cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 2284: Semiautomated MRI segmentation workflow for glioblastoma treated by Tumor Treating Fields

Background: Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) therapy is an approved modality of treatment for glioblastoma. Patient anatomy-based finite element analysis (FEA) has the potential to reveal not only how these fields affect tumor control but also how they can be optimized to improve efficacy. Historically, this has been achieved with manual segmentation by an expert familiar with intracranial neuroanatomic structures, but this method is time-consuming, financially costly, and highly variable between individuals. While the availability of tools for segmenting MRIs obviates some of these obstacles, creating FEA models requires manual adjustments, including removal of disconnected voxels, incorporation of unsegmented structures that may alter the electric field, and addition of 36 electrodes matching those of the transducers on the scalp. Existing approaches are also not scalable to a large number of patient MRI scans. Methods: Patient anatomy-based FEA models were created by segmenting MRI images—using the NewSegment algorithm from Statistical Paramedic Mapping 8 (SPM8)—into tissue “masks” using ScanIP from Simpleware (Exeter, UK). The electric properties of each tissue were applied to these masks in silico using COMSOL Multiphysics (Burlington, MA). The fidelity of the segmentations was compared using the Dice coefficient, and COMSOL generated electric field maps were compared for models with and without post-processing in ScanIP. Results: A semiautomated workflow was developed to prepare FEA models for TTFields with fully automated electrode placement. The workflow encompassed image preprocessing, co-registration, segmentation, post-processing and mesh generation in ScanIP. Modified extended tissue probability maps were used to segment cerebellum and orbits in addition to white matter, gray matter, cerebrospinal fluid, skull, and scalp. Further automated post-processing in ScanIP cleaned up disconnected voxels, smoothed surfaces, and layered the masks to prevent erroneous boundary conditions. The Dice coefficient was greater for the model with ScanIP post-processing, as compared to the segmentations resulting from SPM8 NewSegment alone. COMSOL-generated electric field maps also displayed differences when models were generated with post-processing in ScanIP compared to those without. Conclusions: These software and workflow may be used to accelerate the investigation of TTFields in patients by facilitating the creation of FEA models, like electric field maps, derived from patient MRI. Citation Format: Joshua J. Timmons, Ed Lok, Pyay San, Kevin Bui, Eric T. Wong. Semiautomated MRI segmentation workflow for glioblastoma treated by Tumor Treating Fields [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2284.
Dynamic Current Requirements in Single-Ended Log-Domain Filters

Single-ended log-domain filters must operate Class A: the amplitude of any symmetric signal must be less than the bias current. Even so, peak internal dynamic current requirements can be much greater than the bias currents. Worst-case peak current demands in a second-order log-domain filter are related to modulation index by simple expressions that allow transistor geometries to be optimized for specified signal levels. Several circuit topologies are considered, and some circuit topologies are shown to be better able to supply larger internal currents than others.
Mechanisms by Which Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide Regulate Baboon Granulosa Cell Steroidogenesis

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) has been shown to enhance steroid production in vivo in rabbits (1) and humans (2) and in vitro in prepubertal rat ovaries (3), isolated rat granulosa cells (4), as well as cultured baboon granulosa cells (5). In addition, Gozes and Tsafriri (6) have found VIP-encoding mRNA in rat ovaries, suggesting a local ovarian synthesis of VIP.
Comparative Dose of Contrast-Enhanced Spectral Mammography (CESM), Digital Mammography, and Digital Breast Tomosynthesis.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study is to provide a more accurate estimation of the radiation dose of contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) relative to that of 2D digital mammography and t...
Hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma (HSTL): A SEER data analysis.

e19035Background: HSTL is a very rare neoplasm accounting for less than one percent of non- Hodgkin lymphomas. The most common presentation of the patient with HSTL is marked hepatosplenomegaly and...
Surface-Immobilized Conjugated Polymers Incorporating Rhenium Bipyridine Motifs for Electrocatalytic and Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction

The solar-driven conversion of CO2 to value-added products provides a promising route for solar energy storage and atmospheric CO2 remediation. In this report, a variety of supporting electrode materials were successfully modified with a [2,2′-bipyridine]-5,5′-bis(diazonium) rhenium complex through a surface-localized electropolymerization method. Physical characterization of the resulting multilayer films confirms that the coordination environments of the rhenium bipyridine tricarbonyl sites are preserved upon immobilization and that the polymerized catalyst moieties exhibit long-range structural order with uniform film growth. UV–vis studies reveal additional absorption bands in the visible region for the polymeric films that are not present in the analogous rhenium bipyridine complexes. Electrochemical studies with modified graphite rod electrodes show that the electrocatalytic activity of these films increases with catalyst loading up to an optimal value, beyond which electron and mass transport throu...
Online Cybersecurity Awareness Modules for College and High School Students

