cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Association of Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations vs Traditional Medicare Fee for Service With Spending, Utilization, and Patient Experience

Importance The Pioneer Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Model aims to drive health care organizations to reduce expenditures while improving quality for fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare beneficiaries. Objective To determine whether FFS beneficiaries aligned with Pioneer ACOs had smaller increases in spending and utilization than other FFS beneficiaries while retaining similar levels of care satisfaction in the first 2 years of the Pioneer ACO Model. Design, Setting, and Participants Participants were FFS Medicare beneficiaries aligned with 32 ACOs (n = 675 712 in 2012; n = 806 258 in 2013) and a comparison group of alignment-eligible beneficiaries in the same markets (n = 13 203 694 in 2012; n = 12 134 154 in 2013). Analyses comprised difference-in-differences multivariable regression with Oaxaca-Blinder reweighting to model expenditure and utilization outcomes over a 2-year performance period (2012-2013) and 2-year baseline period (2010-2011) as well as adjusted analyses of Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems (CAHPS) survey responses among random samples of beneficiaries in Pioneer ACOs (n = 13 097), FFS (n = 116 255), or Medicare Advantage (n = 203 736) for 2012 care. Exposures Beneficiary alignment with a Pioneer ACO in 2012 or 2013. Main Outcomes and Measures Medicare spending, utilization, and CAHPS domain scores. Results Total spending for beneficiaries aligned with Pioneer ACOs in 2012 or 2013 increased from baseline to a lesser degree relative to comparison populations. Differential changes in spending were approximately −$35.62 (95% CI, −$40.12 to −$31.12) per-beneficiary-per-month (PBPM) in 2012 and -$11.18 (95% CI, −$15.84 to −$6.51) PBPM in 2013, which amounted to aggregate reductions in increases of approximately −$280 (95% CI, −$315 to −$244) million in 2012 and −$105 (95% CI, −$148 to −$61) million in 2013. Inpatient spending showed the largest differential change of any spending category (−$14.40 [95% CI, −$17.31 to −$11.49] PBPM in 2012; −$6.46 [95% CI, −$9.26 to −$3.66] PBPM in 2013). Changes in utilization of physician services, emergency department, and postacute care followed a similar pattern. Compared with other Medicare beneficiaries, ACO-aligned beneficiaries reported higher mean scores for timely care (77.2 [ACO] vs 71.2 [FFS] vs 72.7 [MA]) and for clinician communication (91.9 [ACO] vs 88.3 [FFS] vs 88.7 [MA]). Conclusions and Relevance In the first 2 years of the Pioneer ACO Model, beneficiaries aligned with Pioneer ACOs, as compared with general Medicare FFS beneficiaries, exhibited smaller increases in total Medicare expenditures and differential reductions in utilization of different health services, with little difference in patient experience.
Management of the urethra in patients undergoing radical cystectomy for bladder carcinoma.

AbstractComputerized data on 174 male patients who underwent radical cystectomy for bladder carcinoma were studied in relationship to the incidence of urethral involvement. Simultaneous or delayed urethrectomies were done on 32 patients, 7 of whom had overt urethral carcinoma (4 per cent of the total number of male patients) and 10 of whom had carcinoma in situ (5.7 per cent of the total number of male patients). The low incidence of these 2 phenomena leads us to the conclusion that routine urethrectomy need not be done on patients undergoing radical cystectomy unless overt urethral carcinoma or positive margins are found at cystectomy. We believe that the use of urethral cytologies is crucial to the routine followup of patients who have undergone radical cystectomy for bladder cancer and should be combined with clinical followup to establish the indication for urethrectomy.
The Unfinished Peace after World War I: Achievements and constraints

In April 1928, the British Observer proclaimed that the past year had witnessed movements ‘Towards a New World-Order’, which hinged on the ‘Return of America’ to European and world politics. This verdict was based on the negotiations over what became known as the Kellogg–Briand pact, the ‘pact to renounce war as an instrument of national policy’, which was then formally concluded in August 1928. The Observer posited that Locarno had marked one ‘stage’ in the evolution of postwar policy after the idealism of 1919 had failed. Yet it also called the Locarno pact ‘the indispensable prelude to the renewal of American interest in Old-World affairs’. Later accounts have mostly pictured a distinctly different, bleaker ‘reality’. According to some hitherto prevalent interpretations, less than two years after the security pact, the European concert was beginning to show serious cracks. Allegedly, the Locarno system could not bear the pressure of renewed Franco-German tensions over the velocity and extent of further postwar changes – and it was beyond Britain's means to overcome this tension. Even harsher verdicts have been cast concerning the consolidation of anything resembling a transatlantic international order. What amounted to a re-assertion of earlier US isolationism purportedly precluded any advances towards such an order. Realists have particularly regarded the Kellogg–Briand pact as a rather meaningless agreement that nourished further illusions about international pacification in the 1920s and had no significant impact on the European situation.
A review of concentrated flow erosion processes on rangelands: Fundamental understanding and knowledge gaps

