cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hyperthyroidism in children under five years of age

Abstract 1. 1. Four cases of exophthalmic goiter in children under five years of age are reported. All patients recovered, three after thyroidectomy and one after conservative therapy. 2. 2. Hyperthyroidism in children is no different from exophthalmic goiter in the adult and thyroidectomy is the treatment of choice. 3. 3. If it is decided to treat a mild or early case of hyperthyroidism conservatively, it is important to have accurate measurements of the extent of exophthalmos and to advise prompt thyroidectomy if the exophthalmos progresses. 4. 4. Thyroidectomy presents no greater hazard in a child than in an adult. No fatalities have occurred in the last forty thyroidectomies which have been performed for hyperthyroidism in children under fourteen years of age. 5. 5. Since children are excellent operative risks, one-stage thyroidectomy can usually be performed without danger.
Predictive models for worsening prognosis in potential candidates for active surveillance of presumed low-risk prostate cancer

Low-risk prostate cancer patients clinically eligible for active surveillance can also be managed surgically. We evaluated the pathologic outcomes for this cohort that was treated by radical prostatectomy and devised nomograms to predict patients at risk of upgrading and/or upstaging. Seven hundred and fifty patients treated by radical prostatectomy from Jan 2005 to the present fulfilled conventional active surveillance criteria and formed the study cohort. Preoperative data on standard clinicopathologic parameters were available. The radical prostatectomy specimens were graded and staged, and any upgrading to Gleason sum >6 or upstaging to ≥pT3 (‘worsening prognosis’) were noted. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to develop predictive nomograms. Of the 750 patients, 303 (40.4%) patients were either upgraded or upstaged. Multivariable analysis found that preoperative PSA, number of positive cores, and prostate volume were significantly predictive of worsening prognosis and formed the nomogram criteria. Of patients deemed eligible for active surveillance based on conventional criteria, 40.4% have worse prognostic factors after radical prostatectomy. Current active surveillance criteria may be too relaxed, and the use of nomograms which we have devised, may aid in counseling primary prostate cancer patients considering active surveillance as their therapy of choice.
Nanocomposites: stiffer by design.

The full potential of nanoparticles in imparting new functionalities in polymer nanocomposites remains largely untapped. A widely applicable, two-solvent processing approach provides a hierarchical structure, affording unparalleled composite performance enhancement.
Desert bird associations with broad-scale boundary length: applications in avian conservation

Summary 1. Current understanding regarding the effects of boundaries on bird communities has originated largely from studies of forest-non-forest boundaries in mesic systems. To assess whether broad-scale boundary length can affect bird community structure in deserts, and to identify patterns and predictors of species' associations useful in avian conservation, we studied relations between birds and boundary-length variables in Chihuahuan Desert landscapes. Operationally, a boundary was the border between two adjoining land covers, and broad-scale boundary length was the total length of such borders in a large area. 2. Within 2-km radius areas, we measured six boundary-length variables. We analysed bird boundary relations for 26 species, tested for assemblage-level patterns in species' associations with boundary-length variables, and assessed whether body size, dispersal ability and cowbird-host status were correlates of these associations. 3. The abundances or occurrences of a significant majority of species were associated with boundary length variables, and similar numbers of species were related positively and negatively to boundary length variables. 4. Disproportionately small numbers of species were correlated with total boundary length, land-cover boundary length and shrubland-grassland boundary length (variables responsible for large proportions of boundary length). Disproportionately large numbers of species were correlated with roadside boundary length and riparian vegetation-grassland boundary length (variables responsible for small proportions of boundary length). Roadside boundary length was associated (positively and negatively) with the most species. 5. Species' associations with boundary-length variables were not correlated with body size, dispersal ability or cowbird-host status. 6. Synthesis and applications. For the species we studied, conservationists can use the regressions we report as working models to anticipate influences of boundary-length changes on bird abundance and occurrence, and to assess avifaunal composition for areas under consideration for protection. Boundary length variables associated with a disproportionate or large number of species can be used as foci for landscape management. Assessing the underlying causes of bird-boundary relations may improve the prediction accuracy of associated models. We therefore advocate local- and broad-scale manipulative experiments involving the boundary types with which species were correlated, as indicated by the regressions.
The risk of adverse drug events and hospital-related morbidity and mortality among older adults with potentially inappropriate medication use.

