cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Miocene low-angle normal faulting and dike emplacement, Homer Mountain and surrounding areas, southeastern California and southernmost Nevada

Homer Mountain and surrounding regions are within, or adjacent to, the western part of a broad region of low-angle normal faults exposed within the lower Colorado River trough. During middle Miocene time, upper-plate rocks in the Homer, Sacramento, Dead, and Newberry Mountains moved eastward or northeastward, relative to the lower plate, above single or multiple low-angle normal faults. Deposition of coarse clastic sedimentary rocks occurred during extensional faulting and was accompanied by, and closely followed by, eruption of basaltic volcanics. Upper-plate fault blocks of Miocene volcanic and sedimentary rocks and older, underlying crystalline rocks are tilted gently to steeply to the west or southwest. Low-angle normal faults have complex, sinuous traces due to the irregular form of fault surfaces. Antiformal warping and uplift of the lower plate about a north-south trending axis, due to tectonic denudation and isostatic rebound, divided the regionally east-thickening extensional allochthon into separate synformal and wedge-shaped components. The Homer Mountain area lies within, or adjacent to, the synformal component. Lower-plate rocks are intruded by numerous, middle Miocene, east-west-trending dikes, which are in turn intruded by subhorizontal dikes. Both sets of dikes are cut and displaced by low-angle normal faults except on the west flank of the Newberry Mountains where an east-west–trending dike cuts the basal low-angle normal fault. K-Ar geochronologic and field data establish the approximate synchroneity of dike emplacement and low-angle faulting. The state of stress in the lower plate, as inferred from dike orientations, differed radically from the state of stress in the upper plate, as inferred from fault geometry. Low-angle faulting and east-northeast-west-southwest distension of upper-plate rocks reflect regional reduction of compression in the east-northeast-west-southwest direction and associated large-scale east-northeast-west-southwest crustal extension. In contrast, concave-upward flexure of the lower plate, in response to tectonic denudation and resultant isostatic uplift, is inferred to have produced local subhorizontal compression at shallow crustal levels in the lower plate that overwhelmed the regional extensional stress and prevented emplacement of dikes oriented perpendicular to the direction of regional extension. North-south crustal extension during dike emplacement appears to have resulted from minor divergence of lower-plate crustal blocks as they were displaced in a west-southwest direction away from the Colorado Plateau.
Hot Spots for Solar Flares Persisting for Decades: Longitude Distributions of Flares of Cycles 19-23

A new analysis method is introduced for investigating whether major flares are clustered in certain fixed regions of the Sun in rigidly rotating coordinate systems. This method is applied to the analysis of major flares of solar cycles 19-23. The northern and southern hemispheres are separately analyzed, and it is found that longitude distributions of flares in the two hemispheres are different. Therefore, the term "hot spot" is used instead of "active longitude." Seven hot-spot systems are found to be significant, with their rotation periods ranging from 25 to 29 days. Four of them are single-hot-spot systems, and the remaining three are double-hot-spot systems. A double-hot-spot system is made of two hot spots that rotate with the same period but are separated by about 180° in longitude. The most significant hot-spot system is the double-hot-spot system with a period of 26.73 days that operated in the northern hemisphere during cycles 20 and 21. It was previously detected by the analysis of flare data of cycles 20 and 21. Now it is found that the prominent hot spot of this system was active during cycle 22. Another double-hot-spot system (with a period of 27.41 days) is found to be in operation in the northern hemisphere during solar cycles 19-21. Another interesting hot-spot system is a single hot spot with a rotation period of 27.0 days, which operated in the northern hemisphere during cycle 21. This hot spot may have the same cause as the 27.03 day periodicity observed in the solar wind speed and interplanetary magnetic field. During cycle 23, a double-hot-spot system with a rotation period of 28.2 days is detected in the southern hemisphere, but none are detected in the northern hemisphere.
On Data Synchronization For Multiprocessors

As the grain size becomes smaller, more parallelism can be found in most programs. However, to exploit smaller grain parallelism, more efficient synchronization primitives are needed to reduce the increased synchronization overhead. The granularity of parallelism that can be exploited on a multipro- cessor system depends heavily on the type and the efficiency of the synchronization supported by the system. For medium- grain parallelism, ordered dependences such as data dependences and control dependences need to be enforced in order to guarantee the correctness of the parallel execution. Hence, data synchronization is one of the major sources of synchronization overhead in the program execution. In this paper, we classify the synchronization schemes based on how synchronization variables are used. A new scheme, the process-oriented scheme, is proposed. This scheme requires a very small number of synchronization variables and can be supported very efficiently by simple hardware in the system.
Is the tobacco control movement misrepresenting the acute cardiovascular health effects of secondhand smoke exposure? An analysis of the scientific evidence and commentary on the implications for tobacco control and public health practice

