cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Oncologist and the Psychologist

ABSTRACT There are at least three areas where the study of psychological behaviors of people relate to the cancer problem. Firstly is the elusive question of whether previous life experiences, and manners of psychological adaptation, may be instrumental in the development of cancer. If there is a relationship between cancer and the psyche, what is it's relevance as compared to other oncogenic forces, such as chemicals, viruses, and altered immunological processes? Secondly, once cancer develops, do psychological forces bear on the rapidity of spread of the cancer, and on the patient's response to treatment. Thirdly, can the psychological needs of cancer patients and their families be elucidated in a way that allows for effective interventions that can alter a sense of suffering? The literature of the past 100 years is rich in implications that the psychological history of an individual bears a definite relationship to the development of cancer. Carefully done perspective studies, however, are minimal but the needs for such observation is crucial. Likewise, there is some evidence that short or long survival in cancer is related to psychological adaptation, and this raises the question of whether more intense psychological support for patients and their families might not alter responses to therapeutic maneuvers and change the progress of the cancer. Several groups in the United States are attempting to define the helplessness so often found in cancer patients, and to provide a sense of power to the patient to help in the fight against cancer, and the response to treatment. The use of hypnosis, meditation, and auto-reflection are part of such attempts. Beyond changing therapeutic responses and cancer progress, is the issue of human suffering experienced by patients and families, relative to their psychological makeup and their communication styles. When understood, certain interventions are possible in order to relieve some of the mental anguish associated with cancer.
A Preliminary Assessment of the Importance of Littoral and Benthic Autotrophic Communities in Acidic Lakes

Most of the research examining changes in aquatic biota relative to increasing acidity has concentrated on pelagic components. The possible influence of littoral-pelagic interactions on observed relationships has largely been ignored, and thus interpretation of pelagic biotic data unfortunately often is taken out of context of the whole ecosystem. While littoral and benthic communities are major contributors to the autotrophic production of small lakes in general, it is likely that their share assumes greater importance in acidic lakes where phytoplankton are often severely nutrient-limited. The availability of nutrients in the pelagic zone of acidic lakes may be regulated by littoral and benthic processes. Available data suggest that while the structure of littoral and benthic autotrophic communities has a direct influence on benthic invertebrates, it exerts an indirect control on zooplankton and fish principally through the quality and quantity of habitat and food resources. Future investigations of biota in acidic soft-water lakes should concentrate on quantifying such littoral-pelagic linkages.
Impact and Implication of Fovea-Involving Intraretinal Hemorrhage after Acute Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion.

Purpose To compare clinical outcomes in patients with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) with (group A) or without (group B) fovea-involving intraretinal hemorrhage (IRH). Design Retrospective cohort study. Participants All patients diagnosed with acute, treatment-naive BRVO seen by the Duke Eye Center Retina Service from January 1, 2009, through June 30, 2017 who had treatment-naive BRVO with disease onset 12 months offollow-up. Methods Retrospective study using a database of patients diagnosed with BRVO over an 8-year period. The presence of fovea-involving IRH was determined from baseline fundus photographs by human graders and confirmed with multimodal imaging. Presenting features, treatment patterns, and clinical outcomes were compared. Main Outcome Measures Visual acuity (VA), cystoid macular edema (CME), central subfield thickness (CST), and number of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections. Results Of 172 patients with BRVO, 33 (19.2%) presented with fovea-involving IRH. At presentation, group A had worse VA (0.54±0.06 logMAR [Snellen equivalent, 20/69] vs. 0.34±0.03 logMAR [Snellen equivalent, 20/44]; P = 0.001), greater CST (523.8±32 μm vs. 345.9±11.8 μm; P 2 lines of VA (36.4% vs. 18.7%; P = 0.04) or >3 lines (27.3% vs. 10.8%; P = 0.05) at final follow-up. Group A was more likely to have CME (63.6% vs. 27.3%; P Conclusions Acute BRVO presenting with fovea-involving IRH is associated with worse presenting features, greater treatment burden, and worse clinical outcomes despite current therapeutic interventions.
Laparoscopic liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma in Fontan-associated chronic liver disease. The first case report.

Abstract Introduction A well-recognized long-term complication after Fontan procedure (FP), a complex cardiac surgery performed in patients with univentricular hearts, is the development of chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Due to the risk of cardiac and liver decompensation, liver resection of HCC is challenging and the laparoscopic approach has never been reported. Presentation of the case We present the first case of laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) of HCC in a 33-years-old girl with cardiac-related cirrhosis after FP. Intraoperatively, the pneumoperitoneum was established at 8–10 mmHg and adequate fluid infusion was given to maintain the cardiac preload. After an ultrasound-guided thermoablation along the free-tumor margin of the hepatic lesion, a full laparoscopic non-anatomical resection of the tumor in segment V was performed, without Pringle manouver and blood transfusion requirement. The cardiac function remained stable during the surgery and thereafter, and the post-operative course was uneventful. Discussion HCC in chronic liver disease after FP is associated with high-risk mortality. Due to the complex hemodynamic changes after FP, open surgical resections often aren’t feasible and loco-regional percutaneous treatment or combined liver-heart transplantation are the only therapeutic options. This case suggests that LLR in FP patients has low-risk of liver and cardiac decompensation, minimizing the pneumoperitoneum insufflation to ensure low intra-abdominal/intra-thoracic pressures and providing accurate anaesthetic management to maintain proper cardiac preload and output. Conclusion LLR for HCC after FP is safe and feasible, and might be considered an alternative treatment of HCC for which the best treatment has not been defined yet.
Selective acylation of N-(2-phosphonoethyl)ethylenediamine