Abstract Background: Inappropriate medication prescribing is a significant problem among older adults that may contribute to increased morbidity and mortality as well as increased costs of care. The development of specific lists of medications that are considered potentially inappropriate for older adults, such as the Beers criteria (BC), make it relatively easy to study prescribing practices in large numbers of patients. Objective: The goal of this study was to determine how frequently adverse drug events (ADEs) in the acute care setting are related to BC medications and to determine if BC medication prescribing is significantly associated with the occurrence of ADEs and other negative outcomes in older hospitalized adults. Methods: This was a retrospective review of patients aged ≥75 years admitted to 2 adult internal medicine services over 18 months (March 2000–August 2001). Data regarding general demographic and clinical information were collected; this information included place of residence before admission and at discharge; medications at admission, during the hospital stay, and at discharge; ADEs; length of stay; and in-hospital mortality Patient medical records were used to determine the occurrence of ADEs. Results: A total of 389 patients (68.9% female; mean age, ∼79 years) were included. Of these 389 eligible patients, 107 (27.5%) were prescribed a total of 116 BC medications, and 124 (31.9%) experienced a total of 131 ADEs. Only 9.2% (12/131) of the ADEs were attributed to medications listed among the BC. After controlling for covariates, prescription of a BC medication was not significantly associated with experiencing an ADE (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.51; 95% CI, 0.98–2.35; P = 0.064), length of stay (adjusted OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.64-1.63; P = 0.91), discharge to higher levels of care (adjusted OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 0.82–2.34; P = 0.22), or in-hospital mortality (adjusted OR, 1.49; 95% CI, 0.77–2.92; P = 0.24). Conclusions: Interventions targeted specifically at BC medications would have seemingly done little to change the risk of ADEs in this population. Interventions that are more comprehensive than the BC are necessary to reduce the risk of ADEs and the associated morbidity and mortality in acute care of the elderly.
Genetic factors influencing morphogenesis and growth of sutures and synchondroses in the craniofacial complex

This review provides a wide-ranging overview of what is known about the development and growth of intramembranous bones from the cranial and facial sutures, of cartilage and endochondral bones from the cranial base synchondroses. After a concise introduction to embryonic and fetal craniofacial development, and postnatal growth, the role of the cranial base synchondroses, and cranial and facial sutures in these processes is described. This description is followed by a brief discussion of the future directions for research on craniofacial growth and development.
Imperfectly constrained planer impacts — a coefficient-of-restitution model

Abstract A simple coefficient-of-restitution model is proposed for the impact of a rigid body, constrained by an imperfect pin support, with a rigid barrier. The collision process is represented by two phases. In the first phase, the rigid body impacts the barrier with negligible influence from the support. The next phase is characterized by an impact between the rigid body and the imperfect pin support. This second phase commences when the impact with the barrier ceases. Both moving and stationary barriers are considered. For a moving barrier, energy can be added to the rigid body due to the work done by the friction force exerted by the moving barrier. Such a result is not predicted with the usual constrained impact formulation. Impact with a stationary barrier is characterized by continuous slip, slip reversal, or slip followed by stick. A ‘constrained’ coefficient of restitution is presented for these partially-constrained impacts.
Exploring Magnetic Properties of Ultrathin Epitaxial Magnetic Structures Using Magneto-Optical Techniques

We describe magneto-optic Kerr effect studies of ultrathin Fe and Ni films on single crystal surfaces of Ag and Cu. Monolayer Fe films on Ag(100) exhibit the theoretically predicted spin-orbit anisotropy, but also yield some interesting discrepancies between behavior predicted by Kerr effect and by spin-polarized photoemission experiments. Layer-dependent studies of the magnetic moment of Ni on Ag(111) and Ag(100) suggest sp-d hybridization effects quench the first layer magnetic moment on Ag(111) but not on Ag(100). Temperature dependent studies of thin film magnetization obtained from Kerr effect measurements yield thickness dependent Curie temperatures, and critical exponents for several thin film systems.
Effects of dopant clustering in cubic zirconia stabilized by yttria and scandia from molecular dynamics

Abstract The stability of the fast ion conducting cubic phase of zirconia has been investigated using atomistic molecular dynamics to determine the effect of clustering of dopant ions for zirconia containing 11 mol% of yttria or scandia stabilizing additive. Large clusters of dopant ions entrap vacancies within the dopant cluster, which increases the average oxygen coordination of the zirconium ions. Not only does this reduce the number of vacancies available for ionic conduction, but it also destabilizes the cubic phase, causing a significant reduction in ionic conductivity as a whole. Using scandia as a stabilizing additive provides better conductivity than yttria, despite the fact that yttria causes a lower coordination for zirconium ions. Cationic migration in the cubic phase occurs too slowly to be captured in molecular dynamics simulations; instead, energy calculations are made, which predict that yttrium dopants exhibit stronger mutually repulsive interactions than scandium ions, which impede the energetically favorable phase segregation process. As a result, aging of yttria stabilized zirconia will proceed at a slower rate than scandia stabilized zirconia.
Combined representation method for use in band-structure calculations: Application to highly compressed hydrogen

