cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dural carotid cavernous fistula: definitive endovascular management and long-term follow-up.

Abstract PURPOSE: To describe the endovascular treatment and clinical outcome in patients with indirect carotid cavernous fistulas (CCFs) over a 15-year period. To our knowledge, this is the largest series in the medical literature. DESIGN: Interventional case series. METHODS: A retrospective evaluation of 135 consecutive patients who underwent examination and treatment for indirect CCF was performed. Patients received independent evaluations by ophthalmologists, neurologists, or neuro-ophthalmologists before, during, and after endovascular treatment. Patients initially received noninvasive imaging followed by cerebral arteriography for definitive diagnosis and stratification by angiographic risk factors. Endovascular treatment was performed in 133 (98%) patients and clinical follow-up was achieved in 135 (100%) patients on an average of 56 ± 4.3 months (range: 2 months–14 years). Angiographic follow-up was performed in 72 (54%) patients with ongoing symptoms or a history of fistula with high-risk angiographic features. Arteriographic cure with long-term clinical outcome is summarized by modified Rankin scale (mRS) and Barthel index (BI). RESULTS: At a mean follow-up of 56 months, 121 (90%) patients were clinically cured. At latest clinical follow-up, 131 (97%) patients showed good recovery (mRS, 1–2; BI 90–100), one (1%) had moderate disability (mRS, 3; BI, 50–60), and three (2%) (mRS, 4; BI, 40–50) were severely disabled. Procedure-related permanent morbidity was 2.3%. There was no operative mortality. CONCLUSIONS: With the observed favorable outcomes and low rate of procedural morbidity in this patient population with long-term angiographic and clinical follow-up, endovascular therapy should be the primary treatment for patients with indirect (dural) fistulas of the cavernous sinus.
An amino-terminal fragment of SV40 T antigen induces cellular DNA synthesis in quiescent rat cells

SV40 large T antigen can stimulate cellular DNA synthesis in quiescent cells. Here we report that an SV40 mutant, which expresses only the amino-terminal 147 amino acids of this protein and which does not make small t antigen, stimulates cellular DNA synthesis in quiescent rat cells at levels similar to those achieved with serum stimulation. Thus, the amino-terminal 147 amino acids of large T antigen define a domain of this protein that is sufficient for efficient stimulation of cellular DNA synthesis in the absence of small t antigen.
Imbalanced Expression of Inhibin and Activin Subunits in Primary Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

Abstract Objectives. Inhibins and activins are related gonadal peptides with opposing biologic actions on gonadotropin regulation, cell differentiation, and proliferation. The previous study of activin in ovarian cancer cell lines suggests that activin may promote growth of ovarian cancer. Elevated serum inhibin levels were also found in ovarian cancer patients; however, the source of elevated inhibin is unknown. This study is designed to examine the expression of inhibin and activin subunits as well as activin receptor in primary ovarian epithelial tumors to explore their role in the process of ovarian epithelial tumorigenesis. Methods. The protein and mRNA expression of α and βA subunits of inhibin/activin as well as of activin receptor mRNA were examined with immunohistochemistry (IHC) and reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) in 112 ovarian carcinomas. Cases included 59 serous, 23 endometrioid, 16 mucinous, 9 clear cell, and 5 undifferentiated carcinomas. We also tested normal ovary and benign and borderline ovarian tumors for comparison. These included 17 ovarian surface epithelial samples, 6 serous and 5 mucinous cystadenomas, and 9 serous and 7 mucinous tumors of low malignant potential. A total of 139 ovarian tumors were analyzed by IHC and a total of 63 ovarian tumor samples were tested by RT–PCR. Results. Inhibin α subunit expression was found in 47% of ovarian surface epithelia and focal α immunoreactivity was seen in tumor stroma, but was not found in the epithelial component of ovarian cystadenomas, tumors of low malignant potential (LMP), or carcinomas. Activin βA subunit was expressed in 93% of surface epithelia, in the epithelial component of all cystadenomas, in 81% of LMP tumors, and in 72% of carcinomas, but not in tumor stroma. Activin expression did not correlate with histologic grades, tumor types, and surgical stages. Activin receptor type I and II mRNA-amplified products were found in virtually all the surface epithelial samples and ovarian tumors. Conclusions. The data suggest that imbalanced expression of inhibin and activin subunits in ovarian surface epithelium may represent an early event which leads to epithelial proliferation. Unopposed βA and activin receptor expression in epithelial compartment of ovarian tumors suggest that activin may be available as autocrine and/or paracrine factors in ovarian epithelial tumors. But exact roles of inhibin and activin in ovarian epithelial tumors remain to be defined.
Genetic Variances of Agronomic Traits in Tetraploid Crested Wheatgrass under Competitive Conditions

