cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dietary Tomato or Lycopene Do Not Reduce Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Progression in a Murine Model.

BACKGROUND Dietary tomato products or lycopene protect against prostate carcinogenesis, but their impact on the emergence of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is unknown. OBJECTIVE We hypothesized that tomato or lycopene products would reduce the emergence of CRPC. METHODS Transgenic adenocarcinoma of the mouse prostate (TRAMP) mice were castrated at 12-13 wk and the emergence of CRPC was monitored by ultrasound in each study. In Study 1, TRAMP mice (n = 80) were weaned onto an AIN-93G-based control diet (Con-L, n = 28), a 10% tomato powder diet (TP-L, 10% lyophilized w/w, n = 26), or a control diet followed by a tomato powder diet after castration (TP-Int1, n = 26). In Study 2, TRAMP mice (n = 85) were randomized onto a control diet with placebo beadlets (Con-Int, n = 29), a tomato diet with placebo beadlets (TP-Int2, n = 29), or a control diet with lycopene beadlets (Lyc-Int, n = 27) following castration (aged 12 wk). Tumor incidence and growth were monitored by ultrasound beginning at an age of 10 wk. Mice were euthanized 4 wk after tumor detection or aged 30 wk if no tumor was detected. Tissue weights were compared by ANOVA followed by Dunnett's test. Tumor volumes were compared using generalized linear mixed model regression. RESULTS Ultrasound estimates for the in vivo tumor volume were strongly correlated with tumor weight at necropsy (R2 = 0.75 and 0.94, P <0.001 for both Studies 1 and 2, respectively). Dietary treatments after castration did not significantly impact cancer incidence, time to tumor detection, or final tumor weight. CONCLUSIONS In contrast to studies of de novo carcinogenesis in multiple preclinical models, tomato components had no significant impact on the emergence of CRPC in the TRAMP model. It is possible that specific mutant subclones of prostate cancer may continue to show some antiproliferative response to tomato components, but further studies are needed to confirm this.
A Theoretical Lens Through Which to View the Facilitators and Disruptors of Nurse-Promoted Engagement With Families in the ICU:

The theory of nurse-promoted engagement with families in the intensive care unit (ICU) was developed to describe the dynamic and complex interplay between factors that support or impair nurses' efforts to promote family engagement. Theory construction involved theory derivation and theory synthesis. Concepts and relationships from ecological theory, the Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation, moral distress theory, and the healthy work environment framework informed the initial formation of the emerging theory. The synthesis of findings from the literature further expanded the scope of the relationships and propositions proposed in the theory. This middle-range theory can set direction for theory-informed focused nursing research that can advance the science of family nursing and guide ICU clinicians in overcoming challenges in family nursing practice. Recommendations are provided for applying this new theoretical lens to guide family nursing curriculum development, practice improvements, and policy changes to support nurses in promoting family engagement.
Chandra Observations of the Dwarf Nova WX Hydri in Quiescence

We report Chandra observations of the dwarf nova WX Hyi in quiescence. The X-ray spectrum displays strong and narrow emission lines of N, O, Mg, Ne, Si, S, and Fe. The various ionization states implied by the lines suggest that the emission is produced within a flow spanning a wide temperature range, from T ~ 106 K to T 108 K. Line diagnostics indicate that most of the radiation originates from a very dense region, with n ~ 1013-1014 cm-3. The Chandra data allow the first tests of specific models proposed in the literature for the X-ray emission in quiescent dwarf novae. We have computed the spectra for a set of models ranging from hot boundary layers, to hot settling flow solutions, to X-ray-emitting coronae. WX Hyi differs from other dwarf novae observed at minimum in having much stronger low-temperature lines, which prove difficult to fit with existing models, and possibly a very strong, broad O VII line, perhaps produced in a wind moving at a few times 103 km s-1. The accretion rate inferred from the X-rays is lower than the value inferred from the UV. The presence of high-velocity mass ejection could account for this discrepancy while at the same time explaining the presence of the broad O VII line. If this interpretation is correct, it would provide the first detection of a wind from a dwarf nova in quiescence.
A paradigm shift for academia teaching in the era of virtual technology: The case study of developing an edugame in animal science

The lack of real-life experiences, such as handling livestock at a production facility (e.g., ranch), exists for a variety of reasons such as availability, liability, time, and cost, amongst others. As more students enter undergraduate animal science programs without prior exposure to animal handling, the necessity for more hands-on, real-life experiences has increased dramatically. Complementary, educational simulation games (edugames) might provide means to overcome the lack of “hands-on” experiential learning by providing similar interactions in a virtual context. The primary goal of this study was to document the design and construction phase of a virtual cattle-handling simulation (CowSim) edugame, and to analyse preliminary survey data. An association exists between students’ notion of cattle being mishandled (or not) depending on students’ previous opportunity to work with animals (χ2 P value = 0.0017). Furthermore, students with previous experience handling cattle did not feel more prepared to handle cattle after playing CowSim, but students with previous experience handling cattle indicated they learned more about cattle handling after playing CowSim. After playing the CowSim game, students were, in general, optimistic about their playing experience. They perceived the CowSim game was realistic enough to increase their preparedness towards handling cattle. Our findings suggested there is heightened interest was for the use of an edugame to help visualize difficult concepts. Virtual learning tools such as the CowSim edugame are essential for advancing animal science education through the integration of virtual technology. However, improvements are warranted in the CowSim to capture more realistic scenarios given the complexity of the simulation game.
Converging vulnerability factors for compulsive food and drug use.

