cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Medication adherence: a moving target?

The landscape of healthcare delivery is constantly evolving in an ongoing attempt to provide effective and high-quality care. The Institute of Medicine defines quality as, ‘The degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge.'1 Process metrics are routinely used to assess adherence to guideline-based recommendations in patients admitted with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).2 Though we see near-ubiquitous use of evidence-based treatments among hospitalised patients, outpatient adherence to these prescribed therapies is poor. As medication non-adherence has been associated with worse outcomes and higher costs,3 it has become an area of particular interest to policy-makers. The article by Gonzalez et al , published in Heart ,4 attempts to examine this timely and important topic. The authors use a governmental policy change as a natural experiment to assess in pre–post fashion the impact of medication cost sharing on patient adherence to common secondary prevention cardiac therapies after hospital discharge for ACS. In this observational analysis of 10 563 patients discharged from 2009 to 2011 in the Valencia Health System, the authors measured prescription fill rates to assess adherence before and after a 2012 policy change by the regional government where pensioners were expected to cover 10% of medication cost (compared with none historically), and middle-to-high-income individuals saw an increase in out-of-pocket medication cost from 40% to either 50% or 60%. The authors found that adherence worsened when cost …
A Brief History of Closed-End Investment Companies

Closed-end investment companies apparently originated from Societe General de Belgique established by King William I of Belgium.1 Swiss bankers later formed trusts to separate investment properties from commercial banking operations.2 Despite their growing use in Europe, trusts did not become popular as investment vehicles until they blossomed in England and Scotland during the period 1863–87.
Recreational Physical Activity in Relation to Prostate Cancer–specific Mortality Among Men with Nonmetastatic Prostate Cancer

Abstract Background Large prospective cohort studies need to confirm the associations between recreational physical activity (PA), including the most common type—walking, and prostate cancer–specific mortality (PCSM) among prostate cancer patients. Objective To investigate the associations of recreational PA, reported before and after diagnosis, with PCSM, overall and by tumor risk category. Design, setting, and participants In a prospective cohort study conducted in the USA, men diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer between 1992/1993 and June 2011 were followed for mortality until 2012. Patients were included in pre- ( n =7328) and/or postdiagnosis ( n =5319) analyses. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess PCSM with recreational PA. Results and limitations A total of 454 and 261 prostate cancer deaths occurred during pre- and postdiagnosis follow-up, respectively. Prior to diagnosis, engaging in ≥17.5 metabolic equivalent hours per week (MET-h/wk) of recreational PA, compared with 3.5– p trend=0.03) only among men with lower-risk tumors (Gleason score 2–7 and T1–T2; p interaction=0.02). A similar result was seen for walking but not for other recreational PA. After diagnosis, the same comparison (≥17.5 vs 3.5– p trend=0.006), which did not differ by tumor risk category. Postdiagnosis walking had a suggestive inverse association with PCSM ( p trend=0.07). These results were observational and may not be generalized to patients with metastatic prostate cancer. Residual confounding due to a higher screening rate among men with lower-risk tumors cannot be ruled out. Conclusions The findings provide additional evidence for prostate cancer survivors to adhere to PA recommendations, and support clinical trials of exercise among prostate cancer survivors with progression or mortality as outcomes. Patient summary In a large follow-up study of men diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer, those who exercise more after diagnosis had a lower risk of dying from prostate cancer.
Effect of inhibition of protein kinase C delta (PKCδ) on pancreatic cancer cells.

e14591 Background: 93% of pancreatic cancers have activating mutations in the K-Ras gene. We have previously shown that mutated, constitutively-activated Ras is lethal to cells if an essential Ras-...
E-Cigarette Use Among Adolescents Not Susceptible to Using Cigarettes

Introduction Research suggests that adolescents who use electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), including adolescents not susceptible to smoking cigarettes (ie, those who have never smoked cigarettes and are not attitudinally susceptible to using cigarettes), are more likely to initiate using cigarettes or other combustible tobacco products than adolescents who do not use e-cigarettes. In this study, we examined correlates of e-cigarette use and susceptibility among adolescents not susceptible to future cigarette smoking. Methods We used data on high school students from the 2015 North Carolina Youth Tobacco Survey (n = 1,627). SAS logistic regression survey procedures were used to account for the complex survey design and sampling weights. Results Increasing perceived harm of e-cigarettes was associated with lower odds of susceptibility to using e-cigarettes (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.65-0.96) and current use of e-cigarettes (AOR = 0.43; 95% CI, 0.25-0.72). Similar patterns were found for perceived harm of secondhand e-cigarette vapor. Exposure to e-cigarette vapor in indoor or outdoor public places was positively associated with susceptibility to using e-cigarettes (AOR = 1.96; 95% CI, 1.33-2.91) and with current e-cigarette use (AOR = 5.69; 95% CI, 2.57-12.61). Conclusion To prevent initiation of e-cigarette use, particularly among adolescents not susceptible to smoking cigarettes, educational campaigns could target harm perceptions associated with e-cigarettes. In addition, regulations that limit adolescents' exposure to e-cigarettes in public places may decrease e-cigarette use by nonsusceptible adolescents.
A low power CMOS temperature sensor frontend for RFID tags

