cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Discharge or admit? Emergency department management of incidental pulmonary embolism in patients with cancer: a retrospective study

Hospitalization and early anticoagulation therapy remain standard care for patients who present to the emergency department (ED) with pulmonary embolism (PE). For PEs discovered incidentally, however, optimal therapeutic strategies are less clear—and all the more so when the patient has cancer, which is associated with a hypercoagulable state that exacerbates the threat of PE. We conducted a retrospective review of a historical cohort of patients with cancer and incidental PE who were referred for assessment to the ED in an institution whose standard of care is outpatient treatment of selected patients and use of low-molecular-weight heparin for anticoagulation. Eligible patients had received a diagnosis of incidental PE upon routine contrast enhanced chest CT for cancer staging. Survival data was collected at 30 days and 90 days from the date of ED presentation and at the end of the study. We identified 193 patients, 135 (70%) of whom were discharged and 58 (30%) of whom were admitted to the hospital. The 30-day survival rate was 92% overall, 99% for the discharged patients and 76% for admitted patients. Almost all (189 patients, 98%) commenced anticoagulation therapy in the ED; 170 (90%) of these received low-molecular-weight heparin. Patients with saddle pulmonary artery incidental PEs were more likely to die within 30 days (43%) than were those with main or lobar (11%), segmental (6%), or subsegmental (5%) incidental PEs. In multivariate analysis, Charlson comorbidity index (age unadjusted), hypoxemia, and incidental PE location (P = 0.004, relative risk 33.5 (95% CI 3.1–357.4, comparing saddle versus subsegmental PE) were significantly associated with 30-day survival. Age, comorbidity, race, cancer stage, tachycardia, hypoxemia, and incidental PE location were significantly associated with hospital admission. Selected cancer patients presenting to the ED with incidental PE can be treated with low-molecular-weight heparin anticoagulation and safely discharged. Avoidance of unnecessary hospitalization may decrease in-hospital infections and death, reduce healthcare costs, and improve patient quality of life. Because the natural history and optimal management of this condition is not well described, information supporting the creation of straightforward evidence-based practice guidelines for ED teams treating this specialized patient population is needed.
PaSE: A parallel speedup estimation framework for Network-on-Chip based multicore systems

The massive integration of cores in multicore system has enabled chip designer to design systems while meeting the power-performance demands of the applications. However, full-system simulations traditionally used to evaluate the speedup of these systems are computationally expensive and time consuming. On the other hand, analytical speedup models such as Amdahl's law are powerful and fast ways to calculate the achievable speedup of these systems. However, Amdahl's Law disregards the communication among the cores that play a vital role in defining the achievable speedup with the multicore systems. To bridge this gap, in this work, we present PaSE a parallel speedup estimation framework for multicore systems that considers the latency of the Network-on-Chip (NoC). To accurately capture the latency of the NoC we also propose a queuing theory based analytical model. We conduct a case study for a matrix multiplication application and evaluate and analyze the speedup from our framework.
Joe R. Feagin: The Social Science Voice of Systemic Racism Theory

This chapter has two goals: (1) to bear witness to Joe R. Feagin’s influence on the author’s own scholarship and intellectual development as a radical social scientist and anti-racist, and (2) to place his contributions to systemic racism theory in their sociohistorical context. To make clear what the author considers to be both the strengths and weaknesses of Feagin’s work, he deploys as analytical guideposts a set of linguistically-centered racism denial practices that locate his scholarship and its influence within the response of U.S. social science to the nation’s changing race relations.
Experimental Investigation of Seismic Uncertainty Propagation through Shake Table Tests

AbstractThe propagation of uncertainty in seismic response analysis is the mechanism through which ground motion (GM) uncertainty and structural parameter (SP) uncertainty contribute to response va...
MUFOLD-SS: New deep inception-inside-inception networks for protein secondary structure prediction

Protein secondary structure prediction can provide important information for protein 3D structure prediction and protein functions. Deep learning offers a new opportunity to significantly improve prediction accuracy. In this article, a new deep neural network architecture, named the Deep inception-inside-inception (Deep3I) network, is proposed for protein secondary structure prediction and implemented as a software tool MUFOLD-SS. The input to MUFOLD-SS is a carefully designed feature matrix corresponding to the primary amino acid sequence of a protein, which consists of a rich set of information derived from individual amino acid, as well as the context of the protein sequence. Specifically, the feature matrix is a composition of physio-chemical properties of amino acids, PSI-BLAST profile, and HHBlits profile. MUFOLD-SS is composed of a sequence of nested inception modules and maps the input matrix to either eight states or three states of secondary structures. The architecture of MUFOLD-SS enables effective processing of local and global interactions between amino acids in making accurate prediction. In extensive experiments on multiple datasets, MUFOLD-SS outperformed the best existing methods and other deep neural networks significantly. MUFold-SS can be downloaded from http://dslsrv8.cs.missouri.edu/~cf797/MUFoldSS/download.html.
Cassini's Grand Finale: A mission planning retrospective

