cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Congenital Nasal Pyriform Aperture Stenosis Is There a Role for Nasal Dilation

Importance Congenital nasal pyriform aperture stenosis (CNPAS) may require sublabial drill-out of the pyriform aperture when symptoms are severe or refractory to medical therapy. Less invasive nasal dilation decreases potential morbidity to neonates with severe CNPAS. Objective To determine the outcome of patients with CNPAS who underwent nasal dilation alone without other surgical therapy. Design, Setting, and Participants A retrospective case series at a tertiary pediatric hospital involving neonates with CNPAS. Interventions Nasal dilation using Hegar cervical dilators in neonates with severe CNPAS. Main Outcomes and Measures Avoidance of sublabial pyriform aperture drill-out and length of stay in the hospital after treatment. Results Four patients (median age, 15 days) had respiratory distress and feeding difficulties. Nasal stenosis was suspected, and maxillofacial computed tomography scans revealed a mean pyriform aperture width of 4.5 mm. Medical therapy was initiated, but symptoms persisted. Direct laryngoscopy, rigid bronchoscopy, and nasal endoscopy with nasal dilation to at least 4 mm were performed in 4 patients without postoperative stenting. Mean length of stay after treatment was 4 days. Two patients underwent repeat nasal dilation on postoperative days 18 and 23. All 4 patients remained free of nasal disease in a median follow-up of 4.5 months. Conclusions and Relevance Four patients with severe CNPAS were successfully treated with nasal dilation without pyriform aperture bone removal or nasal stenting. This series, while small, suggests that nasal dilation may be a therapeutic option for severe CNPAS that decreases the risks of open surgery and subsequent stent use.
A review of objective methods of evaluating auditory neural pathways.

Objectives: Review physiological methods of evaluating function of the auditory neural pathways in infants, children, and adults. Present two case studies to demonstrate the usefulness of physiological measures in assessing abnormalities of the auditory neural pathways. Study Design: Review of applications of physiological measures of auditory neural function. Methods: Review otoacoustic emissions, auditory evoked potentials, and efferent reflexes, and discuss their use in identifying disorders of the auditory neural pathways from the cochlea to the cortex. Results: Auditory disorders occur from peripheral to central areas of the neural system. Patients with disorders of the peripheral nerve and/or the input from the cochlear inner hair cells, such as the patients presently described as having auditory neuropathy, demonstrate abnormal efferent reflexes, including middle ear muscle reflexes and efferent suppression of otoacoustic emissions, as well as grossly abnormal brainstem evoked potentials. In contrast, patients with more central disorders can be differentiated by normal results on tests of the neural periphery and abnormal findings on cortical evoked potentials and other measures of central function. Conclusions: Physiological measures are sensitive, objective, and less variable in assessing neural disorders than traditional behavioral measures such as pure-tone or speech audiometry.
Smed-βcatenin-1 Is Required for Anteroposterior Blastema Polarity in Planarian Regeneration

Planarian flatworms can regenerate heads at anterior-facing wounds and tails at posterior-facing wounds throughout the body. How this regeneration polarity is specified has been a classic problem for more than a century. We identified a planarian gene, Smed-βcatenin-1, that controls regeneration polarity. Posterior-facing blastemas regenerate a head instead of a tail in Smed-βcatenin-1(RNAi) animals. Smed-βcatenin-1 is required after wounding and at any posterior-facing wound for polarity. Additionally, intact Smed-βcatenin-1(RNAi) animals display anteriorization during tissue turnover. Five Wnt genes and a secreted Frizzled-related Wnt antagonist-like gene are expressed in domains along the anteroposterior axis that reset to new positions during regeneration, which suggests that Wnts control polarity through Smed-βcatenin-1. Our data suggest that β-catenin specifies the posterior character of the anteroposterior axis throughout the Bilateria and specifies regeneration polarity in planarians.
The Explanation of Myth and Myth as Explanation

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate critically aspects of the new intellectualist tradition insofar as this tradition treats of myth as a kind of explanation. In the first section I describe four versions of myth as explanation (Horton, Winch, Lukes and Jarvie). All four versions take myths at their face value and then, by various means, attempt to show how such explanations are to be understood. Concepts such as idiom, context, situation, play key roles in these attempts. I find none of these versions satisfactory although all have the merit of establishing myth's cognitive character and, therefore, of moving beyond purely emotive theories of myth. In the second part of the paper I argue that the structuralist perspective of Levi-Strauss constitutes a genuine theoretical advance by subsuming the surface features of myth, such as its explanatory character, under more fundamental and comprehensive concepts. L&vi-Strauss has succeeded in describing the formal properties of mythic systems by using linguistic theory as a model. This opens the way for empirical investigations into the acquisition and function of symbolic systems. I conclude by asserting that it is time for bold theories about the formal properties of religious systems and for ingenious attempts at finding ways to find application for them to the welter of data which religionists have already gathered. E. Thomas Lawson (Ph. D., University of Chicago) is Professor of Religion and Chairman at Western Michigan University. He works in the areas of philosophy of religion and the philosophy of science and has published articles and reviews in Religion, Religious Studies Review, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Foundations, Lutheran Quarterly, Theological Education, and the Journal of Ecumenical Studies.
CHARACTERIZATION OF CARBON IN HETEROEPITAXIAL SI1-X-YGEXCY THIN FILMS VIA COMBINED ION CHANNELING AND NUCLEAR RESONANCE ANALYSIS

