cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
CT Texture Analysis of Renal Masses : Pilot Study Using Random Forest Classification for Prediction of Pathology

Rationale and Objectives Computed tomography texture analysis (CTTA) allows quantification of heterogeneity within a region of interest. This study investigates the possibility of distinguishing between several common renal masses using CTTA-derived parameters by developing and validating a predictive model. Materials and Methods CTTA software was used to analyze 20 clear cell renal cell carcinomas (RCCs), 20 papillary RCCs, 20 oncocytomas, and 20 renal cysts. Regions of interest were drawn around each mass on multiple slices in the arterial, venous, and delayed phases on renal mass protocol CT scans. Unfiltered images and spatial band-pass filtered images were analyzed to quantify heterogeneity. Random forest method was used to construct a predictive model to classify lesions using quantitative parameters. The model was externally validated on a separate set of 19 unknown cases. Results The random forest model correctly categorized oncocytomas in 89% of cases (sensitivity = 89%, specificity = 99%), clear cell RCCs in 91% of cases (sensitivity = 91%, specificity = 97%), cysts in 100% of cases (sensitivity = 100%, specificity = 100%), and papillary RCCs in 100% of cases (sensitivity = 100%, specificity = 98%). Conclusions CTTA, in conjunction with random forest modeling, demonstrates promise as a tool to characterize lesions. Various renal masses were accurately classified using quantitative information derived from routine scans.
Chronic graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic stem cell transplantation: challenges in prevention, science, and supportive care

Chronic GVHD (cGVHD) remains one of the most significant complications affecting the quality of life of long-term survivors of allogeneic stem cell transplant (SCT). Recent advancements in SCT, including the adoption of reduced-intensity conditioning regimens and improvements in inpatient supportive care, have yielded dramatic reductions in early mortality and led to the expanding use of allogeneic SCT in a broader range of patients, including the elderly. In turn, this development has resulted in a growing number of SCT survivors who remain free of their underlying malignancies but who require care for long-term complications, including cGVHD. cGVHD may have protean manifestations and may pose unique diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. To address inconsistencies in the diagnosis, treatment, and supportive care of cGVHD, experts within the SCT community have worked to develop consensus guidelines; these efforts have yielded more precise definitions and will facilitate more uniform clinical trials. With an increase in SCT survivorship, the management of patients with cGVHD is performed as a partnership between SCT physicians and primary oncologists. This review is designed to help general oncologists understand the current state of cGVHD, including its pathogenesis and treatment. The review places particular emphasis on general principles governing the optimal supportive management of cGVHD and examines recent consensus recommendations regarding its diagnosis and management by organ system.
Cannabinoid receptor-1 signaling contributions to sign-tracking and conditioned reinforcement in rats

Endocannabinoids (eCBs) are critical gatekeepers of dopaminergic signaling, and disrupting cannabinoid receptor-1 (CB1) signaling alters DA dynamics to attenuate cue-motivated behaviors. Prior studies suggest that dopamine (DA) release plays a critical role in driving sign-tracking. Here, we determine whether systemic injections of rimonabant, a CB1 receptor inverse agonist, during Pavlovian lever autoshaping impair the expression of sign-tracking. We next examine whether rimonabant blocks the reinforcing properties of the Pavlovian lever cue in a conditioned reinforcement test. In Exp. 1, we trained rats in Pavlovian lever autoshaping prior to systemic rimonabant injections (0, 1, 3 mg/kg) during early and late Pavlovian lever autoshaping sessions. In Exp. 2, we trained rats in Pavlovian lever autoshaping prior to systemic rimonabant injections (0, 1 mg/kg) during a conditioned reinforcement test. Rimonabant dose-dependently decreased lever contact and probability, and increased sign-tracker’s latency to approach the lever cue early in Pavlovian training. With extended training, many previously goal-tracking and intermediate rats shifted to lever approach, which remained dose-dependently sensitive to rimonabant. Rimonabant attenuated cue-evoked food cup approach early, but not late, in conditioning, and did not affect pellet retrieval or consumption. The inserted lever cue served as a robust conditioned reinforcer after Pavlovian lever autoshaping, and 1 mg/kg rimonabant blocked conditioned reinforcement. Together, our results suggest that CB1 signaling mediates two critical properties of incentive stimuli; their ability to attract (Exp. 1) and their ability to reinforce (Exp. 2) behavior.
Material Need Insecurity and Its Concurrent Barriers to Diabetes Management Among Low-Income Latino Adults Receiving Medical Care.

