cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Childless Men at the Time of Vasectomy are Unlikely to Seek Fertility Restoration

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To examine whether men who were childless at the time of vasectomy sought consultation for fertility restoration. METHODS Retrospective chart review was performed to determine if patients without children at the time of vasectomy sought consultation for fertility restoration (defined as vasectomy reversal or sperm retrieval). If the patient had not been seen in our healthcare system within the previous 12 months, he was contacted by phone to determine whether he had sought consultation for fertility restoration. RESULTS Of 1656 men, 68 men (4.1%) were childless at the time of vasectomy. Fifteen patients were excluded as they were not followed in our hospital system and were unreachable by phone. Zero patients sought consultation for fertility restoration. CONCLUSION Our single institution study demonstrated that no men who were childless at the time of vasectomy sought consultation for fertility restoration. Given that there are no other FDA approved methods for nonbarrier sterilization for males, men with no children at the time of vasectomy should receive the same AUA guideline-recommended counseling that men with children receive.
Charged Particle Pickup Tube Detector Used in Experimental Applications and Classroom Demonstrations

Acharge pickup detector was developed at the University of Colorado for use in classroom demonstrations and in the dust accelerator at the Institute for Modeling Plasma, Atmospheres and Cosmic Dust (IMPACT). The detector can be used in a physics classroom to help high school and introductory-level physics students connect electromagnetic phenomena with measurement techniques that are common to experimental physics and in electronics courses to demonstrate the use of a charge-sensitive amplifier (CSA). Construction of a similar detector would develop students’ basic machining and electronics skills, which are crucial in most undergraduate experimental physics opportunities. The detector is designed to nondestructively determine the velocity and charge of particles. The detector is compact (8.6 cm x 5.4 cm x 4.1 cm), simple, and lightweight. It is built with off-the-shelf components with simple machining, resulting in a low-cost (∼$100) detector that maintains the high sensitivity (0.2 fC) necessary for characterization of most hypervelocity dust particles, as well as a wide variety of other applications accessible to introductory-level physics students such as charged particles in a dust storm, pith balls, or charged raindrops. This paper focuses on both characterization of the detector using the accelerator at IMPACT and the basics of the undergraduate-level physics principles, electronics principles, mechanical design, and lab applications.
The effectiveness of post-discharge navigation added to an inpatient addiction consultation for patients with substance use disorder; a randomized controlled trial.

It is unknown whether post-discharge navigation enhances the impact of hospital-initiated addiction care. This study tested the incremental benefit of telephonic linkage to a post-discharge navigat...
The Early Rise of Social Security in China: Ideas and Reforms, 1911–1949

Applying the editor’s “onion skin model” of social policy ideas, this chapter analyses the early rise of social security ideas and policies in Republican China (1911–1949). Facing imperialism, Chinese elites turned to Western social ideas to “save the nation”. They accepted organic concepts of society, leading to a concern for societal stability and harmony. The Guomindang (GMD) state reinforced this trend in the 1930s when the party-state incorporated Confucianism into its ideology. The GMD state, thus, adopted collectivist notions of social policy, emphasising class harmonisation and productivism. During the Sino-Japanese war, Chinese elites were attracted to the idea of universal social security, which led to an intense development of social security policies. In the entire process, however, Chinese elites emphasised China’s special situation.
Protecting Free Willy’s Legacy: Creating a Seaside Sanctuary To Rescue and Rehabilitate the Southern Resident Orca Population