Abstract The amount and substitutionality of carbon in Si 1 − x − y Ge x C y heteroepitaxial thin films on Si(100) with thicknesses ranging between 100 and 500 nm are characterized via combined ion channeling and nuclear resonance analysis (NRA). To measure carbon concentrations as small as 2.5 × 10 20 atoms/cm 3 the 12 C(α,α). 12 C nuclear resonance at 4.265 MeV with 4 He 2+ is used since the resonance enhances the elastic cross section by a factor of 128. However, the NRA signal from carbon surface contamination is of the same order of magnitude as the signal from the carbon within the film. The two signals can be separated by increasing the angle between the normal to the sample surface and the incident beam. Bulk signal crystal cubic SiC was used for calibrating NRA combined with ion channeling. The χ min was found to be 4.5% along the 〈111〉 direction for both carbon and silicon. Because SiC is used, a higher energy than the carbon resonance energy can be used to resonate C inside the crystal to maximize the signal from the resonance of carbon at the surface. The carbon signal of the film cannot be separated from the surface signal in the 〈111〉 channeling direction in films that are 100 nm thick, but can be separated in thicker films. Experiments were also conducted to determine the effectiveness of surface carbon removal via wet chemical etching. The surface carbon was reduced but not eliminated. This study was complemented by depth profiling with SIMS and microstructural analysis from HRTEM and FTIR techniques.
The Decline Of Venture Capital Investment In Early-Stage Life Sciences Poses A Challenge To Continued Innovation

A key element required for translating new knowledge into effective therapies is early-stage venture capital that finances the work needed to identify a lead molecule or medical device prototype and to develop it to the proof-of-concept stage. This early investment is distinguished by great uncertainty over whether the molecule or prototype is safe and effective, the stability of the regulatory standards to which clinical trials are designed, and the likelihood that large follow-on investments for commercial development can be secured. Regulatory and reimbursement policies have a profound impact on the amount of capital and the types of life science projects that investors pursue. In this article I analyze several recent trends in early-stage venture capital funding, describe how these trends are influenced by regulatory and reimbursement policies, and discuss the role of policy makers in bringing new treatments to market. Policy makers can foster renewed private investment into critically needed early-st...
Elevated preoperative blood pressure predicts the intraoperative loss of SSEP neuromonitoring signals during spinal surgery

Intraoperative neuromonitoring of somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) can allow identification of evolving neurologic deficit. However, SSEP deterioration is not always associated with postoperative deficit. Transient physiologic changes, including a decrease in blood pressure (BP), can result in signal deterioration, defined as a decrease in waveform amplitude of >50 % seen without neurologic deficit. This study examines the relationship between intraoperative BP decrease and SSEP neuromonitoring to determine whether hypertensive patients are more prone to decreases in BP and if such BP declines are associated with signal loss. We conducted a retrospective review of 43 lumbar laminectomy patients at Mount Sinai. Patients were categorized based on whether they had a previous hypertension diagnosis and if they presented with a first systolic BP of greater than 140 mmHg in the admission area on the morning of surgery, two groups that were not mutually exclusive. We measured BP drop by calculating fractional mean arterial pressure (fMAP, lowest MAP/baseline MAP) and change in BP. We identified patients’ SSEP tracings in which signal amplitude decreased >50 %. After dividing patients’ recording times into 5-min epochs, we calculated median MAP and whether SSEPs deteriorated in each epoch. We compared the likelihood of signal loss in hypertensives to patients presenting with elevated BP, calculating the odds ratio. Elevated BP prior to surgery is associated with lower fMAP (p = 0.007) and a larger intraoperative decrease in BP (p < 0.001). A diagnosis of hypertension is not associated with lower fMAP or BP drop. Lower epoch fMAP is associated with signal loss (p = 0.0026). While the presence of preoperative elevated BP predicts SSEP abnormality (p = 0.0039), a diagnosis of hypertension does not. Elevated BP, not a hypertension diagnosis, is associated with intraoperative loss of SSEP signals. This effect of elevated BP on SSEPs may be due to the larger associated intraoperative BP decline.
Improving Medication Adherence: Moving from Intention and Motivation to a Personal Systems Approach

Medication nonadherence is a challenging and prevalent problem in older adults. Effective medication management involves successfully completing a complex group of behaviors. Meta-analyses and narrative review findings support limited benefits to medication adherence with interventions preoccupied with personal characteristics, intention, and motivation. Evidence supports a paradigm shift toward changing personal systems in which the person lives to improve and maintain medication adherence behavior. Personal-systems change systematically improves individual systems through collaboratively shaping routines, involving supportive-others in routines, and using medication self-monitoring to improve and maintain behavior. Other advances that support personal systems change are also presented.
The spatial structure of a nonlinear receptive field.

