cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
EFFECTS OF TRUCK DRIVER WAGES AND WORKING CONDITIONS ON HIGHWAY SAFETY: CASE STUDY

The role of human capital and occupational factors in influencing driver safety has gained increased attention from trucking firms and policy makers. The influence of these factors, along with demographic factors, on the crash frequency of truck drivers is examined. A unique driver-level data set from a large truckload company collected over 26 months was used for estimating regression models of crash counts. On the basis of estimates from a zero-inflation Poisson regression model, results suggest that human capital and occupational factors, such as pay, job tenure, and percentage of miles driven during winter months, have a significantly better explanatory power of crash frequency than demographic factors. Relative to the zero-inflation and count models, results suggest that higher pay rates and pay increases are related to lower expected crash counts and to a higher probability of no crashes, all else held equal. Although the data come from one company, the evidence provided is a first step in examining the structural causes of unsafe driving behavior, such as driver compensation. These results may motivate other companies to modify operations and driver hiring practices. Also, the need for a comprehensive study of the relationship between driver compensation and driver safety is demonstrated.
THE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ON THE ACOUSTIC PHONON SPECTRA IN QUANTUM-DOT HETEROSTRUCTURES

We present calculations of the acoustic phonon spectra for a variety of quantum dots and consider the cases where the quantum dots are both free-standing and embedded in a selection of different matrix materials — including semiconductors, plastic, and water. These results go beyond previous calculations for free-standing quantum dots and demonstrate that the matrix material can have a large effect on the acoustic phonon spectrum and consequently on a variety of phonon-assisted transitions in quantum-dot heterostructures.
Polymorphism of alpha-1 antitrypsin in dogs

Abstract 1. 1. A genetically determined polymorphism of alpha-1 antitrypsin is demonstrated in dog serum by isoelectric focusing in a pH range of 3.5–5.0, followed by direct immunoblotting using a specific antiserum. 2. 2. Alpha 1 antitrypsin focuses as two major bands at isoelectric points of 4.60 and 4.64 or 4.67 and 4.7 in presumed homozygous animals. Heterozygotes show both sets of bands. 3. 3. The results of seven crosses with 33 offspring are best explained by two codominant alleles, Pi M and Pi S at a single locus designated as Pi for proteinase inhibitor. 4. 4. The concentration of alpha-1 antitrypsin in serum of healthy dogs was 2.65 ± 0.42 mg/ml and 2.19 ± 0.38 mg/ml in females andv males respectively. 5. 5. The higher concentration in female dogs suggests that estrogens may influence the serum level of alpha-1 antitrypsin.
Lentivirus‐Host interactions: Lessons from visna and caprine arthritis‐encephalitis viruses

The biological properties of the ruminant animal lentiviruses, visna and caprine arthritis-encephalitis viruses, closely resemble those of their human counterparts, the human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV). All of these viruses are morphologically identical and are disseminated from host to host in nature during exchange of body fluids. Artificial conditions that favor excess exchange of such fluids precipitate epidemics by these viruses. The strategy of replication of the animal viruses in tissue culture and in vivo are very similar to that of the human virus. Virus replication is highly productive in tissue culture and leads to cytopathic effects characterized by fusion. In vivo, the rate of virus replication is restricted and lesions, suggestive of an immunopathological origin, develop after prolonged periods of subclinical infection. Similar to the animal viruses, the human viruses have a tropism for macrophages in vivo, and this leads somehow to a loss of T helper lymphocytes and proliferation of cytotoxic lymphocytes. In addition, the viruses are highly neurotropic and this results in acute fulminating disease in neonatal hosts and chronic encephalopathy in adults. Both animal and human viruses cause persistent infections and have similar strategies for eluding host immune responses. These include sequestration of neutralizing epitopes, induction of low titers of neutralizing antibodies, and antigenic drift during persistent infection. Despite close homology between genetic sequences of HIV-I and -II, these two viruses seem to have as much biological disparity from each other as does visna virus from caprine arthritisencephalitis virus. The latter two viruses induce neutralizing antibodies that are highly strain specific and show no cross protection. Whether HIV-I will differ from HIV-II in this respect is not known as yet but will have great implications in development of vaccine strategy.
Perinatal Problems and Psychiatric Comorbidity Among Children With ADHD

Among two large, independent samples of girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), we examined associations between specific (maternal gestational smoking and drug use, early labor, low birth weight, and infant breathing problems at birth) and cumulative prenatal and perinatal risk factors and psychiatric comorbidity during childhood. Data from the (a) Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD, a randomized clinical trial with 579 children aged 7 to 9.9 years with combined-type ADHD, and the (b) Berkeley Girls ADHD Longitudinal Sample, a naturalistic study of 140 girls with ADHD (93 combined-type and 47 inattentive-type) who were first seen when they were 6 to 12 years old, were analyzed separately. In each sample, perinatal risk factors were assessed retrospectively by maternal report, and current childhood psychiatric comorbidity was assessed using maternal report on the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children. Consistent findings across these two studies show that infant brea...
Hybrid effective medium approximations for random elastic composites

