cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE CAUSALITY AMONG FIRMS' DIVIDEND, INVESTMENT, AND FINANCING DECISIONS

In this paper we posit that information asymmetries and the resultant signaling implications make a firm's investment decision dependent on its dividend and financing decisions. By applying the vector autoregressive modeling technique to 100 firms randomly selected from ten four-digit SIC industries, we find evidence of interdependencies among the three decisions. The success of the model in predicting each of the three decision variables also suggests that these decisions should be analyzed in a simultaneous equation framework.
Isolation and characterization of packaging cell lines that coexpress the adenovirus E1, DNA polymerase, and preterminal proteins: implications for gene therapy.

Isolation and characterization of packaging cell lines that coexpress the adenovirus E1, DNA polymerase, and preterminal proteins: implications for gene therapy
Cannabinoids attenuate capsaicin-evoked hyperalgesia through spinal and peripheral mechanisms.

Abstract Previous studies in our laboratory have demonstrated that cannabinoids administered intravenously attenuate the duration of nocifensive behavior and block the development of hyperalgesia produced by intraplantar injection of capsaicin. In the present study, we extended these observations and determined whether cannabinoids attenuate capsaicin-evoked pain and hyperalgesia through spinal and peripheral mechanisms, and whether the antihyperalgesia was receptor mediated. Separate groups of rats were pretreated 7 min before capsaicin with an intrathecal injection of vehicle or the cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN 55,212-2 at doses of 0.1, 1.0 or 10 μg in 10 μl. Although the intrathecal application of WIN 55,212-2 did not alter nocifensive behavior following capsaicin, it produced a dose-dependent decrease in hyperalgesia to heat and mechanical stimuli. Intrathecal pretreatment with the CB1 receptor antagonist SR141716A (10 μg) blocked the antihyperalgesia produced by WIN 55,212-2. The ability of intrathecal administration of WIN 55,212-2 to attenuate hyperalgesia was not due to motor deficits since the highest dose of WIN 55,212-2 did not alter performance on the rota-rod test. To investigate whether cannabinoids attenuated capsaicin-evoked hyperalgesia through peripheral mechanisms, separate groups of rats were pretreated with an intraplantar injection of WIN 55,212-2 at doses of 0.1, 1.0, 10 or 30 μg in 100 μl 5 min before capsaicin. Intraplantar pretreatment with WIN 55,212-2 produced a dose-dependent attenuation of hyperalgesia to heat, but did not attenuate mechanical hyperalgesia or the duration of nocifensive behavior. The inactive enantiomer WIN 55,212-3 did not alter the development of hyperalgesia. SR141716A (100 μg) co-injected with WIN 55,212-2 (30 μg) partially attenuated the effects of WIN 55,212-2 on hyperalgesia to heat. Intraplantar injection of the highest dose of WIN 55,212-2 did not interfere with the development of hyperalgesia following capsaicin injection into the contralateral paw. These data show that cannabinoids possess antihyperalgesic properties at doses that alone do not produce antinociception, and are capable of acting at both spinal and peripheral sites.
We're All in this Together: Collaborative Professional Development with Student Teaching Supervisors

Although the work of the internship supervisor is vital to the teacher preparation process, little attention has been paid to supervisors in research or practice. In response to this issue, the authors implemented a collaborative professional development experience for internship supervisors. Data were collected through focus group interviews and an open-ended survey to determine how participation in the professional development experience impacted supervisors' work and experiences in their teacher education program. Findings included strengths and weaknesses of the project, as well as suggestions for future endeavors. The data indicate that such groups are potentially beneficial for participants.
Necrotic arachnidism in the northwest United States and its probable relationship to Tegenaria agrestis (Walckenaer) spiders

Abstract Necrotic spider bites in the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, U.S.A., have become increasingly frequent during the past decade. The great majority of cases seen by physicians are tentatively diagnosed as ‘brown recluse’ spider bite on the basis of clinical manifestations. However, investigation of over 30 such cases from several northwest localities has revealed that Tegenaria agrestis, a spider introduced into the northwest U.S. from Europe, is almost invariably found at the locality where the bite probably occurred. Necrotic arachnidism was seen only in areas where populations of Tegenaria agrestis spiders were well established and did not occur where Tegenaria agrestis was absent. The geographical spread of Tegenaria agrestis spiders parallels the appearance of necrotic arachnidism in several areas. Evaluation of some individual cases strongly implicates Tegenaria agrestis as the responsible organism and Tegenaria agrestis is likely responsible for the majority of ‘brown recluse’ spider bites seen in the northwest U.S. Tegenaria agrestis should now be considered a species of clinical significance capable of producing marked dermal lesions and, not infrequently, severe toxicosis in humans. Case histories are presented and manifestations of poisoning are described.
Holographic imaging of electrical breakdown in air