A CMOS temperature sensor fronted with a dual slope analog to digital converter (DSADC) for thermal monitoring is implemented in GlobalFoundries' 45 nm CMOS SOI technology. The sensor has 8 transistors to minimize chip area and its supply voltage can be scaled down to 0.6V to reduce the power consumption by 70%. The ADC is also optimized for small area with a measured resolution of 8 bits and a sampling rate of 30 kS/s. The whole fronted including the amplifier and analog multiplexer consumes on 34 μW under a 1V supply with measured temperature range from 20°C to 100°C and +0.7/−1°C error.
The Role of Duplex Ultrasound in the Detection of Upper Extremity Artery Pathology, and Post Endovascular Complications:

Upper extremity pathology is uncommon and generally involves the brachial artery in about 12% of the cases. Of chronic upper limb ischemia, trauma, fibromuscular dysplasia, giant cell arteritis, an...
Long-term outcomes after repair of symptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysms

Abstract Objectives Previous studies have reported increased perioperative mortality of nonruptured symptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysms (Sx-AAA) compared with asymptomatic elective AAA (E-AAA) repairs, but no long-term-outcomes have been reported. We sought to compare long-term outcomes of Sx-AAA and E-AAA after repair at a single academic institution. Methods Patients receiving AAA repair for Sx-AAA and E-AAA from 1995 through 2015 were included. Ruptured AAA and suprarenal or thoracoabdominal AAA were excluded. Demographics, comorbidities, and operative approach were collected. Long-term mortality was the primary outcome, determined by chart review or link to Social Security Death Index. Additionally, long-term mortality and reinterventions were compared after groups were matched with nearest neighbor propensity to reduce bias. Results AAA repair was performed for 1054 E-AAA (383 open repair [36%], 671 endovascular aneurysm repair [EVAR] [64%]), and 139 symptomatic aneurysms (60 open repair [43%], 79 EVAR [57%]). Age (73 years vs 74 years; P = .13) and aneurysm diameter were similar between Sx-AAA and E-AAA (6.0 cm vs 5.8 cm; P = .5). The proportion of women was higher for Sx-AAA (26% vs 16%; P = .003), as was the proportion of non-Caucasians (40% vs 29%; P = .009). After propensity matching, there were no differences between groups for patient characteristics, AAA diameter, treatment modality, or comorbidities, including hypertension, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, lung disease, diabetes, renal disease, and smoking history. Women were treated for Sx-AAA at significantly smaller aortic diameters; however, compared with men (5.1 cm vs 6.3 cm; P Conclusions Patients with Sx-AAA had lower long-term survival and similar aneurysm-related reinterventions compared with patients with E-AAA undergoing repair. Women also underwent repair for Sx-AAA at a significantly smaller size when compared with men, which emphasizes the role of gender in AAA symptomatology. Differences in long-term survival may be only partially explained by measured patient, aneurysm, and operative factors, and may reflect unmeasured social factors or suggest inherent differences in pathophysiology of Sx-AAAs.
Increasing precipitation volatility in twenty-first-century California

Mediterranean climate regimes are particularly susceptible to rapid shifts between drought and flood—of which, California’s rapid transition from record multi-year dryness between 2012 and 2016 to extreme wetness during the 2016–2017 winter provides a dramatic example. Projected future changes in such dry-to-wet events, however, remain inadequately quantified, which we investigate here using the Community Earth System Model Large Ensemble of climate model simulations. Anthropogenic forcing is found to yield large twenty-first-century increases in the frequency of wet extremes, including a more than threefold increase in sub-seasonal events comparable to California’s ‘Great Flood of 1862’. Smaller but statistically robust increases in dry extremes are also apparent. As a consequence, a 25% to 100% increase in extreme dry-to-wet precipitation events is projected, despite only modest changes in mean precipitation. Such hydrological cycle intensification would seriously challenge California’s existing water storage, conveyance and flood control infrastructure.
Mass Media and Public Opinion

Although the concept of institution enjoys wide use in American sociology, it has different implications for different theoretical traditions. Institutions fulfill macrosocietal functions in structural theories, serve ideology and hegemony according to critical theories, and are continuously created, modified, and adapted by individuals under action theories (contrary to the tendency to reify institutions as given or unchanging). In its fullest sense, the concept of institution embraces all three of these levels of social control—those of processor, program, and processing, respectively.
Serotonin uptake inhibitors: Uses in clinical therapy and in laboratory research