On September 15, 2017, Cassini plunged deep into Saturn, down to where the atmosphere was sufficiently dense to destroy the spacecraft, making it part of Saturn forever. In the five months leading up to its destruction, Cassini flew between Saturn and its rings 22 times, collecting data from the never-before-explored region of the Kronian system. These orbits, the Grand Finale of Cassini, were the culmination of years of planning by the Cassini flight team. This paper looks back upon the mission planning effort in particular, comparing the baseline operational scenarios and contingency plans to the as-flown Grand Finale. The bulk of the Grand Finale mission planning effort was focused on the environmental hazards present in the region between Saturn and its rings: the dust and the atmosphere. Dust hazard and atmospheric transit contingency plans were in place to help ensure spacecraft health and maximize science data return. The dust hazard plan gave the operations team the option to turn the spacecraft to a safe attitude during ring-plane crossings had the dust environment proved more threatening than anticipated. The atmospheric transit plan would have made use of an orbital trim maneuver in order to raise or lower periapsis depending on the density of the atmosphere. The proximal environment did have its surprises, though they were good surprises. The dust was significantly less hazardous than predicted. So much so that elements of the contingency plan were leveraged in order to remove a dust hazard protection from the baseline plan, rather than add one to it. While the atmosphere was substantially denser than predicted, it was not dense enough to warrant a periapsis-raise maneuver and actually meant that better in-situ data was gathered. Ultimately, from a mission planning perspective, the Grand Finale went better than expected.
Long-Term Follow-Up of Patients With Hairy Cell Leukemia After Cladribine Treatment

Hairy cell leukemia is a chronic B-cell disorder that follows an indolent, but progressive course. Cladribine (2-chlorodeoxyadenosine) induces complete remissions in the majority of patients after a single course. We report the long-term outcomes, including response rates and their duration; time-to-treatment failure (TTF) rates; retreatment results; toxicities; and survival rates of patients treated at Scripps Clinic (La Jolla, CA). A total of 358 patients with hairy cell leukemia were treated with cladribine at 0.087 or 0.1 mg/kg body weight per day by continuous intravenous infusion for 7 days. The expected number of second neoplasms was based on the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results data. Of 349 evaluable patients, 319 (91%) achieved an initial complete response and 22 (7%) a partial response with an overall median duration of response follow-up of 52 months. Ninety patients (26%) had relapsed at a median of 29 months. The TTF rate for all 341 responders was 19% at 48 months, 16% for complete responders, and 54% for partial responders. Of 53 evaluable patients treated with second courses of cladribine at first relapse, 33 (62%) achieved complete responses and 14 (26%) partial responses. Twenty-seven patients (8%) developed second neoplasms (only 1 hematopoietic) with an observed-to-expected ratio of 1.88 (95% confidence interval, 1.24 to 2.74). The overall survival rate was 96% at 48 months. Single courses of cladribine induced long-lasting complete responses in the vast majority of patients. Relapse rates for complete responders were low. Patients who relapse can be successfully retreated with cladribine. Cladribine has high efficacy and a favorable acute and long-term toxicity profile when administered to patients with hairy cell leukemia.
Some Homological Properties of Modules over a Complete Intersection, with Applications

We survey some recent developments in understanding homological properties of finitely generated modules over a complete intersection. These properties mainly concern with vanishing patterns of Ext and Tor functors. We focus on applications to related areas and open questions.
Appellate Record in Rubin vs. Old York Department of Social Services

This is the appellate record for the case of Rubin vs. Old York DSS, a mock case which forms the basis for discussion in my forthcoming article The Plot Thickens: The Appellate Brief as Story. The article describes the process of writing the appellate brief in the Rubin case; this document provides helpful background information so the reader can follow the author's thought processes as she constructs her brief using narrative theory. The record can also be used as part of an exercise in writing other briefs (for example, the state's defense of the anti-gay adoption statute at issue in the case).
Gender Assignment and Psychosocial Management

Gender assignment refers to the decision-making process involved in declaring a newborn a “boy” or “girl.” Gender reassignment refers to the decision-making process involved in revising the original decision later, which can happen at any age of the individual.
A randomized controlled trial to prevent obesity among Latino paediatric patients.

