cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
"¡Pertenecemos y Tenemos Importancia Aquí!" Exploring Sense of Belonging and Mattering for First-Generation and Continuing-Generation Latinx Undergraduates.

Using a psychosociocultural approach, we examined the role of motivation, belonging, and congruity relative to sense of mattering for 236 Latinx undergraduates attending a public Midwest research u...
An elevated CA 19-9 is associated with invasive cancer and worse survival in IPMN.

Abstract Background Current guidelines for IPMN include an elevated serum carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 among the worrisome features. However, the correlation of CA 19-9 with histological malignant features and survival is unclear. Serum CEA is also currently used for preoperative management of IPMN, although its measurement is not evidence-based. Accordingly, we aimed to assess the role of these tumor markers as predictors of malignancy in IPMN. Methods IPMN resected between 1998 and 2018 at Massachusetts General Hospital were analyzed. Clinical, pathological and survival data were collected and compared to preoperative levels of CA 19-9 and CEA. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and Cox regression analyses were performed considering cut-offs of 37 U/ml (CA 19-9) and 5 μg/l (CEA). Results Analysis of 594 patients showed that preoperative CA 19-9 levels > 37 U/ml (n = 128) were associated with an increased likelihood of invasive carcinoma when compared to normal levels (45.3% vs. 18.0%, P 37 U/ml (17.2% vs 4.9%, P Conclusion In patients with IPMN, serum CA19-9 > 37 U/ml is associated with invasive IPMN and concurrent pancreatic cancer as well as worse survival, but not with high-grade dysplasia. Serum CEA appears to have minimal utility in the management of these patients.
Outcomes of Surgical Evacuation of Chronic Subdural Hematoma in the Aged: Institutional Experience and Systematic Review.

Background Surgical intervention for chronic subdural hematoma (cSDH) in the elderly population remains a clinical challenge given that associated morbidity and outcomes do not always equate radiographic success with clinical success. Our objective was to compare outcome measures of 2 age groups of patients undergoing surgical intervention for cSDH evacuation and to perform a systematic review of the literature related to this topic. Methods A retrospective analysis of adult patients undergoing surgical evacuation of cSDH at our institution was performed. Primary outcome measures of modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score at discharge and 3 months were assessed. In addition, a systematic search was performed to collect all relevant studies addressing outcomes after surgical intervention in aged patients with cSDH. Results There were 72 patients in the younger cohort ( Conclusions The aged cohort had worse outcomes than the younger cohort as determined by mRS score at discharge and 3 months. A systematic review of outcomes is provided with limited meta-analysis because of the heterogenous nature of outcome reporting and the observational design of previous studies. Further studies with standardized reporting and long-term follow-up are warranted to further study outcomes in this increasing population.
Mechanical Methods of Induction of Labor.

Mechanical induction of labor with single or double balloon catheters is similar to induction with vaginal prostaglandin E2 in rates of vaginal delivery achieved within 24 hours, and it has a more favorable safety profile.
Patient Understanding of Discharge Instructions for Home Diabetes Self-Management and Risk for Hospital Readmission and Emergency Department Visits

Abstract Objective The primary objective of this study was to examine the patient comprehension of diabetes self-management instructions provided at hospital discharge as an associated risk of readmission. Methods Noncritically ill patients with diabetes completed patient comprehension questionnaires (PCQ) within 48 hours of discharge. PCQ scores were compared among patients with and without readmission or emergency department (ED) visits at 30 and 90 days. Glycemic measures 48 hours preceding discharge were investigated. Diabetes Early Readmission Risk Indicators (DERRIs) were calculated for each patient. Results Of 128 patients who completed the PCQ, scores were similar among those with 30-day (n = 31) and 90-day (n = 54) readmission compared with no readmission (n = 72) (79.9 ± 14.4 vs 80.4 ± 15.6 vs 82.3 ± 16.4, respectively) or ED visits. Clarification of discharge information was provided for 47 patients. PCQ scores of 100% were achieved in 14% of those with and 86% without readmission at 30 days (P = .108). Of predischarge glycemic measures, glycemic variability was negatively associated with PCQ scores (P = .035). DERRIs were significantly higher among patients readmitted at 90 days but not 30 days. Conclusion These results demonstrate similar PCQ scores between patients with and those without readmission or ED visits despite the need for corrective information in many patients. Measures of glycemic variability were associated with PCQ scores but not readmission risk. This study validates DERRI as a predictor for readmission at 90 days.
The Evolution of NASA’s High-End Computing Capabilities

For over 35 years, the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) Division at Ames Research Center has housed and managed the U.S. space agency’s largest supercomputing assets. Focused on high-end computing technologies, efficient operations, and user success, the NAS Division has worked with industry to deploy a series of highly successful systems that enable scientific and engineering achievements across NASA. The complementary role of the High-End Computing Capability (HECC) project is evolving to meet NASA’s future challenges in returning to the Moon as a pathway to Mars, while continuing exciting research in aeronautics, space exploration, and Earth science.
Puncturing Hubris and Insularity: The 1942 Yellow Fever Vaccine Disaster and COVID-19.