Limited research has been conducted on characterizing the genetic variability of important agronomic traits of forage grasses grown in seeded swards. This study was conducted to estimate the degree of genetic control, i.e., the heritability (h 2 ), of several agronomic, morphological and physiological traits of crested wheatgrass [Agropyron desertorum (Fischer ex Link) Schultes] under sward conditions. Thirty ramdomly selected half-sib families from a genetically broad-based crested wheatgrass population were evaluated at one location for 2 yr in single-row plots that were spaced 38 cm apart and seeded at a rate of 90 seed m −1 . Heritabilities were determined for the following traits based on the progeny means of the 30 families: fresh forage yield, dry matter yield, tiller height, tiller number, flag leaf width, spikelets per spike, proline content, first-cut vigor, regrowth vigor, and flag leaf pubescence [...]
Distributed debugging: session summary

Both sessions on Tuesday morning (March 22, 1983) were devoted to the discussion of Distributed Debugging. Three papers were presented during the first part; then there was a lively panel discussion on Multiprocess and Distributed Debugging. Both session were chaired by John R. White (Xerox PARC).
Reading Bodies, Writing Bodies: Self-Reflection and Cultural Criticism in a Narrative Medicine Curriculum

Narrative medicine is a teaching methodology that is uniquely suited to the openly ideological teaching of antiracism, antisexism, and anticlassism. This article is based on a medical school humanities seminar on women's illness narratives that was involved in this sort of cultural critique. The seminar was framed as a course on reading and writing the body. The mind/body dichotomy not only is what differentiates mindful physicians from body-focused patients; it also has distinctly gendered overtones. Since science itself is constructed as mindful and male while women are supposedly emotional and body-focused, women physicians often find that acceptance into the fraternity of medicine requires a disembodiment from their reproductive, sexual, and otherwise physical selves. During this seminar, second-year female medical students not only gained an empathic understanding of women patients' experiences by reading pathographies; they turned this empathy inward toward oftentimes fractionalized body-selves, by writing about their own bodily experiences with illness and caregiving. Class discussions based on these reading and writing exercises gave students the space to articulate forces of control and disembodiment in medicine. This type of seminar demonstrates that narrative medicine as a discipline can look beyond solely patient-focused narratives and integrate a simultaneously politicized and personalized understanding of medicine. Such an understanding emerges from critically examining medical culture through narratives, while integrating exercises in self-reflection that recognize that not only patients but also physicians bring varied cultural, class, gendered, and sexual histories to their medical encounters.
A copyright protection scheme for digital images using visual cryptography technique

A robust copyright protection scheme for digital image is proposed in the paper. In the proposed scheme, the watermark does not require to be embedded into the protected image but is used to generate a secret image and a public image by using the visual cryptography technique. Then the secret image is registered to certified authority (CA) for further protection. In the step of watermark extraction, the watermark can be acquired by performing exclusive-OR (XOR) operation between the secret image and the public image. The experimental results show that the proposed scheme not only can clearly verify the copyright of the digital image, but also is robust to withstand several image processing attacks such as JPEG lossy compression, cropping, noise adding, sharpening and blurring attacks.
The integrated processing response of voles to fibre content of natural diets

1. Two species of voles were fed high fibre (barnyard grass) and low fibre (alfalfa) diets to test the integrated processing response (IPR) hypothesis. This hypothesis states that many herbivores are able to maintain their required intake of digestible nutrients and energy on diets with very different fibre content because of compensatory changes in intake of food, size of gastro-intestinal (GI) tract, passage rates of fibre and absorptive capacity of the GI tract. 2. As predicted by the IPR hypothesis, each species of vole maintained a similar intake of digestible dry matter on the two different diets. Both species also had greater intake, larger GI size, shorter mean retention times and greater GI mass (an indicator of epithelial mass and absorptive capacity) when fed grass than when fed alfalfa. 3. The two species differed in that meadow voles, the more active species, had greater total intake and obtained a greater amount of digestible dry matter from either diet than did prairie voles. Meadow voles also consume more grass in the field than do prairie voles, and they digested grass better than did prairie voles. Prairie voles, which consume more dicots in the field, digested alfalfa better than did meadow voles. 4. Meadow voles had longer GI tracts, particularly small intestines, than did prairie voles, which may be linked to their greater ability to digest grass. However, meadow voles did not have larger caeca than prairie voles, even though caecal size increased on grass diets for both species. The GI size of prairie voles fed grass increased more than did the GI size of meadow voles, and this may have enabled prairie voles to utilize a grass diet, though they prefer to eat dicots. Greater selection of leaves, which have less fibre than stems, and longer mean retention times of food may account for better digestion of alfalfa by prairie voles.
A centrifugal wave solution of the Euler and Navier-Stokes equations

A simple analytic solution of the Euler equations and Navier-Stokes equations is obtained for an axially-propagating wave in a rotating fluid. The solution is obtained by seeking propagating solutions within the class of unbounded solid-body type vortex flows that satisfy the von Karman-Bodewadt similarity principle.
Correlation of human lymphocyte SCE frequency with smoking history