Material need insecurity—limited or uncertain ability to access or pay for basic needs such as food, housing, or energy (1)—is reported by 18.9% of older adults with chronic health conditions (2). The association between material need insecurity and health is likely bidirectional (1,3). The sacrifices and trade-offs made to meet material needs lead to exacerbation of chronic conditions, and poor health creates circumstances that precipitate insecurity (3). Material need insecure (MNI) individuals receiving treatment for diabetes tend to be no less likely than material need secure (MNS) individuals to receive recommended health care services (4). However, upstream challenges leading to insecurities (such as unstable employment, family, and housing situations) likely undermine patients’ ability to manage health conditions for reasons that extend beyond access to medical services (1). This problem is especially relevant in Latino patients who face higher rates of material deprivation and worse diabetes outcomes than non-Latino individuals, even after accounting for access to care (5). As efforts to screen for and respond to material need insecurity in clinical settings expand, it is important for providers to consider correlates of insecurity that extend beyond a patient’s lack of resources. The current study uses secondary analysis of cross-sectional observational data from low-income Latino …
TRANSIENT OSTEOPOROSIS: CLINICAL SPECTRUM IN ADULTS AND ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORS.

ABSTRACT Objective: We aimed to describe the natural history of the rare clinical syndrome of transient osteoporosis (TO) and ascertain potential risk factors. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of adults with TO at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, over 15 years. Adults with acute-onset joint pain worsened by weight bearing and bone marrow edema on magnetic resonance imaging were included; exclusion criteria were trauma, tumors, rheumatic diseases, avascular necrosis, infection, and hyperesthesia. Results: Thirty-three patients with TO were identified: 20 males, median age at diagnosis 47 years, and median body mass index 28 kg/m2. Median time to diagnosis was 2 months, and time to symptom resolution was 4 months. All cases involved the lower extremity, with the majority affecting the hip. Most patients (79%) had at least one possible identified risk factor. The most frequent risk factor was low bone mineral density (BMD) in 13 patients (39% of cohort). Of the 16 patients with BMD measure, 8 had low BMD at a site other than TO. The next most frequent risk factors were sudden limb overuse and more than one episode of TO, observed in 30%, followed by a disorder of bone and mineral metabolism in 27%. Conclusion: TO affects middle-age men more than women, primarily involves weight-bearing joints, and usually resolves with conservative management. Its etiology remains unclear; however, the common presence of risk factors, abnormalities in bone and mineral laboratories, and decrease in BMD suggest that systemic factors may be important in its development. Abbreviations: AVN = avascular necrosis; BMD = bone mineral density; DXA = dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; MRI = magnetic resonance imaging; TO = transient osteoporosis
Automatic large quantity landmark pairs detection in 4DCT lung images.

Purpose To automatically and precisely detect a large quantity of landmark pairs between two lung computed tomography (CT) images to support evaluation of deformable image registration (DIR). We expect that the generated landmark pairs will significantly augment the current lung CT benchmark datasets in both quantity and positional accuracy. Methods A large number of landmark pairs were detected within the lung between the end-exhalation (EE) and end-inhalation (EI) phases of the lung four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT) datasets. Thousands of landmarks were detected by applying the Harris-Stephens corner detection algorithm on the probability maps of the lung vasculature tree. A parametric image registration method (pTVreg) was used to establish initial landmark correspondence by registering the images at EE and EI phases. A multi-stream pseudo-siamese (MSPS) network was then developed to further improve the landmark pair positional accuracy by directly predicting three-dimensional (3D) shifts to optimally align the landmarks in EE to their counterparts in EI. Positional accuracies of the detected landmark pairs were evaluated using both digital phantoms and publicly available landmark pairs. Results Dense sets of landmark pairs were detected for 10 4DCT lung datasets, with an average of 1886 landmark pairs per case. The mean and standard deviation of target registration error (TRE) were 0.47 ± 0.45 mm with 98% of landmark pairs having a TRE smaller than 2 mm for 10 digital phantom cases. Tests using 300 manually labeled landmark pairs in 10 lung 4DCT benchmark datasets (DIRLAB) produced TRE results of 0.73 ± 0.53 mm with 97% of landmark pairs having a TRE smaller than 2 mm. Conclusion A new method was developed to automatically and precisely detect a large quantity of landmark pairs between lung CT image pairs. The detected landmark pairs could be used as benchmark datasets for more accurate and informative quantitative evaluation of DIR algorithms.
Online Ratings of Facial Plastic Surgeons: Worthwhile Additions to Conventional Patient Experience Surveys

Background: Physician review websites are now commonly used by patients. However, in facial plastic surgery, the trends and content in these websites are not well studied. We examined online review...
The Transition to Catch Shares Management in the West Coast Groundfish Trawl Fishery: changing Job Attitudes and Adjusting Fishing Participation Plans

Management of fisheries worldwide is increasingly shifting toward catch shares. The West Coast groundfish trawl fishery transitioned to catch shares management in 2011. We use a multi-year dataset ...
Local Glass Transition Temperature Tg(z) Within Polystyrene Is Strongly Impacted by the Modulus of the Neighboring PDMS Domain

Profiles in the local glass transition temperature Tg(z) within polystyrene (PS) next to polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) domains were determined using a localized fluorescence method. By changing the b...
Understanding Contaminant Migration Within a Dynamic River Corridor Through Field Experiments and Reactive Transport Modeling

