cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Characterization of Maize Elongation Factor 1A and Its Relationship to Protein Quality in the Endosperm

The protein synthesis elongation factor 1A (eEF1A) is a multifunctional protein in eukaryotic cells. In maize (Zea mays L.) endosperm eEF1A co-localizes with actin around protein bodies, and its accumulation is highly correlated with the protein-bound lysine (Lys) content. We purified eEF1A from maize kernels by ammonium sulfate precipitation, ion-exchange, and chromatofocusing. The identify of the purified protein was confirmed by microsequencing of an endoproteinase glutamic acid-C fragment and by its ability to bundle actin. Using purified eEF1A as a standard, we found that this protein contributes 0.4% of the total protein in W64A+ endosperm and approximately 1% of the protein in W64Ao2. Because eEF1A contains 10% Lys, it accounts for 2.2% of the total Lys in W64A+ and 2.3% of the Lys in W64Ao2. However, its concentration predicts 90% of the Lys found in endosperm proteins of both genotypes, indicating that eEF1A is a key component of the group of proteins that determines the nutritional quality of the grain. This notion is further supported by the fact that in floury2, another high-Lys mutant, the content of eEF1A increases with the dosage of the floury2 gene. These data provide the biochemical basis for further investigation of the relationship between eEF1A content and the nutritional quality of cereals.
The Philippines Waltzes with the Big Boys: Coalition-building Strategy in the WTO

This article explores the emergence and development of the Philippine coalition-building strategy in the World Trade Organization (WTO) from the Uruguay Round to the Doha Development Agenda. Coalition building is an outcome of social learning, adaptation, and bounded rationality of trade negotiators based on years of working within the norms of the WTO.
Efficient techniques for reducing error latency in on-line periodic built-in self-test

Due to the high cost of failure, verification and testing now account for more than half of the total lifetime cost of an integrated circuit (IC). Increasing emphasis needs to be placed on finding design errors and physical faults as early as possible in the life of a digital system, new algorithms need to be devised to create tests for logic circuits, and more attention should be paid to synthesis for test and on-line testing. On-line testing requires embedding logic that continuously checks the system for correct operation. Built-in self-test (BIST) is a technique that modifies the IC by embedding test mechanisms directly into it. BIST is often used to detect faults before the system is shipped and is potentially a very efficient way to implement on-line testing. Error latency is the elapsed time between the activation of an error and its detection. Reducing the error latency is often considered a primary goal in on-line testing.
Effects of Peer Tutoring With Audio Prompting on Vocabulary Acquisition for Struggling Readers

Reciprocal peer tutoring can be an effective supplement to teacher-led instruction, but students need to have the tutoring skills necessary to teach their peers successfully. Previous studies have addressed the challenge of providing essential information to a naive tutor, allowing for correct modeling and feedback. The present study compared incidental learning of vocabulary words through classroom reading instruction to a combination of incidental learning supplemented with peer tutoring. Eight fourth-grade students were trained to tutor each other using a digital recording and playback device that provides audio prompts to naive tutors. Results indicated that students made modest gains from incidental learning and much stronger gains from peer tutoring with audio prompting. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
Understanding the Role of Policy Narratives and the Public Policy Arena: Obesity as a Lesson in Public Policy Development

As witnessed by recent national policy battles over health care and climate change, the policy environment in the United States (U.S.) is increasingly politically polarized. U.S. public policy is progressively driven by divisive symbols and dominated by morality debates often articulated in the form of emotional narratives. One such issue that has gained attention in the U.S., partially due to efforts of First Lady Michelle Obama, is the increasing levels of obesity. Obesity policy advocates warn that the U.S. is facing a crisis that impacts not only our health, but our national competitiveness; not only our military preparedness, but our national security. Our goal is not to get involved in the scientific debate over obesity and its costs to society but rather to explore the role that policy narratives and causal attribution play in determining attitudes toward obesity and obesity policy. We contend that an individual's view of obesity is shaped by their view of individual rights and responsibilities and of individual morality; and determined more by stories (especially narratives that “fit” with those views) than by science. Our paper seeks to test whether science or other factors primarily shape one's view of government's appropriate role relative to the obesity issue and to examine which of two foundational moral narratives is more convincing in the obesity policy realm. Using a sample of 172 respondents at two institutions of higher education in the United States, we find that a “Strict Father Morality” narrative was more convincing than a science statement in influencing an individual's view of obesity. Respondents believed that obesity was a serious problem, but they were deeply divided over government's role in addressing the obesity issue. Female respondents were the most supportive of governmental efforts to address obesity. We explore the potential impact of our findings for public policy development and future research.
Peptides and the primary afferent nociceptor