The Puget Sound’s southern resident population has reached an alarming all-time low. Three pods make up the population: J, K, and L. The southern resident’s range is wide with pods traveling to the San Juan Islands during the summer months and the inland waterways of the Puget Sound in the fall. The use of ferries and tourism increased on the Puget Sound. This increased human activity on the Puget Sound has drastically depleted the southern resident population and their food source. Recognizing a need, professionals in the field came together to form The Whale Sanctuary Project. The Whale Sanctuary Project is planning the first seaside sanctuary; the sanctuary will also include rescue and rehabilitation component. However, this organization faces many challenges to complete the project. These obstacles, analyzed in turn, include the designated critical habitat of the Puget Sound, the taking of southern resident orcas, and permitting issues. Will the death of J50, Scarlett, an orca in the southern resident population, be in vain, or will efforts to save the southern resident orca population succeed? This Article will discuss the issues surrounding the creation of a whale sanctuary that includes rescue and rehabilitation. Part I will discuss the history of orcas in the Puget Sound and the Whale Sanctuary Project. Part II will discuss the purpose of the Marine Sanctuaries Act and the requirements to create a sanctuary. This section will discuss the permits needed under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act and whether they are feasible at the Whale Sanctuary Project’s proposed site location, as well as the benefits the National Marine Sanctuaries Act offers. Part III will discuss limits under the Endangered Species Act due to the established critical habitat. This section will include the listing of the Southern Resident orca and the issues regarding the Puget Sound as a designated critical habitat. Finally, Part IV will suggest sanctuary-specific regulations.
Nanoconjugates to enhance PDT-mediated cancer immunotherapy by targeting the indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase pathway.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) may elicit antitumor immune response in addition to killing cancer cells. However, PDT as a monotherapy often fails to induce a strong immunity. Immune checkpoint inhibitors, which selectively block regulatory axes, may be used in combination with PDT to improve treatment outcomes. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) is an immunoregulatory enzyme and an important meditator of tumor immune escape. Combination therapy with PDT and IDO-targeted immune checkpoint blockage is promising but has been seldom been explored. Herein we report a composite nanoparticle that allows for simultaneous delivery of photosensitizer and IDO inhibitor. Briefly, we separately load ZnF16Pc, a photosensitizer, and NLG919, an indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) inhibitor, into ferritin and poly(lactide-co-glycolic)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-PLGA) nanoparticles; we then conjugate these two compartments to form a composite nanoparticle referred to as PPF NPs. We tested combination treatment with PPF NPs first in vitro and then in vivo in B16F10-tumor bearing C57/BL6 mice. Our results showed that PPF NPs can efficiently encapsulate both ZnF16Pc and NLG919. In vivo studies found that the combination treatment led to significantly improved tumor suppression and animal survival. Moreover, the treatment increased tumor infiltration of CD8+ T cells, while reducing frequencies of MDSCs and Tregs. 30% of the animals showed complete tumor eradication, and they successfully rejected a second tumor inoculation. Overall, our studies introduce a unique composite nanoplatform that allows for co-delivery of photosensitizer and IDO inhibitor with minimal inter-species interference, which is ideal for combination therapy.
Application of host-specific source-tracking tools for rapid identification of fecal contamination in fresh produce by humans and livestock.

BACKGROUND: Fecal contamination in fresh produce is a public health concern because it may contain human pathogens. We introduced host-specific quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays for the rapid detection and identification of fecal contamination sources from humans and farm animals (cow, pig, chicken) in fresh produce. Each composite fecal sample was spiked on lettuce at two contamination levels (0.2 mg or 2 mg feces g−1), followed by qPCR assays for detecting each host-specific genetic marker: BoBac (cow); PF163 (pig); CP3-49 (chicken); and HF183 and gyrB (human). Two commercial DNA extraction kits were compared to evaluate DNA recovery yields and removal of PCR inhibition. Sketa2 assay was conducted to assess the presence of PCR inhibition in the contaminated lettuce. RESULTS: All the qPCR assays yielded reliable detection from contaminated lettuce (2 mg feces g−1), where their target gene numbers were 1.5–5.0 × 103 (HF183), 0.8–2.2 × 103 (gyrB), 0.6–1.6 × 103 (BoBac), 1.6–3.0 × 103 (CP3-49) and 1.1–2.2 × 103 (PF163) copies g−1 of lettuce. Among the two extraction kits, QIAamp DNA Stool Kit resulted in 2–3 times higher sensitivity and 20% less PCR inhibition than the PowerFood™ kit. CONCLUSION: This study provides information on the optimized host-specific qPCR assay in identifying sources of fecal contamination in fresh produce and is useful for tracking the contamination source and improving agricultural practice. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry
West Nile Virus Infection.

Although long recognized as a human pathogen, West Nile virus (WN virus) emerged as a significant public health problem following its introduction and spread across North America. Subsequent years have seen a greater understanding of all aspects of the viral infection. The North American epidemic witnessed a further understanding of the virology, pathogenesis, clinical features, and epidemiology of WN virus infection. Approximately 80 % of human WN virus infections are asymptomatic. Most symptomatic persons experience an acute systemic febrile illness; less than 1 % of infected persons develop neuroinvasive disease, which typically manifests as meningitis, encephalitis, or anterior myelitis resulting in acute flaccid paralysis. Older age is associated with more severe illness and higher mortality; other risk factors for poor outcome have been challenging to identify. In addition to natural infection through mosquito bites, transfusion- and organ transplant-associated infections have occurred. Since there is no definitive treatment for WN virus infection, protection from mosquito bites and other preventative measures are critical. WN virus has reached an endemic pattern in North America, but the future epidemiologic pattern is uncertain.
Heterotrophic Nature of the Cell-Free Protein-Synthesizing System from the Strict Chemolithotroph, Thiobacillus thiooxidans