Abstract Selective acylation of the primary amino group in phosphonoethyl substituted ethylenediamine 1 with a variety of acylating agents has been achieved in good yield. These derivatives are potential precursors of backbone modified, “hybrid” synthetic oligonucleotides.
Recovery from repeated stressors: Physiology and behavior are affected on different timescales in house sparrows.

Abstract For decades, researchers across disciplines have been captivated by classifying, diagnosing, and avoiding the consequences of chronic stress. Despite the vast body of literature this has generated, we still lack the ability to predict which individuals or populations may be susceptible to stress-related pathologies. One critical unanswered question is whether the impacts of repeated stressors are reversible, or if instead they permanently alter an individual. In this study, we exposed house sparrows (Passer domesticus) to 6 days of random, repeated stressors, permitted them 0, 1, 3, or 6 days to recover, and then assessed changes in their body mass, hypothalamic–pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis (baseline, stress-induced corticosterone, negative feedback strength), immune function, uric acid concentrations, DNA damage levels, and perch hopping activity. Body mass did not vary between groups after recovery. We found that the HPA axis and perch hopping were not significantly impacted by the 6 days of stressors, but that uric acid and DNA damage increased. Short recovery periods tended to negatively affect the HPA axis and reduced uric acid levels, but these were reversed with longer recovery periods. Following the recovery periods, the birds experienced an additional 6 days of random stressors and their responses were assessed again. All recovery times reduced perch hopping and immune function, but paradoxically, DNA damage was highest in the birds that had the longest amount of time to recover. These results show that recovery time affects responses to subsequent chronic stress in complex ways, and highlight the importance of multimodal, interdisciplinary approaches to studying stress physiology.
Bayesian Methods in Regulatory Science.

Regulatory science comprises the tools, standards, and approaches that regulators use to assess safety, efficacy, quality, and performance of drugs and medical devices. A major focus of regulatory ...
A Review of Clinical Data on Salvage Therapy in Spinal Cord Stimulation

Background Since its introduction in 1967, neuromodulation through spinal cord stimulation (SCS) or dorsal root ganglion stimulation (DRGs) has advanced significantly in both the technology and indications for use. There are now over 14,000 SCS implants performed worldwide every year. This review focuses on mechanisms behind the loss of efficacy in neuromodulation and current data on salvage therapy, defined as the conversion of a neuromodulation device to an alternative SCS or DRG stimulation, in the event of loss of efficacy or failure of a trial. Study design A narrative review of clinical studies regarding habituation, explant data, and salvage therapy with SCS. Methods Available literature was reviewed on spinal cord stimulation technology and salvage therapy. Data sources included relevant literature identified through searches of PubMed, MEDLINE/OVID, SCOPUS, and manual searches of the bibliographies of known primary and review articles. Outcome measures The primary outcome measures were to understand the mechanisms of loss of efficacy, provide a review of explants due to failure in treatment, and summarize the data on current salvage therapy in SCS. Results A total of eight studies and four abstracts/poster presentations were identified and reviewed. Of the eight studies, only one was a randomized controlled trial. Conclusions There is limited evidence for the appropriate treatment alternatives, but from data currently available the conversion from conventional tonic stimulation to burst, high frequency (10 kHz), multiple wave forms, and/or DRGs may be appropriate in select patients and will require further research to determine the most appropriate first line salvage in the context of the underlying pain pathology.
Consumer confusion about wholegrain content and healthfulness in product labels: a discrete choice experiment and comprehension assessment.

Objective: Using a legal standard for scrutinising the regulation of food label claims, this study assessed whether consumers are misled about wholegrain (WG) content and product healthfulness based on common product labels. Design: First, a discrete choice experiment used pairs of hypothetical products with different amounts of WG, sugar and salt to measure effects on assessment of healthfulness; and second, a WG content comprehension assessment used actual product labels to assess respondent understanding. Setting: Online national panel survey. Participants: For a representative sample of US adults (n 1030), survey responses were collected in 2018 and analysed in 2019. Results: First, 29–47 % of respondents incorrectly identified the healthier product from paired options, and respondents who self-identified as having difficulty in understanding labels were more likely to err. Second, for actual products composed primarily of refined grains, 43–51 % of respondents overstated the WG content, whereas for one product composed primarily of WG, 17 % of respondents understated the WG content. Conclusions: The frequency of consumer misunderstanding of grain product labels was high in both study components. Potential policies to address consumer confusion include requiring disclosure of WG content as a percentage of total grain content or requiring disclosure of the grams of WG v. refined grains per serving.
Standardization of ceramic shape: A case study of Iron Age pottery from northeastern Taiwan

