cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Epidemiology and Clinical Features of Invasive Fungal Infection in a US Health Care Network.

Background A better understanding of the epidemiology and clinical features of invasive fungal infection (IFI) is integral to improving outcomes. We describe a novel case-finding methodology, reporting incidence, clinical features, and outcomes of IFI in a large US health care network. Methods All available records in the Intermountain Healthcare Enterprise Data Warehouse from 2006 to 2015 were queried for clinical data associated with IFI. The resulting data were overlaid in 124 different combinations to identify high-probability IFI cases. The cohort was manually reviewed, and exclusions were applied. European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Invasive Fungal Infections Cooperative Group and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Mycoses Study Group Consensus Group definitions were adapted to categorize IFI in a broad patient population. Linear regression was used to model variation in incidence over time. Results A total of 3374 IFI episodes occurred in 3154 patients. The mean incidence was 27.2 cases/100 000 patients per year, and there was a mean annual increase of 0.24 cases/100 000 patients (P = .21). Candidiasis was the most common (55%). Dimorphic fungi, primarily Coccidioides spp., comprised 25.1% of cases, followed by Aspergillus spp. (8.9%). The median age was 55 years, and pediatric cases accounted for 13%; 26.1% of patients were on immunosuppression, 14.9% had autoimmunity or immunodeficiency, 13.3% had active malignancy, and 5.9% were transplant recipients. Lymphopenia preceded IFI in 22.1% of patients. Hospital admission occurred in 76.2%. The median length of stay was 16 days. All-cause mortality was 17.0% at 42 days and 28.8% at 1 year. Forty-two-day mortality was highest in Aspergillus spp. (27.5%), 20.5% for Candida, and lowest for dimorphic fungi (7.5%). Conclusions In this population, IFI was not uncommon, affected a broad spectrum of patients, and was associated with high crude mortality.
Preparing for Fieldwork

Abstract Preparation is a critical and repetitive component of successful field research in geomorphology. Rigorous professional academic objectives and plans must be reconciled with practical and logistic constraints, in a way that resources (time, effort, money) are used to the best effect. Fieldwork has many potential components, of which the acquisition of field data for hypothesis testing is pivotal. Key to preparation is the recognition that things can and will go awry, necessitating prior consideration of “what if?,” and the formulation of alternative, fallback plans, and “safety nets.” Temporal and spatial scales are fundamental considerations, and proper preparation should result in fieldwork projects that are both meaningful and manageable as components of broader geomorphic research. Important considerations include those revolving around personnel selection and management, equipment needs, institutional and personal support systems, safety, health and fitness, emergency planning, finances, authorization, transportation, accommodation, and prior understanding of and adjustment to both the physical and human environments in which fieldwork occurs.
Critical Impact of Graphene Functionalization for Transition Metal Oxide/Graphene Hybrids on Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Transition metal oxides (TMOs) anchored on a carbon nanostructure have been widely pursued for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysis. The high ORR activity of TMO/graphene has been often attrib...
Whistlin’ Past Graveyards: The Drive-By Truckers and Southern Identity

AbstractThrough their discursive participation, rock musicians work to shape and reshape perceptions of identity and place. It is within these spaces that this essay considers the work of a deeply ...
Early Detection Research Network: Accomplishments and Outlook.

In 2000, the National Cancer Institute established the Early Detection Research Network (EDRN) to discover, develop, and validate biomarkers to detect cancers early when they are most treatable. The EDRN′s mission recently expanded to include finding and validating biomarkers that can determine which neoplasias are likely to progress to aggressive disease and to develop and validate imaging methods to better detect and characterize early-stage cancers. EDRN investigators have made significant progress toward achieving these goals, including participation in the discovery and/or validation of 6 diagnostic tests that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and 12 tests that are in use in CLIA laboratories. This progress is because of the quality research conducted by the EDRN investigators, the integrated structure of the EDRN that fosters a collaborative teamwork approach, and the ability of the EDRN to collaboratively validate biomarkers and imaging methods developed by non-EDRN investigators. The network includes >30 institutions, >150 investigators, and >200 associate members (i.e., non-EDRN investigators). The development of new biomarkers for early detection of cancer is a lengthy process that begins with the discovery of promising candidate biomarkers, rigorous validation, and implementation in the clinic. Biomarkers that successfully meet clinical significance thresholds can be practice changing, and the ultimate level of success is to …
Becoming a Literacy Leader in the 21st Century: Fieldwork that Facilitates the Process