Shortly after serotonin was discovered to be present in the brain in 1953, it was suspected to be a neurotransmitter there. Just over 40 years later, much has been learned about brain serotonin neurons and their physiological roles. One contributor to this advance in knowledge has been a group of compounds that selectively inhibit serotonin uptake. The study of these compounds in laboratory animals has not only given insight into the operation of serotonin neurons themselves and how the synthesis and release of serotonin is controlled, but also has helped in the understanding of physiological roles of serotonin neurons. Moreover, these serotonin uptake inhibitors have been therapeutically useful in treating mental depression, bulimia and obsessive-compulsive disorder in humans, and there is some indication they may have therapeutic effects in a variety of other diseases. The continued study of these compounds will further increase our knowledge about the role of serotonin in disease and may lead to ways of enhancing their therapeutic effects.
Imagery Experience of Disabled Persons

A positive attitude regarding the potential of physically disabled persons is an important value for professional helpers. The helper who has not resolved his/her own conflicts regarding physical trauma and subsequent disability may transfer these negative feelings to the patient. For example, if the helper has an underlying belief that s/he would be completely helpless and that s/he would not be accepted by others if s/he were suddenly spinal cordinjured, then this attitude could be indirectly communicated to other severely disabled people. It is unlikely that the patient would see positive aspects in his/her situation if the helping staff s/he contacts really believe that the situation is negative and hopeless.
Exploring Individual Style in Design

The traditional theories of style are reviewed from an artistic-products point of view and the possibilities of scrutinizing style are examined from the information-processing perspective. Assumptions are proposed and variables defined upon which set of hypotheses are developed to inspect the formation of a style. It is hoped that the paper will lay down foundations for developing a tool to study style empirically.
Identification of active sites on supported metal catalysts with carbon nanotube hydrogen highways

Catalysts consisting of metal particles supported on reducible oxides exhibit promising activity and selectivity for a variety of current and emerging industrial processes. Enhanced catalytic activity can arise from direct contact between the support and the metal or from metal-induced promoter effects on the oxide. Discovering the source of enhanced catalytic activity and selectivity is challenging, with conflicting arguments often presented based on indirect evidence. Here, we separate the metal from the support by a controlled distance while maintaining the ability to promote defects via the use of carbon nanotube hydrogen highways. As illustrative cases, we use this approach to show that the selective transformation of furfural to methylfuran over Pd/TiO2 occurs at the Pd-TiO2 interface while anisole conversion to phenol and cresol over Cu/TiO2 is facilitated by exposed Ti3+ cations on the support. This approach can be used to clarify many conflicting arguments in the literature.
Through-focus scanning optical microscopy applications

We present a partial application space of the metrology method referred to as through-focus scanning optical microscopy (TSOM), with most number of favorable attributes as a metrology and process control tool. TSOM is a NIST-developed, high-throughput and low-cost optical metrology tool for dimensional characterization with sub-nanometer measurement resolution of nano-scale to microscale targets using conventional optical microscopes, with many unique benefits and advantages. In TSOM the complete set of out-of-focus images are acquired using a conventional optical microscope and used for dimensional analysis. One of the unique characteristics of the TSOM method is its ability to reduce or eliminate optical cross correlations, often challenging for optical based metrology tools. TSOM usually has the ability to separate different dimensional differences (i.e., the ability to distinguish, for example, linewidth difference from line height difference) and hence it is expected to reduce measurement uncertainty. TSOM is applicable to a wide variety of target materials ranging from transparent to opaque, and shapes ranging from simple nanoparticles to complex semiconductor memory structures, including buried structures under transparent films. TSOM has been successfully applied to targets ranging from one nm to over 100 μm (over five orders or magnitude size range). Demonstrated applications of TSOM include critical dimension (linewidth), overlay, patterned defect detection and analysis, FinFETs, nanoparticles, photo-mask linewidth, thin-film (less than 0.5 nm to 10 nm) thickness, throughsilicon vias (TSVs), high-aspect-ratio (HAR) targets and others with several potential three-dimensional shape process monitoring applications such as MEMS/NEMS devices, micro/nanofluidic channels, flexible electronics, self-assembled nanostructures, and waveguides. Numerous industries could benefit from the TSOM method —such as the semiconductor industry, MEMS, NEMS, biotechnology, nanomanufacturing, nanometrology, data storage, and photonics.
Mining Weather and Climate Data from the Diary of a Forty-Niner

Primary sources such as personal diaries can provide insight into weather and climate conditions in times and places where quantitative instrumental observations are unavailable. The diary of Gideon Nichols provides an especially compelling case study of how such sources can be used to determine spatiotemporal patterns in meteorological conditions. Nichols, a farmer in Long Island, New York, elected to venture across the United States in 1849 to partake in the California Gold Rush, remaining there for 2 years before returning home via both oceanic and overland routes. Using content analysis, this chapter undertakes an investigation of his detailed records of weather conditions throughout his travels, as well as his firsthand account of major events such as the Sacramento flood of 1850. His daily recordings are supplemented by regular letters to relatives back home on Long Island, which contain ample details and emotional descriptions of his surroundings and how he experienced them. The result is a unique snapshot of the mid nineteenth century climate of numerous physical geographic regions across North America, along with a novel record of weather conditions during the early stages of the California Gold Rush. Moreover, Gideon’s meticulous attention to detail, especially geographic location, permits the spatial analysis of these patterns, using both a physical geographical approach (e.g., his comparisons of different climate regions) and chronological approach (e.g., tracking extreme weather events over the course of a year). Thus, this ongoing research complements past work by introducing a spatiotemporal component into the human interpretation of weather conditions, and can be replicated using the diaries of other pioneers who regularly observed environmental conditions.
Evidence for separate transformation to acute myeloid leukemia and blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm from a shared ancestral hematopoietic clone.

Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare hematologic neoplasm of presumed dendritic cell origin. BPDCN typically affects older men with cutaneous and often extracutaneous – ma...
The abrupt pancreatic duct cutoff sign on MDCT and MRI

To evaluate the pancreatic duct cutoff sign in detecting pancreatic adenocarcinoma using CT and MRI. A retrospective analysis of patients with a pancreatic duct (PD) cutoff sign on CT or MRI from 2000 to 2019 was performed. The primary outcome measured was the presence or absence of a malignant pancreatic tumor. Variables evaluated included imaging characteristics of patients with a malignant versus non-malignant cause of duct cutoff and included PD size and PD-to-parenchyma ratio, contour abnormality, abnormal enhancement, diffusion abnormality, and upstream parenchymal atrophy. Seventy-two patients (44:28 M:F, mean age 64 years) were identified with a PD cutoff sign. Fifty-eight percent (42/72) of these patients were diagnosed with malignancy, 62% (26/42) of whom were diagnosed with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. In patients diagnosed with a non-malignant cause of duct cutoff, 37% (11/30) were diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis. Eighty-eight percent (37/42) of patients with malignant causes and 33% (10/30) of patients with non-malignant causes were noted to have an associated mass on imaging. The presence of contour abnormality, diffusion abnormality, or abnormal enhancement at the level of the pancreatic cutoff was significantly higher in patients with malignancy (p < 0.05). There was no difference between groups in location of the pancreatic duct cutoff, degree of pancreatic duct dilatation, PD-to-parenchyma ratio, or presence of upstream atrophy. Abrupt cutoff of the pancreatic duct was associated with an increased likelihood of detecting malignancy. All patients who demonstrate this sign should undergo expedited workup with dedicated MRI and EUS with biopsy.
Leveraging multimodal social media data for rapid disaster damage assessment

Abstract During disaster response and recovery stages, stakeholders including governmental agencies collect disaster's impact information to inform disaster relief, resource allocation, and infrastructure reconstruction. The damage data collected using field surveys and satellite imagery are often not available immediately after a disaster while rapid information is crucial for time-sensitive decision makings. Some researchers turned to social media for real-time situational information of disaster damage. However, existing damage assessment research mostly focused on single data modality (i.e. text or image) and made coarse-grained predictions, which limited their practical applications in assisting city-level operations. The difficulties of retrieving useful information from vast noisy social media data have been outlined by many studies. Thus, we propose a data-driven method to locate and assess disaster damage with massive multimodal social media data. The method splits and processes two data modalities, i.e. texts and images, using two modules. The image analysis module uses five machine learning classifiers that are organized in a hierarchical structure. The text analysis module uses a keyword search-based method. They together mine various damage information including hazard types (e.g. wind and flood), hazard severities, damage types (e.g. infrastructure destruction and housing damage). The method is applied and evaluated with two recent hurricane events. In practice, the method acquires damage information throughout extreme events and supplements conventional damage assessment methods. It enables the rapid damage information access and disaster response for both first responders and the general public. The research effort contributes to achieving more transparent and effective disaster relief activities.
Joint implications of teachers and classroom peers for adolescents' aggression and engagement

Abstract This study investigated the mediation and moderation roles of classroom peer norms (CPNs) on the associations of teacher support with student aggression and academic engagement across the first year of middle school (fall and spring of sixth grade). Students (N = 312; 49% females) were from 32 classrooms in three schools. Data included peer-nominated aggression (overt, relational) and self-reported engagement (involved, disruptive behavior) and teacher support. Multilevel modeling analyses indicated a mediation model for disruptive behavior and trends of mediation for aggression, as the negative associations of fall classroom level teacher support with spring disruptive behavior and aggression were mediated by the corresponding CPN. Findings indicated a moderation model for involved behavior; students reported higher levels of involved behavior in the spring if they perceived more teacher support than their classmates and if the involved behavior CPN was high in the fall. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
‘Black Box’ to ‘Conversational’ Machine Learning: Ondansetron Reduces Risk of Hospital-Acquired Venous Thromboembolism