Abstract Highly palatable foods and substance of abuse have intersecting neurobiological, metabolic and behavioral effects relevant for understanding vulnerability to conditions related to food (e.g., obesity, binge eating disorder) and drug (e.g., substance use disorder) misuse. Here, we review data from animal models, clinical populations and epidemiological evidence in behavioral, genetic, pathophysiologic and therapeutic domains. Results suggest that consumption of highly palatable food and drugs of abuse both impact and conversely are regulated by metabolic hormones and metabolic status. Palatable foods high in fat and/or sugar can elicit adaptation in brain reward and withdrawal circuitry akin to substances of abuse. Intake of or withdrawal from palatable food can impact behavioral sensitivity to drugs of abuse and vice versa. A robust literature suggests common substrates and roles for negative reinforcement, negative affect, negative urgency, and impulse control deficits, with both highly palatable foods and substances of abuse. Candidate genetic risk loci shared by obesity and alcohol use disorders have been identified in molecules classically associated with both metabolic and motivational functions. Finally, certain drugs may have overlapping therapeutic potential to treat obesity, diabetes, binge-related eating disorders and substance use disorders. Taken together, data are consistent with the hypotheses that compulsive food and substance use share overlapping, interacting substrates at neurobiological and metabolic levels and that motivated behavior associated with feeding or substance use might constitute vulnerability factors for one another. This article is part of the special issue on ‘Vulnerabilities to Substance Abuse’.
Grandparent Coresidence and Risk of Early Child Overweight and Obesity in Low-Income, Hispanic Families in New York City

Abstract Objective Children in low-income Hispanic families are at high risk of obesity and are more likely to live with grandparents than their non-Hispanic white counterparts. We aimed to determine if grandparent coresidence (prenatal through age 2 years) was associated with: 1) obesogenic feeding practices; and 2) child weight outcomes from birth to three years. Methods We analyzed data from 267 low-income, Hispanic mother-infant pairs in the control group of an obesity prevention trial in New York City. Linear and logistic regression tested differences in obesogenic feeding practices and weight outcomes at 2 and 3 years, dependent upon grandparent coresidence. Multilevel modeling tested associations between grandparent coresidence and WFAz over time. Results Persistent grandparent coresidence (vs none) was associated with putting cereal in the bottle (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.46; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.43, 8.40). Persistent grandparent coresidence (vs none) was associated with higher mean WFAz (2 years: B 0.83; 95% CI 0.41, 1.25; 3 years: B 0.79; 95% CI 0.32, 1.25) and higher odds of child overweight/obesity risk (2 years: aOR 4.38; 95% CI 1.64, 11.69; 3 years: aOR 3.15; 95% CI 1.19, 8.36). In multilevel models, more occasions of grandparent coresidence were associated with higher WFAz. Conclusions Grandparent coresidence may be associated with higher risk of child overweight/obesity in low-income, Hispanic families. Further research is needed to elucidate mechanisms of these associations and to inform obesity prevention strategies in the context of multigenerational families.
De-unionization and the wages of essential workers

A definition of essential industries based on recent federal government guidelines is used to trace out the trajectory of wages for essential and nonessential sectors over time in the United States...
Intermittent Neuromonitoring of the Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve

Over time, thyroid surgery has become more sophisticated with greater focus on quality outcomes, particularly with regard to the laryngeal nerve and voice quality. Recurrent laryngeal nerve injury is one of the most feared complications of thyroidectomy. The gold standard to avert this complication is identification and preservation of the nerve. Unfortunately, a visually intact nerve does not always correlate with a functional nerve. Intraoperative nerve monitoring is able to provide real-time electromyography (EMG) data, thus allowing endocrine surgeons to predict the postoperative nerve functionality as well as to help with intraoperative surgical decision-making.
Democratic Desire: Walt Whitman