Abstract Several popular effective medium approximations for elastic constants of random composites are reformulated in terms of a pair of canonical functions and their transform variables. This choice of reformulation enables easier comparisons of the results of all these methods with rigorous bounds. Furthermore, insight into the various methods gained by taking this point of view suggests a number of new effective medium approximations that, in some cases, are natural variants and/or combinations (i.e., hybrids) of the existing ones, and in other cases are new ones based in part on the bounds themselves. Numerical comparisons are given for several standard inclusion models — including spherical, needle, and penny-shaped inclusions — as well as the penetrable sphere model. Of the various alternatives considered, a new method called the split-step differential (SSD) scheme is one of the more useful ones, as it simplifies the differential scheme by replacing half of this scheme’s integration routines with a simple update formula for the bulk modulus.
Exploring Ghanaian adolescents' meaning of health and wellbeing: a psychosocial perspective.

There is presently no internationally agreed upon set of indicators for assessing adolescent health and what “health and wellbeing” means to adolescents. The psychosocial context of family, friends, and school plays a crucial role in the construction of health and wellbeing by adolescents. In spite of this, not much is known about the meaning Ghanaian adolescents attach to their health and wellbeing and the role of stress and social support in the construction of this meaning. This study explores how perceived social support and stress influence the construction of the meaning of health and wellbeing to Ghanaian adolescents. Eleven respondents purposively selected from 770 males and females participated in semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed verbatim and analysed with thematic analysis. Findings pointed to the fact that health and wellbeing was largely construed as “ability to perform daily functions,” such as ability to take critical decisions and a general sense of vitality and mental strength. These were influenced by perceived social support (“encouragement and advice” and “religiosity or spirituality”) and stress (“teasing, strictness, quarrels, and arguments”). These findings suggest that effective communication, mutual respect, and support from significant others, in the midst of stressful life events, contribute substantially to a holistic construction and meaning of health and wellbeing by Ghanaian adolescents. Key words: Social support, stress, health and wellbeing, social constructionism, qualitative method, thematic analysis, adolescents, Ghana (Published: 7 April 2015) Citation: Int J Qualitative Stud Health Well-being 2015, 10 : 26370 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/qhw.v10.26370
Cytochromes P450 are Expressed in Proliferating Cells in Barrett's Metaplasia

The expression of cytochromes P450 (CYP) in Barrett's esophagus and esophageal squamous mucosa was investigated. Esophagectomy specimens from 23 patients were examined for CYP expression of CYP1A2, CYP3A4, CYP2C9/10, and CYP2E1 by immunohistochemical analysis, and the expression of CYP1A1, CYP3A4, CYP1B1, CYP2E1, and CYP2C9/10 in these tissues was further confirmed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Immunohistochemical analysis of esophageal squamous mucosa (n = 12) showed expression of CYP1A2, CYP3A4, CYP2E1, and CYP2C9/10 proteins, but it was noted that cells within the basal proliferative zone did not express CYPs. Immunohistochemical analysis of Barrett's esophagus (n = 13) showed expression of CYP1A2, CYP3A4, CYP2E1, and CYP2C9/10 that was prominent in the basal glandular regions, which are areas containing a high percentage of actively proliferating cells. Immunohistochemical staining for both proliferating cell nuclear antigen and the CYPs further supported the colocalization of CYP expression to areas of active cell proliferation in Barrett's esophagus, whereas in the esophageal squamous epithelium, CYP expression is limited to cells that are not proliferating. RT-PCR with amplification product sequence analysis confirmed CYP1A1, CYP3A4, CYP1B1, CYP2E1, and CYP2C9/10 mRNA expression in Barrett's esophagus. These data suggest that the potential ability of cells in Barrett's esophagus to both activate carcinogens and proliferate may be important risk factors affecting carcinogenesis in this metaplastic tissue.
Some Medical Issues and Technologies for Preserving Human Performance during Long-Duration Spaceflight

This panel presentation will highlight several of the crucial areas that impact astronauts' ability to carry out mission tasks during long-duration spaceflight. We review some of the physiologic changes which occur during long-duration spaceflight, highlight how those changes may impact human performance, and note some of the technologies and countermeasures that will be required to combat these deleterious effects. As the missions become longer, medical and psychosocial/group dynamics issues become increasing important as potential “trouble spots” for disrupting mission operations. These important attributes that relate to human performance must be considered by mission architects, management, ground controllers and the astronauts themselves for safe, effective long-duration mission completion. An integrated systems engineering approach is urged as an important conceptual framework for addressing how to apply a wide variety of new medical, telemedicine, and informatics technologies to the various challen...
Optical properties of the Si(111):H surface with adsorbed Ag clusters

