cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement

Symptomatic severe aortic stenosis portends a dismal prognosis without replacement of the aortic valve. For nearly half of a century, surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) was the mainstay of therapy. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has more recently established itself as a highly-effective treatment for patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis. Currently indicated for patients who are at high or extreme risk for death or major morbidity with surgical aortic valve replacement, TAVR is likely to become a therapeutic option for intermediate and low surgical risk patients as well. Cardiac imaging plays a central role in achieving success with TAVR and is critical in pre-procedural evaluation, intra-procedural guidance, and post-procedural assessment.
Vector Geometry in n -Space, n ≥ 4

In the preceding chapters, we have seen how the language and techniques of linear algebra can unify large parts of the geometry of vectors in 2 and 3 dimensions. What begins as an alternative way of treating problems in analytic geometry becomes a powerful tool for investigating increasingly complicated phenomena, such as eigenvectors or quadratic forms, which would be difficult to approach otherwise.
Plating a Dendrite-Free Lithium Anode with a Polymer/Ceramic/Polymer Sandwich Electrolyte.

A cross-linked polymer containing pendant molecules attached to the polymer framework is shown to form flexible and low-cost membranes, to be a solid Li+ electrolyte up to 270 °C, much higher than those based on poly(ethylene oxide), to be wetted by a metallic lithium anode, and to be not decomposed by the metallic anode if the anions of the salt are blocked by a ceramic electrolyte in a polymer/ceramic membrane/polymer sandwich electrolyte (PCPSE). In this sandwich architecture, the double-layer electric field at the Li/polymer interface is reduced due to the blocked salt anion transfer. The polymer layer adheres/wets the lithium metal surface and makes the Li-ion flux at the interface more homogeneous. This structure integrates the advantages of the ceramic and polymer. With the PCPSE, all-solid-state Li/LiFePO4 cells showed a notably high Coulombic efficiency of 99.8–100% over 640 cycles.
Video Game Use as Risk Exposure, Protective Incapacitation, or Inconsequential Activity Among University Students

Abstract. While there is extensive literature exploring the possible negative effects of video games, and many such studies using college student samples, there is little research on how video game use impacts the unique risk environment of college students. This study focuses on the unique risk aspects of the college and university environment with a preregistered survey comparing three competing models of video games’ possible role (games as risk, incapacitation, or inconsequential) in predicting alcohol and substance use, sexual risk, interpersonal violence, bullying victimization, suicide, disordered eating, and exercise to provide a baseline measure of what role, if any, video games play in the college and university risk environment. Video game play was most consistently associated with outcomes related to suicide and interpersonal violence, and more sporadically associated with some other outcomes.
Comparison of F.C.C. interstitial calculations

Abstract A comparison of the results of calculations for interstitials in copper and nickel is made with reference to the interatomic interaction used, which indicates regularities and a general pattern.
The Importance of a Complete Social History

A 48-year-old man with a history of well-controlled human immunodeficiency virus infection and squamous cell cancer at the base of the tongue in remission presented to the Infectious Diseases Clinic with a lesion on his left hand. He reported noticing the lesion approximately 2 months prior to presentation. It began as a small nodule that slowly increased in size and later developed a central area of skin breakdown. He did not recall any trauma from around the time he first noticed the lesion. He denied any pain or drainage.
Random Subspace Ensembles for Clustering Categorical Data

Cluster ensembles provide a solution to challenges inherent to clustering arising from its ill-posed nature. In fact, cluster ensembles can find robust and stable solutions by leveraging the consensus across multiple clustering results, while averaging out spurious structures that arise due to the various biases to which each participating algorithm is tuned. In this chapter we focus on the design of ensembles for categorical data. Our techniques build upon diverse input clusterings discovered in random subspaces, and reduce the problem of defining a consensus function to a graph partitioning problem. We experimentally demonstrate the efficacy of our approach in combination with the categorical clustering algorithm COOLCAT.
Diseases of the Pancreas, Part II: Tumors

Ultrasonography may be used as the initial screening method in patients with jaundice and upper abdominal pain and might determine that a pancreatic tumor causes the symptoms, but helical computed tomography (CT), especially multi detector-row helical CT (MDCT), with its superb spatial resolution, is considered the imaging method of choice for detecting neoplastic changes in the pancreas [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Generally, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used in patients with suspected small pancreatic tumors and as a problem-solving modality that may help to clarify internal architecture, particularly in patients with cystic lesions when CT is equivocal [6, 7, 8]. Nevertheless, improved MR sequence design has led to higher tissue contrast and faster scanning that has resulted in more accurate detection and staging of pancreatic neoplasms, particularly of small adenocarcinomas, small islet cell tumors and cystic neoplasms [9]. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) also can detect small pancreatic tumors [10, 11, 12] and characterize pancreatic lesions, especially for patients with cystic masses [13].
Impact of pregnancy on maternal pharmacokinetics of medications