An expanding knowledge of neuropeptides and their function has led to a profound change in our view of how the PAN contributes to pain. In addition to their expected direct action on postsynaptic cells in the dorsal horn, neuropeptides can modify transmitter release from nearby terminals of other PANs and/or diffuse to act on dorsal horn neurons at a considerable distance from their site of release (Fig. 2). Contrary to early expectations and despite the evidence that several neuropeptides excite central nociceptive neurons, there is no clear correspondence between neuropeptide content and physiologically defined classes of small-diameter primary afferents. There is, however, a tendency for populations of afferents innervating different organs to differ consistently in their peptide content. In fact, the peptide content of primary afferents is, in part, determined by specific factors in the tissues that they innervate. Furthermore, peptide content can change dramatically in response to certain prolonged stimuli or nerve damage. The lack of correspondence of peptide content and physiological response pattern, the plasticity of peptide content, its tissue specificity, and the possibility for action at a distance from the site of their release from central PAN terminals strongly suggest that PAN peptides have functions that are fundamentally different from those of the short-range actions of amino acid neurotransmitters that are also found in the PAN. Finally, nowhere is the plasticity of function of the PAN more evident than at its peripheral terminals. Long-term changes are produced in these terminals by a host of peptides that derive from a variety of cell types. The complexity of this transduction process is augmented by the activity- induced release of peripherally active neuropeptides from the PAN itself. In addition to the variety of fundamental neurobiological issues that recent studies of PANs have raised, they have also generated a great deal of clinical interest, in view of the role of the PAN in inflammation and its accessibility for study and for therapeutic intervention.
Caustic Ingestions: A Rational Look at Diluents

Treatment of lye ingestions by antidotes recommended on product labels includes the use of acid neutralizers. The possibility that heat produced by this exothermic reaction increased tissue damage was examined in vitro. Although Drano produced heat with all diluents including water and milk, acid antidotes prolonged the duration of high temperature. Clinitest tablets neutralized with milk produced no temperatures above 40 degrees C. The ready availability of milk or water, their acceptance by the child, and lack of toxic side effects make them diluents of choice for alkaline corrosive agents.
Strengths and weaknesses of the history of mentalities

(1986). Strengths and weaknesses of the history of mentalities. History of European Ideas: Vol. 7, No. 5, pp. 439-451.
Comparison of different detection techniques for digital magnetic recording channels

A methodology for comparing different detection schemes for digital magnetic recording channels is presented. This methodology builds on previous work to improve the estimates of the bit error rates and to expand the scope of the results presented. The authors compare PRML/VA, DFE, and FDTS/DF detectors under different circumstances. >
Structure of the semicontinuity sets of the Lyapunov exponents of linear differential systems continuously depending on a parameter

For an arbitrary n ∈ N, consider a family of n-dimensional linear differential systems continuously depending on a parameter that belongs to a complete metric space. For each i = 1,..., n, we completely describe the set of points of lower semicontinuity and the set of points of upper semicontinuity of the ith Lyapunov exponent treated as a function of the parameter.
Sports traumatology today. A review of common current sports injury problems

Increasing participation and training intensity in sports and physical activity has resulted in an increasing number of injuries as well as recognition of "new" injuries. Improved diagnostic techniques such as MRI, CT scan, scintigraphy and ultrasound have proven to be valuable in the diagnosis of especially soft tissue injuries. Surgery is today generally accepted as the treatment of choice for anterior cruciate ligament injuries in the active population. Arthroscopic reconstruction using the bone-patellar tendon-bone graft is considered to be the "gold standard". Alternative grafts such as semitendinosus and gracilis can also be used. The use of artificial ligaments and allografts is still experimental. Most posterior cruciate ligament injuries are today treated conservatively, and so are ankle ligament injuries. There is still no final solution how to treat articular cartilage lesions although interest is being focussed on cartilage resurfacing. Overuse tendon injuries often become chronic and are then associated with persistent structural alteration. Chronic overuse injuries are characterized by a failure to develop adequate scar tissue restoration. The reason for this delayed healing is still unclear. The treatment of these injuries include, today, early strength and stretching training, but the main concepts are still controversial due to lack of scientific evidence. Our understanding of shoulder injuries in athletes has developed enormously during the last few years. The use of arthroscopy when performing subacromial decompression and surgery of labral tears have allowed more athletes to return early to sports than before. Laboratory studies have increased our understanding of muscle injuries and they show the importance of early mobilization. Prevention will be a major issue for research within the next decade. It is the author's opinion that within the next decade, sports traumatology will take a leading role in orthopaedic and sports medicine research.
Cockroaches traverse crevices, crawl rapidly in confined spaces, and inspire a soft, legged robot