We report a holographic imaging technique for monitoring electrical breakdown. Proof-of-concept experiment of imaging breakdown in air is demonstrated. It is shown that the holographically captured amplitude and phase information can be used to visualize the breakdown process and calculate the electron density of the generated plasma. A temporal resolution of about 5 ns is accomplished, which is limited by the laser pulse duration time.
The Association Between Barrett’s Esophagus and Helicobacter pylori Infection: A Meta‐Analysis

Objective The effect of Helicobacter pylori on Barrett’s esophagus is poorly understood. We conducted a meta-analysis to summarize the existing literature examining the effect that H pylori has on Barrett’s esophagus.
Cache access and replacement for future wireless Internet

In the last two decades we have witnessed the tremendous success of the Internet and its technologies. Wireless Internet access becomes important to continue this success. However, wireless Internet access suffers from limited battery power, limited bandwidth, high mobility, and an increasing degree of heterogeneity. Cache mechanisms have been proposed to improve access latency, reduce battery power consumption, and reduce bandwidth usage in the wireless Internet. In this article we discuss issues in wireless Internet caching. In particular, we classify and survey cache access mechanisms and replacement algorithms, which should be designed considering both the limitations of wireless networks/devices and heterogeneity of the future wireless Internet
TEMPERATURE- AND PH-DEPENDENCE OF ALBITE DISSOLUTION RATE AT ACID PH

Albite dissolution experiments performed in solutions at pH below neutral at 5°, 50° and 90°C combined with results from the literature for albite dissolution at other temperatures show that the pH- and temperature-dependence of dissolution can be modeled using the following equation for highly unsaturated (far-from-equilibrium) conditions: logr = −2.71 − 3410/T − 0.5 H where r is the dissolution rate in mol albite cm−2 s−1; and T is temperature in K. The above equation is valid between pH 1 and 5 and temperatures from 5° to 300°C. The activation energy of dissolution for albite for this temperature and pH range is 15.6 ± 0.8 kcal mol−1. However, in addition to pH, other species in solution also affect the feldspar dissolution rate: these variations may be modeled as a ΔG-effect or an ion-specific adsorption effect. Because our measurements were all completed for values of |ΔG| > 11 kcal mol−1, where the affinity effect should be small (assuming a linear model),we used an ion inhibition model to describe our data. Assuming feldspar dissolution is controlled by competitive adsorption of hydrogen and aluminium on the feldspar surface, we use a Langmuir competitive adsorption model to fit the data: r = k′[KH{H+}(1 + KH{H+} + KAl{Al3+})]12 where k′ is the apparent rate constant (mol cm−2 s−1); KH is the proton adsorption equilibrium constant; KAl is the Al adsorption equilibrium constant; and {H+} and {Al3+} are activities of H+ and Al3+ in solution, respectively. The temperature-dependent parameters (k′, KH, KAl) are modeled using the Arrhenius and van't Hoff equations. The values of ΔH are assumed equal to 8 and −8 kcal mol−1 for Al3+ and H+, respectively. A value of 10−0.97 is used for KH at 25°C. The values of k′ and KAl at 25°C have been determined by non-linear curve fitting to be 1.7 × 10−4 mol cm−2 s−1 and 2.0 × 103, respectively. The adsorption model fits the experimental data more closely than the simpler rate model, indicating that the model is consistent with the observed pH-, Al- and temperature-dependence of feldspar dissolution between 5° and 300°C. More data are needed to evaluate competitive effects of Na+ or other ions, or the effect of ΔG for near-equilibrium solutions. This model emphasizes that the effect of inhibition by adsorbed cations should be greater at higher temperature (> 50°C), due to the positive value of the adsorption enthalpy of cation adsorption on oxide surfaces.
Parallel simulation of two-phase flow problems using the finite element method

Parallel computation of unsteady, two-phase flow problems are performed using stabilized finite element method. The finite element formulations are written for fix meshes and are based on the Navier-Stokes equations and an advection equation governing the motion of the interface function. The interface function, with two distinct values serve as an marker identifying each fluid This function is advected with fluid velocity through out the computational domain. To increase the accuracy of the method, an interface-sharpening/mass conservation algorithm is designed. The method has been implemented on the CRAY T3E and also IBM SP/6000 using the MPI libraries. We show the effectiveness of the method in simulating complex 3D problems, such as two-fluid interface in a centrifuge tube, operation stability of a partially-filled tanker truck driving over a bump and hydrodynamics stability of ships.
Urine protein electrophoresis and immunoelectrophoresis using unconcentrated or minimally concentrated urine samples.