Abstract The efficacy and safety of medications during pregnancy is highly variable and often different than in the nonpregnant population. In part, this variability can be explained by changes in pharmacokinetics. This chapter discusses many of the physiologic changes that occur during pregnancy and their impact on medication pharmacokinetics. Changes in volume of distribution, protein binding, blood flow, renal filtration, drug metabolizing enzymes (e.g., CYP3A, CYP2D6, CYP2C9, uridine diphosphate glucuronyltransferase, CYP1A2, and CYP2C19) and transporters (e.g., p-glycoprotein) are discussed. Taking into account and adjusting for the pharmacokinetic changes that occur during pregnancy will help to minimize the variability in patient response. This approach is particularly important for medications with narrow therapeutic ranges. Although critically important, pharmacokinetic changes should be taken as only one component in determining optimum medication selection and dosage.
Analysis of Flexible Multibody Systems with Intermittent Contacts

This paper is concerned with the dynamic analysis of flexible,nonlinear multibody systems undergoing intermittent contacts. Contact isassumed to be of finite duration, and the forces acting between thecontacting bodies which can be either rigid or deformable are explicitlycomputed during simulation. The modeling of contact consists of threeparts: a number of holonomic constraints that define the candidatecontact points on the bodies, a unilateral contact condition which istransformed into a holonomic constraint by the addition of a slackvariable, and a contact model which describes the relationship betweenthe contact force and the local deformation of the contacting bodies.This work is developed within the framework of energy preserving anddecaying time integration schemes that provide unconditional stabilityfor nonlinear, flexible multibody systems undergoing intermittentcontacts.
Outlier Detection in Graphs and Networks

Graphs represent one of the most powerful and general forms of data representation. These structures are used to express diverse data, ranging from multidimensional entity-relation graphs, the Web, social networks, communication networks, and biological and chemical compounds.
Executive Power in the Obama Administration and the Decision to Seek Congressional Authorization for a Military Attack Against Syria: Implications for Theories of Unilateral Action

President Obama’s decision to defer to Congress will not serve as a precedent that constrains future presidents, since it did not resolve any questions about the correct distribution of the constitutional war powers and was a pragmatic judgment rather than a principled one. Previous instances of presidents making analogous decisions had no lasting effect on the overall trend toward increasing presidential discretion in using military force. Presidential unilateralism begets other instances of unilateral action. Furthermore, engaging Congress in what is more commonly an area of unilateral action not only fails to serve as a precedent in the other direction but can also lead to more unilateralism. The process of presidential action could certainly be described as a ratchet process. At the same time, it is unrealistic to expect a single decision to reverse a long-standing historical trend. Eric Posner and Adrian Vermeule have little patience with ratchet arguments in any event, insisting that the necessary conditions do not exist and that the term serves as a loose label “often confused with a simple trend or with endogenous but reversible change in some variable that would quickly revert to its original value if other legal or social conditions changed.” If President Obama’s decision will have little long-term effect on the distribution of power, what lessons can be drawn from it? We might reframe the underlying prediction of maximizing discretion as a normative one for which presidents need to be aware that foregoing unilateral action comes with political cost. In 2014, President Obama and his aides concluded that he has not been aggressive enough in asserting the office’s capacity to act as a general matter. Reviewing 2013—which the White House concedes was not a very good year for the President—Senior Advisor Dan Pfeiffer concluded that the President “too often governed more like a prime minister than a President” and recommended an emphasis on “an executive style of governing that aims to sidestep Congress more often.”108 It was more of a rhetorical shift than a substantive one, since President Obama had hardly shied away from unilateral action earlier in his presidency, with a few exceptions. But it is more consistent with unilateral theory, and it suggests that the President recognizes the risks of passivity and the importance of retaining the initiative.
Risk and Decision Methods Applied to Aquatic Ecosystem Management

Increased global trade and modern intercontinental transportation have made invasive species an increasingly prominent stressor of freshwater ecosystems. Invasive species risk assessments, which range from simple screening protocols that focus on species attributes and ecological requirements to rigorous analyses of infestation, have become an important component of environmental impact assessment. In this paper we present two recent case studies in which risk and decision methods were applied to non-toxicological environmental issues that are central to many aquatic ecosystem management programs. The first example reviews potential infestation by the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, on Bayou Bartholomew, located in southeast Arkansas, as a result of the proposed augmentation of low flow conditions by pumping water from the nearby and much larger Arkansas River. The second example presents a retrospective analysis of the results of transplanting fat pocketbook pearly mussels, Potamilus capax, from an approximately 6-km reach of a drainage ditch in eastern Arkansas. The two examples presented herein indicate the potential for improving environmental decision-making in the face of uncertainty-but in the presence of substantial information. As more rigorous attempts are made to widen and enhance applications of risk and decision methods to environmental decision-making, ecosystem management is likely to further improve.
Delamination Crack Growth in Unidirectional Fiber-Reinforced Composites under Static and Cyclic Loading