A cell-free protein-synthesizing system prepared from the strict chemolithotroph, Thiobacillus thiooxidans, was similar to that of heterotrophs. The poly-U directed system had a temperature optimum of 37 C, but in the presence of spermidine (3 mM) the optimum shifted to 45 C. Although growth of the chemolithotroph occurs only in acid conditions, the pH optimum for the cell-free system was pH 7.2. The endogenous-directed activity in the presence or absence of spermidine was maximal at pH 7.8. Spermidine had a stimulatory effect; however, this effect was dependent on the magnesium and tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (Tris) concentrations. At low Tris concentrations (10 mM), spermidine (3 to 5 mM) could completely replace magnesium. When the Tris concentration was increased (50 mM), spermidine could not replace magnesium. Supernatant and ribosomal fractions from T. thiooxidans were exchanged with those of Bacillus thuringiensis and Escherichia coli, and the ribosomal fraction from the chemolithotroph gave good to moderate stimulation when exchanged with the supernatant from the heterotrophs. On the other hand, the supernatant from T. thiooxidans gave good stimulation when mixed with ribosomes from B. thuringiensis but poor activity with ribosomes from E. coli. Both supernatant and ribosomal fractions prepared from stationary phase extracts of T. thiooxidans were inactive in the cell-free system.
A more powerful space-time trellis-coded modulation scheme

The space-time trellis-coded modulation (STTCM) scheme proposed by Tarokh et al. (1998) provides a good trade-off between constellation size, data rate, diversity advantage and trellis complexity. In this paper, with two transmit antennas and one receive antenna, we found another STTCM scheme, which is concatenated by conventional TCM and Alamouti (1998) space-time code, is more powerful than the former. Analysis and simulation results show that, at the same bandwidth efficiency, the concatenated orthogonal scheme can provides more wonderful coding gain by a lower code rate and higher modulation.
Food and Beverage Management Competencies: Educator, Industry, and Student Perspectives

(1994). Food and Beverage Management Competencies: Educator, Industry, and Student Perspectives. Hospitality & Tourism Educator: Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 37-40.
An interactive wearable assistive device for individuals who are blind for color perception

Color is inaccessible for individuals who are blind or visually impaired, as it is a purely visual feature. Given that many everyday tasks rely on color including coordinating clothing, social interactions, etc., the inaccessibility of color has an adverse effect on daily life. We propose an interactive, wearable assistive device that can recognize and convey colors of scenes or objects. As computer vision is challenging in real world environments due to, e.g., illumination or pose changes, computer vision algorithms can be augmented with sub-systems that can provide information on working environments of a recognition algorithm, and how it affects the recognition accuracy. In this paper, we introduce a framework that incorporates such measures, herein called confidence measures, in wearable assistive devices. By communicating to the user a quantitative measure that signifies the difference between optimal working conditions and the real environment working conditions, we can convey the reliability of system-made decisions, which enables the user to take action to improve confidence. Given that color recognition is challenging in real world settings, our system is built within our proposed framework for confidence measures. Finally, we present user recognition accuracies, both with and without confidence measures.
Self-Consistent Renormalization Model of Mott Gap Collapse in the Cuprates

A generalized antiferromagnetic approach to the Mott transition is analyzed with special emphasis on electron doped cuprates, where evidence for electronic phase separation is weak or absent. Fluctuations are incorporated via a self-consistent renormalization, thereby deriving a `nearly-antiferromagnetic Fermi liquid' susceptibility. The calculation is sensitive to hot-spot effects. Near optimal doping, an approximately electron-hole symmetrical Mott gap collapse is found (quantum critical points). The calculation satisfies the Mermin-Wagner theorem (Neel transition at T=0 only -- unless interlayer coupling effects are included), and the mean-field gap and transition temperature are replaced by pseudogap and onset temperature. The resulting susceptibility is used to calculate the doping dependence of the photoemission dispersion, in excellent agreement with experiment. Discussions of interlayer coupling, doping dependence of $U$, and extension to a three-band model are included.
Extracting hand grasp and motion for intent expression in mid-air shape deformation

We describe the iterative design and evaluation of a geometric interaction technique for bare-hand mid-air virtual pottery. We model the shaping of a pot as a gradual and progressive convergence of the pot-profile to the shape of the user's hand represented as a point-cloud (PCL). Our pottery-inspired application served as a platform for systematically revealing how users use their hands to express the intent of deformation during a pot shaping process. Our approach involved three stages: (a) clutching by proximal-attraction, (b) shaping by proximal-attraction, and (c) shaping by grasp+motion. The design and implementation of each stage was informed by user evaluations of the previous stage. Our work evidently demonstrates that it is possible to enable users to express their intent for shape deformation without the need for a fixed set of gestures for clutching and deforming a shape. We found that the expressive capability of hand articulation can be effectively harnessed for controllable shaping by organizing the deformation process in broad classes of intended operations such as pulling, pushing, and fairing. After minimal practice with the pottery application, users could figure out their own strategy for reaching, grasping, and deforming the pot. Users particularly enjoyed using day-to-day physical objects as tools for shaping pots. Graphical abstractGrasp detection from Kernel density.Display Omitted HighlightsWe present iterative algorithm development for mid-air virtual pottery design.We extract grasp and motion using kernel-density of the point-cloud of hands.We use hand grasp and motion for classifying intent towards pot's deformation.Users can shape pots with hands as well as physical objects as tools.Evaluation shows increase in controllability in intent expression in pottery.
The effect of cold on hind-limb growth and lateral motor column development in Rana pipiens.

