cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Improving the Quality of Consumer Health Information on Wikipedia: Case Series.

Background: Wikipedia is one of the most consulted health resources in the world. Since the public is using health information from Wikipedia to make health care decisions, improving the quality of that health information is in the public interest. The open editable content design of Wikipedia and quality control processes in place provide an opportunity to add high-value, evidence-based information and take an active role in improving the health care information infrastructure. Objective: The aim of this project was to enhance Wikipedia health pages using high-quality, current research findings and track the persistence of those edits and number of page views after the changes to assess the reach of this initiative. Methods: We conducted Wikipedia Editathons with 3 different cohorts of Physical Therapy (PT) students to add high-quality health information to existing Wikipedia pages. Students synthesized best evidence information and updated and/or corrected existing Wikipedia entries on specific health pages. To evaluate the impact of these contributions, we examined two factors: (1) response to our contributions from the Wikipedia editing community, including number and type of subsequent edits as well as persistence of the student contributions and (2) number of page views by the public from the time of the page edits. Results: A total of 98 PT students in 3 different cohorts engaged in Editathons, editing 24 health pages. Of the 24 edits, 22 persisted at the end of the observation period (from time of entry to May 31, 2018) and received nearly 8 million page views. Each health page had an average of 354,724 page views. Conclusions: The Wikipedia Editathon is an effective way to continuously enhance the quality of health information available on Wikipedia. It is also an excellent way of bridging health technology with best-evidence medical facts and disseminating accurate, useful information to the public.
Time to make a change. Early Start Denver Model for Young Children with ASD

The number of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is on the rise. Evidence-based early intervention is one of the keys to improve outcomes. This article briefly presents the history of Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBI) and uses the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) as an exemplary NDBI to illustrate the current evidence and future directions of NDBI. At the end, we call for more efforts to disseminate NDBI across the globe.
Evolution, not transgenerational plasticity, explains the adaptive divergence of acorn ant thermal tolerance across an urban–rural temperature cline

Although studies increasingly disentangle phenotypic plasticity from evolutionary responses to environmental change, few test for transgenerational plasticity in this context. Here, we evaluate whether phenotypic divergence of acorn ants in response to urbanization is driven by transgenerational plasticity rather than evolution. F2 generation worker ants (offspring of laboratory-born queens) exhibited similar divergence among urban and rural populations as field-born worker ants, suggesting that evolutionary divergence rather than transgenerational plasticity was primarily responsible for shifts toward higher heat tolerance and diminished cold tolerance in urban acorn ants. Hybrid offspring from matings between urban and rural populations also indicated that evolutionary divergence was likely the primary mechanism underlying population differences in thermal tolerance. Specifically, thermal tolerance traits were not inherited either maternally or paternally in the hybrid pairings as would be expected for strong parental or grandparental effects mediated through a single sex. Urban-rural hybrid offspring provided further insight into the genetic architecture of thermal adaptation. Heat tolerance of hybrids more resembled the urban-urban pure type, whereas cold tolerance of hybrids more resembled the rural-rural pure type. As a consequence, thermal tolerance traits in this system appear to be influenced by dominance rather than being purely additive traits, and heat and cold tolerance might be determined by separate genes. Though transgenerational plasticity does not appear to explain divergence of acorn ant thermal tolerance, its role in divergence of other traits and across other urbanization gradients merits further study.
The future of otology.

Background The field of otology is increasingly at the forefront of innovation in science and medicine. The inner ear, one of the most challenging systems to study, has been rendered much more open to inquiry by recent developments in research methodology. Promising advances of potential clinical impact have occurred in recent years in biological fields such as auditory genetics, ototoxic chemoprevention and organ of Corti regeneration. The interface of the ear with digital technology to remediate hearing loss, or as a consumer device within an intelligent ecosystem of connected devices, is receiving enormous creative energy. Automation and artificial intelligence can enhance otological medical and surgical practice. Otology is poised to enter a new renaissance period, in which many previously untreatable ear diseases will yield to newly introduced therapies. Objective This paper speculates on the direction otology will take in the coming decades. Conclusion Making predictions about the future of otology is a risky endeavour. If the predictions are found wanting, it will likely be because of unforeseen revolutionary methods.
Generating application-specific data layouts for in-memory databases

Database applications are often developed with object-oriented languages while using relational databases as the backend. To accelerate these applications, developers would manually design customized data structures to store data in memory, and ways to utilize such data structures to answer queries. Doing so is brittle and requires a lot of effort. Alternatively, developers might automate the process by using relational physical design tools to create materialized views and indexes instead. However, the characteristics of object-oriented database applications are often distinct enough from traditional database applications such that classical relational query optimization techniques often cannot speed up queries that arise from such applications, as our experiments show.To address this, we build Chestnut, a data layout generator for in-memory object-oriented database applications. Given a memory budget, Chestnut generates customized in-memory data layouts and query plans to answer queries written using a subset of the Rails API, a common framework for building object-oriented database applications. Chestnut differs from traditional query optimizers and physical designers in two ways. First, Chestnut automatically generates data layouts that are customized for the application after analyzing their queries, hence Chestnut-generated data layouts are designed to be efficient to answer queries from such applications. second, Chestnut uses a novel enumeration and verification-based algorithm to generate query plans that use such data layouts, rather than rule-based approaches as in traditional query optimizers. We evaluated Chestnut on four open-source Rails database applications. The result shows that it can reduce average query processing time by over 3.6X (and up to 42X), as compared to other in-memory relational database engines.
Bone translational medicine