Sister-chromatid exchange (SCE) frequency in lymphocytes of 24 active cigarette smokers was compared to that of 24 age and sex matched controls and 7 persons who had stopped smoking an average of 15.6 years. The results indicated that cigarette smoking was associated with a significant elevation (p<0.001) in the frequency of SCEs observed in otherwise healthy cigarette smokers. Furthermore, the increase in SCE level was shown to be dose-related to years of exposure when smoking history was measured in cumulative pack-years. The mean SCE frequency of the ex-smokers was not significantly different from nonsmoking controls.
The supratrochleare dorsale accessory ossicle in the elbow

Accessory ossicles about the elbow may occur more often than the literature would indicate. These bony ossicles frequently cause problems with misdiagnosis. The os supratrochleare dorsale, because it gets traumatized by elbow extension, may require removal to relieve pain, locking, and decreased range of motion.
Language Shift, Gender, and Ideologies of Modernity in Central Java, Indonesia

This article explores the shift away from formal styles of Javanese to the use of the national language, Indonesian, within the context of new educational and social opportunities for Javanese youth. It focuses on gender differences in language attitudes and considers how socialization and cultural ideologies regarding men's and women's relationship to language shape those attitudes. Recent changes in possibilities for social and status mobility linked to language use have challenged traditional language ideologies and have led Javanese men and women to develop different language strategies and patterns of interaction. A new subjective concern with emotional and interpersonal expressivity among youth—particularly among young women—is identified as an important mediating valence in the shift to varieties of Indonesian identified as more “communicative” and “participatory.” [Indonesia, language shift, gender, ideologies of modernity]
Voluntary childlessness and the Women's Liberation Movement

This study examines the relationship between involvement in the Women's Liberation Movement and voluntary childlessness. Data from two separate probability samples of university women were used to test the hypothesis that involvement in the Women's Liberation Movement is positively related to actual and expected voluntary childlessness. Analysis reveals that a pattern exists which is supportive of the hypothesis but the relationship is not a strong one. In addition, the majority of women, regardless of involvement in the Movement, have or expect to have at least one child.
Notice of Violation of IEEE Publication Principles A -5OdBc Spur 0.13μm CMOS Ring Oscillator PLL for DBS Satellite Receiver SOCs Using a Multi-Regulator Architecture

A fully-integrated 0.13 μm CMOS ring oscillator based PLL for digital low-IF DVB-S/S2 satellite TV tuner is presented. An attenuator loop filter reduces the oscillator gain, helping both front-end noise and spur rejection, while a noiseless resistor multiplication feed-forward architecture allows the on-chip integration of the loop filter capacitance. Eliminating oscillator inductors lead to a significant die area reduction and a low sensitivity to magnetic coupling, allowing the integration of a large digital core on the same die with the sensitive RF front-end. A multi-regulator biasing architecture was used to minimize the supply spur injection. PLL specifications include: <1.3°rms double-sided integrated phase noise from 10 KHz to 22.5 MHz, <-60 dBc reference spurs, <-50 dBc supply coupled spurs, 0.3 mm2 die area and 40 mA supply current from a 3.3 V supply
Esfera pública, democracia discursiva e legitimação das agências reguladoras no Brasil

O presente estudo insere-se nos debates sobre a legitimidade democratica da atuacao de formulacao de politicas publicas por parte das agencias reguladoras no Brasil. Seu objetivo e analisar uma proposta teorica que, com apoio no conceito de democracia discursiva de Jurgen Habermas, pretende oferecer parâmetros normativos para a legitimacao democratica das decisoes sobre politicas publicas elaboradas por essas entidades administrativas. Procura-se demonstrar que o nao enfrentamento, pelo autor da dessa proposta, do tema da necessidade de adaptacao do modelo discursivo de esfera publica politica para sua utilizacao no Brasil pode comprometer suas proprias conclusoes acerca de um suposto potencial de legitimacao democratica contido nos espacos de participacao popular institucionalizados nos processos decisorios das agencias reguladoras.
Identified particle production in p+p, d+Au and Au+Au collisions at RHIC

Measurements of identified particle production with the PHENIX experiment at RHIC have reached a mature state, where a multitude of nuclear systems at different colliding energies have been studied. The discovery configurations of $$\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 130$$ and 200 GeV Au+Au collisions have now been supplemented by additional Au+Au and Cu+Cu configurations at various energies, along with baseline p+p and d+Au runs at $$\sqrt {s_{NN} } = 130$$ GeV. In this work we present a systematic study of the Cronin effect in d+Au collisions and recent results from p+p collisions. We then proceed to make a critical comparison of pion, kaon and proton production in heavy ion and baseline systems, and discuss the observed nuclear effects on hadron production.
Slagging in PC boilers and developing mitigation strategies