Systems composed of small Ag clusters adsorbed on the Si(111):H surface have been computationally studied by methods of density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT, to obtain information on properties of photoexcitations and electronic structure. The systems have been modeled as slabs with varying numbers of layers, and an increasing number of Ag atoms in the adsorbed clusters. Ab initio electronic structure, atomic conformations, excitation energies, electron binding energies, and electronic oscillator strengths are obtained using two different implementations of DFT, as provided by the Vienna Ab-initio Simulation Package and Gaussian03 computational packages. Time-independent results from extended and finite models establish a general trend regarding the energy band gaps increase with slab thickness and decrease with cluster sizes. Resulting trends in oscillator strength versus photon energies, from time-dependent calculations, establish a consistent picture with an increase of light absorption at the lower photon energies as the size of clusters and number of slab layers is increased. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2009
Encapsulation of bixin in sodium caseinate to deliver the colorant in transparent dispersions

Abstract Bixin, the major colorant component of annatto, is water insoluble and sensitive to degradation by temperature, pH, and light stresses. In this work, we studied an encapsulation process by spray drying warm 40% v/v aqueous ethanol solution with dissociated sodium caseinate (NaCas) and dissolved bixin. Upon hydration of spray-dried powder, transparent dispersions were observed at a wide pH range away from the isoelectric point (pI) of NaCas. The stability of bixin was much improved and the consistent yellow color was obtained. The volume–length mean particle diameters of capsules were around 250 nm in dispersions, slightly bigger than that of NaCas, based on dynamic light scattering, but the difference was not observed based on atomic force microscopy. Capsules and the mixture of NaCas and bixin showed different fluorescence and FTIR spectra. At pH near the pI of casein, soluble soybean polysaccharides adsorbed strongly onto capsules and stabilized them from aggregation. The simple encapsulation approach studied in the present work showed a promising process to enhance the stability and dispersibility of carotenoids using NaCas as a carrier, especially in transparent dispersions.
Dried blood spot sampling: practical considerations and recommendation for use with preclinical studies

At present it is necessary to use animals to generate toxicokinetic data as part of preclinical safety studies. However, ethical standards require animal use to be carefully monitored and the principles of the 3Rs: replacement, reduction and refinement, to be considered and applied. Use of dried blood spot (DBS) samples, typically 10 to 20 µl, rather than the larger blood volumes required to obtain plasma samples, fully embraces the latter two principles of reduction and refinement. The use of DBS sampling enables the number of rodents per study to be reduced whilst also refining the way blood samples are taken from both rodents and non-rodents. The recent changes to the European Directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes favor DBS sampling becoming the standard for generation of toxicokinetic data, and imply that pharmaceutical companies will have to justify why plasma samples (and therefore larger blood volumes) are required for bioanalysis. Use of DBS samples has been, and is being, discussed widely within the pharmaceutical industry as the move away from taking large blood volumes becomes inevitable.
Alkaliphiles:‘basic’molecular problems of pH tolerance and bioenergetics

Alkaliphilic Bacillus species provide experimental opportunities for examination of physiological processes under conditions in which the stress of the extreme environment brings issues of general biological importance into special focus. The alkaliphile, like many other cells, uses Na+/H+ antiporters in pH regulation, but its array of these porters, and other ion-flux pathways that energize and support their activity, result in an extraordinary capacity for pH homeostasis; this process nonetheless becomes the factor that limits growth at the upper edge of the pH range. Above pH 9.5, aerobic alkaliphiles maintain a cytoplasmic pH that is two or more units below the external pH. This chemiosmotically adverse delta pH is bypassed by use of an electrochemical gradient of Na+ rather than of protons to energize solute uptake and motility. By contrast, ATP synthesis occurs via completely proton-coupled oxidative phosphorylation that proceeds just as well, or better, at pH 10 and above as it does in the same bacteria growing at lower pH, without the adverse pH gradient. Various mechanisms that might explain this conundrum are described, and the current state of the evidence supporting them is summarized.
Expression of Aspartyl 3-Hydroxylase in Patients with Marfan Syndrome: Preliminary Findings

Expression of Aspartyl 3-Hydroxylase in Patients with Marfan Syndrome: Preliminary Findings
SUBEPIDERMAL AIR SPACES: BASIS FOR THE PHENOTYPIC EXPRESSION OF THE ARGENTEUM MUTANT OF PISUM