The behavior of a persistent uranium plume within an extended river corridor at the DOE Hanford site is dominantly controlled by river stage fluctuations in the adjacent Columbia River. The plume behavior is further complicated by substantial heterogeneity in physical and geochemical properties of the host aquifer sediments. Multi-scale field and laboratory experiments and reactive transport modeling were integrated to understand the complex plume behavior influenced by highly variable hydrologic and geochemical conditions in time and space. In this paper, we (1) describe multiple data sets from field-scale uranium adsorption and desorption experiments performed at our experimental well-field, (2) develop a reactive transport model that incorporates hydrologic and geochemical heterogeneities characterized from multi-scale and multi-type datasets and a surface complexation reaction network based on laboratory studies, and (3) compare the modeling and observation results to provide insights on how to refine the conceptual model and reduce prediction uncertainties. The experimental results revealed significant spatial variability in uranium adsorption/desorption behavior, while modeling demonstrated that ambient hydrologic and geochemical conditions and heterogeneities in sediment physical and chemical properties both contributed to complex plume behavior and its persistence. This research underscores the great challenges in adequately characterizing this type of site to model the reactive transport processes over scales of 10 m or more. Our analysis provides important insights into the characterization, understanding, modeling, and remediation of groundwater contaminant plumes influenced by dynamic surface water and groundwater interactions.
Should Remdesivir Be Used for the Treatment of Patients With COVID-19? Rapid, Living Practice Points From the American College of Physicians (Version 1).

Clinicians need access to the best available evidence to inform point-of-care decisions about use of remdesivir in patients with COVID-19. This article, which was based on an updated rapid review, ...
Morphologically malignant nodular fasciitis with CALD1-USP6 fusion

Nodular fasciitis is a benign myofibroblastic neoplasm that characteristically enlarges rapidly and then usually regresses spontaneously. While the vast majority of tumors are benign, there are rare reports of morphologically benign nodular fasciitis giving rise to metastases, not predictable on histologic grounds. Here, we report what we believe is an example of morphologically malignant nodular fasciitis, which occurred in the upper extremity of a 7-year-old male. The tumor was composed of short, intersecting fascicles of myofibroblastic cells in a loose myxoid matrix, with keloidal hyalinization and admixed osteoclastic giant cells, all characteristic of nodular fasciitis. However, it additionally exhibited striking nuclear pleomorphism, a feature not compatible with conventional nodular fasciitis. Fluorescence in situ hybridization demonstrated a USP6 translocation, confirmed by next-generation sequencing to be the novel CALD1-USP6 fusion. No other somatic or germline mutations were detected. This case adds to the expanding morphologic and molecular genetic spectrum of nodular fasciitis.
How US Policy Toward Iran Has Undermined US Interests in the Middle East

US foreign policy for the past three decades—with a few notable exceptions—has failed to achieve a less hostile relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran that could have avoided a debacle in Iraq, prevented or mitigated other regional conflicts, shored up the transatlantic alliance and allowed the United States to manage a long-sought “pivot” to Asia to address a rising China. Many observers insist that Iran’s unique system—built on an Islamic theocracy and resistance to “US imperialism”—is not capable of fully reconciling with the US. But this paper will argue that there have been several opportunities to achieve a mutually beneficial detente and that the US decision to withdraw unilaterally in 2018 from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) wrecked a chance at reaching that outcome while boosting Russian and Chinese power in the Middle East. The US exit from the JCPOA and the subsequent imposition of an oil embargo on Iran has backfired, leading to growing tensions that initially resulted in the US sending more troops to the region, rather than achieving the drawdown and greater burden sharing sought by successive US presidents (Gibbons-Neff, How U.S. Troops Are Preparing for the Worst in the Middle East. The New York Times 2020). The US now faces the prospect of being forced to withdraw from Iraq in a humiliating fashion. Meanwhile, overuse of economic sanctions threatens to undermine them as a tool of diplomacy and less risky substitute for kinetic action. The sanctions have also contributed to the rising death toll from the novel coronavirus pandemic by weakening economies and reducing the ability of governments such as Iran’s to respond to this humanitarian crisis.
Tonic for Body or Soul: Fresh Air for Poor Children in Progressive Era New York City

The Fresh Air Fund and the Floating Hospital were two charities that launched in Gilded Age New York City and flourished during the Progressive Era. Part of the fresh air charity movement, both org...
Asparaginase: Early Clinical and Toxicology Studies

Asparaginase represents the first successful application of a biochemical enzyme to cancer therapy [1, 2]. The destruction of asparagine by systemic administration of asparaginase kills tumor cells that are dependent on asparagine and have an impaired ability to synthesize asparagine. At the NCI, 55 patients have received 50 to 2000 IU/kg/day of E. coli 1-asparaginase. The present report summarizes the clinical and toxicologic effects using the Merck, Sharp, and Dohme (MSD) or Squibb and Company (SC) preparation.
Wildness in the product groups

