cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Governance and Health Aid from the Global Fund: Effects Beyond Fighting Disease

Background: The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has proven highly effective at fighting the world’s major killers. Strong governance and robust development institutions are necessary, however, for improving health long-term. While some suggest that international aid can strengthen institutions, others worry that aid funding will undermine governance, creating long-term harm. The Global Fund is a unique aid institution with mechanisms designed to improve transparency and accountability, but the effectiveness of this architecture is not clear. Objectives: This study seeks evidence on the effects of Fund financing over the past 15 years on national governance and development. Methods: A unique dataset from 112 low- and middle-income countries was constructed with data from 2003 to 2017 on Global Fund financing and multiple measures of health, development, and governance. Building a set of regression models, we estimate the relationship between Fund financing and key indicators of good governance and development, controlling for multiple factors, including the effects of other aid programs and tests for reverse causality. Findings: We find that Global Fund support is associated with improved control of corruption, government accountability, political freedoms, regulatory quality, and rule of law, though association with effective policy implementation is less clear. We also find associated benefit for overall adult mortality and human development. Conclusion: Our data are not consistent with recent claims that aid undermines governance. Instead our findings support the proposition that the Global Fund architecture is making it possible to address the continuing crises of AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria in ways that improve institutions, fight corruption, and support development. Amidst the complex political economy that produces good governance at a national level, our finding of a beneficial effect of health aid suggests important lessons for aid in other settings.
Association of Smoking Status With Long‐Term Mortality and Health Status After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: Insights From the Society of Thoracic Surgeons/American College of Cardiology Transcatheter Valve Therapy Registry

Background Smoking is a significant risk factor for aortic stenosis but its impact on clinical and health status outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has not been described....
Complexity and Project Outcome: Why QI Projects Fail to Deliver on Their Promise and Even When Successful Initially, They Are Unsustainable

Projects fail at an alarming rate. While they may fail more spectacularly in large initiatives than in small initiatives, they still fail. The project domain doesn’t seem to matter either, whether manufacturing, information technology, quality improvement, and research; they frequently fail. There are dozens of academic and non-academic papers with lists ranging from a few essentials to more than 100 different factors that may contribute to project failure. Such lists beg the question of why, i.e., what is the underlying cause if there is one. Using examples from research and quality improvement projects, this chapter argues that the complexity of context is an underlying issue and the issue is one of the intervention by context interaction. As in the previous chapter, the two rules of thumb – heuristics – apply: (1) implementation is a function of the interaction between intervention and context; and (2) sustainability is equal to the degree to which the intervention becomes part of the context, i.e., − just the way we do business.
Abstract P1103: Angiotensin II Type I Receptor Agonistic Autoantibody Blockade Improves Hypertension and Immune Activation in Postpartum Preeclamptic Rats

Women with preeclampsia (PE) have a risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVD) later in life. The angiotensin II type I receptor agonistic autoantibodies (AT1-AAs) are elevated in women with ...
Efficacy of Trichoderma spp as Biocontrol Agents against Rice Brown Spot Disease and Biochemical Approaches

Fourteen isolates of Trichoderma spp were tested for their efficacy in controlling Bipolaris oryzae pathogen of rice brown spot disease in vitro and in vivo. Isolates of T. hamatum 4, T. viride 1, T. harzianum 1, 2 and 3 and T. virens were the best, recording 100% inhibition of the pathogen radial growth. Treatments of soil, and foliar spray with culture filterates of these antagonistic isolates were undertaken in the greenhouse and field during 2015 and 2016 seasons. A reduction in disease severity as well as an increment in chlorophyll content, POX, PPO and PAL enzymes activity and total phenol content were observed. T. viride1 and T. koningii were able to produce Indole Acetic Acid (IAA) with concentrations of 8.281, 1.359 ppm, gibberellic acid (GA3) 70.176, 41.052 ppm and abscisic acid (ABA) 1.649, 0.45 ppm, respectively. Foliar application of the cultural filtrates of T. harzianum 1 and T. viride 1 gave the highest concentration of IAA (20.697 and 11.916 ppm, respectively) in rice seedlings. Under field conditions, soil treatments with T. viride1 were more effective in reducing both brown spot percentage and disease severity similar to the effect of Del cup (Copper Sulfate Pentahydrate) fungicide in the two seasons.
Crystalline nodal topological superconductivity and Bogolyubov Fermi surfaces in monolayer NbSe 2

We present a microscopic calculation of the phase diagram of the Ising superconductor ${\mathrm{NbSe}}_{2}$ in the presence of both in-plane magnetic field and Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Repulsive interactions lead to two distinct instabilities, in singlet and triplet interaction channels. While we recover the previously predicted nodal topological superconducting state in the absence of Rashba SOC at large magnetic field with six pairs of nodes along $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}\text{\ensuremath{-}}M$ lines, a finite Rashba SOC breaks the symmetry that protects these nodes and therefore generally lifts them, resulting in a topologically trivial phase. There is an exception when the field is applied along one of the three $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}\text{\ensuremath{-}}K$ lines, however. In that case, a single mirror symmetry remains that can protect two pairs of nodes out of the original six, resulting in a crystalline topological superconducting phase. Depending on the Cooper pairs' center-of-mass momentum, this superconducting state displays either Bogolyubov Fermi surfaces or point nodes. Moreover, a chiral topological superconducting phase with a Chern number of 6 is realized in the regime of large Rashba SOC and dominant triplet interactions, spontaneously breaking time-reversal symmetry.
Radiologist Reporting and Operational Management for Patients With Suspected COVID-19.

