cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Precursors in Bayesian estimation of core-melt probability

A simple model for the inclusion of precursors in the estimation of core-melt probability is described. The probability of a core melt is divided into the product of a probability for the occurrence of a precursor and a probability of failure of the remainder of the system. The Rasmussen estimates (suitably simplified) are used as a prior distribution, and the Bayesian algorithm is used to add the information about the number of precursors observed and the absence (so far) of a core melt. The resulting decrease in the current estimate of core-melt probability is then calculated and is, for reasonable choices of parameter, a factor of 2 to 4. The model is meant to be illustrative.
Staining mitochondria in fixed blood smears.

Wet blood smears are placed immediately in Helly's fluid for 24 hr, transferred directly to a saturated solution of potassium dichromate for 48 hr and washed in running water for 2-4 hr. The slides are then treated with iodine and sodium thiosulf ate and washed several hours or overnight. Excess water is removed by blotting the slide around the smear, Altmann's aniline fuchsin is placed on the smear and the slide is heated over a spirit lamp until white fumes appear. After the slide cools the stain is poured off and the excess removed by washing with distilled water. Methyl green (1% aqueous) is dropped on the smear and left for approximately 30 sec. It is then passed rapidly through 2 changes of absolute ethanol and into xylene, from which it is mounted in Permount. This stains mitochondria, red blood corpuscles and specific granules of eosinophilic granulocytes red on a green background.
Magnetic Moment of the Proton in H2O in Units of the Bohr Magneton

We have made a new measurement of the magnetic moment of protons in a spherical sample of water in units of the Bohr magneton. This ratio, μP′/μB,is needed in many atomic physics experiments for converting into atomic units the value of a magnetic field measured as an NMR frequency. It is used in the determination of α from 2e/h experiments and in the evaluation of other constants such as γp and mp/me. Also, by comparing μp′/μB to μp/μB, the free proton moment in Bohr magnetons(1), one obtains the absolute value of the diamagnetic shielding factor for protons in water. Shielding factors of different molecules can be intercompared to very high precision, so that the present result permits absolute determination of the shielding factor for any molecule.
Recent Advances in Radiation Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer

Radiation therapy is an established treatment modality for patients with head and neck cancer. However, despite good results obtained for early-stage tumors in most sites, advanced disease remains a challenging clinical problem. Therefore, newer radiation therapy techniques and modalities, such as the use of altered fractionation schemes, particulate radiation, intraoperative radiation, and chemotherapy as radiation sensitizers, are being investigated. Some of these newer approaches have shown improved results and some need to be tested further.
Random sampling from the generalized gamma distribution

This paper presents a simple and easy to implement algorithm for sampling from the generalized four parameter gamma distribution proposed by Stacy. The proposed method is based on a generalization of Von Neumann's rejection method where the first stage sampling is done from the log logistic distribution. The proposed method is simple, easy to implement and faster than the traditional methods for generating generalized gamma variates.
Current Controversies in Management of Calcaneus Fractures

Displaced intraarticular fractures of the calcaneus represent a technically challenging injury. Although there is conflicting evidence regarding advantages and disadvantages of operative versus nonoperative treatment, a growing body of literature suggests operative management with near-anatomic reduction of the posterior facet and restoration of overall calcaneal morphology offers greater potential for superior short- and long-term outcomes. A thorough understanding of calcaneal anatomy, fracture pattern, and associated injuries, along with careful selection of surgical approach and timing to surgery are critical to minimize the risk of complication and maximize potential for optimal outcomes.
Enhancing the Gaming Experience Using 3D Spatial User Interface Technologies

Three-dimensional (3D) spatial user interface technologies have the potential to make games more immersive and engaging and thus provide a better user experience. Although technologies such as stereoscopic 3D display, head tracking, and gesture-based control are available for games, it is still unclear how their use affects gameplay and if there are any user performance benefits. The authors have conducted several experiments on these technologies in game environments to understand how they affect gameplay and how we can use them to optimize the gameplay experience.
Selecting an Optimized COTS Filter Set for Multispectral Plenoptic Sensing

A 16-band plenoptic camera allows for the rapid exchange of filter sets via a 4x4 filter array on the lens’s front aperture thus allowing an operator to quickly adapt to a different locale or threat intelligence. Typically, such a system incorporates a default set of 16 equally spaced, non-overlapping, flat-topped filters. Knowing the operating theater or the likely targets of interest it becomes advantageous to tune the filters; we propose a differential evolution approach to search over a set of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) filters for an optimal collection of filters. We examine two independent tasks: general spectral sensing and target detection. For general spectral sensing, we utilize compressive sensing and find filters that generate codings which minimize the reconstruction error. For target detection, we select filters to optimize the separation between the background and a set of targets. We compare the results obtained using the selected COTS filters to the default filter set and full spectral resolution hyperspectral (HS) filter set for target detection and general spectral sensing on a previously obtained HS image.
Physiologic stress molecules activate an acute phase response and enhance macrophage antimicrobial activity to Mycobacterium leprae (INM3P.411)