The Argenteum (Arg) mutant of pea is characterized by a gray-green, silvery cast of the leaves and stipules. Light and electron microscopy showed that the nature of the silvery cast was due to extensive intercellular air space between the epidermis and palisade parenchyma. Adaxial epidermal strips from mutant leaves were free of palisade cell wall fragments, whereas similar strips from normal leaves had remnants of the torn palisade cells attached to the epidermal cell walls. The periphery of the epidermal-palisade cell wall interfaces showed a more electronopaque middle lamella in the normal leaves than in the Arg mutant leaves. ARGENTEUM (ARG), a recently described mutant of pea (Pisum sativum L.), is distinctive in appearance and unusual in genetic behavior. Mutant plants have a gray-green, silvery cast which is conspicuous from the early seedling stage until senescence (Marx, 1978). Generally, Arg behaves as a typical Mendelian dominant gene, producing expected monogenic segregation patterns. But occasionally, the mutant Arg shows erratic breeding behavior as well as phenotypic instability. Whereas the aerial portion of most mutant plants is composed entirely of mutant tissue, the leaves of some mutant plants are variegated; i.e., with a highly irregular mixture of mutant (silvery) and nonmutant (normal green) tissue in a manner resembling certain types of chlorophyll variegation. Among a number of challenging questions posed by the behavior ofArg, only one is taken up here, viz., the histological features of mutant expression. The visual similarity between mutant leaves and the gray-green flecks, which are common on normal plants, prompted us to consider disorders of a kind which Kirk and Tilney-Bassett (1967) termed "false variegation." One such type in this category is based on the pressence or absence of an air space between the epidermis and underlying cell layers. This phenomenon is not uncommon in plants (Hara, 1957), and in a number of instances, including peas, the flecking (variously called gray-spotting or mottle leaf) is under simple genetic control (Coyne, 1970; Fedetov, 1935; Scarchuk, 1954; Scarchuk and Lent, 1965; Scott and Riner, 1946; Tedin and Tedin, 1925; Wester and
Barbiturates and Eye Vergence

IT has been demonstrated1 that barbiturates influence conjugate eye movements selectively in that they abolish the smooth tracking movements while leaving the saccadic movements intact. Disjunctive eye movements have time characteristics akin to the tracking movements ; some effect of barbiturates on convergence has been mentioned2.
Comparison of women's liberation members with their nonmember peers

The Torrance Life Experience Inventory, 107 items concerning an individual's family as well as his past and current behaviors, was administered to 25 Women's Liberation members and 25 peers. On achievement for excellence, creativity, elaboration, originality, and risk-taking, members of women's liberation had higher means than their 25 nonmember peers. Significant differences (p = .01) were found on risk-taking, creativity, and originality. Significant differences in activities were also found. More women's liberation members reported receiving honors for things they did outside the classroom. Women's liberation members had higher grade averages in school than their nonmember peers.
Statistical Properties of Residual Stresses and Intergranular Fracture in Ceramic Materials

The problem addressed in this paper concerns the statistical characterization of the state of residual stress generated in polycrystalline ceramics during cooling from the fabrication temperature. Detailed finite element simulations are carried out for an ensemble of large numbers of randomly oriented, planar hexagonal grains with elastic and thermal expansion anisotropy, and brittle grain interfaces. The calculations show that the distribution of normal and shear tractions induced by thermal contraction mismatch among grains is gaussian and that these tractions are statistically independent random variables. Although the gaussian nature of the distributions remains unaffected by the introduction of elastic anisotropy, the results indicate that elastic anisotropy has a significant effect on the residual stresses for finite departures from isotropy. When the hexagonal grains are randomly distorted, the magnitude and distribution of residual stresses are found to be insignificantly altered. Spontaneous microfracture due to the generation of internal stresses is also simulated in the analysis by allowing for the nucleation and growth of intergranular microcracks when the fracture energy along the grain facets exceeds a certain critical value. When such microcracking is incorporated into the computation, the levels of residual stress are markedly reduced as a consequence of stress dissipation. The dependence of intergranular microcracking on grain size and temperature variation is examined and the predicted trends on material degradation or the complete suppression of microfracture are discussed in the light of available experimental results.
Synthesis of complex molecules in dense interstellar clouds via gas-phase chemistry: model update and sensitivity analysis

Les calculs concernent une liste de 1958 reactions qui impliquent 206 especes incluant un echantillon representatif de molecules complexes. L'etude chimique est faite en fonction de l'extinction visuelle, de la temperature de nuage et du rapport des abondances carbone/oxygene
DNA Topoisomerase II, Genotoxicity, and Cancer

Type II topoisomerases are ubiquitous enzymes that play essential roles in a number of fundamental DNA processes. They regulate DNA under- and overwinding, and resolve knots and tangles in the genetic material by passing an intact double helix through a transient double-stranded break that they generate in a separate segment of DNA. Because type II topoisomerases generate DNA strand breaks as a requisite intermediate in their catalytic cycle, they have the potential to fragment the genome every time they function. Thus, while these enzymes are essential to the survival of proliferating cells, they also have significant genotoxic effects. This latter aspect of type II topoisomerase has been exploited for the development of several classes of anticancer drugs that are widely employed for the clinical treatment of human malignancies. However, considerable evidence indicates that these enzymes also trigger specific leukemic chromosomal translocations. In light of the impact, both positive and negative, of type II topoisomerases on human cells, it is important to understand how these enzymes function and how their actions can destabilize the genome. This article discusses both aspects of human type II topoisomerases.
Integration of Reservoir Volume Estimates into Water Resources Decision Making