Jointed exoskeletons permit rapid appendage-driven locomotion but retain the soft-bodied, shape-changing ability to explore confined environments. We challenged cockroaches with horizontal crevices smaller than a quarter of their standing body height. Cockroaches rapidly traversed crevices in 300–800 ms by compressing their body 40–60%. High-speed videography revealed crevice negotiation to be a complex, discontinuous maneuver. After traversing horizontal crevices to enter a vertically confined space, cockroaches crawled at velocities approaching 60 cm⋅s−1, despite body compression and postural changes. Running velocity, stride length, and stride period only decreased at the smallest crevice height (4 mm), whereas slipping and the probability of zigzag paths increased. To explain confined-space running performance limits, we altered ceiling and ground friction. Increased ceiling friction decreased velocity by decreasing stride length and increasing slipping. Increased ground friction resulted in velocity and stride length attaining a maximum at intermediate friction levels. These data support a model of an unexplored mode of locomotion—“body-friction legged crawling” with body drag, friction-dominated leg thrust, but no media flow as in air, water, or sand. To define the limits of body compression in confined spaces, we conducted dynamic compressive cycle tests on living animals. Exoskeletal strength allowed cockroaches to withstand forces 300 times body weight when traversing the smallest crevices and up to nearly 900 times body weight without injury. Cockroach exoskeletons provided biological inspiration for the manufacture of an origami-style, soft, legged robot that can locomote rapidly in both open and confined spaces.
Sexualstorungen bei vorwiegend zerebraler Histiocytosis X

Six autopsy cases of cerebral histiocytosis-X are reported. All six involved the hypothalamus, and in four of them diabetes insipidus was the initial manifestation of the disease. In two cases it was associated with severe and permanent sexual disorders. Morphologically, two cases were consistent with eosinophilic granuloma, two others with non-lipid histiocytosis, and a further two with lipoid granulomatosis (Hand-Schuller-Christian disease). In three cases, granulomas also involved other parts of the brain, and in two of them they were accompanied by xanthomatous transformation. Two patients suffered from extracerebral manifestations of this condition, i.e. eosinophilic granuloma of the lymph nodes and lipoid granulomatosis of the skeletal system, the latter representing the terminal manifestation of the disease.
Internal Control Weakness Disclosure and Firm Investment

I use Sarbanes–Oxley Act Section 404 auditor opinions on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting to examine whether firm investment level is associated with the disclosure of internal control weaknesses. I find that firms that receive adverse auditor internal control opinions have significantly lower investment than firms that receive clean opinions. I also find that these firms’ investment decreases after the weakness revelation and then increases after the weakness remediation. I further find that these firms’ reduction in investment is driven by the decrease in the relatively risky components of investment (i.e., acquisitions, research and development expenses). These results suggest that internal control evaluation and disclosure have significant influence on operating decisions within the firms.
Deterring Spammers Impact Assessment of the CAN SPAM Act on Email Spam Rates

This study sought to evaluate the deterrent impact the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN SPAM) Act has had on email spam rates over time. A sample of 5,490,905...
Evaluation of the thin agar layer method for the recovery of pressure-injured and heat-injured Listeria monocytogenes.

A sublethally injured bacterial cell has been defined as a cell that survives a stress such as heating, freezing, acid treatment, or other antimicrobial intervention but can repair the cellular damage exerted by the stressor and later regain its original ability to grow. Consequently, sublethally injured cells are not likely to be included in conventional enumeration procedures, which could result in unrealistically low counts unless efforts are made to encourage recovery of the injured cells before enumeration. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of the thin agar layer (TAL) method for the recovery of pressure-injured and heat-injured Listeria monocytogenes in a tryptic soy broth with 0.6% yeast extract system. Pressure injury consisted of treatment of a culture of mixed L. monocytogenes strains with high hydrostatic pressure at 400 or 600 MPa for 1 s, 2 min, 4 min, or 6 min at a process temperature of 12 ± 2 deg;C. Heat injury consisted of treatment of a culture of mixed L. monocytogenes...
Fenestrated Transcatheter ASD Closure in Adults with Diastolic Dysfunction and/or Pulmonary Hypertension: Case Series and Review of the Literature

Objectives This study aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of transcatheter fenestrated ASD closure and to summarize the literature regarding the published techniques and outcomes of transcatheter partial ASD closure. Background Patients with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) or right ventricular (RV) dysfunction and/or pulmonary hypertension (PHT) may suffer untoward consequences of complete closure of an ostium secundum atrial septal defect (ASD). Therefore, for patients that fall under these categories we suggest partial occlusion of the defect, which may be better tolerated than complete defect closure. Methods and Patients. After obtaining IRB approval, a search for patients that have undergone percutaneous ASD closure was performed in the Ahmanson/UCLA Adult Congenital Heart Disease Center database to identify which patients received a fenestrated ASD closure device. Results Eight consecutive patients ranging between 22 and 83 years of age (mean 48 years) with PHT and/or LVDD or RV dysfunction who underwent fenestrated transcatheter ASD closure at UCLA were identified. None of the subjects experienced complications related to the procedure. Postprocedure clinical evaluation showed improvement in symptoms and exercise capacity. Available follow-up transthoracic echocardiography data (mean 4 months, range 0–20 months) demonstrated patent fenestrations in four of eight patients. None of the patients had thromboembolic or infectious complications and there were no device migrations, erosions or embolizations. Conclusions Partial ASD occlusion in patients with diastolic dysfunction or RV dysfunction and/or PHT is safe and may be better tolerated than complete ASD closure in selected patients.
Biomechanical evaluation of adjunctive cerclage wire fixation for the prevention of periprosthetic femur fractures using cementless press-fit total hip replacement