The authors attempt to improve existing retinal models by incorporating measurements of the physiological properties and connectivity of only the primary excitatory circuitry of the retina. The resulting model predicts ganglion cell responses to a variety of spatial patterns and provides a direct correspondence between circuit connectivity and retinal output.
Evaluation of a Frequentist Hierarchical Model to Estimate Prevalence When Sampling from a Large Geographic Area Using Pool Screening

We present a frequentist Bernoulli-Beta hierarchical model to relax the constant prevalence assumption underlying the traditional prevalence estimation approach based on pooled data. This assumption is called into question when sampling from a large geographic area. Pool screening is a method that combines individual items into pools. Each pool will either test positive (at least one of the items is positive) or negative (all items are negative). Pool screening is commonly applied to the study of tropical diseases where pools consist of vectors (e.g. black flies) that can transmit the disease. The goal is to estimate the proportion of infected vectors. Intermediate estimators (model parameters) and estimators of ultimate interest (pertaining to prevalence) are evaluated by standard measures of merit, such as bias, variance and mean squared error making extensive use of expansions. Using the hierarchical model an investigator can determine the probability of the prevalence being below a prespecified threshold value, a value at which no reemergence of the disease is expected. An investigation into the least biased choice of the α parameter in the Beta (α, β) prevalence distribution leads to the choice of α = 1.
Energy spectrum of field ionization at a single atomic site

Abstract Energy deficit spectra of field ions coming from above a single atomic site are measured by using an atom-probe FIM modified with a Mollenstedt energy analyzer. This device offers a resolution of 5 × 10−5 and is inherently more efficient and less noisy than a retarder. The energy spectra made up of 10 to 100 ions/sec are displayed on the screen of an assembly of two microchannel plates and are photographically recorded within a few seconds. Jason peaks for H2+ and Ne+ are confirmed, and are also found for He+. High-order multiple peaks appear when ions are taken from the flat, closely packed net planes of W and Ir field ion emitters. The results are in quantitative agreement with a resonance model similar to one by Alferieff and Duke and by Jason. Noble gas ions are also observed from the forbidden zone near the surface, and interpreted as apex-adsorbed atoms ionized by or after excitation by the electron shower coming from farther-out field ionization of other gas atoms. Energy from excited metastable apex-adsorbed atoms may account for artifact vacancies observed particularly when field evaporation is performed in neon.
Motor Carrier Service to Rural and Agricultural Shipper/Receivers in Regulated and Unregulated Economic Environments

Early railroad regulation was based on the notion that railroads formed a market structure requiring close public control to function in the public interest. By the early 1930s motor carriers were providing substantial competition to railroads, and pressure for federal regulation of motor carriage mounted. Motor carriers suffered from cutthroat competition as did many atomistic industries in the depression of the 1930s. The intensive competition during this depressed era resulted in belowcost rates, diversion of traffic away from railroads, and general industry instability. The resulting political support by railroads and established motor carriers for regulation led to the Motor Carrier Act of 1935, the initial federal statute regulating motor trucking. The federal regulatory philosophy applied to motor carriage paralleled that for railroads. The Motor Carrier Act of 1935 included provisions which controlled motor carrier rates, entry and exit, and routes. However, regulatory exemptions were incorporated into the legislation, most notably the exemptions on unmanufactured agricultural products. Thus the regulatory effect of the Motor Carrier Act on rural and agricultural shipper/receivers (S/R) was uneven. For-hire interstate motor carriage of unmanufactured agricultural products was exempt from economic regulation, whereas general freight carriers providing interstate transportation services to rural communities were controlled in a manner similar to railroads including the common carrier requirement that, as public utilities, they must extend their services to all of the general public.
Inverse Scattering Problem in Anisotropic Media

A new family of scattering invariants is constructed that differs from the scattering invariants obtained by the geometric optics approximations. A local uniqueness (modulo a diffeomorphism) of the metric with a given hodograph function is proven under some restrictions on the curvature of the metric.
Spin-flip scattering of low-energy electrons from magnetic surfaces near their ordering temperature: Application to Cr(110).