While chronic exposure to secondhand smoke has been well recognized as a cause of heart disease in nonsmokers, there has been recent speculation about the potential acute cardiovascular effects of transient exposure to secondhand smoke among nonsmokers; in particular, the possibility that such exposure could increase the risk of acute myocardial infarction even in an otherwise healthy nonsmoker. This paper reviews the claims being made by a number of anti-smoking and public health groups regarding the acute cardiovascular effects of secondhand smoke exposure among otherwise healthy adults, analyzes the validity of these claims based on a review of the scientific evidence, and discusses the implications of the findings for tobacco control and public health practice. Based on the analysis, it appears that a large number of anti-smoking organizations are making inaccurate claims that a single, acute, transient exposure to secondhand smoke can cause severe and even fatal cardiovascular events in healthy nonsmokers. The dissemination of inaccurate information by anti-smoking groups to the public in support of smoking bans is unfortunate because it may harm the tobacco control movement by undermining its credibility, reputation, and effectiveness. Disseminating inaccurate information also represents a violation of basic ethical principles that are a core value of public health practice that cannot and should not be sacrificed, even for a noble end such as protecting nonsmokers from secondhand smoke exposure. How the tobacco control movement responds to this crisis of credibility will go a long way towards determining the future effectiveness of the movement and its ability to continue to save lives and protect the public's health.
Cholesterol efflux from human monocyte-derived macrophages in the presence of LpA-I:A-II

Abstract Previous epidemiological studies have suggested that the LpA-I subfraction of HDL is more protective than the LpA-I:A-II subfraction against the development of cardiovascular disease. A possible basis for a specific anti-atherogenic function of LpA-I emerged from studies of cholesterol efflux from cultured mouse adipocytes. LpA-I efficiently removed excess cholesterol from the mouse adipocytes, while lPa-I:A-II was ineffective. On the other hand, LpA-LA-II was able to stimulate cholesterol efflux from a number of other cell types including rodent macrophages. Because of previously reported differences in HDL stimulation of cholesterol clearance from macrophages of different origins, we determined whether LpA-LA-II could induce cholesterol efflux from cultured human monocytemacrophages. Our findings showed that LpA-LA-II and HDL 3 effectively stimulated cholesterol efflux from human monocyte-macrophages enriched with cholesterol by incubation with AcLDL. LpA-I:A-II also decreased by one-half the amount of cholesterol accumulated when macrophages were incubated with AcLDL and LpA-I:A-II together. Thus, it would appear that the differential anti-atherogenic effects of LpA-I:A-II and LpA-I do not derive from their effects on macrophage cholesterol efflux. Possibly these HDL subfractions differentially affect other biologic processes that modulate the development of cardiovascular disease.
Are macronuclear subunits in Paramecium functionally diploid

The organization of the genetic material in the macronucleus of ciliates has been the subject of considerable controversy. Two of the four models of macronuclear structure predict assortment of the alternative phenotypes of heterozygotes during vegetative growth. Early studies of the phenotypic behaviour of heterozygotes after macronuclear regeneration (Sonneborn, 1947) had supported a diploid subunit model. The availability of quantitative predictions of the rate of assortment for the haploid and chromosomal models (Preer, this volume) and the existence of two alleles controlling a quantitative trait, copper tolerance, in Paramecium tetraurelia , has provided an opportunity to test these models. The median tolerance limits to copper of unselected sublines were measured as a function of age. There was no increase in the variance among sublines, as the haploid and chromosomal models predict. Quantitative evaluation shows that subdiploid models with a kinetic complexity of 860 or less are not compatible with the results. This experiment was not sensitive enough, however, to exclude subdiploid models if the kinetic complexity is 2000 or greater. Selection on heterozygotes also failed to provide evidence in favour of assortment. All the results are consistent with and support the diploid subunit model of the Paramecium macronucleus.
Risk in the Boardroom

Any business is exposed to risks that threaten to execute its strategy. Today, more than ever, the board of directors is expected to thoroughly assess key business risks and ensure that the enterprise is equipped to mitigate them. This study discusses the current corporate practices on risk oversight by directors of U.S. public companies.Findings detail where the board assigns these responsibilities, whether it avails itself of dedicated reporting lines from senior management on risk issues, and the degree to which it adopts a standardized framework on enterprise risk management (ERM). Given the correlation between risk and strategy, data on the frequency and forms of strategic reviews us also presented. The findings are from the most recent edition of the Board Practices Survey, which The Conference Board conducts annually in collaboration with NASDAQ OMX and NYSE Euronext.
The Games Presidents Play: Sports and the Presidency by John Sayle Watterson