Abstract The emergence of ceramic specialization in past societies is often linked to shifts in the complexity of social structures, because standardized ceramic production can reflect craft specialization and the presence of elite control. Previous work on identifying specialization relies on typological or linear metric analysis. Here we demonstrate how to investigate ceramic standardization by analyzing outlines of ceramic vessels. Outline analysis is useful because, unlike more commonly-used landmark analysis methods, it can effectively quantify shape differences for objects that lack distinctive measurement points needed for landmark analysis. We demonstrate this method using pottery from Kiwulan, a large multi-component Iron Age site (CE 1350–1850) in northeastern Taiwan. To measure ceramic specialization, we quantified pottery standardization by analyzing shape variables with reproducible geometric morphometric methods. We computed coefficients of variation (CVs) for shape coefficients obtained by elliptical Fourier analysis to test for shape standardization. We found significant differences in pottery shape and shape standardization that indicate changes in pottery production resulting from contact with mainland Han Chinese groups in northeastern Taiwan. Our case study, which includes an openly available research compendium of R code, represents an innovative application of outline-based methods in geometric morphometry to answer the anthropological questions of craft specialization.
Analysis of age-associated alternation of SCSA sperm DNA fragmentation index and semen characteristics of 1790 subfertile males in China

Background It has been identified that incidence of infertility was about 20% among couples worldwide, about 50% caused by male elements. However, conventional semen laboratory detections could not handle clinical needs, which led to more comprehensive parameters for male fertility evaluation. We aimed to investigate the clinical relationship of age-linked changes and the sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI), and routine semen characteristics among subfertile Chinese males. Methods 1790 clinical semen specimens were enrolled from February 2018 to October 2019. Clinical and laboratory data including routine semen analyses, sperm DFI, and sperm morphology were collected and showed age-related alterations in semen parameters. Results Our results, displayed an increase in sperm DFI with age, were demonstrated in three age-groups, particularly within the ≥35-year cohort. There were positive and inverse correlations of sperm DFI with abnormal semen characteristics and with normal morphological parameters, respectively. Furthermore, age, sperm morphology, concentration, and progressive motility, immotile sperm percentage, semen volume, sperm survival, and high acridine orange DNA stainability (indicating immature forms) were found to be independent risk factors affecting sperm DNA integrity. Likewise, men aged ≥35 years had a higher sperm DFI than did normozoospermic men in the overall cohort. Routine semen characteristics, sperm DFI, and morphology tended to alter with age. Conclusions The SCSA sperm DFI showed the greatest clinical application in the assessment of male fertility in this study, which should help infertility clinics decide on reproductive options for the treatment of older infertile couples.
Treatment of Adolescent Alcohol-Related Problems

In the present chapter we have sought to articulate a translational perspective linking development during adolescence to alcohol treatment and its evaluation. Clearly adolescents with alcohol use disorders cannot be treated as younger versions of adults. The unique demands of their developmental stage permeate all aspects of their behavior, including alcohol use and abuse. Multi-dimensional developmental models help inform the design, implementation, and evaluation of alcohol and drug treatment programs. While an understanding of individual risk factors is informative, only through models integrating multiple risk pathways embedded in the context of adolescent development can we hope to build more efficacious and effective systems of intervention for youth with AUDs. Effective treatment of adolescent AUDs not only urges translation of the developmental perspective into pre-existing treatment approaches but argues for a paradigm shift towards alternative intervention designs and evaluation procedures and foci.
Constriction and Dilatation in Atherosclerotic and Hypertensive Arteries

We will emphasize three points that pertain to approaches to quantification of changes in atherosclerotic lesions.
Motivational factors underlying learner preferences for corrective feedback: Language mindsets and achievement goals

The present study examines how learners’ language mindsets (beliefs about the malleability of language intelligence) and achievement goals predict learners’ preferences for different types of corre...
Serum response factor deletion 5 regulates phospholamban phosphorylation and calcium uptake.

Abstract Aims Pediatric dilated cardiomyopathy (pDCM) is characterized by unique age-dependent molecular mechanisms that include myocellular responses to therapy. We previously showed that pDCM, but not adult DCM patients respond to phosphodiesterase 3 inhibitors (PDE3i) by increasing levels of the second messenger cAMP and consequent phosphorylation of phospholamban (PLN). However, the molecular mechanisms involved in the differential pediatric and adult response to PDE3i are not clear. Methods and results Quantification of serum response factor (SRF) isoforms from the left ventricle of explanted hearts showed that PDE3i treatment affects expression of SRF isoforms in pDCM hearts. An SRF isoform lacking exon 5 (SRFdel5) was highly expressed in the hearts of pediatric, but not adult DCM patients treated with PDE3i. To determine the functional consequence of expression of SRFdel5, we overexpressed full length SRF or SRFdel5 in cultured cardiomyocytes with and without adrenergic stimulation. Compared to a control adenovirus, expression of SRFdel5 increased phosphorylation of PLN, negatively affected expression of the phosphatase that promotes dephosphorylation of PLN (PP2Ce), and promoted faster calcium reuptake, whereas expression of full length SRF attenuated calcium reuptake through blunted phosphorylation of PLN. Conclusions Taken together, these data indicate that expression of SRFdel5 in pDCM hearts in response to PDE3i contributes to improved function through regulating PLN phosphorylation and thereby calcium reuptake.
Interracial comparisons of intimate partner violence among military perpetrators