An investigation of delamination crack growth in a unidirectional composite laminate under static and fatigue loading conditions is presented. An experimental program was conducted to study failure mechanisms and characterize the crack growth rate; analytical modeling based on microscopic observations was carried out using an advanced singular finite element method of the hybrid-stress model. Using a mixed-mode failure criterion, the delamination growth under a monotonically increasing load can be predicted; the rate of delamination crack propagation under fatigue loading is directly related to the amplitudes of cyclic opening and shearing mode stress intensity factors by a power law relationship.
At the End of Their Tether: Women Writing about Indenture

Chapter 6 extends the exploration of the poetics of kinship from Chap. 5, considering how such an approach can be used to recognize and move beyond the hierarchies of empire. It examines the cyclical nature of trauma as depicted in two novels by contemporary women writers, Cristina Garcia’s Monkey Hunting and Peggy Mohan’s Jahajin. While Monkey Hunting focuses on Chinese indenture in Cuba and Jahajin explores Indian indenture in Trinidad, both novels weave together narrative strands from different time periods in order to demonstrate the ongoing impact of indenture on generations of a single family and the dangers of a nostalgic approach to the past. Additionally, both novels draw parallels between family dynamics, such as unhappy marriages and parents abandoning their children, and national upheavals, such as revolutions and uprisings. This chapter argues that Garcia and Mohan use these parallels to advocate an active engagement with the past in order to break cycles of trauma on both an individual and a national level. While Garcia depicts the dangers of erasing the past, Mohan primarily warns against romanticizing the past in the form of nostalgia.
Integrating Web-assessment Technology in Health and Physical Education

The integration of technology is gaining recognition as an effective teaching method in health and physical education (HPE). While technological infrastructure and equipment limitations have been a...
Design of a Stochastic Basis Function Artificial Neural Network Controller for Quadrotors Flight in the Presence of Model and Aerodynamic Uncertainties

In this paper, a learning-controller is presented that addresses the issue of flying quadrotors in confined environments. This controller utilizes Artificial Neural Networks to adjust for unknown aerodynamics and model uncertainties on-line. A novel Artificial Neural Network structure, and a novel learning law are provided, accompanied with the corresponding stability proof The developed controller is validated via numerical simulation.
Review: Urban Latino Cultures: La Vida Latina en LA by Gustavo Leclerc, Raúl Villa, and Michael J. Dear (eds.)

Throughout the twentieth century (and now the twenty-first), the specter of a Latina/o past, present, and future has haunted the myth of Los Angeles as a sunny, bucolic paradise. At the same time it has loomed behind narratives of the city as a dystopic, urban nightmare. In the 1940s Carey McWilliams pointed to the fabrication of a “Spanish fantasy heritage” that made Los Angeles the bygone home of fair senoritas, genteel caballeros and benevolent mission padres. Meanwhile, the dominant Angeleno press invented a “zoot” (read Mexican-American) crime wave. Unlike the aristocratic, European Californias/os of lore, the Mexican/American “gangsters” of the 1940s were described as racial mongrels. What9s more, the newspapers explicitly identified them as the sons and daughters of immigrants-thus eliding any link they may have had to the Californias/os of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries or to the history of Los Angeles in general.
Incipient Syphilitic Papillitis

ABSTRACTPatients with syphilis can present with optic disc oedema (ODE) without visual compromise, which has been primarily attributed to papilloedema from raised intracranial pressure or optic perineuritis from optic nerve sheath inflammation. We report four cases of ODE in the setting of syphilis with preserved visual function, normal intracranial pressure, and no enhancement of the optic nerve or sheath on magnetic resonance imaging. We propose the term “incipient syphilitic papillitis” for cases presenting with ODE, preserved vision and absence of optic nerve sheath enhancement, which is likely a more common presentation than syphilitic optic perineuritis.
Film Tax Credits and the Economic Impact of the Film Industry on Georgia’s Economy

Georgia offers the most generous incentives for motion picture and video production in the United States, providing a tax credit of up to 30 percent of qualified expenditures for film and video production within the state. Though the tax credits represent a significant cost to Georgia’s treasury in terms of forgone tax revenue — $800 million in 2018 and over $4 billion total over the past decade — the subsidy is often justified as providing a significant economic impact to the state. The Georgia Department of Economic Development reports that the film industry had a $9.5 billion impact on the state’s economy in 2018. The Motion Picture Association of America reports that the motion picture and television industry is responsible for more than 92,000 jobs in Georgia. However, these estimates rely on incredible multipliers and dubious data. This report examines these commonly reported economic impact estimates and provides alternate estimates of the film industry’s contribution to Georgia’s economy. Though tax credits have incentivized filming in the state, film production remains a rather small part of Georgia’s economy ($3 billion, approximately 0.5 percent). Official government employment statistics indicate that Georgia’s film and video industry employs approximately 16,000 workers. More realistic (though still speculative) multipliers that account for potential additional economic activity throughout the economy indicate that the film industry produces no more than $4.2 billion and 32,000 jobs. However, even these lower estimates should be interpreted with caution due to uncertainties surrounding multipliers. Assuming every film job in Georgia is the result of the tax credits approved, the cost is $64,000 (full-time and part-time) to $119,000 (FTE) in tax credits per job. The $800 million subsidy through tax credits in 2018 is equivalent to 3 percent of Georgia’s state-funded budget or $220 per household.
An Assessment of Electromigration in 2.5D Packaging