A representation is described whose basis functions combine the important physical aspects of a finite set of plane waves with those of a set of Bloch tight-binding functions. The chosen combination has a particularly simple dependence on the wave vector $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{k}}$ within the Brillouin zone, and its use in reducing the standard oneelectron band-structure problem to the usual secular equation has the advantage that the lattice sums involved in the calculation of the matrix elements are actually independent of $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{k}}$. For systems with complicated crystal structures, for which the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker, augmented-plane-wave, and orthogonalized-plane-wave methods are difficult to use, the present method leads to results with satisfactory accuracy and convergence. It is applied here to the case of compressed molecular hydrogen taken in a $\mathrm{Pa}3$ ($\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{nitrogen}$) structure for various densities but with mean interproton distance held fixed. The bands show a marked free-electron character above 5 to 6 times the normal density, and the overall energy gap is found to vanish at 9.15 times normal density. Within the approximations made, this represents an upper bound for the molecular density in the transition to the metallic state from an $\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{nitrogen}$ structure.
Limit Cycles in Dynamic Adhesion and Friction Processes: A Discussion

Simple equations exist relating adhesion and friction forces. These apply to simple attachment-detachment processes and steady-state (smooth) sliding conditions. However, in the case of more complex, such as polymer, surfaces both the adhesion and friction can be very complex, irreversible, and nonlinear, exhibiting stringing and tack in the former and stick-slip sliding in the latter. We explore possible relationships between such nonlinear adhesion and friction processes. Based on recent experiments we find that certain types of “limit cycles,” relating the (normal) adhesion and (lateral) friction forces, F ⊥ and F ∥, to the relative velocities, V ⊥ and V ∥, of the surfaces during an attachment-detachment process or stick-slip sliding, bear a very similar resemblance to each other. We briefly discuss the theoretical and practical implications of describing such dynamic processes in terms of limit cycles.
Why do people with rheumatoid arthritis still die prematurely

Premature death has been long recognised as a manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Three lines of evidence can explain why patients with RA die prematurely and why the mortality gap between patients with RA and the general population appears to widening. First, patients with RA have a higher risk of several serious comorbid conditions and they tend to experience worse outcomes after the occurrence of these illnesses. Second, patients with RA do not appear to receive optimal primary or secondary preventive care. And third, the systemic inflammation and immune dysfunction associated with RA appears to promote and accelerate comorbidity and mortality. This paper provides a brief summary and interpretation of the data underlying these findings. Together, these results provide a compelling argument in favour of a focused research programme aimed specifically at eliminating premature death in patients with RA.
Control and small-signal analysis of battery and supercapacitor hybrid energy storage systems

This paper is devoted to control strategies for an active battery and supercapacitor hybrid energy storage system using the master-slave control scheme, where the charging and discharging currents of the supercapacitor are dependent on that of battery and the current sharing ratio depends upon the load conditions. A small-signal model is proposed, which considers the variations in the currents of individual energy storage devices and the DC bus voltage as state variables, the variations in the power converter duty cycles as control variables, the variations in the voltages of battery and supercapacitor and the load current as external disturbances. This paper also studies the effects of the variations in the controller and filter parameters on system performance using frequency-domain analysis. Simulation results verify the proposed control strategies and the effects on the final states of the energy storage devices and also validate frequency-domain analysis.
91: Cost-effectiveness of antenatal steroids for preterm labor at 34 weeks

WEEKS ANJALI KAIMAL, SARAH LITTLE, BRIAN SHAFFER, YVONNE CHENG, MARYA ZLATNIK, AARON CAUGHEY, University of California, San Francisco, Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, San Francisco, California, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Boston, Massachusetts OBJECTIVE: To investigate the cost-effectiveness of administering steroids with or without tocolysis for women with preterm labor presenting at 34 weeks gestation STUDY DESIGN: A decision analytic model comparing three different strategies for managing women presenting at 34 weeks with preterm labor with documented cervical change was designed: (1) administration of tocolysis and steroids, (2) administration of steroids without tocolysis, (3) expectant management without administration of steroids or tocolysis. Baseline assumptions were derived from the literature and included an incidence of RDS at 34 weeks of 13.5%, a 40% reduction in likelihood of delivery within 48 hours with administration of tocolysis, and a 33% reduction in RDS with a 48 hour course of steroids. One-way and multi-way sensitivity analyses were conducted to examine the robustness of the findings. RESULTS: Administration of steroids without tocolysis was the most cost-effective strategy at $46,512 per neonatal life year saved. Steroids with tocolysis was also marginally cost effective at $94,368 per life year saved. This finding was sensitive to variation in the cost of maternal hospitalization and the likelihood of delivery within 48 hours. In number needed to treat analysis, 36 women would have to be treated with tocolysis and steroids or 63 patients would have to be treated with steroids alone to prevent one case of RDS. CONCLUSION: For women presenting with preterm labor at 34 weeks, steroid administration reduces neonatal morbidity, and is cost effective. Hospitalization with tocolysis and steroid treatment is cost effective for those at highest risk of delivery; for those at intermediate risk, steroid administration without tocolysis is the optimal strategy.
Correlation Between Surface Chemistry and Electrocatalytic Properties of Monodisperse PtxNi1‐x Nanoparticles