The Games Presidents Play: Sports and the Presidency John Sayle Watterson. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. As one would expect, this book will have its greatest appeal, to the general reader who has an interest in presidents and sports, but it will prove equally valuable to scholars with such interests. It is the closest thing to the definitive work on the subject yet produced, and likely will remain so for quite some time. Nor does its appeal stop there. Anyone interested in presidents and the presidency-especially those who devour presidential trivia-should find something of interest in its rather comprehensive pages. Even the reader whose primary interest is in sports alone may enjoy it. Much of its value comes from Watterson's broad research and his observations regarding various presidents. He is often insightful-his treatments of Carter and Nixon as athlete and fan respectively come to mind-and as a rule he is sound with regard to the general role of the chief executive. He appears to be as well informed as most writers on the presidency, and better than some. He does a fine job in discussing the athletic abilities and interests of modern first ladies, such as Lou Henry Hoover, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bess Truman, and Betty Ford, but occasionally slips with regard to the policies of their husbands. His treatment of L. B. J., for example, is generally reasonable. It is brief, because Johnson was among the least athletic of our presidents-not interested personally, but sufficiently concerned to include physical fitness in the War on Poverty. The brevity is all right, but it diminishes the greatest civil-rights president since Lincoln and Grant to point to L. B. J.'s flurry of accomplishments in his first months in office only to say that they included signing into law "Kennedy's civil rights bill." Certainly there are some who would agree, but others could write page after page on that phrase alone. Some, in fact, myself included, have done so. Understandably, Watterson gives less attention to presidents before the twentieth century than to their successors-there is far more relevant information available for those who served more recently. He does pay attention to earlier presidents. His attention to them is not encyclopedic, but he nevertheless sometimes reveals little-known facts, such as Jefferson's severe wrist injury that caused him lifetime difficulty. He discusses the powerful swimming skills of John Quincy Adams and his habit of braving the most risky waters and ignoring-or perhaps even courting-danger, but he does not mention the brisk five-mile walks that his father, John, took regularly for exercise. He mentions the great strength of Washington and Lincoln. In referring to Lincoln's truly prodigious physical power, though, he fails to mention one well-known and impressive incident. During the course of a meeting with troops in the field, the president lifted a heavy axe by the end of the handle and held it straight out from his body horizontal to the ground, a feat that not even the largest and strongest man in the company could equal. …
Evidence-Based Medicine and the Challenge of Low Back Pain: Where Are We Now?

: Low back pain has long been described as a challenge for both primary care physicians and specialists. Management of low back pain has also been criticized as frequently arbitrary, inappropriate, or ineffective. Contributing factors have been an inadequate evidence base and a need for more rigorous appraisals of the available literature. Evidence-based medicine, an approach to clinical problem solving, is predicated on the premise that high-quality health care will result from practices consistent with the best evidence. In contrast to the traditional medical paradigm that placed a heavy reliance on expert opinion, authority, and unsystematic clinical observations, evidence-based medicine emphasizes the need for rigorous critical appraisals of the scientific literature to inform medical decision making. Evidence-based medicine places strong weight on the requirement for valid studies, particularly randomized controlled trials, to appropriately evaluate the effectiveness of health care interventions. Because of the rapidly increasing volume of medical literature, however, most clinicians are unable to keep up-to-date with all the new data. Two types of preprocessed evidence that can aid busy clinicians in medical decision making are systematic reviews and evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. Like primary studies, systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines must adhere to high methodologic standards to reduce error and bias. As in other areas of medicine, the approach to the management of low back pain has been positively affected by the availability of more clinical trials and better use of critical appraisal techniques to evaluate and apply research findings. In addition to more rigorous primary studies, an increasing number of high-quality systematic reviews and evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for low back pain are also available. Although some research gaps and methodologic shortcomings persist, the richer evidence base has greatly improved our understanding of what does and does not work for low back pain. Despite these advances, the best available evidence often does not inform everyday clinical decisions for low back pain. Nonetheless, there is widespread agreement that adherence to evidence-based practice will help improve low back pain patient outcomes and reduce arbitrary variations in care. This article reviews basic principles of evidence-based medicine, discusses evidence-based medicine in the context of low back pain management, and summarizes some useful evidence-based medicine resources.
Risk Orientations and Policy Frames

In this article, we examine the effect of citizens’ risk orientations on policy choices that are framed in various ways. We introduce an original risk orientations scale and test for the relationship between risk orientations and policy preferences using an original survey experiment. We find that individuals with higher levels of risk acceptance are more likely to prefer probabilistic outcomes as opposed to certain outcomes. Mortality and survival frames influence the choices citizens make, but so does our individual-difference measure of risk acceptance. Finally, using a unique within-subject design, we find that risk acceptance undercuts susceptibility to framing effects across successive framing scenarios. The findings suggest that citizens’ risk orientations are consequential in determining their policy views and their susceptibility to framing effects.
Justice and Correctional Health Services

Because they are juridically excluded from participating in the market systems through which most American health care is distributed, more than two million incarcerated Americans have unreliable access to vital medical services. This paper sets out a normative geography of prison health care. While liberalism encourages debate on the limits of liberty, there has been scant interest in setting reciprocal limits to the penal forfeiture of liberty. This essay develops one element of this topic: inmate access to health services.
Early Sexual Origins of Homeoprotein Heterodimerization and Evolution of the Plant KNOX/BELL Family