Abstract Engineers have long sought a tool that would improve the reliability of planning estimates for water storage volumes, especially under tight financial constraints. Three tributaries on a desert wadi in Jordan were investigated to learn about the possibility of groundwater artificial recharge using flood water retention structures. For each tributary, calculations were made without the assistance of surveying equipment and manpower to present to the authorities for a rapid decision to proceed with preliminary and final design of such water storage structures. Each tributary was visually observed and rough measurements taken to estimate lake volumes of dikes at different heights, ranging from 2 m to 10 m. The resulting volumes were calculated based on differing slopes of dike sides and effective lengths of profiles. These planning level estimates were presented to government decision makers and were subsequently compared to exact volume calculations from detailed topographical surveys. The percenta...
Nucleon-nucleus Interactions

THREE decades of intensive study of nuclear phenomena have not brought a detailed understanding of the forces between the nucleons which comprise the atomic nucleus. Even if the forces were known, mathematical techniques are at present inadequate to solve the Schrodinger equation for nuclei containing more than a few nucleons.
Social and psychological reactions to receiving help from a robot

Computer systems, including humanoid robots, are becoming capable of recognizing human activity and, in the future, may offer unsolicited help in a variety of contexts. This helpfulness may improve people's performance on certain tasks, but there could be negative social and psychological consequences. Help recipients may feel vulnerable--that their self-esteem and their control over the task have been threatened. To better understand the social psychological impact of receiving help from a robot, this thesis explores strategies used in human-human conversation to deliver unsolicited help and observes participants' reactions to these strategies in human-robot dialogue.
The influence of similarity between relevant and irrelevant information upon a complex identification task

This experiment sought answers to two questions: (1) Do increases in the similarity between relevant and irrelevant information present in visual stimulus patterns detrimentally influence the performance of a complex identification task, and (2) does the effect of such similarity interact with increasing amounts of irrelevant information? An analysis of the response latencies and errors indicated that identification of the relevant information in the stimulus patterns becomes significantly poorer with increasing similarity between relevant and irrelevant information and with increasing amounts of irrelevancy. The results also showed that the joint effect of similarity and irrelevancy produces a greater performance decrement than that associated with either variable alone. Practice on the task reduced the detrimental effects.
New signaling pathways associated with increased cardiac adenylyl cyclase 6 expression: implications for possible congestive heart failure therapy.

Congestive heart failure (CHF) affects more than five million people in the United States and results in considerable morbidity, mortality, and economic costs. Patients with class III and IV CHF have a 40% to 50% probability of dying 5 years after symptom onset despite optimal therapy, a prognosis worse than many cancers. A variety of drugs and devices have improved survival—the 50% survival time in 1980 was just 18 months—but the outlook for patients remains dismal and the prevalence of CHF continues to increase. This unmet medical need underscores the importance of developing new approaches for the treatment of CHF. This brief review focuses on data from preclinical experiments regarding the effects of increased adenylyl cyclase type 6 (AC6) expression on cellular and cardiac function, and possible mechanisms for the unexpected favorable effects of increased AC6 content on the failing heart.
Radiosensitization of Chemotherapy-Refractory, Locally Advanced or Locally Recurrent Breast Cancer With Trastuzumab: A Phase II Trial

Purpose Trastuzumab (Herceptin), an anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) antibody, has been shown to be an effective radiosensitizer in preclinical studies. The present Phase II trial evaluated trastuzumab plus radiotherapy in patients with HER2-positive, chemotherapy-refractory, locally advanced or locoregionally recurrent breast cancer. Methods and Materials Eligible patients had measurable disease, normal cardiac function, and biopsy-confirmed residual HER2-positive disease. Patients received weekly trastuzumab (2 mg/kg intravenously), concurrent with radiotherapy (50 Gy) to the breast and regional lymph nodes for 5 weeks. If feasible, surgery followed radiotherapy. The primary endpoint was safety, and the secondary endpoint was efficacy (pathologic response and interval to symptomatic local progression). Results Of the 19 patients enrolled, 7 were ineligible and received radiotherapy alone and 12 received therapy per protocol. Of these 12 patients, 11 had a Stage T4 diagnosis. Grade 3 toxicities included skin ( n = 2) and lymphopenia ( n = 1). One patient experienced delayed wound healing after surgery. No patients developed symptomatic cardiac dysfunction. Of the 7 patients who had undergone mastectomy, 3 (43%) had a substantial pathologic response (complete response or microscopic residual disease), significantly more than a comparison cohort (2 of 38 or 5%, p = .02). The median interval to symptomatic local progression was not reached. The median overall survival was 39 months. Conclusion This is the first prospective trial providing evidence for a radiosensitizing effect of trastuzumab in breast cancer. The combination of trastuzumab and radiotherapy was well tolerated.
Modulation of the rod and frame effect: Retinal angle vs apparent size