Monodisperse and homogeneous Pt{sub x}Ni{sub 1-x} alloy nanoparticles of various compositions are synthesized via an organic solution approach in order to reveal the correlation between surface chemistry and their electrocatalytic properties. Atomic-level microscopic analysis of the compositional profile and modeling of nanoparticle structure are combined to follow the dependence of Ni dissolution on the initial alloy composition and formation of the Pt-skeleton nanostructures. The developed approach and acquired knowledge about surface structure-property correlation can be further generalized and applied towards the design of advanced functional nanomaterials.
Mining Sensor Streams for Discovering Human Activity Patterns over Time

In recent years, new emerging application domains have introduced new constraints and methods in data mining field. One of such application domains is activity discovery from sensor data. Activity discovery and recognition plays an important role in a wide range of applications from assisted living to security and surveillance. Most of the current approaches for activity discovery assume a static model of the activities and ignore the problem of mining and discovering activities from a data stream over time. Inspired by the unique requirements of activity discovery application domain, in this paper we propose a new stream mining method for finding sequential patterns over time from streaming non-transaction data using multiple time granularities. Our algorithm is able to find sequential patterns, even if the patterns exhibit discontinuities (interruptions) or variations in the sequence order. Our algorithm also addresses the problem of dealing with rare events across space and over time. We validate the results of our algorithms using data collected from two different smart apartments.
Decorrelated state estimation for distributed tracking of interacting targets in cluttered environments

This paper develops a process to construct decorrelated state estimates when tracking in cluttered environments using a distributed fusion architecture. This construction removes correlation with previous state estimates from the current updates in order to use the updates as measurements in the Kalman filter at the global processor. The effects of correlation with other interacting targets are also investigated for multiple target tracking. The algorithm to construct the decorrelated sequences is presented and applied on a particular distributed architecture where each processor receives measurements from only one sensor.
Perceptions of Professionalism: Interior Design Practitioners Working for the Top 100 Firms

A necessary gauge of a profession is its members' commitment to the components of a profession. This study examined interior design practitioners' perceptions of selected components. Interior designers employed by the top 100 firms identified in Interior Design magazine were surveyed about their perceptions of accreditation of undergraduate programs, state licensing, the NCIDQ examination, research and graduate education. Ninety-four (94) responses representing 34 firms were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, and mean scores. Spearman rho correlation coefficients were calculated to determine relationships and Horowitz's categorizations and descriptions of coefficient values were used for summarizing the Spearman correlation coefficients. In general, practitioners perceived an advantage of most components of a profession for interior design. Graduate education was the one professional component they did not view as important or advantageous as the other four. Practitioners might consider increased involvement in the various components interior design has developed to meet the requirements of a profession and acquire additional credentials for themselves. Educators and the professional organizations must work more diligently to help practitioners understand the importance of graduate education and its relevance to the continuing and successful growth of the profession.
Associations of general religiousness and specific religious beliefs with coping appraisals in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Are specific religious beliefs related to interpretations of stressful events and available coping resources? The present study addressed this by assessing appraisals, general religiousness, and two specific beliefs—verticality (deity-centered vs. person-focused approach to religion) and God image—in 63 Christian and Jewish undergraduates coping with the 2005 hurricane season. Primary appraisals (interpretation of the stressor as a challenge, threat, loss, and benefit) and secondary appraisals (perception of whether self, others, and God have control over the stressor) were related to religion. By controlling for general religiousness, unique associations of specific beliefs with appraisals were identified. General religiousness was positively associated with interpreting hurricane-related events as a loss for the Christian participants and as a benefit for the Jewish participants. For both groups, general religiousness and God image were related positively to perception that God was in control, and verti...
Deafferentation‐induced terminal field expansion of myelinated saphenous afferents in the adult rat dorsal horn and the nucleus gracilis following pronase injection of the sciatic nerve