Developmental mechanisms that yield multicellular diversity are proving to be well conserved within lineages, generating interest in their origins in unicellular ancestors. We report that molecular regulation of the haploid-diploid transition in Chlamydomonas, a unicellular green soil alga, shares common ancestry with differentiation pathways in land plants. Two homeoproteins, Gsp1 and Gsm1, contributed by gametes of plus and minus mating types respectively, physically interact and translocate from the cytosol to the nucleus upon gametic fusion, initiating zygote development. Their ectopic expression activates zygote development in vegetative cells and, in a diploid background, the resulting zygotes undergo a normal meiosis. Gsm1/Gsp1 dyads share sequence homology with and are functionally related to KNOX/BELL dyads regulating stem-cell (meristem) specification in land plants. We propose that combinatorial homeoprotein-based transcriptional control, a core feature of the fungal/animal radiation, may have originated in a sexual context and enabled the evolution of land-plant body plans.
CREATE Cornerstone: Introduction to Scientific Thinking, a New Course for STEM-Interested Freshmen, Demystifies Scientific Thinking through Analysis of Scientific Literature

The Consider, Read, Elucidate hypotheses, Analyze and interpret data, Think of the next Experiment (CREATE) strategy for teaching and learning uses intensive analysis of primary literature to improve students' critical-thinking and content integration abilities, as well as their self-rated science attitudes, understanding, and confidence. CREATE also supports maturation of undergraduates' epistemological beliefs about science. This approach, originally tested with upper-level students, has been adapted in Introduction to Scientific Thinking, a new course for freshmen. Results from this course's initial semesters indicate that freshmen in a one-semester introductory course that uses a narrowly focused set of readings to promote development of analytical skills made significant gains in critical-thinking and experimental design abilities. Students also reported significant gains in their ability to think scientifically and understand primary literature. Their perceptions and understanding of science improved, and multiple aspects of their epistemological beliefs about science gained sophistication. The course has no laboratory component, is relatively inexpensive to run, and could be adapted to any area of scientific study.
How Permeable is the Nonprofit Sector? Linking Resources, Demand, and Government Provision to the Distribution of Organizations Across Nonprofit Mission-Based Fields

A large vibrant nonprofit sector is often equated with a civically active and democratically inclined population. Yet, the degree to which different interests and needs are equally activated in a community’s nonprofit sector remains unclear. This article argues that more than the number of nonprofit organizations, the distribution of organizations across nonprofit fields can better represent the plurality of the nonprofit sector and its relationship to democracy. If the sector represents a permeable sphere for the activation of interests through formal voluntary action, one should see a more even nonprofit landscape in communities where there is greater population heterogeneity. Using national data on nonprofit organizations to investigate the determinants of nonprofit heterogeneity in U.S. counties, findings indicate that the nonprofit sector is semipermeable. Although greater population heterogeneity does lead to a more evenly distributed nonprofit sector, resource dependency and resource inequality com...
Quantifying the spatial extent of the corollary discharge benefit to transsaccadic visual perception.

Extraretinal information, such as corollary discharge (CD), is hypothesized to help compensate for saccade-induced visual input disruptions. However, support for this hypothesis is largely for one-...
Bone Growth Estimation Using Radiology (Greulich–Pyle and Tanner–Whitehouse Methods)

Skeletal maturation commences in embryonic life and is completed in early adulthood. Radiographic features of the hand and wrist first noted over a century ago formed the basis for estimation of bone age (BA) developed by Greulich and Pyle (GP). The method involves matching radiographic patterns to an atlas and remains widely used over 50 years later. The Tanner–Whitehouse (TW) method was developed almost two decades later and while other hand and wrist methods have been proposed none are used as widely. BA estimation is indicated for assessment and treatment of growth disorders, prediction of height, and management of childhood orthopedic disorders. Hand and wrist based methods offer a composite score for BA and therefore may not accurately discriminate variation throughout the growth period, between racial groups and as a result of change over successive generations. Variations are seen within the United States between Hispanic, African, and Caucasians using the GP system. Differences have been documented between European populations with the TW systems although specific standards have been devised for some population groups. Estimation of skeletal maturity may be less predictable with hand and wrist radiography in the very young and variable during adolescent growth, and additional skeletal radiographic sites may improve timing in the management of skeletal disorders. There are few data on methods for BA estimation outside of radiographic imaging and new developments have focused on computer-based analysis of radiographic images to improve reproducibility and potentially transform BA into a continuous variable. It remains to be seen whether new technologies will offer sufficient advantage over the GP and TW methods. At present the GP method can be recommended for its simplicity and reliability in clinical practice and modifications of the TW methods for accuracy and reproducibility.
Pope and Rapture