Two rod and frame displays, constructed in a 3:1 linear ratio, were used to assess the apparent vertical. When viewed at the common distance of 1.5 m, the larger-appearing frame also produced the greater retinal angle. With the small frame at .5 m and the large one at 4.5 m, the smaller-appearing frame produced the greater retinal angle. In both cases the rod and frame effect increased with increasing retinal size, rather than with the apparent size of the frame.
Photophysics of Pyrenyl Acrylic Acid and Its Methyl Ester. A Spectroscopic Method to Monitor Polymerization and Surface Properties

This paper reports photophysical studies of pyrenylacrylic acid (PAA) and its methyl ester (PAM), along with studies utilizing these fluorescent probes to monitor polymerization rates. Due to the c...
SU-F-19A-01: APBI Brachytherapy Treatment Planning: The Impact of Heterogeneous Dose Calculations

Purpose: To quantify the difference in dose to PTV_EVAL and OARs (skin and rib) as calculated by (TG43) and heterogeneous calculations (CCC). Methods: 25 patient plans (5 Contura and 20 SAVI) were selected for analysis. Clinical dose distributions were computed with a commercially available treatment planning algorithm (TG43-D_(w,w)) and then recomputed with a pre-clinical collapsed cone convolution algorithm (CCCD_( m,m)). PTV_EVAL coverage (V90%, V95%), and rib and skin maximum dose were compared via percent difference. Differences in dose to normal tissue (V150cc, V200cc of PTV_EVAL) were also compared. Changes in coverage and maximum dose to organs at risk are reported in percent change, (100*(TG43 − CCC) / TG43)), and changes in maximum dose to normal tissue are absolute change in cc (TG43 − CCC). Results: Mean differences in V90, V95, V150, and V200 for the SAVI cases were −0.2%, −0.4%, −0.03cc, and −0.14cc, respectively, with maximum differences of −0.78%, −1.7%, 1.28cc, and 1.01cc, respectively. Mean differences in the 0.1cc dose to the rib and skin were −1.4% and −0.22%, respectively, with maximum differences of −4.5% and 16%, respectively. Mean differences in V90, V95, V150, and V200 for the Contura cases were −1.2%, −2.1%, −1.8cc, and −0.59cc, respectively, with maximum differences of −2.0%, −3.16%, −2.9cc, and −0.76cc, respectively. Mean differences in the 0.1cc dose to the rib and skin were −2.6% and −3.9%, respectively, with maximum differences of −3.2% and −5.7%, respectively. Conclusion: The effects of translating clinical knowledge based on D_(w,w) to plans reported in D_(m,m) are minimal (2% or less) on average, but vary based on the type and placement of the device, source, and heterogeneity information.
Variation in nephrologist visits to patients on hemodialysis across dialysis facilities and geographic locations.

Summary Background and objectives Geographic and other variations in medical practices lead to differences in medical costs, often without a clear link to health outcomes. This work examined variation in the frequency of physician visits to patients receiving hemodialysis to measure the relative importance of provider practice patterns (including those patterns linked to geographic region) and patient health in determining visit frequency. Design, setting, participants, & measurements This work analyzed a nationally representative 2006 database of patients receiving hemodialysis in the United States. A variation decomposition analysis of the relative importance of facility, geographic region, and patient characteristics—including demographics, socioeconomic status, and indicators of health status—in explaining physician visit frequency variation was conducted. Finally, the associations between facility, geographic and patient characteristics, and provider visit frequency were measured using multivariable regression. Results Patient characteristics accounted for only 0.9% of the total visit frequency variation. Accounting for case-mix differences, patients’ hemodialysis facilities explained about 24.9% of visit frequency variation, of which 9.3% was explained by geographic region. Visit frequency was more closely associated with many facility and geographic characteristics than indicators of health status. More recent dialysis initiation and recent hospitalization were associated with decreased visit frequency. Conclusions In hemodialysis, provider visit frequency depends more on geography and facility location and characteristics than patients’ health status or acuity of illness. The magnitude of variation unrelated to patient health suggests that provider visit frequency practices do not reflect optimal management of patients on dialysis.
Multicasting in sparse MANETs using message ferrying

Multicast is an essential service in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). Numerous protocols have been proposed but none of them is directly applicable in sparse MANETs, which are a form of disruption/delay tolerant networks (DTNs). In this paper, we consider multicasting in sparse MANETs with focus on two data dissemination schemes, epidemic routing (ER) and message ferrying (MF). With necessary group management schemes, both schemes can be extended for multicast. However, their performance is scenario-dependent. With this observation, a set of multicast protocols combining the essentials of MF and ER are proposed. In particular, we propose adaptive protocols targeting a balance between transmission efficiency and timely delivery in different scenarios. With simulations, we evaluate the performance of these protocols
Trojan: a high-performance simulator for shared memory architectures