We examine the theory of spin-flip scattering of low-energy electrons from magnetic surfaces near their ordering temperature, to inquire if the spin-flip contribution to the diffuse background can be used to explore the nature of spin fluctuations near the surface, in this temperature regime. The spin-flip contribution to the diffuse background is related to equal-time correlation functions, which contain information about the amplitude of the near-surface spin fluctuations. These are calculated within the framework of Landau-Ginzburg theory, and their properties explored for various cases. The results are combined with a multiple-scattering-based description of the excitation process, to generate quantitative predictions for the antiferromagnetic Cr(110) surface. The calculations enable us to isolate particular scattering geometries which should be particularly favorable for the observation of surface spin fluctuations near the N\'eel temperature.
Chemotherapy for metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer - can that dog hunt?

Although no longer the most common cancer diagnosed in the United States, a dubious distinction now credited to breast cancer, bronchogenic carcinoma remains by far the principal cause of cancer-related deaths. Little progress has been made in the management of lung cancer during the past 20 years because of the systemic nature of this carcinoma and the lack of effective therapy other than surgical resection. More than 75% of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer present with unresectable disease, and even those with resectable lesions have a high propensity to experience recurrence with extrathoracic metastases. Unfortunately, an effective systemic therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer does not exist. Indeed, chemotherapy has failed to prove curative in even an occasional patient with metastatic disease. Since chemotherapy regimens used to treat metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer have no curative potential, what can one reasonably expect from them? An improvement in a patient's quality of life or a prolongation in survival would make therapy warranted. Presumably, a prolongation of life would be accompanied by a reduction in tumor-related symptoms, although this is not necessarily the case. Does chemotherapy improve the survival of non-small-cel l lung cancer patients with metastatic disease? In this issue of the Journal, Cartei et al. describe the results of a randomized phase III trial in which 102 patients with metastatic nonsmall-cell lung cancer received either supportive care or a cisplatin-based chemotherapy regimen plus supportive care (/). Supportive care consisted of analgesics, an antitussive, antibiotics, steroids, palliative radiotherapy, and the relief of increased intracranial pressure. Patients given combination chemotherapy survived a median of 8.5 months compared with just 4 months for those randomly assigned to receive supportive care alone, a difference that has high statistical significance (P<.0001). This observation is encouraging, especially because it is not the first study to demonstrate an improvement in the median survival of patients with stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer treated with chemotherapy. A well-designed Canadian trial of similar size (2) also demonstrated a doubling of the median survival for patients receiving chemotherapy. Does this mean that patients with stage IV non-small-cel l lung cancer routinely benefit from chemotherapy? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Other investigators (3-6) have conducted well-designed randomized studies with negative results.
Dynamic analysis tool for the design of tubular linear permanent magnet machines

This paper presents an analytical tool for tubular linear permanent magnet (PM) machine design and analysis. This tool provides fast solutions to the system variables of a linear motor, e.g., force, current, voltage, loss, efficiency, etc., while taking into account the dynamic load cycle and movement profile. Extensive validation of the analytical tool has been carried out with results from FEM simulations using the software package Maxwell.
Effects of switch failure on soft-configurable WSI yield

A fault tolerant switch network is evaluated, using a pipelined memory system as an example application. Monte Carlo simulation predicts the yield of each circuit piece directly from the layout. Circuit yields are combined with a system model to predict wafer yield. Previous work described system models based on site yield. System models requiring low latency are shown to also depend on switch yield. >
Kinetics of vinyl acetate emulsion polymerization

The emulsion polymerization of vinyl acetate has generally been considered a special type of reaction that is not covered by the Smith-Ewart theory. Although the number of particles depends on coalescence rates and can not be predicted by this theory, the polymerization rate data are consistent with the general concepts of Smith and Ewart, including reaction primarily inside swollen polymer particles, escape of radicals from particles, and termination of chains inside the particles. Allowing for rapid exchange of radicals following chain transfer leads to a simple equation which fits much of the published data for cases of both very low and very high values of n, the average number of radicals per particle.
Semi-supervised learning in initially labeled non-stationary environments with gradual drift