The essay examines Pope’s entire poetic career under the aspect of rapture, in all its many connotations and contexts. Though Pope’s early amatory poems and his later satire are usually considered in isolation from each other, this essay explores their common preoccupation with the formal erotic, affective, and spiritual experience of rapture and thus demonstrates their dynamic interconnectedness. The result is a new account of Pope’s poetic career, and a new assessment of the relationships between writing and life. Pope came to concentrate on writing satire in the last third of his life, but he was also a translator, a textual scholar, a prodigious letter writer, and in the first major phase of his career, a love poet depicting young women in love, such as Sapho, Eloise, the Unfortunate Lady, and Belinda, often focusing on erotic rapture and death. From about 1728 until his death in 1744, he no longer wrote this kind of poetry, but instead turned his creative energies toward passionate social and political satire, fashioning a poetic persona of the satirist as powerful, wide-ranging, virtually sacred raptor. Hence, Pope’s poetic career moves in a direction from portraying passive subjects, usually young women under the influence of erotic rapture, to exercising his own poetic power of depicting the active force of rapture as satiric predation. The transition from poet of rapturous, death-haunted female love to poet of avenging satirical rapture coincided significantly with his involvement with, and rejection by, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu sometime in the 1720s. Though Pope is largely remembered for his satire, this essay takes a more holistic view of Pope’s life and work, drawing attention to the ways that his translation, scholarship, and especially love poetry contributed directly to his satiric practice later in life. This essay not only brings Pope’s biography to bear on his poetic artistry, but also unites what has often been seen as disparate parts of Pope’s career by seeing him first and foremost as a poet of rapture.
Abstract T P258: Improving Nursing Practice Through Telestroke Partnerships

Background: Emergency department (ED) nurses play a vital role in initiating the appropriate care of stroke patients. Nurses must demonstrate a proficient skill level in order to partner with the health care team to ensure the delivery of quality stroke care. Education is a key component to attaining and maintaining proficiency and comfort in these skills. Telestroke partnerships provide a unique opportunity to improve the knowledge and skill level of nurses in community hospital emergency departments. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to measure the impact on nursing knowledge and practice through the establishment of a telestroke partnership between a Comprehensive Stroke Center and community partner hospitals. Methods: After a literature review, a questionnaire was developed and evaluated by the nursing research council. The proposed research was approved by our Institutional Review Board (IRB). Prior to any education related to stroke care and telestroke technology, the ED nurses in our partner hospitals completed the questionnaire measuring their knowledge and comfort level in caring for acute stroke patients. Education related to stroke identification, assessment, tPA administration, and advanced interventions was provided via small group lecture by the telestroke coordinator. A follow up questionnaire was completed at 3 month post education and implementation. Results: As a result of the education and support provided through the telestroke partnership, the community hospital ED nurses’ scores demonstrated an increased level of comfort and knowledge related to the care of an acute stroke patient. Conclusions: Stroke care and patient outcomes are directly impacted by the level of nursing knowledge and practice at the bedside. Telestroke partnerships between comprehensive centers and community hospitals strengthen the nursing practice levels in the community hospital setting.
Engineering Data Analysis

Solutions to two major data defects (autocorrelation and multicolinearity) commonly encountered in the use of multivariable linear regression analysis when applied to engineering data are described. A computer program, incorporating a new method for the determination of the ridge parameter, is introduced for their implementation. The methods described are then applied to a complex data set involving a demonstration of the use of densified refuse-derived fuel burned in an industrial spreader stoker boiler. The analysis shows that, had only the more conventional regression analysis been applied, the fits to some response variables would have been overvalued while others would have been undervalued, and that the relationships between many of the response and predictor variables would have been determined incorrectly.
Oxygen Depletion Model for Cayuga Lake

A one-dimensional oxygen depletion model was constructed for Cayuga Lake (upstate New York) for the period of summer stratification. A primary objective was to determine the relative importance of horizontal diffusion rates to planktonic and benthic respiration in the vertical. Terms in the one-dimensional diffusion equation account for sinking rate and consumption by respiration of algae, plankton, and benthos. A separate equation computes oxygen transport. The sensitivity of the model is tested with respect to the various parameters. Practical diffusion coefficients were obtained using a combination of methods. The results indicate that in Cayuga Lake all three of the depletion agents exert a large demand in the upper 30 m, the total uptake is small in the mid 70 m, but diffusion from this region into areas of the high demand is large, and the lowest 30 m is dominated by the benthic demand.
Biometry measurements using a new large-coherence-length swept-source optical coherence tomographer.