ABSTRACTThis study describes and analyzes a field experience that has provided advanced literacy specialist candidates the context for advancing their understanding of professional leadership through the lens of a literacy coach. The field experience described was born out of the ongoing work of teacher educators at a small, independent, liberal arts university and a collaborative effort between the university and a neighboring urban school district. First, we situate our conceptual and pedagogical understandings of literacy coaching in a body of theoretical work on which we have relied to craft the field experience. Then, we analyze the impact of the field experience through the lens of the literacy coaches. Finally, we discuss implications these findings have for our advanced literacy specialist program.
Accurate registration of 3D time-lapse microscopy images

In vivo imaging experiments often require automated detection and tracking of changes in the specimen. This problem, however, can be hindered by variations in the position and orientation of the specimen relative to the microscope, as well as by linear and nonlinear deformations. Here, we present a feature-based registration method, coupled with translation, rigid, affine, and B-spline transformations, designed to address these issues in 3D time-lapse microscopy images. In this method, features are detected as local intensity maxima in the source and target image stacks, and their similarity matrix is used as an input to the Hungarian algorithm to establish initial correspondences. Random Sampling Consensus algorithm is then employed to eliminate outliers. The resulting set of corresponding features is used to determine the optimal transformations. Accuracy of the proposed algorithm was tested on fluorescently labeled axons imaged over a 48-day period with a two-photon laser scanning microscope. For this, multiple axons in individual stacks of images were traced semi-manually in 3D, and the distances between the corresponding traces were measured before and after the registration. The results show that there is a progressive improvement in the registration accuracy with increasing complexity of the transformations. In particular, an accuracy of less than 1 voxel (0.26 μm) was achieved with a regularized B-spline transformation. To illustrate the utility of the proposed method, registered images were used to automatically track synaptic boutons on axons over the entire duration of the experiment, yielding 99% precision and recall.
The Future of Economic Decision Making in Project Management

Project management has become the best way to plan for the future, and its importance in finding appropriate solutions is undoubted. Because of the cost factor of operations, barely any of the projects involve economic decision-making. The complexity in making economic decisions causes some of the projects to make the wrong decisions due to lack of proper information. Financial decision-making involves more than just collecting information and making decisions based on the information. For the formed economic decisions to be viable, a deep analysis of the economy must be done to estimate the future economy. This study focuses on the future trend and the relevance of economic decision-making in project management. It is based on testing the influence of economic decision-making, innovativeness, risk profile, and the size of the management team on the success of a project. The primary theme is to evaluate the level of significance of economic decision-making in project management.
Sexual dysfunction in women with lymphoma: Prevalence and etiologies.

e20594 Background: Sexual dysfunction is reported during and after treatment for lymphoma and causes a substantial burden on women. However, the prevalence and severity of sexual dysfunction in thi...
Human Rights Based Approach to Sustainable Agricultural Policies and Food Security

In 2017, food insecurity and malnutrition increased worldwide. This increase in global hunger poses a significant threat to the realization of the universal right to food, and is at odds with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal to eradicate hunger and malnutrition by 2030. While the major reason for such an increase is protracted conflicts in various countries, climate change and extreme weather events, intensive industrial agriculture, failure of poverty eradication, and rural-urban development are contributing factors. Most of the time, these situations trigger each other and create severe food crises that could even reach alarming levels of starvation and famine. The importance of responding to root causes of food insecurity and providing long-term policies that focus on protecting vital productive resources while respecting and protecting human rights, especially the right to food and right to access to land and natural resources in the face of climate change, is more urgent than ever to avoid disasters.
Toward a common representational framework for adaptation

We develop a computational model-the adaptive representation model (ARM)-for relating 2 classic theories of learning dynamics: instance and strength theory. Within the model, we show how the principles of instance and strength theories can be instantiated, so that the validity of their assumptions can be tested against experimental data. We show how under some conditions, models embodying instance representations can be considered a special case of a strength-based representation. We discuss a number of mechanisms for producing adaptive behaviors in dynamic environments, and detail how they may be instantiated within ARM. To evaluate the relative strengths of the proposed mechanisms, we construct a suite of 10 model variants, and fit them to single-trial choice response time data from three experiments. The first experiment involves dynamic shifts in the frequency of category exposure, the second experiment involves shifts in the means of the category distributions, and the third experiment involves shifts in both the mean and variance of the category distributions. We evaluate model performance by assessing model fit, penalized for complexity, at both the individual and aggregate levels. We show that the mechanisms of prediction error and lateral inhibition are strong contributors to the successes of the model variants considered here. Our results suggest that the joint distribution of choice and response time can be thought of as an emergent property of an evolving representation mapping stimulus attributes to their appropriate response assignment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Documentando la producción audiovisual transloca colombiana. Apuntes críticos sobre la representación trans

El presente articulo tiene por objetivo documentar las obras audiovisuales translocas colombianas producidas en los ultimos 10 anos. Para alcanzar dicho objetivo, las producciones se clasifican en ...
From education to practice: What we can learn about the workforce from a survey of new nurse practitioners.