Non-abelian Polish groups arising as countable products of countable groups can be tame in arbitrarily complicated ways. This contrasts with some results of Solecki who revealed a very different picture in the abelian case. 0. Group trees. The class of all Polish (completely metrizable, separable) groups may be naturally divided into two classes. 0.1. Definition. A Polish group G is tame if whenever X is a Polish G-space (that is to say, G acts continuously on X) the orbit equivalence relation is Borel as a subset of X ×X. A Polish group that is not tame is wild. On the one hand the wild groups include almost all groups of reasonable topological complexity—for instance: S∞, the infinite permutation group in the topology of pointwise convergence; U∞, the unitary group of Hilbert space; RN (the infinite product of (R,+) in the product group structure and topology); c0; l2. The main examples of tame groups are the locally compact ones. These were not quite the only known examples—in [11] it is also shown that ⊕ p prime (Z(p∞)), the infinite product of the subgroups of R/Z generated by {p−n : n ∈ N} for p a prime, is tame. Thus there is a gap in the spectrum of examples. On the one hand we have the wild groups that can give rise to enormously complicated actions. On the other hand the principal examples of tame 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary 03A15, 03E15; Secondary 20B35, 03C15.
A Geographic Information System Supporting Ocean Institute Research on Benthic and Demersal Species in the San Pedro Channel

ion of datasets frequently introduces a level of inaccuracy to the datasets that is determined to be acceptable or even desirable. Specifically, elimination of details extraneous to the new purpose for which the old dataset is being applied trades off accuracy for a measure of geodatabase performance. The long-term tendency here is to derive datasets from earlier, more complete datasets, and neglect to document the procedures used, or the lineage from which the new datasets were derived. Counteracting this tendency is what makes metadata updates of vital importance. Even within a particular industry like environmental conservation the specific purposes to which a dataset may be applied will vary. For instance waste water pipes might be included in one environmental conservation project as a source of pollution, in another project as a hazard to survey equipment, and included in yet another conservation project as a location of potential biodiversity. For this reason, datasets will frequently be modified even when used for more than one project within the same industry or field. Each time the layers are modified, the data deviates further from the original data, abstraction
Rate of Rise of Short Circuit Current of D-C Motors and Generators [includes discussion]

This paper gives the maximum rate of rise of current on short circuit and inductance between main terminals for d-c machines for a wide range of size and ratings. It supplements a previous paper4 in which the maximum values of short circuit current were given. The paper also gives a summary of formulas for calculating transient performance of d-c machines and d-c power systems.
Race, socioeconomic status and stage at diagnosis for five common malignancies

Background: African-Americans are more likely than Caucasians to be diagnosed at an advanced stage of colorectal, lung, breast, cervical, and prostate cancers. This study explores if racial differences in stage at diagnosis can be explained by socioeconomic status (SES) differences. Previous studies investigating this association have used aggregate SES indicators from census tract of residence; we used census block-group data, representing a smaller, potentially more homogenous group. Methods: We included all African-American and Caucasian invasive cancers of the colon and rectum, lung and bronchus, female breast, cervix uteri, and prostate that were diagnosed between January 1, 1988 and December 31, 1992 in the Detroit area. Stage of disease at diagnosis was grouped as local or non-local. An SES value was calculated for each case using aggregate 1990 US Census data for education, poverty status, and occupation specific to each case's census block-group. Logistic regression analysis was used to model the probability of non-local stage using SES, race, age group, and sex as covariates. Results: SES was an independent predictor of stage at diagnosis for each cancer site, with cases from the highest SES block-group more likely to present with local stage disease than those from the lowest SES group. Race independently predicted stage only for breast and prostate cancers; African-Americans presented with more advanced stage than Caucasians. Conclusions: Based on census block-group aggregate data, SES is an important predictor of stage at diagnosis, most likely accounting for much of the disparity in stage between African-Americans and Caucasians for colorectal, lung, and cervical cancers. Biological factors may play a role in racial disparities for breast and prostate cancer stage at diagnosis.
Ali S. Awadh Asseri. Combating Terrorism: Saudi Arabia's Role in the War on Terror

Ali S. Awadh Asseri examines Saudi Arabia's counter-terrorism strategy, and describes the positive results, as well as the lessons it has for Muslim countries. Asseri, who served as the Saudi Ambas...
Retrograde synaptic communication via gap junctions coupling auditory afferents to the Mauthner cell