Abstract Concentrated flow erosion processes are distinguished from splash and sheetflow processes in their enhanced ability to mobilize and transport large amounts of soil, water and dissolved elements. On rangelands, soil, nutrients and water are scarce and only narrow margins of resource losses are tolerable before crossing the sustainability threshold. In these ecosystems, concentrated flow processes are perceived as indicators of degradation and often warrant the implementation of mitigation strategies. Nevertheless, this negative perception of concentrated flow processes may conflict with the need to improve understanding of the role of these transport vessels in redistributing water, soil and nutrients along the rangeland hillslope. Vegetation influences the development and erosion of concentrated flowpaths and has been the primary factor used to control and mitigate erosion on rangelands. At the ecohydrologic level, vegetation and concentrated flow pathways are engaged in a feedback relationship, the understanding of which might help improve rangeland management and restoration strategies. In this paper, we review published literature on experimental and conceptual research pertaining to concentrated flow processes on rangelands to: (1) present the fundamental science underpinning concentrated flow erosion modeling in these landscapes, (2) discuss the influence of vegetation on these erosion processes, (3) evaluate the contribution of concentrated flow erosion to overall sediment budget and (4) identify knowledge gaps.
Relational clichés: Constraining constructive induction during relational learning

Abstract We discuss an approach to creating new terms during the induction of Horn clauses. The new terms enable a selective form of look-ahead during hill-climbing search. This look-ahead is needed because a conjunction of literals may be useful while each literal individually may not appear to be useful. We exploit knowledge of common patterns of conjunctions to avoid the necessity of testing all pairs of conjunctions.
The Poor Get Richer: Heterogeneity in the Efficacy of a School-Level Intervention for Academic Language

ABSTRACTWe investigate the impact of a relatively brief cross-curricular intervention, Word Generation, on middle school students' development of taught academic vocabulary. Students (n = 8382) in forty-four middle schools in three urban districts were randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions. Treatment teachers implemented the program with minimal support and varying levels of commitment. Students in treatment schools scored almost a point higher on the curriculum-based vocabulary posttests than those in control schools (Hedges's g = 0.094, p < 0.05). Though there was no main treatment effect on the standardized measures of students' general vocabulary knowledge or reading comprehension, baseline-by-treatment interactions at the school and student level acted to attenuate the Matthew Effect in reading and vocabulary growth.
Lenalidomide in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Lenalidomide is an immunomodulatory drug (IMiD) with a unique mode of action (MOA) that may vary across disease-type. It is currently approved in multiple myeloma (MM), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), yet is also clinically active in a host of lymphoproliferative diseases, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Due to its protean effects on the immune system, lenalidomide may be particularly appealing in CLL, which is distinct in its ability to evade immune recognition and cause immunosuppression.Areas covered: This review recaps the biological mechanisms of lenalidomide specific for CLL, and summarizes the clinical data in previously untreated and relapsed/refractory (R/R) CLL patients, with emphasis on toxicity. Moreover, lenalidomide treatment is put into the context of the highly effective targeted agents that are drastically changing the therapeutic approach in CLL.Expert opinion: Lenalidomide is a potent drug in CLL, both in first line and ...
Cap-assisted colonoscopy versus standard colonoscopy: is the cap beneficial? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background In an effort to improve visualization during colonoscopy, a transparent plastic cap or hood may be placed on the end of the colonoscope. Cap-assisted colonoscopy (CAC) has been studied and is thought to improve polyp detection. Numerous studies have been conducted comparing pertinent clinical outcomes between CAC and standard colonoscopy (SC) with inconsistent results. Methods Numerous databases were searched in November 2016. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving adult subjects that compared CAC to SC were included. Outcomes of total colonoscopy time, time to cecum, cecal intubation rate, terminal ileum intubation rate, polyp detection rate (PDR), and adenoma detection rate (ADR) were analyzed in terms of odds ratio (OR) or mean difference (MD) with fixed effect and random effects models. Results Five hundred eighty-nine articles and abstracts were discovered. Of these, 23 RCTs (n=12,947) were included in the analysis. CAC showed statistically significant superiority in total colonoscopy time (MD -1.51 min; 95% confidence interval [CI] -2.67 to -0.34; P<0.01) and time to cecum (MD -0.82 min; 95%CI -1.20 to -0.44; P<0.01) compared to SC. CAC also showed better PDR (OR 1.17; 95%CI 1.06-1.29; P<0.01) but not ADR (OR 1.11; 95%CI 0.95-1.30; P=0.20). In contrast, on sensitivity analysis, ADR was better with CAC. Terminal ileum intubation and cecal intubation rates demonstrated no significant difference between the two groups (P=0.11 and P=0.73, respectively). Conclusions The use of a transparent cap during colonoscopy improves PDR while reducing procedure times. ADR may improve in cap-assisted colonoscopy but further studies are required to confirm this. Keywords Cap, colonoscopy, polyp detection, outcomes Ann Gastroenterol 2017; 30 (6): 640-648
Retrieval Algorithms Optimized for Human Learning