Interracial violence is a high-profile issue in the United States; however, there is little empirical research on interracial intimate partner violence (IPV). Interracial relationships are becoming...
The Role of Myocardial Perfusion Imaging in Cardiac Clearance of Cancer Patients

Many effective forms of treatment are currently available for cancer patients including surgery, systemic therapy (e.g. chemotherapy, immunotherapy), bone marrow and stem cell transplants, and radiation therapy. Each of these therapeutic categories confers substantial benefit and some degree of cardiovascular risk. Careful attention is warranted especially in patients with known heart disease.
Berkowitz's Pediatrics: A Primary Care Approach

The new fifth edition is custom-built for efficient primary care problem-solving. It provides concise, practice-oriented guidance on all the most common issues - both clinical and psychosocial - you're likely to encounter. Here's hands-on help on topics ranging from temper tantrums and thumb-sucking to childhood cancer, kidney disease, and diabetes. Each clinical chapter reviews pertinent epidemiology and pathophysiology, then gives you clear, concise guidelines on what symptoms to look for, what alternative diagnoses to consider, what tests to order, and how to manage your patient.
MOTOR VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC Uniform Rules of the Road: Provide Criminal Penalty for Vehicular Feticide

The Act defines the offenses of feticide by vehicle in the first and second degree. The Act also provides penalties for the commission of those offenses.
Energy Conversion and Generation of Reducing Power in Bacterial Photosynthesis

Publisher Summary Bacterial and green-plant photosynthesis share a number of basic features, but are distinctly different in respect to one another. The physiological property of the photosynthetic bacteria that makes the bacteria unique in the biological world states the ability of bacteria to grow rapidly under anaerobic conditions, using light as the ultimate energy source. The photosynthetic bacteria display a remarkable metabolic diversity and versatility. Essentially, in the anabolic phase of cell growth, appropriate organic intermediates and monomers are produced from the carbon and nitrogen sources of the external medium and these are utilized for the synthesis of proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, carbohydrates, and various other complex cellular substances. Synthesis of the intermediates and monomers requires energy in the form of ATP and reducing power—primarily as reduced nicotinamide nucleotide. The chapter describes photophosphorylation, generation of net reducing power, comparison of energy metabolism and electron-transfer patterns in photosynthetic bacteria and clostridia, and the regulatory mechanisms.
Least Squares Estimates of BOD Parameters

In stream water quality surveys and in operational studies of sewage treatment plants, long-term biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) tests are often conducted. The purpose of these tests is to find the ultimate oxygen demand of waste and the first-order rate coefficient for the BOD reaction. This information is mandatory if a water quality model is to be used. This paper presents a technique for finding the least squares estimated for the ultimate BOD and rate coefficient without resorting to complicated computer algorithms or subjective graphical methods.
Building Summary Graphs of RDF Data in Semantic Web

The structured data available in the semantic web have been rapidly increasing with the contribution of linked open data and other similar community initiatives in recent years. Thus, searching and processing large data have become more challenging. Building a summary graph can help reduce the computational complexity and query time in semantic searches by providing an intermediate index structure which contains entity type classes and relations between them. In the current study, we propose an algorithm for discovering the types of entities in RDF data and for building a summary graph structure for faster computational processing.
Diffusive influence systems

Influence systems seek to model how influence, broadly defined, spreads across a dynamic network. We build a general analytical framework which we then use to prove that, while Turing-complete, influence dynamics of the diffusive type is almost surely asymptotically periodic. In addition to resolving the dynamics of a widely used family of multiagent systems, we introduce a general renormalization method for the bifurcation analysis of multiagent systems.
Fiber coupling of DFB laser to micro spherical cavities-a novel approach for frequency control and linewidth quenching utilizing morphology dependent resonances

This paper describes a novel scheme for coupling semiconductor lasers to a new type of miniature optical resonator that has a small dissipation, and as a result, very high Q-a microsphere (/spl mu/-sphere). We report, for the first time, to our knowledge, the lateral coupling of light into whispering-gallery-modes of a /spl mu/-sphere using a side-polished single-mode optical fiber. We observed well defined high-Q morphology dependent resonances in the scattered field along with associated dips in the transmission spectrum of the optical fiber. The Q-factor of the combined fiber-sphere system is 5/spl times/10/sup 6/. The intensity and location of the various resonance orders is understood by the localization principle and the recently developed Generalized Lorentz-Mie Theory.
Linear accelerator radiosurgery in the treatment of brain metastases.