Abstract Excessive slagging in coal-fired boilers on heat transfer surfaces such as water wall tubes, lower regions of the finishing superheater and superheater areas on the slope of the nose region was investigated for a pulverized coal-fired boiler that is forced to burn off-design coal. A detailed coal and ash analyses was carried out to understand the root cause problem. Slagging mitigation strategies involving boiler operations and cleaning methods were developed and implemented. Coals from two identical boilers, one with excessive slagging (Boiler A) and the other (Boiler B) with no slagging, were compared to understand the root cause problem. Detailed coal and ash analyses have shown a high iron content in ash as pyrite (FeS2), which has historically been known to promote boiler slagging. CCSEM analyses revealed that the pyrite was present in relatively coarse size fractions. If not pulverized well in the pulverizers, this coarse pyrite can result in low melting phases, because complete oxidation to a higher melting point oxide cannot be achieved. Ash fusion temperatures of ashes were found to be in the 2000–2500 °F range, with an average ash softening temperature in an oxidizing atmosphere of 2360 °F. Furnace exit gas temperature measurements at the furnace exit plane have shown that typical temperatures at full load around the nose area are in excess of 2300 °F. Lower ash fusion temperatures, coupled with higher operational furnace exit temperatures, are probably responsible for the more severe slagging observed at the boiler. A combination of boiler control settings and furnace cleaning schedule was developed and implemented on the boiler for a period of 2 weeks. The field experiments showed very good results with significantly lower ash deposition rates in the most problematic areas of the furnace observed previously.
Influenza vaccination reduced cardiovascular events in patients hospitalized with an acute coronary syndrome

Source Citation Phrommintikul A, Kuanprasert S, Wongcharoen W, et al. Influenza vaccination reduces cardiovascular events in patients with acute coronary syndrome. Eur Heart J. 2011;32:1730-5. 21289042
Multimodality imaging to assess immediate response to irreversible electroporation in a rat liver tumor model

Purpose The purpose was to compare induced changes within US, CT, and MRI images shortly after irreversible electroporation (IRE) ablation of normal liver parenchyma and hepatic tumors. Materials and Methods All procedures were approved by IACUC. 48 rats were divided into 8 groups, 24 were implanted with N1-S1 tumors. US, CT, and MRI measurements were performed in both normal and tumor tissues pre/post-IRE. MRI was also performed in one group pre/post-IRE after hepatic vessel ligation. Pre/post-IRE US images were graded by 3 radiologists to determine echogenicity changes (0: no change; 1: slight change; 2: clear change; 3: dramatic change). Hounsfield units (HU) were measured based on CT and signal to noise ratio (SNR) measured within T2W MR images pre/post-IRE. Results The average grade was 2.0 for echogenicity change in ablated normal liver and 1.3 for ablated tumor. HU of ablated normal liver (62.53±2.24) was significantly different (p=0.0001) from unablated parenchyma (46.99±5.259); while small, HU difference between ablated tumor (42.11±2.11) and control tumor (45.14±2.64) did trend toward significance (p=0.0524). SNR in ablated normal liver was significantly increased post-IRE (PRE: 47.37±18.31, POST: 90.88±37.15, p=0.0227). SNR difference between tumors pre/post-IRE was not significant (PRE: 102.13±31.36, POST: 101.09±21.66, p=0.9401). No post-IRE signal changes were observed for rats that underwent portal vein and hepatic artery ligation prior to MRI-monitored IRE. IRE ablation zones were confirmed with HandE and micro-structural changes observed with transmission electron microscopy. Conclusion IRE induces rapid changes within US, CT, and MRI images. However, these imaging methods characterized IRE-induced signal changes more effectively in normal parenchyma than in tumors. MRI findings following hepatic ligation indicate that early signal changes are likely the result of local fluid accumulation in the treated zones. Future studies are necessary to develop superior imaging methods to better characterize electroporation-induced changes in tumors.
Investigation on placement sensitivity of meandered dipole performance for RFID systems

Most RFID antennas are fundamentally some variant of a meandered dipole. An investigation is detailed of the performance of two different meandered dipoles when they are placed in free space, on a lossy dielectric, and on a large conducting plane. Even though the second meandered dipole has a reflecting plane incorporated into the design in an attempt to isolate the antenna from placement effects, both meandered dipoles exhibit widely varied performance for the three environments tested.
Gender-based differences in fertility beliefs and knowledge among adolescents from high sexually transmitted disease-prevalence communities.

Abstract Purpose Limited information is available about adolescents' beliefs about fertility in women and its link to sexually transmitted disease (STD) and whether men and women differ in their beliefs. This information may be useful for developing messages intended to motivate youth to seek STD screening while they are asymptomatic. The purpose of this study was to examine gender-based differences in fertility beliefs and knowledge. Methods Data were derived from the Adolescent Health Study, a population-based telephone survey study in which urban household adolescents from a high STD-prevalence community were queried about their sexual experience, fertility-related knowledge, beliefs related to timing of childbearing, and risk assessment of future fertility problems. χ 2 and regression analyses were used to evaluate group differences. Results The majority of adolescents reported that having children was somewhat or very important, but that the 15- to 19-year-old age group was not the optimal time for a woman to have a child. Regression analyses indicated that female adolescents were more likely than male adolescents to identify chlamydia and pelvic inflammatory disease as causes of fertility problems. Seventy-two percent of adolescent girls thought there was some chance they would have future fertility problems and 58% thought they had little or no control over developing fertility problems in the future. Conclusion Additional health education is needed if we are to motivate adolescents to participate in asymptomatic STD screening programs. Involving male adolescents may be a more significant challenge given that fewer male adolescents understand the link between female fertility and common STD-related conditions. Given our findings, fertility preservation may be a valuable teaching tool and social marketing agent for STD prevention in adolescents.
Free radicals and the etiology of colon cancer