ABSTRACTBackground and purpose:To understand the posttraining plans and job market for new nurse practitioners (NPs), a survey was conducted of new family NPs (FNPs) in 2017. The survey was also designed to test the logistics and feasibility of conducting such a survey on a national scale and the us
Changes in Accounting Estimates: Managerial Opportunism or Risky Firms?

We investigate whether companies strategically change accounting estimates to manipulate earnings, as some claim (“opportunism” hypothesis), or whether these modifications represent changes in the underlying fundamentals of financially troubled or risky companies updating their priors about future expectations because of operational changes (“risk” hypothesis). Using audit fees, propensity to meet or beat earnings forecasts, and restatements as surrogates for managerial opportunism/bias, we find evidence consistent with the risk hypothesis and inconsistent with opportunism hypothesis. Further, consistent with the risk hypothesis, over the years prior to the estimate changes, companies are more prone to idiosyncratic risks such as going concern problems, misstatements, discontinued operations, corporate restructuring, charge-offs, and internal control problems. The lack of evidence supporting the opportunism hypothesis is not surprising because, under US GAAP, companies are required to disclose the “dollar effect” of an accounting estimate change on net income in their financial statements.
Preface: FinTech as a Disruptive Technology for Financial Institutions

The desire to edit a book on FinTech came out of my two decades of experience as a practitioner of finance and technology. The past decade has been an eventful one for those interested in the influence of Technology on Finance. FinTech has become a buzzword from G20 to World Economic Forum to global and national economic and tech agendas. Today FinTech is being considered as a key driver of financial growth and has enabled the birth of new industries and business models.
Increasing the Understanding of Fiscal Impact Analysis to Help Real Estate Developers More Effectively Manage Process Risk

Abstract Municipal governments have conducted fiscal impact analysis for decades to plan for and evaluate anticipated real estate development. Nonetheless, the literature offers relatively little g...
How I Learned What a Domain Was

This paper re-traverses the author's investigations across several years as he sought to pin-down the meaning of the in vivo category 'domain'. The paper is a methodological reflection on the grounded theory approach to concept development, with a focus on the technical terms: in vivo category, iteration on the code, and sensitizing category. It is also a substantive theoretical contribution, elaborating the concept of a domain in computing, data and information science, and how it has long served as an organizing principle for developing computational systems. Four tricks of the trade for studying the 'logic of domains' are offered as sensitizing concepts to aid future investigations.
Personalized Approach to Cancer Treatment–Related Cardiomyopathy

Cancer treatment–related cardiotoxicity (CTRC) represents a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The purpose of our review is to summarize the epidemiology, natural history, and pathophysiology of cardiotoxicity-related to cancer treatment. We also summarize appropriate screening, surveillance, and management of CTRC. While cardiotoxicity is characteristically associated with anthracyclines, HER2-B antagonists, and radiation therapy (XRT), there is growing recognition of toxicity with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and proteasome inhibitors. Patients at risk for cardiotoxicity should be screened based on available guidelines, generally with serial echocardiograms. The role of medical heart failure (HF) therapies is controversial in patients with asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction but may be considered in some instances. Once symptomatic HF has developed, treatment should be in accordance with ACC/AHA guidelines. The goal in caring for patients receiving cancer treatment is to optimize cardiac function and prevent interruptions in potentially lifesaving cancer treatment.
Can lower remittance costs improve human capital accumulation in Africa

Abstract To evaluate gains in human capital accumulation from reduction in remittance prices, this study constructs a general equilibrium model in which the choices to invest in human capital and to migrate are endogenous. The model is calibrated for a group of eight African economies which offer student loans, and the effect on human capital accumulation of decreasing the remittance price to the level recommended by the United Nations (3%) is numerically derived. It is found that reduction in remittance prices alters the decisions of households, leading in the aggregate to a decrease in interest rates, a curbing of the desire to migrate, and an increase human capital. Hence, the study offers the policy prescription that governments, both in nations where remittances originate and in those to which funds are sent, must continue to lower remittance prices, by, for example, improving access to mobile banking, especially since such policies are relatively immune to economic shocks.
Title: Two-Photon Microperimetry: A media opacity-independent retinal function assay