Semi-supervised learning (SSL) in non-stationary environments has received relatively little attention in machine learning, despite a growing number of applications that can benefit from a properly configured SSL algorithm. Previous works in learning non-stationary data have analyzed such cases where both labeled and unlabeled instances are received at every time step and/or in regular intervals; however, to the best of our knowledge, no work has investigated the case where labeled instances are received only at the initial time step, followed by unlabeled instances provided in subsequent time steps. In this proof-of-concept work, we propose a new framework for learning in a non-stationary environment that provides only unlabeled data after the initial time step, to which we refer to as initially labeled environment. The proposed framework generates labels for previously unlabeled data at each time step to be combined with incoming unlabeled data - possibly from a drifting distribution - using a compacted polytope sample extraction algorithm. We have conducted two experiments to demonstrate the feasibility and reliability of the approach. This proof-of-concept is presented in two dimensions; however, the algorithm can be extended to higher dimensions with appropriate modifications.
Right Ventricular Dysfunction in Systemic Sclerosis–Associated Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Background—Systemic sclerosis–associated pulmonary artery hypertension (SScPAH) has a worse prognosis compared with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH), with a median survival of 3 years after diagnosis often caused by right ventricular (RV) failure. We tested whether SScPAH or systemic sclerosis–related pulmonary hypertension with interstitial lung disease imposes a greater pulmonary vascular load than IPAH and leads to worse RV contractile function. Methods and Results—We analyzed pulmonary artery pressures and mean flow in 282 patients with pulmonary hypertension (166 SScPAH, 49 systemic sclerosis–related pulmonary hypertension with interstitial lung disease, and 67 IPAH). An inverse relation between pulmonary resistance and compliance was similar for all 3 groups, with a near constant resistance×compliance product. RV pressure–volume loops were measured in a subset, IPAH (n=5) and SScPAH (n=7), as well as SSc without PH (n=7) to derive contractile indexes (end-systolic elastance [Ees] an...
Dynamical Stability and Habitability of the γ Cephei Binary-Planetary System

It has been suggested that the long-lived residual radial velocity variations observed in the precision radial velocity measurements of the primary of γ Cephei (HR 8974, HD 222404, HIP 116727) are likely due to a Jupiter-like planet orbiting this star. In this paper, the dynamics of this planet is studied, and the possibility of the existence of a terrestrial planet around its central star is discussed. Simulations, which have been carried out for different values of the eccentricity and semimajor axis of the binary, as well as the orbital inclination of its Jupiter-like planet, expand on previous studies of this system and indicate that, for the values of the binary eccentricity smaller than 0.5, and for all values of the orbital inclination of the Jupiter-like planet ranging from 0° to 40°, the orbit of this planet is stable. For larger values of the binary eccentricity, the system becomes gradually unstable. Integrations also indicate that, within this range of orbital parameters, a terrestrial planet, such as an Earth-like object, can have a long-term stable orbit only at distances of 0.3-0.8 AU from the primary star. The habitable zone of the primary, at a range of approximately 3.05-3.7 AU, is, however, unstable.
Mechanisms of Rad52-Independent Spontaneous and UV-Induced Mitotic Recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In wild-type diploid cells, heteroallelic recombination between his4A and his4C alleles leads mostly to His + gene conversions that have a parental configuration of flanking markers, but ∼22% of recombinants have associated reciprocal crossovers. In rad52 strains, gene conversion is reduced 75-fold and the majority of His + recombinants are crossover associated, with the largest class being half-crossovers in which the other participating chromatid is lost. We report that UV irradiating rad52 cells results in an increase in overall recombination frequency, comparable to increases induced in wild-type (WT) cells, and surprisingly results in a pattern of recombination products quite similar to RAD52 cells: gene conversion without exchange is favored, and the number of 2 n − 1 events is markedly reduced. Both spontaneous and UV-induced RAD52 -independent recombination depends strongly on Rad50, whereas rad50 has no effect in cells restored to RAD52 . The high level of noncrossover gene conversion outcomes in UV-induced rad52 cells depends on Rad51, but not on Rad59. Those outcomes also rely on the UV-inducible kinase Dun1 and Dun19s target, the repressor Crt1, whereas gene conversion events arising spontaneously depend on Rad59 and Crt1. Thus, there are at least two Rad52-independent recombination pathways in budding yeast.
Possibility of a layered moon

Abstract Recent lunar data can be interpreted as indicating the Moon has a hard “crust” a few km thick, an “asthenosphere” about a hundred km thick, and a high viscosity “lower mantle.”
Impacts from Winter-Early Spring Elk Grazing in Foothills Rough Fescue Grassland

Foothills rough fescue (Festuca campestris) grasslands provide important foraging habitat for wildlife and livestock in the northwestern United States and southwestern Canada. Foothills rough fescue is sensitive to grazing during late spring —early summer but is believed to be more tolerant of grazing during winter—early spring. We evaluated vegetation and soil impacts from long-term winter—early spring grazing at 2 intensities (HG = heavy grazing, LG = light grazing). We studied a foothills rough fescue grassland in west central Montana, USA, that had been grazed almost exclusively by Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni ) during winter—early spring for 58 years. Foothills rough fescue tolerated LG but not HG, whereas bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata) and Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis) did not tolerate either LG or HG. Decreased productivity of foothills rough fescue in HG was accompanied by decreased herbaceous ground cover and increased abundance of the invasive dense clubmoss (Selaginella densa). Soil nutrient status (OM, C, N, C:N ratio) did not differ between HG and LG; however, soil bulk density was 18% greater in HG, and the Ah horizon was 20% thinner in HG. Overall, our results indicate that long-term elk grazing during winter—early spring degraded this terrestrial ecosystem, and we conclude that periodic rest from ungulate grazing during winter— early spring is necessary to sustain foothills rough fescue grasslands.
Human memory search as a random walk in a semantic network