Abstract Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the adoption and outcomes of locally designed reporting guidelines for patients with possible coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods A departmental guideline was developed for radiologists that specified reporting terminology and required communication for patients with imaging findings suggestive of COVID-19, on the basis of patient test status and imaging indication. In this retrospective study, radiology reports completed from March 1, 2020, to May 3, 2020, that mentioned COVID-19 were reviewed. Reports were divided into patients with known COVID-19, patients with “suspected” COVID-19 (having an order indication of respiratory or infectious signs or symptoms), and “unsuspected patients” (other order indications, eg, trauma or non–chest pain). The primary outcome was the percentage of COVID-19 reports using recommended terminology; the secondary outcome was percentages of suspected and unsuspected patients diagnosed with COVID-19. Relationships between categorical variables were assessed using the Fisher exact test. Results Among 77,400 total reports, 1,083 suggested COVID-19 on the basis of imaging findings; 774 of COVID-19 reports (71%) used recommended terminology. Of 574 patients without known COVID-19 at the time of interpretation, 345 (60%) were eventually diagnosed with COVID-19, including 61% (315 of 516) of suspected and 52% (30 of 58) of unsuspected patients. Nearly all unsuspected patients (46 of 58) were identified on CT. Conclusions Radiologists rapidly adopted recommended reporting terminology for patients with suspected COVID-19. The majority of patients for whom radiologists raised concern for COVID-19 were subsequently diagnosed with the disease, including the majority of clinically unsuspected patients. Using unambiguous terminology and timely notification about previously unsuspected patients will become increasingly critical to facilitate COVID-19 testing and contact tracing as states begin to lift restrictions.
Cryogenic Calibration of the RF Josephson Arbitrary Waveform Synthesizer

We performed a preliminary calibrated measurement of the output power of a Josephson arbitrary waveform synthesizer up to 1 GHz. We present the results and measurement procedure for generating quantum-based signals using an array of Josephson junctions operating at cryogenic temperature and calibrating those signals to transfer the on-wafer quantum-based accuracy to room temperature.
Governing through Crime: How the War on Crime Transformed American Democracy and Created a Culture of Fear. By Jonathan Simon

Governing through Cnme: How the War on Cnme Transformed American Democracy and Created a Culture of Fear. By Jonathan Simon. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Pp. 330. $29.95 cloth. In Governing through Cnme, Simon explores the state's exploitation of ordinary Americans' fears about crime and security over the past four decades. In arguing that a variety of state actors govern though crime, Simon meticulously traces the development of the so-called war on crime from its creation during the Johnson Administration through the contemporary war on terrorism. Simon-who selfconsciously attempts to provoke debate on the negative consequences of American leaders' focus on crime-aims to depict the culture of fear that has been created around crime and its implications for American life and American democracy in a variety of contexts. The book's first four chapters, "Power, Authority, and Criminal Law," "Prosecutor-in-Chief," "We Are the Victims," and 'Judgment and Distrust," display the structural, historical, and theoretical basis for governing through crime. After setting out some of the most visible attributes of the war on crime in Chapter 1-crime rate and imprisonment statistics and the structural arrangement of power in the regulation of crime-in Chapter 2, Simon outlines the metamorphosis of executive power in the form of presidents' and state governors' quest to define themselves and their objectives in relation to crime. He tracks the executive branch's prosecution complex from the mid-1960s, when President Lyndon Johnson first declared a "war on crime" as part of his Great Society through the second President Bush's war on terrorism. Simon convincingly argues that the changes implemented as a result of governing through crime have not necessarily increased security. Rather, governors' and presidents' shouldering of the mantle of the prosecutor has increased spending on crime control and has also expanded criminal sanctions while creating powerful vulnerabilities. In Chapters 3 and 4, Simon explores the impact of the war on crime on legislatures and courts. Chapter 3 explores legislators' manipulation of the public's fear of crime. Simon contends that at the federal level, governing through crime in the contemporary period originated with the Safe Streets Act of 1968. Among other things, this act changed the rules of evidence and authorized new federal funding for law enforcement, corrections, and courts. This legislation, according to Simon, created a harsh but lasting representational legacy that "to be for the people, legislators must be for victims and law enforcement, and thus they must never be for (or capable of being portrayed as being for) criminals or prisoners as individuals or as a class" (p. 100). The next chapter addresses the jurisprudence of crime, beginning with the Warren Court's criminal procedure revolution and continuing through its rollback during the Burger and Rehnquist courts. …
High-order Markov model for prediction of secondary crash likelihood considering incident duration