We have previously demonstrated sprouting of small diameter saphenous afferents, labelled with wheat germ agglutinin conjugated with horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) and (HRP), into the sciatic territory of the adult rat superficial dorsal horn follwing destruction of sciatic afferents by injection of the sciatic nerve with pronase (a combination of proteolytic enzymes). In the present experiments, we examined the response of myelinated saphenous axons, which terminate in lamina I and the deep dorsal horn (laminae III–V) under the same conditions, with the tracer B subunit of cholera toxin conjugated to HRP (B-HRP) which specifically labels myelinated primary afferents when injected into a peripheral somatic nerve. We also examined changes in the nucleus gracilis, another site of sciatic degeneration and a target of saphenous afferents. Four months after injection of the pronase, the area of label determined by measurement of the width of the saphenous territory in lamina III was expanded by 24% on the pronase side. Since there was also expansion throughout the deep dorsal horn, the area measured by tracing the labelled region in transverse sections was actually twice that of the control side, and the intensity of labelling within the traced area increased by 18%. There was no change in grey matter area due to the lesion. The traced area of labelling in the nuleus gracilis increased by 40%, and increased in intensity by 17%. The substantia gelatinosa is not normally supplied by B-HRP-labelled afferents, and there was no expansion of these sprouted saphenous afferents into the gelationosa. These results indicate that myelinated afferents can sprout as vigorously in lamina I and the deep dorsal horn as the small diameter afferents do in the substantia gelatinosa; that there is no invasion of the substantia gelatinosa by the myelinated afferents at least as long as the small diameter afferents also have the opportunity to sprout; and that primary afferents have the potential to sprout at more than one site of termination, i.e., both the dorsal horn and the dorsal column nuclei.
A tale of two pressures: a case of pseudo-prosthetic mitral valve stenosis.

We present a case of an 83-year-old female with past medical history of rheumatic fever associated mitral stenosis for which she underwent mitral commissurotomy 25 years prior to presentation. Subsequently, she underwent coronary artery bypass grafting and mitral valve replacement with a bio-prosthetic valve 8 years prior to presentation. Presently, she started experiencing worsening dyspnea and heart failure symptoms. Echocardiography showed mildly reduced left ventricular ejection fraction with severe aortic stenosis and pulmonary hypertension. The bioprosthetic mitral valve was functioning normally. We performed right and left heart catheterization for evaluation. Peak aortic gradient was 50 mm Hg with a mean gradient of 39 mm Hg. Aortic valve area was calculated to be 0.31 cm2. However, simultaneous measurement of left ventricular and wedge pressures showed a significant gradient of 11 mm Hg across the mitral valve with a calculated mitral valve area of 0.4 cm2. Because of discordant information between echocardiographic and hemodynamic data, we proceeded with trans-septal puncture to directly measure left atrial pressures. Simultaneous left atrial and left ventricular pressure measurement demonstrated a mean gradient of 4 mm Hg across the mitral valve with an area calculated at 1.9 cm2. We review the tracings in detail and discuss the pitfalls of using pulmonary capillary wedge pressure as a surrogate for left atrial pressure. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Integrating operational specification and performance modeling

There are two important early stages in the design of complex systems: modeling of the system (operational) specification, and modeling of the system performance. A link between operation specification and performance modeling via VHDL (VHSIC hardware description language) is proposed, and it is shown by an example how the models can be made to interact, yielding a synergy leading to design efficiency and accuracy. The usefulness of such a link is justified by an example. >
Social interaction and partner familiarity differentially alter voluntary ethanol intake in adolescent male and female rats.

Alcohol readily facilitates social interactions and this effect plays an important role in adolescent drinking behaviors. The ability of social interaction to alter behaviors in response to alcohol in adolescent animals has been assessed using the demonstratoreobserver paradigm. The demonstrator is exposed to ethanol and the observer is tested for changes in behaviors in response to ethanol after social interaction between the dyad. The present experiment expanded on previous work to investigate the effects of different types of social interaction on subsequent voluntary ethanol consumption in adolescent male and female rats. Specifically, voluntary ethanol intake was assessed in adolescent observers after social interaction with an alcohol-free or -intoxicated same-sex familiar cage-mate or an age-matched unfamiliar conspecific. Demonstrators were intragastrically administered water or 1.5 g/kg ethanol and allowed to socially interact with observers for 30 min after a 1-h social isolation period. Subsequently, observers were allowed voluntary access to ethanol using a two-bottle choice paradigm overnight for 13 h. Male and female observers that interacted with an alcohol-intoxicated familiar cagemate consumed significantly more ethanol relative to their alcohol-free counterparts. However, adolescent male observers that socially interacted with an alcohol-intoxicated, age-matched unfamiliar conspecific consumed significantly less ethanol than controls. The opposite effect was observed in adolescent female observers. The present results are consistent and extend previous work in support of the idea that exposure to the demonstratoreobserver paradigm alters voluntary ethanol intake in a sex- and familiarity-dependent manner. Partner familiarity can induce elevated or reduced ethanol consumption in males. However, females appear to be more sensitive to the elevating effects of social
Economic Service Quotas