Leprosy is a disease caused by the pathogen Mycobacterium leprae (mLEP). Patients can present with the progressive, lepromatous form of the disease or the self-limited, tuberculoid form of the disease. Physiologic stress is thought to inhibit host defense mediated by adrenergic catecholamines and neuroendocrine glucocorticoids. We hypothesize that acute treatment with adrenergic agents or glucocorticoids would inhibit in vitro macrophage mediated antimicrobial activity. Human monocyte-derived macrophages or mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages were treated with the adrenergic agonist metaproterenol hemisulfate (MPH, 1μM) or the glucocorticoid dexamethasone (Dex, 100nM) for two hours followed by LPS (100ng/ml) or mLEP (MOI 5). RNASeq was performed at various time points or an mLEP viability measurement was performed at 24 hours following infection. Unexpectedly, when compared to vehicle (DMSO), pretreatment with MPH resulted in greatly enhanced antimicrobial activity against mLEP, similar to interferon-γ pretreatment, whereas Dex resulted in a more modest induction of antimicrobial activity. Both Dex and MPH did not reduce the expression of the antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin, but did induce a dramatic increase in expression of genes involved in the acute phase response. Our findings suggest that molecules involved in the physiological stress response may be acutely beneficial during initial encounter with mLEP.
The primacy effect in impression formation: Some replications and extensions.

Individuals described as “fun, witty, and vicious” are typically rated more favorably than those described as “vicious, witty, and fun” despite the semantic equivalence of these statements. This is...
Analysis of year-over-year changes in Risk Factors Disclosure in 10-K filings

Risk Factor Disclosures -- Item 1A -- in 10-K forms filed with SEC is one of the important sections since it contains a company's yearly risk updates, and thus helps investors decide whether to invest in a company or not. It is crucial to read this section carefully in order to make better investment choices. Given the large number of such forms filed on a yearly basis, it is very cumbersome for humans to understand and analyze them to make informed decisions. We discuss the task of bank failure classification using textual analysis on item 1A for various banks' 10-K forms, i.e., to predict whether a bank will fail or not. We also analyze other quantitative bank performance indicators like leverage and Return On Assets (ROA), and see how well text-based methods can predict those risk indicators. In particular, to create our textual corpora, we focus on the changes in the 1A sections, retaining only those sentences that have under 30% and 40% similarity over two consecutive years (for the same bank). We implement deep learning and other supervised learning techniques like Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), Support Vector Machines (SVM) and Linear Regression. We also combine the word sentiment polarities along with their count as our weighted feature vector.
The Feasibility of Breast-Conserving Surgery for Multiple Ipsilateral Breast Cancer: An Initial Report from ACOSOG Z11102 (Alliance) Trial.

Historically, multiple ipsilateral breast cancer (MIBC) has been a contraindication to breast-conserving therapy (BCT). We report the feasibility of BCT in MIBC from the ACOSOG Z11102 trial [Alliance], a single arm noninferiority trial of BCT for women with two or three sites of malignancy in the ipsilateral breast. Women who enrolled preoperatively in ACOSOG Z11102 were evaluated for conversion to mastectomy and need for reoperation to obtain negative margins. Characteristics of women who successfully underwent BCT and those who converted to mastectomy were compared. Factors were examined for association with the need for margin reexcision. Of 198 patients enrolled preoperatively, 190 (96%) had 2 foci of disease. Median size of the largest tumor focus was 1.5 (range 0.1–7.0) cm; 49 patients (24.8%) had positive nodes. There were 14 women who underwent mastectomy due to positive margins, resulting in a conversion to mastectomy rate of 7.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.9–10.6%). Of 184 patients who successfully completed BCT, 134 completed this in a single operation. Multivariable logistic regression analysis did not identify any factors significantly associated with conversion to mastectomy or need for margin reexcision. Breast conservation is feasible in MIBC with 67.6% of patients achieving a margin-negative excision in a single operation and 7.1% of patients requiring conversion to mastectomy due to positive margins. No characteristic was identified that significantly altered the risk of conversion to mastectomy or need for reexcision. NCT01556243.
Financial Issues of Older Adults

This chapter highlights three important concerns regarding older adults. The concerns are (a) how to finance the increased number of years of retirement, (b) to provide for adequate health at the very old ages, and (c) that older women, especially minorities, are likely to be more economically disadvantaged than older men. To respond to the first and third concerns, older adults should consider working past the typical retirement age of 65 to increase retirement savings and delay the receipt of Social Security benefits to their full retirement age or age 70. To respond to the second concern, older adults should practice healthful behaviors.
Abstract 1132: PAX6 drives cancer cells toward a stem like state via GLI-SOX2 signaling axis in lung adenocarcinoma