Abstract Pathophysiology and diseases of bone are critical to our understanding and treatment of the oral cavity. While bone provides the intricate structural basis of the craniomaxillofacial complex, it is also an important metabolic and endocrine structure. Understanding bone development, the underlying cellular structures, and their complex interactions helps us to treat disorders of bone. Here, we provide a brief summary of bone and cartilage biology, with emphasis on differentiation to mature cellular components. We review the most described disorders of maxillofacial bone, giving an overview of their clinical, radiographic, and histologic features, while describing the latest research in molecular biology and genetics, as it relates to translational applications.
Solitary Nodule/Mass in the Lung

Pulmonary nodules and masses are defined. The imaging features are described in detail, including size criteria, imaging characteristics, and societal guidelines. Concepts in imaging follow-up are introduced. Radiologic signs and patterns are described.
Using Blockchain Technology to Mitigate Challenges in Service Access for the Homeless and Data Exchange Between Providers: Qualitative Study.

Background: In the homeless population, barriers to housing and supportive services include a lack of control or access to data. Disparate data formats and storage across multiple organizations hinder up-to-date intersystem access to records and a unified view of an individual’s health and documentation history. The utility of blockchain to solve interoperability in health care is supported in recent literature, but the technology has yet to be tested in real-life conditions encompassing the complex regulatory standards in the health sector. Objective: This study aimed to test the feasibility and performance of a blockchain system in a homeless community to securely store and share data across a system of providers in the health care ecosystem. Methods: We performed a series of platform demonstrations and open-ended qualitative feedback interviews to determine the key needs and barriers to user and stakeholder adoption. Account creation and data transactions promoting organizational efficiency and improved health outcomes in this population were tested with homeless users and service providers. Results: Persons experiencing homelessness and care organizations could successfully create accounts, grant and revoke data sharing permissions, and transmit documents across a distributed network of providers. However, there were issues regarding the security of shared data, user experience and adoption, and organizational preparedness for service providers as end users. We tested a set of assumptions related to these problems within the project time frame and contractual obligations with an existing blockchain-based platform. Conclusions: Blockchain technology provides decentralized data sharing, validation, immutability, traceability, and integration. These core features enable a secure system for the management and distribution of sensitive information. This study presents a concrete evaluation of the effectiveness of blockchain through an existing platform while revealing limitations from the perspectives of user adoption, cost-effectiveness, scalability, and regulatory frameworks.
Photoacoustic microscopy for bone microstructure analysis

Bone disease is a growing epidemic in the world today that will lead to billions of dollars of medical bills. While a range of lifestyle and genetic factors play a role in the progression of disease, in overarching symptom of increased bone porosity leads to decreased mobility, pain, fracture, and even death. Therefore, it is important to monitor trabecular bone for better care of affected individuals. Photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) is a hybrid modality that combines high optical absorption qualities of biological tissue with high spatial resolution of ultrasound. Our study aims to further assess the ability to image bone microarchitecture with photoacoustic imaging. A picosecond-pulsed laser with a wavelength of 532 nm was used to excite the bone while ultrasonic transients were captured by a 20 MHz transducer. We first preformed studies to characterize our lateral resolution and optimize our system using phantoms mimicking different bone porosity. We then imaged pig bone ex-vivo. Our results show that this photoacoustic (PA) imaging has the potential to identify normal and osteoporosis diseased bone. The capability to noninvasively quantify bone tissue composition suggests a possible use of PAM as an optical biopsy for the diagnosis of bone pathologies such as osteoporosis, which are characterized by a progressive reduction and transformation of mineral in the bone matrix.
Minimally Invasive Distal Pancreatectomy Is Associated with Decreased Postoperative Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio.