BACKGROUND Obesity disproportionately affects Latino youth. Community clinics are an important resource, yet there is little evidence for the efficacy of clinic-based approaches in this population. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of a clinic-based intervention to lower body mass index (BMI) and improve body composition among overweight Latino children. METHODS A randomized trial (2 group × 3 repeated measures) was conducted among 297 randomly sampled, overweight paediatric patients (5-10 years old) and their parents. The 12-month family-based culturally tailored behavioural intervention (Luces de Cambio) was based on the 'traffic light' concepts to address behaviour change and was delivered by clinic health educators and mid-level providers. The primary study outcome was child BMI (kg m-2 ) assessed at baseline, 6-month (n = 191) and 12-month (n = 201) post-baseline. A subsample of the children was examined for overall and site-specific adiposity using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (n = 79). RESULTS There were no significant intervention effects on child BMI (p > 0.05); however, intervention children showed significantly (p < 0.05) lower total and trunk per cent fat compared with the usual care condition. CONCLUSIONS The Luces intervention did not reduce child BMI, yet small but significant reductions were observed for child per cent body fat. Further research is needed to identify and reduce barriers to recruitment and participation among Latino families.
Task Constraints Affect Mapping From Approximate Number System Estimates to Symbolic Numbers.

The Approximate Number System (ANS) allows individuals to assess non-symbolic numerical magnitudes (e.g., the number of apples on a tree) without counting. Several prominent theories posit that human understanding of symbolic numbers is based – at least in part – on mapping number symbols (e.g., 14) to their ANS-processed nonsymbolic analogs. Number-line estimation – where participants place numerical values on a bounded number-line – has become a key task used in research on this mapping. However, some research suggests that such number-line estimation tasks are actually proportion judgment tasks, as number-line estimation requires people to estimate the magnitude of the to-be-placed value, relative to set upper and lower endpoints, and thus do not so directly reflect magnitude representations. Here, we extend this work, assessing performance on nonsymbolic tasks that should more directly interface with the ANS. We compared adults’ (n = 31) performance when placing nonsymbolic numerosities (dot arrays) on number-lines to their performance with the same stimuli on two other tasks: Free estimation tasks where participants simply estimate the cardinality of dot arrays, and Ratio estimation tasks where participants estimate the ratio instantiated by a pair of arrays. We found that performance on these tasks was quite different, with Number-line and Ratio estimation tasks failing to the show classic psychophysical error patterns of scalar variability seen in the Free estimation task. We conclude the constraints of tasks using stimuli that access the ANS lead to considerably different mapping performance and that these differences must be accounted for when evaluating theories of numerical cognition. Additionally, participants showed typical underestimation patterns in the Free estimation task, but were quite accurate on the Ratio task. We discuss potential implications of these finding for theories regarding the mapping between ANS magnitudes to symbolic numbers.
Diagnosing Pulmonary Embolism During Pregnancy: Which Test Is Best?

The editorialists discuss the important lessons learned from Righini and coworkers' study and how they should inform clinical practice and future studies.
Power balancing the multibeam OMEGA laser

Multibeam lasers often require an output beam balance that specifies the degree of simultaneity of the laser output energy, instantaneous power, or instantaneous irradiance (power per unit area). This work describes the general problem of balancing a multibeam laser. Specific techniques used to balance the output power of the 60-beam pulsed OMEGA Laser System are discussed along with a measured reduction of beam-to-beam imbalance. In particular, the square-pulse distortion induced by a simple saturating amplifier operating with its output at some fraction of its saturation fluence is derived, and a method to exchange gain between saturated amplifiers in a single beam that have different saturation fluences to adjust balance is described.
The Role of Surveillance in Promoting Food Safety

Foodborne illness surveillance systems are designed to collect, analyze, and disseminate information about foodborne illnesses. Consequently, they help solve critical information problems faced by consumers, firms, and government agencies. By providing better information to the market, these surveillance systems create incentives (accountability) that leads to safer foods and better consumer awareness. For public health officials, surveillance provides a means to identify and mitigate current outbreaks, prioritize resources, and craft better preventative interventions.
The Role of Hippocampography and Hippocampectomy in Symptomatic Extrahippocampal Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (P04.197)

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the relation between seizure freedom and findings on electrocorticography in dominant temporal neocortical lesional epilepsy cases and to determine whether hippocampal recording is helpful in determining extent of hippocampal resection in patients with neocortical lesions. BACKGROUND: Symptomatic lesions account for a large proportion of temporal lobe epilepsy cases. Not uncommonly these lesions are located outside the hippocampus in temporal neocortex. When epilepsy is medically refractory, the treatment of choice is surgery. Resection may include the mesially located hippocampus, especially if the hippocampal electrocorticogram demonstrates epileptiform abnormalities. However hippocampectomy in the dominant hemisphere entails considerable risk to neuropsychological function, such as memory, in addition to the general hazard of more extensive neurosurgery. DESIGN/METHODS: In a retrospective chart review, we found 6 patients who underwent hippocampography during surgery to resect an extrahippocampal temporal lobe lesion. We reviewed their hippocampography, radiology, pathology, extents of resection, and Engel scores to classify their degree of seizure freedom. RESULTS: Only one patient with frequent spiking on hippocampal electrocorticography underwent dominant hippocampectomy as part of their lesional epilepsy surgery. The remaining 3 patients with frequent spiking and 2 additional patients with little to no spiking did not undergo hippocampectomy. Seizure control based on Engel score was 2D in the patient whose dominant hippocampus was removed. Engel scores ranged from 1A to 4B in those whose hippocampi remained intact. CONCLUSIONS: Although our numbers are small and retrospective, the variable Engel scores should give one pause when considering dominant hippocampectomy as part of lesional epilepsy surgery in patients with symptomatic temporal lobe epilepsy from an extrahippocampal source. Disclosure: Dr. Ng has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kilbride has nothing to disclose. Dr. Simon has nothing to disclose. Dr. Eskander has received personal compensation for activities with Medtronic, Inc. Dr. Cole has received personal compensation for activities with Clarus Ventures and Sage Therapeutics as a consultant.
The biogeochemical consequences of late Holocene wildfires in three subalpine lakes from northern Colorado