A DEMOCRACY OF LOVE Walt Whitman is a political poet, a poet who holds that poetry has an essential role to play in the life of the American democracy. This is so because the poet knows what it is to see men and women as ends, and to see the boundless and equal worth of each and every one of them: He sees eternity in men and women, he does not see men and women as dreams or dots. For the great Idea, the idea of perfect and free individuals, For that, the bard walks in advance, leader of leaders, The attitude of him cheers up slaves and horrifies foreign despots. (BO 153–6) The vision of democracy is in itself, for Whitman, a poetic vision, and citizens are those who “have left all feudal processes and poems behind them, and assumed the poems and processes of Democracy” (BO 185). For Whitman, the democratic vision is, ultimately, a vision of love. In a poem entitled “Recorders Ages Hence,” Whitman tells the future what to say about him: “Publish my name and hang up my picture as that of the tenderest lover / … Who was not proud of his songs, but of the measureless ocean of love within him …” But this idea of love is not cozy or bland. It will require a radical reform, he argues, in common religious and secular understandings of love.
Origin of Quick Phases of Nystagmus

Publisher Summary Cells in the vestibular nuclei may participate in or reflect neural events associated with nystagmus. There are several reasons for believing that the quick phases of nystagmus are not primarily generated in the vestibular nuclei: (1) Quick phases of optokinetic nystagmus (OKN) and of nystagmus induced by the vestibular system have similar characteristics, and along with saccadic eye movements probably has a common site of origin. (2) Unilateral destruction of almost every part of the vestibular nuclei in two recent studies did not abolish quick phases of nystagmus induced by the vestibular system. (3) After midline section, which interrupted commissural fibers among the vestibular nuclei in the monkey, synchronous beats of nystagmus were still induced in the two eyes by vestibular or optokinetic stimuli. If the decussation of the MLF was cut, there was paralysis of adduction in both eyes. However, the adductive paralysis was present during all types of eye movements, including saccades and OKN, and probably was because of the interruption of axons, which originate in the pontine reticular formation, not in the vestibular nuclei. (4) Neural activity in the pontine reticular formation precedes each rapid eye movement, and lesions of this region cause profound changes in horizontal saccades and quick phases of nystagmus to the ipsilateral side. Less is known of the supranuclear motor organization for production of rotatory eye movements.
Enhanced drop-in syndromic surveillance in New York City following September 11, 2001.

After the 2001 World Trade Center disaster, the New York City Department of Health was under heightened alert for bioterrorist attacks in the city. An emergency department (ED) syndromic surveillance system was implemented with the assistance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure early recognition of an increase or clustering of disease syndromes that might represent a disease outbreak, whether natural or intentional. The surveillance system was based on data collected 7 days a week at area EDs. Data collected were translated into syndromes, entered into an electronic database, and analyzed for aberrations in space and time within 24 hours. From September 14–27, personnel were stationed at 15 EDs on a 24-hour basis (first staffing period); from September 29–October 12, due to resource limitations, personnel were stationed at 12 EDs on an 18-hour basis (second staffing period). A standardized form was used to obtain demographic information and classify each patient visit into 12 syndrome categories. Seven of these represented early manifestations of bioterrorist agents. Data transfer and analysis for time and space clustering (alarms) by syndrome and age occurred daily. Retrospective analyses examined syndrome trends, differences in reporting between staffing periods, and the staff’s experience during the project. A total of 67,536 reports were received. The system captured 83.9% of patient visits during the first staffing period, and 60.8% during the second staffing period (P<01). Five syndromes each accounted for more than 1% of visits: trauma, asthma, gastrointestinal illness, upper/lower respiratory infection with fever, and anxiety. Citywide temporal alarms occurred eight times for three of the major bioterrorism-related syndromes. Spatial clustering alarms occurred 16 time by hospital location and 9 times by ZIP code for the same three syndromes. No outbreaks were detected. On-site staffing to facilitate data collection and entry, supported by daily analysis of ED visits, is a feasible short-term approach to syndromic surveillance during high-profile events. The resources required to operate such a system, however, cannot be sustained for the long term. This system was changed to an electronic-based ED syndromic system using triage log data that remains in operation.
Bridging the Divide: An Alternative Approach to International Labor Rights After the Battle of Seattle

The massive protest by labor, human rights, and environmental activists at the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization in Seattle in late 1999 was a singular event in global trade politics. It represented a major setback for the proponents of free trade and for the "globalization" process itself. It reflected, and has now influenced, the contours of American domestic politics as well. At the heart of the Seattle events was a new coalition between trade unions, led by the American AFL-CIO, and a wide range of protest groups and non-governmental organizations. This new coalition represents a potent force but also remains divided on important issues. This article explores one of these key issues international labor rights. It suggests that the current strategy advocating an international labor rights regime must be changed if the new coalition is to move its agenda forward. It suggests an alternative approach to labor issues in light of the current structure of the global economy.
IMMUNOLOGICAL ROLE OF BRUCELLA ABORTUS CELL WALLS