PAX6 is an essential transcription factor for embryonic stem cell maintenance, but its contribution to lung cancer stem cells (CSCs) remains unexplored. We demonstrate that PAX6 acts as an oncogene responsible for induction of cancer stemness properties and plays a biological role in tumor initiation and CSC expansion in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Mechanistically, PAX6 activates Hedgehog-GLI signaling in a SMO-independent noncanonical manner, resulting in SOX2 upregulation directly by the binding of GLI to the proximal promoter region of the SOX2 gene. The overexpressed SOX2 enhances the expression of key pluripotent factors (OCT4 and NANOG) and suppresses differentiation lineage factors (HOPX and NKX2-1). Thus, PAX6 drives cancer cells toward a stem-like state via the GLI-SOX2 signaling axis in LUAD. In contrast, in the differentiated non-CSCs that represent most of the tumor cell population, PAX6 is transcriptionally silenced by its promoter methylation. In human lung cancer tissues, the positive linear correlations of PAX6 expression with GLI and SOX2 expression and its negative correlations with HOPX and NKX2-1 expression were observed. Therapeutically, the blockade of the PAX6-GLI-SOX2 signaling axis elicits a long-lasting therapeutic efficacy by limiting CSC expansion following chemotherapy. Our findings provide a rationale for targeting the PAX6-GLI-SOX2 signaling axis with chemotherapy as an effective therapeutic strategy. Citation Format: Akira Oki, Mohammad O. Hoque. PAX6 drives cancer cells toward a stem like state via GLI-SOX2 signaling axis in lung adenocarcinoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1132.
Evaluation of MSKCC Preprostatectomy nomogram in men who undergo MRI-targeted prostate biopsy prior to radical prostatectomy.

Abstract Introduction The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) Preprostatectomy nomogram is a widely used resource that integrates clinical factors to predict the likelihood of adverse pathology at radical prostatectomy. Adoption of magnetic resonance imaging targeted biopsy (TB) permits optimized detection of clinically-significant cancer over systematic biopsy (SB) alone. We aim to evaluate the prognostic utility of the MSKCC Preprostatectomy nomogram with TB pathology results. Methods Men who underwent SB and magnetic resonance imaging TB who later underwent radical prostatectomy at our institution were included. Patient information was entered into the MSKCC Preprostatectomy nomogram using 5 biopsy reporting schemes with TB reported by both individual core (IC) and aggregate group (AG) methods. The likelihood of extraprostatic extension, seminal vesicle invasion, and lymph node involvement as predicted by the nomogram for each biopsy reporting schema were compared to radical prostatectomy pathology. Results We identified 63 men from January 2014 to November 2017. On receiver operating characteristic analysis, IC-TB, AG-TB, SB plus IC-TB, and SB plus AG-TB exhibited similar, if not improved, area under the curve compared to SB alone in predicting extraprostatic extension (0.671, 0.674, 0.658, and 0.6613 vs. 0.6085). This was similarly observed for seminal vesicle invasion prediction using SB plus IC-TB compared to SB alone (0.727 vs. 0.733). For lymph node involvement, superior but nonsignificant area under the curve was observed for AG-TB (0.647) compared to IC-TB (0.571) and SB alone (0.524) Conclusions Using TB pathology results either alone or combined with SB pathology results as input to the MSKCC Preprostatectomy nomogram appears comparable for prognosticating adverse pathology on radical prostatectomy compared to SB alone, but robust validation is warranted prior to adoption into clinical practice.
Children With Minor Blunt Head Trauma Presenting to the Emergency Department

In our state-of-the-art review, we summarize the best-available evidence for the optimal emergency department management of children with minor blunt head trauma. Minor blunt head trauma in children is a common reason for emergency department evaluation, although clinically important traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) as a result are uncommon. Cranial computed tomography (CT) scanning is the reference standard for the diagnosis of TBIs, although they should be used judiciously because of the risk of lethal malignancy from ionizing radiation exposure, with the greatest risk to the youngest children. Available TBI prediction rules can assist with CT decision-making by identifying patients at either low risk for TBI, for whom CT scans may safely be obviated, or at high risk, for whom CT scans may be indicated. For clinical prediction rules to change practice, however, they require active implementation. Observation before CT decision-making in selected patients may further reduce CT rates without missing children with clinically important TBIs. Future work is also needed to incorporate patient and family preferences into these decision-making algorithms when the course of action is not clear.
Causal relationship among transformational leadership, professional learning communities, and teacher collective efficacy

Through transformational leadership (TL) principals can promote teacher professional learning communities (PLCs) and strengthen teacher collective efficacy (TCE)—both of which research has shown en...
Distributional Validity and Prognostic Power of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale in US Administrative Claims Data