Consider the problem of establishing a service quota that sets the maximum number of items, entities, or people that should be scheduled for service during a particular period. Service is performed by a multiserver system using a first-come, first-serve discipline. If the number of customers seeking service is less than or equal to the quota, then they are all scheduled for service; otherwise, the quota is serviced, and remaining customers are delayed. Some delayed customers may leave the system before receiving service. Determination of an economic service quota requires the trade-off of possible overtime cost of scheduling too many customers for service in the period and the postponement cost of scheduling too few. A Markov chain analysis is used to develop a distribution for the number of customers postponed. Simulation is needed to estimate the expected total overtime given a fixed number of parallel servers. This method permits the estimation of the expected total cost of using the service quota poli...
Cannulation time is a more accurate measure of cannulation difficulty in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography than the number of attempts

Background: Cannulation of the common bile duct (CBD) is the initial and sometime challenging step in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedure. Endoscopists often use cannulation attempts and cannulation time to grade cannulation difficulty, but a standard system has yet to be established. The objective of this study was to compare cannulation times with numbers of cannulation attempts, as measures of cannulation difficulty. Methods: We conducted a prospective study in a tertiary referral center, enrolling 58 patients who were undergoing ERCP for a variety of indications. Cannulation time and the number of cannulation attempts were recorded for each patient. A subset of 14 ERCPs had two observers assessing attempts at cannulation. Cannulation time, number of attempts and inter-observer variability in assessment of attempts were compared and studied. Results: The degree of agreement between two the methods (cannulation times and number of cannulation attempts) was unacceptable. There were considerable discrepancies between attempt tallies from two observers but the mean difference was statistically insignificant. Conclusion: The grade of cannulation difficulty for a given ERCP procedure may differ when different methods are used (total cannulation time vs number of attempts); thus, grading by different methods should not be used interchangeably. Cannulation time is a more objective and more accurate assessment tool for grading cannulation difficulty than the number of attempts to cannulate the papilla.
Data Analysis using G/SPLINES

G/SPLINES is an algorithm for building functional models of data. It uses genetic search to discover combinations of basis functions which are then used to build a least-squares regression model. Because it produces a population of models which evolve over time rather than a single model, it allows analysis not possible with other regression-based approaches.
A Bayesian Approach for Quantifying Trace Amounts of Antibody Aggregates by Sedimentation Velocity Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Sedimentation velocity analytical ultracentrifugation (SV-AUC) has become an important tool for the characterization of the purity of protein therapeutics. The work presented here addresses a need for methods orthogonal to size-exclusion chromatography for ensuring the reliable quantitation of immunogenic oligomers, for example, in antibody preparations. Currently the most commonly used approach for SV-AUC analysis is the diffusion-deconvoluted sedimentation coefficient distribution c(s) method, previously developed by us as a general purpose technique and implemented in the software SEDFIT. In both practical and theoretical studies, different groups have reported a sensitivity of c(s) for trace oligomeric fractions well below the 1% level. In the present work we present a variant of c(s) designed for the purpose of trace detection, with customized Bayesian regularization. The original c(s) method relies on maximum entropy regularization providing the most parsimonious distribution consistent with the data. In the present paper, we use computer simulations of an antibody system as example to demonstrate that the standard maximum entropy regularization, due to its design, leads to a theoretical lower limit for the detection of oligomeric traces and a consistent underestimate of the trace populations by ∼0.1% (dependent on the level of regularization). This can be overcome with a recently developed Bayesian extension of c(s) (Brown et al., Biomacromolecules, 8:2011–2024, 2007), utilizing the known regions of sedimentation coefficients for the monomer and oligomers of interest as prior expectation for the peak positions in the distribution. We show that this leads to more clearly identifiable and consistent peaks and lower theoretical limits of quantization by approximately an order of magnitude for some experimental conditions. Implications for the experimental design of SV-AUC and practical detection limits are discussed.
Prostaglandin derivatives inhibit the growth of malarial parasites in mice

New prostaglandin oligomeric derivatives, termed MR-256 and MR-356, were found to inhibit the growth of murine malarial parasites, P. chabaudi and P. vinckei, within red blood cells in vivo. When mice were infected with P. chabaudi, both MR-256 and MR-356 suppressed the growth of parasites, but MR-356 had a greater inhibitory effect than MR-256. With P. vinckei, MR-356 also inhibited the growth of parasites, and improved the survival rate. The effect of MR-256 was much less. A possible inhibitory mechanism of action of these drugs is discussed.
A re-evaluation of the ability of thiopental to identify cerebrospinal fluid in epidural catheter aspirate