A quantitative correspondence between nerve centers and their peripheral area of innervation has long been inferred from comparative and pathological studies. Many investigations have shown that by varying the mass or number of peripheral structures (1) a hypoplasia or hyperplasia, or (2) a hypotrophy or hypertrophy of their corresponding nerve centers results, indicating that a developmental relationship exists between that periphery and its innervating center. These changes in nerve cell number and size have been demonstrated in a variety of sites, including the spinal cord and spinal ganglia of chicks and amphibians (Piatt, 1948; Hamburger, 1955, 1958; Weiss, 1955). In addition to control of nerve cell number and size by the periphery, thyroid hormone has been demonstrated to affect, directly and indirectly, lateral motor column (LMC) cell number and size in the frog, Rana pipiens (Beaudoin, 1955, 1956; Kollros & Race, 1960; Race, 1961).
Dynamic mapping of 180/spl deg/ domains hidden in photorefractive crystals

Summary form only given. Most applications for BaTiO/sub 3/ require crystals that are well poled and free from domains. Recently, we described a simple, all-optical technique to map, in the two transverse directions, any 180 degree domains hidden inside photorefractive crystals. Here we elaborate on this technique to provide a fully three-dimensional map of 180 degree domains hidden inside, a photorefractive crystal, and we show movies of these domains in motion.
Knowledge and information spaces: Implications for retrieval systems

Vector representations of information items and requests will be used as a basis for a discussion of knowledge and information spaces. The representations will allow such questions as the meaning of relationships between vectors within the spaces. It will be shown that there are a number of possibilities for establishing these relationships, even if one is restricted to a basic cosine correlation measure. Using geometric representations, it will be shown that one is able to accept a predefined space or redefine the space. This redefinition may be accomplished through projections and two types of projections will be examined. It will be shown that using these concepts will impact an individual's perception of information items within the space. Thus, consideration of these factors is critical to the design of retrieval and SDI systems.
Slow-wave coplanar waveguides in a printed circuit technology

In this paper, slow-wave coplanar waveguides, well-known to present a high degree of miniaturization and a high quality factor in CMOS technology, are investigated in a classical printed circuit board technology. These transmission lines are measured between 45 MHz and 4 GHz. An effective relative permittivity greater than 13 can be reached for a 50-Ω characteristic impedance transmission line, leading to a slow-wave factor higher than 2. Additionally, low characteristic impedance transmission lines can be obtained without critical dimensions compared to classical coplanar waveguides. Thus, these results allow considering the design of highly miniaturized RF printed circuits based on transmission lines.
Gender, domestic violence and sickness in Mexico

The author proposes that womens disorders are largely rooted in their social relations especially with their mates. She focuses upon domestic violence experienced by poor women in Mexico as one aspect of the marital relationship which influences womens health. The nature of sickness; gender and domestic violence; theoretical and historical perspectives on domestic violence in Mexico; family structure residence and domestic violence; gender violence and sickness; and two case histories documenting the dynamic tension between domestic violence and sickness are discussed. The case histories are examples of the anger and physical violence against women which manifest in diverse non-life threatening disturbances. Physical coercion is rooted in gender and marital relations fostered in Mexican womens dependence upon their spouses for subsistence and self-esteem.
Mobile mapping systems: new tools for the fast collection of GIS information

In 1989 the Center for Mapping of The Ohio State University established a major research program that focuses on the development of mobile mapping systems. Typically, these devices capture a comprehensive set of land-related data from airplanes, cars or trains. Spatial positions and attributes of objects are extracted automatically in the mobile system or during post-processing, and are immediately transferred to a multi-media geographic database. The motivation for the development of mobile mapping technologies was fostered by the need of current and accurate spatial data for geographic information systems. This article investigates different concepts of mobile data acquisition systems which were designed and implemented at The Ohio State University.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Low Temperature Water–Gas Shift Reaction Over Alkali Metal Promoted Cobalt Carbide Catalysts

Low temperature water–gas shift (LT-WGS) was performed over various group I alkali metal (Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs) promoted cobalt carbide (Co2C) catalysts at temperatures ranging from 453 to 573 K and atmospheric pressure. Cobalt carbide (Co2C) was found to be active for the WGS reaction. The stability of the catalyst is related to the stability of the cobalt carbide phases under reaction conditions. Potassium promoted cobalt carbide catalysts exhibited higher activity and stability compared to the other alkali promoted catalysts for LT-WGS. X-ray diffraction analyses of fresh and used catalysts suggest that the origin of deactivation of the catalysts is primarily due to the chemical transition of cobalt from carbide to metal during WGS.
Evaluation of the autoregression time-series model for analysis of a noisy signal