Importance Comparative assessment of acute ischemic stroke care quality provided by hospitals in the United States has been hampered by the unavailability of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) in administrative data sets, preventing adequate adjustment for variations in patient case-mix risk. In response to stakeholder concerns, the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in 2016 implemented optional reporting of NIHSS scores. Objective To analyze the distributional, convergent, and predictive validity of nationally submitted NIHSS values in the National Inpatient Sample. Design, Setting, and Participants This population-based retrospective cross-sectional study took place from October 1 to December 31, 2016. The nationally representative sample included US adults who had ischemic stroke hospitalizations during the first calendar quarter in which optional NIHSS reporting was implemented. Analysis began September 2019. Main Outcomes and Measures Distribution of NIHSS scores, functional independence at discharge, inpatient mortality, and administrative reporting of NIHSS. Results Among 154 165 ischemic stroke hospitalizations during the first 3 months of the reporting policy, NIHSS scores were reported in 21 685 patients (14%) (10 925 women [50.4%]; median [interquartile range] age, 72 [61-82] years). Median (interquartile range) NIHSS score was 4 (2-11), and frequency of severity categories included absent (NIHSS score, 0) in 2080 patients (9.6%), minor (NIHSS score, 1-4) in 8760 patients (40.4%), and severe (NIHSS score, 21-42) in 1930 patients (8.9%). National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of 10 or more, an indicator of possible large vessel occlusions, was present in 6290 patients (29%). Presenting NIHSS score was higher in very elderly patients (age ≥80 y) and women and also in patients receiving endovascular thrombectomy vs intravenous thrombolysis alone vs no reperfusion therapy (median [interquartile range], 17 [12-22] vs 6 [4-12] vs 4 [2-9], respectively) (P Conclusions and Relevance In the initial national optional reporting period in the United States, NIHSS scores were reported in nearly 1 in 7 ischemic stroke hospitalizations. The distribution of NIHSS scores was similar to that from narrow population-based studies and registries, and NIHSS scores were powerfully associated with discharge outcome, supporting the validity and potential to aid care quality assessment.
Synthesis and reactivity of nitridorhenium complexes incorporating the mercaptoethylsulfide (SSS) ligand

A method for the preparation of nitridorhenium(V) complexes of the form (SSS)Re(N)(L) (where SSS = 2-mercaptoethylsulfide and L = PPh3 and t-BuNC) has been described. These complexes react with Lewis acids allowing for the isolation of adducts. The lack of a significant steric profile on the SSS ligand combined with enhanced nucleophilicity of the nitrido group does not allow for the effective formation of frustrated Lewis pairs with these complexes and as a result these species are poor catalysts for the hydrogenation of unactivated olefins.
Chapter 5 – Metabolic Profiling

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the NMR approach to metabolic profiling, primarily addressing experimental design, data acquisition, and data processing. Metabolic profiling involves the identification and quantification of specific endogenous metabolites. It focuses on single classes of compounds (such as polar lipids, isoprenoids, carbohydrates, amino acids) or members of a particular metabolic pathway. Because of its quantitative and selective nature, metabolic profiling can be useful in a clinical diagnostic setting, in the field of drug characterization and in the impact of genetic modifications on metabolism. In metabolic profiling experiments, depending on the organism under investigation, parameters that can be controlled include genotype, ecotype, phenotype, gender, age, diet, and environment. However, in large-scale human studies, there is much less control over these variables. Careful selection of NMR data acquisition parameters is required to produce the best possible data for the system being studied and it is essential that all data sets are acquired with the same parameter set if any direct quantitative comparison is to be made. One barrier to the use of metabolic profiling data to draw biological conclusions is that often there is a lack of thorough metadata reporting, meaning data about data, such as details from the experimental design, acquisition, and processing parameters. If metadata is included with metabolic profiling experiments when they are published, as some journals are beginning to require, there is a greater likelihood that the results will become part of the fields including genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics.
Safety and Security in Emergency Psychiatry

Every worker, in every workplace, has the right to physical and mental safety. Today’s hospital must allow freedom of movement, provide patient care with a minimum of disruptions, safeguard privacy, and at the same time, ensure the safety of all. This balance has become increasingly complex as violence has become more prevalent in society as a whole. This chapter will explore the issues that affect this balance, and propose opportunities for improving safety.
Feasibility of using thermal response methods for nonintrusive compressed air flow measurement

Abstract Robust, low-cost nonintrusive flow meters are of interest in many industries. In particular, a reliable nonintrusive flow measurement for the diagnosis of air leaks in compressed air systems is desirable. Measurement of the air flow due to leaks in the system ensures an accurate estimation of potential cost and energy savings. This study evaluates a novel method of using thermal responses to nonintrusively measure leakage rates in compressed air lines. The method uses heat and the resulting thermal response to calculate the flow rate inside the compressed air line. Compared to the current methods for flow measurement, this method can simplify flow measurement while decreasing the sensitivity to errors when measuring flow rates. In this study, the methodology of the proposed method is explained along with the potential advantages to the design. Two approaches are evaluated: a dynamic step response and sinusoidal frequency response. Simulated tests evaluate the feasibility of the proposed methods, followed by experiments that validate the simulation results. A clear correlation between the thermal step response and the flow rate indicate viability of the proposed method in simulation. Experimental results yielded similar results, confirming the validity of the proposed method. The results of a field test in an industrial environment demonstrate the capability of the approach to other flow rate measurement techniques.
The Child’s Rights Forgotten, Again: Reframing Fulton v. City of Philadelphia