While search technology is widely used for learning-oriented information needs, the results provided by popular services such as Web search engines are optimized primarily for generic relevance, not effective learning outcomes. As a result, the typical information trail that a user must follow while searching to achieve a learning goal may be an inefficient one involving unnecessarily easy or difficult content, or material that is irrelevant to actual learning progress relative to a user's existing knowledge. We address this problem by introducing a novel theoretical framework, algorithms, and empirical analysis of an information retrieval model that is optimized for learning outcomes instead of generic relevance. We do this by formulating an optimization problem that incorporates a cognitive learning model into a retrieval objective, and then give an algorithm for an efficient approximate solution to find the search results that represent the best 'training set' for a human learner. Our model can personalize results for an individual user's learning goals, as well as account for the effort required to achieve those goals for a given set of retrieval results. We investigate the effectiveness and efficiency of our retrieval framework relative to a commercial search engine baseline ('Google') through a crowdsourced user study involving a vocabulary learning task, and demonstrate the effectiveness of personalized results from our model on word learning outcomes.
Plasma Concentrations of Hemopexin, Haptoglobin and Heme in Patients With Various Hemolytic Diseases

Plasma concentrations of hemopexin, haptoglobin and heme were determined in patients with various hemolytic diseases. Diminished concentrations of hemopexin were found only when the concentrations of haptoglobin were decreased; the former were not in all instances lowered to the same extent as the haptoglobin levels. Invariably, high concentrations of heme were associated with low concentrations of hemopexin.
Rhetorical, Conceptual, and Grammatical Entrenchment with Expressions of Change

Fauconnier and Turner (2002) claim that our understanding of the world is structured in terms of several "vital relations," and that compressions over these relations are crucial to higher-order cognition. The current study evaluates evidence for, and rhetorical and grammatical consequences of, the entrenchment of conceptual structures of this kind. I will discuss a cluster of phenomena in which variability across a group is compressed into, or conceptualized as, change in an individual. For example, the "role" interpretation of the change predicates in (1) can be analyzed as the product of a conceptual blend in which analogies between many specific individuals are compressed into an identity relation, producing a unique individual in the resulting blend. Disanalogies across those individuals are then understood in terms of changes to the unique individual. (1) Every year my cell phone gets smaller and my bill gets bigger. I examine two features of this class of compressions and their linguistic expression. First, there is a subset of cases which license grammatical structures that are not normally available (Sweetser 1997) for expressing this relationship. The usual constraint makes a role reading much less readily available in (2b) than in (2a). (2) a. My office gets bigger every year. b. My office expands every year. By contrast, I argue that (3) does invite a role interpretation, and that this receptivity reflects entrenchment of the underlying compression to uniqueness. (3) Moore's poem expands in each new edition. Second, I catalog a common extension of the compression structure illustrated in (1). Here, variability across a group is figured as change in each individual in a newly conceptualized version of the group: (4) Chief strategist Mark Penn proclaimed that the double-X factor was going to catapult his candidate all the way to the White House. Instead, the women's vote [is] fragmented... Women are fickle. Turns out it's true. (Hirshman 2008) In both the unusually receptive constructions exemplified by (3) and the extensions exemplified by (4), underlying compressions are relatively opaque: Most hearers of (2a) will not believe that the speaker's office is "really" growing, but it is less obvious that (3) does not refer to a poem that has "really" changed. These less-transparent mappings are also specially amenable to use with adjectives that denote a significant change to an entity's physical or essential form, such as mutilated or transformed, and those that denote changeability, as with fickle. I conclude with a cognitive-rhetorical analysis of these expressions and their projection of evaluative structure back to the source domain. This analysis sheds new light on the linked roles that entrenchment plays in rhetorical, conceptual and grammatical structure, and provides new evidence for the descriptive utility of vital relations and their compression.
Measuring Disease Activity and Outcomes in Clinical trials

Systemic sclerosis (Scleroderma, SSc) has seen substantial progress in the development and validation of outcome measures (Khanna D, Distler O, Avouac J, Behrens F, Clements PJ, Denton C, et al. Measures of response in clinical trials of systemic sclerosis: the combined response index for systemic sclerosis (CRISS) and outcome measures in pulmonary arterial hypertension related to systemic sclerosis (EPOSS). J Rheumatol. 2009;36(10):2356–61). This chapter will discuss the outcome measures ready for clinical trials in SSc.
An Estimator Of Intervention Effect On Disease Severity

When a medical intervention prevents a dichotomous outcome, the size of its effect is often estimated with the prevented fraction. Some interventions may reduce the severity of an outcome without entirely preventing it. To quantify the effect of a severity-moderating intervention, a measure termed the mitigated fraction (MF) is proposed. MF has broad applicability, because it measures the overlap of two empirical distributions based on their stochastic ordering. It is also useful in the specific context of medical interventions, because it shares certain structural and functional features with the prevented fraction. The two measures may be applied together in a single semiparametric model with components for outcome prevention and for severity conditional on the presence of the outcome.
Aeolian dust chemistry and bacterial communities in snow are unique to airshed locations across northern Utah, USA