Humans perceive light in the visible portion of electromagnetic radiation. However, visible light is scattered and attenuated by optical media opacities. Because all conventional visual function tests rely on visible light, test results are reduced in patients with optical media opacities like corneal scars, cataracts, and vitreous hemorrhages. Infrared (IR) light has greater penetrance through tissue than visible light. Two-photon IR visual stimulation, a recently pioneered technology, should enable testing of retinal visual function and produce results that are less susceptible to media opacities. The effects of simulated media opacities on visual performance in young healthy volunteers and the change in visual function in healthy phakic patients of two age ranges (20-40 and 60-80-year-old) were studied using conventional testing and 2-photon infrared visual stimulation. All subjects completed visual function testing using cone contrast threshold (CCT) testing, conventional microperimetry, visible light microperimetry from a novel device (2PM-Vis), and infrared 2-photon microperimetry (2PM-IR). Retinal sensitivity measured by 2PM-IR demonstrated lower variability than all other devices relying on visible spectrum stimuli. Retinal sensitivity decreased proportionally with the transmittance of light through each filter. CCT scores and retinal sensitivity decreased with age in all testing modalities. Visible spectrum testing modalities demonstrated larger test result differences between young and old patient cohorts; this difference was inversely proportional to the wavelength of the visual function test. 2PM-IR mitigates media opacities which may mask small differences in retinal sensitivity when tested with conventional visual function testing devices.
Mechanical Shells: Physical Add-ons for Extending and Reconfiguring the Interactivities of Actuated TUIs

In this paper, I introduce a concept of mechanical shells, which are physical add-ons that can adaptively augment, extend, and reconfigure the interactivities of self-actuated tangible user interfaces (TUIs). While a variety of research explores actuated and shape-changing interfaces for providing dynamic physical affordance and tangible displays, the concept of mechanical shell intends to overcome the constraint of existing generic actuated TUI hardware thereby enabling greater versatility and expression. This paper overviews the mechanical shell concept, describes project examples, outlines a research framework, and suggests open space for future research.
Water Leakage Detection Using Neural Networks

Owing to the recent developments in smart water technologies, the demand to detect and reduce water leakages in large water distribution networks is expected to soar in the upcoming years. The project addresses these problems of demand for well equipped and maintained homes by proposing a cost-effective solution to detect leakages and manage pressure, which in turn leads to significant water savings and reduced pipe breakage frequencies, especially in older infrastructure systems. A water distribution system is modeled and simulated using EPANET software. A classification model is developed which is based on Supervised Self-Organising Maps (SOMs) using SuSi framework. This model can perform unsupervised, supervised, and semi-supervised classification and regression tasks on high-dimensional data. Another regression model is developed which is based on the Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) algorithm, a class of feedforward Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). The performance of both the proposed models is compared based on the accuracy to detect the leakage based on the leak and pressure values simulated using the EPANET software. The results reveal that both the models were able to classify the leak nodes with good accuracy. In addition to this, the MLP model outperformed the complex SOM model giving a higher accuracy of detection of leaky nodes.
Akcijski planovi protiv nepismenosti u Hrvatskoj od 1945. do 1970-ih

In the context of the political, economic, and social changes in the mid-20th century, a systematic implementation of the core goals of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia/ League of Communists of Yugoslavia was conducted on all levels, resulting in structural changes in society. Among other things, these changes were the result of the measures implemented in order to reduce the number of illiterates, and this was directly related to the need to resolve basic social and economic problems. In this paper, the authors examine the struggle against illiteracy in Croatia after World War II. The literacy action plans that were systematically conducted by state authorities indicate that the image of society underwent profound changes. Thus, from a bottom-up perspective, society became subject to long-lasting changes. With certain exceptions, educational topics and the history of education in the 20th century remain unresearched in Croatian historiography, especially when compared to, say, the same topics in the 19th century. Therefore, this topic represents a new beginning in research and, due to its nature, also enters the frame of social history in the second half of the 20th century. Through source and literature analysis, the authors have determined three phases of educational changes. This paper shall examine the problem of combating illiteracy through changes in the educational system and literacy action plans in the period from 1945 to 1974, when the decision to form the Commission for Combatting Illiteracy was made. The aim of this paper and this approach to the topic and problem of illiteracy through literacy action plans is to contribute to history of education research in Croatian historiography.
Contractarianism, constitutionalism, and the status quo

The constitutional political economy (CPE) approach as developed by James Buchanan places emphasis on supermajority rules—in particular, a unanimity requirement for constitutional change. Critics argue that this approach “privileges the status quo” in two problematic ways: (1) alternatives are treated unequally, because the status quo requires a smaller coalition to be “chosen” than any other institutional arrangement selected to replace it; and (2) individuals are treated unequally, because those who happen to support the status quo have excessive power to impose their will on the larger group, implying that a minority illegitimately is privileged to block change. This is a serious and important challenge. At the same time, we argue that critics have conflated two analytically distinct issues in arguing that the CPE paradigm (and constitutionalism more generally) “privilege the status quo”. Moreover, we aim to show that in rejecting the “privileged position of the status quo”, critics must confront an equally challenging task: Providing a “measuring stick” by which the legitimacy of the status quo, and changes to it, can be judged. It is precisely skepticism regarding the possibility of providing a criterion of legitimacy that is independent of agreement that leads to the peculiar position of the status quo in Buchanan’s thought.
Enacting service policies through pedagogy to create a more inclusive student experience