In early November, the Supreme Court heard argument in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, a case with profound implications for religious exercise, LGBTQ rights, and child welfare. The last of these has, wrongly, become subordinated to the other two in this litigation. This Article explains why the case has been improperly framed as a contest between two sets of adult rights. The only constitutional constraint on the state in connection with placement of children in foster care, I argue, is the Fourteenth Amendment right of children against being taken into state custody except insofar as the state does so to protect and promote the children’s wellbeing. This is because in the child protection system, the state acts in a parens patriae role, not a police-power role. Accordingly, though Catholic Social Services is right on the facts, and though the Philadelphia Department of Human Services was wrong to terminate CSS’s contract to provide foster care services, the Court should dismiss CSS’s First Amendment claim as simply impertinent. CSS should instead assert third-party or next-friend standing to sue on behalf of children taken into DHS custody, for an injunction against exclusion of CSS from the foster-care system because that is bad for children.
Transport Phenomena in Low Temperature Lithium-Ion Battery Electrolytes

Lithium-ion batteries face low temperature performance issues, limiting the adoption of technologies ranging from electric vehicles to stationary grid storage. This problem is thought to be exacerbated by slow transport within the electrolyte, which in turn may be influenced by ion association, solvent viscosity, and cation transference number. How these factors collectively impact low temperature transport phenomena, however, remains poorly understood. Here we show using all-atom classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations that the dominant factor influencing low temperature transport in LP57 (1 M LiPF6 in 3:7 ethylene carbonate (EC)-ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC)) is solvent viscosity, rather than ion aggregation or cation transference number. We find that ion association decreases with decreasing temperature, while the cation transference number is positive and roughly independent of temperature. In an effort to improve low temperature performance, we introduce γ-butyrolactone (GBL) as a low viscosity co-solvent to explore two alternative formulations: 1 M LiPF6 in 15:15:70 EC/GBL/EMC and 3:7 GBL/EMC. While GBL reduces solution viscosity, its low dielectric constant results in increased ion pairing, yielding neither improved bulk ionic conductivity nor appreciably altered ion transport mechanisms. We expect that these results will enhance understanding of low temperature transport and inform the development of superior electrolytes.
Utility of lymphadenectomy in mucinous ovarian carcinoma

Objectives: Mucinous ovarian carcinoma is a rare subtype of epithelial ovarian cancer that, when grossly confined to the ovary, is rarely upstaged after surgical lymph node staging based on relatively small case series. While typically full nodal staging is recommended in all epithelial ovarian cancers, this retrospective data calls into question the risk/benefit ratio of complete surgical staging in mucinous ovarian carcinoma. Given the small numbers of reported fully staged mucinous ovarian cancers, our objective was to report our institution's experience. Methods: Patients at University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics with a histologic diagnosis of mucinous ovarian cancer who underwent complete lymphadenectomy were identified in the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center Registry between 2000 - 2018. Patient charts were reviewed for demographic, diagnostic, surgical and treatment data. Results: A total of 70 patients were identified with primary mucinous ovarian cancer who underwent surgical nodal staging. All 70 patients underwent complete pelvic lymph node dissection and most (95.7%, n=67) also underwent paraaortic nodal dissection. The median patient age was 54 years and mean tumor size was 20.2 cm. Tumor grades were Grade 1 (40.8%, n=29); Grade 2 (21.1% n=15) and Grade 3 (21.2%, n=15). Most were not categorized as expansile vs. infiltrative type, as this terminology has been more recently adopted. A total of 67 patients had disease confined to the ovary, and 3 had nodal metastases. Of the three patients with nodal involvement, one had obvious metastatic disease at the time of surgery with uterine involvement, omental involvement, and bulky lymphadenopathy. Another had areas of undifferentiated carcinoma within the underlying mucinous carcinoma; the undifferentiated carcinoma was the histologic pattern identified in the lymph nodes. Only one patient with disease intraoperatively confined to the ovary with a purely mucinous histology had nodal involvement. Within 1 month of her staging surgery, this patient was subsequently found to have biopsy proven bony metastases to the iliac, lumbar and sacrum. On retrospective review of her surgical pathology, this was classified as an infiltrative type mucinous carcinoma and pathology would have recommended additional stains to rule out pancreatic or other primary malignancy. Of our 68 patients with intraoperative disease confined to the ovary and pure mucinous histology, only one had nodal metastasis (1.5%) and it did not affect her treatment plan due to short interval development of widely metastatic disease. Download : Download high-res image (234KB) Download : Download full-size image Conclusions: This is the largest case series of fully staged mucinous ovarian cancer patients to date and supports that mucinous ovarian carcinoma grossly confined to the ovary is rarely upstaged by nodal staging and unlikely to change management. It is therefore reasonable to omit lymphadenectomy in early mucinous ovarian carcinoma.
School-based E-cigarette cessation programs: What do youth want?