Cybersecurity is of increasing importance due to the rise in reliance on digital equipment and programs to manage our daily lives, including the transmission and storage of personal information. Research studies establish that an effective security awareness program is one of the most important steps towards increasing cybersecurity. In this study we set out to understand the current level of security awareness among college and high school students and develop a module that will help raise their awareness. The main features of our module are interactivity and the presentation of shocking consequences of careless cyber habits of common Internet/technology users. We designed a survey that includes pre and post-tests to fulfill the goals of our project and administered it to students on our campus and at local high schools. Our survey results indicate that the module has been effective on both bodies of students with most impact on non-Computer Science majors. Results also indicate that there is no significant difference in awareness levels for male versus female students.
Flaws in the use of spectral ripples in cochlear implants

Spectral ripple discrimination is a popular measure of spectral resolution that has been shown to correlate with speech recognition scores in cochlear implant (CI) listeners. In the test, listeners distinguish sounds with varying density of spectral peaks, with some spectral modulation depth. We argue that there are numerous significant flaws with the application of the test specifically in CI listeners. To start, the spectrum is aliased by the CI processor in a way that is similar to frequency aliasing for under-sampled time series. Beyond a critical spectral density, the spectral envelope changes in a chaotic fashion and is no longer under experimenter control. This critical density is exceeded in numerous published studies. Furthermore, the densities linked with “good” performance are not only outliers, but are entirely unrelated to the spectral densities of real speech sounds, and likely exhibit undue leverage over correlation values. Additionally, there are reports of experience and learning effects, inconsistent with the often-stated goals of the test to avoid such factors. We show how artefactual nonlinearities at high spectral densities may unintentionally match the spectral envelope characteristics of speech sounds—an unfortunate result that likely has given spurious results that sustain the use of this test.
Building Collaborative Innovation Capability

OVERVIEW:Product innovation and supply chain process innovation efforts have traditionally been managed as separate activities. Today, collaborative innovation approaches seek to integrate them. The effect is to fully develop and exploit supply chain capabilities, radically improving the value propositions materialized by products. However, the advent of collaborative innovation is hampered by limitations in supporting processes and infrastructure. Technical and organizational barriers frequently make higher levels of collaboration difficult. Fortunately, new management approaches and information technology solutions can help firms overcome these barriers. In particular, emerging product life-cycle management (PLM) systems offer important tools for overcoming barriers associated with distance, access, lack of institutional memory, and awareness. Successful leveraging of these systems, however, usually requires changes in organizational values, processes and metrics.
Race/Ethnicity-Resolved Time Trends in United States ASD Prevalence Estimates from IDEA and ADDM

Race-specific time trends in Autism Spectrum Disorder prevalence are tracked among 3–5 year-olds and 8 year-olds identified by the U.S. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, respectively. White ASD prevalence historically has been higher than other racial groups but plateaued for IDEA birth cohorts from ~ 2004 to 2007 before resuming its increase. Black and Hispanic IDEA prevalence increased continuously and caught up to whites by birth year ~ 2008 and ~ 2013, respectively, with black prevalence subsequently exceeding white prevalence in the majority of states. Plateaus in white prevalence occurred in some ADDM states for birth years 2002–2006, but IDEA trends suggest prevalence will increase across all racial groups in ADDM’s birth year 2008 report.
Functional Interaction of BRCA1 and CREBBP in Murine Hematopoiesis.

Summary Both BRCA1 and CREBBP are tumor suppressor genes that are important for hematopoiesis. We have previously shown that mouse Brca1 is essential for hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) viability. In contrast to Brca1 deficiency, which results in pancytopenia, we report here that Crebbp deficiency results in myeloproliferation associated with an increase of splenic HSCs as well as a lethal systemic inflammatory disorder (LD50 = 86 days). To investigate the interaction of these two proteins in hematopoiesis, we generated double Crebbp/Brca1 knockout mice (DKOs). To our surprise, DKOs had accelerated bone marrow failure compared with Brca1-deficient mice and this was associated with an even shorter lifespan (LD50 = 88.5 versus 33 days). Furthermore, Crebbp or Brca1 heterozygosity influenced the hematopoietic phenotype associated with complete deficiency of Brca1 or Crebbp, respectively. We also observed lower BRCA1 protein levels in hematopoietic tissues when CREBBP is absent. Collectively, these data suggest Crebbp and Brca1 functionally interact to maintain normal hematopoiesis.
Nonlinear Radar via Intermodulation of Jointly Optimized FM Noise Waveform Pairs

It was recently shown that a new form of nonlinear radar can be achieved using pairs of separately optimized FM noise waveforms, where the optimization serves to provide useful spectral shaping of each waveform. Here the utility of jointly designing these separately transmitted waveforms according to their resulting intermodulation response is explored. This formulation relies on gradient descent optimization of an intermodulation-based cost function that is defined in the context of physically realizable polyphase-coded FM (PCFM) waveforms. The result is evaluated both in simulation and experimentally via a hardware loopback configuration.
A Study on the Use of Colored Wheels in Teaching Subject-Verb Agreement on Selected Alternative Learning System Students