[...]although the vaccine's association with an unknownfilterableviruswould notbe recognized for several years (with the virus itself only identified as the hepatitis B virus after several decades), the apparent relationship ofthe acute hepatitis to the human serum that was used in the production ofthe vaccine was determined within several weeks, with vaccination halted accordingly. [...]the US yellow fever vaccine-associated hepatitis fiasco had been preceded by an earlier such association in Brazil only two years previously. Amid this proliferation, scholars have raised concerns over North-South funding and power imbalances that shape aspects of the research enterprise, ranging from the questions to be answered and the interventions that are proposed to the distribution of project funding and the order of authorship in articles stemming from such projects.5-7 Even beyond these structural inequities, moreover, lay issues ofmutual trust and confidence among collaborators,8 as they apparently did eight decades prior. The Global Health Security Index is not predictive of coronavirus pandemic responses among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries.
Matched-Linacs Workload Optimization Based on MLC Usage.

Purpose/Objective(s) To optimize patient workload on matched-Linacs in order to increase machine efficiency, reduce patient's waiting time, minimize transfer patients between machines, and maybe reduce machine downtime. Materials/Methods Two matched Linear Accelerators (TB1 & 2) are used at our department to treat prostate, liver, and lung patients with Volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) technique. The patient workload is divided based on number or site. Currently, there are 20 patients on each Linac but transfer patients between the two machines are expected on daily basis in order to treat patients on time. In this study, plan complexity parameters were calculated for 40 patients (20 on each Linac) using Python 3.7.4. Plan complexity parameters extracted from the DICOM-RT plan include the total distance traveled by the Multileaf collimator (MLC) leaves, number of control points (CP), and the delivered dose. These parameters were calculated and analyzed for each patient using Panda's library in Python. Results The total distance traveled by MLCs on TB1 is 238,697.9 cm versus 342,943.6 cm on TB2. Also, the total number of CPs is 9,728 versus 10,830 and total number of MUs is 22,813 versus 15,549 for TB1 and TB2 respectively. It's clear that the current patient distribution increased TB2 usage by 30.4% and 10.2% for MLC and gantry rotations (CPs), respectively. Delivered dose for TB1 was 31.8% higher than TB2 and that difference is due to the higher number of SBRT patients scheduled and treated on TB1. Conclusion Our results suggest that dividing patients on matched Linacs based on number or site is not the optimal way. Plan parameters such as distance travelled by MLCs, number of CPs (gantry rotation), and delivered dose can be used as a guide to distribute the patient workload. Machine usage can be correlated to downtime (future goal) so optimizing the patient load is critical to keep machine in a good shape and to treat patient without any delay. Further investigation is needed to analyze other factors such as patient setup, gating and immobilization in order to increase machine efficiency and reduce downtime and that eventually will increase patient satisfaction.
Use of a blog in an undergraduate nursing leadership course

In this study, the use of a blog in a senior leadership clinical nursing course was analyzed qualitatively through two means; focus group interviews of those using the blog, and analysis of blog content. Initial feelings expressed by students were annoyance and intimidation concerning the blogging assignment. These feelings quickly dissipated, with students verbalizing many positive aspects related to the blog, including having a place to reflect, feeling connected as a group, valuing feedback provided by their peers, and learning from theirs and others' experiences. The mechanics of having to synthesize their thoughts in written form, in a shared venue was also identified by students to be helpful for their learning. Blog posts were primarily related to student experiences, with students identifying a "lesson learned" in most posts. Student comments were geared to providing support of fellow students, through words of encouragement or through sharing similar experiences. Instructors felt the blog, in addition to helping students to synthesize their thoughts, helped to monitor how students were learning and progressing throughout the semester, and helped them to transition from nursing student to practicing professional. The researchers concluded that blogging in a senior leadership clinical nursing course promotes reflection is an effective way to enhance student learning.
Topic detection and tracking evaluation overview

The objective of the Topic Detection and Tracking (TDT) program is to develop technologies that search, organize and structure multilingual, news oriented textual materials from a variety of broadcast news media. This research program uses controlled laboratory simulations of hypothetical systems to test the efficacy of potential technologies, to gauge research progress, and to provide a forum for the exchange of research information. This chapter introduces TDT's evaluation methodology including: the Linguistic Data Consortium's TDT corpora, evaluation metrics used in TDT and the five TDT research tasks: Topic Tracking, Link Detection, Topic Detection, First Story Detection, and Story Segmentation.
Performance of Neural Net Heuristics for Maximum Clique on DiverseHighly Compressible Graphs