Abstract Wildfire activity has been increasing in forests of western North America over the past several decades. However, the biogeochemical effects of changing fire regimes are poorly understood. Here, we utilize sediment records from three subalpine lakes in northern Colorado (Hinman, Gold Creek, and Summit) to investigate the biogeochemical consequences of charcoal-inferred fire events over the past ∼2500 years. We measured element concentrations and stable isotope ratios (δ13C, δ15N) in lake sediments to track past biogeochemical processes. On average, fires were followed by increases in carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and sulfur concentrations in lake sediments, which lasted ∼20 years, while titanium and other metals found in terrestrial mineral material decreased. These changes were only statistically significant (p
Resource distribution and internal factors interact to govern movement of a freshwater snail.

Movement enables mobile organisms to respond to local environmental conditions and is driven by a combination of external and internal factors operating at multiple scales. Here, we explored how re...
Nucleolar dynamics and interactions with nucleoplasm in living cells

The inside of a cell is very organized. Just as bodies contain internal organs, cells contain many different compartments, called ‘organelles’, each with its own specific role. Most organelles are surrounded by a membrane that keeps their contents separate from the cytoplasm, the water-based liquid inside the rest of the cell. Some organelles, however, are not bounded by a membrane. Instead, they act like tiny drops of oil in water, retaining their structure because they have different physical properties from the fluid around them, a phenomenon called liquid-liquid phase separation. One such organelle is the nucleolus, which sits inside the cell’s nucleus (a membrane-bound organelle containing all the genetic material of the cell in the form of DNA). The nucleolus’s job is to produce ribosomes, the cellular machines that, once transported out of the nucleus, will make proteins. Human cells start with 10 small nucleoli in the nucleus, which fuse together until only one or two larger ones remain. Previous research showed that nucleoli form and persist thanks to liquid-liquid phase separation, and they behave like liquid droplets. Despite this, exactly how nucleoli interact with each other and with the fluid environment in the rest of the nucleus remained unknown. Caragine et al. set out to measure the behavior and interactions of nucleoli in living human cells. Microscopy experiments using human cells grown in the laboratory allowed the positions, size and shape of nucleoli to be tracked over time. This also yielded detailed information about the smoothness of their surface. Mathematical analysis revealed that pairs of nucleoli normally moved independently of each other, unless they were about to fuse, when they invariably slowed down and coordinated their movements. In addition, altering the state of DNA in the surrounding nucleus also affected the nucleoli. For example, when DNA was less densely packed, nucleoli shrank and their surfaces became smoother. These results build on our knowledge of how cells are organized by showing, for the first time, that the environment within the nucleus directly shapes the behavior of nucleoli. In the future, a better understanding of how cells maintain healthy nucleoli may help develop new treatments for human diseases such as cancer, which are characterized by problems with this organelle.
Advantage in using the Internet to control the spread of HIV among MSM

Being a double-edged sword, Internet Plus not only increases the risk of HIV transmission, but also plays an positive role in programs regarding the control and prevention of HIV. Here, we introduced a special issue- "HIV Prevention among MSM in the Internet Era" , synthesizing both domestic and international evidence, and discussed the history and progress, strengths and effectiveness, problems and countermeasures, as well as the directions of the Internet Plus regarding the prevention programs of HIV/AIDS among MSM.
Thermodynamic theory of crystal plasticity: Formulation and application to polycrystal fcc copper

Abstract We present a thermodynamic description of crystal plasticity. Our formulation is based on the Langer-Bouchbinder-Lookman thermodynamic dislocation theory (TDT), which asserts the fundamental importance of an effective temperature that describes the state of configurational disorder and therefore the dislocation density of the crystalline material. We extend the TDT description from isotropic plasticity to crystal plasticity with many slip systems. Finite-element simulations show favourable comparison with experiments on polycrystal fcc copper under uniaxial compression, tension, and simple shear. The thermodynamic theory of crystal plasticity thus provides a thermodynamically consistent and physically rigorous description of dislocation motion in crystals. We also discuss new insights about the interaction of dislocations belonging to different slip systems.
Assessment of open educational resources (OER) developed in interactive learning environments