Abstract Wind-blown dust is an important source of trace metals, nutrients, and biological material to montane ecosystems. Mountain ranges in northern Utah are located downwind of multiple dust sources including the Great Basin Desert and the Wasatch Front urban area, providing an opportunity to investigate regional-scale differences in dust deposition chemistry and bacterial composition. We sampled discrete dust layers from snowpack across multiple locations in the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains (Utah) and the Snake Range (Nevada) during spring 2014 and 2015. Dust chemistry was unique in each airshed, suggesting that spatial variability and local sources were more important than temporal variability for the sampling period. The central Wasatch dust contained the highest concentrations of playa-associated elements (U, Mg, Li, Ca, Sr, As) and anthropogenic elements (Sb, Cu, Pb, Se) compared with lowest concentrations of these elements in the northern Wasatch, which is further from playa and anthropogenic sources. Sequential extractions indicate that the majority of Ca, Sr, and Cd is potentially available for transport during snowmelt while other elements are relatively immobile. Central Wasatch dust was more reactive to acetic acid than northern Wasatch dust for most elements, including REE + Y. Sr isotopes (87Sr/86Sr ratios) were also unique to each sampling area, with the most radiogenic values in the central Wasatch. Similar to dust chemistry, bacterial communities in dusty snow reflected geographically localized dust events. In the central Wasatch, 69% of bacterial species were unique, suggesting that the airshed received the most diverse dust inputs from a combination of playa and anthropogenic sources. Gram-positive Actinobacteria and Firmicutes were common in snow but specific bacterial families distinguished airsheds (e.g., Bacillaceae, Geodermatophilaceae, Nakamurellaceae). Our results demonstrate that evaluating dust chemistry and bacteria in snow on a regional scale may more clearly link dust sources to the entrainment of pollutants and seeding of bacteria species to montane systems.
Notes on Entypesa (Araneae: Nemesiidae) in the Field Museum of Natural History, with Descriptions of Four New Species from Madagascar

Four new Malagasy species of Entypesa Simon, 1902, E. andohahela sp. nov. (♂♀), E. enakara sp. nov. (♂), E. fisheri sp. nov. (♀), and E. rastellata sp. nov. (♂), are diagnosed and described from specimens deposited in the Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago, USA). All of them are clearly distinguishable from the known Madagascan congeners E. nebulosa Simon, 1902 and E. annulipes (Strand, 1907a), in details of colouration and structure of the eye group and spinnerets. In three of the four new species the males are known; they differ from males of the only South African congener, E. schoutedeni Benoit, 1965, in structure of the palpal tibia, configuration of the embolus, and the shape and armament of leg I. Data on the features of the hitherto known members of Entypesa are also provided.
Parental Perception of Quality of Life for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Our purpose for this study was to investigate how parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) rate their child’s quality of life (QOL). We began by developing a parent proxy-report QOL assessment instrument with subscales and then distributed it statewide to parents of children with ASD. The scale demonstrated strong internal consistency with a full-scale Cronbach’s alpha of .835. Our results indicated that 0% of the parents rated their child as having a poor QOL, 66% rated their child as having a good QOL, and 16% rated their child as having an excellent QOL. Our results support the notion that QOL can be assessed in early childhood to develop and ensure effective programing across the lifespan for an individual with ASD.
Strategies for Teaching a Student-Centered Large Lecture Course in Public Affairs

The collaboration between a faculty member in public affairs and an instructional developer led to the three-year design of a learner-centered large lecture course. An in-depth evaluation at the end of that period revealed which elements of the course format generated the most student interest and, in some cases, even changed their attitude about learning in college. Suggestions are made for further course changes based on an analysis of the student feedback.
The Biology of Grasslands

Book Title: The Biology of GrasslandsBook Author: Brian J. Wilsey2018, Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, UK. 195 pages, hardcover and softcover. ISBN 978-0-19-874451-1 (hardcover), ISBN 978-0-19-874452-8 (softcover). Price $95.00 (hardcover), $45.95 (softcover)
Comparative analysis of ZVI materials for reductive separation of 99Tc(VII) from aqueous waste streams.