Purpose To evaluate the repeatability and reproducibility of the measurements obtained with the Argos, a new biometer with swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT), and to compare them with the results obtained with the IOLMaster 500 (partial-coherence interferometry [PCI]) and the Lenstar LS 900 (optical low-coherence reflectometry [OLCR]) biometers. Setting Private practice, Lynwood, California, USA. Design Prospective observational study. Methods All measurements were performed with the SS-OCT tomographer, the PCI biometer, and the OLCR biometer. Results Eyes (n = 107) were measured to evaluate the axial length (AL), central corneal thickness (CCT), aqueous depth, anterior chamber depth (ACD), lens thickness, pupil size, corneal diameter, and anterior corneal radius of curvature (RAV). Repeatability and reproducibility of the SS-OCT measurements showed comparable values and a low variation rate, with an interset mean difference of 0.01 mm for AL, 0.01 mm for CCT, 0.01 mm for aqueous depth and ACD, 0.03 mm for lens thickness, 0.10 mm for pupil size, 0.14 mm for corneal diameter, and 0.02 mm for RAV. The SS-OCT device correctly measured the AL in 96% of the cases compared with 79% for the OLCR device and 77% for the PCI device. Comparisons between the PCI device and SS-OCT device were −0.01 ± 0.05 mm for AL, −0.17 ± 0.20 mm for ACD, and −0.01 ± 0.05 mm for RAV. Comparison between the OLCR device and the SS-OCT device was 0.01 ± 0.06 mm for AL, 0.08 ± 0.15 mm for ACD, 0.00 ± 0.05 mm for RAV, 0.00 ± 0.01 mm for CCT, 0.07 ± 0.14 mm for aqueous depth, −0.23 ± 0.22 mm for lens thickness, −0.29 ± 0.53 mm for pupil size, and −0.34 ± 0.76 mm for corneal diameter. Conclusion Axial length measurements with the new SS-OCT biometer were comparable to the PCI and OLCR measurements with a higher AL acquisition rate. Financial Disclosure Dr. Shammas is a consultant to Movu, Inc. Drs. Ortiz, Kim, and Chong have proprietary interest in the new technology.
The Sound of Trees: Wood Selection in Guitars and Other Chordophones

Until recently, luthiers have been conservative in their wood choices for guitars and other chordophones. Most soundboards (tops) were made from American or European spruces. Rosewood and, less frequently, mahogany, maple, and koa, were used for backs and sides. Spanish cedar and mahogany were the preferred species for necks; ebony or rosewood for fretboards. Due to scarcity and increasing costs, new woods are now employed. Some are congeners of traditional woods; others are more innovative. The botanical identification of many of these species is inaccurate. A common name may refer to more than one species (under–differentiation, e.g., Madagascar rosewood for several Dalbergia spp.). Conversely, a binomial may be known by several common names (over–differentiation, e.g., European, German, or Italian spruce for Picea abies). Instrument makers and wood suppliers are unreliable sources of taxonomic names, especially with newer woods. Here, I provide the full taxonomic identification (binomials, author citations, and families) for both traditional and some new guitar woods. Many factors determine a wood’s suitability for lutherie. A model based on two mechanical properties of wood, density and modulus of elasticity, can be used to determine what species of wood constitutes each part of a guitar. Many of the “new” guitar woods are now becoming scarce. Luthiers face the continual task of finding suitable alternative woods. The model presented here can serve as a guide in future wood choices; further modifications, using additional wood properties, may help refine the model. These principles are also applicable to wood selection for other chordophones.
The Implementation of the Electronic Medical Records System in Health Care Facilities

Abstract Electronic medical records (EMR) are seen as a way to simplify the management of patient information, increase productivity and lower costs associated with medical information management. The implementation of the EMR system in healthcare facilities has not only provided potential benefits to improved quality of care, but there are significant factors to consider associated with human factors, ergonomics, workflows and environmental conditions. These factors should be considered to improve the quality and cost of patient care, as well as employee and patient safety.
Post-Stall Flow Control on an Airfoil Using Localized Jet Actuators

Active control of high angle-of-attack flow about a NACA0012 airfoil is numerically investigated using the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. The results of numerical simulations of both baseline and controlled cases are presented. In the baseline study, lift curves are obtained for angle-of-attack up to 40 degrees and the simulated post-stall behavior of the ilow is investigated in detail. In the active control study, both steady and synthetic jet actuators are exploited to enhance lift. Effects of parameters governing the performance of active flaw control are discussed, including blowing momentum, nondimensional actuator frequency, and jet location.
Management of infectious intracranial aneurysms in the pediatric population