OBJECTIVE: To review a 12-year experience treating metastatic brain disease with linear accelerator-based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). METHODS; We performed a retrospective analysis of all patients treated between 1989 and 2001 with linear accelerator radiosurgery for brain metastases. Patients were followed up both clinically and with imaging studies to document local control, regional control, and survival. Demographic data, dosing parameters, number of lesions, histology, history whole-brain radiation therapy, and other factors were obtained prospectively. Cox proportional-hazards regression with multivariate and univariate analysis was performed with Stata 8.0 software. RESULTS: A total of 383 patients received SRS for train matastases during the study interval. Median survival was 9 months. Patients with tumor-type melanoma or multiple metastatic lesions had decreased survival. Actuarial 1-year local control was 75%. Differences in regional control rates were not statistically significant between patients treated with SRS and whole-brain radiation therapy versus SRS alone. CONCLUSION: Radiosurgery is an effective and safe method for treating selected patients with brain metastases.
Synthesis of novel 1,3-dithiolan-2-one derivatives

Novel 1,3-dithiolan-2-one derivatives were prepared starting from α, β- or β, γ-dichlorinated carboxylic esters and potassium O-ethyl dithiocarbonate. The scope and the mechanism of this reaction were investigated. The biological uses of the compounds obtained here were examined.
Nonlinear flight control design via sliding methods

Nonlinear inversion/sliding control techniques are applied to design a pitch axis control system for high-performance aircraft. The control objectives are to track pilot g commands while satisfying flying quality specifications. In the pitch axis problem, the dominant nonlinearities are the aerodynamic coefficients variation with angle of attack and saturation of the actuators position and rate response. Two design approaches are investigated; the first defines a single output to be controlled (pilot's normal acceleration) and coordinates the elevator and the flaperon as a single input. The nonminimum phase nature of the resulting input/output pair necessitates defining a modified output to avoid stability problems inherent in inversion methods. The second approach defines a two input/two output problem and directly incorporates the flying quality specifications into the output definition. These two methods are illustrated using a simulation model. The latter approach is shown to allow more freedom to avoid actuator saturation at high g commands.
Impact of the Duett sealing device on quality of life and hospitalization costs for coronary diagnostic and interventional procedures: Results from the Study of Economic and Quality of Life substudy of the SEAL trial.

Abstract Background The Simple and Effective Arterial Closure (SEAL) trial examined the safety and effectiveness of the Duett vascular sealing device (Vascular Solutions, Minneapolis, Minn) versus manual compression after diagnostic and interventional coronary procedures. We compared quality of life and initial hospitalization costs among patients treated with the Duett device versus manual compression. Methods Functional status was assessed with the Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) at 7 and 30 days after intervention. General health status was assessed with the Short Form (SF-36) at 30 days after intervention. Hospitalization costs were derived from the UB92 formulation of the hospital bill. Results There was a strong trend toward higher functional status in patients receiving treatment with the Duett device at 7 days both before ( P = .04) and after ( P = .08) adjustment for significant covariates. This difference was significant in the diagnostic group but not in the interventional group. No significant differences in quality of life between the Duett device and manual compression at 30 days were found. There was no significant difference in total hospitalization costs between treatment arms ( P = .91). For interventional patients, mean total in-hospital costs were $10,167 in the Duett group and $10,225 in the manual compression group ( P = .82). For diagnostic patients, mean hospitalization costs were $7784 and $7996 for the Duett device and manual compression groups, respectively ( P = .72). Trends toward reduced recovery/observation room costs with the Duett device ( P = .06) were found; this difference was significant in the diagnostic group ($198 vs $279, P = .02). Conclusions The Duett sealing device was associated with significantly higher functional status at 7 days after the procedure in addition to shortened time to hemostasis and ambulation, with no associated increase in cost. (Am Heart J 2001; 142:982-8.)
Sympathetic neural adaptations to exercise training in humans

Physiological adaptations to exercise training are well recognized and contribute importantly to health and fitness. Cardiovascular diseases, such as hypertension and heart failure, are often associated with elevated activity of the sympathetic nervous system. This review aims to provide comprehensive overview on the role of exercise training on muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) regulation in humans, with a focus on recent advances in at-risk populations. Collectively, these studies converge to demonstrate that aerobic exercise training reduces resting MSNA in populations at heightened cardiovascular risk, but do not appear to alter resting MSNA in healthy adults. We provide directions for future research which might address gaps in our knowledge regarding sympathoneural adaptations to exercise training.
The most critical path in a PERT network: A heuristic approach