The autoregression (AR) time-series model of a continuous noisy signal was statistically evaluated to determine quantitatively the uncertainties of the model order, the model parameters, and the model's power spectral density (PSD). The result of such a statistical evaluation enables an experimenter to decide whether an AR model can adequately represent a continuous noisy signal and be consistent with the signal's frequency spectrum, and whether it can be used for on-line monitoring. Although evaluations of other types of signals have been reported in the literature, the author has found no direct reference to AR model's uncertainties for continuous noisy signals; yet the evaluation is necessary to decide the usefulness of AR models of typical reactor signals (e.g., neutron detector output or thermocouple output) and the potential of AR models for on-line monitoring applications. AR and other time-series models for noisy data representation are being investigated by others since such models require fewer parameters than the traditional PSD model (1 to 4). For this study, the AR model was selected for its simplicity and conduciveness to uncertainty analysis, and controlled laboratory bench signals were used for continuous noisy data.
Freedom of information versus the National Security Council: Obscuring the focus of the “sole‐function” test

After years of litigation in the federal court system, investigator Scott Armstrong lost in his attempt to gain access to documents held by the National Security Council, which successfully argued that it was not an “agency” required by the Freedom of In formation Act to produce records. The effect of such a finding is profound, as “nonagencies” are not only categorically exempt from all FOIA requirements but also freed from obligations by other statutory demands for accountability. This article uses the NSC litigation to demonstrate how the test to determine whether an entity should be classified as an agency, commonly referred to as the “sole‐function” test, has been altered in fundamental ways by recent court opinions. This changing focus makes it easier for many other entities, particularly those in the Executive Office of the President where many of the most important domestic and international decisions are made, to avoid agency status and escape the obligations imposed by Congress regarding disclos...
Nomenclature of polarized light: elliptical polarization.

Alternative handedness and sign conventions for relating the orientation of elliptical polarization are discussed. The discussion proceeds under two headings: (1) snapshot picture, where the emphasis for the convention is contained in the concept of handedness; and (2) angular momentum consideration, where the emphasis for the convention is strongly associated with mathematical convention and the sign of the fourth Stokes parameter.
Bone effects of rosiglitazone in HIV-infected patients with lipoatrophy.

AbstractObjectives: Thiazoledinediones increase limb fat in HIV+ patients with lipoatrophy. However, their use in the general population has been associated with bone loss and fracture. We sought to determine the effects of rosiglitazone on bone metabolism in HIV-infected patients. Methods: HIV+ patients with lipoatrophy were randomized to rosiglitazone versus placebo for 48 weeks in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Limb fat, bone mineral density (BMD), bone formation markers (procollagen type 1 amino-terminal propeptide [P1NP], osteocalcin [OC]) and bone resorption markers (C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen [CTX]) were measured, along with receptor activator for nuclear factor kappa β ligand (RANKL), osteoprotegerin (OPG), and inflammatory cytokines. Results: Seventy-one subjects were randomized to rosiglitazone or placebo: 17% female and 51% white. Total BMD did not change significantly in either group. In the rosiglitazone group, P1NP showed statistically significant decreases at 24 an...
A natural invariant algebra for the Harada-Norton group

The Harada-Norton group is one of the twenty-six sporadic simple groups. It has order 273, 030, 912, 000, 000 = 214.36.56.7.11.19. In this paper our main objective is:Theorem 1. The Harada-Norton group acts as a group of linear automorphisms of a 133-dimensional commutative, non-associative algebra defined over F5.
A study of the catalytic deuteration of 1,4-butynediol

We report the results of our studies relating to the reduction of 1,4-butynediol using Lindlar catalyst, 5% palladium on charcoal, and montmorillonite-diphenyl-phosphinepalladium(II) complex
Impact of Flowfield-Radiation Coupling on Aeroheating for Titan Aerocapture

A methodology is developed that enables fully coupled computation of three-dimensional flow fields including radiation, assuming an optically thin shock layer. The method can easily be incorporated into existing computational fluid dynamics codes and does not appreciably increase the cost or affect the robustness of the resulting simulations. Further improvements in the accuracy of radiative heating predictions in an optically thin gas can be achieved by using a view-factor method rather than the standard tangent slab approach. These techniques are applied to the Titan aerocapture aeroheating problem, which is dominated by strong radiative heating. For this application, neglecting the nonadiabatic effects caused by radiation coupling results in an overprediction of radiative heating levels by about a factor of 2. Radiative coupling effects also significantly lower predicted convective heating by reducing boundary-layer edge temperatures. In addition, it is shown that the tangent slab approximation overpredicts radiative heating levels by a minimum of 20% in the stagnation region for this application. Over an entire design trajectory, correctly modeling radiative heat transfer results in a more than a factor of 2 reduction in total stagnation-region heat load over an uncoupled analysis.
Menopause-specific quality of life across varying menopausal populations with conjugated estrogens/bazedoxifene.