The problem of finding the size of the largest clique in an undirected graph is NP-hard, even to well-approximate, in the worst case. Simple algorithms, including some we study here, work quite well however, on graphs sampled from u(n), the uniform distribution on n-vertex graphs. It is felt by many, however, that u(n) does not accurately reflect the nature of instances that come up in practice. It is argued that when the actual distribution of instances is unknown, it is more appropriate to suppose that instances come from the Solomonoff–Levin or t universal distribution m(x) instead, which assigns higher weight to instances with shorter descriptions (i.e., to those that are structured or compressible). We extend a theorem of Li and Vitanyi to show that the average-case performance ratio of any approximation algorithm on random instances drawn from m(x) has the same asymptotic order as its worst-case performance ratio. Because m(x) is neither computable nor samplable, we employ a realistic analogue q(x) which lends itself to efficient empirical testing. We experimentally evaluate how well certain neural network algorithms for Maximum Clique perform on graphs drawn from q(x), as compared to those drawn from u(n). The experimental results are as follows. All nine algorithms we evaluated performed roughly equally-well on u(n), where as three of them — the simplest ones — performed markedly poorer than the other six on q(x). Our results suggest that q(x), while postulated as a more realistic distribution to test the performance of algorithms than u(n), also discriminates their performance better. Our q(x) sampler can be used to generate compressible instances of any discrete problem.
The Seasoned Schemer

The notion that "thinking about computing is one of the most exciting things the human mind can do" sets both The Little Schemer (formerly known as The Little LISPer) and its new companion volume, The Seasoned Schemer, apart from other books on LISP. The authors' enthusiasm for their subject is compelling as they present abstract concepts in a humorous and easy-to-grasp fashion. Together, these books will open new doors of thought to anyone who wants to find out what computing is really about. The Little Schemer introduces computing as an extension of arithmetic and algebra; things that everyone studies in grade school and high school. It introduces programs as recursive functions and briefly discusses the limits of what computers can do. The authors use the programming language Scheme, and interesting foods to illustrate these abstract ideas. The Seasoned Schemer informs the reader about additional dimensions of computing: functions as values, change of state, and exceptional cases. The Little LISPer has been a popular introduction to LISP for many years. It had appeared in French and Japanese. The Little Schemer and The Seasoned Schemer are worthy successors and will prove equally popular as textbooks for Scheme courses as well as companion texts for any complete introductory course in Computer Science.
Minimizing bending losses in two-dimensional discrete soliton networks

Summary form only given. In a recent study we have shown that discrete solitons (DS) in two-dimensional networks can be used to realize intelligent functional operations such as blocking, routing, logic functions and time gating. More specifically, this class of solitons can be all-optically navigated in 2-D array networks - a property highly desirable for optical routers. In this case, a DS can move transversely along any preassigned path and thus the array behaves like a soliton wire. Bends are essential elements of such DS networks. In general a soliton tends to loose power when it encounters a bend due to reflections. This becomes particularly problematic when bends are used in cascade. Thus reducing bending losses in such array networks is an issue of importance. In this work we show that reflection losses occurring along sharp bends can be minimized by appropriate design. Analysis indicates that this can be accomplished by modifying the properties of the corner waveguide.
A recursion equation for prime numbers

It is shown that the first $n$ prime numbers $p_1,...,p_n$ determine the next one by the recursion equation $$ p_{n+1} =\lim\limits_{s\to +\infty} [\prod\limits^n_{k=1} (1-\frac{1}{p^s_k}) \sum\limits^\infty_{j=1} \frac{1}{j^s} -1]^{-1/s}. $$ The upper limit on the sum can be replaced by $2p_n -1$, and the result still holds.
Human antibody response to individual outer membrane proteins of Haemophilus influenzae type b.

Abstract To evaluate the potential of outer membrane proteins of Haemophilus influenzae as a vaccine, sera from 11 healthy persons and from 23 patients convalescing from disease caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b were assayed for antibodies to individual outer membrane proteins of a single type b isolate, strain Eag, by a gel radioimmunoassay. All 23 patients, ranging in age from 2 months to 62 years, with 17 patients being 24 months or less, had antibodies to some of these proteins in their sera (range, antibodies to 4 to 17 proteins per patient). Although the intensity and spectrum of the response varied, all patients had antibodies to one particular outer membrane protein and 19 patients had antibodies to another, with those patients 5 years and older having antibodies to more proteins than did infants (24 months). In the two cases examined, convalescent sera had greater amounts and broader spectra of antibodies than did acute sera. In addition, 10 of 11 healthy subjects not known to have had systemic H. influenzae disease also had antibodies to individual outer membrane proteins, with older children having greater amounts than did their younger siblings and with children showing a different spectrum of response than that for adults. Thus, antibodies to outer membrane proteins are commonly found in humans. Also, these results and those demonstrating that hyperimmune rabbit antisera to strain Eag reacted with each of five type b substrains possessing some different outer membrane proteins indicate considerable cross-reactivity among these proteins. These results encourage continued consideration of outer membrane proteins in a vaccine.
Systematic collection data in North American invertebrate conservation and monitoring programmes