Traffic incidents can create major non-recurring congestion and have the potential to be fatal. Traffic Engineers and researchers have worked vigorously to reduce and prevent traffic crashes and ma...
Robust Deadbeat Finite-Set Predictive Current Control with Torque Oscillation and Noise Reduction for PMSM Drives

This paper proposes a unique control strategy for a deadbeat multiple vector finite-set model predictive current control with an embedded integral action (MV-FMPC) for permanent magnet synchronous motor drives. Torque ripple and phase current distortions in PMSM drives are minimized with the proposed controller by adopting the multiple vector approach to the finite-set model predictive control. The controller uses a hexagonal co-ordinate system to simplify the location and identification of the virtual vectors created, thereby eliminating the use of large look-up tables and reducing computational burden. When used with the proposed deadbeat prediction model, the overall steady-state performance, system robustness and quality of disturbance rejection are improved compared to the state-of-the-art finite-set model predictive current control (FS-MPC) methods with pulse width modulation (PWM). The improvements are due to the modified deadbeat prediction model with integral action, the algorithm used for multiple virtual voltage identification and the retention of the cost function in the proposed method. The proposed deadbeat MV-FMPC method and its improvements over the conventional FS-MPC have been verified through simulation and experiments with an interior-type permanent magnet synchronous machine.
Nicotinic and Muscarinic Regulation of Adrenal Catecholamine Secretion

The adrenal medulla has served as a very useful experimental tool to investigate a wide variety of noradrenergic mechanisms. The adrenal medulla is innervated by splanchnic neurons originating in the spinal cord, and about three synaptic contacts are made by splanchnic nerve endings on one chromaffin cell (1). Splanchnic neurons have been regarded as predominantly cholinergic in nature and contain acetylcholine as a principal neurotransmitter (2). The well-known sequence of events is that an increase in the activity of presynaptic splanchnic nerves causes the release of acetylcholine which, in turn, activates postsynaptic cholinergic receptors to trigger the secretion of medullary hormones.
Valproic Acid for the Treatment of Children With Mental Retardation and Mood Symptomatology

Most researchers agree that there is a high incidence of psychiatric illness among children with mental retardation. Menolascino 1,2 found diagnosable psychiatric disorders in 31 of 616 children who were suspected of being mentally retarded. Of this sample, 24.5% were noted to be "emotionally disturbed." Phillips and Williams 3 described the results of 100 psychiatric evaluations of children with mental retardation and assigned the following diagnoses: psychotic symptoms, 38%; neuroses, 5%; personality disorders and other nonpsychiatric disorders, 16%; behavior disorders, 26%; transient situational disorders, 2%; and no psychiatric disorder, 13%. Chess 4 and Hassibi 5 described behavior disorders in a group of 52 children living with their middle class families who were mildly and borderline mentally retarded.
Anthony: a Kansas-Oklahoma Border Site

(1961). Anthony: A Kansas-Oklahoma Border Site. Plains Anthropologist: Vol. 6, No. 12, pp. 112-114.
Protecting Our Nation's Political Duopoly: The Supremes Spoil the Libertarian's Party

Have pity on third-party candidates, members, and advocates. It has been 149 years since a third party,the Republican Party, ascended into major party status. No independent or third-party candidate has ever won the presidency. In fact, no independent or third-party presidential candidate has earned a single electoral vote since George Wallace won forty six electoral votes in 1968, and only four candidates earned electoral votes from 1892 through 1964. Independent and third-party candidates rarely become governors or win seats in the United States Senate or the United States House of Representatives. So, public life in the United States has been dominated by a political duopoly comprised of its two major political parties. Nevertheless, since the mid-1960s and early 1970s, the Unites States’ electorate has exhibited less major-party loyalty and political participation. The percent of voters identifying themselves as 'Strong Partisan' has declined, while the percent of voters saying they are leaning toward being Independent has increased. Voter turnout has also declined, and voters have increasingly engaged in ticket splitting. In recent years, these trends have given rise to greater interest in alternatives to major-party candidates within the U.S. electorate, and to much scholarly speculation on whether perceived flaws in our politics can be remedied by revitalizing our traditional two-party system or by facilitating the emergence of a multiparty system.
Meaning in Life as a Subjective Judgment and a Lived Experience

Abstract Meaning in life has long been recognized as a central dilemma of human life. Inthis article, we review some of the challenges of studying meaning in life fromthe perspective of social psychology. We draw on the diary of Etty Hillesum, ayoung woman who was killed in Auschwitz, to argue for the relevance of currentempirical approaches to meaning in life. We review evidence suggesting thatmeaning in life is an important variable in the psychology of human functioningwhile also acknowledging that there is no consensus definition for the construct.Drawing on Hillesum’s diary and our research, we argue for the importance ofconsidering meaning in life as the outcome of a subjective judgment process. Wethen review research showing the strong relationship between positive mood andmeaning in life and suggest that such a relationship is born out in the phenom-enology of meaning in life.... mysteries don’t lose their poetry because they are solved. Quite the contrary.The solution often turns out more beautiful than the puzzle, and anyway thesolution uncovers deeper mystery. Richard Dawkins
Low level wind maxima and temperature inversions over the northern great plains