Abstract The classical PERT approach uses a deterministic critical path to estimate the probability of completing a project by a given deadline. In general, such a path is not the ‘most critical’ path and does not provide the lowest probability of completion time. This paper studies the ‘most critical path’ problem and formulates it as an optimal path problem through a deterministic network with a two-attribute fractional objective function. A heuristic approach is developed for the optimal path problem which gives a solution to the most critical path problem. The illustrative examples and computational results demonstrate that the proposed procedure provides critical activities and estimates for the probabilities of completion time that are more accurate than those resulting from the classical PERT approach. Further, our computational experiments show that the proposed heuristic performs well in identifying the most critical paths.
Characterization of biomodified dentin matrices for potential preventive and reparative therapies

Biomodification of existing hard tissue structures, specifically tooth dentin, is an innovative approach proposed to improve the biomechanical and biochemical properties of tissue for potential preventive or reparative therapies. The objectives of the study were to systematically characterize dentin matrices biomodified by proanthocyanidin-rich grape seed extract (GSE) and glutaraldehyde (GD). Changes to the biochemistry and biomechanical properties were assessed by several assays to investigate the degree of interaction, biodegradation rates, proteoglycan interaction, and effect of collagen fibril orientation and environmental conditions on the tensile properties. The highest degree of agent-dentin interaction was observed with GSE, which exhibited the highest denaturation temperature, regardless of the agent concentration. Biodegradation rates decreased remarkably following biomodification of dentin matrices after 24h collagenase digestion. A significant decrease in the proteoglycan content of GSE-treated samples was observed using a micro-assay for glycosaminoglycans and histological electron microscopy, while no changes were observed for GD and the control. The tensile strength properties of GD-biomodified dentin matrices were affected by dentin tubule orientation, most likely due to the orientation of the collagen fibrils. Higher and/or increased stability of the tensile properties of GD- and GSE-treated samples were observed following exposure to collagenase and 8 months water storage. Biomodification of dentin matrices using chemical agents not only affects the collagen biochemistry, but also involves interaction with proteoglycans. Tissue biomodifiers interact differently with dentin matrices and may provide the tissue with enhanced preventive and restorative/reparative abilities.
On the sensitivity of H1 horizontal cells of the carp retina to glutamate, aspartate and their agonists

Abstract Threshold concentrations for L -glutamate, L -aspartate and their agonists, kainate, quisqualate and N-methyl- D,L -aspartate, were determined for horizontal cells of the intact carp retina and horizontal cells that were enzymatically isolated and maintained in culture. Our results indicate that uptake or other mechanisms decrease the apparent sensitivity of these cells in the intact retina to L -glutamate by 25–200 times. Our findings also suggest that L -glutamate is more likely a photoreceptor transmitter than L -aspartate.
RESPIRATION AND PROTEIN SYNTHESIS IN ESCHERICHIA COLI MEMBRANE-ENVELOPE FRAGMENTS VI. Solubilization and Characterization of the Electron Transport Chain

Membranes obtained from Escherichia coli have been solubilized with deoxycholate. The solubilized dehydrogenases and cytochromes are not sedimented at 105,000 g. These components readily penetrate the "included space" of Sepharose 4B (Pharmacia Fine Chemicals Inc., Uppsala, Sweden) and polyacrylamide gels and have been fractionated on the basis of molecular size. Solubilization destroys nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, reduced form (NADH) oxidase and D-lactate oxidase activities, but leaves an appreciable part of the original succinoxidase activity intact. Evidence for a succinate dehydrogenase-cytochrome b1 complex is given. Menadione added to the solubilized preparation does not elicit NADH oxidase activity nor stimulate the existing succinoxidase activity, but does provoke an active D-lactate oxidase activity. This D-lactate oxidase activity, however, does not use cytochromes and is not sensitive to cyanide.
The presence and near-shore transport of human fecal pollution in Lake Michigan beaches

The Great Lakes are a source of water for municipal, agricultural and industrial use, and support significant recreation, commercial and sport fishing industries. Every year millions of people visit the 500 plus recreational beaches in the Great Lakes. An increasing public health risk has been suggested with increased evidence of fecal contamination at the shoreline. To investigate the transport and fate of fecal pollution at Great Lakes beaches and the health risk associated with swimming at these beaches, the near-shore waters of Mt. Baldy Beach, Lake Michigan and Trail Creek, a tributary discharging into the lake were examined for fecal pollution indicators. A model of surf zone hydrodynamics coupled with a transport model with first-order inactivation of pollutant was used to understand the relative importance of different processes operating in the surf zone (e.g. physical versus biological processes). The Enterococcus human fecal pollution marker, which targets a putative virulence factor, the enterococcal surface protein (esp) in Enterococcus faecium, was detected in 2/28 samples (7%) from the tributaries draining into Lake Michigan and in 6/30 samples (20%) from Lake Michigan beaches. Preliminary analysis suggests that the majority of fecal indicator bacteria variation and water quality changes at the beaches can be explained by inputs from the influential stream and hydrometeorological conditions. Using modeling methods to predict impaired water quality may help reduce potential health threats to recreational visitors
Early Term Delivery and Health Care Utilization in the First Year of Life