Abstract Purpose E-cigarette use is a problem among youth, yet few vaping cessation programs exist. This study aimed to understand what youth want in a school-based vaping cessation program to inform intervention development. Methods We conducted 8 focus groups in Fall 2019 with Connecticut high school youth (N = 4–10 adolescents per group, total N = 62, 50% female). 6 groups were with youth who were current (i.e., past-month) e-cigarette users and 2 groups were with past users (i.e., lifetime users with no past-month use). Discussions focused on desired features and concerns about a vaping cessation program and analyses used an iterative inductive and deductive approach to identify qualitative themes. We also collected brief survey data assessing skills youth wanted to learn from a vaping cessation program. Results Qualitative themes emerged indicating that youth want a vaping cessation program to include education about health effects of vaping, relatable personal anecdotes from others, and rewards for quitting. Potential concerns include confidentiality (e.g., ensuring teachers/coaches would not know about e-cigarette use), perceptions that youth may not want to participate due to lack of interest/apathy or embarrassment, and needing methods to verify abstinence to limit inaccurate reporting. The most frequently endorsed skills from the survey indicated youth want to learn ways to deal with stress (92%), relax (60%), and deal with poor concentration/attention (55%). Conclusions Findings identified key features to include and issues to address when developing school-based vaping cessation programs. Developing effective vaping cessation programs that appeal to youth is important for addressing youth e-cigarette use.
Facile Catalytic Hydrogenation with Nitrogen-Anchored Ligands

The 1960’s and 70’s have seen a great deal of interest in homogeneous catalysis. Early visions of the potential of this area included the possibility of homogeneously performing the bulk of the known heterogeneous catalytic reactions, but performing these at lower temperatures. In this sense homogeneous catalysis has been but partially successful. Several catalysts have been developed which do indeed have exceptional activity, but the range of the types of reactions facilitated by homogeneous catalysts is, at present, somewhat restricted. For example, homogeneous catalysts are particularly effective and attractive for hydrogenation and hydroformylation, but other important ÷processes, such as oxidation1 or dehydrogenation2, have not been greatly affected. Even within areas where homogeneous catalysis is very effective, e. g. hydrogenation, catalysts, in some ways, have been disappointing. Hydrogenation has been most successful with respect to hydrocarbons; other functional groups, such as nitro compounds or nitriles, have not been reduced except by a very limited number of catalysts.
Reoperative repair of the aortic root and ascending aorta.

Elective repair of aneurysms involving the ascending aorta and aortic root is performed with predictably low operative risk. Complex procedures such as composite valve-graft replacement or valve-sparing root reconstruction carry an expected mortality rate of less than 4%, with surprisingly few perioperative complications.1–4 Cardiac reoperations such as coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and valve replacement currently carry little increase in risk above a first-time operation.5,6 However, reoperative surgery on the ascending aorta continues to challenge cardiac surgeons. The mortality rate associated with these complex reconstructions is at least 3 times higher than it is for the initial surgery. Complications after such procedures also occur with disappointingly high frequency, leading to substantial morbidity and delayed recovery. The earliest report on this high-risk cohort examined 59 patients undergoing 67 reoperative aortic procedures.7 Myocardial failure, stroke, and hemorrhage contributed heavily to morbidity and death. Surgeons with a particular interest in aortic disease have dramatically reduced the risk of these reoperations8–13 through advances in myocardial and cerebral protection and surgical technique. Excellent long-term survival and freedom from further surgery can be anticipated for a majority of patients.13 This report updates our previously published results8 in this high-risk surgical cohort.
Creatine kinase of rat heart mitochondria. Coupling of creatine phosphorylation to electron transport.

Abstract Intact mitochondria from human, beef, and rat heart, as well as rat brain and rat skeletal and smooth muscle, contain considerable creatine kinase activity; those from rat or rabbit liver, kidney, and testis contain essentially none. In rat heart mitochondria creatine kinase activity is far higher than the activity of adenylate kinase and nucleoside diphosphokinase. The heart mitochondrial creatine kinase is specific for ATP and ADP as phosphate donor and acceptor. The optimum pH is 6.7 in the direction of ATP formation and 8.0 in the direction of phosphocreatine formation. The mitochondrial isoenzyme of creatine kinase is not present in the same compartment as the intermembrane marker enzyme adenylate kinase, but may be released in soluble form by exposure to sodium acetate or sodium phosphate medium at pH 7.4. The phosphorylation of creatine by intact mitochondria takes place outside the atractyloside-sensitive ADP-ATP carrier system of the inner membrane and thus requires external ATP. When creatine in the concentration range known to be present in intact heart is added to rat heart mitochondria neither the initial State 4 or State 3 rate of respiration (succinate) is affected; however, there is a large increase in the State 4 rate following addition of ADP, whose magnitude increases as the creatine concentration is increased. In the presence of physiological concentrations of creatine and ADP rat heart mitochondria respire at a constant high rate equal to 75 to 85% of their maximal State 3 rate; under these conditions phosphocreatine is the end product of oxidative phosphorylation. The Km values for rat heart mitochondria are 35 µm for ADP, 0.72 mm for phosphocreatine, 100 µm for ATP, and 6 mm for creatine. These and other properties suggest that in addition to the ∼P storage function usually postulated for it, the phosphocreatine-creatine kinase system serves to smooth out or buffer the rate of respiration of heart mitochondria at a high and constant rate, as well as to channel ∼P to the contractile system via the mitochondrial and sarcoplasmic isoenzymes of creatine kinase.
Mechanism of Excretion of a Bacterial Proteinase: Demonstration of Two Proteolytic Enzymes Produced by a Sarcina Strain (Coccus P)