In this study, an accelerated Electromigration (EM) test was performed. The test vehicle has four types of common interconnect structure. The first one is a classic Ball Grid Array (BGA), short for BGA; the second one is a solder ball with a copper via on top, short for BGA-Via; the third one is an individual copper via in the substrate, short for Via; the last one is an individual copper Plated Through Hole (PTH), short for PTH in the substrate. The built-in serpentine copper fine lines around each structure were designed to monitor the local temperature in-situ. All test vehicles were stressed at 150oC temperature with 12A current. The voltage of each test structure and the resistance of the serpentine line were recorded in-situ. The results show that different micro-electrical structures have great effects on EM behavior, especially the time to failure (TTF). In BGA test structure, the failure occurred on the substrate side of solder ball; in BGA-Via, the failure was the depletion of the copper via. No failure was observed in Via and PTH test structures, even after an extremely long testing, although they have higher package temperature. The TTF of BGA-Via is about 2 times shorter than BGA. A finite element simulation based on Atom Flux Divergence (AFD) was performed to understand the failure mechanism and predict the TTF. The results show that via on top of solder ball will cause 10% higher current density than solder ball only. When the void underneath of the via in solder ball was nucleated, the current density will start to redistribute and reduce. In short, Via is the riskiest point for EM when it located near the solder ball.
Structure Sensitivity of Acetylene Semi-Hydrogenation on Pt Single Atoms and Subnanometer Clusters

Oxide-supported Pt-group single atoms and clusters in the subnanometer size regime maximize the metal utilization and have shown extraordinary catalytic properties for many reactions including sele...
Readability of online Spanish patient education materials in dermatology.

Decreased health literacy is associated with worse outcomes for a variety of dermatologic conditions. Hispanic adults have the lowest average health literacy of any racial or ethnic group in the United Sates. Although patients are increasingly using online patient education materials (PEMs) for dermatologic care, limited information exists regarding the readability of these resources. The objective of this study is to evaluate the readability of online Spanish language PEMs in dermatology. Online Spanish language PEMs relevant to dermatology were gathered from the United States National Library of Medicine (USNLM) MedlinePlus health library and top Google, Yahoo, and Bing search results for “Spanish patient education dermatology.” Spanish text was analyzed for readability using two validated programs: Spanish Lexile Analyzer and Indice Flesch-Szigriszt (INFLESZ). Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to examine the association between the two readability measures. ANOVA without post hoc correction was performed to determine variability between PEMs. A total of 254 Spanish language PEMs were collected and analyzed from nine online sources. The average article length was 601 words. The average Lexile measure was 1005 L (SD = 144 L) and the average INFLESZ score was 64.60 (SD = 7.53). Readability scores equated to an 8–10th grade reading level and was varied based on the source of information (p < 0.001). Online Spanish language PEMs related to dermatology are generally written at a reading level that exceeds national recommendations and may reduce comprehension for Hispanic patients. Targeted initiatives to address and improve online health information for Spanish-speaking patients are warranted.
Hidden in plain sight: Architectures of community corrections as public secret:

Public secrets are the information the public chooses to keep from itself. Architecture is required to both house and operate these secrets. Community sanctions are arguably a public secret. This s...
Christos Tsiolkas and the Fiction of Critique: Politics, Obscenity, Celebrity

Christos Tsiolkas is one of the most recognizable and internationally successful literary novelists working in Australia today. He is also one of the country's most politically engaged writers. These terms 'recognition, commercial success, political engagement' suggest a relationship to forms of public discourse that belies the extremely confronting nature of much of Tsiolkas's fiction and his deliberate attempt to cultivate a literary persona oriented to notions of blasphemy, obscenity and what could broadly be called a pornographic sensibility. 'Christos Tsiolkas and the Fiction of Critique' traces these contradictions against Tsiolkas's acute sense of the waning of working-class identity, and reads his work as a sustained examination of the ways in which literature might express an opposition to capitalist modernity.
Buckling-Induced Delamination of TiN Film on Stainless Steel in the Presence of Stress Concentration

TiN coating is provided by reactive magnetron coating on a 304 stainless steel sample with a notch introduced at the edge of the sample. The sample is subjected to a tensile stress close to that of yield strength of the stainless steel. Optical and scanning electron microscopy characterization showed the distribution of buckled and delaminated regions around the notch. The distribution of the size of the partially delaminated regions of the film on the substrate is determined by transient thermo-reflectance. The stress field due to the notch is represented by that of a circular hole present at the tip and the variation of compressive and shear strain as a function of radial and angular coordinates is determined. The distribution of buckled and delaminated regions is found to follow the compressive strain variation around the notch. The size of the partially delaminated film is found to be larger near the notch and decreased with distance from the notch. The results illustrate that structures with regions of stress concentration should not be provided with brittle protective coatings that will delaminate.
Cohomology in Algebraic Geometry