Abstract Study Objective: Sodium thiopental has been used to determine whether fluid aspirated from an epidural catheter is previously injected local anesthetic or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of this test in distinguishing opioids from CSF. Design: in vitro study. Setting: Laboratory of a university hospital. Measurements and Main Results: Three in vitro studies were performed. The first study tested for precipitation when thiopental was mixed with several commonly used epidural medications. Then, thiopental was mixed in combinations of opioids with local anesthetics to see if the opioid might prevent the precipitation of the local anesthetics. Finally, lidocaine was serially diluted and precipitation with thiopental was assessed. It was found that certain concentrations of opioids as well as normal saline do not precipitate with thiopental. In addition, the ratio of opioids to local anesthetic of 10:1 prevented precipitation when thiopental was added. Local anesthetics combined with cerebrospinal fluid in a 1:10 ratio produced a precipitate on mixing with thiopental. Conclusions: Use of thiopental to differentiate opioids from cerebrospinal fluid is unreliable. In addition, in some simulated situations, opioids may mask the presence of local anesthetic.
Simulated Radar imagery of an ocean "Spiral Eddy"

Ocean submesoscale features appear to be widespread in the surface mixed layer and thus may be an important link in the energy pathway from large to small scales. An example is the "spiral eddy," for which several theories have been proposed. High-resolution radar imagery should be useful in testing these theories, but there have as yet been no simulations of radar imagery from first principles. As a step in this direction, we developed a capability to simulate imagery using a full-spectral calculation that includes the effects of both wave-current interaction and wave damping due to a surface film. A particular model of a spiral eddy is used to specify the surface velocity field and film distribution. Imagery is then simulated for a range of radar frequencies, wind speeds, initial film pressures, and relative radar view directions. For winds of 3-8 m/s and an initial film pressure of 0.5 mN/m, imagery for shorter radar wavelengths (X- and C-band) is dominated by the effects of film damping. For longer wavelengths (L- and P-band) wave-current interactions and film damping are of comparable magnitude; but for higher initial film pressures, the L- and P-band images also become dominated by film damping. L-band imagery, in particular, is highly sensitive to the initial value of film pressure, and such a result may have implications for determining properties of seawater films. Overall, the radar simulations produce surface patterns having characteristics that resemble radar imagery of real ocean spiral eddies.
Linear High-Resolution BioMEMS Force Sensors With Large Measurement Range

We present a set of displacement-based high-resolution (50 pN) micromechanical force sensors with a large force measurement range (1 μN). Typically, force sensors that have high resolution have a limited force measurement range and vice versa. The force sensors presented here overcome this limitation and, in addition, have a highly linear force-displacement response. The sensors (≈3 mm × 4 mm × 150 m)are composed of a series of flexible beams attached to a rigid probe that deform when subjected to an external force. The force is obtained by optically measuring the displacement of the probe with respect to a fixed reference beam. The force sensors are fabricated using a simple two-mask process that allows for their stiffness to be varied over a wide range. Furthermore, we have developed a novel scheme to avoid capillary forces during the immersion and removal of these sensors from aqueous environments, which makes them highly suited for biological studies. We illustrate the capability and versatility of these sensors by measuring the in vivo force-deformation response of axons in Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly).
Main Effects Do Not Discrimination Make

Although several ideas presented by Landy (2008) warrant further consideration, we must take issue with the contention that evidence of small main effects suggests that stereotypes do not have an impact on evaluative personnel decisions. Specifically, Landy suggests that the effect sizes for race and gender differences in studies examining performance evaluations conducted in work settings are quite small and that this is evidence for stereotypes having a relatively small impact on real-world settings. Based on over 20 years of research that has examined the impact of stereotype endorsement on evaluative workplace outcomes (i.e., performance ratings), we must raise issue with this viewpoint. We suspect that such meager effects sizes
Carbon Dioxide 15-μm Band Cooling Rates in the Upper Middle Atmosphere Calculated by Curtis Matrix Interpolation

Abstract A new algorithm for calculating CO2 15-μm band cooling rate is suggested following a similar idea proposed by Fels and Schwarzkopf in 1981. Since the Curtis matrix is more useful in cooling rate calculations, we show in this paper that it is possible to calculate the Curtis matrix by direct interpolation with precomputed Curtis matrices. The algorithm is applied to the calculation of the CO2 15-μm band cooling rate in the upper-middle atmosphere (64–106 km). The stored Curtis matrices are off-line computed by escape functions with an appropriate treatment of the nearby layer calculations. These escape functions are calculated by line-by-line integrations. With precomputed Curtis Matrices an accurate atmospheric cooling rate by CO2 can be calculated more objectively than with transmission functions. A multi-energy-level model to treat the non-LTE problem in this region is also derived systematically. It is shown that when vibration–vibration (V–V) transitions are neglected cooling rate calculation...
Measurement of Priority Schedules in the Acquisition of Durable Appliances

The present paper attempts to substantiate the hypothesis that there exists a continuum on which most of the existing and known durable products can be placed in some fashion of a priority system both at the aggregate and at life cycle subgroup levels. The notion of a product continuum is not a new one; it has been expressed by the essence of economic behavior namely satisfying unlimited wants with limited resources. However, such notion though expressed, has not been systematically tested and analyzed, at least with respect to durable goods.
Renaissance for the transsexual: a new birth certificate.