Periprosthetic femoral fractures are a common complication associated with cementless press-fit total hip arthroplasty. The use of prophylactic cerclage wire fixation has been advocated to reduce this complication. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether a double loop cerclage wire, used as adjunctive fixation, increased the peak torsional load to failure in femora implanted with press-fit cementless stems. Peak torsional load to failure was compared between femora without adjunctive fixation and femora receiving a 1 mm double loop cerclage wire placed proximally to the lesser trochanter. Femora treated with adjunctive cerclage wire fixation failed at 20% greater peak torque (P = 0.0001). In conclusion, a double loop cerclage wire may aid in the prevention of periprosthetic fractures associated with press-fit cementless femoral stems.
Analasis of Antimicrobial Agents in Treating the Hand-Foot-And-Mouth Disease Between 0-5

Objective To investigate the antimicrobial agents in treating the hand-foot-and-mouth disease and to improve the proper clinical utilization in our hospital.Methods We elicited 720 medical records randomly which were diagnosed hand-foot-and-mouth disease from Oct 2013 to Sep 2014 in our hospital,and did statistic analysis to the antibacterial agents using. Results The using rate was 21.4%,the alliance rate was 0.69%,the main antibacterial agents was Cefuroxime、Ceftriaxone and Azithromycin,the major unreasonable point was in the daily frequency、no indication and the drug selection. Conclusion The antimicrobial agents using in our hospital is fundamentally reasonable.
Analysis on the intervention countermeasures of breastfeeding problems

Due to many factors,current breastfeeding rate in China is still not very satisfactory.Therefore need to imple ment a series of interventions,such as further increasing the benefits of breastfeeding promotion,elimination of wet nurse's psychological concerns,strengthen the guidance of scientific methods such as breastfeeding,intervention should be to in tervene before the age of eligibility for extension,extend the scope of intervention targets,full social participation of inter vention,the "weakening of management,enhance service" concept,the principle of legal intervention in the realization of "Development of Chinese Children(2001-2010)" presented to the infant breast-feeding rate of provinces(autonomous regions and municipalities) for the unit should be 85% target.
Incorporating Technical Information and Community Goals into Risk Management Decision Related to Groundwater

Effective local groundwater management requires technical information which often must be provided by experts from outside the community who become intervenors. We have found that successfully weaving technical information into the decision making process of a community requires a sensitivity to the perspective of the community. Understanding the community context can allow an intervenor to develop technical information that is relevant to the immediate needs of the community. An effective partnership between the intervenor and key individuals in the community facilitates the development of realistic options, and usually leads to a positive outcome.
Fractionation and Manipulation of Cells with Chemically Modified Fibers and Surfaces

Current biological research is largely engaged in the analysis of events involving individual cell types and their molecular constituents. The ability to obtain purified cell populations is therefore of obvious importance, particularly in the systematic analysis of interactions among different cell types. This frequently involves experimental designs in which individual cells must be physically manipulated in relation both to other cells and to their molecular environment. In this chapter we describe a relatively simple procedure that allows both fractionation and physical manipulation of cells under a variety of conditions. It should be stressed that the details of design and procedure in some cases represent specialized applications; within the general principles of the method, a number of parameters may have to be adjusted to meet the requirements of other experiments.
Insulin resistance but IGF-I sensitivity in chronic renal failure.

The effects of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and insulin on glucose metabolism were compared in awake, chronically catheterized rats with chronic renal failure (CRF) and sham-operated, pair-fed controls. In control rats, IGF-I (5 micrograms.kg-1.min-1) and insulin (2 mU.kg-1.min-1) infusions produced similar twofold increases in total body glucose uptake from fasting values under euglycemic conditions (euglycemic clamps). Total body glucose uptake during euglycemic IGF-I clamps at 5 and 10 micrograms.kg-1.min-1 was not different between CRF and control rats. Total body glucose uptake during euglycemic insulin clamps at 2 and 4 mU.kg-1.min-1 was significantly lower in CRF rats compared with corresponding values in control rats. Hepatic glucose production was suppressed by insulin equally but not by IGF-I in both groups. Correction of metabolic acidosis by NaHCO3 partially improved insulin resistance in rats with CRF, whereas an equimolar amount of NaCl had no effect. Thus the capacity of IGF-I infusion to stimulate total body glucose uptake is maintained in CRF rats that are insulin resistant.
Average Path Profile of Atmospheric Temperature and Humidity Structure Parameters from a Microwave Profiling Radiometer