Abstract Objective Describe the effects of conjugated estrogens/bazedoxifene (CE/BZA), a new treatment for vasomotor symptoms (VMS) and osteoporosis prevention, on menopause-specific quality of life (MSQOL) across different patient population types in phase 3 clinical trials. Design MSQOL was prospectively evaluated in 4 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. The populations studied included healthy, non-hysterectomized postmenopausal women with symptomatic VMS or vulvar–vaginal atrophy (VVA) and general postmenopausal women (eligible regardless of symptoms). Menopause-specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) questionnaire total and domain scores for CE 0.625 mg/BZA 20 mg and CE 0.45 mg/BZA 20 mg were evaluated and compared with established thresholds for clinically important differences (CID). Results Significant improvements compared with placebo were found with both CE/BZA doses in MENQOL vasomotor domain (−0.61 to −2.23 over 3–24 months) and total scores (−0.24 to −0.94) in the general and symptomatic VMS/VVA populations. Significant improvement compared with placebo in sexual domain (−0.11 to −0.72) was observed with the higher dosage for all populations, and with the lower dosage in the VVA (−0.71 at month 3) and general populations (−0.4 at months 12 and 24). Improvements in vasomotor domain exceeded the CID with both doses in symptomatic VMS populations and with the higher dosage in women with symptomatic VVA; for total MENQOL, the CID was exceeded with the higher dose in symptomatic VMS populations. Conclusions CE/BZA significantly improved overall and vasomotor-related MSQOL across populations of postmenopausal women with varying baseline symptom statuses. Women with greater menopausal symptoms at baseline were more likely to experience clinically meaningful changes.
Patterns of Young Children's Motivation for Science and Teacher-Child Relationships.

In this article, the authors examined whether there were different motivational profiles within a sample of kindergarteners (N = 110) learning science. The authors identified 3 profiles involving c...
The near ultraviolet spectra of HCOF and DCOF

Abstract The absorption spectra of HCOF and DCOF were studied between 2000 A and 2700 A. The maximum of intensity (2100 A, ϵ ∼50 1/cm-mole) is so far removed from the origin of the absorption (2680 A, ϵ ∼0.01 1/cm-mole) that a large difference of configuration of the molecule is indicated for the two electronic states involved. The vibrational and rotational analyses of the spectra show the nature of the difference. Three vibrational frequencies of the excited state are established: for HCOF, ν 2 = 1111, ν 5 = 451, ν 6 = 190; for DCOF, ν 2 = 1098, ν 5 = 450, ν 6 = 120 cm −1 . The prominence of these frequencies in the spectra indicates an excited state geometrical structure whose major differences from that of the lower state are: a longer CO bond distance, a smaller FCO bond angle, and appreciable deviation from planarity. No evidence of inversion of the pyramidal structure was found. Analysis of partially resolved rotational fine structure showed that the smallest moment of inertia was increased about 30% by the transition while the average of the large moments was virtually unchanged. These changes show that the CO distance is increased about 0.18 A while the FCO angle is decreased roughly 13°, and they are compatible with a nonplanar structure for the molecule in its excited state. The electronic transition may be designated A-A′. No diffuseness (predissociation) of fine structure has been established.
Managing progressive disease in patients with GIST: Factors to consider besides acquired secondary tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance

The use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) has revolutionized the treatment of patients with unresectable and/or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). Currently, imatinib mesylate is the standard first-line treatment for unresectable and/or metastatic GIST, extending recurrence-free and overall survival for many patients. Nonetheless, eventual progression during imatinib therapy is prevalent, and the development of treatment paradigms for managing GIST progression is of importance. Sunitinib malate has been approved as a second-line treatment for unresectable and/or metastatic GIST and is an option for patients who are intolerant to imatinib or experience disease progression due to acquired resistance, otherwise referred to as secondary resistance. In many cases, however, there may be other causes for GIST progression besides secondary resistance, and consideration of these factors is necessary before switching to second-line treatment. This review presents a treatment strategy for GIST patients who have progressed after initial imatinib responsiveness and addresses necessary considerations that include instances of false progression, insufficient TKI plasma levels, and patient non-adherence. In situations where true progression has occurred, patients may benefit from imatinib dose escalation. Surgery also provides a viable option for patients with stable disease or limited progression, and may prevent and/or delay the development of resistant clones by reducing tumor burden. Switching to second-line therapy with sunitinib should be considered for imatinib-intolerant or -resistant GIST patients.
Application of evidence theory in radiation oncology outcome analysis

In this paper, we apply the Dempster-Shafer theory to outcome analysis in radiation oncology. Evidence from different sources, some of them inconsistent, is combined by Dempster's rule to provide an innovative method for radiotherapy outcome analysis.
Orchiopexy After Prior Inguinal Surgery: A Distal Approach

Purpose: Undescended testicle after groin surgery is a condition traditionally approached through an inguinal incision with en bloc mobilization of the spermatic cord and external oblique fascia, and extensive dissection of the proximal spermatic vessels. We report on a single surgeon series of orchiopexies after prior inguinal surgery approached through a single scrotal incision.Materials and Methods: From November 2001 to February 2007, 24 patients with a mean age of 6.4 years (range 1.3 to 16.2) presented with 27 undescended testicles. All patients had undergone previous groin surgery including 13 inguinal hernia repairs, 3 orchiopexies and 3 hernia repairs with orchiopexy. Of the 27 testicles 24 (21 patients) were successfully approached through a single scrotal incision (89%). If the scrotum could not be manipulated over or near the relatively fixed testicle, an inguinal incision was made (11%). Charts were retrospectively reviewed for technique and operative outcomes.Results: A mean followup of 12 m...
Novel Interventions to Prevent HIV and HCV Among Persons Who Inject Drugs