Does color affect the way students absorb information? Dzulkifli, M., & Mustafar, M. (2013) noted that colors help in memory performance. Particular colors aid in cognitive attention and may contribute to academic success. The research aims to study the use of the Subject-Verb Color Wheel in teaching Subject-Verb Agreement to selected Alternative Learning System students. The Alternative Learning System is a government program which allows students who do not have the means to pay for formal schooling to attend an informal school setup based on their available time. The researchers taught several concepts on Subject-Verb Agreement using the color wheel. The color wheel is a learning device composed of two wheels attached to one another by a paper fastener, the wheel contains various examples of the different concepts in Subject-Verb Agreement. The larger wheel has subjects that are in certain colors, while the smaller wheel has the verbs also in matching colors. To be used, the student has to match the colors on both wheels by rotating the inner verb wheel. These color wheels, made by the researchers such that the various concepts of the lesson printed on different colors and students may keep them a reviewer. The post-test was then conducted to determine whether or not the intervention and use of the modified Color Wheel reviewer on the student’s test results in comparison with their pretest results. The Quasi-experimental study conducted to explore the result of this study. An independent sample t-test revealed that though the hypothesized value of 0.50 wasn’t attained, because it showed a significant 0.23 increase in the grades of the participants after having undergone the intervention and implementation of the modified Color Wheels. The role and significance of modified teaching materials as a helping mechanism were also discussed. Further studies can still be done through a satisfaction survey and focus group discussion among the selected Alternative Learning System students to find if the use of the learning device may offer a significant effect on their overall learnings
Novel twin-perovskite nanocomposite of Ba–Ce–Fe–Co–O as a promising triple conducting cathode material for protonic ceramic fuel cells

Abstract A stable twin-perovskite nanocomposite of Ba–Ce–Fe–Co–O was synthesized by a one-pot Pechini synthesis method. This discovery has opened a new avenue in the development of high-performance cathodes for protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs). The symmetrical cells showed relatively low cathode area-specific resistance compared with existing the state-of-the-art PCFC cathodes. The single cells demonstrated a low polarization resistance of 0.075 Ω cm2 and a high peak power density of 335 mW cm2 at 700 °C under an Air/H2 gradient.
Deep DoseNet: A deep neural network for accurate dosimetric transformation between different spatial resolutions and/or different dose calculation algorithms for precision radiation therapy.

Purpose: The purpose of this work is to introduce a novel deep learning strategy to obtain highly accurate dose plan by transforming from a dose distribution calculated using a low-cost algorithm (or algorithmic settings). Methods: 25,168 slices of dose distribution are calculated using Eclipse treatment planning system V15.6 (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA) on 10 patient CTs whose treatment sites ranging from lung, brain, abdomen and pelvis, with a grid size of 1.25x1.25x1.25mm using both anisotropic analytical algorithm (AAA) in 5mm resolution and Acuros XB algorithm (AXB) in 1.25mm resolution. The AAA dose slices, and the corresponding down sampled CT slices are combined to form a tensor with a size of 2x64x64, working as the input to the deep learning-based dose calculation network (Deep DoseNet), which outputs the calculated Acuros dose with a size of 256x256. The Deep DoseNet (DDN) consists of a feature extraction component and an upscaling part. The DDN converges after ~100 epochs with a learning rate of 10^-4, using ADAM. Results: We compared up sampled AAA dose and DDN output with that of AXB. For the evaluation set, the average mean-square-error decreased from 4.7x10^-4 between AAA and AXB to 7.0x10^-5 between DDN and AXB, with an average improvement of ~ 12 times. The average Gamma index passing rate at 3mm3% improved from 76% between AAA and AXB to 91% between DDN and AXB. The average calculation time is less than 1 milliseconds for a single slice on a NVIDIA DGX workstation. Conclusion: DDN, trained with a large amount of dosimetric data, can be employed as a general-purpose dose calculation acceleration engine across various dose calculation algorithms.
What constitutes a ‘successful’ recovery? Patient perceptions of the recovery process after a traumatic injury