Abstract Technetium-99 (Tc) is a long-lived radioactive contaminant present in legacy nuclear waste streams and contaminated plumes of the nuclear waste storage sites worldwide that poses risks for human health and the environment. Pertechnetate (TcO4−), the most common chemical form of Tc under oxidative conditions, is of particular concern due to its high aqueous solubility and mobility in the subsurface. One approach to treatment and remediation of TcO4− is reduction of Tc7+ to less soluble and mobile Tc4+ and its removal from the contaminated streams such as liquid secondary waste generated during vitrification of the Hanford low activity tank waste. Zero valent iron (ZVI) is a common reactive agent for reductive treatment of environmental contaminants, including reducible heavy metal ions, which can offer a potential solution to this challenge. Here, we present a comparative study of eleven commercial ZVI materials manufactured by different methods that were evaluated for the reductive removal of TcO4− from an aqueous 80 mM NaCl solution at near neutral pH representing low activity waste off-gas condensate. Performance of ZVI materials was analyzed in relation to time-dependent Fe2+ dissolution as well as pH and ORP profiles of the contact solution. Large variability in the efficiency and kinetics of Tc7+ reduction by different ZVI materials was contingent on their origin. ZVI materials manufactured by electrolytic method exhibited superior performance, and the kinetics of the Tc7+ reduction correlated to particle size. ZVI materials manufactured by iron pentacarbonyl reduction with hydrogen were ineffective for Tc7+ reduction. In general, our results highlight the need for thorough performance analysis of commercial ZVI materials for any contaminant of interest.
Abstract 156: Endogenous Cardiomyocyte Dedifferentiation and Cycling Revealed by Single-Cell Imaging and Single-Nucleus Transcriptomic Analysis

Although the mammalian heart had been recognized as a post-mitotic non-regenerative organ, recent evidence demonstrated a measurable cardiomyocyte (CM) renewal at low rates in normal hearts and aug...
Retinal layer abnormalities and their association with clinical and brain measures in psychotic disorders: A preliminary study.

Abstract Studies utilizing optical coherence tomography (OCT) in psychosis have identified abnormalities in retinal cytoarchitecture. We aim to analyze retinal layer topography in psychosis and its correlation with clinical and imaging parameters. Macular retinal images were obtained via OCT in psychosis probands (n = 25) and healthy controls (HC, n = 15). Clinical, cognitive and structural MRI data were collected from participants. No thinning was noted for the retinal nerve fiber, ganglion cell or inner plexiform layers. We found significant thinning in the right inner temporal, right central, and left inner superior quadrants of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) in probands compared to HC. Thickening of the outer plexiform layer (OPL) was observed in the right inner temporal, left inner superior, and left inner temporal quadrants. The right inner temporal and left inner superior quadrants of both the OPL and ONL showed significant inverse correlations. Retinal pigment epithelium thinning correlated with worse mania symptoms, and thinning in the ONL was associated with worse cognitive function. ONL thinning was also associated with smaller total brain and white matter volume. Our findings suggest that outer retinal layers may provide additional insights into the pathophysiology of psychosis, possibly reflecting synaptic or inflammatory aberrations that lead to retinal pathologies.
Randomized trial of a patient education tool about leiomyoma.

Abstract Objective Uterine leiomyomata are a frequent indication for women seeking gynecologic care [1]. The objective of our study was to assess whether patient knowledge about leiomyomata, anxiety, or satisfaction with counseling differed in patients who received multimedia counseling versus standard counseling. Methods Women with leiomyomata who presented to the gynecology clinic at a single institution were randomized to standard counseling or multimedia counseling using the drawMD OB/GYN iPad™ application. Participants completed a pre-counseling questionnaire, received the designated method of counseling, and completed a post-counseling questionnaire. Outcomes of the study included assessment of patient knowledge, satisfaction, and anxiety. Results Seventy-two participants were randomized. There was no significant difference in post-counseling anxiety between the groups (p = 0.86). For both groups, anxiety significantly improved after counseling. Both groups were satisfied with the counseling they received, however, there was no difference between groups. Participants in both groups significantly improved their knowledge about fibroids post-counseling. Conclusion Counseling of patients with leiomyomata improves patient satisfaction and knowledge. The addition of a multimedia tool may or may not enhance patient counseling. Practice Implications This is the first prospective, randomized controlled trial evaluating the impact of a multimedia tool on patient education and counseling for patients with leiomyomata.
The unintended harms of infrastructure: Opium and road construction in Afghanistan

Abstract This study provides evidence that infrastructure investment can encourage economic activity through illicit pathways. I examine this relationship in the context of Afghanistan, where I show that the construction of the country's largest modern infrastructure project, a 2,200 kilometer highway known as the A1 or Ring Road, led to significant increases in local opium cultivation over the past decade. Estimates from a two-way fixed effects model that exploits spatial and temporal variation in district-level poppy cultivation and proximity to the road suggest that the introduction of a highway to a district is associated with a 650 hectare increase in poppy cultivation in the subsequent year. This cultivation increases the longer a district has access to the road: Production in the second and third years rises by 750 and 900 hectares over pre-highway levels, respectively. Estimates also suggest that improved highway access leads Afghan farmers to substitute away from the production of legal crops towards opium, and that more farmers grow opium as their primary income-generating crop. These findings suggest that in nations where the rule of law is limited and opportunities for legal livelihoods remain scarce, investments in physical infrastructure can inadvertently incentivize illegal economic activity.
Peripheral Arterial Disease