Machine learning, combined with a proliferation of electronic healthcare records (EHR), has the potential to transform medicine by identifying previously unknown interventions that reduce the risk of adverse outcomes. To realize this potential, machine learning must leave the conceptual ‘black box’ in complex domains to overcome several pitfalls, like the presence of confounding variables. These variables predict outcomes but are not causal, often yielding uninformative models. In this work, we envision a ‘conversational’ approach to design machine learning models, which couple modeling decisions to domain expertise. We demonstrate this approach via a retrospective cohort study to identify factors which affect the risk of hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism (HA-VTE). Using logistic regression for modeling, we have identified drugs that reduce the risk of HA-VTE. Our analysis reveals that ondansetron, an anti-nausea and anti-emetic medication, commonly used in treating side-effects of chemotherapy and post-general anesthesia period, substantially reduces the risk of HA-VTE when compared to aspirin (11% vs. 15% relative risk reduction or RRR, respectively). The low cost and low morbidity of ondansetron may justify further inquiry into its use as a preventative agent for HA-VTE. This case study highlights the importance of engaging domain expertise while applying machine learning in complex domains.
“These Walls Could Not Contain Me”: Social Motherhood at the YWCA

In this chapter, I trace how Sargent’s classing and gendering practices in physical culture work shifted once they entered urban public spheres through YWCA Physical Culture Departments. Here, I look at the work of Abby Shaw Mayhew, Sargent’s student and the founding physical director at the Minneapolis YWCA (1893–1897), and later head of the national training program for YWCA physical directors. Whereas colleges could be selective in their admissions, the YWCA touted themselves as a social welfare organization accessible to all. I suggest the YWCA offered a particular brand of women’s physical culture grounded in an ideology I refer to as social motherhood. Specifically, I argue that YWCA employees like Mayhew helped shape white, urban businesswomen’s bodies to be economically, morally, and socially productive, extending women’s reproductive duties beyond the sphere of the biological. Mayhew’s exercises simultaneously constructed and deconstructed the existing framework of social motherhood by using a variety of moral-physical techniques. While Mayhew and her students touted the empowering affects of the work on women and pursued fairly radically feminist ideals about what a woman’s body could and should do in terms of exercise, the ultimate goal of such work, according to Mayhew, was strengthening the white race.
Ancestral genetic variation in phenotypic plasticity underlies rapid evolutionary changes in resurrected populations of waterfleas.

The role of phenotypic plasticity in adaptive evolution has been debated for decades. This is because the strength of natural selection is dependent on the direction and magnitude of phenotypic responses to environmental signals. Therefore, the connection between plasticity and adaptation will depend on the patterns of plasticity harbored by ancestral populations before a change in the environment. Yet few studies have directly assessed ancestral variation in plasticity and tracked phenotypic changes over time. Here we resurrected historic propagules of Daphnia spanning multiple species and lakes in Wisconsin following the invasion and proliferation of a novel predator (spiny waterflea, Bythotrephes longimanus). This approach revealed extensive genetic variation in predator-induced plasticity in ancestral populations of Daphnia. It is unlikely that the standing patterns of plasticity shielded Daphnia from selection to permit long-term coexistence with a novel predator. Instead, this variation in plasticity provided the raw materials for Bythotrephes-mediated selection to drive rapid shifts in Daphnia behavior and life history. Surprisingly, there was little evidence for the evolution of trait plasticity as genetic variation in plasticity was maintained in the face of a novel predator. Such results provide insight into the link between plasticity and adaptation and highlight the importance of quantifying genetic variation in plasticity when evaluating the drivers of evolutionary change in the wild.
E-sport during the covid 19 pandemic and its negative impact on child health

The Covid-19 virus pandemic has brought many problems, both in the functioning of everyday life and in various spheres of human health. Sport has always been considered a synonym for a healthy physical and mental state of people. The emergence of the phenomenon of e-sports has brought agility to a new market that cannot be defined by physical culture. The research will explain and prove the negative effects on children’s health based on a survey whose results prove that most of the surveyed children engage in e-sports activities during a pandemic, rather than physical exercise, as well as other relevant research. Considering that sport in general and e-sport as a newly formed occupation, mostly children, have no other than terminological similarities, the research topic is subject to critical evaluation.
Anterior Skull Base Sarcomas: Report of Characteristics and Outcomes at a Tertiary Care Cancer Center