Abstract Discriminant analysis is employed with kite sounding data from Drexel, Nebraska in an attempt to clarify the interaction between the wind shear and temperature inversions in the planetary boundary layer. The mean height of the inversion layer and a measure of the vertical wind shear either above or below the wind maximum combine in a statistically significant function to discriminate between cases when the level of the wind maximum is coincident either with the top or with the base of the inversion near sunrise.
On seeding equatorial spread F: Circular gravity waves

[1] A direct link appears to exist between gravity wave (GW) activity in the troposphere and plasma structure in the nighttime equatorial F layer during the solstices. This finding strongly favors a role being played by a neutral-ion coupling process, which involves (1) a spatially-varying dynamo current, generated in situ by a GW, and (2) perturbation transfer to the plasma by a polarization electric field. We show, for the first time, how two more of the puzzling features in observed plasma structure, referred to as equatorial spread F (ESF), can finally be explained, if we allow GWs to have circular, instead of plane, phase fronts. These features include (1) early appearance of large-scale wave structure (LSWS) when the F layer is low, and (2) common appearances of a monochromatic LSWS with a long zonal wavelength.
Blood volume determination in obese and normal-weight gravidas: the hydroxyethyl starch method.

Objective The impact of obesity on maternal blood volume in pregnancy has not been reported. We compared the blood volumes of obese and normal-weight gravidas using a validated hydroxyethyl starch (HES) dilution technique for blood volume estimation. Study Design Blood volumes were estimated in 30 normal-weight (pregravid body mass index [BMI] 2 ) and 30 obese (pregravid BMI >35 kg/m 2 ) gravidas >34 weeks' gestation using a modified HES dilution technique. Blood samples obtained before and 10 minutes after HES injection were analyzed for plasma glucose concentrations after acid hydrolysis of HES. Blood volume was calculated from the difference between glucose concentrations measured in hydrolyzed plasma. Results Obese gravidas had higher pregravid and visit BMI (mean [SD]): pregravid (41 [4] vs 22 [2] kg/m 2 , P = .001); visit (42 [4] vs 27 [2] kg/m 2 , P = .001), but lower weight gain (5 [7] vs 12 [4] kg, P = .001) than normal-weight women. Obese gravidas had similar estimated total blood volume to normal-weight women (8103 ± 2452 vs 6944 ± 2830 mL, P = .1), but lower blood volume per kilogram weight (73 ± 22 vs 95 ± 30 mL/kg, P = .007). Conclusion Obese gravidas have similar circulating blood volume, but lower blood volume per kilogram body weight, than normal-weight gravidas near term.
A formal foundation for A and A-bar movement

It seems a fact that movement dependencies come in two flavours: "A" and "A-bar". Over the years, a number of apparently independent properties have been shown to cluster together around this distinction. However, the basic structural property relating these two kinds of movement, the ban on improper movement ('once you go bar, you never go back'), has never been given a satisfactory explanation. Here, I propose a timing-based account of the A/A-bar distinction, which derives the ban on improper movement, and allows for a simple and elegant account of some of their differences. In this account, "A" dependencies are those which are entered into before an expression is first merged into a structure, and "A-bar" dependencies are those an expression enters into after having been merged. The resulting system is mildly context-sensitive, providing therefore a restrictive account of possible human grammars, while remaining expressive enough to be able to describe the kinds of dependencies which are thought to be manifest.
Catheter tip localization during umbilical venous exchange transfusion and necrotizing enterocolitis.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a potentially fatal disease in the newborn period. Although the condition has been recognized for many years,1 the etiology is poorly understood. NEC following umbilical venous exchange transfusion has been reported.2-6 In each reported instance, the umbilical venous catheter tip was either malpositioned in the liver or portal vein or its location was unknown. We report an infant who developed NEC following umbilical venous exchange transfusion, in whom the catheter tip was located in the inferior vena cava. CASE REPORT Baby boy U, weighing 3,495 gm at birth, was born by normal spontaneous vaginal delivery after 40 weeks9 gestation.
Addiction‐Specific CACREP Standards in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Programs: How Are They Met?

In 2009, the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) included training standards specific to addiction for clinical mental health counseling programs. This study surveyed CACREP-accredited program coordinators to determine how addiction-specific standards were addressed.
In vitro growth responses of Bradyrhizobium japonicum to soybean rhizosphere bacteria

Abstract Bacteria isolated from rhizospheres of field-grown soybean plants were examined for an ability to affect the growth in vitro of five strains of Bradyrhizobium japonicum . Of the 115 rhizosphere bacteria tested. 23 inhibited one or more strains. The bradyrhizobia differed in their responses to the rhizosphere bacteria with one strain (USDA 123) generally rated most sensitive. All of the rhizosphere bacteria which inhibited bradyrhizobia also produced fluorescent, yellow-green, diffusible pigments, although many more bacteria produced such pigments than inhibited bradyrhizobia. Nine of these active rhizosphere bacteria were subjected to standard bacteriological tests and were subsequently classified as fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. Additional studies using these nine bacteria suggested that most of the inhibitory effects of Pseudomonas spp on bradyrhizobia were caused by siderophore-induced iron deprivation.
White Matter Lesion Segmentation Using Machine Learning and Weakly Labeled MR Images