Persons who inject drugs (PWID) are at high risk for infection with and poor outcomes from HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV). Well-established interventions for HIV/HCV prevention among PWID include syringe access, opioid agonist maintenance treatment, and supervised injection facilities, yet these interventions remain unavailable or inadequately resourced in much of the world. We review recent literature on biomedical and behavioral interventions to reduce the burden of HIV/HCV among PWID, with an emphasis on randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies. Since 2013, there have been significant advancements in utilizing antiviral therapy and behavioral interventions for prevention among PWID, including approaches that address the unique needs of couples and sex workers. In addition, there have been significant developments in pharmacotherapies for substance use and the implementation of naloxone for opioid overdose prevention. Notwithstanding multiple ongoing structural challenges in delivering HIV/HCV prevention interventions to PWID, these emerging and rigorously evaluated interventions expand possibilities for prevention among PWID.
The role of arbitrariness in the frustration-aggression hypothesis.

"The investigation reported in this study concerns the partial repetition of a study by Doob and Sears in which the arbitrary character of the situations was unintentionally an unacknowledged factor. Situations (the arbitrary set) were drawn up which paralleled those used by Doob and Sears. Modifications of the arbitrary set in the direction of non-arbitrariness was found to reduce considerably the number of aggressive responses which were elicited. The result was interpreted to imply that the arbitrary character of a frustrating situation should be part of a theory that attempts to explain the relationship between frustration and aggression." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)
Minimal skew clock embedding considering time variant temperature gradient

The existing temperature-aware clock embedding assumes a time-invariant temperature gradient. However, it is not solved how to find the worst-case temperature gradient leading to the worst case skew. In this paper, we develop a PErturbation based Clock Optimization(PECO) considering the time-variant temperature gradient. For a given clock topology, we minimizethe worst case skew without asking for the worst case temperature map. We decide the merging point level by level based on the sensitivity of the skew with respect to the change of merging point. Such sensitivity is calculated using a parameterized model, which is compressed by a singular-value-decomposition (SVD) and K-meansbased clustering considering the temperature correlation. The experimental results show that our algorithm reduces worst-case skew by up to 5X compared to the existing zero skew based ZST/DME method with small (up to 1%) wirelength overhead.
FEASIBILITY OF THE PREOPERATIVE MALLAMPATI AIRWAY ASSESSMENT IN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT PATIENTS

Abstract Background: Multiple predictors have been proposed to assist in identifying patient features that would predict difficult airway management. The Mallampati score (MS) has been shown to be useful in the preoperative assessment of patients being intubated in the operating room. Objective: We sought to define the feasibility of this assessment in the Emergency Department. Methods: A prospective, observational study was performed on all patients being intubated at a university Level I trauma center over a period of 6 months. We recorded and calculated the proportion of patients who were successfully assessed using the MS. Reasons given by individual intubators for failure to assess were recorded. We also tracked patient characteristics between groups and complication rates. Results: Of 328 patients, 32 (10%) were excluded due to incomplete data. Among the remaining 296, 58% were intubated for non-trauma indications, 70% were male, and the mean age was 45.9 years. Only 76 of 296 (26%) (95% confidence interval 21–31%) were able to have the MS performed. Lack of patient cooperation and clinical instability were listed as factors that precluded evaluation in patients whose assessment was unsuccessful. The frequency of procedure-related minor events did not differ significantly between the assessed and non-assessed groups. Major events included two cricothyrotomies in the non-assessed group. Conclusions: We were unable to perform a Mallampati assessment in three-quarters of our patients requiring emergency intubation. These findings call into question the feasibility of the standard Mallampati assessment in the practice of Emergency Medicine.
Structural correlates of physiological activity in chick photoreceptor synaptic terminals: Effects of light and dark stimulation

Cisternae ( Pedler and Tansley, 1963 ; Cohen, 1964 ) or diverticulae ( Evans, 1966 ) of photoreceptor synaptic terminals may be naturally occurring counterparts of experimentally induced synaptic membrane expansions ( Pysh and Wiley, 1974 ; Model et al., 1975 ; Heuser and Reese, 1973 ; Ceccarelli et al., 1973 ), and therefore naturally occurring structural indicators of synaptic activity ( Cooper and McLaughlin, 1980 ). To examine this possibility, chicks were sacrificed at various intervals within a 12-hr light, 12-hr dark cycle. Thin sections of chick retinas at these intervals demonstrated that naturally occurring, structural changes appeared in photoreceptor terminals in a cyclic manner. In cones, the presynaptic plasmalemma expanded and invaginated into the synaptic terminals following both light and dark onset. In rods, the invagination occurred only after the onset of dark. Peak amounts of invaginated membrane were seen in the cone terminals after 1 hr into the dark cycle and after 31/2 to 5 hr into the light cycle. Coated vesicles became more numerous within the synaptic terminals following the expansion and invagination of synaptic terminal membrane. By the end of either the light or dark period, the membrane invaginations declined. These data are discussed in the contexts of current models of synaptic membrane recycling and photoreceptor physiological activity.
Fire temperature retrieval using constrained spectral unmixing and emissivity estimation