When students are unable to purchase a textbook because of rising prices and/or are unwilling to carry heavy textbooks, their education is compromised. Open educational resources (OERs) are gaining in popularity because they solve these problems by providing free study materials in electronic formats, but students from different backgrounds and situations are impacted by OER in different ways. The aim of this paper is to analyze the usefulness of OER materials for students who are majoring in engineering, as well as those whose majors are in another (non-engineering) field. The impact of OER materials on students of different financial statuses, is also investigated. For this purpose, two classes of a graduate-level risk management course taught by the same instructor were selected. One class followed a web-based interactive OER system, and the other class followed the traditional textbook method. A survey was developed and distributed to measure 19 aspects of students’ perceptions towards the web-based interactive OER system, and multiple statistical methods were used to analyze the collected survey data. Students’ grades were also collected to analyze their academic performance. It was concluded that students majoring in engineering and students with financial constraints had a significantly more positive attitude towards the implementation of electronic OER materials. Furthermore, it was concluded that up-to-date OER materials with integrated advances in the field attract engineering students; whereas, free and/or low-cost educational resources are very appealing for students with higher education loans. The findings of this study will enable universities and colleges to effectively allocate financial resources towards the development and implementation of the OER materials.
Impacts of Storm Characteristics on Generating Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) Events for an Urban Sewershed

Combined sewers often overflow during intensive storm activity as the capacity of the system is exceeded in response to excess stormwater inflow. Uncontrolled releases of untreated stormwater as sa...
Quantifying Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO2 on Twin Boundaries

Summary A protocol relying on the use of silver nanostructures with well-defined dimensions and morphologies (e.g., nanocubes and nanowires) has been developed to differentiate and quantitatively determine the atom-specific activities of different surface atoms toward catalyzing electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). The atom-specific activity of the twin-boundary edges (TBEs) is comparable to (or slightly higher than) that of the single-crystal edges (SCEs) formed from the crossing of two {100} surfaces, and it is on the order of ∼16 attoampere/atom (aA/atom) toward electrochemical CO2RR. This value is more than two orders higher than the atom-specific activity of the {100} surface atoms, i.e., ∼0.1 aA/atom. The high catalytic activity of the TBEs, which represent a class of commonly existing surface defects in stable metal nanostructures with face-centered cubic lattices, is consistent with the DFT calculations, in which the bridge-type binding configuration of COOH∗ at the TBEs stabilizes this intermediate to promote overall CO2RR.
Advances in drugs of abuse testing

Drugs of abuse testing is widely used clinically and forensically. Urine is the preferred type of specimen for drugs of abuse screening, but saliva, sweat, hair, and meconium are emerging types of specimens. GC-MS has been used as a gold standard for confirmatory drug testing, but LC-tandem-MS can analyze more diverse types of analytes than GC-MS. Thus, LC-tandem-MS becomes a new gold standard for confirmatory drug testing. Unlike GC-MS, LC-tandem-MS is not suited for non-targeted comprehensive drug screening. But with the advent of high-resolution-MS such as Tof-MS, which can discriminate the compounds of similar molecular masses but with different formulas, LC-hybrid-Tof-MS is usable for non-targeted comprehensive drug screening. Another technical advancement is the advent of miniature ambient ionization MS, which can analyze biological specimens including urine within one minute. Thus these mass spectrometers are promising for rapid drugs of abuse testing in a POC setting.
A systematic review of quantitative bias analysis applied to epidemiological research.

Background Quantitative bias analysis (QBA) measures study errors in terms of direction, magnitude and uncertainty. This systematic review aimed to describe how QBA has been applied in epidemiological research in 2006-19. Methods We searched PubMed for English peer-reviewed studies applying QBA to real-data applications. We also included studies citing selected sources or which were identified in a previous QBA review in pharmacoepidemiology. For each study, we extracted the rationale, methodology, bias-adjusted results and interpretation and assessed factors associated with reproducibility. Results Of the 238 studies, the majority were embedded within papers whose main inferences were drawn from conventional approaches as secondary (sensitivity) analyses to quantity-specific biases (52%) or to assess the extent of bias required to shift the point estimate to the null (25%); 10% were standalone papers. The most common approach was probabilistic (57%). Misclassification was modelled in 57%, uncontrolled confounder(s) in 40% and selection bias in 17%. Most did not consider multiple biases or correlations between errors. When specified, bias parameters came from the literature (48%) more often than internal validation studies (29%). The majority (60%) of analyses resulted in >10% change from the conventional point estimate; however, most investigators (63%) did not alter their original interpretation. Degree of reproducibility related to inclusion of code, formulas, sensitivity analyses and supplementary materials, as well as the QBA rationale. Conclusions QBA applications were rare though increased over time. Future investigators should reference good practices and include details to promote transparency and to serve as a reference for other researchers.
Blocking Wnt secretion from hepatocyte impairs repairs following DDC injury in mice (398.2)