We propose a fast, learning-based algorithm for segmenting white matter (WM) lesions for magnetic resonance (MR) brain images. The inputs to the algorithm are T1, T2, and FLAIR images. Unlike most of the previously reported learning-based algorithms, which treat expert labeled lesion map as ground truth in the training step, the proposed algorithm only requires the user to provide a few regions of interest (ROI's) containing lesions. An unsupervised clustering algorithm is applied to segment these ROI's into areas. Based on the assumption that lesion voxels have higher intensity on FLAIR image, areas corresponding to lesions are identified and their probability distributions in T1, T2, and FLAIR images are computed. The lesion segmentation in 3D is done by using the probability distributions to generate a confidence map of lesion and applying a graph based segmentation algorithm to label lesion voxels. The initial lesion label is used to further refine the probability distribution estimation for the final lesion segmentation. The advantages of the proposed algorithm are: 1. By using the weak labels, we reduced the dependency of the segmentation performance on the expert discrimination of lesion voxels in the training samples; 2. The training can be done using labels generated by users with only general knowledge of brain anatomy and image characteristics of WM lesion, instead of these carefully labeled by experienced radiologists; 3. The algorithm is fast enough to make interactive segmentation possible. We test the algorithm on nine ACCORD-MIND MRI datasets. Experimental results show that our algorithm agrees well with expert labels and outperforms a support vector machine based WM lesion segmentation algorithm.
Change in metropolitan area residential integration 1970-80.

In contrast to the 1960s, the decade of the 1970s witnessed substantial progress in integrating residential neighborhoods in metropolitan areas. This progress was due to the redistribution of the black population toward middle- and high-income census tracts, areas more integrated than those left behind. Econometric analysis suggests that younger, higher income blacks played an important part in this redistribution; that residential integration was positively related to metropolitan area population size and black population income inequality; and that integration was negatively related to white prejudice, especially in strongly ethnic communities. Public sector discrimination, not strongly related to either a preceived threat from the black population or to fiscal considerations, seems to have slowed the pace of integration significantly.
Calculus and its teaching: an accumulation effect

The teaching of elementary calculus during the last twenty‐five years in the United States is comparable to the development of the calculus. The development of the calculus and the teaching of calculus share a similar background in that both are characterized by periods of time in which ideas slowly accumulate, awaiting the arrival of some person, who will, with a new method of discovery, synthesize the fragmentary pieces and lift the subject to a higher plane.
Cryogenic High-Accuracy Refraction Measuring System (CHARMS): a new facility for cryogenic infrared through far-ultraviolet refractive index measurements

The optical designs of future NASA infrared (IR) missions and instruments, such as the James Webb Space Telescope's (JWST) Near-Mixed Camera (NIRCam), will rely on accurate knowledge of the index of refraction of various IR optical materials at cryogenic temperatures. To meet this need, we have developed a Cryogenic, High-Accuracy Refraction Measuring System (CHARMS). In this paper we discuss the completion of the design and construction of CHARMS as well as the engineering details that constrained the final design and hardware implementation. In addition, we will present our first light, cryogenic, IR index of refraction data for LiF, BaF2, and CaF2, and compare our results to previously published data for these materials.
Portosystemic Shunt with Polysplenia and Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome

We report a unique case of portosystemic shunt with polysplenia and hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The abnormal vessel connected the right renal vein and the splenic vein. The shunt flow was from the systemic vein to the portal vein before the Fontan-type operation, but it reversed and ran from portal vein to systemic vein after the Fontan-type operation.
Pseudo-holography using scattered X rays

A MAJOR obstacle to the formation of images with scattered X rays is the lack of a suitable X-ray lens. Radiation at such short wavelengths is not appreciably refracted by matter, which means that a lens, in the optical sense of the word, cannot exist. To overcome this difficulty, a concept can be applied which has previously been used to form an image of sources which emit their own radiation rather than scattering radiation from another source. Basically, the concept consists of a two-step process in which the radiation is used to cast shadows of a coded aperture which are recorded on film. The encoded image is then decoded by one of several possible methods, depending on the type of aperture used. This technique was first proposed for use in X-ray astronomy1 and has been applied to imaging distribution of γ emitters (refs 2–5, and H. H. Barrett, and F. A. Horrigan, not yet published). We have used a Fresnel zone plate as a coded aperture. This is by no means the only possible aperture, but it does offer some advantages over other types. The advantages involve primarily the ease with which decoding can be accomplished.
The in-training examination in obstetrics and gynecology : an attempt to establish a remediation indicator