We shall now look more closely at how cohomology is used in algebraic geometry. This will include exploring additional structure present on the cohomology of algebraic varieties in the analytic topology as defined in the last chapter, as well as defining new cohomology theories which are closer to the Zariski topology.
Liu et al . reply

Replying to F.-J. Muller & A. Schuppert , 10.1038/nature10543 (2011) Muller and Schuppert1 describe an exception to our finding2 that roughly 80% of the nodes must be controlled to gain full control over gene regulatory networks. Yet our result hides subtleties that reveal as much about controllability as about the limits of our current understanding of biological networks.
Rationalizing U.S. Standardization Policy: A Proposal for Institutional Reform

In the United States, national policy regarding standardization, and especially patents covering standardized products (standards-essential patents, or SEPs) is in a state of disarray. No single U.S. federal agency has authority over national policy toward standardization, nor does a coherent national standardization policy exist. Rather, policies are created ad hoc by a range of authorities, often in response to industry lobbying and in areas outside the agencies’ core competencies. The result has been a piecemeal array of conflicting and flip-flopping policies that confound private industry, harm consumers, and diminish the role of the United States as a model for the rest of the world. Rationalizing and centralizing this patchwork of policy authority would significantly improve consistency, predictability, and stability in this area of national importance.
Hyperspectral reflectance for non-invasive early detection of black shank disease in flue-cured tobacco

Author Summary: Flue-cured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is a high value-per-acre crop that is intensively managed to optimise the yield of high-quality cured leaf. A 15-day study assessed the potential of hyperspectral reflectance data for detecting Phytophthora nicotianae (black shank) incidence in flue-cured tobacco. Hyperspectral reflectance data were taken from a commercial flue-cured tobacco field with a progressing black shank infestation. The effort encompassed two key objectives. First, develop hyperspectral indices and/or machine learning classification models capable of detecting Phytophthora nicotianae (black shank) incidence in flue-cured tobacco. Second, evaluate the model’s ability to separate pre-symptomatic plants from healthy plants. Two hyperspectral indices were developed to detect black shank incidence based on differences in the spectral profiles of asymptomatic flue-cured tobacco plants compared to those with black shank symptoms. While one of the indices is a broad-band index and the other uses narrow wavelength values, the statistical difference between the two indices was not significant and both provided an accurate classification of symptomatic plants. Further analysis of the indices showed significant differences between the index values of healthy and symptomatic plants (α = 0.05). In addition, the indices were able to detect black shank symptoms pre-symptomatically (α = 0.09). Subspace linear discriminant analysis, a machine learning classification, was also used for prediction of black shank incidence with up to 85.7 % classification accuracy. The implications of using either spectral indices or machine learning for classification for future black shank research are discussed.
Management of Strictures

Anastomotic stenosis is one of the most common delayed complications following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Stricture at the gastrojejunal anastomosis can lead to symptoms of progressive dysphagia, nausea, and emesis. Stricture diagnosis is typically made via endoscopy, and definitive treatment can usually be achieved with endoscopic methods of stricture dilation. This chapter reviews diagnosis and management of strictures in the bariatric patient.
Comparison of Decision-making Skills of Students and Managers

The aim of this paper is to analyze the level of decision-making skills of managers compared to the level of decision-making skills of students. Decision making is seen as a process that is based on our knowledge, skill, experience and partly influenced by our personality. The process ends by the right solution of the required quality, time and reasonable acceptability. Data was obtained through a questionnaire survey of 221 managers and 376 students from universities. Using the statistical method we accomplished to demonstrate that managers achieve higher levels of decision-making skills than students. The decision-making were based on analises the three subareas, where they found that students achieve better results in the field of information retrieval, the administration of tasks and justify the decision where executives received an average of 29% more points.
On the Principal Asteroseismic Diagnostic Signatures

Many stellar model calibrations against seismic data will utilize just the so-called large and small frequency separations. In this report I explain in physical terms, based on resonance conditions for constructive interference between simple waves, why those frequency separations depend on the variation of sound speed through the star in the manner in which they do. By so doing I hope to increase appreciation of the nature of the stellar calibrations, and thereby provide a means for assessing the credibility of the results.
Explanation and Evolution

I want to discuss some problems about explanation in biology. The leading question about biological explanation has been the question whether, and if so how, it differs from explanation in other fields. Many claims and counterclaims are made by biologists as well as philosophers in this connection. I want to examine in particular the claim of Francisco Ayala that biology is irreducible to physics and chemistry because, and only because, of the teleological structure of evolutionary theory.1 But to reflect on Ayala’s claim I must have some notion of what makes a theory in general explanatory and also some notion of what makes an explanation teleological. While I can’t claim to have a pat answer on either of these puzzles (especially the former!), let me make some preparatory remarks about both before looking at the alleged teleology of evolutionary theory in relation to its explanatory force.
Implications of T c -Variation in UBe 13 for a Possible Fulde–Ferrell–Larkin–Ovchinnikov Phase