Large myelinated club endings of the goldfish eighth nerve arise in the sacculus and establish mixed electrotonic and chemical synapses with the distal part of the Mauthner (M-) cell's lateral dendrite. We show here, using paired pre- and postsynaptic recordings, that depolarizing currents generated postsynaptically (specifically, the mixed synaptic potential produced by activation of part of the afferent population) can in some cases excite the presynaptic fibers and cause them to backfire. Strikingly, while in some systems junctional properties prevent the antidromic spread of depolarizing currents, physiological properties of these afferents and the gap junctions promote backfiring: the amplitude of the coupling potential recorded from an afferent fiber is voltage dependent, increasing with depolarization and being reduced during hyperpolarization. Two mechanisms, with different kinetics, underlie this voltage dependence. One, a nonlinear membrane property of the afferent fiber itself, enhances the coupling potential as the afferent membrane depolarizes. The second mechanism, which is less sensitive to voltage and is symmetric about the resting potential, most likely represents voltage dependence of the junctional membrane. Additionally, we also show retrograde diffusion of low molecular weight substances, as the fluorescent dye Lucifer yellow and the tracer Neurobiotin were found in the terminals of afferent fibers after being injected postsynaptically into the M-cell. These results suggest that the gap junctions in these primary afferents are not only involved in fast anterograde synaptic transmission but also provide the substrate for a retrograde intercellular communication. The electrical coupling may modify the input-output relation between eighth nerve afferents and the lateral dendrite by synchronizing the population of already active fibers and by promoting the recruitment of new fibers via backfiring, such that weaker inputs produce relatively larger responses.
Thermal Tolerance of the Invasive Belonesox belizanus, Pike Killifish, Throughout Ontogeny

The goal of this study was to characterize the variability of thermal tolerances between life-history stages of the invasive Belonesox belizanus and attempt to describe the most likely stage of dispersal across south Florida. In the laboratory, individuals were acclimated to three temperatures (20, 25, or 30°C). Upper and lower lethal thermal limits and temperatures at which feeding ceased were measured for neonates, juveniles, and adults. Thermal tolerance polygons were developed to represent the thermal tolerance range of each life-history stage. Results indicated that across acclimation temperatures upper lethal thermal limits were similar for all three stages (38°C). However, minimum lethal thermal limits were significantly different at the 30°C acclimation temperature, where juveniles (9°C) had an approximately 2.0°C and 4.0°C lower minimum lethal thermal limit compared with adults and neonates, respectively. According to thermal tolerance polygons, juveniles had an average tolerance polygonal area almost 20°C2 larger than adults, indicating the greatest thermal tolerance of the three life-history stages. Variation in cessation of feeding temperatures indicated no significant difference between juveniles and adults. Overall, results of this study imply that juvenile B. belizanus may be equipped with the physiological flexibility to exercise habitat choice and reduce potential intraspecific competition with adults for limited food resources. Given its continued dispersal, the minimum thermal limit of juveniles may aid in continued dispersal of this species, especially during average winter temperatures throughout Florida where juveniles could act to preserve remnant populations until seasonal temperatures increase. J. Exp. Zool.317:266–274, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Enantiospecific electrodeposition of chiral CuO films on Cu(1 1 0) from aqueous Cu(II) tartrate and amino acid complexes

CuO films were anodically electrodeposited onto Cu(1 1 0) single crystals from alkaline solutions of Cu(II) complexed with tartrate, alanine, valine, and glycine. In all cases the films were epitaxial, exhibiting varying amounts of the chiral orientations (1 1 0) and (1 1 0). The enantiomeric excess (ee) of the chiral electrodeposition process was determined by X-ray pole figure analysis. The CuO films deposited from D-tartrate solution exhibited a (1 10) out-of-plane orientation with an ee of 61%, while films grown from L-tartrate exhibited a (110) orientation with an ee of 77%. The CuO film deposited from achiral meso-tartrate had essentially equal amounts of both chiral orientations. Epitaxial CuO films deposited from D-alanine and D-valine both gave (1 1 0) orientation with ee's of 40 and 65%, respectively, while CuO films deposited from L-alanine and L-valine gave (1 10) orientations with ee's of 39 and 67%, respectively. Films obtained from a glycine solution showed roughly equal amounts of both chiral orientations.
Long-term outcome of endoscopic dual pancreatobiliary sphincterotomy in patients with manometry-documented sphincter of Oddi dysfunction and normal pancreatogram.

Background: For patients with sphincter of Oddi dysfunction and abnormal pancreatic basal sphincter pressure, additional pancreatic sphincterotomy has been recommended. The outcome of endoscopic dual pancreatobiliary sphincteretomy in patients with manometry-documented sphincter of Oddi dysfunction was evaluated. Methods: An ERCP database was searched for data entered from January 1995 to November 2000 on patients with sphincter of Oddi dysfunction who met the following parameters: sphincter of Oddi manometry of both ducts, abnormal pressure for at least 1 sphincter (≥40 mm Hg), no evidence of chronic pancreatitis, and endoscopic dual pancreatobiliary sphincterotomy. Patients were offered reintervention by repeat ERCP if clinical symptoms were not improved. The frequency of reintervention was analyzed according to ducts with abnormal basal sphincter pressure, previous cholecystectomy, sphincter of Oddi dysfunction type, and endoscopic dual pancreatobiliary sphincterotomy method. Results: A total of 313 patients were followed for a mean of 43.1 months (median, 41.0 months; interquartile range: 29.8–60.0 months). Immediate postendoscopic dual pancreatobiliary sphincterotomy complications occurred in 15% of patients. Reintervention was required in 24.6% of patients at a median follow-up (interquartile range) of 8.0 (5.5–22.5) months. The frequency of reintervention was similar irrespective of ducts with abnormal basal sphincter pressure, previous cholecystectomy, or endoscopic dual pancreatobiliary sphincterotomy method. Of patients with type III sphincter of Oddi dysfunction, 28.3% underwent reintervention compared with 20.4% with combined types I and II sphincter of Oddi dysfunction ( p =0.105). When compared with endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy alone in historical control patients from our unit, endoscopic dual pancreatobiliary sphincterotomy had a lower reintervention rate in patients with pancreatic sphincter of Oddi dysfunction alone and a comparable outcome in those with sphincter of Oddi dysfunction of both ducts. Conclusion: Endoscopic dual pancreatobiliary sphincterotomy is useful in patients with pancreatic sphincter of Oddi dysfunction. Prospective randomized trials of endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy alone versus endoscopic dual pancreatobiliary sphincterotomy based on sphincter of Oddi manometry findings are in progress.
CONTINUUM MECHANICS OF LATERAL SOIL-PILE INTERACTION