Summary 1 Although likely to yield less copious collections than their tropical counterparts, temperate inventories focused on invertebrates require individuals not only trained to deal with a wide array of taxa but also versed in the techniques used to process and archive specimens. 2 Due in part to the prevalence of physically intensive conservation management practices (e.g. prescribed burning) or resource management practices (e.g. selective logging), and in part to a better understanding of temperate invertebrate faunas relative to their tropical counterparts, temperate conservationists bear an inescapable responsibility for monitoring the effects of such practices on species assemblages of conservation concern. 3 Counterintuitively, North American conservation programmes, particularly those involving monitoring, run the risk of turning away from concerns for invertebrate assemblages, despite their being relatively well-understood, recognized as powerful conservation tools or indicators, and in some areas the demonstrable majority of the most threatened of animal species. 4 Synthesis and applications. To prevent further erosion or underuse of invertebrate monitoring and inventories, there is a recognizable need for professional space in the North American conservation community for parataxonomist-like individuals. These should be trained to deal with both the required field procedures and the standards and practices associated with maintaining systematic voucher and reference collections in natural history museums and herbaria. In particular, the relevance of discovery-orientated biological inventories and collections-based systematic research to the design and implementation of adequate natural areas management and monitoring remains underemphasized and underappreciated by some allegedly science-based conservation programmes.
EVIDENCE THAT TWO LOCI PREDOMINANTLY DETERMINE THE DIFFERENCE IN SUSCEPTIBILITY TO THE HIGH PRESSURE NEUROLOGIC SYNDROME TYPE I SEIZURE IN MICE

Most mammals tested, when exposed to increasing pressure in helium/oxygen atmospheres, exhibit progressive motor disturbances culminating in two, usually successive, well-differentiated convulsive seizures. The seizures are highly reproducible components of the constellation of events that collectively constitute the High Pressure Neurologic Syndrome (HPNS). In the present study, we present evidence that the mean difference in seizure threshold pressures of the first seizure to occur (HPNS Type I) between inbred mouse strains DBA/2J and C57BL/6J is predominantly determined (> 60%) by the expression of a major locus—possibly linked to the H-2 locus on chromosome 17—and a minor locus, probably unlinked. This outcome is derived from applications of the maximum likelihood modeling procedure of Elston and Stewart (1973) and Stewart and Elston (1973) to eleven models of genetic determinacy and tests (including breeding tests) of "preferred" models so derived using BXD recombinant inbred strains that show the following: The major locus exhibits conditional dominance characteristics depending upon compression rate and minor locus genotype. At a constant mean compression rate of 100 atm hr-1, the major locus manifests strong, though incomplete, dominance apparently independent of minor locus genotype. Its expression is, however, highly sensitive to compression rate, losing its dominance altogether at a linear rate of 1,000 atm hr-1. The major locus interacts with the weakly dominant and relatively compression-rate-insensitive minor locus to retain dominance at fast compression only when the dominant alleles of both loci are present. A principal finding of this study is that employing two compression rates permits fuller genetic characterization of murine high-pressure seizure susceptibility differences than could be achieved by use of a single compression rate.
Search results pages and competition for attention theory: an exploratory eye-tracking study

The World Wide Web plays a central role in many aspects of our modern life. In particular, using search engines to access information about products and services has become an integral part of our day-to-day activities. In this study we look at users' viewing behavior on search engine results pages (SERPs) through the lens of competition for attention theory. While this theory has been used for examining consumer behavior on e-commerce websites, little work has been done to test this theory for viewing behavior on SERPs. We use eye tracking data to analyze viewing behavior. The results show that viewing behavior can have an impact on a user experience and effective search, providing theoretical direction for studying the viewing behavior of SERPs.
Living Alone and Patient Care Experiences: The Role of Gender in a National Sample of Medicare Beneficiaries

Background. Seniors who live alone are a large, growing population with poorer health outcomes. We examine the little-studied health care experiences and immunizations of older adults who live alone. Methods. We use regression-based case-mix adjustment to compare immunizations and health care experiences of 325,649 adults aged 65 and older who lived alone to those who did not, overall and by gender and health status, using nationally representative data from the Medicare Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (MCAHPS) surveys. Outcomes were five global care ratings (health plan, drug plan, doctor, specialists, all care), six composite care measures (getting needed care, getting care quickly, doctor communication, customer service, getting needed drugs, getting information from drug plan), and two immunization measures (influenza, pneumonia). Results. About 30.3% of respondents lived alone. Women, older beneficiaries, and low income (Medicaid eligible) beneficiaries reported living alone at substantially higher rates than their counterparts. Care experiences for 8 of the 13 measures were significantly worse for those who lived alone than for others. The association differed significantly in magnitude by gender for 10 measures, with larger average differences for men. The largest disadvantages for those living alone were for immunization measures (eg, influenza −6 percentage points, for men living alone vs other men). The disadvantages of living alone were not consistently greater for those in worse health. Conclusions. Living alone is associated with worse care experiences and immunization, especially for men. Health plans should target quality improvement and outreach efforts to beneficiaries who live alone, especially men.
Molecular mechanisms of rotational catalysis in the F0F1 ATP synthase