Libraries should begin to revise service policies to include cultural competency approaches to ensure they provide students a reliably inclusive experience with our services. Many non-LIS disciplin...
Novel mutation in the MYH2 gene in a symptomatic neonate with a hereditary myosin myopathy

INTRODUCTION Hereditary myosin myopathies are muscle disorders caused by mutations in myosin heavy chain genes. The MYH2 gene encodes the fast 2A skeletal muscle isoform, and mutations manifest as joint contractures, muscle weakness, and external ophthalmoplegia. Muscle biopsy shows decreased type 2A fibers, and vacuoles are sometimes present in adults with progressive disease. PRESENTATION OF CASE This case describes a full term baby boy with hypotonia, dysmorphic features, dysphagia, and aspiration. Whole genome sequencing detected a novel heterozygous variant in the MYH2 gene. Muscle biopsy showed decreased type 2A fibers and vacuoles in myofibers. DISCUSSION Hypotonia and dysphagia are common in infants with a MYH2 myopathy. However, dysmorphic features and vacuoles on biopsy have not previous been described in infants with MYH2 myopathies. CONCLUSION This case reports an unusual phenotype of a rare neonatal-onset congenital myopathy associated with a novel heterozygous variant in MYH2.
Computational investigation of lateral impact behavior of pressurized pipelines and influence of internal pressure

Abstract This paper presents a computational study to examine lateral impact behavior of pressurized pipelines and to determine influence of internal pressure on the pipelines on their impact behaviors. A total of more than 300 numerical simulations were carried out on mild steel pipe models with different internal pressure levels and were struck at the mid-span and at the one quarter span positions. These numerical simulations of the impact tests were performed using 3D dynamic nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) through LS-DYNA, where both geometrical and material nonlinearities were considered. The computational results for the first time systematically revealed the effects of internal pressure, impact position, and outside diameter on the lateral impact behavior of the pipeline models. The outcomes of this study will have potential benefits on research of safety and reliability of civil pipelines and development of advanced pipeline materials.
Accuracy of Near Infrared-Guided Surgery in Morbidly Obese Subjects Undergoing Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy.

Background Fluorescence cholangiography represents an incisionless technique that can be applied during laparoscopic cholecystectomy to visualize bile ducts. Our objective was to evaluate and detect variances of fluorescence imaging in obese and non-obese patients.
On the Origin of Oncogenes

This chapter first reviews Howard Temin's thoughts on the origin of cancer genes, who had correctly predicted many aspects of the current understanding of the molecular alterations responsible for the development of malignant tumors. The chapter discusses some of the functions of proto-oncogenes in controlling normal cell growth and differentiation as well as the possibility that oncogene proteins provide novel targets for cancer chemotherapy-areas of current interest which represent direct outgrowths of some of Howard's seminal contributions to cancer research. All three key elements of Howard's hypothesis for the origin of cancer genes have proven correct. First, mutations play a critical role in converting protooncogenes to oncogenes as well as in inactivating tumor suppressor genes. Second, similar oncogenes are found in both strongly transforming retroviruses and nonvirus-induced tumors, including human cancers. Third, reverse transcription is involved in at least some mutations of proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in non-virus-induced tumors as well as being responsible for the incorporation of oncogenes into retroviral genomes. The discovery that oncogenes are mutated versions of normal cell genes (proto-oncogenes) focused attention on the roles of proto-oncogenes in normal cells and on the nature of the molecular alterations that convert proto-oncogenes to oncogenes. The chapter concludes with a brief consideration of the possibility that oncogenes provide novel targets against which drugs with increased selectivity for cancer cells could be designed. Posttranslational modification of Ras proteins by addition of a farnesyl isoprenoid is required for their membrane association and biological activity.
Optimal path-finding algorithms*

Path-finding search occurs in the presence of various sources of knowledge such as heuristic evaluation functions, subgoals, macro-operators, and abstractions. For a given source of knowledge, we explore optimal algorithms in terms of time, space, and cost of solution path, and quantify their performance. In the absence of any knowledge, a depth-first iterative-deepening algorithm is asymptotically optimal in time and space among minimal-cost exponential tree searches. A heuristic version of the algorithm, called iterative-deepening-A*, is shown to be optimal in the same sense over heuristic searches. For solving large problems, more powerful knowledge sources, such as subgoals, macro-operators, and abstraction are required, usually at the cost of suboptimal solutions. Subgoals often drastically reduce problem solving complexity, depending upon the subgoal distance, a new measure of problem difficulty. Macro-operators store solutions to previously solved subproblems in order to speed-up solutions to new problems, and are subject to a multiplicative time-space tradeoff. Finally, an analysis of abstraction concludes that abstraction hierarchies can reduce exponential problems to linear complexity.
Potato spindle tuber viroid. XIII. Inhibition of replication by actinomycin D.