The values of the key atmospheric turbulence parameters (structure constants) for temperature and water vapor, that is, C(exp 2)(sub T), and C(exp 2)(sub Q), are highly dependent upon the vertical height within the atmosphere thus making it necessary to specify profiles of these values along the atmospheric propagation path. The remote sensing method suggested and described in this work makes use of a rapidly integrating microwave profiling radiometer to capture profiles of temperature and humidity through the atmosphere. The integration times of currently available profiling radiometers are such that they are approaching the temporal intervals over which one can possibly make meaningful assessments of these key atmospheric parameters. These integration times, coupled with the boundary effects of the Earth’s surface are, however, unconventional for turbulence characterization; the classical Kolmogorov turbulence theory and related 2/3 law for structure functions prevalent in the inertial subrange are no longer appropriate. An alternative to this classical approach is derived from first principles to account for the nuances of turbulent mechanics met with using radiometer sensing, that is, the large-scale turbulence driven by the various possible boundary conditions within the buoyancy subrange. Analytical expressions connecting the measured structure functions to the corresponding structure parameters are obtained. The theory is then applied to an experimental scenario involving radiometric profile measurements of temperature and shows very good results.
The First QSOs and Their Influence on the Intergalactic Medium

High-redshift QSOs are prodigious sources of ultraviolet photons which may influence the ionization and thermal history of the diffuse intergalactic medium and the Lyα forest clouds. Recent results on the ambient, metagalactic ultraviolet radiation field as a function of redshift are reviewed. At z = 0, searches for Hα emission from 21-cm emitting clouds, modeling of the sharp edges of H I clouds, and direct measurements of the far ultraviolet flux at high Galactic latitude place limits on any diffuse extragalactic component. At z ≈ 3, the ambient background can be estimated through studies of the Lyα forest and other types of QSO absorption-line systems. Estimates of the ultraviolet background obtained through modeling of the “proximity effect” in the Lyα forest at z ≈ 3 probably are in reasonable agreement with the expected contribution of luminous QSOs, when the large uncertainties in both quantities are taken into account.
Cache-Aware Approximate Computing for Decision Tree Learning

The memory performance of data mining applications became crucial due to increasing dataset sizes and multi-level cache hierarchies. Decision tree learning is one of the most important algorithms in this field, and numerous researchers worked on improving the accuracy of model tree as well as enhancing the overall performance of the learning process. Most modern applications that employ decision tree learning favor creating multiple models for higher accuracy by sacrificing performance. In this work, we exploit the flexibility inherent in decision tree learning based applications regarding performance and accuracy tradeoffs, and propose a framework to improve performance with negligible accuracy losses. This framework employs a data access skipping module (DASM) using which costly cache accesses are skipped according to the aggressiveness of the strategy specified by the user and a heuristic to predict skipped data accesses to keep accuracy losses at minimum. Our experimental evaluation shows that the proposed framework offers significant performance improvements (up to 25%) with relatively much smaller losses in accuracy (up to 8%) over the original case. We demonstrate that our framework is scalable under various accuracy requirements via exploring accuracy changes over time and replacement policies. In addition, we explore NoC/SNUCA systems for similar opportunities of memory performance improvement.
DD88: Die Arroganz der Routiniers gegen uns Neulinge (April 2009)

Wir feiern ja gerade Ostern und ich stelle mir vor, ein Fremder aus einer fernen Kultur ist bei uns zu Gast. Wir stehen vom Osterbrunch auf und schauen ihn erwartungsfroh an: „Nun suche!“ Er wird fragen: „Was denn?“ – „Na, Eier!“ Er blickt auf den Tisch, wo noch gefarbte Schalen liegen. Er versteht nicht, was von ihm erwartet wird. Und wir brullen ihn wutend an: „Suche endlich! Wir haben extra welche fur dich versteckt! Uberall!“ Da schaut er ratselhaft verzweifelt um sich und ist verletzt. Es tut ihm weh. Wir aber finden, er nervt uns mit seinem abgrundtiefen verwerflichen Unwissen. Was will er denn uberhaupt Ostern bei uns? Sollen wir ihm jetzt etwa die ganze Geschichte des Christentums inkl. der kirchenamtlichen Hasenkunde erklaren?
Suppression of Interictal Epileptic Activity by AEDs

Rates of full suppression of interictal epileptiform activity were compared for phenobarbital (PHB), carbamazepine (CBZ), and valproate (VPA), in a study at Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA.
Parental Vaccine Acceptance: A Logistic Regression Model Using Previsit Decisions