Purpose: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a marker of inflammation that has been investigated as a prognostic factor in many diseases. We hypothesized that NLR would be lower in patients...
Young Adulthood Relationships in an Era of Uncertainty: A Case for Cohabitation

The young adulthood years are demographically dense. Dr. Ronald Rindfuss made this claim when he was Population Association of America (PAA) president in 1991 (Rindfuss 1991), and this conclusion holds today. I offer both an update of his work by including Millennials and a new view on young adulthood by focusing on an increasingly common experience: cohabitation. I believe we need to move away from our marriage-centric lens of young adulthood and embrace the complexity that cohabitation offers. The cohabitation boom is continuing with no evidence of a slowdown. Young adults are experiencing complex relationship biographies, and social science research is struggling to keep pace. Increasingly, there is a decoupling of cohabitation and marriage, suggesting new ways of framing our understanding of relationships in young adulthood. As a field, we can do better to ensure that our theories, methods, and data collections better reflect the new relationship reality faced by young adults.
Improved reference system for the corrected rigid spheres equation of state model

The Corrected Rigid Spheres (CRIS) equation of state (EOS) model [Kerley, J. Chem. Phys. 73, 469 (1980); 73, 478 (1980); 73, 487 (1980)], developed from fluid perturbation theory using a hard sphere reference system, has been successfully used to calculate the EOS of many materials, including gases and metals. The radial distribution function (RDF) plays a pivotal role in choosing the sphere diameter, through a variational principle, as well as the thermodynamic response. Despite its success, the CRIS model has some shortcomings in that it predicts too large a temperature for liquid-vapor critical points, can break down at large compression, and is computationally expensive. We first demonstrate that an improved analytic representation of the hard sphere RDF does not alleviate these issues. Relaxing the strict adherence of the RDF to hard spheres allows an accurate fit to the isotherms and vapor dome of the Lennard-Jones fluid using an arbitrary reference system. The second order correction is eliminated, limiting the breakdown at large compression and significantly reducing the computation cost. The transferability of the new model to real systems is demonstrated on argon, with an improved vapor dome compared to the original CRIS model.
Embedded presents and the structure of narratives

The orthodox view of tense mandates that the present tense, when embedded under a past attitude predicate, should give rise soley to what is called a "double access" reading (Abusch 1997; Ogihara1996; OgiharaSharvit2012). We consider a class of embedded presents which locate the embedded eventuality neither at the time of utterance nor the time of the attitude. Unlike some other recently identified cases of ill-behaved embedded tenses, we argue that our embedded presents are instances of the historical present, a non-indexical use of the simple present. This assimilation requires abandoning current theories of the historical present, which treat it as a purely pragmatic contextual shift (Schlenker 2004, Anand & Toosarvandani 2017}. Building on Lewis(1978), we introduce an intensional operator sensitive to a salient narrative in the context, which shifts a contextual time coordinate to a temporal vantage point on that narrative. This unifies our cases of embedded presents with their matrix counterparts, in fiction and non-fiction narratives alike.
Neighborhood-Level Redlining and Lending Bias Are Associated with Breast Cancer Mortality in a Large and Diverse Metropolitan Area.

Background: Structural inequities have important implications for the health of marginalized groups. Neighborhood-level redlining and lending bias represent state-sponsored systems of segregation, potential drivers of adverse health outcomes. We sought to estimate the effect of redlining and lending bias on breast cancer mortality and explore differences by race. Methods: Using Georgia Cancer Registry data, we included 4,943 non-Hispanic White (NHW) and 3,580 non-Hispanic Black (NHB) women with a first primary invasive breast cancer diagnosis in metro-Atlanta (2010–2014). Redlining and lending bias were derived for census tracts using the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act database. We calculated hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the associations of redlining, lending bias on breast cancer mortality and estimated race-stratified associations. Results: Overall, 20% of NHW and 80% of NHB women lived in redlined census tracts, and 60% of NHW and 26% of NHB women lived in census tracts with pronounced lending bias. Living in redlined census tracts was associated with a nearly 1.60-fold increase in breast cancer mortality (hazard ratio = 1.58; 95% CI, 1.37–1.82) while residing in areas with substantial lending bias reduced the hazard of breast cancer mortality (hazard ratio = 0.86; 95% CI, 0.75–0.99). Among NHB women living in redlined census tracts, we observed a slight increase in breast cancer mortality (hazard ratio = 1.13; 95% CI, 0.90–1.42); among NHW women the association was more pronounced (hazard ratio = 1.39; 95% CI, 1.09–1.78). Conclusions: These findings underscore the role of ecologic measures of structural racism on cancer outcomes. Impact: Place-based measures are important contributors to health outcomes, an important unexplored area that offers potential interventions to address disparities.
Recurrence free survival and overall survival in women with stage 1A uterine serous carcinoma