This hypothesis paper reviews diverse evidence suggesting that intracolonic production of oxygen radicals may play a role in carcinogenesis. The hypothesis began to evolve when the author made the chance discovery that 1/10,000 dilutions of feces generated detectable quantities of highly reactive hydroxyl radicals (HO.). The rate of HO. formation, detected using DMSO as a molecular probe, was quite remarkable, corresponding to that which would be produced by over 10,000 rads of gamma irradiation per day, absorbed in the periphery of the fecal mass adjacent to the mucosa. The relatively high concentrations of iron in feces, together with the ability of bile pigments to act as iron chelators that support Fenton chemistry, may very well permit efficient HO. generation from superoxide and hydrogen peroxide produced by bacterial metabolism. Such free radical generation in feces could provide a missing link in our understanding of the etiology of colon cancer: the oxidation of procarcinogens either by fecal HO., or by secondary peroxyl radicals (ROO.) to form active carcinogens or mitogenic tumor promotors. Intracolonic free radical formation may explain the high incidence of cancer in the colon and rectum, compared to other regions of the GI tract, as well as the observed correlations of a higher incidence of colon cancer with red meat in the diet, which increases stool iron, and with excessive fat in the diet, which may increase the fecal content of procarcinogens and bile pigments.
Investigation of the crystal and molecular symmetry of DNA using X-ray intensity statistics

Abstract The distribution of diffracted X-ray intensities in appropriate cases contains information about the symmetry elements present in the diffracting array. If the number of molecules present in a crystal unit cell is less than the number of symmetrically equivalent positions, each molecule must have a symmetry element coincident with that of the space group. This is the case for A - and B -DNA. In spite of the relatively low resolving power of the data, investigation of the intensity statistics of these crystals supports the assignment of space groups C 2 and P 2 1 2 1 2 1 respectively. It follows that the molecular symmetry of both conformations is like that of the Watson-Crick model for DNA and not like that required to accommodate all but one of the alternative base-pairing schemes that have been proposed from time to time.
Algorithm-Driven Architectural Design Space Exploration of Domain-Specific Medical-Sensor Processors

Data-driven machine-learning techniques enable the modeling and interpretation of complex physiological signals. The energy consumption of these techniques, however, can be excessive, due to the complexity of the models required. In this paper, we study the tradeoffs and limitations imposed by the energy consumption of high-order detection models implemented in devices designed for intelligent biomedical sensing. Based on the flexibility and efficiency needs at various processing stages in data-driven biomedical algorithms, we explore options for hardware specialization through architectures based on custom instruction and coprocessor computations. We identify the limitations in the former, and propose a coprocessor-based platform that exploits parallelism in computation as well as voltage scaling to operate at a subthreshold minimum-energy point. We present results from post-layout simulation of cardiac arrhythmia detection with patient data from the MIT-BIH database. After wavelet-based feature extraction, which consumes 12.28 μJ, we demonstrate classification computations in the 12.00-120.05 μJ range using 10000-100000 support vectors. This represents 1170× lower energy than that of a low-power processor with custom instructions alone. After morphological feature extraction, which consumes 8.65 μJ of energy, the corresponding energy numbers are 10.24-24.51 μJ, which is 1548× smaller than one based on a custom-instruction design. Results correspond to Vdd=0.4 V and a data precision of 8 b.
Miniaturized half-mode substrate integrated waveguide bandpass filters using cross-shaped fractals

This paper presents a novel miniaturization technique for half-mode substrate integrated waveguide (HMSIW) bandpass filters using cross-shaped fractal structures. The overall filter area is reduced by 28% and 37% compared to conventional HMSIW bandpass filters when the first and second iterations of the cross-shaped fractals are used, respectively. In addition, the miniaturized filters exhibit lower insertion losses because the measured resonator unloaded quality factor increases from 221 for a conventional HMSIW resonator, to 258 and 264 for the first and second fractal iterations, respectively. To make the filter compact, a novel capacitive coupling mechanism is introduced in this work that results in improved upper stopband rejection due to a transmission zero above the filter passband. Two-pole, 4.5% Chebyshev bandpass filter prototypes with center frequency of 1.15 GHz are designed and fabricated on Rogers RT/Duroid 6010LM substrate. The filters have measured insertion losses &#60;1 dB and return losses better than 11 dB, and are very suitable for compact wireless communication systems.
Telephonically-monitored home exercise early after coronary artery bypass surgery.