Rotation of the F(0)F(1) ATP synthase gamma subunit drives each of the three catalytic sites through their reaction pathways. The enzyme completes three cycles and synthesizes or hydrolyzes three ATP for each 360 degrees rotation of the gamma subunit. Mutagenesis studies have yielded considerable information on the roles of interactions between the rotor gamma subunit and the catalytic beta subunits. Amino acid substitutions, such as replacement of the conserved gammaMet-23 by Lys, cause altered interactions between gamma and beta subunits that have dramatic effects on the transition state of the steady state ATP synthesis and hydrolysis reactions. The mutations also perturb transmission of specific conformational information between subunits which is important for efficient conversion of energy between rotation and catalysis, and render the coupling between catalysis and transport inefficient. Amino acid replacements in the transport domain also affect the steady state catalytic transition state indicating that rotation is involved in coupling to transport.
Social Constructionist Family Systems Research: Conceptual Considerations

The purpose of this article is to illustrate how theory and particularly the theoretical perspective of social constructionism can influence the ways in which scholars conduct qualitative research studies in the area of family systems. The authors argue for the importance of theory in qualitative research projects and promote researchers' clear and conscious articulation of epistemological and theoretical commitments taken during the research projects. Therefore, this article exemplifies some of these theoretical connections and elaborates on selected concepts embedded in social constructionism (e.g., socialization in context, dialogue, identity) and discusses how these concepts can be applied to qualitative family systems research. The authors address and exemplify the role of subjectivity in social constructionist research design and propose the use of focus groups as a suitable methodology for this type of research.
Mosaic evolution in the Drosophila genome

Investigation of the evolution of the DNA sequences that comprise a small gene cluster in five closely related species of Drosophila shows that it evolves as a mosaic, with adjacent subregions displaying very different rates and types of evolution. It appears that local differences in the influence of selectional and mutational forces result in the formation of these distinct subregions.
Sieci innowacyjne a polityka wspierania małych i średnich przedsiębiorstw (MŚP)

Siec to zbior wyselekcjonowanych związkow (zarowno kooperacyjnych, jak i konkurencyjnych) z wybranymi partnerami, wpisujących sie w relacje rynkowe przedsiebiorstw. Celem artykulu jest analiza znaczenia sieci innowacyjnych w konkurencyjności malych i średnich przedsiebiorstw. Na tej podstawie podjeto probe sformulowania wnioskow istotnych dla polityki wspierania tej grupy firm. Omowiono takie zagadnienia jak: zewnetrzne efekty sieci a konkurencyjnośc w dziedzinie innowacji przelomowych, regionalne sieci przedsiebiorstw - wplyw na konkurencyjnośc i perspektywy rozwoju.
Exchange rate pass-through, price discrimination, and US meat export prices

Exports are becoming increasingly important for US livestock and poultry producers. Consequently, meat industry participants are concerned about the potential impacts of variations in relative currency values. These effects are considered by quantifying the impacts of relative exchange rates on US beef, pork and poultry export prices. In addition, the impacts of GATT and NAFTA agreements on exchange rate pass-through are considered. The results indicate incomplete exchange rate pass-through occurs for several countries. Trade liberalization under GATT has positively influenced US beef and poultry export prices.
P.43: Model Development for Cell‐Gap Induced Mura to Improve Quality of Glass Substrates to Display Manufacturers

Implications of cell gap variations on LCD performance, particularly Mura, are discussed. A model combining light transmission through LCD and its perception is presented, including an application. Such a model can be used as a guide to define glass surface flatness performance needs to enable high quality displays.
Rare pulmonary neoplasms

We reviewed the clinical course and the results of various treatment modalities of 80 patients with rare pulmonary neoplasms, who constituted 0.8% of all patients with primary lung cancer treated at the Mayo Clinic from 1980 through 1990. The 50 male and 30 female patients had a median age of 60 years (range, 20 to 87). The histopathologic types of these rare pulmonary neoplasms were non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (41%), carcinosarcoma (20%), mucoepidermoid carcinoma (15%), malignant fibrous histiocytoma (5%), malignant melanoma (4%), fibrosarcoma (4%), leiomyosarcoma (4%), angiosarcoma (2%), hemangiopericytoma (2%), osteosarcoma (1%), and blastoma (1%). Follow-up was complete in all 80 patients, and the median duration of follow-up was 59 months (range, 15 to 130). Of the 80 patients, 63 (79%) underwent pulmonary resection. Of the other 17 patients, 8 underwent only bronchoscopy for diagnosis, 4 had unresectable disease at thoracotomy, 3 had metastatic disease on initial assessment, and 2 had mediastinal involvement detected on mediastinoscopy. Fifty-four patients (68%) received chemotherapy or radiation treatment (or both). The overall 5-year survival was 39%. The strongest factors that influenced survival were cell type and extent of disease at time of initial examination.
A class of quasilinear parabolic equations with infinite delay and application to a problem of viscoelasticity

Abstract A semigroup approach to differential-delay equations is developed which reduces such equations to ordinary differential equations on a Banach space of histories and seems more suitable for certain partial integro-differential equations than the standard theory. The method is applied to prove a local-time existence theorem for equations of the form utt = g(uxt, uxt)x, where ∂g ∂u xt > 0 . On a formal level, it is demonstrated that the stretching of filaments of viscoelastic liquids can be described by an equation of this form.
Comparison of left and right atrial volume by echocardiography versus cardiac magnetic resonance imaging using the area-length method.