Abstract Leaf strips from healthy or potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTV)-infected tomato plants were incubated in solutions containing [ 3 H]uracil or [ 3 H]UTP. Extraction of nucleic acids and analysis by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed 3 H incorporation into a component with electrophoretic mobility identical with PSTV in extracts from infected, but not in extracts from healthy leaves. No 3 H incorporation into PSTV could be detected when leaf strips were pretreated with actinomycin D under conditions which reduced uptake of [ 3 H]uracil only 10–12% but inhibited cellular RNA transcription 87–99%. These results suggest that, in infected tomato leaves, PSTV replication may require the continued synthesis of one or more cellular RNA species or that PSTV replication may proceed via a DNA intermediate.
Management of missed abortion in private practice.

Abstract There is diversity of opinion concerning the proper management of missed abortion. Both conservative treatment with spontaneous evacuation of the uterus and surgical evacuation have their advocates. In a personal series of 11 cases of missed abortion, 10 terminated spontaneously and the patients were then curetted. One pregnancy was interrupted by curettage. This was the only morbid patient of the group. There was no afibrinogenemia, infection, or maternal death. No attempt is made to draw conclusions since there are so few patients. On the other hand the conservative management of missed abortion may be a good choice for the private practitioner because it is traditional and offers him protection if complications arise. This view is advanced despite the fact that valuable reproductive time is wasted.
Probabilistic Assessment of Dynamic System Performance, Part 3

Accurate prediction of dynamic system failure behavior can be important for the reliability and risk analyses of nuclear power plants, as well as for their backfitting to satisfy given constraints on overall system reliability, or optimization of system performance. Global analysis of dynamic systems through investigating the variations in the structure of the attractors of the system and the domains of attraction of these attractors as a function of the system parameters is also important for nuclear technology in order to understand the fault-tolerance as well as the safety margins of the system under consideration and to insure a safe operation of nuclear reactors. Such a global analysis would be particularly relevant to future reactors with inherent or passive safety features that are expected to rely on natural phenomena rather than active components to achieve and maintain safe shutdown. Conventionally, failure and global analysis of dynamic systems necessitate the utilization of different methodologies which have computational limitations on the system size that can be handled. Using a Chapman-Kolmogorov interpretation of system dynamics, a theoretical basis is developed that unifies these methodologies as special cases and which can be used for a comprehensive safety and reliability analysis of dynamic systems.
Toll we meet again....

Remodeling of chromatin, distinct from activation of NF-κB, is a newly identified function of Toll-like receptors in mammals. In Drosophila , Toll receptors play a role in development as well as immunity; yet in mammals, they have an immunological role only. Further clues to the evolutionary development of the Toll receptors are emerging.
Nicotine‐Related Disorders

Nicotine is a pale yellow, toxic liquid found in the leaves of 66 different species of plants. Nicotine is generally extracted from dried Nicotiana tabacum leaves, for the production of tobacco products and insecticide (nicotine sulfate). Nicotine falls within the category of chemical compounds called alkaloids, organic substances whose bitter taste (and often poisonous properties) discourage animals from eating the plants that contain them. Nicotine's first use dates back centuries (as early as the 1500s), during which nicotine was consumed for its stimulant and hunger-reducing properties. However, nicotine is extremely poisonous and can cause respiratory failure, convulsions, nervous system paralysis, and death if a single dose of 50 mg or more is consumed. Keywords: smoking; tobacco; nicotine; health risk; prevention
Suicide in the Medical Setting

Article-at-a-Glance Background Little is known about suicide in the hospital setting. Although suicide is a major public health concern, the literature on suicide in the medical setting is limited, and accurate data on hospital-based suicides are unavailable. Consequently, the prevalence, demographic characteristics, and risk factors for suicide in this population are unknown. The literature on completed suicides in medical or surgical wards of a general hospital was summarized to generate hypotheses for further investigation regarding in-hospital suicides. Methods MEDLINE, PsycINFO, IndexCat, and Scopus were queried for English-language articles on inpatient suicides in a general hospital. These data were compared with reports of suicide by psychiatric inpatients and the annual suicide statistics from the U.S. general population. Results Twelve articles detailing 335 suicides in the medical setting were included. Published data on hospital-based suicides are limited by selection bias, incomplete reporting, and a small number of completed suicides. Consequently, no significant setting-specific findings emerge from the existing literature. Reported cases suggest that inpatients who commit suicide in the medical setting may have a different demographic profile and employ different methods of suicide in comparison with individuals who commit suicide in psychiatric settings or the general population. Discussion Given the absence of systematic data collection and the highly variable nature of reported suicides, it could not be determined if clinically relevant distinctions exist between suicides in different health care settings. Prospective and more detailed data collection are needed because a more complete characterization of suicide in medical inpatients may be useful in both prevention approaches and institutional policies with respect to hospital-based suicides.
Psychological and physical stress-induced cardiovascular reactivity and diurnal blood pressure variation in women with different work shifts.