Objective This study was aimed to describe our institutional experience on characteristics and treatment outcomes of sinonasal sarcomas invading the anterior skull base. Design Present study is a retrospective review. Setting The study was conducted at an academic cancer care center. Participants Thirty-one patients with skull base sarcomas treated with primary surgery from 1979 to 2015 were identified for this study from a preexisting database. Main Outcome Measures Survival and recurrence outcomes using the Kaplan–Meier method were the focus areas of the study. Results The median age was 44 years (range: 13–69 years). Twenty patients were male (64.5%). Twenty-nine patients underwent open craniofacial resection (93.5%) and two patients underwent endoscopic resection (6.5%). The majority of tumors were staged pT4 (77.4%). The most common pathologies were leiomyosarcoma (19.4%), osteosarcoma (16.1%), and chondrosarcoma (12.9%). Of those with known margin status, 10 patients had positive/close margins (32.2%) and 16 patients had negative margins (51.6%). Most tumors were high grade (74.2%). Twenty-three patients (74.2%) received adjuvant radiation and four patients (12.9%) received adjuvant chemotherapy. There were nine postoperative complications (29%) including one mortality and three cerebrospinal fluid leaks. There were 10 local, 2 regional, and 5 distant recurrences over a median follow-up of 74 months (range: 1–300 months). The 5-year disease-specific survival (DSS) was 69.8%. The 5-year locoregional recurrence-free probability (RFP) was 63.2% and the 10-year distant RFP was 71.7%. The 5-year DSS for high grade tumors was 64.2 and 85.7% for low grade tumors (p = 0.117). Conclusion This study contributes an updated analysis of anterior skull base sarcomas. Five-year DSS is approximately 70%. Analysis of survival outcomes based on grade, tumor size, and other factors is limited by small sample size and the rarity of these tumors.
Social influence and UTAUT in predicting digital immigrants’ technology use

This study explored how social norms around digital immigrants’ tablet adoption affect their new technology use using expanded social influence measures, including three types of social norms and s...
Clinical application of a scale to assess genomic healthcare empowerment (GEmS): Process and illustrative case examples

The Genome Empowerment Scale (GEmS), developed as a research tool, assesses perspectives of parents of children with undiagnosed disorders about to undergo exome or genome sequencing related to the process of empowerment. We defined genomic healthcare empowerment as follows: perceived ability to understand and seek new information related to the genomic sequencing, manage emotions related to the diagnostic process and outcomes, and utilize genomic sequencing information to the betterment of the individual/child and family. The GEmS consists of four scales, two are primarily emotion-focused (Meaning of a Diagnosis, and Emotional Management of the Process) and two are action-oriented (Seeking Information and Support, and Implications and Planning). The purpose of this research was to provide a strategy for interpreting results from the GEmS and present illustrative cases. These illustrations should serve to facilitate use of the GEmS in the clinical and research arena, particularly with respect to guiding genetic counseling processes for parents of children with undiagnosed conditions.
Estimating the Postmortem Interval in Big Game Animals

Methods for estimating the time since death in big game animals are needed to identify animals that are killed during illegal periods. Currently used methods include rigor mortis, eye appearance, carcass cooling, and potassium levels in the vitreous humor. The application and limitation of each method is discussed. The current state of available methods necessitates using several criteria when estimating the postmortem interval.
DataShopping for Performance Predictions

Mathematical models of learning have been created to capitalize on the regularities that are seen when individuals acquire new skills, which could be useful if implemented in learning management systems. One such mathematical model is the Predictive Performance Equation (PPE). It is the intent that PPE will be used to predict the performance of individuals to inform real-world education and training decisions. However, in order to improve mathematical models of learning, data from multiple samples are needed. Online data repositories, such as Carnegie Mellon University’s DataShop, provide data from multiple studies at fine levels of granularity. In this paper, we describe results from a set of analyses ranging across levels of granularity in order to assess the predictive validity of PPE in educational contexts available in the repository.
BPA and Dental Materials

BPA has been a controversial component of dental materials since the first reports of its potential toxicities in the mid-1990s [1]. Concerns for the estrogenic and other toxicities of BPA from all environmental sources have escalated over the past decade or so to the point that federal regulatory agencies have begun to address the issue. An early survey was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2003–2004 (the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey or NHANES) [2] that found detectable levels of BPA in 93 % of the Americans tested. Because of that survey, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) component of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) focused efforts to evaluate research on the potential adverse effects of BPA [3]. Their findings are expressed on a 5-point scale of concern for adverse effects that includes (from lowest concern level to highest) negligible, minimal, some, concern, and serious. They reported negligible or minimal concern for almost all categories. However, they expressed “some concern for adverse effects” for the effect of BPA on brain, behavior, and prostate gland of fetuses, infants, and children. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement in 2010 stating that it shares the perspective of the NTP findings concerning the potential effects of BPA [4]. It followed up in July 2012 with a new Food Additive Regulation prohibiting the use of BPA in the production of baby bottles and sippy cups [5].
Abstract P130: Association between Weight Loss Program Attendance and Weight Loss among Adults with Serious Mental Illness

Introduction: Obesity is epidemic among adults with serious mental illness (SMI) (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder) and evidenced-based weight loss programs are needed for this group. We examined the association between attendance to program sessions and weight change among adults with SMI who were enrolled in a lifestyle-based weight loss trial. Methods: Overweight and obese adults with SMI were randomized to either a control group (n=147) or an active intervention group (n=144) that received weight loss classes (3/month), individual weight management sessions (monthly), and group exercise classes (3/week) during the first 6 months. These classes tapered off during months 7-18. Study staff maintained attendance records. Standardized weight was assessed at baseline, 6 and 18 months. Regression analyses included weight change as the dependent variable and controlled for sex, age, and site. Results: The active intervention group was 51% female with an average age of 47 years. Main results have reported...
Application of high-performance liquid chromatographic chiral stationary phases to pharmaceutical analysis : Direct enantiomeric resolution of amide derivatives of 1-phenyl-2-aminopropane