Increased atrial volumes predict adverse cardiovascular events. Accordingly, accurate measurement of atrial size has become increasingly important in clinical practice. The area-length method is commonly used to estimate the volume. Disagreements between atrial volumes using echocardiography and other imaging modalities have been found. It is unclear whether this has resulted from differences in the measurement method or discrepancies among imaging modalities. We compared the right atrial (RA) and left atrial (LA) volume estimates using the area-length method for transthoracic echocardiography and cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. Patients undergoing echocardiography and CMR imaging within 1 month were identified retrospectively. For both modalities, the RA and LA long-axis dimension and area were measured using standard 2- and 4-chamber views, and the volume was calculated using the area-length method for both atria. The echocardiographic and CMR values were compared using the Bland-Altman method. A total of 85 patients and 18 controls were included in the present study. The atrial volumes estimated using the area-length method were significantly smaller when measured using echocardiography than when measured using CMR imaging (LA volume 35 ± 20 vs 49 ± 30 ml/m2, p
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and 3β-methylandrost-5-en-17-one: inhibitors of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-initiated and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-promoted skin papilloma formation in mice

Long-term oral administration of the adrenal steroid, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), has previously been shown to inhibit the development of spontaneous breast cancer and chemically induced lung and colon tumors in various mouse strains. In the two-stage skin papilloma system in the mouse, topical application of DHEA inhibits both 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene initiation and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate promotion of these tumors. The synthetic steroid, 3 beta-methylandrost-5-en-17-one, which, unlike DHEA, is not demonstrably estrogenic in the rat, also inhibits papilloma development.
Improved Langmuir Probe Array for DIII-D

Langmuir probes are commonly used plasma diagnostics measuring localized floating potential, electron temperature, particle flux, and electron density. A major upgrade of DIII-D's lower divertor required an improved design of Langmuir probe arrays to accommodate the higher heat fluxes incident on the new divertor plasma facing components. It was also advantageous to decrease the linear spacing between electrodes and to improve the ease of maintenance. The new electrode design distributes the heat flux almost uniformly over its surface because of the fixed angle roof-top shape. The advanced design features 16 x increased thermal mass half the peak heat flux. Thermal coupling of the probe to the surrounding tile was greatly enhanced by increasing the thermal contact area. A novel probe mounting system has the entire probe array supported in a single tray. After an annual operational period, the probes yielded reliable data and showed little or no erosion.
Top quark analysis in the light gluino scenario

The Fermilab top quark analysis is heavily dependent on the assumption of standard model backgrounds only. In the light gluino scenario, the top squarks lie near the top quark in mass and their decays can influence the resulting top quark mass by an amount that is not small, relative to the currently quoted errors. Several slight anomalies in the top quark analysis find a natural explanation in the light gluino case.
Rosiglitazone and Outcomes for Patients With Diabetes Mellitus and Coronary Artery Disease in the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation 2 Diabetes (BARI 2D) Trial

Background—Rosiglitazone improves glycemic control for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, but there remains controversy regarding an observed association with cardiovascular hazard. The cardiovascular effects of rosiglitazone for patients with coronary artery disease remain unknown. Methods and Results—To examine any association between rosiglitazone use and cardiovascular events among patients with diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease, we analyzed events among 2368 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease in the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation 2 Diabetes (BARI 2D) trial. Total mortality, composite death, myocardial infarction, and stroke, and the individual incidence of death, myocardial infarction, stroke, congestive heart failure, and fractures, were compared during 4.5 years of follow-up among patients treated with rosiglitazone versus patients not receiving a thiazolidinedione by use of Cox proportional hazards and Kaplan–Meier analyses that ...
SU‐GG‐I‐132: A Scatter Removal Method for Digital Breast Tomosynthesis

Purpose: To develop a scatter removal method for digital breast tomosynthesis based on physical measurements. Method and Materials: A Hologic prototype digital beast tomosynthesis system was used to generate projection images. A CIRS anthropomorphic breast phantom was first imaged at a low mAs with an array of beam stops between the x‐ray source and the breast. For each projection image, local minima, which were near the centers of the beam‐stop shadows, were located using a Matlab program. The pixel values at these local minima were then interpolated and a scatter image was generated. The breast phantom was then imaged again at a higher mAs without the beam‐stop array. The total mAs of two exposures was kept the same as the mAs recommended by Hologic for a breast with the same thickness. The scatter‐free projections were obtained by subtracting the scaled scatter images from the corresponding projections acquired in the second exposure. 3D breast was reconstructed from the scatter‐free projections. Results: For a 6 cm breast, the scatter‐to‐primary ratio could be as high as 0.4 even though there was an air gap between the breast and the detector. The scatter‐free projection images shown higher image contrast. Conclusion: Contrast‐to‐noise ratio may be increased and artifacts due to scatter may be reduced when 3D breast is reconstructed from scatter‐free projections. The overall effect of scatter subtraction on the image quality needs further investigation.
Non-extensive thermostatistics: brief review and comments

