapy with agents targeting different pathways of fibrogenesis will also be of great interest for the future and will need to be explored in clinical trials.
Neutral Decay Branching Ratios of the η 0 Meson

The branching ratios for the decay of the ${\ensuremath{\eta}}^{0}$ meson into $3{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}$, ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}\ensuremath{\gamma}\ensuremath{\gamma}$, and $\ensuremath{\gamma}\ensuremath{\gamma}$ have been measured. Under the assumption that no other neutral decays are significant, the results are $\frac{({\ensuremath{\eta}}^{0}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}3{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0})}{({\ensuremath{\eta}}^{0}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\gamma}\ensuremath{\gamma})}=0.88\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.16$ and $\frac{({\ensuremath{\eta}}^{0}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}\ensuremath{\gamma}\ensuremath{\gamma})}{({\ensuremath{\eta}}^{0}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\gamma}\ensuremath{\gamma})}l~0.28$ (95% confidence-level upper limit).
Chapter IX – System Stability

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses system stability. The long range usefulness of a system depends on the stability of the system, where a stable system is one that has the ability to recover from the effects of impulse-type inputs. For this reason, system stability should be considered while determining system performance in regard to other design criteria. As stability determinations are so important, it is important that both the system analyst and designer have ready means of determining whether a given system is stable. System stability is directly related to the magnitude of the roots of the characteristic equation of the system difference equation. However, it is apparent that the difficulty in obtaining these roots increases rapidly with the order of the equation. Thus, for systems with complicated control rules, complex system dynamics, feedback delays, or feedforward or prediction of inputs, there is a real need for stability tests that can be applied directly to the characteristic equation in polynomial form.
The VIP Approach - Applying a Virtual, Interdisciplinary Partnership to Support Innovation and Authentic Learning in Distance Education

This paper offers lessons learned from a partnership between the Texas A&M School of Innovation (I-School) and the Texas A&M Educational Technology program. Taking on the I-School as a “client,” online graduate students in an Advanced Instructional Design course spent a semester designing the first of a set of online educational modules aimed to educate inventors, especially those emerging from research institutions, about the process of obtaining funding from outside sources for commercializing their technologies. Key elements of authentic learning experiences include a real-world relevant project, collaboration, meaningful reflection, and a polished product (Herrington et al. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 19(1), 57-71. 2003). The design of the asynchronous course is discussed in terms of how it reflects these elements of authentic learning experiences. In addition, the experience of participating in this client-based authentic learning experience within an asynchronous, online course is discussed from the instructor, student, and client perspectives.
Polymorphism of the matrix metalloproteinase-1 and risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Objective Our study aimed to test the association between the matrix metalloproteinase-1 ( MMP-1) polymorphism and risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma ( ESCC ) . Methods We determined the MMP-1 polymorphism in 450 ESCC cases and 450 frequency-matched controls by polymerase chain reaction-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Results We found evidence for a significant association between the 2G/2G genotype and ESCC risk compared with 1G allele,including 1G/1G genotype and 1G/2G genotype [OR = 1. 39;95% confidence interval (CI), 1. 06-1. 81].Furthermore,the increased risk was found to be in smokers (OR,1. 59;95% CI, 1. 09-2. 31) and in female (OR, 1.76;95% CI, 1.05-2. 97). Conclusion Our study suggests that the MMP-1 promoter polymorphism may play a role in the etiology of ESCC. Key words: Matrix metalloproteinase-1; Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Single nucleotide polymorphism
Genomic Determination of Relative Risks for Clostridioides difficile Infection From Asymptomatic Carriage in Intensive Care Unit Patients.