Objectives: National Comprehensive Cancer Network Treatment guidelines for stage 1A uterine serous carcinoma (USC) outline four options for adjuvant management: systemic therapy + vaginal brachytherapy, external beam radiotherapy ± vaginal brachytherapy, vaginal brachytherapy in select cases of non-invasive disease, or observation. We evaluated the patterns of recurrence free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS) in women with stage 1A USC based on the type of adjuvant therapy. Methods: After IRB approval, we identified all women with stage 1A USC between January 2011 and September 2019 treated at our institution. Demographics and outcome measures were abstracted from the medical records. Cox proportional hazard models, log-rank tests, and comparisons of means were used to calculate significance (p Results: Sixty-three patients were eligible. Median age at diagnosis was 67 years (range 54-86). Median body mass index (BMI) was 30.6 (range 18.6-47.3). The majority (68%) underwent MIS staging. Nineteen (30%) patients did not have adjuvant therapy, 13 (21%) had adjuvant chemotherapy (CT) only, 3 (5%) had adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) only (100% had vaginal brachytherapy). 28 patients (44%) had chemotherapy and radiotherapy (CT+RT). The mean overall survival (OS) was 60.8 months (range 1-105 months). Thirteen (21%) patients had recurrent disease. Mean RFS was 35.1 months (range: 3-82). Highest rate of recurrence in the RT only (33%). Five (38%) patients had vaginal cuff or pelvic recurrence, 3 (23%) in abdomen and pelvis, 3 (23%) in the abdomen only, and 2 (15%) in the lungs. Eleven (17.4%) patients had positive peritoneal cytology. Eight (73%) had adjuvant therapy with CT±RT. Six (55%) patients with positive cytology had disease recurrence. Mean RFS and OS for patients with positive cytology was 40.3 and 48.7 months, respectively. Positive cytology showed a 5.18-fold increase in developing recurrence compared to those with negative cytology (p=0.015). This was independent of age, race, smoking status, BMI, surgical approach, tumor size, and adjuvant therapyThere was no significant difference between the observation and any and all the adjuvant therapy groups with respect to OS (p=0.62) and RFS (p=0.95). There was no significant difference in OS and RFS between CT only and CT+RT groups (p>0.05). A significant difference in RFS occurred in patients with positive cytology (p=0.002) but there was no difference in OS. Download : Download high-res image (84KB) Download : Download full-size image Conclusions: Our data suggest that there is no difference in RFS and OS between observation versus any form of adjuvant therapy. There was a higher rate of recurrence in patients with positive pelvic cytology. Use of peritoneal cytology in the staging of high-grade uterine cancers may be important in deciding optimal adjuvant therapy for stage 1A USC. Multi-institutional randomized controlled trials are needed to determine the optimal treatment for early stage USC.
The Neuroanatomy of Female Pelvic Pain

The female pelvis is innervated through primary afferent fibers that course in nerves related to both the somatic and autonomic nervous systems. The somatic pelvis includes the bony pelvis, its ligaments, and its surrounding skeletal muscle of the urogenital and anal triangles, whereas the visceral pelvis includes the endopelvic fascial lining of the levator ani and the organ systems that it surrounds such as the rectum, reproductive organs, and urinary bladder. Uncovering the origin of pelvic pain patterns created by the convergence of these two separate primary afferent fiber systems – somatic and visceral – on common neuronal circuitry in the sacral and thoracolumbar spinal cord can be a very difficult process. Diagnosing these blended somatovisceral pelvic pain patterns in the female is further complicated by the strong descending signals from the cerebrum and brainstem to the dorsal horn neurons that can significantly modulate the perception of pain. These descending systems are themselves significantly influenced by both the physiological (such as hormonal) and psychological (such as emotional) states of the individual further distorting the intensity, quality, and localization of pain from the pelvis.
Chapter 32 Neuropathies associated with medical conditions

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the most common types of polyneuropathy—those associated with general medical conditions. In the developed world, diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of neuropathy. Worldwide, the infectious disease “leprosy” assumes the leading role in producing neuropathy. These medical conditions, and others, are discussed with particular attention to the clinical neurophysiology of each condition. In some situations, the medical condition is known and the development of a polyneuropathy is an expected potential complication. Therapy may include specific measures to treat the neuropathy, as is typical with immune mediated or infectious processes. Perhaps more commonly, the neuropathy therapy will be more supportive in nature, such as bracing for weak joints or patient education to prevent traumatic complications in an insensate foot. Therapy may include specific measures to treat the neuropathy, as is typical with immune mediated or infectious processes. Perhaps more commonly, the neuropathy therapy are more supportive in nature, such as bracing for weak joints or patient education to prevent traumatic complications in an insensate foot.
Kinetics and Mechanism of the Reduction of Sodium Chlorite by Sodium Hydrogen Ascorbate in Aqueous Solution at Near Neutral pH

The reduction of chlorite ion by the hydrogen ascorbate ion in a neutral solution safely produces chlorine dioxide. The decrease in absorbance at 268 nm with the presence of dimethylsulfoxide(DMSO)allowsmeasurementoftheascorbatedisappearanceinthereaction with excess chlorite. The measured rate constant at 25 ± 0.02 ◦ C, 3.67 × 10 −4 M DMSO, ionic strength0.51M(NaClO4),andinthepresenceof3.32 ×10 −9 Methylenediaminetetraaceticacid is13.81 ±1.30M −1 s −1 .Rateconstantmeasurementsovertherange15-35 ◦ CgaveanArrhenius activation energy of 75.51 ± 4.53 kJ mol −1 . This result is the first reported determination of the kinetics of this reaction and is consistent with either electron- or oxygen-transfer mechanisms. Anomalously, reduction of chlorite results in its oxidation, because intermediate hypochlorite oxidizes chlorite. C
Electrostatic Force in Blowing Snow