Abstract Foster, John W. (University of Georgia, Athens) and Edgar Ribi. Immunological role of Brucella abortus cell walls. J. Bacteriol. 84:258–268. 1962—Cell walls and protoplasm were prepared from organisms disrupted in a refrigerated pressure cell. Cell walls were purified by sedimentation in a linear glycerol gradient. Antigens capable of protecting mice against infection with Brucella abortus and of reacting with antiserum prepared against whole cells were present chiefly in the cell wall; substances lethal to mice and responsible for primary inflammation of rabbit skin were also associated with the cell wall. Limited activity of protoplasm in these biological tests may or may not be due to contamination with cell-wall material. A substance extracted from whole cells with aqueous ether possessed an immunizing potency superior to that of killed whole cells or cell walls.
Active voltage balancing of five-level H-bridge flying capacitor multicell converter controlled with level-shifted-carrier PWM

Flying capacitor multicell (FCM) converter is one of the well-known breeds of multilevel converters. There are several configurations of flying-capacitor-based converters presented and reviewed in the literature. One of the promising topologies of the FCM converter suitable for single/threephase applications requiring isolated converters is H-Bridge (Full-Bridge) FCM converter wherein two FCM converters are connected back-to-back encircling one dc voltage source. Due to a superior line-to-line harmonic performance of the level-shifted-carrier pulse-width-modulation (LSC-PWM), this paper proposes an active voltage control of five-level H-bridge FCM converter operated under LSC-PWMs. The general scheme of the proposed active voltage balancing is implemented by utilization of logic-gates without requiring any lookup table. The five-level H-bridge FCM is simulated in PSCAD and the simulation results are provided. Moreover, the performance of the proposed active voltage balancing is investigated under different LSC-PWM strategies to show which one results in a better harmonic performance and which one results in less voltage ripple across the flying capacitors.
Cape Town beyond Apartheid

Just as wealthy Victorians in the late nineteenth century extolled the beauty of nature, the cosmopolitan elite in the twenty-first century has discovered the wonders of the city. Tourists flock to...
Parks and physical activity: why are some parks used more than others?

Abstract Objective To assess how park characteristics and demographic factors are associated with park use. Methods We studied a diverse sample of parks in a Southern California metropolitan area in 2006–2008 representing a variety of racial and ethnic communities of different socioeconomic strata. We surveyed 51 park directors, 4257 park users and local residents, and observed 30 parks. We explored relationships among the number of people observed, the number of park programs offered, number of organized activities observed, park size, existence of park advisory board, perceptions of safety, and population density and characteristics. Results The strongest correlates of the number of people using the park were the park size and the number of organized activities observed. Neighborhood population density, neighborhood poverty levels, perceptions of park safety, and the presence of a park advisory board were not associated with park use. Conclusion While perceptions of low safety have been considered a barrier to park use, perceptions of high safety do not appear to facilitate park use. Having events at the park, including sports competitions and other attractions, appears to be the strongest correlate of park use and community-level physical activity.
Restoring the 3D vestibulo-ocular reflex via electrical stimulation: The Johns Hopkins multichannel vestibular prosthesis project

Bilateral loss of vestibular sensation causes difficulty maintaining stable vision, posture and gait. An implantable prosthesis that partly restores normal activity on branches of the vestibular nerve should improve quality of life for individuals disabled by this disorder. We have developed a head-mounted multichannel vestibular prosthesis that restores sufficient semicircular canal function to partially recreate a normal 3-dimensional angular vestibulo-ocular reflex in animals. Here we describe several parallel lines of investigation directed toward refinement of this approach toward eventual clinical application.
Bird impact analysis package for turbine engine fan blades

A computer program has been developed to analyze the gross structural response of turbine engine fan blades subjected to bird strikes. The program couples a NASTRAN finite element model and modal analysis of a fan blade with a multi-mode bird impact analysis computer program. The impact analysis uses the NASTRAN blade model and a fluid jet model of the bird to interactively calculate blade loading during a bird strike event. The analysis package is computationaly efficient, easy to use and provides a comprehensive history of the gross structual blade response. Example cases are presented for a representative fan blade.
Inactivation of progesterone by cellular fractions of rat liver and kidney in vitro.

Fresh rat liver and fresh rat kidney were rapidly minced and homogenized. Repeated refrigerated centrifugations of each homogenate, each time at higher speeds, yielded fractions which consisted, respectively, chiefly of nuclei and coarse debris, mitochondria, microsomes, and final supernatant. Each fraction as well as an aliquot of the original homogenate was incubated at 37° C with progesterone. After 60, 30, or 5 minutes the incubation was ended and the residual progestin was extracted and bio-assayed. In general, most of the hormone had been inactivated, the liver nuclear fraction being the only one in which as much as 50–75% of the original hormonal activity consistently remained. Separate assay of the protein “bound” fraction revealed that “binding” was not a significant mechanism of inactivation. In vitro inactivation of progesterone by rat kidney as well as by rat liver was demonstrated.
The Strange Death of the Animated Cadaver: Changing Conventions in Nineteenth-Century British Anatomical Illustration