A rigorous mathematical formulation is presented for a flexible tubular pile of finite length embedded in a semi-infinite soil medium under lateral loading. In the framework of three-dimensional elastostatics and classical beam theory, the complicated structure-medium interaction problem is shown to be reducible to three coupled Fredholm integral equations. Through an analysis of the associated Cauchy singular kernels, the intrinsic singular characteristics of the radial, angular, and vertical interfacial load transfers are rendered explicit and incorporated into a rigorous numerical procedure. Detailed results on the three-dimensional load-transfer process, as well as their resultant one-dimensional analogs, are also provided for benchmark comparison and practical applications.
Correlated spontaneous-emission lasers: Quenching of quantum fluctuations in the relative phase angle.

In quantum-beat and Hanle-effect experiments, spontaneous-emission events from two coherently excited states are strongly correlated. A doubly resonant laser cavity driven by such atomic configurations can have vanishing diffusion coefficient for the relative phase angle.
Influence of singularity dominated zone for propagating cracks in finite size specimens

Abstract The singularity dominated zones for straight as well as curved cracks propagating in finite size specimens were determined experimentally by using the optical method of dynamic photoelasticity using the near-field stress equations. Experimental data was carefully analyzed using improved numerical schemes to get the complete stress field around the propagating crack. This stress field was critically examined to evaluate the size of singularity dominated zones for cracks propagating in straight as well as curved paths. For this purpose, the exact solution was compared with the singular solution using stress components σ x , σ y , τ xy and the maximum shear stress τ max as a criterion respectively. For straight cracks where the stress field is symmetric about the crack path, the singularity dominated zones can be determined by using any one of the stresses. However, for a curved crack, the zones were unsymmetric. This study shows that σ y , the crack opening stress, yields the best result for characterizing the singularity dominated zone around a running crack tip.
Managerial Implications of Cultural Factors That Influence the Success of TQM Programs in Mexican Maquiladoras

Maquiladoras, border factories and assembly operations in Mexico, are an important source of foreign direct investment and jobs. In the past decade, there has been rapid growth in the number of maquiladoras. It is estimated that in 1999 there were 3,219 maquiladoras employing over 1 million workers. Along with this growth, there has been a structural transformation of the industry. As a result of major investments in the automobile and electronics sectors, there has been a shift from low-wage manufacturing towards total quality manufacturing [TQM], including flexible manufacturing and just-in-time inventory systems. Since their inception maquiladoras have suffered from high turnover and absenteeism. These two problems serve as major obstacles to the successful implementation of TQM programs and increase the cost of recruitment and training. This paper surveys the literature and presents a theory that relates the success of TQM programs to cross-cultural management. Our hypothesis is that strategic quality initiatives like TQM work best when they incorporate top leadership involvement and worker-focused human resources policies integrated to provide both salary and non-salary benefits that increase worker satisfaction. We hold that effective cross-cultural management based upon top leadership involvement responds to deep-seated cultural needs by constructing approximations of traditional elements of Mexican culture. Therefore, incorporating and respecting traditional culture and the worker's need for community will positively influence worker acceptance of TQM programs and reduce turnover.
A validational study of the structured interview of symptoms associated with sexual abuse (SASA) using three samples of sexually abused, allegedly abused, and nonabused boys

OBJECTIVE: With the rapid rise of sexual abuse allegations, there is a growing need to develop instruments to help clinicians determine the likelihood that sexual abuse has occurred. METHOD: This study evaluated the discriminant validity of a structured parent interview regarding emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms by comparing results among three subsamples of age matched boys: 22 sexually abused boys whose perpetrator confessed, 47 boys evaluated in a sexual abuse clinic but without a history of perpetrator confession and 52 nonabused boys selected after rigorous screening. RESULTS: In comparison with the nonabused (NA) boys, the sexually abused boys were significantly more likely to demonstrate sudden emotional and behavioral changes, frequent stomach aches, more knowledge about sex and sexual activities than expected for age, unusual aggressiveness toward playmate or toy's private parts, crying easily, difficulty getting to sleep, and a change to poor school performance. The internal reliability of the SASA was determined to be .83 and scoring of an abbreviated 12-item scale demonstrated a sensitivity of 90.9% and a specificity of 88.5%. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that Structured Interview of Symptoms Associated with Sexual Abuse (SASA) is an effective tool which may help in the comprehensive assessment of boys who may have been sexually abused. Language: en
Compound facial expressions of emotion.