To evaluate the usefulness of telephonically-monitored home exercise in patients within two weeks postcoronary bypass surgery, we randomly enrolled 46 male patients in a 12-week home program of either short walks or bicycle ergometry. Home exercise was done five times weekly and monitored both before and immediately after three times weekly. New arrhythmias or conduction disturbances were detected in 18 of 23 (78 percent) of the bicycle group and in 20 of 23 (87 percent) of the short walk patients. New symptoms developed in three patients, two from the short walk group and one from the bicycle group. Two bikers and one walker developed elevated blood pressure; all were referred to physicians and were successfully managed. Electrocardiographic abnormalities led directly to diagnostic and therapeutic intervention in nine of the 46 patients—four bikers and five walkers. There were no complications such as ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. Technically clear telephone rhythm strips were obtained from patients calling both locally and long distance.
Hunger: The Silent Epidemic Among Asylum Seekers and Resettled Refugees

Refugees and asylum seekers face challenges after arriving in a host country. They carry the trauma that they may have experienced in their countries of origin, during fight, and in countries of asylum. Other stressors impact on their adjustment after arriving in the United States including basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. This is a retrospective review of data collected as part of a needs assessment by a program, which serves survivors of torture and refugee trauma. Asylum seekers (n=65) and refugees were compared (n=30). Asylum seekers were more apt to be from Africa (p<.001), need family reunification (p=.027), speak more languages (p<.001), suffer from political persecution (p<.001), move from place to place due to not having a permanent place to live (p=.031), and be unable to contribute to the rent (p<.001). Unadjusted, asylum seekers were also more likely than refugees to have gone to bed hungry in the previous two weeks (p<.001) or since arriving in the United States (p<.001). Refugees were more likely to be eating more food now than before feeing, and asylum seekers the opposite (p<.001). Being an asylum seeker made one 3.7 times more likely to suffer from food insecurity than being a refugee, and 5.3 times more likely to not have work authorization. Among asylum seekers, adjusting for gender, age, education, lack of permanent housing, English fluency, and self-reported health status, not having work authorization made one 5.6 times more likely to suffer from hunger. Independently, being a torture survivor made one 10.4 times more likely to suffer from hunger. Asylum seekers must wait 150 days before applying for asylum in the United States. For humanitarian reasons, mandatory-waiting periods for work authorization for asylum seekers should be eliminated.
Tools for managing stories and questions

Stories are an accessible medium of communication, and interactive dialog, with an expert teacher is a time-proven method of tutoring and mentoring. A natural way to explore complex material is to ask questions and listen to answers: and answers can often take the form of stories. Given a collection of texts and a user who wants access to the knowledge contained there, how can the texts be analyzed and connected such that the knowledge is maximally available to the user? There are two things the user must be able to do: focus and browse. In order to facilitate a focused interaction the texts must be represented in a natural way. In order for the user to creatively browse, however, the texts must also be connected in a remindful way that allows users to follow tangents and change topics easily. The tools for creating these structures are essential to the success of the eventual teaching environment. The article focuses on the particular AI requirements for these tools, recent progress in achieving these requirements and lessons we have learned along the way. >
Context-aware video compression for mobile robots

Operating robots across networks with unknown, bandwidth, latency and other conditions presents difficulty when the operation depends on real-time feedback and control. Standard video compression methods do a good job compressing arbitrary video, but do not take domain knowledge into account when more information about the video is known beforehand. We have incorporated robot odometry into the video pipeline, allowing video quality to be selectively reduced at times when odometry suggests that such a reduction will not adversely affect task performance of human operators. We found that selectively reducing video quality significantly reduced bandwidth usage, increasing the robot's responsiveness and controllability, while having no measurable effect on task performance.
Reaching pareto-optimality in prisoner's dilemma using conditional joint action learning

We consider the learning problem faced by two self-interested agents repeatedly playing a general-sum stage game. We assume that the players can observe each other's actions but not the payoffs received by the other player. The concept of Nash Equilibrium in repeated games provides an individually rational solution for playing such games and can be achieved by playing the Nash Equilibrium strategy for the single-shot game in every iteration. Such a strategy, however can sometimes lead to a Pareto-Dominated outcome for games like Prisoner's Dilemma. So we prefer learning strategies that converge to a Pareto-Optimal outcome that also produces a Nash Equilibrium payoff for repeated two-player, n-action general-sum games. The Folk Theorem enable us to identify such outcomes. In this paper, we introduce the Conditional Joint Action Learner (CJAL) which learns the conditional probability of an action taken by the opponent given its own actions and uses it to decide its next course of action. We empirically show that under self-play and if the payoff structure of the Prisoner's Dilemma game satisfies certain conditions, a CJAL learner, using a random exploration strategy followed by a completely greedy exploitation technique, will learn to converge to a Pareto-Optimal solution. We also show that such learning will generate Pareto-Optimal payoffs in a large majority of other two-player general sum games. We compare the performance of CJAL with that of existing algorithms such as WOLF-PHC and JAL on all structurally distinct two-player conflict games with ordinal payoffs.
Unattainable Goal Choice as a Self‐Handicapping Strategy1