From the sixteenth to the early nineteenth century, the dominant tradition of anatomical illustration was strangely dynamic and expressive, featuring scenes such as skeletons striding through pastoral landscapes, deeply dissected corpses smirking seductively, or cadavers participating in their own dissections. By the end of the nineteenth century, anatomical illustrators embraced a more straightforward project: representing the physical body, shorn of agency, individuality, and personhood. This essay examines the changing conventions in anatomical illustration over the course of the nineteenth century, focusing on the difficulties of representing the dead human face. The face is decidedly both visual—an expressive object to be seen—and textual—shaped by a history, a series of experiences arranged by consciousness as narrative. This doubleness not only makes the face a difficult site for modern anatomical illustration but also gives the face its ethical charge.
X-ray emission spectrometry of phase separation in PtRh nanoparticles for nitric oxide reduction

Abstract Composition determinations of individual sub-10 nm metal particles in Pt Rh/alumina by analytical electron microscopy are consistent with a low-temperature miscibility gap below about 750°C in this system. Pt-rich alloy particles are more active than pure Pt for the reduction of nitric oxide with hydrogen at temperatures ≤ 300°C. Rh-rich particles appear to have low activity for this reaction. Catalysts which contain a bimodal distribution of Pt-rich and Rh-rich particles are not as active as pure Pt. Composition versus size plots of small metal particles appear to comprise a new characterization method for supported metal catalysts.
Remote polar phonon scattering in silicon inversion layers

Abstract A new scattering mechanism for free carriers in inversion layers is proposed. It is shown that polar optical phonons of the insulator couple effectively to the inversion layer electrons in the adjacent semiconductor. For the Si-SiO2 interface this scattering by remote polar phonons influences substantially the field dependent mobility of the silicon inversion layer carriers.
Dynamic meshing for deformable image registration

Finite element method (FEM) is commonly used for deformable image registration. However, there is no existing literature studying how the superimposed mesh structure would influence the image registration process. We study this problem in this paper, and propose a dynamic meshing strategy to generate mesh structure for image registration. To construct such a dynamic mesh during image registration, three steps are performed. Firstly, a density field that measures the importance of a pixel/voxel's displacement to the registration process is computed. Secondly, an efficient contraction-optimization scheme is applied to compute a discrete Centroidal Voronoi Tessellation of the density field. Thirdly, the final mesh structure is constructed by its dual triangulation, with some post-processing to preserve the image boundary. In each iteration of the deformable image registration, the mesh structure is efficiently updated with GPU-based parallel implementation. We conduct experiments of the new dynamic mesh-guided registration framework on both synthetic and real medical images, and compare our results with the other state-of-the-art FEM-based image registration methods. We study how the superimposed mesh structure would influence the Finite Element Method (FEM)-based image registration process.We propose a mesh generation algorithm based on how the mesh will influence the registration process, using the discrete Centroidal Voronoi Tessellation idea.We present a parallel algorithm to compute and update the mesh structure efficiently during image registration.
The reaction of malic dehydrogenase with α-keto β-fluoro-succinic (β-fluoro-oxaloacetic) acid

Abstract The preparation of crystalline β -fluoro-oxaloacetic acid (FOAA) from its diethyl ester is described. FOAA is a competitive inhibitor of malic dehydrogenase.
Liquid Crystals as Stationary Phases for High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract Liquid crystals have not yet been used as stationary phases in High Performance Liquid Chromatography. This is surprising since Gas Chromatography has demonstrated some remarkable separations, many of which are not possible with normal stationary phases, that have been achieved where liquid crystals have been employed as the stationary phase. The objective of the work reported here was to evaluate the chromatographic properties of several cholesteric liquid crystals as stationary phases in HPLC. Included in this study was an investigation of the feasibility of bonding a cholesteric moiety to a solid support for use in HPLC. The columns showed a dramatic increase in capacity factor for steroid molecules as the temperature of the column was increased.
Theory of gain in GaAs/AlGaAs V-groove quantum-wire lasers

Theoretical calculations of gain, differential gain, and threshold current for GaAs/AlGaAs quantum-wire lasers grown in V-shaped grooves [E. Kapon, D.M. Hwang and R. Bhat, Phys. Rev. Lett. 63 (1989) 430] are presented. The model is based on the density-matrix formalism with intraband relaxation. The electronic structure calculations incorporate band mixing and the realistic geometry of the laser structure. Although the splitting of the valence subbands is much less than kBT at room temperature, the low effective-mass conduction subbands have a splitting comparable to kBT, leading to a modest sharpening of the density of states associated with the conduction band. Because of the small overlap of the optical field with the active region for a single quantum wire, lasing threshold is reached only when several subbands are filled. Consequently, the reported operation of the single-quantum-wire laser corresponds closely to that of a very narrow quantum-well laser with modest quasi-one-dimensional enhancement. In addition, we consider the case of a stack of quantum wires in which the optical-confinement factor can be significantly higher than for a single quantum wire. We predict minimum threshold currents per wire as low as 100 μA.
Purposeful creation of a pneumothorax and chest tube placement to facilitate CT-guided coil localization of lung nodules before video-assisted thoracoscopic surgical wedge resection.