Our objective was to evaluate a gel system that uses unconcentrated urine specimens for protein electrophoresis (PEL) and immunofixation electrophoresis (IFE) in patients with monoclonal gammopathies. For the study, 222 urine specimens were analyzed by our current PEL method (Helena Laboratories, Beaumont, TX) and by a system that recommends use of unconcentrated urine (Sebia, Norcross, GA). M protein concentrations were compared in the 43 cases with a measurable M spike. IFE was performed on 111 of the samples using both methods. There was a 97% concordance for detection of PEL abnormalities. The concordance for IFE was 98%. M protein concentrations by the 2 methods correlated well (r 2 = 0.99; slope, 1.04). Cases with insufficient urine volumes for concentration (PEL, 7; IFE, 20) were analyzed in the Sebia gel system, and in 11 cases (PEL, 2; IFE, 9) an M protein was identified. High-resolution gel electrophoresis of urine using the Sebia system offers similar performance for detection, characterization, and quantification of M proteins when compared with our current gel system. Testing unconcentrated urine specimens will mean fewer sample rejections owing to insufficient sample volume. Analysis of serum and urine samples is important for the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with monoclonal gammopathies. 1 Although agarose gel electrophoresis and capillary zone electrophoresis are the common screening methods for monoclonal proteins (M proteins), immunofixation electrophoresis (IFE) is more sensitive and is required to confirm the presence of a serum M protein and to characterize its heavy chain and light chain type. 1 Furthermore, if urine is assessed, it is recommended that urine be “adequately concentrated” to increase diagnostic sensitivity. 2 Although most monoclonal gammopathies can be detected, characterized, and monitored with serum assays, some plasma cell proliferative disorders synthesize and secrete monoclonal free light chain or heavy chain fragments. The products of these clonal plasma cells are of relatively small molecular weight and may be readily cleared from blood. To detect and/or monitor these abnormalities, it may be necessary to test urine samples. Monoclonal light chains in patients with diseases such as primary amyloidosis can be detected by serum IFE with a sensitivity of 80% to 85%. Inclusion of urine IFE increases this sensitivity to 90% to 95%. Recent reports of the sensitivity of a diagnostic panel that includes serum protein electrophoresis (PEL), IFE, and free light chain quantitation have indicated that the diagnostic sensitivity of this expanded serum panel is equal to that of serum plus urine tests. 3 Even after serum studies diagnose an M protein, however, urine tests are still required to evaluate the urine total protein and the distribution of the urinary proteins.
Generation and analysis of proline mutants in protein G

The pyrrolidine ring of the amino acid proline reduces the conformational freedom of the protein backbone in its unfolded form and thus enhances protein stability. The strategy of inserting proline into regions of the protein where it does not perturb the structure has been utilized to stabilize many different proteins including enzymes. However, most of these efforts have been based on trial and error, rather than rational design. Here, we try to understand proline's effect on protein stability by introducing proline mutations into various regions of the B1 domain of Streptococcal protein G. We also applied the Optimization of Rotamers By Iterative Techniques computational protein design program, using two different solvation models, to determine the extent to which it could predict the stabilizing and destabilizing effects of prolines. Use of a surface area dependent solvation model resulted in a modest correlation between the experimental free energy of folding and computed energies; on the other hand, use of a Gaussian solvent exclusion model led to significant positive correlation. Including a backbone conformational entropy term to the computational energies increases the statistical significance of the correlation between the experimental stabilities and both solvation models.
Emergency physician-initiated extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Abstract Context Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) refers to emergent percutaneous veno-arterial cardiopulmonary bypass to stabilize and provide temporary support of patients who suffer cardiopulmonary arrest. Initiation of ECPR by emergency physicians with meaningful long-term patient survival has not been demonstrated. Objective To determine whether emergency physicians could successfully incorporate ECPR into the resuscitation of patients who present to the emergency department (ED) with cardiopulmonary collapse refractory to traditional resuscitative efforts. Design A three-stage algorithm was developed for ED ECPR in patients meeting inclusion/exclusion criteria. We report a case series describing our experience with this algorithm over a 1-year period. Results 42 patients presented to our ED with cardiopulmonary collapse over the 1-year study period. Of these, 18 patients met inclusion/exclusion criteria for the algorithm. 8 patients were admitted to the hospital after successful ED ECPR and 5 of those patients survived to hospital discharge neurologically intact. 10 patients were not started on bypass support because either their clinical conditions improved or resuscitative efforts were terminated. Conclusion Emergency physicians can successfully incorporate ED ECPR in the resuscitation of patients who suffer acute cardiopulmonary collapse. More studies are necessary to determine the true efficacy of this therapy.
A power-efficient voltage-based neural tissue stimulator with energy recovery