This study explores how parents’ intentions regarding vaccination prior to their children’s visit were associated with actual vaccine acceptance. A convenience sample of parents accompanying 6-week-old to 17-year-old children completed a written survey at 2 pediatric practices. Using hierarchical logistic regression, for hospital-based participants (n = 216), vaccine refusal history (P < .01) and vaccine decision made before the visit (P < .05) explained 87% of vaccine refusals. In community-based participants (n = 100), vaccine refusal history (P < .01) explained 81% of refusals. Over 1 in 5 parents changed their minds about vaccination during the visit. Thirty parents who were previous vaccine refusers accepted current vaccines, and 37 who had intended not to vaccinate choose vaccination. Twenty-nine parents without a refusal history declined vaccines, and 32 who did not intend to refuse before the visit declined vaccination. Future research should identify key factors to nudge parent decision making in...
Affirmative Psychological Testing and Neurocognitive Assessment with Transgender Adults

Neither consensus on best practice nor validated neuropsychological, intelligence, or personality testing batteries exist for assessment and psychological testing on the transgender population. Historically, assessment has been used in a gate-keeping fashion with transgender clients. There are no firm standards of care when considering the content and appropriateness of evaluations conducted presurgically. These evaluations are discussed in the setting of other presurgical evaluations, with a recommendation to move toward a competency to make a medical decisions model. Additional considerations are discussed, such as effects of transition on mood and how to interpret scores in a field where normative data are often gender stratified.
Eligibility of Pacemaker Patients for Subcutaneous Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators

S-ICD Candidacy Among Ventricularly Paced PatientsIntroduction The subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) has emerged as a viable therapeutic option for patients who are deemed high risk for sudden cardiac death. Previous studies have shown that 7–15% of patients are not candidates for the S-ICD based on their intrinsic QRS/T-wave morphology. Presently, it is not known if the S-ICD can be considered as supplementary therapy in patients who are ventricularly paced. We sought to determine the proportion of ventricularly paced patients who would qualify for an S-ICD. Methods and Results We evaluated 100 patients with transvenous pacemakers/ICDs, including 25 biventricular devices to determine S-ICD candidacy during right ventricular (RV) pacing and biventricular pacing based on the recommended QRS:T-wave ratio screening template. Fifty-eight percent of patients qualified for an S-ICD based on their QRS morphology during ventricular pacing. More patients during biventricular pacing met criteria compared to during RV pacing alone (80% vs. 46%, P <0.01). Patients that were paced from the RV septum were more likely to qualify compared to those paced from the RV apex (67% vs. 37%, respectively, P <0.01). Conclusion While S-ICD implantation may be considered as supplemental therapy in select patients with preexisting transvenous devices, relatively fewer candidates who are paced from the RV apex qualify. QRS morphologies generated from biventricular pacing as well as from septal RV pacing are more likely to screen in based on the recommended S-ICD template.
Survivorship care and weight management: Assessing patient attitudes and preferences toward provider involvement.

e20589 Background: The aim of the study was to better understand gynecologic cancer patients’ attitudes and preferences regarding the role of their healthcare providers in managing weight loss in l...
Towards brilliant, compact x-ray sources: a new x-ray photonic device

General Electric has designed an innovative x-ray photonic device that concentrates a polychromatic beam of diverging x-rays into a less divergent, parallel, or focused x-ray beam. The device consists of multiple, thin film multilayer stacks. X-rays incident on a given multilayer stack propagate within a high refractive index transmission layer while undergoing multiple total internal reflections from a novel, engineered multilayer containing materials of lower refractive index. Development of this device could lead to order-of-magnitude flux density increases, over a large broadband energy range from below 20 keV to above 300 keV. In this paper, we give an overview of the device and present GE’s progress towards fabricating prototype devices.
Enhanced Mass Transfer in the Step Edge Induced Oxidation on Cu(100) Surface