Understanding the different categories of facial expressions of emotion regularly used by us is essential to gain insights into human cognition and affect as well as for the design of computational models and perceptual interfaces. Past research on facial expressions of emotion has focused on the study of six basic categories—happiness, surprise, anger, sadness, fear, and disgust. However, many more facial expressions of emotion exist and are used regularly by humans. This paper describes an important group of expressions, which we call compound emotion categories. Compound emotions are those that can be constructed by combining basic component categories to create new ones. For instance, happily surprised and angrily surprised are two distinct compound emotion categories. The present work defines 21 distinct emotion categories. Sample images of their facial expressions were collected from 230 human subjects. A Facial Action Coding System analysis shows the production of these 21 categories is different but consistent with the subordinate categories they represent (e.g., a happily surprised expression combines muscle movements observed in happiness and surprised). We show that these differences are sufficient to distinguish between the 21 defined categories. We then use a computational model of face perception to demonstrate that most of these categories are also visually discriminable from one another.
Quantifying patterns of dynamics in eye movement to measure goodness in organization of design elements in interior architecture

Architecture brings together diverse elements to enhance the observer’s measure of esthetics and the convenience of functionality. Architects often conceptualize synthesis of design elements to invoke the observer’s sense of harmony and positive affect. How does an observer’s brain respond to harmony of design in interior spaces? One implicit consideration by architects is the role of guided visual attention by observers while navigating indoors. Prior visual experience of natural scenes provides the perceptual basis for Gestalt of design elements. In contrast, Gestalt of organization in design varies according to the architect’s decision. We outline a quantitative theory to measure the success in utilizing the observer’s psychological factors to achieve the desired positive affect. We outline a unified framework for perception of geometry and motion in interior spaces, which integrates affective and cognitive aspects of human vision in the context of anthropocentric interior design. The affective criteria are derived from contemporary theories of interior design. Our contribution is to demonstrate that the neural computations in an observer’s eye movement could be used to elucidate harmony in perception of form, space and motion, thus a measure of goodness of interior design. Through mathematical modeling, we argue the plausibility of the relevant hypotheses.
Infection on a gynecologic oncology service

Little information is available pertaining to infectious morbidity in women with genital malignancy. To define the magnitude of this problem, all patients admitted to the gynecologic oncology services at the University of Michigan Medical Center between January 1, 1986, and December 31, 1986, were followed prospectively for the development of infectious morbidity. One hundred nine bacteriologically confirmed infections occurred in 297 patients during 510 admissions. An additional 31 postoperative patients received empiric therapy for presumed infection. Urinary tract (54) and wound (22) infections were the most commonly confirmed infections. The pathogens isolated from oncology patients were significantly different in frequency of isolation and antibiotic sensitivity when compared with pathogens isolated from women developing infections on the benign gynecology service. Women with genital malignancies are at high risk for the development of a variety of infections by resistant pathogens, emphasizing the importance of obtaining cultures prior to initiation of therapy and carefully selecting the antibiotics to be prescribed.
A∞-subalgebras and natural transformations

We consider a localization construction which appears, at least conjecturally, in symplectic geometry. Besides the general algebraic theory, we also look at a specific example, coming from mirror symmetry.
Examination of Hill's latest yield criterion using experimental data for various anisotropic sheet metals

Abstract Using experimental data published earlier [Vial et al., Int. J. Mech. Sci. 25, 899 (1983)], values of the exponent m in the Hill (1979) yield criterion [Hill, Math. Proc. Cambridge Phil. Soc. 85, 179 (1979)] are calculated for each of the four special cases suggested. With these findings, stress-strain relations for plane-strain compression are derived and predictions using these derived equations are compared with experimental results. Comparisons between prediction and experiment are reasonable in all cases and it is suggested that the discrepancies could arise because of the assumption of planar isotropy (via the use of an average r- value ) and because the exponent m apparently varies with induced strain.
Catch-up growth: possible mechanisms.