Background As the number of patients surviving traumatic injuries has grown, understanding the factors that shape the recovery process has become increasingly important. However, the psychosocial factors affecting recovery from trauma have received limited attention. We conducted an exploratory qualitative study to better understand how patients view recovery after traumatic injury. Methods This qualitative, descriptive study was conducted at a Level One university trauma center. Participants 1–3 years postinjury were purposefully sampled to include common blunt-force mechanisms of injuries and a range of ages, socioeconomic backgrounds and injury severities. Semi-structured interviews explored participants’ perceptions of self and the recovery process after traumatic injury. Interviews were transcribed verbatim; the data were inductively coded and thematically analyzed. Results We conducted 15 interviews, 13 of which were with male participants (87%); average hospital length of stay was 8.9 days and mean injury severity score was 18.3. An essential aspect of the patient experience centered around the recovery of both the body and the ‘self’, a composite of one’s roles, values, identities and beliefs. The process of regaining a sound sense of self was essential to achieving favorable subjective outcomes. Participants expressed varying levels of engagement in their recovery process, with those on the high end of the engagement spectrum tending to speak more positively about their outcomes. Participants described their own subjective interpretations of their recovery as most important, which was primarily influenced by their engagement in the recovery process and ability to recover their sense of self. Discussion Patients who are able to maintain or regain a cohesive sense of self after injury and who are highly engaged in the recovery process have more positive assessments of their outcomes. Our findings offer a novel framework for healthcare providers and researchers to use as they approach the issue of recovery after injury with patients. Level of evidence III—descriptive, exploratory study.
The gateway to the pacific: Japanese Americans and the remaking of San Francisco

The Gateway to the Pacific opens with the story of Tomoye and Henri Takahashi, a Japanese American couple in San Francisco who managed to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of World War II throug...
Pediatric firearm injuries: A Midwest experience

Abstract Introduction Firearm injuries remain a significant public health concern. As a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center with a wide and diverse catchment, we sought to define our own experience as well as identify the affected patient population. Methods A retrospective review was conducted utilizing our institution's trauma registry including all pediatric patients (age ≤ 17 years) who presented with a firearm injury between 2012 and 2017. Patients were stratified by age group as well as by geographic location. Outcomes as well as circumstances of the shooting were measured. Results A total of 236 patients were included. One hundred thirteen patients (47.9%) were ≤ 12 years while 123 (52.1%) were between the ages of 13 and 17 years. The younger group had a 52.2% operative intervention rate while the older group had a 37.2% operative intervention rate (p = 0.005) while there was no difference in mortality rate. Patients in the younger group tended to be injured by someone who was known to the patient (self: 22.1%, family/friend: 44.3%) as an accidental shooting (61.9%) while patients in the older group were usually injured by a stranger (58.5%) as an assault (61.8%). When stratified by location, the majority of patients were from large cities. However, after adjusting for population, the firearm injury rate was the highest in the small cities. The majority of the shootings in these small cities were accidental, even after stratifying by age (young group: 81.4% small cities vs 50% large cities, p = 0.0008%; older group: 62.5% small cities vs 25.2% large cities, p = 0.0005). Conclusions Although gun violence in the pediatric population is traditionally viewed as an “urban” problem among teens, our research shows that young children also suffer the consequences of firearm injuries and that rural areas are afflicted particularly by accidental firearm discharges. This may represent a new targeted audience for outreach. Level of evidence III.
Prostatic Artery Embolization: Variant Origins and Collaterals

Prostate artery embolization (PAE) is a minimally invasive treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia associated lower urinary tract symptoms. The prostatic arterial anatomy, origins and collaterals, are highly variable and can lead to technical pitfalls and suboptimal results during PAE. In this paper we aim to discuss the variant prostate artery origins and collateral circulation to provide a primer on relevant anatomy for interventional radiologists performing PAE.
Remdesivir and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Essential Questions and Answers for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians

Objective: To conduct a review of the investigational drug remdesivir and its therapeutic potential for treatment of COVID-19, in the form of a series of questions and answers. The purpose of the review is to narrow gaps in knowledge, clarify concepts, and to investigate research advancements for health care professionals. Data Sources: From June 2020 to August 2020, we conducted comprehensive searches of MEDLINE-PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases with no time limitations. Search terms were included that contained the terms "remdesivir," "COVID-19," "novel coronavirus" and "evidence," "therapy," "safety," "effectiveness," "efficacy," "clinical trial." Study Selection and Data Extraction: The sources of information include all publicly available data from previously published research reports. Reports must have at least one reference to remdesivir as a treatment modality for COVID-19 with no specified outcomes. Data Synthesis: Major research findings on the efficacy and safety of remdesivir are summarized in tabular format and presented in chronological order. Results of this review reveal remdesivir to be an effective therapy in specific clinical contexts; however, in several areas, available data are insufficient to support evidence-based guidance for remdesivir in the treatment of COVID-19. Conclusions: Clinical trials on remdesivir are ongoing, yet questions remain and further research is needed as to the selection of patients, effectiveness, and duration of treatment in the use of remdesivir for treatment of COVID-19.
Tax Justice and Same-Sex Domestic Partner Health Benefits: An Analysis of the Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act

Under DOMA, tax exemptions for employer-provided health benefits are available unequally to same-sex and opposite-sex spouses. The Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act would make the law more equitable, but it should also extend the tax exclusion for dismemberment benefits to same-sex partners.
Quantitative T2 -mapping magnetic resonance imaging for assessment of muscle motor unit recruitment patterns.