Atherosclerotic peripheral arterial disease (PAD) refers to a range of non-coronary arterial vascular syndromes with progressive stenosis, occlusion, or aneurysmal dilation, most commonly affecting the lower extremity. Lower extremity PAD involves occlusive disease of the aorta, iliac, femoral, and more distal arteries. Patients with PAD typically carry a substantial burden of systemic atherosclerotic disease. Like other manifestations of atherosclerosis, the prevalence of PAD is related to hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, tobacco smoking, age, gender, and heredity. Clinical manifestations associated with lower extremity PAD include decrements in functional capacity and quality of life, intermittent claudication, and possibly limb loss. In addition, patients with PAD face an increased risk of vascular events including myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and mortality.
STUDIES ON THE INDUCTION OF NEW GENETIC VARIABILITY FOR QUANTITATIVE TRAITS BY GAMMA RAYS IN RICE (Oryza sativa L.).

The present investigation was carried out at the Farm of the Rice Research and TrainingCenter, Sakha, Kafr El Sheikh Egypt during rice growing seasons 2006 and 2007. Dry seeds of the four rice varieties namely; Sakha 101, Sakha 102, Sakha 104, and Egyptian Yasmine were irradiated with 100, 200 and 400 Gy gamma rays. The seeds of the different treatments in addition to the parental varieties (as control) were grown and transplanted individually in a randomized complete block design with three replications for each treatments along with the control to study the response of different rice varieties to different doses of Gamma rays for some agronomic characters, grain yield and its components and to select some useful mutants carrying desirable characters from different populations in M2 generation such as earliness, short stature, resistance to blast, and high yielding ability. The results of the M1 generation indicated that in general, germination percentage decreased and the reduction was significant for the Sakha 101cv, while number of days to heading, plant height and panicle length were decreased by increasing the doses of Gamma rays for most of the studied varieties. On the other hand, the mean values of number of panicles per plant were increased by increasing the dose of gamma rays for the Sakha 101, Sakha 102 cvs. The spikelet sterility increased with the increase in the dose of gamma rays for all studied varieties and therefore, grain yield per plant was decreased. In the M2 generation, increasing the dose of gamma rays decreased germination %, and plant height for the two rice varieties; Sakha 102, and Egyptian Jasmine. The mean values of number of panicles per plant were increased for the Sakha 101, 102 and Sakha 104 cvs, while it decreased with Egyptian Yasmine. One hundred grain weight was decreased for Sakha 102, Sakha 104 and Egyptian Yasmine, while the Sakha101variety was not affected by gamma rays for this trait. Panicle length and chlorophyll content was increased by the dose of gamma rays for the three varieties; Sakha 101, Sakha 104, and Egyptian Yasmine. Sterility % was increased and the highest increase was observed for the indica rice variety Egyptian Jasmine and therefore, grain yield per plant was decreased for these varieties. Wide ranges of variability were detected in M2 irradiated populations of all varieties for most of the characters studied comparing with the controls, indicating the possibility of selecting mutants with desirable traits to be tested in subsequent generations. The genetic parameters of studied characters for both control and M2 irradiated populations of all varieties indicated that, in most cases, there were considerable increases by irradiation for both phenotypic and genotypic variances, genetic coefficient of variation, heritability as well as expected genetic advance.
Abstract 1358: Model-based evaluation of pegfilgrastim effects on chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in infants with CNS tumors

Pegfilgrastim (PG), a pegylated recombinant form of human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), is used to shorten the duration of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. Previous studies have characterized the neutrophil response to PG exposure in adults, but little information is available for the infant population ( Citation Format: Olivia Campagne, Abigail Davis, Santhosh A. Upadhyaya, Clinton F. Stewart. Model-based evaluation of pegfilgrastim effects on chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in infants with CNS tumors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 1358.
Observations on the Epidemiology of Bluetongue Virus Infections in the Caribbean and Florida

Paper presented at the XIIIth World Congress on Cattle Diseases, Durban, S. Africa, Sept. 17-21, 1984.
Hydrogen Sulfide and the Kidney

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is constitutively synthesized in the kidney. Recent investigations suggest a role for H2S in the regulation of fundamental kidney physiological events including arterial blood flow, glomerular filtration, and electrolyte and water transport. Deficiency of H2S generation has been implicated in acute kidney injury brought on by ischemia, administration of nephrotoxic medications, and obstruction. A role for impaired H2S expression has been shown in chronic kidney injury seen with chronic heart failure, obesity, and diabetes. Deficient H2S generation by the kidney could contribute to blood pressure dysregulation in models of hypertension and preeclampsia. Aging induced chronic kidney impairment is associated with inadequate H2S generation in the kidney. The mechanistic pathways regulated by H2S include but not limited to transcription, mRNA translation, signaling, inflammation, and oxidative stress demonstrating the versatility of the gasotransmitter. In the aforementioned conditions amelioration of kidney injury has been reported by the administration of agents that provide H2S. In renal cancer H2S may participate as an injurious agent. Overall, research on H2S in the kidney is in its early stages, and it is becoming evident that it has a context-dependent nuanced role in various kidney pathologies. There is an urgent need for exploration of H2S in physiology and pathology of the kidney including its role in oxygen sensing and glomerulonephritis. H2S may prove to be a novel therapeutic agent in some kidney disease states.
Children’s exposure to vehicular pollution: Environmental injustice in Texas, USA