There is increasing evidence that diurnal blood pressure (BP) variation, in addition to high BP per se, is related to target organ damage and the incidence of cardiovascular events. However, the determinants of diurnal BP variation are not adequately understood. This paper tests the hypothesis that cardiovascular reactivity to acute stress and/or delayed recovery predicts greater diurnal BP variation (i.e., a lower sleep/awake BP ratio). We studied the relationship of diurnal BP variation (assessed by ambulatory BP monitoring) to mental stress (mental arithmetic and anger recall tasks) and physical stress (treadmill)-induced cardiovascular reactivity and recovery in 87 female nurses who worked different shifts. The sleep/awake systolic BP (SBP) ratio was negatively correlated with relative SBP reactivity (maximum SBP increase/baseline SBP: r = -0.21, p = 0.06) and relative stress response (average of SBP during stress/baseline SBP:r = -0.23, p = 0.04) induced by anger recall, while the correlations of the sleep/awake SBP ratio with other parameters of reactivity or recovery in the anger recall or mental arithmetic task were not significant. When subjects were divided into day-shift workers (n=54) and night-shift workers (n = 33), the sleep/awake SBP ratio was negatively correlated with relative SBP reactivity (r = -0.41, p = 0.02) and relative stress response of SBP (r = -0.48, p = 0.006) induced by anger recall, and positively correlated with recovery rate (r = 0.34, p = 0.06) in the latter group, while these correlations were not significant in the former group. The sleep/awake SBP ratio was inversely correlated with the exercise-induced SBP increase in the day-shift workers (r = -0.30, p = 0.03), while this association was not found in the night-shift workers. In conclusion, cardiovascular reactivity triggered by psychological and physical stress in the laboratory may be a weak, but significant, determinant of diurnal BP variation; in addition, work shift (day or night) appears to moderate the relationship between these two pressor mechanisms.
New Media, Old Criticism: Bloggers' Press Criticism and the Journalistic Field

Bourdieu’s field theory suggests that the rise of the internet and blogs could generate a shift in the journalistic field – the realm where actors struggle for autonomy – as new agents gain access. This textual analysis of 282 items of media criticism appearing on highly trafficked blogs reveals an emphasis on traditional journalistic norms, suggesting a stable field. Occasional criticisms of the practicability of traditional norms and calls for greater transparency, however, may suggest an emerging paradigm shift.
Consumption of Clarified Grapefruit Juice Ameliorates High-Fat Diet Induced Insulin Resistance and Weight Gain in Mice

To determine the metabolic effects of grapefruit juice consumption we established a model in which C57Bl/6 mice drank 25–50% sweetened GFJ, clarified of larger insoluble particles by centrifugation (cGFJ), ad libitum as their sole source of liquid or isocaloric and sweetened water. cGFJ and control groups consumed similar amounts of liquids and calories. Mice fed a high-fat diet and cGFJ experienced a 18.4% decrease in weight, a 13–17% decrease in fasting blood glucose, a three-fold decrease in fasting serum insulin, and a 38% decrease in liver triacylglycerol values, compared to controls. Mice fed a low-fat diet that drank cGFJ experienced a two-fold decrease in fasting insulin, but not the other outcomes observed with the high-fat diet. cGFJ consumption decreased blood glucose to a similar extent as the commonly used anti-diabetic drug metformin. Introduction of cGFJ after onset of diet-induced obesity also reduced weight and blood glucose. A bioactive compound in cGFJ, naringin, reduced blood glucose and improved insulin tolerance, but did not ameliorate weight gain. These data from a well-controlled animal study indicate that GFJ contains more than one health-promoting neutraceutical, and warrant further studies of GFJ effects in the context of obesity and/or the western diet.
The EU and North Africa after the Revolutions: A New Start or ‘plus ça change’?