INTRODUCTION In this study, we aimed to determine whether muscle transverse relaxation time (T2 ) magnetic resonance (MR) mapping results correlate with motor unit loss, as defined by motor unit recruitment patterns on electromyography (EMG). METHODS EMG and 3-Tesla MRI exams were acquired no more than 31 days apart in subjects referred for peripheral nerve MRI. Two musculoskeletal radiologists qualitatively graded T2 -weighted, fat-suppressed sequences for severity of muscle edema-like patterns and manually placed regions of interest within muscles to obtain T2 values from T2 -mapping sequences. Concordance was calculated between qualitative and quantitative MR grades and EMG recruitment categories (none, discrete, decreased) as well as interobserver agreement for both MR grades. RESULTS Thirty-four muscles (21 abnormal, 13 control) were assessed in 13 subjects (5 females and 8 males; mean age, 46 years) with 14 EMG-MRI pairs. T2 -relaxation times were significantly (P < .001) increased in all EMG recruitment categories compared with control muscles. T2 differences were not significant between EMG grades of motor unit recruitment (P = .151-.702). T2 and EMG score concordance was acceptable (Harrell's concordance index [c index]: rater A, 0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.51-0.87; rater B, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.57-0.91). Qualitative MRI and EMG score concordance was poor to acceptable (c index: rater A, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.50-0.79; rater B, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.55-0.89). T2 values had moderate-to-substantial ability to distinguish between absent vs incomplete (ie, decreased or discrete) motor unit recruitment (c index: rater A, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.50-1.00; rater B, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.57-1.00). DISCUSSION Quantitative T2 MR muscle mapping is a promising tool for noninvasive evaluation of the degree of motor unit recruitment loss.
Hereditary pseudocholinesterase deficiency discovery after electroconvulsive therapy

Inherited pseudocholinesterase deficiency refers to an uncommon defect in the butyrylcholinesterase enzyme which can result in prolonged muscle paralysis due to delayed breakdown of choline ester paralytic anaesthetic agents. We describe a 25-year-old woman receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for treatment of depression in whom motor function did not recover adequately after administration of succinylcholine. Investigated post-ECT, she was found to have severe pseudocholinesterase deficiency. Implications of pseudocholinesterase deficiency for ECT treatment and anaesthetic strategies are discussed.
Human-Drone Interaction for Aerially Manipulated Drilling using Haptic Feedback

This paper presents a concept for haptic-based human-in-the-loop aerial manipulation for drilling. The concept serves as a case study for designing the human-drone interface to remotely drill with a mobile-manipulating drone. The notion of the work stems from using drones to perform dangerous tasks like material assembly, sensor insertion while being vertically elevated from bridge, wind turbine, and power line. Presented is the aerial manipulator, the customized haptic drill press, the gantry-based test-and-evaluation platform design, material drilling results in the gantry, and validation-and-verification results for indoor flight trials.
CB1R and iNOS are distinct players promoting pulmonary fibrosis in Hermansky–Pudlak syndrome

Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome (HPS) is a rare genetic disorder which, in its most common and severe form, HPS-1, leads to fatal adult-onset pulmonary fibrosis (PF) with no effective treatment. We evaluated the role of the endocannabinoid/CB1 R system and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) for dual-target therapeutic strategy using human bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), lung samples from patients with HPS and controls, HPS-PF patient-derived lung fibroblasts, and bleomycin-induced PF in pale ear mice (HPS1ep/ep ). We found overexpression of CB1 R and iNOS in fibrotic lungs of HPSPF patients and bleomycin-infused pale ear mice. The endocannabinoid anandamide was elevated in BALF and negatively correlated with pulmonary function parameters in HPSPF patients and pale ear mice with bleomycin-induced PF. Simultaneous targeting of CB1 R and iNOS by MRI-1867 yielded greater antifibrotic efficacy than inhibiting either target alone by attenuating critical pathologic pathways. Moreover, MRI-1867 treatment abrogated bleomycin-induced increases in lung levels of the profibrotic interleukin-11 via iNOS inhibition and reversed mitochondrial dysfunction via CB1 R inhibition. Dual inhibition of CB1 R and iNOS is an effective antifibrotic strategy for HPSPF.
Behavior of k-NN as an Instance-Based Explanation Method.

Adoption of DL models in critical areas has led to an escalating demand for sound explanation methods. Instance-based explanation methods are a popular type that return selective instances from the training set to explain the predictions for a test sample. One way to connect these explanations with prediction is to ask the following counterfactual question - how does the loss and prediction for a test sample change when explanations are removed from the training set? Our paper answers this question for k-NNs which are natural contenders for an instance-based explanation method. We first demonstrate empirically that the representation space induced by last layer of a neural network is the best to perform k-NN in. Using this layer, we conduct our experiments and compare them to influence functions (IFs) ~\cite{koh2017understanding} which try to answer a similar question. Our evaluations do indicate change in loss and predictions when explanations are removed but we do not find a trend between $k$ and loss or prediction change. We find significant stability in the predictions and loss of MNIST vs. CIFAR-10. Surprisingly, we do not observe much difference in the behavior of k-NNs vs. IFs on this question. We attribute this to training set subsampling for IFs.
Properties of Myocardial Calcium Slow Channels and Mechanisms of Action of Calcium Antagonistic Drugs