BACKGROUND Clostridioides difficile infections (CDIs) are among the most prevalent hospital-associated infections (HAIs), particularly for intensive care unit (ICU) patients. The risks for developing active CDI from asymptomatic carriage of C. difficile are not well understood. METHODS We identified asymptomatic C. difficile carriage among 1897 ICU patients using rectal swabs from an existing ICU vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) surveillance program. C. difficile isolates from VRE swabs, and from C. difficile-positive stool samples, were genome sequenced. Spatial-temporal data from hospital records assessed genomically identified clusters for potential transmission events. RESULTS Genomic analyses identified a diverse set of strains in infected patients and asymptomatic carriers. A total of 7.4% of ICU patients asymptomatically carried C. difficile; 69% of isolates carried an intact toxin locus. In contrast, 96% of C. difficile stool isolates were toxin encoding. CDI rates in asymptomatic carriers of toxin-encoding strains were 5.3% versus 0.57% in noncarriers. The relative risk for CDI with asymptomatic carriage of a toxin-encoding strain was 9.32 (95% confidence interval, 3.25-26.7). Genomic identification of clonal clusters supported analyses for asymptomatic transmission events, with spatial-temporal overlaps identified in 13 of 28 cases. CONCLUSIONS Our studies provide the first genomically confirmed assessments of CDI relative risk from asymptomatic carriage of toxin-encoding strains and highlight the complex dynamics of asymptomatic transmission in ICUs. Asymptomatic carriers are an active reservoir of C. difficile in the nosocomial environment. C. difficile screening can be implemented within existing HAI surveillance programs and has the potential to support infection-control efforts against this pathogen.
Space and anti-space: the fabric of place, city and architecture

This is an important book for urbanists, city planners and students presenting a powerful case for contextual urbanism. Steven Peterson and Barbara Littenberg are husband and wife architects and ur...
Long-Term Follow-Up of a Lifestyle Intervention for Late-Midlife, Rural-Dwelling Latinos in Primary Care

IMPORTANCE Rural-dwelling Latinos are an underresourced population in need of accessible and effective wellness programs. OBJECTIVE To evaluate patients' long-term health-related outcomes after lifestyle intervention. DESIGN An uncontrolled pilot trial assessing change in health from pretreatment to long-term follow-up (12 mo after intervention completion, no contact) and from posttreatment to long-term follow-up. SETTING Rural, community-based primary care. PARTICIPANTS Latino and Hispanic safety-net primary care patients, ages 50 to 64 yr. INTERVENTION A culturally tailored, 4-mo lifestyle intervention co-led by occupational therapy practitioners and Latino community health workers that features telehealth and in-home sessions covering topics such as healthy eating and navigating health care. OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Self-reported and physiological outcomes: symptom-well-being (primary), stress, sleep disturbance, social satisfaction, physical activity, patient activation, blood pressure, and weight. Exit interviews addressed health experiences and intervention impact on participants' lives. RESULTS Participants (N = 27) demonstrated clinically significant pretreatment to long-term follow-up benefits in all symptom-well-being dimensions (Cohen's d ≥ 0.8, p ≤ .004), with additional gains from posttreatment to long-term follow-up (d ≥ 0.4, p ≤ .05). Significant improvements from pre- to posttreatment in systolic blood pressure, stress, and social role and activity satisfaction were maintained at long-term follow-up. No changes were observed in weight, physical activity, or diastolic blood pressure. Participants described the intervention's sustained positive effect on their wellness. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE A lifestyle intervention led by occupational therapy practitioners and community health workers in a primary care context has potential to achieve long-term health benefits in rural-dwelling, late-midlife Latinos. WHAT THIS ARTICLE ADDS This study reveals that rural, late-midlife Latinos showed long-lasting improvements in psychological and physical health after finishing a program that helped them make healthy lifestyle choices. This finding supports the unique contribution of occupational therapy in primary care settings.
Development of a narrow stopband filter for spectroscopic fast ion deuterium-alpha measurements

A new technique to attenuate the unshifted deuterium Balmer-alpha (D-alpha) emission is developed and tested for the fast ion D-alpha (FIDA) diagnostic. The unshifted D-alpha emission, at λ = 656.1 nm, is around three orders of magnitude higher than the desired FIDA emission. Blocking the strong emission feature is essential to prevent blooming and light smearing on the CCD chip and scattered light contamination. The new method is a notch filter approach that utilizes the reflection from ultra-narrow bandpass filters to block the saturating signal before it enters the spectrometer. Collimated light from the fibers is reflected off the filter at a 15° angle of incidence. Measurements show that a center wavelength transmission of 0.006 and a blocking full width at half maximum of ∼1 nm are achieved by using a 200 μm fiber and a 20 mm focal length collimator with two filters.
Optimization of automated matrix deposition for biomolecular mapping using a spotter.