Objective To assess health care utilization during the first year of life among early term-born infants. Study design We assessed health care utilization of 22 420 singleton term infants (37-42 weeks gestational age [GA]) without major birth defects, fetal growth restriction, or exposure to diabetes or hypertension in utero, delivered between 1998 and 2007 and continuously enrolled at Kaiser Permanente Northwest for 12 months after delivery. GA, duration of delivery hospitalization, and postdelivery rehospitalizations and sick/emergency room visits in the first year of life were obtained from electronic medical records. Logistic regression models were used to estimate associations between GA and number of hospitalizations and length of stay. Generalized linear models were used to estimate the adjusted mean number of sick/emergency visits. Results Overall, 20.9% of term infants were born early. Infants delivered vaginally at 37 weeks GA had a 2.2 greater odds (95% CI, 1.6-3.1) of staying 4 or more days compared with those born at 39-40 weeks GA. Similar association was found among infants delivered by cesarean delivery at 37 or 38 weeks GA. Infants born at 37 weeks GA had increased odds of being rehospitalized within 2 weeks of delivery (OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.9-3.6). The adjusted mean number of sick/emergency room visits was higher for infants born at 37 and 38 weeks GA than for those born at 39-40 weeks GA (8.1, 7.7, and 7.3, respectively; P Conclusions Early term-born infants had greater health care utilization during their entire first year of life than infants born at 39-40 weeks GA.
Dangerous Recuperations: Red Dawn, Rambo, and the New Decaturism

(1987). Dangerous Recuperations: Red Dawn, Rambo, and the New Decaturism. Journal of Popular Film and Television: Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 60-70.
Sub-domain decomposition methods and computational controls for multibody dynamical systems

This paper presents a concurrent methodology to simulate the dynamics of flexible multibody systems with a large number of degrees of freedom. A general class of open-loop structures is treated and a redundant coordinate formulation is adopted. A range space method is used in which the constraint forces are calculated using a preconditioned conjugate gradient method. By using a preconditioner motivated by the regular ordering of the directed graph of the structures, it is shown that the method is order N in the total number of coordinates of the system. The overall formulation has the advantage that it permits fine parallelization and does not rely on system topology to induce concurrency. It can be efficiently implemented on the present generation of parallel computers with a large number of processors. Validation of the method is presented via numerical simulations of space structures incorporating large number of flexible degrees of freedom.
The Influence of Provider Patient-Centeredness on Patients’ Decisions to Undergo Cancer Screening Surveillance Tests: An Analysis of the Health Information National Trends Survey

The current study uses the 2012 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS; N = 3,959) to investigate whether a patient-centered provider is more likely to discuss cancer surveillance options (PSA, mammograms, Pap tests) with patients and whether these types of conversations have any impact on having these tests performed. Results demonstrated that patient-centeredness was related to communication with patients about uncertainty with PSA testing. Additionally, discussion of patient choice was related to increased Pap testing, while discussion of uncertainty with PSA testing efficacy was related to increased PSA testing. Future research should strive to increase our understanding of antecedents to patient decision making.
Affine connection structure of the charged symplectic 2-form

It is shown that the charged symplectic form in Hamiltonian dynamics of classical charged particles in electromagnetic fields defines a generalized affine connection on an affine frame bundle associated with spacetime. Conversely, a generalized affine connection can be used to construct a symplectic 2-form if the associated linear connection is torsion-free and the antisymmetric part of theR 4* translational connection is locally derivable from a potential. Hamiltonian dynamics for classical charged particles in combined gravitational and electromagnetic fields can therefore be reformulated as aP(4)=O(1, 3)⊗R 4* geometric theory with phase space the affine cotangent bundleAT * M of spacetime. The sourcefree Maxwell equations are reformulated as a pair of geometrical conditions on the ℝ4* curvature that are exactly analogous to the source-free Einstein equations.
A Tetra-State Hopping Robot Driven by Shape Memory Alloy Spring

According to the characteristics of jumping locomotion, a solution of Tetra-state Hopping Robot (for short: THR) actuated by Shape Memory Alloy Spring (for short: SMAS) is presented in this paper. This article establishes a mechanical model of the jumping robot and analyzes the kinematics and the dynamics of the mechanical model. Lagrange method is applied to analyze the dynamics the mechanical model. Meanwhile, a preliminary explanation of the THR flipping phenomenon during the take-off and flight process is conducted from the perspective of momentum moment.
Replies to critics

I wish to begin by thanking my three ‘‘critics,’’ Ben Bradley, David Velleman, and Derk Pereboom, for their extremely thoughtful, generous, and insightful comments on my book. I won’t be able to address all of their points, but I’ll do my best to grapple with at least the main worries. My colleague and good friend, Paul Hoffman, died during the time of writing this piece; I would like to dedicate this reply to Paul.
Minoxidil Increases Aldosterone Metabolic Clearance in Hypertensive Patients