Publisher Summary The voltage- and time-dependent slow channels in the myocardial cell membrane are the major pathways by which Ca 2+ ions enter the cell during excitation for the initiation and regulation of the force of contraction of cardiac muscle. This chapter provides an overview of some of the important properties of the myocardial slow channels, including their regulation by cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP) and phosphorylation. The slow channels have some special properties, including functional dependence on metabolic energy, selective blockade by acidosis, and regulation by the intracellular cyclic nucleotide levels. Tetrodotoxin does not block the slow channels, whereas the calcium antagonistic drugs, Mn 2+ , Co 2+ , and La 3+ ions do. Catecholamines, angiotensin II, histamine, and methylxanthines rapidly induce slow channels in myocardial cells. The myocardial Ca2+ slow channels are also regulated by cyclic guanosine monophosphate (GMP), in a manner that is opposite to that of cyclic AMP, and some cardioactive drugs, including some of the calcium-antagonistic drugs, may also affect the phosphorylation–dephosphorylation steps. The dependence of the myocardial slow channels on the cyclic AMP level and on metabolism suggests that the phosphorylation of a membrane protein constituent of the slow channel, or of an associated regulatory protein, by a cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase and adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP), may make the channel available for voltage activation during excitation.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Dermatology

According to survey data, 35–69% of patients with skin disease have used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in their lifetime. A literature search on this subject reveals a number of studies on the efficacy of CAM treatment for dermatologic conditions, as well as a number of articles showing the growing prevalence of CAM use amongst patients suffering from these conditions. Given the consensus amongst these articles that dermatologists require increased education on CAM, this paper presents an overview of some of the most widely used systems of alternative medicine to serve as a tool for practicing dermatologists. Specifically, the history and theory behind psychocutaneous therapies, traditional Chinese medicine (including acupuncture), homeopathy, and Ayurvedic medicine will be described, along with current evidence for their efficacy and reports of their adverse effects. The authors conclude that more evidence and better studies are needed for each of the major CAM modalities before they may be considered as independent therapeutic options. Moreover, given the shortage of evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of CAM, dermatologists should obtain a thorough history of CAM use from their patients. In general, ingestible substances including most homeopathic, Ayurvedic, and traditional Chinese medicine herbal formulations that are not US FDA regulated should be viewed with caution as they may cause severe adverse effects such as arsenicosis and hepatotoxicity. On the other hand, less invasive techniques such as acupuncture and psychocutaneous therapies may be more acceptable given their low-risk profile. Ultimately, until the availability of more sound data, these treatments should primarily be used in combination with conventional treatment and rarely independently.
Nematospiroides dubius: mechanisms of host immunity. I. Parasite counts, histopathology, and serum transfer involving orally or subcutaneously sensitized mice

Abstract The immune response of mice sensitized to Nematospiroides dubius by 2 different procedures was studied. Worm counts, histopathology and serum transfers were employed as parameters of comparison between the 2 sensitization groups. The profile of the parasite elimination curve over 16 days postchallenge, was strikingly different for orally and subcutaneously sensitized mice. The precipitous reduction in parasite burden of the orally sensitized (OS) group was evident 24 hr after challenge, and was essentially completed by Day 7. Conversely, there was no significant reduction in the parasite population of subcutaneously sensitized (SS) mice until Day 3, and a considerable number of worms persisted in this group until Day 16, at which time both OS and SS animals had comparable levels of parasitism. Histopathologic observations of the small intestine revealed fewer active granulomatous lesions in OS mice when compared to their SS counterparts. However, the composition and size of the granulomas encapsulating the smaller histotropic larval stages were similar in both sensitization groups. In SS animals, large numbers of eosinophils were commonly observed enveloping medium sized worms in the intestinal tunica muscularis after Day 5. Serum transfer demonstrated the presence of growth suppressing antibody in the sera of both sensitization groups. In addition, significantly fewer worms could be recovered from OS serum recipients.
Engineering terminal disulfide bonds into DNA.