Selection of an extremely difficult performance goal is conceptualized as a self-handicapping strategy–an attempt to externalize outcomes threatening one's self-image. In a laboratory study, male college students were led to believe they had succeeded at a task that was either relevant or irrelevant to their self-images. In conjunction with this, subjects were led to believe that the success they had experienced was either contingent upon or not contingent upon their effort. Consistent with a self-handicapping strategy, extremely difficult performance goals were selected on a subsequent task when success at a previous task was not contingent upon workers' e]ffort, but only in the personally relevant condition-i.e., when task performance had attributional implications for workers' s]elf-images. Personally irrelevant tasks led to a realistic downward revision of performance aspirations in response to noncontingent success.
Cascadia tremor polarization evidence for plate interface slip

[1] New seismic measurements of the repeated phenomenon of Episodic Tremor and Slip in northern Cascadia indicate identical source processes of tremor and slow slip. Predicted polarization directions of upgoing S-waves radiated from shear slip on the plate interface align with the relative motion between the Juan de Fuca and North American plates. Seismic observations from small-aperture array data on the Olympic Peninsula of the Cascadia subduction zone show uncharacteristically stable linear particle motion coincident with the passage of tremor sources beneath the array. The azimuth of this horizontal ground motion matches expected polarizations from slip on the plate interface. This finding suggests that Cascadia tremor is shear slip on the plate interface, implying that, as in Japan, geodetically observed slow slip and seismically observed tremor are manifestations of the same phenomenon.
An Assessment of Alternative Structural Models of Philanthropic Behavior

In this article, the question of whether differences in four structural models of charitable behavior make any difference to the findings regarding the major determinants of philanthropic contribut...
PROCUREMENT ISSUES IN PERFORMANCE-BASED CONTRACTS: THE WORLD BANK EXPERIENCE WITH OUTPUT-BASED AID SUBSIDIES

This paper focuses on the World Bank's emerging experience with a promising application of performance-based contracts: Output-Based Aid (OBA) subsidies. OBA is the provision of subsidies for the delivery of and access to social or infrastructure services. Under OBA, subsidy payments are tied to measurable performing outputs, leaving the specific methods of achieving these outputs to the service provider's discretion. While creating better risk allocation, more value for users and contracting agencies, and fewer opportunities for corruption than traditional methods, OBA schemes raise new procurement issues that need to be reconciled in order to achieve optimal results. An issue this paper explores is the tension between the need that contracts be "expenditure-based" with the "performance-based" nature of OBA subsidies.
Grades in Neural Complexity: How Large Is the Span?

SYNOPSIS. The span of complexity in brains, between the simplest flatworms and the most advanced mammals is exceedingly great, measured by the number of different anatomical parts, physiological processes, sensory discriminations, and behavioral alternatives in the repertoire. Most evolution of brains has been adaptive radiation within the same grade of complexity. Distinct grades of complexity have appeared a dozen or more times and quite often in the retrograde direction. Advancement has not been inevitable or obviously advantageous in survival value but has happened—long before primates or mammals or vertebrates. Compare cuttlefish and the most advanced gastropods, bees and the best brine shrimp, primates and the most advanced reptiles known—all twigs with common branches. This repeated achievement of evolution has had all too little study in respect of the detailed listing of differences between major taxa of distinct grades of complexity. Connectivity at the level now known for the mammalian cortex is much needed in other classes, with estimates of reciprocity, intrinsic differentiation, dendritic parcellation and afferent and efferent connections, both locally and projecting to other centers, each done quantitatively to permit comparison. Physiological system organization, personality properties of neurons and circuits, proclivities and emergent phenomena at several integrative levels are sketchily known only for parts of a few systems. Examples are given of opportunities for new research that can more adequately characterize grades of brains.
Structure and variability in the developmental trajectory of children's externalizing problems: Impact of infant attachment, maternal depressive symptomatology, and child sex

This study explores the developmental trajectory of externalizing problems in a sample of 101 children of adolescent mothers from preschool through third grade using hierarchical linear models (HLM). First, a detailed assessment of the structure of the developmental trajectory of externalizing problems is provided. Second, the impact of three risk factors (infant attachment, maternal depressive symptomatology, and child sex) on the developmental course of externalizing problems is assessed. Both avoidant and disorganized attachment and higher levels of maternal depressive symptomatology were associated with higher levels of externalizing problems at 9 years of age. Girls also showed higher externalizing problems relative to their same-sex peers than did boys. In addition, maternal depressive symptomatology related to the rate of change in these problems over time; the greater the mother's depression, the faster externalizing problems tended to increase. Although the overall level of maternal depressive symptomatology was related to children's externalizing problems for secure, avoidant, and disorganized groups, changes in maternal depressive symptomatology over time predicted levels of externalizing problems only for children with avoidant insecure attachments.
Remarks on Propositional Functions