In situ TEM experiments have shown that the oxidation of stepped Cu(100) surface results in a flat Cu2O film, which is different from the 3D oxide island structure that usually forms on a flat Cu surface. The mass transport process originating from Cu adatoms that detach from the step edge is argued to be responsible for the different oxide growth behavior. Using molecular dynamics in conjunction with a reactive force field (ReaxFF), we show that the mass transport from the step edge to the flat terrace is enhanced by the unevenly distributed oxygen adatoms on the step top compared to the flat terrace. The ReaxFF force field is optimized using density functional theory calculated energetics and kinetic barriers on various Cu surface models. We investigate two possible mechanisms that can trigger Cu transport: (1) strain due to lattice mismatch between Cu and Cu2O and (2) electrostatic interactions. We show that the formation and diffusion of Cu–O clusters can accelerate the Cu transport process, especiall...
Associations Between Falls and Driving Outcomes in Older Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objectives To examine associations between falls and subsequent motor vehicle crashes (MVCs), crash-related injuries, driving performance, and driving behavior. Design Systematic review and metaanalysis. Participants Observational studies including drivers aged 55 and older or with a mean age of 65 and older. Measurements Two authors independently extracted study and participant characteristics, exposures, and outcomes and assessed risk of bias. Pooled risk estimates for MVCs and MVC-related injuries were calculated using random-effects models. Other results were synthesized narratively. Results From 3,286 potentially eligible records, 15 studies (N = 27–17,349 subjects) met inclusion criteria. Risk of bias was low to moderate, except for cross-sectional studies (n = 3), which all had a high potential for bias. A fall history was associated with a significantly greater risk of subsequent MVC (summary risk estimate = 1.40, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.20–1.63; I2 = 28%, N = 5 studies). One study found a significantly greater risk of MVC-related hospitalizations and deaths after a fall (hazard ratio = 3.12, 95% CI = 1.71–5.69). Evidence was inconclusive regarding an association between falls and driving cessation and showed no association between falls and driving performance or behavior. Conclusion Falls in older adults appear to be a risk marker for subsequent MVCs and MVC-related injury. Given the nature of the evidence, which is limited to observational studies, the identified associations may also result at least partly from confounding or bias. Further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms linking falls to crash risk and to develop effective interventions to ensure driving safety in older adults with a history of falls.
Current treatment of central retinal artery occlusion: a national survey

Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) is an ophthalmological emergency, the retinal analog of a stroke. To date there is no consensus or national guidelines on how this disorder should be managed. As academic neurologists and ophthalmologists treat CRAO frequently, we set out to understand how these clinicians approach patients with CRAO with a national survey. We identified university-associated teaching hospitals offering vascular neurology, neuro-ophthalmology and/or retina fellowships in the US and asked the directors of the programs to respond to questions in an open response format to profile the acute management of CRAO at their institution. We found remarkable heterogeneity in the approach to acute treatment of patients with CRAO among the 45 institutions that responded to the survey. Only 20% had a formal policy, guideline or white paper to standardize the approach to treatment. The primary treating physician was an ophthalmologist, neurologist, or neuro-ophthalmologist 44, 27, and 4% of the time, respectively; 24% were co-managed acutely by neurology and ophthalmology. Intravenous fibrinolysis was offered to selected patients in 53% of institutions, and was the preferred initial treatment in 36%. When the acute treatment team involved a vascular neurologist, fibrinolysis was more likely to be considered a first-line treatment (p < 0.05). Anterior chamber paracentesis, ocular massage and hyperbaric oxygen therapy were offered 42, 66 and 7% of the time, respectively, while 9% of institutions offered no treatment. Anterior chamber paracentesis was more likely to be offered at programs where neurologists were not involved in treating CRAOs (p < 0.001). At 35% of institutions, patients with acute CRAO were not routinely referred to a general emergency room for initial evaluation and treatment. Carotid imaging was routinely obtained by 89% of programs, magnetic resonance imaging of the brain by 69%, echocardiogram by 62%, laboratory screening for an inflammatory state by 27% and retinal angiography by 30%. The thoroughness of vascular risk factors’ screening was greater in programs that routinely referred acute CRAO cases to the emergency department. This survey shows that there is significant variability in treatment practices for acute CRAO in the US. Because of the high cerebrovascular and cardiovascular risk reported in this population of patients, it is notable that the approach to risk factor screening is also highly variable and many programs do not routinely refer patients to an emergency department for urgent evaluation. Finally, there appears to be equipoise among treatment teams regarding the efficacy of systemic fibrinolysis, as 53% of programs report a willingness to treat at least some patients with this modality.
4d $\mathcal{N} = 1$/2d Yang-Mills Duality in Holography.

We study the supergravity dual of four-dimensional ${\mathcal{N}=1}$ superconformal field theories arising from wrapping M5-branes on a Kahler two-cycle inside a Calabi-Yau threefold. We derive an effective three-dimensional theory living on the cobordism between the infrared and ultraviolet Riemann surfaces, describing the renormalization group flows between AdS$_7$ and AdS$_{5}$ as well as between different AdS$_{5}$ fixed points. The realization of this system as an effective theory is convenient to make connections to known theories, and we show that upon imposing (physical) infrared boundary conditions, the effective three-dimensional theory further reduces to two-dimensional $SU(2)$ Yang-Mills theory on the Riemann surface, thus deriving a correspondence between the gravity duals of a class of $\mathcal{N}=1$ superconformal field theories arising from wrapping M5-branes on a Riemann surface and two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory on the same Riemann surface.
Prehospital Prediction of Large Vessel Occlusion in Suspected Stroke Patients.