Separation of electrostatic charge during the transport of particles by wind adds a force to the gravitational and fluid forces that determine trajectories of particles moving by saltation. Evaluating this electrostatic force requires the electric field strength very near the saltation surface, and charge-to-mass ratios for the moving particles. Field mill readings 4 cm above the surface in a moderate blizzard showed electric field strength as high as +30 kV m-1. Another experiment gave charge-to-mass ratios of individual saltation particles in low-level drifting that ranged between +72 μC kg-1 and -208 μC kg-1. From these measurements, we estimated electrostatic forces as large as the gravitational force on some saltating particles. Including forces of this magnitude in the equations of motion significantly alters predicted saltation trajectories from those for uncharged particles. Predictions appear reasonable that for some saltating particles, the electrostatic force prevents new surface impacts. These results should help improve models of energy transfer in the planetary boundary layer during blizzards and sandstorms.
Effect of oxygen pressure on the orientation of YBa2Cu3O7−xSrTiO3 films deposited on (1102) Al2O3 substrates

Abstract The oxygen pressure PO2 during growth of strontium titanate (SrTiO3) films on single crystals of (1 1 02) oriented sapphire (Al2O3) substrates significantly influenced the film orientations. The films were deposited using a pulsed laser (248 nm) deposition process in which the SrTiO3 films were deposited at a PO2 of either 40 or 200 mTorr, and the YBa2Cu3O7−x (YBCO) films were always deposited at 200 mTorr of oxygen. We found that growth at 40 mTorr induced the (110) SrTiO3 orientation to predominate, while increasing the PO2 to 200 mTorr favored the (100) orientation. YBCO films deposited on these barrier layers were (013) and (001) oriented respectively; these were the orientations that minimized lattice mismatch at the YBCO/SrTiO3 interface.
First Use of Nuclear Weapons: The Constitutional Role of a Congressional Leadership Committee

Although the War Powers Act brought some constitutional order to the question of respective prerogatives of the legislative and executive branches of government, the Act is flawed in the matter of first use of nuclear weapons. The author reviews the Supreme Court decision in Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadna that the legislative veto was unconstitutional as it relates to the committee approval mechanism involved in the first-use proposal. He finds that neither the case nor the Constitution precludes the first-use proposal, then argues for the committee approval mechanism on the grounds that such an important decision should be shared. The urgency to fire nuclear weapons in retaliation for a nuclear attack is not present in a first-use scenario since conventional weapons would already be engaged. The Committee mechanism would involve Congress without jeopardizing speed and secrecy.
Combinatorics of the Free Lie Algebra and the Symmetric Group

Given an alphabet A = {a1, a2 … an}, the smallest subspace of the linear space of A-words, which contains the words of length one and is closed under the bracket operation [f, g] = fg – fg, is usually referred to as the Free Lie Algebra over A. This is an ubiquitous mathematical tool which has been studied by researchers from quite different points of views. It may also be studied as a purely combinatorial object. In this paper we show that a number of classical results concerning the Free Lie Algebra are intimately related to and may be derived from the study of certain permutation statistics. Taking this approach establishes a remarkable link between the Free Lie Algebra and some recent research in combinatorics. The paper systematically explores this connection by developing the whole theory from the combinatorial point of view. Connections with the Representation Theory of the Symmetric and General Linear groups are also studied.
Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Models, Metaphors, and Maps for Applying Theoretical Perspectives to Practice, James A. Forte

This well-organized textbook consists of three parts. Part I is titled “Understanding Theories and Tools for Translation.” The first chapter is “An Introduction to Theory and Practical Theorizing.”...
[3H]Methotrexate Loss from the Rat Brain following Enhanced Uptake by Osmotic Opening of the Blood-Brain Barrier

Right brain regions of anesthetized rats were loaded with [3,5,7-3H]methotrexate ([3H]MTX) or with [14C]sucrose by infusing the tracers into the right carotid artery, after the blood-brain barrier had been opened by right carotid infusion of a hypertonic arabinose solution. During the 6 hr following the procedure, the [3H]MTX concentration in 7 right-sided brain regions, when normalized to the plasma concentration integral during tracer infusion, fell, with an average half-time of 4.8 hr as compared to less than 20 min for the initial rate of loss [14C]sucrose. Right-left brain concentration differences 3 hr after treatment were statistically significant (p less than 0.05) for [3H]MTX but not for [14C]sucrose. The results indicate that intracerebral [3H]MTX is lost more slowly than is intracerebral [14C]sucrose, possibly because [3H]MTX enters brain cells, whereas [14C]sucrose remains largely extracellular.
Optimal Heating of a Slab with a Plane Heat Source of Timewise Varying Strength