The paper presents an execution driven simulator called Trojan, which is an extended version of MIT Proteus, for evaluating the performance of parallel shared memory machines. The key features of Trojan are: (1) it simulates efficiently both process model based (e.g., SPLASH) and thread model based applications (e.g., SPLASH2) (a "copy on write" mechanism is used on process based applications implemented on a threads package); (2) it provides support for virtual memory simulation, which is, to our knowledge, the first execution driven simulator to offer this functionality; and (3) Trojan does not require making any modification to applications, which results in increased accuracy and usability. We have used Trojan extensively to study cache behavior, network traffic patterns, multiprocessor architectures, and application behavior.
Online algorithms for advance resource reservations

We consider the problem of providing QoS guarantees to Grid users through advance reservation of resources. Advance reservation mechanisms provide the ability to allocate resources to users based on agreed-upon QoS requirements and increase the predictability of a Grid system, yet incorporating such mechanisms into current Grid environments has proven to be a challenging task due to the resulting resource fragmentation. We use concepts from computational geometry to present a framework for tackling the resource fragmentation, and for formulating a suite of scheduling strategies. We also develop efficient implementations of the scheduling algorithms that scale to large Grids. We conduct a comprehensive performance evaluation study using simulation, and we present numerical results to demonstrate that our strategies perform well across several metrics that reflect both user- and system-specific goals. Our main contribution is a timely, practical, and efficient solution to the problem of scheduling resources in emerging on-demand computing environments.
Near Infrared Photoimmunotherapy in the Treatment of Disseminated Peritoneal Ovarian Cancer

Near infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT) is a new cancer treatment that combines the specificity of intravenously injected antibodies for targeting tumors with the toxicity induced by photosensitizers after exposure to near infrared (NIR) light. Herein, we evaluate the efficacy of NIR-PIT in a mouse model of disseminated peritoneal ovarian cancer. In vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted with a HER2-expressing, luciferase expressing, ovarian cancer cell line (SKOV-luc). An antibody-photosensitizer conjugate (APC) consisting of trastuzumab and a phthalocyanine dye, IRDye-700DX, was synthesized (tra-IR700) and cells or tumors were exposed to near infrared (NIR) light. In vitro PIT cytotoxicity was assessed with dead staining and luciferase activity in freely growing cells and in a 3D spheroid model. In vivo NIR-PIT was performed in mice with tumors implanted in the peritoneum and in the flank and these assessed by tumor volume and/or bioluminescence. In vitro NIR-PIT-induced cytotoxicity was light dose dependent. Repeated light exposures induced complete tumor cell killing in the 3D spheroid model. In vivo the anti-tumor effects of NIR-PIT were confirmed by significant reductions in both tumor volume and luciferase activity in the flank model (NIR-PIT vs control in tumor volume changes at day 10; p=0.0001, NIR-PIT vs control in luciferase activity at day 4; p=0.0237), and the peritoneal model (NIR-PIT vs control in luciferase activity at day 7; p=0.0037). NIR-PIT provided effective cell killing in this HER2 positive model of disseminated peritoneal ovarian cancer. Thus, NIR-PIT is a promising new therapy for the treatment of disseminated peritoneal tumors.
Elements of early vision for computer graphics

Visually based techniques in computer graphics have blossomed. Important advances in perceptually driven rendering, realistic image display, high-fidelity visualization, and appearance-preserving geometric simplification have all been realized by applying knowledge of the limitations and capabilities of human visual processing. Much of this work is grounded in the physiology and psychophysics of early vision, which focuses on how visual mechanisms transduce and code the patterns of light arriving at the eye. The article surveys some of the fundamental findings in the study of early vision including basic visual anatomy and physiology, optical properties of the eye, light sensitivity and visual adaptation, and spatial vision.
Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation of the prefrontal cortex enhances complex verbal associative thought

The remote associates test (RAT) is a complex verbal task with associations to both creative thought and general intelligence. RAT problems require not only lateral associations and the internal production of many words but a convergent focus on a single answer. Complex problem-solving of this sort may thus require both substantial verbal processing and strong executive function capacities. Previous studies have provided evidence that verbal task performance can be enhanced by noninvasive transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). tDCS modulates excitability of neural tissue depending on the polarity of the current. The after-effects of this modulation may have effects on task performance if the task examined draws on the modulated region. Studies of verbal cognition have focused largely on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (F3 of the 10-20 EEG system) as a region of interest. We planned to assess whether modulating excitability at F3 could affect complex verbal abilities. In Experiment 1 (anodal, cathodal, or sham stimulation over F3 with the reference electrode over the contralateral supraorbital region), we found a significant overall effect of stimulation condition on RAT performance. Post hoc tests showed an increase in performance after anodal stimulation (1 mA) compared to sham (p =.025) and to cathodal stimulation (p =.038). In Experiment 2 (either anodal stimulation at F3 or separately at its homologue F4), we replicated the anodal effect of the first study, but also showed that anodal stimulation of F4 had no effect on RAT performance. These data provide evidence that anodal stimulation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex can improve performance on a complex verbal problem-solving task believed to require significant executive function capacity.
Point-of-care colorimetric detection with a smartphone