The human mind has a remarkable ability to store a vast amount of information in memory, and an even more remarkable ability to retrieve these experiences when needed. Understanding the representations and algorithms that underlie human memory search could potentially be useful in other information retrieval settings, including internet search. Psychological studies have revealed clear regularities in how people search their memory, with clusters of semantically related items tending to be retrieved together. These findings have recently been taken as evidence that human memory search is similar to animals foraging for food in patchy environments, with people making a rational decision to switch away from a cluster of related information as it becomes depleted. We demonstrate that the results that were taken as evidence for this account also emerge from a random walk on a semantic network, much like the random web surfer model used in internet search engines. This offers a simpler and more unified account of how people search their memory, postulating a single process rather than one process for exploring a cluster and one process for switching between clusters.
More Than Ramps: A Guide to Improving Health Care Quality and Access for People With Disabilities

Iezzoni LI, O'Day BL. New York, NY 10157, Oxford University Press Inc, 2006, hardcover, 366 pp, illus, ISBN: 0-19-517276-0, $65. This book describes experiences and issues that adults with physical and sensory disabilities may encounter when seeking primary health care and suggests ways that these individuals and health care practitioners can circumvent common barriers in order to ensure high-quality care. The authors—one has a physical disability, the other has a visual disability—skillfully combine both quantitative and qualitative information that offers recommendations and ideas to help the health care practitioner and manager deliver the highest quality care possible to people with disabilities. The authors discuss barriers such as the “built environment,” medical equipment, institutional policies and procedures, and clinicians' technical knowledge and interpersonal communication, among many others. Some of these barriers are more commonly written about than others, and the authors adeptly explore these additional obstacles to quality care. The book has 3 parts. Part I explores overall social …
Direct quantification of the flexibility of type I collagen monomer

Collagens are the most abundant structural proteins found in the extracellular matrix of vertebrates. Knowledge of the mechanical behavior of collagen monomers is essential for understanding the mechanical properties of collagen fibrils that constitute the main architectural framework of skin, bone, cartilage, and other connective tissues. In this study, the flexibility of type I collagen monomer was studied by stretching type I collagen monomers directly. The force-extension relationship was measured and analyzed by fitting the data into a worm-like chain elasticity model. The persistence length of collagen I monomer was determined to be 14.5 nm and the contour length was 309 nm. The results confirm that type I collagen monomer is flexible rather than rigid, rod-like molecule. Such flexibility may possibly be a consequence of the micro-unfolding of discrete domains of single collagen molecule.
Active catalog: a knowledge-rich design library facilitating information consumption

A catalog is a basic resource to a number of people and disciplines ranging from shoppers to companies wanting to sell products. They have traditionally been in paper form and are due for rapid revolution in content and presentation because of the existence of the Internet and the World Wide Web. This paper deals with one component in such a revolution; a component aimed, initially, at aiding the design engineer and later other users.
Diverter: a new approach to networking within virtualized infrastructures

As virtualized data-centres become the back-end platforms behind a new generation of utility and cloud computing infrastructures (such as AmazonAWS [1]) their multi-tenancy, scale and complexity introduce new challenges that especially affect the networking layer. Multiple customers' requirements for varying logical network topologies must be simultaneously accommodated on the shared, underlying network fabric in a secure manner.Diverter is a new approach to network virtualization that targets these highly flexible, large-scale, multi-tenanted environments and advances the current state-of-the-art by implementing an efficient, fully distributed virtualized routing system that allows end-to-end communication between any endpoint with just a single network "hop". We have implemented a prototype of this solution that, in certain network configurations, achieves a throughput improvement of at least 66 % compared to alternative approaches.
Studies of Highly-Ordered Heterodiantennary Mannose/Glucose-Functionalized Polymers and Concanavalin A Protein Interactions Using Isothermal Titration Calorimetry

Preparations of the highly ordered monoantennary, homofunctional diantennary, and heterofunctional diantennary neoglycopolymers of α-d-mannose and β-d-glucose residues were achieved via ring-opening metathesis polymerization. Isothermal titration calorimetry measurements of these synthetic neoglycopolymers with Concanavalin A (Con A), revealed that heterofunctional diantennary architectures bearing both α-mannose and nonbinding β-glucose units, poly(Man-Glc), binds to Con A (Ka = 16.1 × 106 M–1) comparably to homofunctional diantennary neoglycopolymer (Ka = 30 × 106 M–1) bearing only α-mannose unit, poly(Man-Man). In addition, poly(Man-Glc) neoglycopolymer shows a nearly 5-fold increasing in binding affinity compared to monoantennary neoglycopolymer, poly(Man). Although the exact mechanism for the high binding affinity of poly(Man-Glc) to Con A is unclear, we hypothesize that the α-mannose bound to Con A might facilitate interaction of β-glucose with the extended binding site of Con A due to the close pro...
Energy Transfer Fluorescent Labels for DNA Sequencing and Analysis