This protocol presents a simple and general means of modifying nucleic acids with disulfide cross-links. These cross-links serve as powerful tools to probe the structure, dynamics, thermodynamics, folding, and function of DNA and RNA, much in the way that cystine cross-links have been used to study proteins. The chemistry described has been used to synthesize disulfide-cross-linked hairpins and duplexes, higher-order structures such as triplexes, non-ground-state conformations, and tRNAs. since the cross-links form quantitatively by mild air oxidation and do not purturb either secondary or tertiary structure, this modification should prove quite useful for the study of nucleic acids. Keywords: nucleic acid; disulfide cross-link; structure; dynamics; stability
Prophetic Pragmatism and the Practices of Freedom: On Cornel West's Foucauldian Methodology

This essay explores the Foucauldian influence on Cornel West’s prophetic pragmatism. Although West argues that Foucauldian methods are insufficient to deliver a philosophy of liberation, I argue that there is nothing in Foucault that would prohibit West from such a goal, even though a philosophy of liberation was not one of Foucault’s goals. Fortunately, one can understand West’s own project of liberation in terms of “practices of freedom,” allowing one to describe West’s philosophical project in strict Foucauldian terms.
Two dimensional concurrent program debugging

A concurrent program fault can propagate both within a single task (thread of control) and between tasks, making fault localization difficult. We propose a two-dimensional approach and supporting techniques for integrating analysis of task interactions, inter- and intra-task data flow, and conventional sequential debugging of individual tasks. We define augmented concurrent dynamic slice, a variant of dynamic slice, which balances the cost and accuracy for concurrent program debugging and permits adjustment of that balance and focus on small parts of large complex systems. We also describe the design and implementation of prototype tools which add concurrent slicing capability to an existing debugger.
Laboring Underground: The Employment Patterns of Hispanic Immigrant Men in Durham, NC.

The dramatic increase in Hispanic immigration to the United States in recent decades has been coterminous with fundamental shifts in the labor market towards heightened flexibility, instability, and informality. As a result, the low-wage labor market is increasingly occupied by Hispanic immigrants, many of whom are undocumented. While numerous studies examine the implications for natives' employment prospects, our understanding of low-wage immigrants themselves remains underdeveloped. Drawing on original data collected in Durham, North Carolina, this article provides a more holistic account of immigrant Hispanic's labor market experiences, examining not only wages but also employment instability and benefit coverage. The analysis evaluates the role of human capital and immigration characteristics, including legal status, in shaping compensation outcomes, as well as the influence of other employment characteristics. Findings highlight the salience of nonstandard work arrangements such as subcontracting and informal employment to the labor market experiences of immigrant Hispanic men, and describe the constellation of risk factors that powerfully bound immigrant employment outcomes.
Enteroscopic treatment of early postoperative small bowel obstruction.

Background: Early postoperative small bowel obstruction (EPSBO) occurs in 1% of patients undergoing laparotomy and has a mortality rate exceeding 17%. Nasogastric (NG) decompression is successful in avoiding reoperation in 73% of patients. Repeat laparotomy has been recommended when obstruction does not resolve after 14 days of NG decompression. We report four patients with EPSBO treated successfully with push enteroscopy after failed NG decompression. Methods: Four patients who failed NG decompression underwent push enteroscopy instead of repeat laparotomy. EPSBO was diagnosed if obstruction lasting more than 14 days developed after initial resolution of postoperative ileus, high NG output persisted postoperatively for 21 days in the absence of sepsis, or radiographic signs of obstruction persisted. Small bowel series or computed tomography were utilized when radiographic assessment was necessary. The Olympus SIF 100 push enteroscope was introduced with an overtube using topical anesthesia and intravenous sedation. After maximal insertion, the enteroscope was withdrawn without evacuation of insufflated air. NG tubes were placed after enteroscopy and patients were followed clinically. Flatus, defecation, and tolerance of a general diet defined resolution of EPSBO. Results: EPSBO resolved 24 to 36 h following enteroscopy, and all patients were discharged on general diets 48 h after return of bowel function. Readmission has not been necessary during 18- to 30-month follow-up. Conclusions: Our experience suggests that push enteroscopy is successful in treating EPSBO and should be considered prior to reoperation. Push enteroscopy may eliminate the hazards of repeat laparotomy and reduce the morbidity, treatment cost, and lengthy hospital stays associated with this uncommon surgical complication.
The plasma jet: industrial hygiene aspects and a survey of current United States practices for employee protection

Abstract The plasma torch, because it concentrates large amounts of thermal energy in a small volume, has become increasingly popular in industry. During the past fifteen years, the plasma torch has developed into an important industrial tool, and it has been used for metal cutting and welding fabricating operations that would not be possible otherwise. However, along with technological advances, the plasma torch has presented new problems to the industrial hygiene field. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss these problems and the extent of industrial hygienist's awareness of them. A brief outline of the theory of the plasma torch and the history and scope of its industrial usage is also presented.
Model for in situ perchloroethene dechlorination via membrane-delivered hydrogen