We measure the heat capacity of a UBe13 sample with an unusually low T c for a polycrystal. We find an upturn in the upper critical field H c2(T) below about T c/2, much as for higher-T c samples. Comparing the critical fields in our sample and in samples with higher T c's shows that the low temperature limit of H c2 is proportional to T c(H = 0), as expected if the upturn comes from an FFLO phase and strong coupling.
Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of aluminum ion solvation in water clusters

The results of ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of the solvation of Al3+ and its hydrolyzation products in water clusters are reported. Al3+ ions in water clusters (6⩽n⩽16) form a stable hexa-hydrate Al(H2O)63+ complex in finite temperature simulations. The deprotonated Al(H2O)2(OH)4− complex evolves into a tetra-coordinated Al(OH)4− aluminate ion with two water molecules in the second cluster solvation shell. The influence of a strong polarization of the OH bonds in the first solvation shell on the proton transfer mechanism is discussed.
RSIT - Knowledge-Based Support of High-Crash Site Investigation

Road intersections and segments identify and as experiencing high number of crashes are investigated to identify roadway and traffic control deficiencies and relevant safety countermeasures. Site investigators must rely on their experience and judgment which may be an overwhelming task to those who lack such an experience. This paper presents a concept of a tool, called Road Site Investigation Tool (RSIT) that assists less experienced investigators as well as saves time of more experienced ones. A prototype of the tool developed for two-way stop-controlled intersections is introduced and evaluated. A knowledge base is represented in the form of a tree, where branches form sequences of checks (nodes) leading to specific countermeasures. The knowledge base for two-way stop-controlled intersections was acquired from several guidelines and manuals for road safety audits. A graphical user interface (GUI) was developed to facilitate the knowledge base application to site investigations. It has several functions for guiding the user through the investigation and documenting the outcome. The method evaluation indicated that the tool is easy to understand even to non-experts. The time spent on the investigation process with RSIT was shorter than with the traditional safety audit while the results of the two teams of experts and non-experts equipped with RSIT were similar.
P198: Antimicrobial treatment for urinary tract infection (UTI) among patients having total hip (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA)

190/200 (95%) pts had UAs, 91% had micros and 0.5% had urine cultures preop. 37 (18.5%) pts received antimicrobials for UTI preop. Positive leukocyte esterase (LE; p 5 (p=.0098) were associated with antimicrobial Rx for UTI preop. 198 (99%) pts had UAs, 98% had micros, and 2.5% had urine cultures after Foley removal. 72 (36%) pts received postop antimicrobials for UTI. Positive (+) LE (p 5 (p=.014) and older age (p=.014) were associated with antimicrobials for UTI postop. Rx for UTI was related to LE level (p<.0001). 43/72 (59.7%) pts Rxed for UTIs postop did not meet criteria for UTI. 28/50 (56%) pts interviewed had sxs consistent with UTI but pts with sxs were not Rxed more often than pts without sx. 3/250 pts (1.2%) had C difficile infection (CDI). On the basis of the data, practice was changed. Urine cultures are obtained from pts w/ + LE and + nitrite or with sx of UTI. Pts with + cultures are treated for UTI.
A Bayesian Approach to High-Throughput Biological Model Generation

With the availability of hundreds and soon thousands of complete genomes, the construction of genome-scale metabolic models for these organisms has attracted much attention. Manual work still dominates the process of model generation, however, and leads to the huge gap between the number of complete genomes and genome-scale metabolic models. The challenge in constructing genome-scale models from existing databases is that usually such a directly extracted model is incomplete and contains network holes. Network holes occur when a network is disconnected and certain metabolites cannot be produced or consumed. In order to construct a valid metabolic model, network holes need to be filled by introducing candidate reactions into the network. As a step toward the high-throughput generation of biological models, we propose a Bayesian approach to improving draft genome-scale metabolic models. A collection of 23 types of biological and topological evidence is extracted from the SEED [1], KEGG [2], and BiGG [3] databases. Based on this evidence, we create 23 individual predictors using Bayesian approaches. To combine these individual predictors and unify their predictive results, we build an ensemble of individual predictors on majority vote and four classifiers: naive Bayes classifier, Bayesian network, multilayer perceptron network and AdaBoost. A set of experiments is performed to train and test individual predictors and integrative mechanisms of single predictors and to evaluate the performance of our approach.
Ectoplasm, ghost in the R cell machine?