The optimal heating rate is sought for a plate with temperature-dependent thermal conductivity and an internally located continuous plane heat source. At the final specified time tf, the final temperature distribution Tf(x) should approximate as closely as possible a specified uniform temperature Td, and a minimum amount of energy should be used for the heating. We determine the location and the timewise variation of the strength of the plane heat source that satisfy such requirements.
Epidemiology of Stone Disease

Epidemiology has improved our understanding and management of stone disease. Epidemiologic studies, by quantifying patterns and burden of disease, have helped identify risk factors, leading to changes in clinical practice and providing insights into pathophysiologic processes related to stone formation. Because nephrolithiasis is a complex disease, an understanding of the epidemiology, particularly the interactions among different factors, may help lead to approaches that reduce the risk of stone formation.
Effects of atropine on pertormance of an SD-S‡ discrimination in rats

When a buzzer was used as the discriminative stimulus, atropine sulfate impaired performance of an established SD-S‡ discrimination by increasing response rates during S‡ periods. Atropine methylnitrate did not have this effect, suggesting that the behavioral effects of atropine sulfate resulted from its antagonism of a central cholinergic inhibitory system. The importance of selecting a neutral cue in studies of anticholinergic drugs is discussed.
Chronic infusion of endogenous excitatory amino acids into rat striatum and hippocampus

Abstract The effects of chronic intrastriatal and intrahippocampal infusions of endogenous excitatory amino acids were examined on the light microscopic level. Repeated manual injections of either glutamate or aspartate (1.8 μmoles/0.5 μ. 1 every 12 hours for 14 days), but not of equimolar GABA, caused neuronal degeneration proximal to the tip of the injection cannula. Nerve cell death was limited to a spherical area with a radius of approximately 0.5 mm. Continuous infusion of these amino acids via osmotic minipumps, at total daily doses identical to those used in the experiments employing manual injections, did not result in lesions in striatum or hippocampus. Attempts using minipump administration of cysteine sulfinate or combinations of glutamate with aspartate, cysteine sulfinate or DL-threo-β-hydroxyaspartate were equally unsuccessful in producing neuronal cell loss. The efficient re-uptake systems for the endogenous amino acids may suffice to continuously remove large quantities of the infused compounds from vulnerable neuronal sites. It appears, however, that these protective mechanisms can be overcome by extremely high local concentrations of glutamate or aspartate. Possible implications for the pathogenesis of human neurodegenerative disorders are discussed.
A class of matrices to test inversion procedures

The test matrices given by M. L. Pei [Comm. ACM 5, 10 (Oct. 1962), 508] and R. D. Rodman [Comm. ACM 6, 9 (Sept. 1963, 515] are special cases of a general class of matrices with complex elements for which an explicit form of the inverse can be exhibited. This class of matrices is such that eigenvalues and a set of associated eigenvectors can also be obtained. Then not only inverses, but also eigenvalues of the Pei matrix given by W. S. Lasor [Comm. ACM 6, 3 (Mar. 1963), 102] and eigenvectors given by A. R. C. Newberry [Comm. ACM 6, 9 (Sept. 1963), 515], and eigenvalues of the Rodman matrix follow as special cases.
Evaluation of Closed-Loop Site-Specific Irrigation with Wireless Sensor Network

Automated site-specific sprinkler irrigation system can save water and maximize productivity, but implementing automated irrigation is challenging in system integration and decision making. A controllable irrigation system was integrated into a closed-loop control with a distributed wireless in-field sensor network for automated variable-rate irrigation. An experimental field was configured into five soil zones based on soil electrical conductivity. In-field soil water sensors were installed on each zone of the distributed wireless sensor network and remotely monitored by a base station for decision making. The soil water sensors were calibrated with a neutron probe and individually identified for their response ranges at each zone. Irrigation decisions were site-specifically made based on feedback of soil water conditions from distributed in-field sensor stations. Variable-rate water application was remotely controlled by the base station to actuate solenoids to regulate the amount of time an individual ...
Studying the possibility of peaking phenomenon in linear support vector machines with non-separable data

Typically, it is common to observe peaking phenomenon in the classification error when the feature size increases. In this paper, we study linear support vector machine classifiers where the data is non-separable. A simulation based on synthetic data is implemented to study the possibility of observing peaking phenomenon. However, no peaking in the expected true error is observed. We also present the performance of three different error estimators as a function of feature and sample size. Based on our study, one might conclude that when using linear support vector machines, the size of feature set can increase safely.
Psychological distress, stressful life events, and religiosity in younger African American adults

Prior research has found that stressful life events relate to increased psychological distress as well as mental and physical morbidity, particularly in minority groups. However, there is limited understanding of factors that may influence this relationship. This paper examines psychological distress, stressful life events, and religiosity among younger African American adults between the ages of 18 and 43 (n = 215). Stressful life events and religiosity levels did not differ by gender, though females reported greater levels of each distress category. Female gender and stressful events were predictive of increased levels of distress. Dimensions of religiosity related in unique ways to individual categories of distress. This would suggest that the role of religion in reduced distress differs according to the type of religious experience. Intrinsic religiosity was found inversely related to both total distress and depression; organizational religiosity inversely related to somatization and obsessive-compuls...
Can Improved Intra- and Inter-team Communication Reduce Missed Delirium?