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer technology has done much to enhance DNA sequencing capabilities and the Human Genome Project. The enhanced emission intensities and improved spectral purity provided by ET primers and terminators have led to a major improvement in the performance of automated DNA sequencers. Fluorescent ET dye-labels should be equally valuable for the analysis of PCR fragments, restriction fragments, single nucleotide polymor-phisms, and microsatellites in research, pharmaceutical, and health care diagnostic applications.
Panel Asymptotics and Statistical Decision Theory

This paper develops some applications of asymptotic statistical decision theory in econometrics, focusing on settings where the data are organized into groups or cells with heterogeneous parameters. Even if the groups are of different sizes, local asymptotic normality holds under suitable regularity conditions, and this can greatly simplify analysis of different types of econometric problems. We apply these results to the analysis of treatment assignment rules, and to estimators of cell-specific parameters that employ shrinkage towards parametric models.
A Review of Design of Observational Studies

The statistical aspects of causal inference have received increasing attention in recent years, especially in the wake of discrepant observational study and randomized trial results examining possible causal associations between coronary heart disease mortality and Vitamin C or between coronary heart disease and hormone replacement therapy. Methods such as propensity scores, regression discontinuity, and instrumental variables in particular have received increasing attention in fields such as education, epidemiology, and psychology. However, to this point, there have been relatively few books available that provide an overview of the methods associated with the design of observational studies. Paul Rosenbaum' s book, Design of Observational Studies, fills this void. The book gives a clear argument for the need for careful design of observational studies, where design includes all aspects of the study up until the point at which the outcome measures are analyzed or used. Particular attention is paid in the book to the choice of comparison subjects and design elements that can reduce unobserved confounding. As stated by Dr. Rosenbaum (2010) on page ix, "The quality and strength of evidence provided by an observational study is determined largely by its design. Excellent methods of analysis will not salvage a poorly designed study." The main ideas relate to concepts discussed previously by William G. Cochran and Donald B. Rubin, exemplified in quotes such as "The planner of an observational study should always try to ask himself the question, 'How would the study be conducted if it were possible to do it by controlled experimentation?'" (Cochran, 1965, p. 236). Although not always explicit, there are also many links to the idea of instrumental variables and "natural experiments." More broadly, the methods and issues discussed in Design of Observational Studies are relevant when there is interest in estimating the effects of some
Subsidies and capital markets: implications for microfinance loan portfolios

I model a microfinance lender that receives subsidized funding from external investors who value the social impact of the lender. The impact depends on the lender’s type, which is not observable to the investors. In a pooling equilibrium, the subsidy raises the lender’s profit but distorts the loan portfolio choice of the low-quality lender. The lender’s portfolio choice can be improved two different ways. One is through a separating equilibrium, where the lender specializes in the type of lending at which it is most effective. The other is through arms-length contracting, characterized by less informed external investors. In this case, less information implies that the lender wastes less resources trying to justify access to subsidies.
Computational Challenges in Simulating Powered Flight of the Orion Launch Abort Vehicle (Invited)

Some of the simulation work performed by the computational aerosciences project under the NASA Constellation program is presented. The challenges of simulating the powered ight of the Orion launch abort vehicle for the purposes of building an aerodynamics database are discussed. During an abort this vehicle res both a four-nozzle abort motor together with an eight-nozzle attitude control motor. The interactions of the jet plumes provide a signicant challenge to the computational tools. A few of the computed results using overset grids and the Overow solver are presented. Some very complex behavior in the jet plumes was observed, including asymmetric yaw-inducing plume interactions. The problem of jet-plume simulation was studied using a simpler jet-in-crossow problem. A number of these simulations also produce asymmetric results for a completely symmetric problem. The results from the use of dierent turbulence models, dierent grid resolution, and various dierencing schemes are presented for the jet-in-crossow problem. All steadystate cases are shown to be asymmetric, while time-averaged solutions from time-accurate simulations are symmetric.
The Influence of the Reflective-Impulsive Cognitive Style on Visual Inspection:

Thirty-nine subjects participated in an experiment designed to evaluate the influence of the reflective-impulsive cognitive style on visual inspection. The Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT) was used to classify subjects as reflectives (longer times, fewer errors), impulsives (shorter times, more errors), fast-accurates (shorter times, fewer errors), and slow-inaccurates (longer times, more errors). Following administration of the MFFT, subjects participated in a laboratory visual inspection task. Results from the inspection task indicate that the MFFT groups coalesced along an accuracy rather than a speed dimension. The more accurate groups (reflectives and fast-accurates) were significantly faster than the inaccurates (impulsives and slow-inaccurates) in detecting certain flaws, and they made fewer size-judgment errors. However, the inaccurates detected more flaws, (i.e., made fewer search errors) than did the accurates. These results are interpreted in terms of the possible cognitive styles affectin...
Epithelial ovarian cancer: the molecular genetics of epithelial ovarian cancer

ABSTRACT Background Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide, despite gains in diagnostics and treatments made over the last three decades. Existing markers of ovarian cancer possess very limited clinical relevance highlighting the emerging need for identification of novel prognostic biomarkers as well as better predictive factors that might allow the stratification of patients who could benefit from a more targeted approach. Patients and methods A summary of molecular genetics of EOC. Results Large-scale high-throughput genomic technologies appear to be powerful tools for investigations into the genetic abnormalities in ovarian tumors, including studies on dysregulated genes and aberrantly activated signaling pathways. Such technologies can complement well-established clinical histopathology analysis and tumor grading and will hope to result in better, more tailored treatments in the future. Genomic signatures obtained by gene expression profiling of EOC may be able to predict survival outcomes and other important clinical outcomes, such as the success of surgical treatment. Finally, genomic analyses may allow for the identification of novel predictive biomarkers for purposes of treatment planning. These data combined suggest a pathway to progress in the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer and the promise of fulfilling the objective of providing personalized medicine to women with ovarian cancer. Conclusions The understanding of basic molecular events in the tumorigenesis and chemoresistance of EOC together with discovery of potential biomarkers may be greatly enhanced through large-scale genomic studies. In order to maximize the impact of these technologies, however, extensive validation studies are required.
Theranostic Oxygen Reactive Polymers for Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of disability and death in children and adults under 45, with approximately ten million new cases per year worldwide. Significant progress has been made in understanding the complex pathophysiological response to TBI; however, reducing the damage associated with the reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent secondary phase of the injury remains a substantial challenge. The development of an image-guided, Gd-conjugated, oxygen reactive polymer (ORP) to reduce ROS levels in damaged brain tissue is reported. ORP effectively sequesters ROS while remaining biocompatible even at elevated concentrations. ORP is retained in damaged brains of controlled cortical impact (CCI) mouse models of TBI for over 24 h when injected intravenously immediately and up to 3 h post-CCI. The polymer reduces neurodegeneration tenfold and gliosis twofold in these mouse models. ORP shows initial promise as an effective therapy for TBI and helps provide a better understanding of nanomaterial interaction with damaged brain.
Evaluating the Relevance of Educational Videos Using BKT and Big Data.

Along with the advent of MOOCs and other online learning platforms such as Khan Academy, the role of online education has continued to grow in relation to that of traditional on-campus instruction. Rather than tackle the problem of evaluating large educational units such as entire online courses, this paper approaches a smaller problem: exploring a framework for evaluating more granular educational units, in this case, short educational videos. We have chosen to leverage an adaptation of traditional Bayesian Knowledge Tracing (BKT), intended to incorporate the usage of video content in addition to assessment activity. By exploring the change in predictive error when alternately including or omitting video activity, we suggest a metric for determining the relevance of videos to associated assessments. To validate our hypothesis and demonstrate the application of our proposed methods we use data obtained from both the popular Khan Academy website and two MOOCs offered by Stanford University in the summer of 2014.
Immunoglobulin-specific suppressor T cells.

Publisher Summary Suppressor T cells are a source of much controversy and largely this has been fostered by the indirect types of evidence from which the existence of suppressor T cells has been inferred. The failure thus far, to identify and fully characterize recognition and effector molecules that account for the observed specificity of suppressor T cell effects, disagreement about the nature of the cellular targets of suppressor T cells, and speculation that suppressor T cell effects reflect the activity of cytotoxic T cells. Suppressor T cells are heterogeneous in terms of their activities. This chapter focuses on studies in which suppressor T cells appear to act directly on B cells. In some of these studies, T cell recognition of an immunoglobulin epitope—for example, idiotope, isotope, or allotope—triggers suppression, while in other studies T cell recognition of an epitope on a hapten-carrier conjugate captured by membrane Ig of the B cell triggers a suppressor effect. The designation “suppressor” comes from the serologic phenotype of these cells as well as from their functional property of noncytotoxic inhibition of B cell function. Distinct suppressor T cells with these properties have been identified that effect antigen-, idiotype-, isotype-, and allotype-specific suppression of B cell function. While such cells had been suspected from earlier studies of normal immune responses, the development of monoclonal B cell models using tumor cells has provided a means to readily detect these suppressor T cells and to investigate the mechanisms by which they mediate their effects.