Abstract We briefly review, with regard to physical applications, the present status of the recently introduced non-extensive thermostatistics characterized by the entropic index q (q = 1 corresponds to standard, extensive, Boltzmann-Gibbs thermostatistics). In addition to that, we comment on (i) how meta-equilibrium-equilibrium crossovers may occur as a function of time, (ii) spin glasses and the replica trick, and (iii) the theory of perceptions.
Hypersensitiveness to tobacco and biopsy studies of skin reactions in vascular disease

Abstract 1.1. Biopsy studies of immediate and delayed skin reactions to tobacco and saline control wheals were studied in 10 patients with thromboangiitis obliterans, one of migrating phlebitis, and one with acute coronary thrombosis. 2.2. Eosinophiles, varying in numbers, were found in the histologic sections of the immediate urticarial wheals produced by the tobacco allergen in 6 of 8 cases of thromboangiitis obliterans and in one case of migrating phlebitis. 3.3. The biopsies of 2 patients with thromboangiitis obliterans and one 37-year-old patient with coronary artery thrombosis, who developed delayed reactions, showed an acute dermatitis. 4.4. The exciting role of tobacco in the 12 cases studied was corroborated clinically by arrest in the progress of symptoms following cessation in the use of tobacco. In one patient (Case 9) giving a delayed eczematous type of local reaction, a generalized eczema and exacerbation of the symptoms of thromboangiitis obliterans were induced by repeated subcutaneous injections of tobacco extract.
Goldfish abducens motoneurons: physiological and anatomical specialization

During natural movements, the motoneurons innervating a single muscle have different patterns of activity that are correlated with differences in synaptic input. The caudal abducens motoneurons fire phasically in synchronous bursts before rapid posterior eye movements; the rostral abducens motoneurons fire only tonically when the eye is fixed or moving slowly. This physiological difference is not related to motoneuron size. In this respect the abducens motoneurons violate the "size principle" that has been advanced for spinal motoneurons. The difference is probably related to the present finding that the caudal but not the rostral cells receive numerous electrical synapses that are known to have a role in synchronizing phasic activity.
Soul city: Attitudes toward a developing new town†

This study examined the differences in the attitudes of black and white students towards Soul City, a new town currently under construction in Warren County, North Carolina. 115 white students and 45 black students attending a predominantly white university and 122 black students attending a predominantly black university responded to a survey instrument developed to measure attitudes towards the new town. Scores on the instrument were factor analyzed and while no significant differences were found between the two black student groups, blacks and whites, over all, differed on three of the four factorial dimensions identified: Social Idealism, Social Trust, and Human Welfare. These findings are discussed in terms of the larger community psychology significance of Soul City.
Adenine nucleotide inhibition of mitochondrial inorganic pyrophosphatase activity.

Abstract 1. 1. The presence in rat-liver mitochondria of two inorganic pyrophosphatase activities, characterized by pH optima and Mg 2+ requirement, is reported 2. 2. The effect of substrate concentration on enzymic activity was studied; certain apparent kinetic parameters are presented. 3. 3. AMP, ADP, ATP and deoxyAMP were found to inhibit mitochondrial inorganic pyrophosphatase activity markedly and to reverse partially F- inhibition of this same activity. 4. 4. Other nucleotides and related compounds tested were found to be either completely ineffective or only very slightly active as inhibitors of this system. 5. 5. AMP inhibition of inorganic pyrophosphatase activity in aged rat-liver mitochondria was found to be competitive with respect to pyrophosphate. 6. 6. The possible significance of these findings relative to pyrophosphate-adenine nucleotide phosphotransferase activity is discussed.
A Note on Random Perturbations of a Multiple Eigenvalue of a Hermitian Operator

The problem of a random Hermitian perturbation of a multiple isolated eigenvalue of a Hermitian operator is considered. It is shown that the combined multiplicities of the perturbed eigenvalues converge in probability to the multiplicity of the eigenvalue of the target operator. Also the asymptotic distribution of a certain average of these eigenvalues, centered at the target, is obtained. As a tool differentiation of analytic functions of operators is employed in conjunction with an ensuing “delta-method”. The result is of a probabilistic rather than statistical nature.
Epilepsy: Contemporary Perspectives on Evaluation and Treatment