Abstract Purpose To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of pneumothorax creation and chest tube insertion before computed tomography (CT)–guided coil localization of small peripheral lung nodules for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgical (VATS) wedge resection. Materials and Methods From May 2011 to October 2013, 21 consecutive patients (seven men; mean age, 62 y; range, 42–76 y) scheduled for VATS wedge resection required CT-guided coil localization for small, likely nonpalpable peripheral lung lesions at a single institution. Outcomes were evaluated retrospectively for technical success and complications. Results There were 12 nodules and nine ground-glass opacities. Mean lesion distance from the pleural surface was 15 mm (range, 5–35 mm), and average size was 13 mm (range, 7–30 mm). A pneumothorax was successfully created in all patients with a Veress needle, and a chest tube was inserted. All target lesions were marked successfully, leaving one end of the coil within/beyond the lesion and the other end of the coil in the pleural space. The inserted chest tube was used to insufflate air to widen the pleural space during coil positioning and to aspirate any residual air before transfer of the patient to the operating room holding area. Intraparenchymal hemorrhages smaller than 7 cm in diameter developed in two patients during coil placement. All lesions were successfully resected with VATS. Histologic examinaiton revealed 13 primary adenocarcinomas, four metastases, and four benign lesions. Conclusions Pneumothorax creation and chest tube placement before CT-guided coil localization of peripheral lung nodules for VATS wedge resection facilitates the deployment of the peripheral end of the coil in the pleural space and provides effective management of procedure-related pneumothorax until surgery.
Verification of point-spread-function-based modeling of an extreme-ultraviolet photoresist

A crucial component of lithographic modeling is the resist. Resists typically used at extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths are derivatives of deep-ultraviolet chemically amplified resists. Models that describe these resists are often very complicated and are dependent on a large number of free parameters. Point-spread-function-based resist modeling serves as a simple alternative. I show this type of modeling to be a viable technique at EUV wavelengths by directly comparing modeling results with a variety of printing metrics, including process windows and isodense bias.
Lights-Out Scenario Testing for the New Horizons Autonomous Operations Subsystem

New horizons is a NASA sponsored mission to explore Pluto and its largest moon Charon. The new horizons spacecraft, designed, built and operated by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), was successfully launched in January 2006 and will perform its primary mission at Pluto in the summer of 2015. To support this mission, the spacecraft is equipped with onboard software that provides a rule based expert system for performing autonomous fault detection and recovery. This system has been updated nine times since launch and is continuously being tested to ascertain its performance in various spacecraft states. The test approach for the autonomous fault protection subsystem is to perform a combination of unit-level tests and full system scenario tests. For the scenario tests, we have developed a "lights out" test method and have been using it to reduce the time required to run each fault scenario test. This approach reduces the time it takes to develop a test, reduces the number of man hours required to run the test, and decouples the initial spacecraft state from the mechanisms used to inject faults. Decoupling the initial state from the fault injection allows for easy expansion in the number of initial state/fault combinations that can be tested. This significantly improves the test coverage of the scenario test suite. Using this approach, we will be able to run more tests and increase our working knowledge of the performance of the fault protection subsystem. This paper describes the evolution, benefits and cautions of the "lights out" scenario test process.
Scaling Down Off-the-Shelf Data Compression: Backwards-Compatible Fine-Grain Mixing

Pu and Singaravelu presented Fine-Grain Mixing, an adaptive compression system which aimed to maximize CPU and network utilization simultaneously by splitting a network stream into a mixture of compressed and uncompressed blocks. Blocks were compressed opportunistically in a send buffer, they compressed as many blocks as they could without becoming a bottleneck. They successfully utilized all available CPU and network bandwidth even on high speed connections. In addition, they noted much greater throughput than previous adaptive compression systems. Here, we take a different view of FG-Mixing than was taken by Pu and Singaravelu and give another explanation for its high performance: that fine-grain mixing of compressed and uncompressed blocks enables off-the-shelf compressors to scale down their degree of compression linearly with decreasing CPU usage. Exploring the scaling behavior in-depth allows us to make a variety of improvements to fine-grain mixed compression: better compression ratios for a given level of CPU consumption, a wider range of data reduction and CPU cost options, and parallelized compression to take advantage of multi-core CPUs. We make full compatibility with the ubiquitous deflate decompress or (as used in many network protocols directly, or as the back-end of the gzip and Zip formats) a primary goal, rather than using a special, incompatible protocol as in the original implementation of FG-Mixing. Moreover, we show that the benefits of fine-grain mixing are retained by our compatible version.
Dynamics of homogeneously broadened lasers: higher-order bichromatic states of operation

A theory is presented that describes a series of bichromatic states of an ideal homogeneously broadened laser. These states are produced when the laser is pumped far above threshold so that the intracavity field is strong enough to overcome damping and produce Rabi oscillations of the atomic inversion. The two-frequency laser field is amplitude modulated at a frequency that may be either the Rabi frequency or a subharmonic of it. The theoretical predictions are compared qualitatively with recent experimental results.
The practice of presencing