This work shows how a chemical inkjet printer was used for this purpose resulting in the imaging of phosphatidylcholines and sulfatides. The intricacies involved in effective matrix deposition are discussed.
Indoor test for thermal performance evaluation of Sunworks (liquid) solar collector

Test procedures used and test results obtained from an evaluation test program conducted on a single covered liquid solar collector under simulated conditions are presented. The test article was a flat plate solar collector using water as the heat transfer medium. The absorber plate was copper with copper tubes bonded by soft solder. The plate was coated with Enthone selective black with an absorptivity factor of .87 approximately .92 and an emissivity factor of .10 approximately .20. A time constant test and incident angle modifier test were conducted to determine the transient effect and the incident angle effect on the collector.
PERFORMANCE OF EARTH DAMS DURING EARTHQUAKES

Particular emphasis is given to dam performance in six major earthquakes—San Francisco (1906); Ojika, Japan (1939); Fallon, Nevada (1954); Kern County, California (1952); Tokachi-Oki, Japan (1967); and San Fernando, California (1971). An attempt is made to determine relationships between embankment characteristics and observed performance. It is concluded that (1)Hydraulic fill dams on stable foundations can safely withstand accelerations up to about 0.2g from Magnitude 6.5 earthquakes; (2)virtually any well-built dam can withstand moderately strong shaking up to about 0.2g or more with no detrimental effects; (3)dams built of clay soils seem to be able to withstand extremely strong shaking from large magnitude earthquakes without significant damage; (4)dams may fail up to 24 hrs after being shaken by an earthquake probably due to cracking leading to piping and erosion; and (5)primary concern should be given to dams constructed of saturated sandy soils or on sand foundation materials. Prototype performance is cited as a basis for these conclusions.
RF phase distortion due to crosstalk in an 8 channel wavelength division multiplexed analog delay line

We present experimental results of crosstalk for an eight channel WDM 25 microsecond delay line. The total phase error produced by the crosstalk onto one channel from the other seven over a frequency of 0-20 GHz is measured.
Law Student Laptop Use During Class for Non-Class Purposes: Temptation v. Incentives

This article reports on how law students use laptops, based on observations of 1072 laptop users (though there was considerable overlap among those users from one class to another) during 60 sessions of six law school courses. Some findings: More than half the upper-year students seen using laptops employed them for non-class purposes more than half the time, raising serious questions about how much they learned from class. By contrast, first-semester Civil Procedure students used laptops for non-class purposes far less: only 4% used laptops for non-class purposes more than half the time while 44% were never distracted by laptops. Students in exam courses were more likely to tune out when classmates asked and professors responded to questions and less likely to tune out when a rule was discussed or textual material read in class. For first-semester students, policy discussions generated the highest level of distraction while displaying a PowerPoint slide which was not later posted on the web elicited the lowest level. With some exceptions, what was happening in the class did not affect whether upper-year students tuned out or paid attention. The format used to convey information - lecture, calling on students, or class discussion - seemed to make little difference to the level of attention. Student attentiveness to the facts of cases is comparable to their overall attention levels.The article speculates that student decisions on whether to pay attention are responses to the tension between incentives and temptation. While the temptation to tune out probably remains constant, ebbs and flows in incentives may cause students to resist or yield to that temptation. Because first-semester grades have more of an impact on job prospects, first-semester students have a greater incentive than upper-year students to attend to classes. Similarly, because students probably anticipate that rules are more likely to be tested on exams, students perceive that they have more of an incentive to pay attention when rules are discussed. Conversely, students may suspect that matters asked about by classmates are less likely to be tested on and so their grades are unlikely to be affected if they miss the question and answer, reducing the incentive to pay attention. Because of methodological limits to the study, the article notes that its conclusions cannot be considered definitive, and so it urges others to conduct similar studies.
A mechanism of retinoid potentiation of murine T-cell responses : early upregulation of interleukin-2 receptors