Objective To describe the classification of seizures and epilepsies and discuss the medical and surgical treatment options. Results The correct classification of types of seizures is necessary for appropriate evaluation and treatment. A neurologic examination can include electroencephalography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI has been shown to be diagnostically superior to computed tomography in detecting epileptogenic lesions. With varying degrees of sensitivity and specificity, MRI may identify the underlying pathologic features associated with symptomatic partial epilepsy. Carbamazepine, phenytoin, and valproate sodium are the preferred medical treatments because of their relatively low neurotoxicity. Despite appropriate use of these medications, less than 50% of all patients with epilepsy are rendered free of seizures and experience no antiepileptic drug toxicity. Medically refractory seizures are often physically disabling and may be associated with an alteration in neurocognitive performance and psychosocial debilitation. Treatment options include the antiepileptic drugs felbamate and gabapentin, which have recently been approved in the United States. Surgical resection of epileptic brain tissue remains the most efficacious treatment for patients with intractable partial epilepsy. Conclusion Recent developments in neuro-diagnostic studies and treatment strategies have substantially altered the management of patients with epilepsy. Challenging problems include the management of a single seizure, pregnancy and epilepsy, the timing of withdrawal of antiepileptic drug therapy, driving and epilepsy, and the use of alcohol in patients with seizures. The therapeutic goals are to render the patient seizure free and allow the patient to become a productive and participating member of society.
Multisensory Integration: Vision Boosts Information through Suppression in Auditory Cortex

Summary Signals from non-primary modalities can influence neural activity in ‘unimodal' sensory areas of the neocortex, but whether this ‘extra-modal' influence has any relevant consequences for neural coding has been unclear. Recent findings show that vision enhances the information content of neural signals in auditory cortex, but in a counter-intuitive fashion.
Millicode in an IBM zSeries processor

Because of the complex architecture of the zSeries® processors, an internal code, called millicode, is used to implement many of the functions provided by these systems. While the hardware can execute many of the logically less complex and high-performance instructions, millicode is required to implement the more complex instructions, as well as to provide additional support functions related primarily to the central processor. This paper is a review of millicode on previous zSeries CMOS systems and also describes enhancements made to the z990 system for processing of the millicode. It specifically discusses the flexibility millicode provides to the z990 system.
Detect, Reject, Focus: The Role of Satiation and Odor Relevance in Cross-Modal Attention

Visual task performance has been shown to be affected differentially based on exogenous attentional demands from trigeminal odorants (Michael et al. Behav Neurosci 119:708–715, 2005). To test the exogenous influences of other biologically relevant characteristics of odorants, hungry and satiated undergraduates completed a visual search task in the presence of an odor (popcorn, jasmine, or unscented). Results showed that popcorn seemed more intense to hungry participants than those who were satiated. Reaction time results generally followed the pattern of most visual search research; significant effects were observed for feature complexity, distracter field size, and the interaction between complexity and distracter field size (Forster and Lavie J Exp Psychol 14:73–83, 2008; Itti and Koch Vision Res 40:1489–1506, 2000; Kumada Vision Res 50:1402–1413, 2010; Treisman and Gelade Cogn Psychol 12:97–136, 1980). However, olfactory group and hunger level also influenced reaction times, in that satiated participants were faster in low perceptual load (single shared feature, small set-size) conditions than hungry participants. Results suggest that olfactory attention is in a constant state of environmental monitoring for salient odors that uses resources from a shared pool. Fewer resources seem to be used when an odor with decreased saliency is detected, resulting in attentional benefits for information coming in from the visual system. These results generally support the modified Perceptual Load Theory of cross-modal attention (Tellinghuisen and Nowak Percept Psychophys 65:8717–8728, 2003) in which available shared attentional resources can be used to inhibit distracters to a visual task from other sensory modalities.
Combined tobacco and alcohol use by pregnant and reproductive-aged women in the United States.

Abstract Objective: To assess trends in the concurrent use of alcohol and tobacco among pregnant women. Methods: Using behavioral risk factor surveillance system data from 1987 through 1997, we determined the prevalence of concurrent tobacco and alcohol use among women aged 18–44 years by pregnancy status and indirectly estimated pregnancy-related disuse rates. Results: The percentage of women who used alcohol and tobacco decreased significantly from 1987 to 1990 among pregnant (5.4% to 3.0%) and nonpregnant women (17.6% to 14.2%), but thereafter did not change significantly. The estimated pregnancy-related disuse rate of tobacco and alcohol increased insignificantly from 70% in 1987 to 82% in 1997. Among women who used both substances, pregnancy-related disuse was slightly greater for alcohol alone (74%) than for tobacco alone (52%). There was not a significant decline in concurrent use of tobacco and alcohol between 1987 and 1997 among women 18–20 years old (pregnant, 4.4% to 3.6%; nonpregnant, 13.5% to 13.7%). That age group also showed a smaller pregnancy-related disuse rate than older women (1997, 74% versus 83%). Conclusion: The steady trend in concurrent use of tobacco and alcohol by young women emphasizes the need for enhanced efforts to reduce the initiation of tobacco and alcohol use by young people. Women who report abuse of tobacco or alcohol should be evaluated for abuse of both substances, and interventions should address abuse of both substances. (Obstet Gynecol 2000;96:767–71.)