Recent advances in endovascular thrombectomy have made acute ischemic stroke due to a large vessel occlusion more treatable than ever. Rapid access to treatment remains paramount and multiple large vessel occlusion prediction scales have been created to enhance prehospital identification and triage of these patients. This review summarizes the current state of large vessel occlusion prediction scales, proposes a set of ideal scale features, and discusses the future of these scales and prehospital neurological emergency response systems. A meta-analysis of the available data concluded that none of the currently published scales are more accurate than the others. However, other studies provide insight into important qualitative features beyond accuracy. At present, only a few large vessel occlusion prediction scales have been studied in the necessary prehospital suspected stroke patient population. Among these small studies, 26–51% of patients identified by scales had large vessel occlusions and 63–84% qualified for triage to a Comprehensive Stroke Center. Valuable scale features include binary scoring, inclusion of gaze deviation and arm weakness, exclusion of neglect, and prehospital validation in a suspected stroke cohort. Patients with neurological emergencies that mimic large vessel occlusion, such as intracranial hemorrhage, may also benefit from triage to Comprehensive Stroke Centers. Prehospital triage is more complex than ever and guidelines, tools, and systems continue to evolve.
Percolation Composites: Localization of Surface Plasmons and Enhanced Optical Nonlinearities

In random metal-dielectric composites near the percolation threshold surface plasmons are localized in small nanometer-sized areas, hot spots, where the local field can exceed the applied field by several orders of magnitude. The high local fields result in dramatic enhancement of optical responses, especially, nonlinear ones. The local-field distributions and enhanced optical nonlinearities are described using the scale renormalization. A theory predicts that the local fields consist of spatially separated clusters of sharp peaks representing localized surface plasmons. Experimental observations are in good accord with theoretical predictions. The localization of plasmons maps the Anderson localization problem described by the random Hamiltonian with both on- and off-diagonal disorder. A feasibility of nonlinear surface-enhanced spectroscopy of single molecules and nanocrystals on percolation films is shown.
Reader’s Guide to String Duality and Matrix Theory

The canonical reference here is the book of Green, Schwarz, and Witten, Superstrings Vol I and II, published by Cambridge University Press. However, a new two volume work by J. Polchinski, also published by Cambridge, is more up to date, and has much more material relevant to M theory and String Duality. The important things to understand from these references are the connection of two dimensional (super) conformal field theories with the Feynman diagrams representing the expansion of string theory around some classical background. This leads to a connection between string states and background fields that shows that many string perturbation expansions are expansions of the same theory around different backgrounds. All of these expansions contain what appear to be consistent perturbative treatments of quantum supergravity (SUGRA). From this point of view, there appear to be 5 + 1 really DIFFERENT string theories called, IIA,B, IA,B and HetA,B.
Treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer: a retrospective analysis of women treated with single-agent carboplatin originally treated with carboplatin and paclitaxel: The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center experience

Abstract Objective There is no standard treatment for recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). As there are no curative options, many oncologists choose to treat women who recur with carboplatin, particularly if they are deemed to have platinum-sensitive disease. However, particularly in the era of platinum–taxane treatment as primary therapy, the utility of this treatment has not been established, nor is it clear whether the results of single-agent treatment are equivalent to that of combination therapy. We sought to determine the outcomes for patients with platinum-sensitive EOC who were treated with carboplatin–taxane therapy and received single-agent carboplatin (C) as second chemotherapy. In addition, we sought to compare these results to the outcomes in women who received carboplatin and paclitaxel (C + T) at first relapse. Patients and methods We identified 24 patients using our electronic institutional database with a histologically confirmed diagnosis of ovarian cancer that had a complete response to platinum–paclitaxel chemotherapy, relapsed greater than 6 months after treatment, and received single-agent carboplatin as second-line chemotherapy. We performed a subsequent comparison between a subgroup of this cohort and one that met the same inclusion criteria but received C + T at relapse between January 1998 and December 2000. Results Eighteen patients were evaluable for response, and all were available for analysis of survival end points. For evaluable patients, the overall response rate was 39% (complete, 11%; partial, 28%). Twenty-two percent had stable disease. Six (25%) patients experienced a hypersensitivity reaction, including 1 who required hospitalization. The median overall survival was 22 months. The 2-year overall survival rate was 49%. Stratification by treatment-free interval (TFI) showed a 25% for a TFI between 6 and 12 months and 43% for a TFI > 12 months. When a subgroup of these women (18/24) was compared to a cohort that received C + T (29), the combination was associated with a higher complete and overall response rate, 7 and 36% for C versus 45 and 71% for C + T ( P = 0.02). The overall survival in women who received C was 26 months versus 42 months in the women who received C + T ( P Conclusions Carboplatin as a single agent is effective therapy for recurrent ovarian cancer in women who recur following treatment with carboplatin and paclitaxel, and the treatment-free interval predicts response to single-agent carboplatin. However, our secondary analysis suggests that carboplatin and paclitaxel may produce a higher response rate and a survival benefit compared to C alone. This supports the conclusions of ICON4, which recently reported both overall and progression-free survival benefits with C + T over C in women with platinum-sensitive recurrent disease.