Diethoxycarbonyl dihydrocollidine (DDC) diet induces significant bile duct and hepatocyte injury mimicking human cholestatic liver disease. Following DDC injury, repair is often observed via ductul...
Stabilizer codes over Frobenius rings

Quantum error-correcting codes over finite fields have been widely studied, but quantum codes over rings have been left largely unexplored. This paper introduces stabilizer codes over finite Frobenius rings and establishes their connection to classical code. Structural properties of stabilizer codes over finite Frobenius rings are established. It is proved that free stabilizer codes over finite commutative chain rings cannot outperform stabilizer codes over finite fields.
Preparation and characterization of semiconducting α-MoTe2 single crystals

Abstract α-MoTe 2 undergoes a phase transition at 660°C to β-MoTe 2−x . Although high quality crystals of stoichiometric α-MoTe 2 could not be grown directly, good mixed phase crystals of α-MoTe 2 and β-MoTe 2−x were obtained by chemical vapor transport. These as-grown mixed phase crystals showed metallic behavior. They were converted to single phase, stoichiometric, α-MoTe 2 crystals by subsequent annealing at 650°C in the presence of excess tellurium vapor.
The hidden code in genomics: a tool for gene discovery.

Among new insights coming from the completion of sequencing of the human genome, reported in Nature and Science, are clues of how evolution has increased the complexity of species, and in particular how the genetic code has enabled this process. It is clear that life has not only evolved by increasing the number of genes, but also by ingeniously evolving an efficient code for expressing diversity in the building blocks (i.e. the amino acids). The rules of nucleic acid base pairing and the classification of amino acids according to hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity relationships define a binary DNA code, which determines the general biophysical characteristics of proteins. Sense and antisense strands can encode protein segments having inverted and complementary hydropathy. The underlying binary code controls association and dissociation of proteins and presumably represents a primordial code that might have emerged in the early stages of self-organizing biochemical cycles. It is the purpose of this communication to provide a perspective of the code in the context of a binary language from its primordial origin to its present day format and to propose to use this code as a genomic mining tool.
History as a Weapon How Extremists Deny the Holocaust in North America

The North American Holocaust denial movement attracts a broad range of extremists who subscribe to right-wing and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Because mainstream society and academia have rejected the denial movement's theories, key figures in it have created their own stealth pseudoacademic entities. Using many of their own words, this article examines the evolution of the relationship between anti-Semitic extremists and others who became central figures in the promotion of a historical lie that is spread to this day.
Allelic loss in ovarian cancer

Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) was examined at 86 loci distributed on every chromosomal arm in 50 human ovarian tumors. Frequent allele losses were observed on chromosomes 13q (42%), 17p (42%), 17q (45%), and Xp (41%). Deletion mapping on chromosome 17 revealed a candidate gene on the long arm distal to D17S41/S74 for ovarian cancer which is distant from the locus for early onset breast cancer. LOH on chromosome 17q was found to be concordant with LOH on chromosomes 3p, 13q, 17p and Xp suggesting that it may be an early event in neoplastic development. These findings indicate that multiple tumor-suppressor genes for ovarian cancer possibly exist on chromosomes 13q, 17, and/or Xp and provide the basis for the identification of candidate gene(s) associated with ovarian cancer. The chromosomal mechanisms resulting in allele losses in ovarian cancer include deletion, deletion/duplication, mitotic recombination and monosomy, in concordance with the developed genetic model.
Some observations on the instability of 99mTc-complexes of propylene amine oxime (PnAO)

When eluates from expired 99mMo/99mTc generators were used to form the neutral lipophilic complexes of PnAO and its derivatives, degradation of these chelates occurred on standing to form secondary 99mTc-species. It was determined that the conversion of the primary complexes to secondary complexes was due to the impurities present in the 99mTcO4- eluate. The stability was found to be improved by extraction of the complexes into CHCl3 and reconstituting in buffer after evaporation of CHCl3, indicating that the impurities are non extractable into CHCl3. Purification of the 99mTcO4- eluate from the generator by MEK extraction and its use for the preparation of the PnAO complex produced products which showed practically no degradation for a 6 h period of storage. All the secondary 99mTc complexes of PnAO are converted back to primary complex, when the solution was heated in a boiling water bath for 10-20 min.
Fine-mapping chromosome 20 in 230 systemic lupus erythematosus sib pair and multiplex families: evidence for genetic epistasis with chromosome 16q12.