After the euphoria of the Arab Spring in 2011, the EU vowed to overhaul its approach to its southern neighbourhood. Having been caught on the wrong side of history, in alliances with autocratic lea...
Investigation of thin flexible pavement response between traffic and the falling weight deflectometer (FWD)

AbstractThe Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) is commonly used to evaluate structural characteristics of pavements. The FWD simulates vehicular loads at typical highway speeds and the data is used...
Evolution and Medicine

Evolutionary medicine is a new field whose goal is to incorporate an evolutionary perspective into medical education, research, and practice. Evolutionary biologists and physicians have traditionally been concerned with different problems and have developed different ways of approaching and understanding biological phenomena. Evolutionary biologists analyze the properties of populations and the ways in which populations change over time, while physicians focus on the care of their individual patients. Evolutionists are concerned with the ultimate causes of biological phenomena, causes that operated during the phylogenetic history of a species, while physicians and biomedical scientists have been more interested in proximate causes, causes that operate during the ontogeny and life of an individual. Evolutionary medicine is based on the belief that an integration of these complementary views of biological phenomena will improve our understanding of health and disease. This essay reviews the theory of evolution by natural selection, as it was developed by Darwin and as it is now understood by evolutionary biologists. It emphasizes the importance of variation and selection, points out the differences between evolutionary fitness and health, and discusses some of the reasons why our evolutionary heritage has left us vulnerable to disease.
Steroid hormone receptor fraction stimulation of RNA synthesis: A caution

Summary A crude chick oviduct receptor fraction stimulated rifampicin resistant RNA synthesis in a cell-free transcription system containing oviduct chromatin. such crude receptor fractions were found to generate increased RNA synthesis by template independent processes. In order to critically evaluate the stimulatory effects of unpurified steroid receptor on transcription, a number of criteria are proposed. 1) Receptor preparations must be free of DNA and assayed with RNA polymerase in the absence of template. 2) RNA synthesis must be sensitive to actinomycin D, deficiencies in nucleotides and produce a macromolecular RNase sensitive product, 3) The reaction should be hormone-dependent and hormone specific.
Role of hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus α- and β-adrenergic receptors in regulation of blood glucose, free fatty acids and corticosterone

Abstract The potential roles of adrenergic and noradrenergic terminals in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus in the regulation of blood glucose and free fatty acids, the two major metabolic fuels, were examined. Corticosterone was also measured, both to assess the specificity of any effects for metabolic fuels, and because endogenous catecholamines in this site have previously been implicated in corticosterone regulation. In the first experiment adult male albino rats having chronically implanted guide cannulae aimed at the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus or the caudate nucleus received microinjections of the agonists methoxamine ( α 1 , clonidine ( α 2 ), and isoproterenol (β) (0, 10, 30, 100 nmol/500 nl), and blood samples were taken from the tail tip. In the second experiment a different set of rats received 30 nmol clonidine or vehicle subcutaneously instead of brain microinjections. Intracranial clonidine and isoproterenol produced marked and moderate hyperglycemia, respectively; methoxamine did not alter glucose. For neither clonidine nor isoproterenol was there any difference in hyperglycemia as a function of microinjection site: also, subcutaneous clonidine injections produced the same peak glucose response as was found after both paraventricular and caudate nucleus microinjections of the same dose. Free fatty acid levels were increased by clonidine and isoproterenol, but slightly suppressed by methoxamine; the α agonist effects, but not the β agonist effect, were greater after paraventricular microinjections than after caudate microinjections. Corticosterone was increased by both α agonists after paraventricular but not after caudate nucleus microinjections; β agonist microinjections into the paraventricular and caudate nuclei produced equivalent corticosterone elevations. These results suggest that most, if not all, of the hyperglycemic effects of α and β adrenergic agonist microinjection into the paraventricular nucleus can be ascribed to leakage of the material into the vasculature, with subsequent action at a distant site. In contrast, all 3 agonists seem capable of acting within the brain to alter free fatty acid levels. The effects on corticosterone or both the α 1 and α 2 agonists, but not the β agonist, also appear due, at least in part, to actions within the brain. Previous suggestions that catecholamine terminals in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus are directly and strongly involved in metabolic fuel regulation may require reconsideration.
Plasma membrane associated metabolic parameters and the aging of human diploid fibroblasts

Abstract Substrate uptake, portions of the cyclic AMP system, membrane fluidity and cellular phospholipid content are some of the parameters which are structurally associated with the plasma membrane and which have been linked to the control of cell proliferation. These parameters were studied with respect to cellular aging of human embryo lung fibroblasts (HELF) in culture. We observed in late passage an increase in the rate of uridine transport and in cellular cyclic AMP levels. These results were examined in relation to the increase in cell volume which occurs in senescing HELF. We also observed an increase in V max of uridine transport, and a decrease in the K m of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase (PDE) as quiescent, passage 18–25, HELF were stimulated to divide with fresh serum. A similar effect of serum occured in the lated passage (p. 43) cells despite the inability of these late passage cultures to undergo further proliferation. There was no change in cAMP-PDE activity with increasing passage number suggesting that the observed alterations of the cAMP levels, basal and in response to extracellular effectors, were due to alterations in the adenyl cyclase system. We observed no change in senescent HELF in membrane fluidity or phospholipid and neutral fat content.