A Sarcina strain (Coccus P) produces two proteolytic enzymes. One is found only extracellularly, is far more prevalent, and is actively excreted during exponential growth. It is the enzyme responsible for the known strong proteolytic activity of the cultures of this strain. A second protease is, however, produced which remains associated with the intact cells but is released by the protoplasts. The two enzymes appear unrelated in their derivation. Calcium ions play an essential role in preventing autodigestion of the excreted enzyme.
Guiding Neutral Atoms Around Curves with Lithographically Patterned Current-Carrying Wires

Laser-cooled neutral atoms from a low-velocity atomic source are guided via a magnetic field generated between two parallel wires on a glass substrate. The atoms bend around three curves, each with a 15-cm radius of curvature, while traveling along a 10-cm-long track. A maximum flux of 2*10^6 atoms/sec is achieved with a current density of 3*10^4 A/cm^2 in the 100x100-micrometer-cross-section wires. The kinetic energy of the guided atoms in one transverse dimension is measured to be 42 microKelvin.
Entrepreneurship as a solution to poverty

Individuals living in poverty remain a critical issue. This special issue focuses on how entrepreneurship can help to solve such poverty. Rather than viewing those in poverty as a market for goods, the solution lies in understanding how to help those living in poverty create their own businesses. Ultimately, entrepreneurship among those in poverty will create a long lasting solution to their poverty. Herein, we initially examine the extant knowledge about entrepreneurship. We then examine where future research on this important topic should move. Finally, we introduce the five articles that make up this special issue. These five articles came from the initial 71 submissions and enhance our knowledge about entrepreneurship as a pathway to reducing poverty.
Nitrofurantoin not surface active agent in rabbit urinary bladder

Abstract It has been recently suggested that nitrofurantoin may induce symptoms of interstitial cystitis by acting as a surface active agent that destroys glycosaminoglycan (GAG) on the bladder surface. Evidence accumulated over the past decade has demonstrated that the bladder surface GAG prevents bacterial adherence. In this experiment, exposure of the bladder lumen to nitrofurantoin at more than twice the therapeutic concentration did not destroy the bladder GAG layer (as evidenced by periodic acid-Schif f histochemistry) nor increase bacterial adherence as did a true surface active agent (Triton X-100). Acid treatment as well as all tested organic solvents except 50 % dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) also removed the bladder GAG layer and increased bacterial adherence. These results indicate that neither nitrofurantoin nor 50 % DMSO has adverse effects on the bladder surface and thus is unlikely to initiate the interstitial cystitis symptom complex by means of surfactant activity.
Mitigating Environmental and Social Impacts of Intensive Plantation Forestry

Abstract Plantations produce many environmental and social problems. They include: loss of natural forest habitat and biodiversity; impacts on soil and water quality and recreational opportunities; the use of chemicals, exotic species and genetically modified organisms; displacement of local people in developing countries from their lands; low economic benefits to local communities; and, negative impacts on the economics of natural forest management. Because of such problems, plantations must be excluded from areas that have significance for ecological or social reasons such as the need for ecosystem restoration or preservation. Society must start by reducing our need for wood fiber, maximizing use of wastes such as post-consumer recycled content and agricultural residues, and using wood substitutes that are proven to be environmentally preferable. We must address the environmental and social problems that currently cause plantations to be an unsustainable model of development. Among other things, we must...
Hand-based verification and identification using palm-finger segmentation and fusion

Hand-based verification/identification represent a key biometric technology with a wide range of potential applications both in industry and government. Traditionally, hand-based verification and identification systems exploit information from the whole hand for authentication or recognition purposes. To account for hand and finger motion, guidance pegs are used to fix the position and orientation of the hand. In this paper, we propose a component-based approach to hand-based verification and identification which improves both accuracy and robustness as well as ease of use due to avoiding pegs. Our approach accounts for hand and finger motion by decomposing the hand silhouette in different regions corresponding to the back of the palm and the fingers. To improve accuracy and robustness, verification/recognition is performed by fusing information from different parts of the hand. The proposed approach operates on 2D images acquired by placing the hand on a flat lighting table and does not require using guidance pegs or extracting any landmark points on the hand. To decompose the silhouette of the hand in different regions, we have devised a robust methodology based on an iterative morphological filtering scheme. To capture the geometry of the back of the palm and the fingers, we employ region descriptors based on high-order Zernike moments which are computed using an efficient methodology. The proposed approach has been evaluated both for verification and recognition purposes on a database of 101 subjects with 10 images per subject, illustrating high accuracy and robustness. Comparisons with related approaches involving the use of the whole hand or different parts of the hand illustrate the superiority of the proposed approach. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons with state-of-the-art approaches indicate that the proposed approach has comparable or better accuracy.
A Case Study in Policy Change: Mayoral Control in New York City's Schools.