The presence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) susceptibility genes on chromosome 20 is suggested by the observation of genetic linkage in several independent SLE family collections. To further localize the genetic effects, we typed 59 microsatellites in the two best regions, as defined by genome screens. Genotypes were analyzed for statistical linkage and/or association with SLE, by use of a combination of nonparametric linkage methods, family-based tests of association (transmission/disequilibrium and pedigree disequilibrium tests), and haplotype-sharing statistics (haplotype runs test), in a set of 230 SLE pedigrees. Maximal evidence for linkage to SLE was to 20p12 (LOD=2.84) and 20q13.1 (LOD=1.64) in the white pedigrees. Subsetting families on the basis of evidence for linkage to 16q12 significantly improved the LOD scores at both chromosome 20 locations (20p12 LOD=5.06 and 20q13 LOD=3.65), consistent with epistasis. We then typed 162 single-nucleotide polymorphism markers across a 1.3-Mb candidate region on 20q13.1 and identified several SNPs that demonstrated significant evidence for association. These data provide additional support for linkage and association to 20p12 and 20q13.1 in SLE and further refine the intervals of interest. These data further suggest the possibility of epistatic relationships among loci within the 20q12, 20q13, and 16q12 regions in SLE families.
Regression-based oxides of nitrogen predictors for three diesel engine technologies.

Abstract Models of diesel engine emissions such as oxides of nitrogen (NOx) are valuable when they can predict instantaneous values because they can be incorporated into whole vehicle models, support inventory predictions, and assist in developing superior engine and aftertreatment control strategies. Recent model-year diesel engines using multiple injection strategies, exhaust gas recirculation, and variable geometry turbocharging may have more transient sensitivity and demand more sophisticated modeling than for legacy engines. Emissions data from 1992, 1999, and 2004 model-year U.S. truck engines were modeled separately using a linear approach (with transient terms) and multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), an adaptive piece-wise regression approach that has limited prior use for emissions prediction. Six input variables based on torque, speed, power, and their derivatives were used for MARS. Emissions time delay was considered for both models. Manifold air temperature (MAT) and manifold air...
PYROMETRIC MEASUREMENT OF GLASS PLATES WITH NON-UNIFORM TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION

During the forming of glass articles by a variety of different processes, it is important to be able to accurately measure the temperature of the glass. Also, to be practical for production applications, the temperature measuring technique must not interfere with the process or disturb the product. Only infrared radiation pyrometry is capable of meeting these requirements. Narrow-band radiation pyrometers are non-contacting sensors that (depending on the operating wavelength) either measure the surface temperature or some weighted average of the surface and internal temperatures of semi-transparent glass objects without significantly affecting the product or its heat exchange with the environment. When attempting pyrometer temperature measurements on glass, it must be recognized that the incident radiation originates not only from the surface, but also from the interior which may be at a different temperature. However, a knowledge of the directional spectral volume emissive power of the glass object can b...
Use of complementary and alternative medicine by patients with lysosomal storage diseases

Purpose: To evaluate the extent of complementary and alternative medicine use and perceived effectiveness in patients with lysosomal storage diseases. Methods: A 26-item survey was distributed to 495 patients with type 1 Gaucher, Fabry, and type B Niemann-Pick diseases who were seen at the Lysosomal Storage Disease Program at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Survey responses were entered into an access database and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Surveys were completed by 167 respondents with an overall response rate of 34%. Complementary and alternative medicines were used by 45% of patients with type 1 Gaucher disease, 41% of patients with Fabry disease, and 47% of patients with type B Niemann-Pick for symptoms related to their disease. Complementary and alternative medicines were used most frequently by adult females (55%), in patients who reported having one or more invasive procedures due to their disease, patients who use one or more conventional medical therapies, or those with depression and/or anxiety. Overall perceived effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine supplements was low; however, complementary and alternative medicine therapies were perceived as effective. Conclusion: Complementary and alternative medicines are commonly used among patients with lysosomal storage diseases. Assessment of the effectiveness of these approaches in the lysosomal storage diseases is needed, and physicians should be aware of complementary and alternative medicine therapies used by patients to evaluate safety and possible drug interactions.
Monte Carlo simulation of vapor transport in physical vapor deposition of titanium

In this work, the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is used to model the physical vapor deposition of titanium using electron-beam evaporation. Titanium atoms are vaporized from a molten pool at a very high temperature and are accelerated collisionally to the deposition surface. The electronic excitation of the vapor is significant at the temperatures of interest. Energy transfer between the electronic and translational modes of energy affects the flow significantly. The electronic energy is modeled in the DSMC method and comparisons are made between simulations in which electronic energy is excluded from and included among the energy modes of particles. The experimentally measured deposition profile is also compared to the results of the simulations. It is concluded that electronic energy is an important factor to consider in the modeling of flows of this nature. The simulation results show good agreement with experimental data.
Modeling of global biogenic emissions for key indirect greenhouse gases and their response to atmospheric CO2 increases and changes in land cover and climate