Abstract Distributive environmental justice research on children's exposure to vehicular pollution is underdeveloped and few empirical studies have been conducted in the US. This study seeks to address this gap by examining if socially disadvantaged children are disproportionately located in public school districts burdened by higher vehicular pollution in Texas—the second largest US state based on population size. Vehicular pollution exposure is measured using two variables: (1) an index developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency that combines traffic proximity and volume; and (2) outdoor concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a widely used proxy for traffic-related air pollution. These variables are linked to school district level data on socio-demographic characteristics of children obtained from the latest American Community Survey. Statistical analysis is based on multivariable generalized estimating equations that account for spatial clustering of school districts. Results reveal significantly greater traffic proximity and NO2 exposure in Texas school districts with higher percentages of children, after controlling for clustering, population density, and other socio-demographic factors. Districts exposed to higher levels of traffic proximity and NO2 exposure also contain significantly greater proportions of racial/ethnic minority, foreign-born, disabled, and socioeconomically vulnerable children. These findings highlight the urgent need to develop mitigation strategies for reducing vehicular pollution exposure, especially in districts with higher proportions of socially disadvantaged students that could be additionally burdened with limited resources. School districts represent a policy relevant analytic unit since school district boards can act as advocates for the environmental health of children and implement mitigation strategies for reducing pollution exposure.
Computer-Aided Analysis of Water Resource Systems

Computer simulation models of large or geometrically complex systems, or both, are found in hydraulic, hydrology and water resources engineering; they require automized interactive mesh generators and data processors for efficient project implementation. A preprocessor is reviewed that consists of data processors, mesh generators, and graphics routines; it is capable of: (1) Selecting the most suitable numerical method for solving water resources and related problems; (2) storing the system's boundaries and generating appropriate meshes; and (3) displaying intermediates as well as final results of the computer simulation model in graphical form. This interactive preprocessor is a flexible, portable and easy-to-use software package which facilitates the research and development work of scientists and engineers.
Physical Principles of Nanoparticle Cellular Endocytosis.

This review article focuses on the physiochemical mechanisms underlying nanoparticle uptake into cells. When nanoparticles are in close vicinity to a cell, the interactions between the nanoparticles and the cell membrane generate forces from different origins. This leads to the membrane wrapping of the nanoparticles followed by cellular uptake. This article discusses how the kinetics, energetics, and forces are related to these interactions and dependent on the size, shape, and stiffness of nanoparticles, the biomechanical properties of the cell membrane, as well as the local environment of the cells. The discussed fundamental principles of the physiochemical causes for nanoparticle–cell interaction may guide new studies of nanoparticle endocytosis and lead to better strategies to design nanoparticle-based approaches for biomedical applications.
New Infrared Sources Associated with H ii Regions

Photometry and mapping in the wavelength range 1.65–20µ of the H ii regions W3 and NGC 7538 have led to the discovery of a dozen new infrared emission sources. The sources have flux densities ranging up to 10−23 Wm−2 Hz−1 at 20 µ and diameters from < 3 to 40″. Some are associated with, and have similar brightness distributions to compact H ii condensations observed at radio wavelengths; they have, however, 20-µ flux densities much greater than, and 2-µ flux densities much less than are predicted from the radio free-free spectra. It is concluded that in many cases there exist close spatial relationships between the hot dust and the ionized gas, and between infrared and 0H/H2O emission sources.
Urban Biodiversity: Patterns, Processes and Implications for Conservation

As the world becomes increasingly urbanised, more and more species either reside in cities, suburbs and exurbs or are influenced by their growth. On the bases of our literature survey, species richness and diversity of animals, especially vertebrate animals, and plants usually declines in cities. However, contrary to the prevailing notion that bird abundances usually increase in cities, studies reporting increases or decreases of bird abundances are about equal. The mechanisms underlying patterns of urban biodiversity are complex and not well-understood. Explanations for the observed changes in species diversity and composition in cities focus on local processes involving species responses to local abiotic environmental factors and interactions with other species and regional processes, such as dispersal. Recently, metacommunity theory has been applied to urban habitats to explore the relative importance of local and regional processes. This theory also provides insights into how biodiversity can be maintained and promoted in urban areas. Key Concepts: Urbanisation creates highly fragmented, heterogeneous and altered environments that act as selective filters for urban organisms and species. Urbanisation is often associated with declines in animal and plant richness, abundance and diversity. Studies showing increases or decreases in urban bird abundances are about equal, contrary to conventional wisdom of increased bird abundances in cities. Various ecological concepts have been applied to explain urban biodiversity, including disturbance and productivity gradient hypotheses and island biogeography theory. Metacommunity theory has been used recently to ascertain relative contributions of local and regional processes to urban biodiversity. Understanding local and regional processes leads to better insights in conserving and promoting urban biodiversity. Conservation efforts depend on connections to nature; therefore, it is important to engage city-dwellers with their urban biotas. Keywords: biodiversity; cities; conservation; metacommunity theory; socioecology; species richness; urbanisation
Study of the Transversality Conditions of the BCU Method