Peter Geach has said that Russell's use of 'propositional function' is 'hopelessly confused and inconsistent'. Geach is right, and attempts to say what exactly a Russellian propositional function is, or is supposed to be, are bound to end in frustration. Nevertheless, it may be worthwhile to pursue an account of propositional functions that accommodates a good deal of what Russell says about them and that can provide some of what he expected of them.
A DISE implementation of dynamic code decompression

Code compression coupled with dynamic decompression is an important technique for both embedded and general-purpose microprocessors. Post-fetch decompression, in which decompression is performed after the compressed instructions have been fetched, allows the instruction cache to store compressed code but requires a highly efficient decompression implementation. We propose implementing post-fetch decompression using dynamic instruction stream editing (DISE), a programmable decoder---similar in structure to those in many IA32 processors---that is used to add functionality to an application by injecting custom code snippets into its fetched instruction stream. A DISE implementation of post-fetch decompression naturally supports customized program-specific decompression dictionaries, enables parameterized decompression allowing similar instruction sequences to share dictionary entries, and uses no decompression-specific hardware. Cycle-level simulation of DISE decompression shows that it can reduce static program size by 35% and execution time by 20%. Parameterized decompression, a feature unique to DISE, accounts for 20% of the code size reduction by making more effective use of the dictionary and allowing PC-relative branches to be included in compressed sequences. DISE-based compression can reduce total energy consumption by 10% and the energy-delay product by as much as 20%.
Preparation of crystalline lithium acetoacetate.

Abstract A procedure for preparing crystalline lithium acetoacetate and the properties of the compound are described.
Using critical thinking vignettes to evaluate student learning.

Abstract Nursing skills have traditionally been evaluated using laboratory demonstration. The reality, however, is that skill performance does not occur in isolation in the practice setting. Nurses demonstrate skills while functioning within several nursing roles. Following an examination of the relationship of educational outcomes focusing on critical thinking, communication ability, and therapeutic nursing interventions, faculty at a two-year associate degree nursing program formulated Critical Thinking Vignettes as a method of assessing student outcomes. Students role-play a nurse-client interaction using a case study prompt. Student performance outcomes in skills demonstration, communication, teaching, problem solving, critical thinking, identification of resources, and response to environmental cues are evaluated. Preliminary reliability and inter-rater reliability studies suggest that this method provides a controlled method of assessing nursing outcomes reflective of actual practice. THE SAFE APPLI...
Immunofluorescence Assay for S Phase Entry Using BrdU Incorporation

[Abstract] Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) is thymidine analogue and can incorporated into the newly synthezised DNA of S-phase cells, the antibody specific for BrdU can then be used to detect the incorporated BrdU, thus indicating cells that were actively replicating their DNA and estimating for the percentage of cells in S-phase. The immunocytochemical detection of BrdU incorporated into DNA is a powerful tool to study the cytokinetics of normal and tumor cells. In vitro or in vivo labeling of tumor cells with BrdU and the subsequent detection of incorporated BrdU with specific anti-BrdU monoclonal antibodies is an accurate and comprehensive method to quantitate the degree of DNA-synthesis.
Novel Carboranyl Amino Acids and Peptides

Successful BNCT will require the selective accumulation of 5–30 ppm 10B in tumor. 1 An attractive method for the delivery of boron to tumors is an antibody-based approach, which requires that ~103 boron atoms be delivered by each immunoprotein in order to achieve the necessary 10B concentrations. This requirement presents a chemical challenge which has led us to an interest in the precise chemical synthesis of hydrophilic boron-rich ‘trailer’ molecules. 2 We previously described the synthesis of anionic nido-carborane3 containing peptides 1 and 2 (derived from amino acid 3, Figure 1), their attachment to monoclonal IgG antibodies (Mabs) against the CEA antigen, and the in vivo characterization of these immunoconjugates. 4 However, because we found the sequential coupling reactions leading to the synthesis of 1 and 2 to be prohibitively slow under solid-phase conditions, we have recently begun to explore the synthesis of similar 10B-rich peptides in solution using a ‘doubling’ approach (segment synthesis), which is described herein.
Morality and the Meaning of Life: Some First Thoughts

Although there may be many questions about the meaning of life that will ultimately prove intractable, I think that there are some questions that can be answered. Furthermore, I think that progress towards answering them can be made through work that has and will be done in moral philosophy. In support of this I shall articulate a set of questions that I think are often at issue when people ask about the meaningfulness of life. These questions give rise to a set of conditions that a fully adequate answer must satisfy. Among other things, these conditions explain why a familiar theological answer to the meaningfulness of life seems so attractive. However, they also create problems for this answer, as well as for an answer that has appeared attractive to a number of contemporary philosophers, that the meaning of life is created by the choices that people make and the desires that they have. I shall suggest that work in moral philosophy may provide an answer that falls between these two camps – that a moral life is a meaningful life. I shall sketch a theory of morality that satisfies the conditions that have been set out. H this sketch can be filled out, then a moral life will be at least part of what can make a life meaningful. Whether this account of the moral life leaves out anything important for the meaningfulness of life will be the subject of some concluding remarks.