Abstract OBJECTIVE: With the use of a university- and community hospital-based faculty, we attempted to determine at what performance level remediation would be recommended. STUDY DESIGN: The Committee on In-Training Examinations for Residents in Obstetrics and Gynecology Task Force on Standard-Based Scoring sent the 1991 examination to 16 university- and 12 community hospital-based faculty members. Given a standardized definition of a "borderline third-year resident," each faculty scored each item on the examination on whether that hypothetic resident would or would not correctly answer the item. RESULTS: The mean expectation of correct responses on the 397-item test was 236 (59%). This was identical to the score obtained if 2 SDs were subtracted from the actual mean for all third-year residents taking the examination. University- and community hospital-based faculty members had generally similar expectations of this defined resident. CONCLUSION: Although poor examination results should not be recommended as the sole determinant for promotion, it appears that 2 SDs below the mean may be an appropriate score below which remediation could be recommended.
The functional dissonance of platelets

In this issue of Blood , Cloutier et al answer a long-standing but unappreciated question about the influence of platelets on vascular permeability.[1][1] The role of platelets in responding to vascular injury and the prevention blood loss is very well understood. Cloutier and colleagues have now
Risk factors for esophagitis in extreme acid hypersecretors with and without Zollinger-Ellison syndrome☆

Abstract Background & aims Whereas severe duodenal ulcer is the hallmark of acid hypersecretion in Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (ZE) and similar states, the esophagus also is at high risk. We quantified the incidence of esophagitis and various risk factors that might contribute to it. Methods Sixty-eight acid hypersecretors (basal acid output >15 mmol/h), 50 patients with ZE, and 18 patients without ZE with normal gastrin levels were studied by gastric analysis, serum gastrin levels, and endoscopy. In 44 of 68 patients, esophageal manometry was performed after the esophagus had healed. Results Erosive esophagitis, grade 2 or worse, was found in 65%; an additional 15% had heartburn only, for a total reflux disease incidence of 80%. ZE accounted for 95% of severe esophagitis. Patients with and without esophagitis had the same high overnight fasting gastric residual volume and acidity, as well as basal and peak acid and pepsin outputs. However, patients with esophagitis had a lower median lower esophageal sphincter pressure (LESP) of 15.5 vs. 23 mm Hg in those without symptoms; the critical discriminator threshold was 16 mm Hg. Multivariate analysis further identified frequent vomiting and obesity as positive predictors of esophagitis, whereas Helicobacter pylori was a strong negative predictor (odds ratio, 0.16), possibly related to an elevated LESP in patients infected with H . pylori . Conclusions Erosive esophagitis is very common in acid hypersecretors. Identified risk factors that could promote abnormal esophageal exposure to the high acid and pepsin levels in our population of hypersecretors were vomiting, LESP H . pylori appeared to protect the esophagus not by reduced acid, but through an elevated LESP.
Localization and associated histopathology of asexually proliferative Mesocestoides corti tetrathyridia (cestoda) infecting mouse mammary glands

Abstract Female mice of pregnant random-bred, or unmated BALB/c groups were exposed per os to Mesocestoides corti tetrathyridia and necropsied at various intervals postexposure. The right posterior subcutaneous fat pad with two mammary glands was removed from each mouse, stained, mounted whole and examined microscopically for localization of worms. The left fat pad/gland set was processed, sectioned and stained using standard histological techniques. In pregnant mice, tetrathyridia were localized primarily in the fat pad's posteroventral lobe. Unmated mice had few worms in the mammary glands or associated fat pads. The difference in infection levels between the two host groups may result from mouse strain difference or the pregnant condition of one group.
Degradation of methoxysuccinyl-phe-leu-phe-7-amido-4-trifluoromethyl coumarin (FLF) in cultured myotubes and HepG2 cells is proteasome- and calpain/calcium-dependent

During recent years, it has become increasingly clear that the ubiquitin-proteasome proteolytic pathway regulates intracellular protein degradation in various physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Substrates specifically degraded by the proteasome are important tools to assess the involvement of the proteasome in cellular proteolysis. It was recently proposed that the membrane permeable substrate methoxysuccinyl-phenylalanine-leucine-phenylalanine-7-amido-4- trifluoromethyl coumarin (FLF) is degraded specifically by the proteasome. The role of other proteolytic pathways in the degradation of FLF, however, is not fully understood. In the present study, we tested the role of different proteolytic pathways in the degradation of FLF in cultured myotubes and HepG2 cells by treating the cells with inhibitors of lysosomal, calpain and proteasome activity. In addition, we tested the hypothesis that insulin blocks proteasome-dependent degradation of FLF in myotubes and HepG2 cells. Results suggest that degradation of FLF in both myotubes and HepG2 cells is regulated by proteasome and calpain activity but not by lysosomal activity. Insulin inhibited proteasome-dependent but not calpain-dependent degradation of FLF in both myotubes and HepG2 cells. The results are important because they suggest that FLF degradation does not specifically reflect proteasome activity.
Enhancement of self-trapping by cooperative phenomena; Application to liquid crystals

Abstract A model of a rotational transition in a dielectric fluid leads to a nonlinear susceptibility proportional to ( T - T K ) -1 ; for some liquid crystals in the isotropic phase above T K the intensity dependent part of the refractive index can be an order of magnitude larger than that of CS 2 .
Control of the Gain of Visual–Motor Transmission Occurs in Visual Coordinates for Smooth Pursuit Eye Movements