Drosophila photoreceptors (R cells) are an extreme instance of sensory membrane amplification via apical microvilli, a widely deployed and deeply conserved operation of polarized epithelial cells. Developmental rotation of R cell apices aligns rhabdomere microvilli across the optical axis and enables enormous membrane expansion in a new, proximal distal dimension. R cell ectoplasm, the specialized cortical cytoplasm abutting the rhabdomere is likewise enormously amplified. Ectoplasm is dominated by the actin-rich terminal web, a conserved operational domain of the ancient vesicle-transport motor, Myosin V. R cells harness Myosin V to move two distinct cargoes, the biosynthetic traffic that builds the rhabdomere during development and the migration of pigment granules that mediates the adaptive ‘longitudinal pupil’ in adults, using two distinct Rab proteins. Ectoplasm further shapes a distinct cortical endosome compartment, the subrhabdomeral cisterna (SRC), vital to normal cell function. Reticulon, a protein that promotes endomembrane curvature, marks the SRC. R cell visual arrestin 2 (Arr2) is predominantly cytoplasmic in dark-adapted photoreceptors but on illumination it translocates to the rhabdomere, where it quenches ongoing photosignaling by binding to activated metarhodopsin. Arr2 translocation is ‘powered’ by diffusion; a motor is not required to move Arr2 and ectoplasm does not obstruct its rapid diffusion to the rhabdomere.
Thymosin α1 is a time and dose-dependent antagonist of dexamethasone-induced apoptosis of murine thymocytes in vitro

It is well established that glucocorticoid hormones induce apoptosis in immature developing thymocytes. Thymocyte apoptosis can be modulated by growth factors, anti-oxidants and adhesion receptors. We have previously demonstrated that thymosin alpha1 (Talpha1) antagonizes dexamethasone-induced apoptosis of CD4+CD8+ thymocytes. In the present study, we further characterize the dose and time dependence of Talpha1's antagonism of dexamethasone-induced thymocyte apoptosis. Talpha1 is effective at concentrations ranging from 2 to 100 microg/10(6) thymocytes. Talpha1 pre-treatment is necessary to achieve its anti-apoptotic activity. Talpha1 provides temporary protection to thymocytes by slowing dexamethasone's apoptotic activity up to 12 h post dexamethasone treatment. Additionally, Talpha1's activity is not sensitive to cycloheximide treatment, suggesting Talpha1's activity is independent of protein synthesis. Finally, Talpha1 is unable to antagonize apoptosis induced by the reactive oxygen species, H2O2, suggesting Talpha1's antagonism of dexamethasone occurs at the early stages of dexamethasone-induced apoptosis, prior to the production of reactive oxygen species. This evidence suggests that Talpha1 may provide a mechanism to transiently extend the life of a thymocyte during thymic selection.
Negative Affect as Motivation to Smoke

Fifty million Americans smoke to bacco, and nearly half a million per year die prematurely because of it. Although the dangers of smoking have long been suspected?King James I displayed the black lungs of smokers in 1605?general aware ness of the health consequences of smoking began with the 1964 sur geon general's report on smoking and health. Today, we know that smoking is the major risk factor for coronary heart disease and lung can cer, and that smoking contributes to cancers of the larynx, oral cavity, esophagus, bladder, and pancreas, as well as to chronic bronchitis, em physema, and ulcer disease. Mater nal smoking is associated with low birth weight, prenatal death, and re tarded growth in childhood. Ciga rettes are also the major cause of fire deaths. Finally, recent research sug gests that secondhand smoke poses a significant health risk to people who live with smokers. Despite widespread knowledge of the dangers of smoking, 25% of adults in the United States still smoke, and the percentage is much higher in many other countries. To bacco use and its consequences are thus major social problems requiring investigation and efforts at behavior change. Additionally, the study of tobacco smoking can serve as a model for substance abuse in gen eral. Compared with most other ad dictive populations, smokers are plentiful, tend to have relatively sta ble life-styles, and use a legal sub stance. Hence, they provide a con venient population for studying general issues of substance use that cut across the particular substances (e.g., physiological dependence and tolerance, craving, pr?cipitants of relapse, treatment approaches). In fact, much of the tobacco research reviewed in this article has parallels in research involving other sub stances.1 There is little doubt that the onset
Synthesis and structural characterization of II–VI semiconductor nanocrystallites (quantum dots)

A methodology for the production of II–VI semiconductor nanocrystallites employing organometallic precursors has been developed. The rapid pyrolysis of reagents in a coordinating solvent provides temporally discrete nucleation. Subsequent controlled growth allows the production of macroscopic quantities of nanocrystallites with consistent structure, surface derivatization and a high degree of monodispersity. The samples produced are structurally characterized with a combination of X-ray and Electron Beam based techniques.
Role of integrin α2β1 (VLA-2) in the migration of human melanoma cells on laminin and type IV collagen

Abstract The random cell migration of four human melanoma cell lines on laminin and type IV collagen-coated substrates was studied by video time-lapse image analysis and compared to the expression of a number of β 1 integrins including α 1 β 1 , α 2 β 1 , α 3 β 1 , and α 6 β 1 using flow cytometry. These integrins were heterogeneously expressed in the four cell lines tested with three of four lines expressing α 2 β 1 . The melanoma cell line that did not express α 2 β 1 exhibited weak attachment and low cell migration rate on both laminin and type IV collagen, whereas the other melanoma cell lines showed an increase in attachment and mean cell migration rate in a dose-dependent manner on the matrix molecules (p 1 and anti-α 2 monoclonal antibodies (p 3 and anti-α 6 monoclonal antibodies. Image analysis of the cells before and after treatment with anti-β 1 and anti-α 2 , MoAb indicated that the inhibition of migration did not result in detectable cell detachment, retraction of cell processes, or other significant cell-shape change. Taken together, the findings suggest that the observable enhanced migration on laminin and type IV collagen of a number of human melanoma cell lines is largely mediated by integrin α 2 β 1 .
Enhanced capacity for lithium–air batteries using LaFe0.5Mn0.5O3–CeO2 composite catalyst