To assess the prevalence and the team interaction in cases of missed delirium in acute care veterans coded as not having a diagnosis of delirium in admission or discharge notes. In this retrospective study, the records of 183 hospitalized veterans admitted to the emergency department (ED), medicine, surgery and psychiatry services and coded as not having a diagnosis of delirium were analyzed. Clinical notes of each case were examined using DSM IV TR criteria for delirium. Of the 52 cases assessed to have delirium, 5 cases had been miscoded as not having delirium. In the remaining 47 cases the diagnosis of delirium had been missed. The rates of undiagnosed delirium were ED 46/160, medicine 39/132, surgery 4/17, psychiatry 4/29 and consult liaison (CL) 0/9. Of the 5 cases of delirium identified by the CL service, 2 consult diagnoses were accepted and 3 were rejected. Nursing notes had words suggesting delirium in 70.2 % of 47 cases compared to 41.3 and 43.6 % of the clinician case notes for these patients admitted to ED and medicine respectively. No delirium or cognitive screening scales were utilized in the work up of the 52 cases involving delirium. The study results suggest that continuing education by the CL service of all hospital personnel involved in patient care may improve the diagnosis of delirium. Also, increased clinician-nursing intra-team communication, in addition to careful scrutiny of the nursing and clinician notes may contribute to the reduced incidence of missed delirium.
Expression of a Recombinant Apolipoprotein(a) in HepG2 Cells: EVIDENCE FOR INTRACELLULAR ASSEMBLY OF LIPOPROTEIN(a)

Apolipoprotein(a) (apo(a)), a large glycoprotein with extensive homology to plasminogen, forms a complex with apolipoprotein B100 (apoB100), which circulates in human plasma in the form of lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)). Evidence indicates that the association of apo(a) with apoB100 occurs in the extracellular environment. We have reevaluated the possibility that apo(a)-B100 association can also occur as an intracellular event through studies with HepG2 cells stably transfected with an apo(a) minigene. Several lines of evidence support this possibility. First, continued Lp(a) production was demonstrated following incubation of transfected HepG2 cells with anti-apo(a) antisera, conditions that effectively block the fluid-phase association of apo(a) and apoB100 in vitro. Second, an apo(a)-B100 complex was detectable in Western blot analyses of transfected HepG2 lysates following immunoprecipitation with anti-apo(a) antisera. These studies incorporated precautions to eliminate cell-surface attachment of preformed apo(a)-B100 complexes to the low density lipoprotein receptor and were conducted in the presence of the lysine analog epsilon-aminocaproic acid, which precludes apo(a)-B100 association occurring during the isolation and analyses. Third, the presence of an intracellular apo(a)-B100 complex was demonstrated in lipoproteins isolated from microsomal contents. Of particular significance was the observation that this complex contained the precursor form of apo(a), which is not secreted, in addition to the mature, recombinant form. Finally, direct evidence was provided for the synthesis of a precursor form of apo(a) in a nascent intracellular complex with apoB100 following treatment of transfected HepG2 cells with brefeldin A plus N-acetyl-leucyl-leucyl-norleucinal. Taken together, these data suggest that apo(a)-B100 association can occur as an intracellular event in a human hepatoma-derived cell line, raising important implications for the regulation of Lp(a) secretion from human liver.
Covenants in Venture Capital Contracts

This paper studies how covenants are included in contracts between venture capitalists (VCs) and entrepreneurs. I show that VCs hold covenanted veto rights even though they are shareholders who have access to other powerful governance solutions. Unlike bank loans and bonds, venture capital (VC) contracts exhibit considerable variation in their contractual designs. I exploit this variation to confirm the argument that covenants are in place to overcome a conflict of interest that arises from debt-like contractual features of a venture capitalist's preferred stock. In particular, I find that contracts with higher fixed payoffs include 1.6 more covenants than do contracts with lower fixed payoffs. Similarly, VC contracts with no VC board majority requirement include 0.6 more covenants than do contracts that require a VC board majority. Covenants are also more common with older companies and when fewer VCs invest in a round. My findings contribute to both the debt covenant literature and the entrepreneurial finance literature. This paper was accepted by Brad Barber, finance.
Structure and absolute stereochemistry of dihydroflorilenalin, a new sesquiterpene lactone from Florida Helenium autumnale L.