Abstract The capacity of retinoids to amplify the proliferative response of BALB/c lymphocytes to concanavalin A (Con A) 2 in the presence of exogenous interleukin-2 (IL-2) and the induction of IL-2 receptors (IL-2R) on L3T4 + and Lyt-2 + T-cells was evaluated. Preincubation with Con A for 8 h in the presence of retinoids resulted in a greater than two-fold increase in spleen cell proliferative response to Con A plus rIL-2 over the following 72 h relative to the response of cells preincubated with Con A alone. Peak potentiation of IL-2 responses occurred over a pharmacologic range of retinoic acid (RA) concentration (10 −10 −10 −8 M) in the presence of 20 U/ml rIL-2. This potentiation of the response to IL-2 was likewise observed after 8 h prestimulation with Con A with splenic T-cells enriched by passage over nylon wool. Preincubation of the spleen cells with Con A plus RA without the subsequent addition of IL-2 resulted in a proliferative response that was potentiated nearly to the level of the response produced by subsequent addition of IL-2 to Con A-activated cells. Preincubation of the cells with Con A in the presence of RA produced a true synergy with IL-2; the resulting increase in response was greater than the sum of the increases produced by RA or IL-2 alone. By assessing the proportion of cells that became IL-2R positive during the early phase of cell activation by Con A and RA, it was determined that this augmentation by RA was apparently associated with increased IL-2R expression among L3T4 + (CD4), Lyt-2 + (CD8) and total T-cells. Indeed, RA-induced proliferative increases were significantly inhibited by addition to culture of anti-IL-2R antibodies. The potentiation of IL-2R expression by RA occurred early during Con A-activation suggesting that the kinetics of IL-2R expression were increased by RA. Indeed, near-maximal IL-2R expression was observed after a 12 h stimulation in the presence of RA, whereas maximal IL-2R expression in cultures containing only Con A occurred after 24 h. IL-2R expression was potentiated by RA in both CD4 and CD8 T-cells, but was potentiated more rapidly in the CD4 subpopulation. These data suggest that at least one of the mechanisms underlying retinoid potentiation of T-cell proliferation is the retinoid-induced increase in the rate of IL-2R expression.
Middle East Oil and Economic Development Regional and Global Implications

The economic importance of the Middle East to Western powers pre-dates the discovery of oil. Western colonial powers have managed to integrate the economies of Middle Eastern nations into the international economic order. Economic dependency on the West increased following the discovery of oil. Increased oil revenues have, at the regional level, resulted in an income gap between nations of the region. At the international level, they resulted in increasing the imports of oil-producing nations, increased assistance to Third World nations, and large investments in markets of industrial nations.
The molecular structure and conformation of dichlorotetramethyldisiloxane as determined by gas phase electron diffraction

Abstract Dichlorotetramethyldisiloxane is studied by gas-phase electron diffraction at room temperature. The least-squares values of the bond distances ( r g ) and bond angles (∠ α ) are: r (CH)=1.084(5) A, r (SiO) = 1.624(2) A, r (SiC) = 1.852(2) A, r (SiCl) = 2.067(2) A, ∠SiOSi = 154.0° (1.5), ∠ClSiO = 110.2° (0.8), ∠ ClSiC = 109.6°(0.7), ∠HCSi = 111.7°(1.5), ∠ OSiC = 110.0°(0.8), τ 1 (zero corresponds to the SiCl bond trans to the SiOSi linkage) = 78°(6) and τ 2 = 141°(19). A two-conformer model cannot be ruled out.