Abstract A series of amide derivatives of the enantiomers of 1-phenyl-2-aminopropane (amphetamine) were resolved by high-performance liquid chromatography on a chiral stationary phase (CSP), (R)-N-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl)phenylglycine, which is commercially available in ionically and covalently bonded columns. The separation factor ranged from 1.01 to 1.09 and was consistently larger when the compounds were chromatographed on the covalent column. Chromatographic parameters correlate in detail with a solute-CSP interaction model requiring up to four binding sites and a fifth repulsive interaction which is steric in origin and which provides the key chiral discriminant.
Systems of Many Particles

This chapter develops a microscopic, statistical view of temperature, heat, work, and the laws of thermodynamics. A key concept is the Boltzmann factor, relating the thermal population of microstates to their energy, and its related concept the Nernst equation. The principle of equipartition of energy leads us to an analysis of the Brownian motion of small particles immersed in a fluid. When two systems can exchange particles as well as energy, the chemical potential governs their behavior. The Gibbs free energy is used to describe chemical reactions that take place at constant temperature and pressure. It is closely related to the chemical potential.
Critical regions of secM that control its translation and secretion and promote secretion-specific secA regulation

SecA is an essential ATP-driven motor protein that binds to presecretory or membrane proteins and the translocon and promotes the translocation or membrane integration of these proteins. secA is subject to a protein secretion-specific form of regulation, whereby its translation is elevated during secretion-limiting conditions. A novel mechanism that promotes this regulation involves translational pausing within the gene upstream of secA, secM. The secM translational pause prevents formation of an RNA helix that normally blocks secA translational initiation. The duration of this pause is controlled by the rate of secretion of nascent SecM, which in turn depends on its signal peptide and a functional translocon. We characterized the atypical secM signal peptide and found that mutations within the amino-terminal region specifically affect the secM translational pause and secA regulation, while mutations in the hydrophobic core region affect SecM secretion as well as translational pausing and secA regulation. In addition, mutational analysis of the 3' end of secM allowed us to identify a conserved region that is required to promote the translational pause that appears to be operative at the peptide level. Together, our results provide direct support for the secM translational pause model of secA regulation, and they pinpoint key sequences within secM that promote this important regulatory system.
Effects of intracoronary carbon dioxide on left ventricular function in swine

BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS Carbon dioxide is currently used as an arterial and venous contrast agent; however, little is known of its effects on left ventricular function. This study was undertaken to investigate those effects. METHODS Ascending doses of 5, 10, and 20 ml of carbon dioxide were administered into the left main coronary artery of domestic swine with and without a continuous infusion of intravenous nitroglycerin (50 micrograms/min). RESULTS Carbon dioxide had an immediate and profound depressant effect on both systolic and diastolic left ventricular function associated with ischemic electrocardiographic changes. Compared with controls (% change), ascending doses of carbon dioxide decreased systolic pressure by -35 +/- 7, -48 +/- 8, and -53 +/- 4 in the absence of nitroglycerin, and by -32 +/- 9, -50 +/- 9, and -60 +/- 9 in the presence of nitroglycerin. Peak+dP/dt decreased by -54 +/- 7, -61 +/- 11, and -64 +/- 3 in the absence of nitroglycerin, and by -36 +/- 13, -55 +/- 11, and -65 +/- 11 in the presence of nitroglycerin. Minimum -dP/dt increased by 65 +/- 8,71 +/- 8, and 77 +/- 3 in the absence of nitroglycerin, and by 63 +/- 7,71 +/- 8, and 78 +/- 7 in the presence of nitroglycerin. No significant changes in heart rate were observed; however, widespread ST-segment elevation was observed in all animals. Coronary angiography following carbon dioxide injection revealed a marked decrease in coronary flow velocity until the gas was cleared from the microcirculation. This was also documented by direct measurement of flow velocity using a Doppler catheter in an additional animal. Left ventriculography demonstrated immediate global dilation and depression of systolic function. CONCLUSIONS In the swine model, relatively small doses of intracoronary carbon dioxide cause profound yet reversible global left ventricular dysfunction which appears to be ischemic in origin.
A dual function of the Notch gene in Drosophila sensillum development.