The structure and absolute stereochemistry of dihydroflorilenalin, a new guaianolide isolated from Helenium autumnale L., have been determined on the basis of physicochemical data, chemical transformation, and X-ray crystallographic analysis.
Spatial Redistribution of Poverty through Migration of Poor People to Depressed Rural Communities.

This article presents a case study of one depressed [rural] community in New York that became a migration destination for urban poor people causing dramatic increases in poverty rate welfare rolls and service needs. On-site research showed that the communitys attraction was inexpensive rental housing that had become available after loss of manufacturing jobs prompted a middle-class exodus. The lack of jobs was not a deterrent for low-income immigrants though because many of them had limited job skills and other employment barriers [and] would have had difficulty getting or holding a job anyway. Similar processes of economic decline population loss and poverty inmigration appear to be occurring elsewhere also. The article identifies community-level impacts and policy implications; it concludes with suggestions for further research needs. (EXCERPT)
Reproductive Hormones in Aging Men. I. Measurement of Sex Steroids, Basal Luteinizing Hormone, and Leydig Cell Response to Human Chorionic Gonadotropin

Although alterations of circulating sex steroids have been reported in aging men, it is not known to what extent reported changes may represent effects of variables other than aging. We have measured sex hormone levels, serum binding, the testosterone (T) response to hCG, and basal LH levels in 69 male volunteers, aged 25–89 yr, without alcoholism, obesity, chronic illness, or severe prostatic disease, and not using potentially interfering medications. In our study there was no effect of age on serum T, 5αdihydrotestosterone, estrone, or estradiol. Binding of T to Tbinding globulin increased slightly with age, but not enough to decrease the free T index (fraction free × T concentration). Basal serum LH rose significantly. The T response to hCG suggested a somewhat diminished Leydig cell reserve with age, a conclusion consistent with the LH elevation. Our failure to detect the decreased T and free T index or increased estrogens reported by others could reflect afternoon rather than morning sampling, but is...
Characterization of macular lesions in punctate inner choroidopathy with spectral domain optical coherence tomography

Purpose Punctate inner choroidopathy (PIC) is an ocular inflammatory disease. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) allows detailed visualization of retinal and choroidal structures. We aimed to describe the retinal changes on SD-OCT associated with PIC lesions localized in the macula.
Delay testing considering power supply noise effects

We propose a new delay test generation technique that can take into account the impact of the power supply noise on the signal propagation delays. This is different from existing delay fault models and test generation techniques that ignore the dependence of path delays on the applied test patterns and cannot capture the worst-case timing scenarios in deep submicron designs. In addition to sensitizing the fault and propagating the fault effects to the primary outputs, our new tests also produce the worst-case power supply noise on the nodes in the target path. Thus, the tests also cause the worst-case propagation delay for the nodes along the target path. Our experimental results on benchmark circuits show that the new delay tests produce significantly longer delays on the tested paths compared to the tests derived using existing delay testing methods.
Laser-induced fluorescence of atoms in a power-modulated inductively coupled plasma for trace detection and diagnostic study

Laser-induced fluorescence of iron atoms during the plasma-off cycle of a power-modulated inductively coupled plasma has been performed. The low plasma background emission, and absence of radio-frequency interference, 1.4 ms after complete interruption of power to the ICP, results in an excellent environment for fluorescence detection. With the use of a simple nondispersive detection system, a limit of detection of 5 μg Fe/L was achieved. The iron atom population was found to remain constant for 1.2 ms after power interruption, indicating that the chemical environment during this period is inert. A spatial profile and ICP power study were conducted as diagnostic aids for optimization of the power-modulated ICP for both fluorescence and ionization detection.
A Review Of Vacuum Ultraviolet Optics

A special technology is required for research to be done in the vacuum ultraviolet spectral region. Because optical components are for the most part reflecting optics, considerable effort has been expended in a search for highly reflecting mirror coatings. For wavelengths down to about 1000A, coatings with reflectances of 80% are obtained by overcoating Al with LiF before Al203 has a chance to form. MgF2 is perhaps a more useful overcoating for Al because it is not affected by atmospheric moisture during storage in air, although its region of high reflectance extends only to about 1200A. For wave-lengths below 1000A, coatings of Pt and other members of this group, Rh, Re, Os, and Ir, and other heavy metals, are very useful but provide reflectances of only about 20-35% down to about 500A. Polished SiC mirrors, originally formed by chemical vapor deposition, have the highest reflectances thus far measured from 1000A to about 600A. Transmitting filters of LiF, MgF2, and quartz transmit from the visible region to cut-off wavelengths of 1050A, 1140A, and 1450A, respectively. For wavelengths below 1000A, filters can be made of thin, unbacked, metal films. For example, a film of Al 1000A thick transmits from about 800A to L2 3 x-ray edge at 170A. The techniques for producing and using reflecting coatings And transmitting filters will be discussed, and a short description of diffraction gratings for use in the vacuum ultraviolet region will be given.© (1978) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.