Sensory inputs control motor behavior with a strength, or gain, that can be modulated according to the movement conditions. In smooth pursuit eye movements, the response to a brief perturbation of target motion is larger during pursuit of a moving target than during fixation of a stationary target. As a step toward identifying the locus and mechanism of gain modulation, we test whether it acts on signals that are in visual or motor coordinates. Monkeys tracked targets that moved at 15°/s in one of eight directions, including left, right, up, down, and the four oblique directions. In eight-ninths of the trials, the target underwent a brief perturbation that consisted of a single cycle of a 10 Hz sine wave of amplitude ±5°/s in one of the same eight directions. Even for oblique directions of baseline target motion, the magnitude of the eye velocity response to the perturbation was largest for a perturbation near the axis of target motion and smallest for a perturbation along the orthogonal axis. Computational modeling reveals that our data are reproduced when the strength of visual–motor transmission is modulated in sensory coordinates, and there is a static motor bias that favors horizontal eye movements. A network model shows how the output from the smooth eye movement region of the frontal eye fields (FEFSEM) could implement gain control by shifting the peak of a visual population response along the axes of preferred image speed and direction.
DETERMINATION OF THORIUM IN ZIRCONIUM-HAFNIUM MIXTURES BY AROMATIC POLYCARBOXYLIC ACIDS

Results are presented for 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic (trimesic), 1,2,4-benzenetricarboxylic (trimellitic) and 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylic (pyromellitic) acids as precipitants for thorium. Trimesic and pyromellitic acids have been found to be better reagents than trimellitic acid. Thorium and zirconium-hafnium mixtures can be separated by precipitating zirconium-hafnium first in 0.5–0.8 N acid solution and then precipitating thorium in the filtrate at 3–4 pH. The separations are quite reproducible. The precipitates in all cases are ignited to the respective oxides. 5–10 mg samples of thorium can be estimated and separated from 10–50 mg samples of zirconium and/or hafnium. Results of investigations on interferences of cations and anions and pyrolysis curves for the decomposition of precipitates are presented.
Particle-particle angular correlations in peripheral heavy-ion reactions

Abstract Angular correlations between fast α-particles and outgoing heavy reaction products have been measured for the reactions ( 16 O, 12,13,14 Cα) and ( 16 O, 14 Nα) on 208 Pb and 197 Au targets at 140 and 310 MeV laboratory energy. For a wide range of energy losses, coincident particles are preferentially emitted on the same side of the beam axis. The results are compared with recent qualitative predictions.
/sup 3/He-/sup 4/He mixture as a weak link for Josephson effects in superfluid /sup 3/He

We discuss the Josephson current for a special weak-link arrangement in superfluid /sup 3/He-B. The weak link is made out of a /sup 3/He-/sup 4/He mixture which separates two regions of pure /sup 3/He. For large separations (D>>xi/sub m/) we find Josephson's current-phase relation J = nv/sub c/ sinphi, and calculate the critical velocity v/sub c/.
Estimation of the surface concentration of adhered particles by color imaging

The surface concentration of adhered particles on flat or approximately flat surfaces can be estimated, non-destructively, by color imaging. Images in which the color is specified by the common RGB (red, green, blue) coordinates can be used when there is a sharp contrast between the color of the powder particles and that of the host surface. In the absence of sharp contrast, identification of the powder covered area is much easier after the color has been transformed into HSI (hue, saturation, intensity) coordinates. The actual determination is done by creating a curve depicting the relationship between surface concentration and the fraction of covered area. It is practically linear at low concentration and becomes increasingly concave upward as the concentration increases, a result of particle aggregation and multi-layered coverage.
Close genetic similarity of Atlantic and Pacific skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) demonstrated with restriction endonuclease analysis of mitochondrial DNA

Restriction endonuclease analysis of mitochondrial DNA indicated a surprisingly high degree of genetic similarity between skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The present results (1983) support the findings of previous morphological and electrophoretic studies. Evidently, since the uplift of the Panama land bridge about 3.1 million years ago, there has been continued genetic contact between Atlantic and Pacific skipjack tuna, presumably via the Southern Ocean.
Development of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Autoimmune Hepatitis Patients: A Case Series

The risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is believed to be low compared with other chronic liver diseases, and uncertainty exists over the need to perform HCC surveillance. If surveillance is initiated, the optimal timing is also not yet defined. The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of HCC among AIH patients. This was a retrospective study analyzing patient data from 1999 to 2009 in a large tertiary-care community hospital to assess the prevalence of HCC among AIH patients. Among 322 AIH cases, cancer screening identified six patients that developed HCC (prevalence: 459 per 100,000 patient-years). All six patients were extracted from the subset of AIH patients with cirrhosis (n = 50), resulting in a prevalence of 1,920 per 100,000 patient-years. In the AIH with HCC cohort, mean age of AIH diagnosis was 51.8 years (range, 24–70) and mean age of HCC diagnosis was 60.0 years (range, 37–71). The mean interval between diagnosis of AIH and HCC was 10.0 years. Three patients had AJCC stage ≥2 cancer at diagnosis, and two had BCLC stage B or C. The risk of HCC among AIH patients with cirrhosis is 1.9% per year. This is comparable to HCC risk among patients with cirrhosis secondary to HBV, HCV, hemochromatosis, or alcohol-related liver disease. Although this data needs to be confirmed in prospective studies, routine cancer screening and surveillance among this cohort for early detection and treatment should be conducted.
Exclusion of PITX2 mutations as a major cause of CHARGE association.