Infectious intracranial aneurysms (IIAs) account for approximately 15 % of all pediatric intracranial aneurysms. Histologically, they are pseudoaneurysms that develop in response to an inflammatory reaction within the adventitia and muscularis layers, ultimately resulting in disruption of both the internal elastic membrane and the intima. The majority of pediatric IIAs are located within the anterior circulation, and they can be multiple in 15–25 % of cases. The most common presentation for an IIA is intracerebral and/or subarachnoid hemorrhage. In children with a known diagnosis of infective endocarditis who develop new neurological manifestations, it is imperative to exclude the existence of an IIA. The natural history of untreated infectious aneurysms is ominous; they demonstrate a high incidence of spontaneous rupture. High clinical suspicion, prompt diagnosis, and adequate treatment are of paramount importance to prevent devastating neurological consequences. The prompt initiation of intravenous broad-spectrum antibiotics represents the mainstay of treatment. Three questions should guide the management of pediatric patients with IIAs: (a) aneurysm rupture status, (b) the presence of intraparenchymal hemorrhage or elevated intracranial pressure, and (c) relationship of the parent vessel to eloquent brain tissue. Those three questions should orient the treating physician into either antibiotic therapy alone or in combination with microsurgical or endovascular interventions. This review discusses important aspects of the epidemiology, the diagnosis, and the management of IIAs in the pediatric population.
Monitoring and analysis of Yersinia enterocolitica in Ningxia area

Objective:To survey the epidemic situation of infectious diarrhea and complications,the distribution situation of host and the type and virulence characteristics of epidemic bacteria Yersinia enterocolitica in Ningxia area.Methods:The stool specimens of animals and patients with diarrhea and the cecal contents of wild mouse in natural foci of plague were collected and then Yersinia bacteria were cultured.The serotypes and virulence gene detection of positive strains were identified eventually.Results:56 strains of Yersinia enterocolitica were isolated from all samples.Pigs had the highest infection rate and the positive rate was 9.40%.No strain was isolated from the rest of samples.The serotypes of positive strains mainly concentrated in O:3,O:5,O:8 and O:9.The pathogenic serotype of Yersinia enterocolitica mainly was O:3,and the second place was O:9.Besides,the serotypes of nonpathogenic or weak pathogenic strains were O:5 and O:8.The virulence genes about ail,YstA,virF,Yada and YatB were detected for 56 clinical isolation strains.The strains with O:3 and O:9 serotype were positive for first four virulence genes.Conclusion:Yersinia popular in this province is mainly O: 3 serotype with pigs as the main hosts.O: 3 and O: 9 serotypes carry the four virulence genes as the pathogenic strains.
Survey results on the current practice of ovum donation

Objective To investigate how many programs currently have an ovum donor program and to examine the current state of the art in ovum donor programs regarding management, screening, and implementation. Design Surveys were sent to members of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) and the Psychological Special Interest Group of the American Fertility Society. Results Of 160 SART members, 82 surveys were returned. Psychological Special Interest Group surveys were excluded. A trend toward more third party reproduction was seen. There was little uniformity among programs regarding medical or psychological screening. Differences were seen between the screening and administration of ovum and sperm donation. Conclusions Unlike sperm donation, ovum donation has begun in the known donor realm. Medical and psychological screening is currently limited in many ovum donor programs and highly variable with both known and anonymous donors. Most programs do use a mental health person as part of the screening process. More guidelines are needed to provide uniformity for the current practice of ovum donation.
Damped Topological Magnons in the Kagome-Lattice Ferromagnets

We demonstrate that interactions can substantially undermine the free-particle description of magnons in ferromagnets on geometrically frustrated lattices. The anharmonic coupling, facilitated by the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, and a highly degenerate two-magnon continuum yield a strong, nonperturbative damping of the high-energy magnon modes. We provide a detailed account of the effect for the S=1/2 ferromagnet on the kagome lattice and propose further experiments.
In Quest of the King: Image, Narrative, and Unitive Spirituality in a Twelfth-Century Sufi Classic

The marriage of storytelling and spiritual formation is as old as the religious spirit of humankind. Farid Ud-Din Attar, a twelfth-century Persian poet and mystic, offers an imaginative example of this union in his Conference of the Birds, a tale describing the pilgrimage of all feathered creatures to their king. It is a spiritual journey that moves in five stages from a sense of longing for the inaccessible splendor of the royal court, through hope, boldness, and despair, to a final, shocking encounter with a majesty elusive as it is grand. The use of metaphor in describing passages of the spiritual life is demonstrated here at its best, as Attar explores the metaphors of impassioned love, the mirrored majesty of the king, and God as a treasure hidden in the world. His work suggests many parallels to the language of Christian and Jewish spirituality and his stories richly deserve retelling.
An NMDA receptor-dependent mechanism for subcellular segregation of sensory inputs in the tadpole optic tectum

In the vertebrate CNS, afferent sensory inputs are targeted to specific depths or layers of their target neuropil. This patterning exists ab initio, from the very beginning, and therefore has been considered an activity-independent process. However, here we report that, during circuit development, the subcellular segregation of the visual and mechanosensory inputs to specific regions of tectal neuron dendrites in the tadpole optic tectum requires NMDA receptor activity. Blocking NMDARs during the formation of these sensory circuits, or removing the visual set of inputs, leads to less defined segregation, and suggests a correlation-based mechanism in which correlated inputs wire to common regions of dendrites. This can account for how two sets of inputs form synapses onto different regions of the same dendrite. Blocking NMDA receptors during later stages of circuit development did not disrupt segregation, indicating a critical period for activity-dependent shaping of patterns of innervation.
Improving medical record retrieval for validation studies in Medicare data