The twentieth century has seen tremendous advances in medicine. In many instances collaborative efforts with law are needed for the maximum implementation of these. Compulsory vaccination is an example, for the applicable public health statutes designed to eliminate smallpox required a United States Supreme Court decision to establish their validity. The area of organ transplants with its attendant complicated problems concerning the moment of death, informed consent, and the right to the deceased's body is another medical field fraught with legal problems. The list is long. Added recently is concern over obtaining a new birth certificate for the transsexual who has undergone surgery to change or reassign his sex, a certificate which will reflect this change.
Isolation of L Forms of Bartonella bacilliformis

SummaryThree strains of Bartonella bacilliformis were induced to transform to the L form by cultivation on solid medium containing penicillin, 1,000 U/ml. The L colonies were successfully subcultured from each of the three strains. The bacterial form of one strain was recovered after five serial subcultures of the L form.
The Catholic Church and the Polish State, 1935–1939

From the beginning of their association in the tenth century, the Roman Catholic Church and the Polish state have experienced a complex and intimate relationship. The Church served as the focal point for the continuance of Polish national and political as well as spiritual life when the state was threatened and finally destroyed in the eighteenth century. The reemergence of an independent Poland in 1919 provided the Church with new op portunities for expanding its influence over Polish life. Never theless, ecclesiastical leaders initially eschewed direct involve ment in Polish politics for fear of endangering the prominent position of the Church in the country. But the death of Marshal Jozef Pilsudski in May 1935 produced changes in nearly every facet of Polish political life, and elements both within the ruling camp and in opposition to it reassessed and sought to reassert their role in the country's polity. While the Church continued to avoid functioning as an organized political movement, it played an increasingly active part in Polish politics during the final years before World War II. Although its programs were never totally realized, the Catholic Church registered more success than most other interest groups in solidifying and ex tending its influence in the community.1 The political activities of the Church were nearly all deter mined by its desired ends. Catholic policy was predicated upon a deep belief in the need for maintaining a stable political system, free from internal shocks and disorder. Consequently, the Church reacted vigorously against even the most remote threats to the existing regime, and all socially progressive parties, from liberal to Communist, felt the barbed sting of Catholic attacks.
Fatigue of Cord—Rubber Composites: II. Strain-Based Failure Criteria

Abstract Fatigue failure mechanisms under low-frequency loading and their dependence on the strain properties were assessed for the rubber matrix composite of bias aircraft tire carcass reinforced by nylon cords as well as two model rubber composites reinforced by steel wire cables. Under cyclic tension at constant stress amplitude, these angle-plied, cord—rubber composite laminates exhibited localized damage in the form of cord—matrix debonding, matrix cracking, and delamination. The process of fatigue damage accumulation in the cord—rubber composite laminate was accompanied by a steady increase of cyclic strain (dynamic creep) and moderate temperature changes. The fatigue life was found to be linearly proportional to the inverse of the dynamic creep rate, i.e., the time required to increase cyclic strain by a unit amount. Regardless of the associated level of stress amplitude or fatigue life, the gross failure under low-frequency loading occurred when the total strain accumulation, i.e., cumulative cree...
Characterization of Rice Straw Prehydrolyzates and Their Effect on the Hydrolysis of Model Substrates Using a Commercial endo -Cellulase, β-Glucosidase and Cellulase Cocktail.

Pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification are two major upstream processes that affect the economic feasibility and sustainability of lignocellulosic biofuel production. Cellulase-inhibiting degradation products, generated during dilute acid pretreatment, increase enzyme usage, and therefore, it is essential to mitigate their production. In an attempt to elucidate the most deleterious degradation product to enzymatic hydrolysis, hydrolyzates were generated from rice straw, and their effect on enzyme activity was determined. Ground rice straw was subjected to the following pretreatments having a combined severity factor of 1.75: T1–160 °C, pH 1.7; T2–180 °C, pH 2.25; and T3–220 °C, pH 7.0. The liquid prehydrolyzates were freeze-dried, and their inhibitory effects on the activities of a commercial cellulase cocktail, endo-cellulase, and β-glucosidase were determined using filter paper, carboxymethyl cellulose, and cellobiose, respectively. Addition of 15 g L–1 of T1, T2, or T3 freeze-dried prehydrolyzates...