Many systemic diseases impair linear growth. If remission occurs, growth will often accelerate beyond the normal rate for age, a phenomenon termed ”catch-up growth.” As a result, final height is improved, although this recovery of adult stature is frequently incomplete. Two principal models have been proposed to explain catch-up growth. The first model postulates a central nervous system mechanism that compares actual body size with an age-appropriate set-point and then adjusts growth rate accordingly. However, there is recent evidence that growth inhibition in a single growth plate is followed by local catch-up growth, a finding not readily explained by the neuroendocrine model. Thus, a new model has been proposed that places the mechanism within the growth plate itself. According to this model, growth-inhibiting conditions decrease proliferation of growth plate stem cells, thus conserving their proliferative potential. Additional research is needed to determine whether the mechanisms governing catch-up growth are local, systemic, or both.
Internal reflection spectroscopy of adsorbed molecules on metal films: Carbon monoxide on palladium

Abstract A brief discussion of the advantages and problems experienced in the study of adsorption on metal films using infrared internal reflection spectroscopy (IRS) is given. The structure of adsorbed carbon monoxide on palladium was examined using polarized IRS. It is shown that adsorbed carbon monoxide which gives rise to infrared bands above 2000 cm −1 are structure insensitive while those species that absorb below 2000 cm −1 are structure sensitive (form preferentially on certain portions of small palladium crystals). It is proposed that the species which forms with a high heat of adsorption (>40 kcal/mole) and absorbs at low frequency ( −1 ) involves bonding of both carbon and oxygen to palladium atoms on a low index face.
Impact of duloxetine on quality of life for women with symptoms of urinary incontinence

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of duloxetine in improving quality of life among women with stress and mixed urinary incontinence. The study included 451 women with self-reported stress incontinence episodes (≥1/week) who were randomized to duloxetine (40 mg BID) or placebo in a double-blind, usual care design. Patients and physicians were allowed to titrate, augment, and/or discontinue treatment. Concomitant treatments were permitted. The primary outcome was the Incontinence Quality of Life Questionnaire (I-QOL) score, with assessments at 3, 6, and 9 months. Other measures included the Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I) and adverse events. The adjusted mean change in I-QOL total score was greater in the duloxetine group than in the placebo group and at a level comparable to that found in previous clinical trials, but the difference between placebo and duloxetine was not statistically significant in the intent-to-treat, last observation carried forward (LOCF) analysis. The difference approached statistical significance in favor of duloxetine at 3 months (p=0.07). PGI-I ratings did not demonstrate significant superiority for duloxetine in LOCF analysis; however, study completers taking duloxetine were significantly more likely to rate themselves as “better” (70.2%) than completers taking placebo (50.8%, p<0.05). Women utilized a variety of treatment methods including pelvic floor muscle training, estrogen, anticholinergic medication, weight reduction, and smoking cessation. In this study, while mean I-QOL change scores were numerically higher for the duloxetine group than mean change scores for the placebo group, this difference was not statistically significant. Among women who completed the study on study drug, a significantly greater proportion of duloxetine women versus placebo women rated their condition to be better.
Rad and Rad-related GTPases Interact With Calmodulin and Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase II

Members of the Rad family of GTPases (including Rad, Gem, and Kir) possess several unique features of unknown function in comparison to other Ras-like proteins, with major N-terminal and C-terminal extensions, a lack of typical prenylation motifs, and several non-conservative changes in the sequence of the GTP binding domain. Here we show that Rad and Gem bind to calmodulin (CaM)-Sepharose in vitro in a calcium-dependent manner and that Rad can be co-immunoprecipitated with CaM in C2C12 cells. The interaction is influenced by the guanine nucleotide binding state of Rad with the GDP-bound form exhibiting 5-fold better binding to CaM than the GTP-bound protein. In addition, the dominant negative mutant of Rad (S105N) which binds GDP, but not GTP, exhibits enhanced binding to CaM in vivo when expressed in C2C12 cells. Peptide competition studies and expression of deletion mutants of Rad localize the binding site for CaM to residues 278–297 at the C terminus of Rad. This domain contains a motif characteristic of a calmodulin-binding region, consisting of numerous basic and hydrophobic residues. In addition, we have identified a second potential regulatory domain in the extended N terminus of Rad which, when removed, decreases Rad protein expression but increases the binding of Rad to CaM. The ability of Rad mutants to bind CaM correlates with their localization in cytoskeletal fractions of C2C12 cells. Immunoprecipitates of calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, the cellular effector of Ca2+-calmodulin, also contain Rad, and in vitro both Rad and Gem can serve as substrates for this kinase. Thus, the Rad family of GTP-binding proteins possess unique characteristics of binding CaM and calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, suggesting a role for Rad-like GTPases in calcium activation of serine/threonine kinase cascades.
Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry of deoxynucleotides labeled with an IMI dye.

The four major deoxynucleotides of DNA, and adduct mixtures resulting from separate reactions of 5'-dAMP and 5'-dGMP with benzo[a]pyrene diolepoxide (BPDE), were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) after labeling of their phosphate group with an IMI dye. The latter reagent comprises an imidazole functional group attached to a BODIPY (4,4-difluoro-5,7-dimethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene+ ++) fluorophore. Good sensitivity was observed in the detection of the IMI-labeled products by MALDI-MS: 300-500 fmol in the laser spot (1% of the 30-50 pmol sample on the target) gave a signal-to-noise (S/N) of >/=30 from 20-30 superimposed laser shots. The BPDE reaction products, after the IMI labeling, were also subjected to capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection, which revealed a complex mixture of products. Overall the results encourage the further development of this 'IMI-postlabeling' methodology as an alternative to (32)P-postlabeling for the detection of DNA adducts.