Objectives: To understand philosophical foundations for this fundamental nursing intervention, and to review literature and expert nurses' experiences to describe how to be present to persons with cancer. Data sources: Author's qualitative research of nurses' experiences of presencing; theoretical and clinical nursing perspectives; books by theologian Martin Buber. Conclusion: Presencing requires deliberate focused attention, receptivity to the other person, and persistent awareness of the other's shared humanity. "Being there" provides comfort for both patient and nurse. Implications for nursing practice: Literature reviewed offer the elements of presenting (eg, providing affirmation, communication of empathy, being without words). Identification of such elements can assist the reader to implement this intervention.
Granular formulation of methylcyclohexenone : an antiaggregative pheromone of the Douglas Fir and Spruce bark beetles (Col., Scolytidae)

The Douglas fir beetle antiaggregative pheromone, 3-methyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one (MCH), was identified as the major fraction of the antiaggregative pheromone of the spruce beetle. A slow-release granular formulation of MCH, which was field tested on downed Douglas fir and Sitka spruce trees in western Oregon, reduced attack only briefly with Douglas fir beetle but by 93.3% for five weeks with the spruce beetle. As in previous tests, glass vials of liquid MCH almost totally prevented attack on both species. Practical use of a granular formulation appears feasible but the rate of release must be improved for the Douglas fir beetle. Zusammenfassung Methylcyclohexenone-Granulat, ein Antiaggregations-Pheromon von Dendroctonus-Arten Das anti-aggregative Pheromon des Douglasien-Borkenkafers (Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopk.), 3-Methyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one (MCH) wurde auch als der wichtigste Teil des anti-aggregativen Pheromons des Fichten-Borkenskafers {Dendroctonus rufipennis Kirby) identifiziert. MCH wurde in Kornchen inkorporiert, die dieses Material langsam freigeben. Diese Kornchen wurden in Freilandversuchen auf liegende Fichten und Douglasien gestreut. Gegen den Fichtenkafer wurde auch flussiges MCH langs der Stamme in Glasrorchen angewendet. Das granulose MCH schutzte die Fichten gegen den Fichten-Borkenkafer fur 5 Wochen, dagegen Douglasienstamme gegen den Douglasien-Borkenkafer nur fur wenige Tage. Das Ausbringen von flussigem MCH auf den Fichtenstammen ergab jedoch volligen Schutz. Es scheint, als ob eine praktische Anwendung des MCH in granuloser Form gegen die beiden Borkenkaferarten moglich ist. Die Freigabe des MCH vom Praparat mus aber noch verbessert werden, um wahrend der ganzen Flugzeit des Kafers wirksam zu sein.
Age-related increase of beta1-adrenergic receptor gene expression in rat liver: a potential mechanism contributing to increased beta-adrenergic receptor density and responsiveness during aging.

In this study we examined whether the levels of gene expressions of the three β- adrenergic receptor (βAR) subtypes, β1, β2, and β3, contribute to age-related increase in βAR density. Liver membranes and total RNA were prepared from young (4- to 6-month-old) and old (24-month-old) male Fischer 344 rats. βAR density (Bmax) in liver membranes was measured by a radioligand receptor binding assay using the receptor subtype nonselective βAR antagonist 125I-pindolol as the radioligand. Steady-state levels of β2AR mRNA in rat liver were measured by Northern blot analysis; because of the low abundance of β1AR and β3AR mRNA in rat liver, the expressions of these genes were measured by a semiquantitative RT-PCR or an RT-PCR. Scatchard analysis of saturation binding curves of the binding assay confirmed an age-related increase in Bmax (young: 7.1 ± 0.8 fmol/mg protein vs. old: 18.1 ± 4.3 fmol/mg protein). No age-related differences were found in the levels of β2AR mRNA. However, semiquantitative RT-PCR revealed an a...
Is female sex an independent risk factor for perioperative transfusion in coronary artery bypass graft surgery

Background Perioperative red blood cell transfusion is a risk factor for postoperative mortality and morbidity in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Females have a higher risk of red blood cell transfusion, but few previous studies have accounted for preoperative hematocrit and female sex together as risk factors for red blood cell transfusion. We evaluated female sex as an independent risk factor for red blood cell transfusion in CABG, while accounting for hematocrit. Study Design A cardiac surgery database was reviewed for isolated, primary, first-time CABG operations from a single center from January 2005 to June 2009. Demographic and clinical variables were evaluated as risk factors of red blood cell transfusion using univariate (Student t -test and chi-square test) and multivariate (logistic regression) analyses. Results Of 2,107 patients (ALL-patients) reviewed, 640 had known hematocrit (KNOWN-Hct). Women had lower hematocrit (35.77% ± 4.07% vs 40.06% ± 4.79% for men). On multivariate analysis of ALL-patients, older age, smaller body surface area, and female sex were risk factors; higher ejection fraction and off-pump surgery were associated with less red blood cell transfusion. On multivariate analysis of KNOWN-Hct, older age, lower hematocrit, smaller body surface area, and lower ejection fraction were risk factors of red blood cell transfusion and sex was not a significant risk factor in this group. Conclusions Female sex is not an independent risk factor for red blood cell transfusion in CABG when preoperative hematocrit is included as a covariate in a multivariable model. A lower hematocrit could explain some of the sex-specific disparities in outcomes after CABG and should be included in future analyses.
Visual, motor and attentional influences on proprioceptive contributions to perception of hand path rectilinearity during reaching