Accurate retrieval of wildland fire temperature from remote imagery would be useful in improving prediction of fire propagation and estimates of fire effects such as burn severity and gas and particle production. The feasibility of estimating temperatures for subpixel fires by spectral unmixing has been established by previous work with the AVIRIS sensor. However, this unmixing approach can also produce optimizations for temperatures that may not be physically related to the fraction of flaming combustion in a pixel. Furthermore, previous techniques have treated fire as a blackbody and have modeled the mixed pixel transmitted radiance as two blackbody sources. This first order approximation can also affect the temperature retrieval. Knowledge of emissivity and use of a more complex radiance model should improve the accuracy of the temperature estimation. We therefore, propose a technique which improves the previous approach by using the potassium emission to pre-determine pixels that actually contain signal from flaming combustion and a modified mixed pixel radiance model. A non-linear, constrained multi-dimensional optimization procedure which estimates flame emissivity was applied to the model to estimate fire temperature and its areal extent. Results are shown for AVIRIS data sets acquired over Cuiaba, Brazil (1995) and the San Bernardino Mountains (1999).
The Measurement of the Volume of Leg Ulcers

. A method designed to measure the volume of cutaneous ulcers is described that utilizes a silicon rubber dental impression material. This technique is compared to the more popularly used computerized image analysis method in the determination of the size of cutaneous ulcers.
The role of tense and agreement in the licensing of subjects: evidence from participial clauses in Bangla

This paper examines the subject-licensing properties of Bangla non-finite participles. In this paper, I show that tense plays a pivotal role in explaining the distribution of subjects in participles. Three participles, the imperfective participle, the perfective participle and the conditional participle, have been examined regarding their different choices of (c)overt subjects, and their compatibility with different types of control. Following the ‘T-Agr calculus’ of Landau (2000, 2004), I show that tense unifies the different types of participles. Clausal selection along with the presence of tense, also has a crucial role in the distribution of subjects across the participles. I suggest that tense is not only vital in licensing the subjects, but also pivotal for their compatibility with different types of predicates. Additionally, I show that a temporal restriction, in the guise of covert agreement, motivates different subject selection in the participles in Bangla.
Using WordPerfect to sort for duplicate titles

High on the wish list of both searchers and end users is getting printouts with duplicate titles flagged or deleted. WordPerfect can manipulate both tagged or untagged bibliographic retrievals. Its macro feature can be used to set up a simple and cost‐effective strategy to standardize the initial sorting position among several retrievals and to sort these multi‐database retrievals for duplicates.
Molecular analysis of WFDC1/ps20 gene in prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND WFDC1/ps20 protein has been previously established as a growth suppressor of the prostate cancer cell line PC3. It maps to chromosome 16q23.1, a region of frequent loss of heterozygosity, familial association, and genomic loss in prostate cancer. We, therefore, chose to examine WFDC1/ps20 for mutations and expression changes in prostate cancer. METHODS DNA from 21 prostate cancer patients and 5 prostate cancer cell lines was screened for mutations in the WFDC1/ps20 gene by sequencing PCR products of each exon. An SphI polymorphism in the 5′ UTR was screened in 23 tumors, 22 normal adjacent prostate tissue samples, and 35 control DNAs. Expression of WFDC1/ps20 in different tissue types was examined by Northern blot and by PCR across a multi-tissue cDNA panel. Expression patterns of WFDC1/ps20 in primary tumors were examined by full-length RT-PCR and products were cloned and sequenced to identify novel splice forms. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of WFDC1/ps20 was performed in a separate cohort of matched tumor/benign tissues. RESULTS No tumor-associated mutations were identified in the coding region of WFDC1/ps20. A novel polymorphism was found in exon 6 in DNA from cell lines, tumors, and normal adjacent benign tissue. A novel splice form completely deleted for exon 3 was found in tumor and normal prostate RNA. Quantitative RT-PCR demonstrated significant down regulation of WFDC1/ps20 in prostate tumors. Subdivision of normal tissue into stromal and epithelial compartments showed that WFDC1/ps20 expression correlates exponentially with the amount of stroma present. CONCLUSIONS WFDC1/ps20 is down regulated but not frequently mutated in prostate cancer. It is expressed predominantly in the normal stroma of the prostate. We, therefore, propose that WFDC1/ps20 may not be a classical tumor suppressor gene, but might play a role in the maintenance of the normal extra cellular matrix milieu in the prostate. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.