We have investigated the function of the neurogenic gene Notch (N) during development of the adult sensilla of Drosophila. Heat pulses were applied to flies carrying the temperature-sensitive Notch allele Nts1 at different larval and pupal stages. We can show that the reduction of Notch+ function during a short interval prior to the onset of sensillum precursor division, resulting from a heat pulse between 0 and 14 hr after puparium formation (apf), leads to an increase in microchaete precursors at the expense of epidermal cells. The structure and cellular composition of the sensilla produced by these supernumerary precursors are normal. Later heat pulses which include the interval immediately after sensillum precursor division (14-20 hr apf) lead, among the progeny of the sensillum precursors, to a hyperplasia of sensory neurons, at the expense of accessory cells. The resulting "sensilla" consist of neurons only and lack the external cuticular structures (i.e., shaft, socket). These results demonstrate that similar mechanisms both of which involve the function of the Notch gene may be operating to sort out (premitotic) sensillum precursors from epidermal precursors and (postmitotic) sensory neurons from accessory cells. They further show that in postmitotic sensillum cells the differentiative fate is not yet irreversibly fixed, but presumably requires cell-cell interaction to become established.
Child Care and the Liberal Welfare Regime: A Review Essay

A Review Essay of Vicky Randall, The Politics of Child Daycare in Britain (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000); Sally S. Cohen, Championing Child Care (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001); Deborah Brennan, The Politics of Australian Child Care, 2d. ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998).
Five Important Lessons about the Cost of E-Learning

This chapter describes strategies for containing and reducing the costs of e-learning through cost identification, appropriate instructional roles, course development, program scale, and course redesign.
Elevated frequencies of 6-thioguanine-resistant lymphocytes in multiple sclerosis patients treated with cyclophosphamide: a prospective study.

Abstract An autoradiographic assay for 6-thioguanine-resistant (TG r ) lymphocytes was used to determine the frequency of in vivo derived variant T lymphocytes in peripheral blood from multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with monthly intravenous infusions of 750 mg/m 2 of cyclophosphamide (CP). To analyze the time-course of response to CP, the MS patients were studied prospectively. Samples were obtained from the patients before the beginning of CP therapy, 4–5 times during the course of treatment, and, finally, 2 or 3 months after the completion of therapy. 2 weeks after the first CP infusion, the variant frequencies ( Vf s) of the MS patients were significantly increased ( p Vf s had fallen to normal or near-normal levels. After subsequent treatments, the frequencies of variant TG r cells were again higher than pre-treatment VfM s. However, within 7–13 weeks after the cessation of CP therapy, the Vf s of all subjects had returned to normal levels. The transient nature of the response indicates rapid in vivo selection against CP-induced TG r mutant cells. The mean pre-treatment Vf of the 4 MS patients who were cigarette smokers was 6.56 × 10 −6 which was significantly greater ( p Vf (1.52 × 10 −6 ) of the 4 MS patients who were non-smokers. The mean Vf from 8 assays of healthy non-smokers was 1.92 × 10 −6 .
Effects of Temperature and Oxygen on the Growth of Listeria monocytogenes at pH 4.5

Growth effects were studied using tryptose phosphate broth adjusted with hydrochloric acid. The microorganism survived for extended periods at low incubation temperatures (5 and 10°C), and grew at intermediate temperatures (19 and 28°C). Aerobic incubation at 37°C resulted in relatively rapid inactivation of the organism; however, when oxygen was restricted the organism recovered and survived for extended periods. Oxygen restriction enhanced the growth rate at 19°C. Results demonstrated temperature and oxygen availability interacted to influence survival of L. monocytogenes in low pH environment.
Children With Bipolar Disorder: How to Break Down Barriers and Work Effectively Together.

Last summer I read The Bipolar Child [D. F. Papolos & J. Papolos, 2002] and said, you know, this really fits him. And we took it to our psychiatrist at the time, who pooh-poohed the idea: "You know, those people don't know what they are talking about. And they're not scientists."... He put him on Depakote; when I told him it worked, he was surprised. He kept saying... [my son] was... attention deficit disorder.... We ended up calling the police one night because he tried to put his foot through the window; he wanted to jump through the window.... We decided we had enough... of broken walls and of the kids getting hurt. And we took him to [the local crisis center]... and they found him a bed at... [the local inpatient treatment facility]. And then... we fought with the insurance company for two days before we could get him in for a medication review. We went through twelve days with him at... [the inpatient treatment facility] and us at home.... The medication was real scary. They took him off some, added some; we'd see him, he'd be totally out of it... then we would come back the next day and he would be shaking.
Ripening of nanowire-supported gold nanoparticles

Gold nanoparticles have applications ranging from catalysts for low temperature oxidation of CO to solar energy capture in the infrared. For all these applications, particle size and shape are critical. In this study, nanoparticle gold formed on GaN nanowires by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition was annealed at temperatures ranging from 150 to 270 °C for 24 h. Particle size was measured before and after annealing using a field emission scanning electron microscope. Ripening of the gold particles was observed even at the lowest annealing temperatures of the study. The particle growth kinetics showed an Arrhenius relationship with activation energy of 27.38 kJ/mol. This value suggests that ripening occurs by particle migration and coalescence rather than adatom diffusion.