We examined how proprioceptive contributions to perception of hand path straightness are influenced by visual, motor and attentional sources of performance variability during horizontal planar reaching. Subjects held the handle of a robot that constrained goal-directed movements of the hand to the paths of controlled curvature. Subjects attempted to detect the presence of hand path curvature during both active (subject driven) and passive (robot driven) movements that either required active muscle force production or not. Subjects were less able to discriminate curved from straight paths when actively reaching for a target versus when the robot moved their hand through the same curved paths. This effect was especially evident during robot-driven movements requiring concurrent activation of lengthening but not shortening muscles. Subjects were less likely to report curvature and were more variable in reporting when movements appeared straight in a novel “visual channel” condition previously shown to block adaptive updating of motor commands in response to deviations from a straight-line hand path. Similarly, compromised performance was obtained when subjects simultaneously performed a distracting secondary task (key pressing with the contralateral hand). The effects compounded when these last two treatments were combined. It is concluded that environmental, intrinsic and attentional factors all impact the ability to detect deviations from a rectilinear hand path during goal-directed movement by decreasing proprioceptive contributions to limb state estimation. In contrast, response variability increased only in experimental conditions thought to impose additional attentional demands on the observer. Implications of these results for perception and other sensorimotor behaviors are discussed.
Lack of Communication and Control: Experiences of Distance Caregivers of Parents With Advanced Cancer

Distance caregiving, the experience of providing instrumental and emotional support to an ill loved one who is geographically distant from the caregiver, is a new and relatively unexplored phenomenon in health care, although its prevalence is increasing in the United States. Unlike previous generations in which family members cared for each other in their own homes or communities, many of today’s adult children caregivers of parents with chronic illnesses are struggling with the demands of caregiving from a distance by themselves. More than seven million Americans were distance caregivers in 1997, and the number was expected to grow as baby boomers and their parents aged (Wagner, 1997). According to the National Caregiving Survey conducted by the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) and AARP (2004), about 15% of adult children are distance caregivers for parents. The National Council on the Aging ([NCOA], 1997) projected that the number of distance caregivers will increase to 14 million by 2012. The literature on distance caregiving is very sparse and nursing research has been nonexistent, and trending data have not been evaluated nationally since the late 1990s. Although much is known about the effects of caregiving on local caregivers of patients with cancer, little is known about the impact of caregiving on adult children living at a distance. With the number of distance caregivers increasing, research is needed to understand the experience and develop interventions to include these caregivers in family-centered care (Mazanec, 2009; NCOA, 1997). This article presents the qualitative results of interviews with 14 distance caregivers of parents diagnosed with advanced lung, gastrointestinal, or gynecologic malignancies. The caregivers were part of a larger quantitative study exploring predictors of psychological outcomes of distance caregiving (Mazanec, 2009).
Hydrology and water budget for a forested atlantic coastal plain watershed, South Carolina

Abstract: Increases in timber demand and urban development in the Atlantic Coastal Plain over the past decade have motivated studies on the hydrology, water quality, and sustainable management of coastal plain watersheds. However, studies on baseline water budgets are limited for the low-lying, forested watersheds of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The purpose of this study was to document the hydrology and a method to quantify the water budget of a first-order forested watershed, WS80, located within the USDA Forest Service Santee Experimental Forest northeast of Charleston, South Carolina. Annual Rainfall for the 2003 and 2004 periods were 1,671 mm (300 mm above normal) and 962 mm (over 400 mm below normal), respectively. Runoff coefficients (outflow as a fraction of total rainfall) for the 2003 and 2004 periods were 0.47 and 0.08, respectively, indicating a wide variability of outflows as affected by antecedent conditions. A spreadsheet-based Thornthwaite monthly water balance model was tested on WS80 using three different potential evapotranspiration estimators [Hamon, Thornthwaite, and Penman-Monteith (P-M)]. The Hamon and P-M-based methods performed reasonably well with average absolute monthly deviations of 12.6 and 13.9 mm, respectively, between the measured and predicted outflows. Estimated closure errors were all within 9% for the 2003, 2004, and seasonal water budgets. These results may have implications on forest management practices and provide necessary baseline or reference information for Atlantic Coastal Plain watersheds.