CHARGE is a nonrandom association of ocular coloboma, congenital heart defects, atresia of the choanae, retarded growth and development, genital hypoplasia, and ear anomalies including deafness. The cause of CHARGE remains unknown; however, there is considerable evidence of an underlying genetic basis, as discussed by Tellier et al. [1996: Clin Genet 50:548-550; 1998: Am J Med Genet 76:402-409] and by Martin et al. [2001: Am J Med Genet 99:115-119]. Based on the ocular, cardiac, and craniofacial expression pattern of Pitx2, a homeodomain transcription factor, and the pleiotropic effects of loss of PITX2 function in both mouse and human, we hypothesized that PITX2 mutations may contribute to the multiple phenotypic anomalies present in CHARGE individuals. By direct sequencing of DNA from 29 individuals with CHARGE, we did not identify any mutations in PITX2. We did, however, identify two PITX2 sequence polymorphisms. Large deletions of PITX2 were excluded in most patients by heterozygosity in at least one of several polymorphic markers near the PITX2 locus. Together, these data indicate that PITX2 mutations are unlikely to be a major contributing cause of the multiple anomalies present in individuals with CHARGE.
A new florally dimorphic hexaploid, Echinocereus yavapaiensis sp. nov. (section Triglochidiatus, Cactaceae) from central Arizona

A florally dimorphic hexaploid (n=33), Echinocereus yavapaiensis M. A. Baker, is newly described and possesses the highest number of chromosomes known within the genus. Populations of E. yavapaiensis occur in central Arizona between 1025 and 1860 m elevation and are associated with volcanic bedrock. Fifty three percent of the individuals studied produce only pollen-sterile flowers, which fail to undergo meiosis within the microspore mother cells, while 47% develop only pollen-fertile flowers. Chromosome determinations are presented for 41 populations of Echinocereus, including E. arizonicus (n=11), E. canyonensis (n=22), E. coccineus (n=22), E. matudae (n=11), E. pacificus (n=22), E. mombergerianus (n=22), E. santaritensis (n=22), and E. yavapaiensis. A phenetic analysis compares morphological variability among populations of E. yavapaiensis to those of its closest allies.
The preparation of a 1,2-disilacyclobutane and a 1,2-disilacyclobut-3-ene by dimethylsilylene insertion into the silacyclopropane and silacyclopropene ring systems. New silacyclopropenes

Abstract The thermolysis of hexamethylsilacyclopropane in the presence of 1,1-dimethyl-2,3-bis(trimethylsilyl)-1-silacyclopropene resulted in formation of octamethyl-1,2-disilacyclobutane and 1,1,2,2-tetramethyl-3,4-bis(trimethylsilyl)-1,2-disilacyclobut-3-ene via Me 2 Si insertion into the silacyclopropane and silacyclopropene rings. Thermolysis of hexamethylsilacyclopropane alone in benzene at 70° gave the former compound in 40% yield. Oxidation of these compounds with O 2 gave the respective 1,3-disila-2-oxa-cyclopentane and 1,3-disila-2-oxa-cyclopent-4-ene compounds. Four new silacyclopropenes (VIIIa–d) have been prepared and characterized.
Sharing Genetic Test Results in Lynch Syndrome: Communication with Close and Distant Relatives

Background & Aims: Clinical genetic testing can help direct cancer screening for members of Lynch syndrome families; however, there is limited information about family communication of genetic test results. Methods: A total of 174 probands who had genetic testing for Lynch syndrome were enrolled through 4 US cancer genetics clinics. Subjects were asked whether they had disclosed their genetic test results to first-, second-, and third-degree relatives. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify clinical and demographic factors associated with informing immediate and extended family of genetic test results. Results: One hundred seventy-one of 174 probands (98%; 95% confidence interval, 95%–100%) reported that they had disclosed their genetic test result to a first-degree relative. Communication of test results to other relatives occurred significantly less often, with only 109 of 162 (67%; 95% confidence interval, 59%–74%) subjects with second- or third-degree relatives sharing their results. Individuals with a pathogenic mutation were significantly more likely to inform distant relatives than were subjects with a negative or indeterminate test result (odds ratio, 2.49; 95% confidence interval, 1.14–5.40). Probands' age, sex, and cancer status did not influence communication of genetic test results. Lack of closeness and concerns that relatives would worry or not understand the implications of test results were the primary reasons for not sharing genetic test results. Conclusions: Most individuals who undergo genetic testing for Lynch syndrome share their test results with first-degree family members; however, these results reach more distant relatives significantly less often. Interventions to improve communication of genetic test results to members of the extended family are necessary to provide optimal cancer prevention care to at-risk families.