Purpose The purpose of the study is to describe medical record retrieval for a study validating claims-based algorithms used to identify seven adverse events of special interest (AESI) in a Medicare population. Methods We analyzed 2010–2011 Medicare claims of women with postmenopausal osteoporosis and men ≥65 years of age in the Medicare 5% national sample. The final cohorts included beneficiaries covered continuously for 12+ months by Medicare parts A, B, and D and not enrolled in Medicare Advantage before starting follow-up. We identified beneficiaries using each AESI algorithm and randomly selected 400 women and 100 men with each AESI for medical record retrieval. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services provided beneficiary contact information, and we requested medical records directly from providers, without patient contact. Results We selected 3331 beneficiaries (women: 2272; men: 559) for whom we requested 3625 medical records. Overall, we received 1738 [47.9% (95%CI 46.3%, 49.6%)] of the requested medical records. We observed small differences in the characteristics of the total population with AESIs compared with those randomly selected for retrieval; however, no differences were seen between those selected and those retrieved. We retrieved 54.7% of records requested from hospitals compared with 26.3% of records requested from physician offices (p < 0.001). Retrieval did not differ by sex or vital status of the beneficiaries. Conclusions Our national medical record validation study of claims-based algorithms produced a modest retrieval rate. The medical record procedures outlined in this paper could have led to the improved retrieval from our previous medical record retrieval study. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Theodore Roosevelt as Civil Service Commissioner: Linking the Influence and Development of a Modern Administrative President

From 1889 to 1895, Theodore Roosevelt served as United States Civil Service Commissioner. Because historians often overlook this period of Roosevelt’s public career, several interrelated questions ...
2-Chlorodeoxyadenosine (2-CdA) and Cyclophosphamide (Cy) Alone or in Combination with Rituximab (Rit) for Previously Untreated Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia (WM).

Abstract Between 3/96-11/03 we treated 62 consecutive, newly diagnosed pts with symptomatic WM with either 2-CdA 1.5 mg/m2 sc tid x 7d + Cy 40 mg/m2 po bid x 7d (35 pts, 3/96-2/99) or with identical doses of 2-CdA and cyclophosphamide + Rit 375 mg/m2 IV q wk x 4 wk (27 pts, 11/98-11/03). For both regimens a second and final course was repeated after 6 weeks. Partial response (PR), defined by at least 50% reduction of monoclonal IgM, adenopathy, and organomegaly, was noted in 83% (29 pts) of pts treated with 2-CdA-Cy and 81% (22 pts) with 2-CdA-Cy-Rit; complete disappearance of clonal evidence of disease (CR) by negative serum and urine immunofixation, bone marrow, and CT scan was noted in 6% (2 pts) treated with 2-CdA-Cy and 11% (3 pts) with 2-CdA-Cy-Rit. Overall response rate was 89% and 93% for 2-CdA-Cy and 2-CdA-Cy-Rit, respectively. Responding patients were followed without further treatment until relapse, defined by a 25% increase in M-protein from nadir, or recurrence of adenopathy or organomegaly. Median time to remission was similar at 2.5 mos for 2-CdA-Cy and 2.4 months for 2-CdA-Cy-Rit (p.42), but time to treatment failure (TTF) appeared longer for 2-Cda-Cy-Rit (med. 64.2 mos) than for 2-CdA-Cy (med. 31.4 mos) (p.20). Since many pts have not required retreatment for symptomatic disease at the time of relapse, we also evaluated time to retreatment (TTRT) as a separate endpoint. The median time to retreatment (TTRT) has not been reached with 2-CdA-Cy-Rit, in comparison with a median TTRT of 51.2 mos with 2-CdA-Cy (p
Characterization of human fetal brain endothelial cells reveals barrier properties suitable for in vitro modeling of the BBB with syngenic co-cultures.

Endothelial cells (ECs) form the basis of the blood–brain barrier (BBB), a physical barrier that selectively restricts transport into the brain. In vitro models can provide significant insight into BBB physiology, mechanisms of human disease pathology, toxicology, and drug delivery. Given the limited availability of primary human adult brain microvascular ECs (aBMVECs), human fetal tissue offers a plausible alternative source for multiple donors and the opportunity to build syngenic tri-cultures from the same host. Previous efforts to culture fetal brain microvascular ECs (fBMVECs) have not been successful in establishing mature barrier properties. Using optimal gestational age for isolation and flow cytometry cell sorting, we show for the first time that fBMVECs demonstrate mature barrier properties. fBMVECs exhibited similar functional phenotypes when compared to aBMVECs for barrier integrity, endothelial activation, and gene/protein expression of tight junction proteins and transporters. Importantly, w...