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction A Parametric Study Analytical Investigation of the Boundary Property The Two-Machine Infinite Bus (TMIB) System Numerical Studies Concluding Remarks
The Duty of Competence and the Role of Simulated Ethics Case Consultation

The Code of Ethics for Health Care Ethics Consultation (HCEC) is a pivotal step in the process of identifying and clarifying standards in our field. It draws on the Core Competencies articulated by...
A genetic model for evaluation of susceptibility to ozone-induced inflammation

We examined ozone-induced airway inflammatory responses in inbred mice, and progeny of crosses between them, to investigate genetic susceptibility to ozone. Nine strains of male mice (18–23 g, 5–7 ...
Legal Change and Stigma in Surrogacy and Abortion

Stigma marks both surrogacy and abortion. Legal change lessens stigma but may not remove it altogether. Post-legalization regulation may reinstall stigma by surrounding a legalized practice with barriers that make exercise of that right more difficult. As a result, law may reenact stigma even as it purports to take it away.
Space Interferometry Mission: taking the measure of the universe

In 1991 the Astrophysics Division of NASA's Office of Space Science convened the Space Interferometry Science Working Group to consider in more detail the science goals of a space interferometer mission to do wide-angle astrometry at optical wavelengths. In addition, the working group considered the merits of alternative mission concepts for achieving those goals. We describe the current state of the adopted mission concept, and review the candidate astrometric science program. In addition to the main goal of precision astrometry, the concept interferometer has a limited capability for high- resolution imaging using rotational aperture synthesis. A phase A start on this mission has been made in 1996, an launch is planned for 2003.
A Theoretical Study of the St. Louis Heat Island: Some Parameter Variations

Abstract A sensitivity analysis was performed to determine the more important parameters affecting the urban heat island circulation in St. Louis. The effects of heat island intensity, surface roughness, horizontal diffusion and boundary layer stability on the heat island circulation were studied using a three-dimensional primitive equation model. The results indicated that the heat island intensity and boundary layer stability play the dominant roles in the heat island circulation.
Circuit effects in time-of-flight diffusivity measurements

Abstract A Monte Carlo procedure is used to examine certain effects that interfere with the determination of the diffusivity D from current rise and fall times in a time-of-flight experiment. It is found that electron bombardment time, sample capacitance, contact resistance, and oscilloscope rise time can cause considerable error in the measurement of D, especially near the threshold electric field. It is shown that a reasonable accounting for these effects can explain much of the difference between experimentally-and theoretically-determined D-E characteristics for GaAs.
Accessible skimming: faster screen reading of web pages

In our information-driven web-based society, we are all gradually falling ""victims"" to information overload [5].However, while sighted people are finding ways to sift through information faster, Internet users who are blind are experiencing an even greater information overload. These people access computers and Internet using screen-reader software, which reads the information on a computer screen sequentially using computer-generated speech. While sighted people can learn how to quickly glance over the headlines and news articles online to get the gist of information, people who are blind have to use keyboard shortcuts to listen through the content narrated by a serial audio interface. This interface does not give them an opportunity to know what content to skip and what to listen to. So, they either listen to all of the content or listen to the first part of each sentence or paragraph before they skip to the next one. In this paper, we propose an automated approach to facilitate non-visual skimming of web pages. We describe the underlying algorithm, outline a non-visual skimming interface, and report on the results of automated experiments, as well as on our user study with 23 screen-reader users. The results of the experiments suggest that we have been moderately successful in designing a viable algorithm for automatic summarization that could be used for non-visual skimming. In our user studies, we confirmed that people who are blind could read and search through online articles faster and were able to understand and remember most of what they have read with our skimming system. Finally, all 23 participants expressed genuine interest in using non-visual skimming in the future.
Characterization of RNA transcripts from the alpha tubulin gene cluster of Leptomonas seymouri

Abstract A tandem cluster of alpha tubulin genes was identified in the trypanosomatid protozoan Leptomonas seymouri. One repeat unit and the first gene of the cluster, with its upstream flanking region, were cloned and analyzed for their transcriptional and coding capacities. The 12-15 copies per cell of the 4 kb repeat encode a stable 2 kb transcript, which contains a mini-exon at its 5' end and two closely spaced polyadenylation sites. Transcription of the alpha tubulin gene cluster in isolated nuclei was unidirectional. Intergenic and coding regions were transcribed at the same rate, and nascent intergenic and coding region transcripts were quantitatively linked. These results are consistent with the possibility that the primary transcripts are polycistronic, or that there is a single small intercistronic gap.