During the 33 years New York City schools were controlled primarily by community school boards, the city's mayors posited that greater mayoral influence was the cure for the ills afflicting the city's schools. This paper applies theories of policy change to the 30-year battle for control of New York's schools while highlighting the role of the city's teachers union and the state government in obstructing a mayoral takeover. Ultimately, a confluence of economic instability and political quid pro quo in 2002 created a milieu conducive to Mayor Michael Bloomberg winning control of the city's schools.
A high performance factoring machine

Factoring, primality testing, and other problems of current interest [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, for example] in experimental number theory require machines with different architectures from those for any other application. Algorithms for such problems are small, but their execution requires high-speed arithmetic on very long integers interspersed with shorter precision computing that can conveniently be done by several processors acting in parallel. In this paper, we describe the preliminary design of a processor specifically for computational number theoretic problems. The primary component is a 256-bit ALU which is dynamically reconfigurable to provide for parallel independent operations on groups of 32-bit subwords within the 256-bit word.
Low-cost telepresence at technical conferences

Physical attendance at technical conferences maximizes both the professional and personal benefits of participation, and is often required as a condition of publishing. However, circumstances such as injury, literally being at the South Pole, and/or lack of funding may “get in the way”, to say the least. This paper describes how an inexpensive, remote-site controllable camera was used with the existing laptop-and-projector configuration at IEEE Aeroconference 2011 to establish a workable point-to-point telepresence for presenting papers, attending presentations, participating in panel discussions, and co-chairing a technical session. The discussion includes suggestions for camera, audio, and screen/chart-sharing configurations for these purposes in both point-to-point and multi-point situations, use of telepresence as part of traditional conference room sessions, and possibilities for and challenges of having a “telepresence hall” for presentations and/or professional networking.1
Evolution of the Geography of Innovation: Evidence from Patent Data

This paper examines the evolution of patent activities across U.S. states from 1963 to 1997. Several patterns are uncovered. First, there is invention catch-up by some lagging states. Second, the evidence is consistent with knowledge diffusion. Third, leading states unable to reinvent themselves lose their leads. Fourth, catch-up can be across a diverse field of activities or focused on select activities. State patent growth is positively correlated to industry R&D and a variable capturing labor skill and infrastructure quality. These provide rationale for state policy makers to increase support to programs that enhance labor skill (e.g., education) and infrastructure quality.
Gastrointestinal complications of dermatomal herpes zoster successfully treated with famciclovir and lactulose

Only a few basic investigations of LSA have been performed. Immunohistology has demonstrated the frequent deposition of fibrin in the papillary dermis, and a specific protease has been implicated in the disappearance of elastic fibers in this disease.2 Stanozolol is a potent fibrinolytic agent and has been shown to be valuable in treating intractable lipodermatosclerosis in doubleblind, cross-over trials.3 The exact mechanism of fibrinolytic action remains unknown, but this steroid decreases the level of tissue plasminogen activator inhibitors.4,5 The resulting increase in tissue plasminogen activator activity generates plasmin, which then aids in fibrin degradation. The response of LSA to oral stanozolol in this study ranged from good to complete resolution. Double-blind trials should be undertaken to confirm its efficacy because stanozolol may be an alternative to potent topical steroids that tend to produce atrophy.
Using structures formed by dirhodium tetra(trifluoroacetate) with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to prospect for maximum pi-electron density: Hückel calculations get it right.

A new class of supramolecular assemblies derived from a powerful Lewis acid in the form of dirhodium(II) tetra(trifluoroacetate) and various planar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as donors...
A COMPARISON OF CAR-PARRINELLO AND BORN-OPPENHEIMER GENERALIZED VALENCE BOND MOLECULAR DYNAMICS

Abstract Two methods for performing ab initio molecular dynamics using a generalized valence bond electronic wave function are compared: the Car—Parrinello and Born—Oppenheimer approaches. These techniques differ in how they generate a new electronic wave function at each time step. In the Car—Parrinello scheme, the wave function parameters are propagated as classical degrees of freedom, while in the Born—Oppenheimer scheme the equations describing the wave function are solved at each time step. It is found that trajectories obtained utilizing the Born—Oppenheimer approach are both more accurate and less costly than their Car—Parrinello counterparts for wave functions expressed in terms of atom-centered basis sets.