A one-dimensional contaminant fate and transport model was developed to simulate reductive dechlorination of perchloroethene (PCE) in an anaerobic aquifer supplied with hydrogen via a gas-permeable membrane curtain. The model predicted that providing hydrogen at transfer rates equal to the reducing-equivalent demand associated with the groundwater PCE flux would mineralize 75% of the PCE-bound chlorine to chloride and, furthermore, that 0.55 moles of chloride would be released per mole of hydrogen transferred. Supplying higher hydrogen transfer rates was predicted to result in slightly lower dechlorination efficiencies and significantly lower dechlorination yields due to greater methanogenic growth and concomitant displacement of dehalorespirers away from the hydrogen-supply membranes. The model also predicted that high hydrogen-utilizing biomass concentrations would develop near the membranes, resulting in minimal hydrogen dispersal. Model predictions were qualitatively similar to results attained in experimental soil column studies; however, incorporation of homoacetogenesis and acetate utilization by dehalorespirers, as well as hydrogen production via fermentation of biomass decay products, would have improved agreement between model simulations and experimentally observed dechlorination performance.
Dynamic initial allocation and local reallocation procedures for multiple stacks

Two new procedures for manipulating multiple stacks which share sequential memory locations are discussed. The first is the dynamic initial allocation procedure in which each stack is allocated as its first element arrives rather than having every stack preallocated at the very beginning of the entire process. The second is the local reallocation procedure; in this scheme, when a stack overflows, only its neighboring stacks, rather than the entire memory area, are reorganized provided that a certain condition is satisfied. The results of simulation appear to suggest that these new approaches improve the operational performance in many applications. With appropriate modifications, these concepts may also be applied to any other type of multiple linear lists (e.g., multiple queues) sharing sequential memory locations.
Population Pharmacokinetics: Fundamentals, Methods and Applications

AbstractThe application of pharmacokinetic principles can maximize the goals of drug administration from the time a drug is first administered to man during the initial phases of development, to well beyond the approval of the NDA. Population pharmacokinetics is playing an increasing role in this regard. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the principles and methods of population pharmacokinetics. Finally, examples of how population pharmacokinetics may be applied to optimize drug administration are presented.
Chemical characterization of industrial wastewaters by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Abstract Organic pollutants in seven industrial wastewaters being discharged into the Calcasieu River in Louisiana were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Discharge of compounds not indicated from the manufacturer's lists of products and raw materials were revealed. Chemical characterization provided information beyond that obtainable from traditional pollution measurements and information especially suitable for pollution legislation enforcement.
Flooding and upward film flow in tubes—I. Experimental studies

Abstract New data are presented on the details of the flooding process and upward film flow including film and entrainment flow rates, film structure, pressure drop, sd well as interfacial and wall shear. These data are used to explore the mechanism of flooding and upward film flow in part II.
A Mechanism for Synergy with Combined mTOR and PI3 Kinase Inhibitors

Dysregulation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling has been found in many human cancers, particularly those with loss of the tumor suppressor PTEN. However, mTORC1 inhibitors such as temsirolimus have only modest activity when used alone and may induce acquired resistance by activating upstream mTORC2 and Akt. Other tumors that do not depend upon PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling for survival are primarily resistant. This study tested the hypothesis that the limited clinical efficacy of temsirolimus is due to a compensatory increase in survival signaling pathways downstream of Akt as well as an incomplete block of 4E-BP1-controlled proliferative processes downstream of mTOR. We explored the addition of a PI3K inhibitor to temsirolimus and identified the mechanism of combinatorial synergy. Proliferation assays revealed that BEZ235 (dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor) or ZSTK474 (pan PI3K inhibitor) combined with temsirolimus synergistically inhibited cell growth compared to cells treated with any of the agents alone. Co-treatment resulted in G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and up-regulation of p27. Cell death occurred through massive autophagy and subsequent apoptosis. While molecular profiling revealed that, in most cases, sensitivity to temsirolimus alone was most marked in cells with high basal phospho-Akt resulting from PTEN inactivation, combining a PI3K inhibitor with temsirolimus prevented compensatory Akt phosphorylation and synergistically enhanced cell death regardless of PTEN status. Another molecular correlate of synergy was the finding that temsirolimus treatment alone blocks downstream S6 kinase signaling, but not 4E-BP1. Adding BEZ235 completely abrogated 4E-BP1 phosphorylation. We conclude that the addition of a PI3K inhibitor overcomes cellular resistance to mTORC1 inhibitors regardless of PTEN status, and thus substantially expands the molecular phenotype of tumors likely to respond.
Ethanol and gelfuel: clean renewable cooking fuels for poverty alleviation in Africa

This paper presents a discussion on the potential of ethanol and gelfuel as clean renewable and low-cost household cooking fuels for African countries. The discussion is based on the experience of the “Millennium Gelfuel Initiative (MGI)”, a public-private sector partnership shepherded by the RPTES Program of the World Bank in Africa. The paper starts by providing a brief background of the household energy sector in Africa. It then summarizes the objectives, scope and outcomes of the MGI. The possibility to promote rural, agricultural and agro-industrial development and poverty alleviation through the establishment of ethanol production programs in African countries is presented next, and a conceptual developmental model is outlined. The paper then touches on three key implementation concerns: context-specific nature of bioenergy production systems; “fuel vs. food dilemma”; and scale-up challenge. The paper concludes with a summary of a possible implementation framework, including the roles of the private sector, governments and the international development community.