LaFe0.5Mn0.5O3 and Ce-incorporated LaFe0.5Mn0.5O3 catalysts for Li–air batteries were synthesized by co-precipitation (CP) and micro-emulsion methods with the increasing Ce/(La+Ce) ratios from 0 to 0.5. Ce has a low solubility in LaFe0.5Mn0.5O3 perovskite lattices. Instead of forming single-phase La1−x Ce x Fe0.5Mn0.5O3 perovskite, a multi-phase LaFe0.5Mn0.5O3–CeO2 composite was obtained even for Ce/(La+Ce) = 0.05. Such catalysts were used in the cathode of Li–air batteries and the discharge test showed that LaFe0.5Mn0.5O3–CeO2 composite catalyst can effectively improve the specific capacity with the highest capacity of ~4700 mAh/g for Ce/(La+Ce) = 0.05 (by CP). There is also a 0.05 V increase in discharge voltage compared with the reference cell without catalyst, with the discharge voltage plateau at ~2.75 V. The overall ranking in terms of capacity was Ce/(La+Ce) = 0.05 > Ce/(La+Ce) = 0.1 > Ce/(La+Ce) = 0.5 > Ce/(La+Ce) = 0. The capacity increase for Ce/(La+Ce) = 0.05 and 0.1 samples is attributed to the enhanced oxygen storage/release capability and the increased conductivity with the incorporation of CeO2.
Short-term and long-term outcomes after bilateral lung volume reduction surgery: Prediction by quantitative CT

Objectives: To evaluate selection criteria and duration of benefit for patients undergoing lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS). Methods: Eighty-nine consecutive patients with severe emphysema who underwent bilateral LVRS were prospectively followed up for up to 3 years. Patients underwent preoperative pulmonary function testing, 6-min walk, chest CT, and answered a baseline dyspnea questionnaire. CT scans in 65 patients were analyzed for emphysema extent and distribution using the percentage of emphysema in the lung, percentage of normal lower lung, and the CT emphysema ratio (CTR, an index of the craniocaudal distribution of emphysema). All patients underwent at least 6 weeks of pulmonary rehabilitation prior to surgery. Outcome measures were FEV 1 , 6-min walk distance, and transitional dyspnea index (TDI). Results: Compared to baseline, FEV 1 was significantly increased at 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months after surgery (p ≤ 0.008). The 6-min walk distance increased from 871 feet (baseline) to 1,110 feet (3 months), 1,214 feet (6 months), 1,326 feet (12 months), 1,342 feet (18 months), 1,371 feet (24 months), and 1,390 feet (36 months) after surgery. Despite a decline in FEV 1 over time, 6-min walk distance was preserved. Dyspnea as measured by TDI improved at 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months after surgery. A high CTR was the best predictor of a 12% increase over baseline and an absolute increase of 200 mL in FEV 1 , although with a low area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. In addition, the sensitivity and negative predictive value of the CTR were limited. No radiographic or physiologic predictor was able to consistently predict a successful increase in walk distance or TDI. Conclusion: LVRS improves pulmonary function, decreases dyspnea, and enhances exercise capacity in many patients with severe emphysema, although improvement wanes 36 months after surgery.
A physician’s sensitive and empathic vignettes

Ladies in Waiting. Alan Blum MD. Firebrand Press, 2009. Gentle Men. Alan Blum MD. Firebrand Press, 2011. These two slim volumes are collectors’ items for both the bibliophile and the physician. Their creator, Alan Blum of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who is a family doctor, based them on his meetings
Hydrolysis and Subsequent Cyclization of Etazolate Hydrochloride and Related Compounds in Aqueous Solutions: Application of PMR and Mass Spectrometry in Accelerated Stability Studies

Abstract The hydrolysis of etazolate hydrochloride, an inhibitor of cyclic nucleotide 3′,5′-monophosphate phosphodiesterase that degrades cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) to adenosine 5′-monophosphate, and related compounds was studied by PMR and mass spectrometry. The compounds underwent reversible acid-catalyzed hydrolysis in aqueous solutions at 60°, followed by cyclization to a major and a minor product formed by independent pathways. Under the experimental conditions, the minor product was stable. The formation rate of the major product, 6-ethyl-1,6-dihydrodipyrazolo(3,4- b :3′,4′-d]pyridin-3(2H)-one, was considerably greater than that of the minor component, 3-ethoxy-6-ethyl-1,6-dihydrodipyrazolo[3,4- b :3′,- d ]pyridine. For the 6-methyl analog of etazolate, the rate of methyl deuteration was considerably slower than the rate of cyclization.