It has been shown that despite an effect of minoxidil to increase PRA, plasma levels of aldosterone do not change. We observed similar findings in seven hypertensive patients undergoing treatment with minoxidil; PRA activity increased markedly, whereas the plasma aldosterone concentration showed no consistent change. The aldosterone MCRs in these patients increased by 41% in response to minoxidil, from 1110 ± 91 to 1570 ± 180 (SEM) liters/day; this appeared to explain why plasma aldosterone levels did not increase in parallel with renin activity. Hepatic blood flow (estimated from the clearance of indocyanine green) in a group of patients receiving minoxidil was greater than that in an otherwise comparable group (P < 0.02). This increase in hepatic perfusion may, at least in part, have accounted for the increase in aldosterone MCR.
Theory, analysis, and interpretation of single-molecule force spectroscopy experiments

Dynamic force spectroscopy probes the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of single molecules and molecular assemblies. Here, we propose a simple procedure to extract kinetic information from such experiments. The cornerstone of our method is a transformation of the rupture-force histograms obtained at different force-loading rates into the force-dependent lifetimes measurable in constant-force experiments. To interpret the force-dependent lifetimes, we derive a generalization of Bell's formula that is formally exact within the framework of Kramers theory. This result complements the analytical expression for the lifetime that we derived previously for a class of model potentials. We illustrate our procedure by analyzing the nanopore unzipping of DNA hairpins and the unfolding of a protein attached by flexible linkers to an atomic force microscope. Our procedure to transform rupture-force histograms into the force-dependent lifetimes remains valid even when the molecular extension is a poor reaction coordinate and higher-dimensional free-energy surfaces must be considered. In this case the microscopic interpretation of the lifetimes becomes more challenging because the lifetimes can reveal richer, and even nonmonotonic, dependence on the force.
The synthesis and characterization of two new copper phosphonates: the one-dimensional [Cu(terpy)(HO3PCH2CH2PO3H)].4H2O and the molecular [{Cu(phen)(H2O)}2(O3PCH2CH2PO3)].9H2O (terpy = 2,2':6', 2 -terpyridine, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline)

Abstract The reaction of copper with 1,2-ethylene diphosphonic acid and 2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine and o-phenanthroline under hydrothermal conditions resulted in the one-dimensional [Cu(terpy)(HO3PCH2CH2PO3H)]·4H2O (1·4H2O) and the molecular species [{Cu(phen)(H2O)}2(O3PCH2CH2PO3)]·9H2O (2·9H2O), which were isolated by slow evaporation. Crystal data: (1·4H2O) C17H21CuN3O8P2, triclinic, P1; a=10.6468(6) A, b=14.2195(7) A, c=14.2906(7) A, α=73.466(1)°, β=89.020(1)°, γ=71.597(1)°, V=1961.7(2) A3, Z=4; (2·9H2O) C26H42Cu2N4O17P2, orthorhombic, Pna21; a=14.4018(6) A, b=11.9020(5) A, c=20.6049(8) A, V=3531.9(2) A3, Z=4.
On Radially Symmetric Simple Waves in Elasticity

In this paper I look for simple wave solutions to the equations of nonlinear elastodynamics. The main result shows that, under mild constitutive restrictions, every nontrivial radially symmetric simple wave must be of the form $$f(x,t) = s(|x|/(t + c))x$$ An explicit solution is then obtained in the special case of a linear material.
Effects of a variety of cytokines and inducing agents on vascular permeability factor mRNA levels in U937 cells.

Summary Vascular permeability factor (VPF) is an approximately 40-kDa disulfide-linked dimeric glycoprotein that is active in increasing blood vessel permeability, endothelial cell growth and angiogenesis. Little is known about VPF gene regulation. In this study, we investigated the effects of a variety of cytokines and inducing agents on VPF mRNA levels in the monocyte-like U937 cell line. Transforming growth factor-beta 1 caused a 1.8-fold increase in VPF mRNA levels after 4 hours, followed by a decline to basal levels by 18 hours. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, a potent inducer of the differentiation of U937 cells, caused a 12.5-fold increase in VPF mRNA levels at 24 hours, coinciding with the differentiation of these monocyte-like cells into macrophage-like cells.
JNK Regulates Expression and Autocrine Signaling of TGF-β1

TGF-beta1 can induce its own expression by an autoregulatory mechanism. In this issue of Molecular Cell, Ventura et al. (2004) show, using JNK-deficient fibroblasts, that JNK negatively regulates TGF-beta1 gene expression and, consequently, autocrine TGF-beta signaling. The results highlight the contributions of JNK signaling in the control of TGF-beta expression and signaling, and of autocrine TGF-beta signaling in the JNK-regulated changes in cell behavior.
Urceolaria spinicola n. sp., an Epizoic Ciliate (Peritrichida, Mobilina) of Sea‐Urchin Spines and Pedicellariae*

SYNOPSIS. Urceolaria spinicola n. sp. is described from the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis at Mt. Desert Island, Maine. In the summer of 1963, it was found in abundance on the host, especially on the short spines and pedicellariae of the circumoral region and on those surrounding the periproct. It is a harmless bacterial feeder. Characteristic features are its low cylindrical form and H-shaped macro-nucleus, and the presence of about 25 relatively long cirri on the margin of the adhesive disc.