[1] Natural emissions of nonmethane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) play a crucial role in the oxidation capacity of the lower atmosphere and changes in concentrations of major greenhouse gases (GHGs), particularly methane and tropospheric ozone. In this study, we integrate a global biogenic model within a terrestrial ecosystem model to investigate the vegetation and soil emissions of key indirect GHGs, e.g., isoprene, monoterpene, other NMVOCs (OVOC), CO, and NOx. The combination of a high-resolution terrestrial ecosystem model with satellite data allows investigation of the potential changes in net primary productivity (NPP) and resultant biogenic emissions of indirect GHGs due to atmospheric CO2 increases and changes in climate and land use practices. Estimated global total annual vegetation emissions for isoprene, monoterpene, OVOC, and CO are 601, 103, 102, and 73 Tg C, respectively. Estimated NOx emissions from soils are 7.51 Tg N. The land cover changes for croplands generally lead to a decline of vegetation emissions for isoprene OVOC, whereas temperature and atmospheric CO2 increases lead to higher vegetation emissions. The modeled global mean isoprene emissions show relatively large seasonal variations over the previous 20 years from 1981 to 2000 (as much as 31% from year to year). Savanna and boreal forests show large seasonal variations, whereas tropical forests with high plant productivity throughout the year show small seasonal variations. Results of biogenic emissions from 1981 to 2000 indicate that the CO2 fertilization effect, along with changes in climate and land use, causes the overall up-trend in isoprene and OVOC emissions over the past 2 decades. This relationship suggests that future emission scenario estimations for NMVOCs should account for effects of CO2 and climate in order to more accurately estimate local, regional, and global chemical composition of the atmosphere, the global carbon budget, and radiation balance of the Earth-atmosphere system.
Synthesis of the Bryostatin 1 Northern Hemisphere (C1−C16) via Desymmetrization by Ketalization/Ring-Closing Metathesis

Synthesis of the northern hemisphere (C1−C16) of bryostatin 1, a potent anticancer agent, has been accomplished in 14 steps and 11% overall yield via desymmetrization by ketalization/ring-closing metathesis. A 2,9-dioxabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane template facilitated stereoselective A-ring functionalization, while an efficient hetero-Diels−Alder reaction was used to elaborate the B-ring.
Delay of Surgery for Melanoma Among Medicare Beneficiaries

Importance Timely delivery of surgery for cancer affects health care quality and outcomes. However, population-based studies characterizing the delay of surgery for melanoma in the United States have not been performed. Objective To assess the delay of surgery for melanoma by tumor-, patient-, and physician-level characteristics. Design, Setting, and Participants We performed a retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed as having melanoma from January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2009, using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results–Medicare database. We included all patients undergoing surgical excision of melanoma diagnosed by means of results of skin biopsy. Exposures Anatomic location and stage of the tumor, patient sociodemographic characteristics, prior melanoma, Elixhauser comorbidities, and the specialties of the physicians who performed the biopsy and surgery. Main Outcomes and Measures Surgical delay, measured as the time from the biopsy to surgical excision. We estimated risk-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and marginal probabilities of delay with 95% CIs for each covariate using mixed-effects logistic regression. Results Our cohort consisted of 32 501 cases of melanoma. Most of the patients were white (95.4%), male (63.1%), married (47.9%), and 75 years or older (60.8%) and did not have a prior melanoma (93.7%). Melanomas were most frequently located on the head and neck (40.5%) and staged as in situ disease (48.2%). More than three-quarters of cases (25 269 [77.7%]) underwent excision within 1.5 months of biopsy. Among those treated after 1.5 months (7232 [22.3%]), 2620 (8.1% of all cases) experienced a delay of longer than 3 months. The incidence of a risk-adjusted surgical delay longer than 1.5 months was significantly increased among patients 85 years or older compared with those younger than 65 years (odds ratio [OR], 1.28 [95% CI, 1.05-1.55]; P = .02), those with a prior melanoma (OR, 1.20 [95% CI, 1.08-1.34]; P = .001), and those with an increased comorbidity burden (OR, 1.18 [95% CI, 1.09-1.27]; P Conclusions and Relevance Approximately 1 in 5 Medicare beneficiaries experience a delay of surgery for melanoma that is longer than 1.5 months. Those patients undergoing biopsy and surgery by dermatologists have the lowest risk for delay, highlighting potential opportunities for improved access to and coordination of dermatologic care.
The relationship between the developmental level of persuasive strategies and their effectiveness

Research on the development of persuasive communication skills has described the emergence of four basic strategies in persuasive messages. This study includes two experiments to assess the role these strategies play in the process of gaining compliance. In both, college students received messages requesting they volunteer for an experiment and advocating compliance. Messages differed in the level of strategic adaptation of the compliance‐gaining appeal they offered. In general, form of request (supported versus unsupported) and content of specific message appeals influenced compliance, but level of strategic adaptation made little or no contribution to message effectiveness.