Paper-based immunoassays are becoming powerful and low-cost diagnostic tools, especially in resource-limited settings. Inexpensive methods for quantifying these assays have been shown using desktop scanners, which lack portability, and cameras, which suffer from the ever changing ambient light conditions. In this work, we introduce a novel approach of quantifying colors of colorimetric diagnostic assays with a smartphone that allows high accuracy measurements in a wide range of ambient conditions, making it a truly portable system. Instead of directly using the red, green, and blue (RGB) intensities of the color images taken by a smartphone camera, we use chromaticity values to construct calibration curves of analyte concentrations. We demonstrate the high accuracy of this approach in pH measurements with linear response ranges of 1–12. These results are comparable to those reported using a desktop scanner or silicon photodetectors. To make the approach adoptable under different lighting conditions, we developed a calibration technique to compensate for measurement errors due to variability in ambient light. This technique is applicable to a number of common light sources, such as sun light, fluorescent light, or smartphone LED light. Ultimately, the entire approach can be integrated in an “app” to enable one-click reading, making our smartphone based approach operable without any professional training or complex instrumentation.
Analysis of Hyperion data with the FLAASH atmospheric correction algorithm

A combination of good spatial and spectral resolution make visible to shortwave infrared spectral imaging from aircraft or spacecraft a highly valuable technology for remote sensing of the Earth's surface. Many applications require the elimination of atmospheric effects caused by molecular and particulate scattering; a process known as atmospheric correction, compensation, or removal. The Fast Line-of-sight Atmospheric Analysis of Spectral Hypercubes (FLAASH) atmospheric correction code derives its physics-based algorithm from the MODTRAN4 radiative transfer code. A new spectra; recalibration algorithm, which has been incorporated into FLAASH, is described. Results from processing Hyperion data with FLAASH are discussed.
High-strain-rate free-surface boundary-layer flows

Two-dimensional boundary-layer flows of water down an inclined table were investigated in both the laminar and turbulent regimes. Mean, r.m.s. and skewness and velocity spectra were determined from streamwise velocity measurements. Two laser-Doppler anemometry methods were developed (for studying polymer-solution flows using this same water table) and compared with measurements obtained using hot-film anemometry. All three techniques obtained consistent results. An analysis based on a von Mises transformation is presented which accurately predicts the mean-velocity profile and flow development in the laminar regime. High strain rates are achieved which can be varied independently of Reynolds number, and turbulent flows are easily generated by inserting a disturbance. These turbulent flows are surprisingly similar to more commonly investigated turbulent boundarylayer flows of much greater y + extent. Turbulent water-table flows typically extend only to y + = 100, yet mean velocity essentially follows the law of the wall, and intensity and skewness measurements are similar to those obtained in flows much less limited in y + .
Implementing developmental screening.

The study found that 85%of childrenwere screenedat their routine visits and 14%of the screenedchildren failed developmental screening for suspected delays. of the 2006 American Academy in Pediatrics (AAP) policy on the early identification of infants and children with developmental disorders in primary care practice found wide variation in screening practices and subspecialist referrals (King et al., 2010). The 2006 AAP recommendations resulted from research that showed that only 23% of primary care providers routinely used standardized, developmental screening tests during well baby visits (Council on Children With Disabilities, 2006). It was hoped that the 2006 policy would provide an algorithm for developmental screening which would ensure comprehensive monitoring of development in young children. The new AAP sponsored pilot study was designed to determine if the use of the policy changed the delivery of developmental surveillance and screening. It collected quantitative data from chart reviews and semi structured telephone interviews at 17 diverse pediatric practices in 15 states for 9 months. The involved providers received a one-day training seminar on the new screening guidelines, instruments available and information on how to incorporate the screening into their office workflow. The researchers found that although primary care providers screened more children for developmental delays after the policy statement was issued, they did not consistently refer children suspected of having delays to early intervention programs. In addition, the study found that many families did not follow though with recommended referrals (King et al., 2010). The American Academy in Pediatrics recommends that all infants be screened for developmental disorders with a standardized developmental tool at their 9, 18 and 30 month well-baby visits. The most commonly used screening instruments were the parent-completed Ages and Stages
Reclaiming resilience and safety: Resilience activation in the critical period of crisis

When external events disrupt the normal flow of organizational and relational routines and practices, an organization’s latent capacity to rebound activates to enable positive adaptation and bounce back. This article examines an unexpected organizational crisis (a shooting and standoff in a business school) and presents a model for how resilience becomes activated in such situations. Three social mechanisms describe resilience activation. Liminal suspension describes how crisis temporarily undoes and alters formal relational structures and opens a temporal space for organization members to form and renew relationships. Compassionate witnessing describes how organization members’ interpersonal connections and opportunities for engagement respond to individuals’ needs. And relational redundancy describes how organization members’ social capital and connections across organizational and functional boundaries activate relational networks that enable resilience. Narrative accounts from the incident support the...