A voltage-based neural stimulator for an implant is fabricated in 1.5/spl mu/m CMOS. Wireless power transmission and synchronous rectification allow the use of a set of intermediate voltage supplies. This system achieves power consumption 53% lower than traditional current-source stimulators delivering the same charge to electrodes.
Defect-Impurity Interactions in Irradiated Germanium

The purpose of these experiments was to formulate a better model for the structures of lattice defects and defect-impurity complexes in irradiated n-type Ge. Single crystals were grown by the Czochralski process from P, As, or Sb-doped melts, and ? 1015 to ? 1017 oxygen cm-3 was added to the furnace chamber after ~ 1/3 of the crystal had been solidified. Hall coefficient and resistivity measurements (at 77°K) were used to determine the initial donor concentration due to the dopant and clustered oxygen, and infrared absorption measurements (at 11.7 ?) were used to determine the dissociated oxygen concentration. Certain impurity and defect-impurity interactions were then investigated that occurred as a consequence of selected annealing, quenching, Li diffusion, and irradiation experiments at ~ 300°K with 60Co photons, 1.5-2.0 MeV electrons, or thermal energy neutrons. Particular attention was given to determining the electrical role of the irradiation produced interstitial and vacancy, and to look for any evidence from electrical and optical measurements of vacancy-oxygen, lithium-oxygen, and lithium-vacancy interactions. A tentative model was developed for the lattice defect and defect-impurity structures, however, it was evident that any interpretation of defect-impurity interactions as a consequence of irradiation or annealing was subject to considerable error if the concentration and electrical role of certain impurities was not determined.
Defense mechanisms of scleractinian cup corals against overgrowth by colonial invertebrates

Abstract Colonial sessile invertebrates often dominate marine hard-substratum communities by out-competing and overgrowing solitary organisms, yet some solitary taxa such as scleractinian cup corals thrive in such habitats. In this study we investigated the defense mechanisms which enable solitary, ahermatypic corals (cup corals) to avoid overgrowth and thus facilitate coexistence with encrusting colonial invertebrates in space-limited communities. Spatial competition between Balanophyllia elegans Verrill, a cup coral, and Trididemnum opacum Ritter, a colonial ascidian, was investigated in the San Juan Islands, Washington, to examine competitive interactions between cup corals and colonial invertebrates. Both species are abundant on vertical rock walls in this region (B. elegans mean density = 34 corals/0.25 m2, T. opacum mean cover = 12%) and 25% of examined B. elegans were involved in a competitive interaction with T. opacum. Colonial invertebrates occupied 55–75% of available space on subtidal vertical surfaces in this region. The roles of four possible defensive mechanisms of cup corals (escape in size, aggressive behavior, allelochemicals, and aggregation) in preventing overgrowth were examined. Results of manipulative field experiments and laboratory pairwise interactions suggest that tentacular contact, which may represent a form of aggressive behavior, effectively deters overgrowth of B. elegans by T. opacum.
Keratoacanthoma: a clinico-pathologic enigma.

Background. Keratoacanthoma (KA) is an extraordinary entity. Once considered a benign neoplasm that resembled a highly malignant one (pseudomalignancy), it is now viewed in an opposite light as a cancer that resembles a benign neoplasm (pseudobenignity). Objective. The goal was to delineate the malignant potential of this neoplasm based on the author's experience and a review of recent data and research and to emphasize the KA as a possible part of an autosomal dominant familial cancer syndrome, the Muir–Torre syndrome. Methods. This is a review of the literature. Results. In this work, the KA is reviewed with recent advances emphasized. Conclusion. KA is an abortive malignancy that rarely progresses into an invasive SCC. The KA may serve as a marker for the important autosomal dominant familial cancer syndrome, the Muir–Torre syndrome, as a result of a defective DNA mismatch repair gene.
Evaluation of Boys with Marked Breast Development at Puberty

During the 10-year period from 1979 to 1988 we evaluated 60 boys who were more than 9 years old and who had significant breast development (greater than 4 cm in diameter) around the time of puberty. An endocrine abnormality was identified in seven subjects. The pathology included Klinefelter's syndrome; 46,XX maleness; primary testicular failure; partial androgen insensitivity; fibrolamellar hepatocarcinoma; and increased aromatase activity. Eight of the remaining 53 subjects had underlying medical problems, five of them having neurologic disorders. The 45 remaining subjects were considered to have significant idiopathic gynecomastia, a condition sometimes referred to as macromastia. These boys tended to be both taller and heavier than average, the mean Z score for height being 1.4 SDs above the mean and the mean weight score being 2.7 SDs above the mean. This study underscores the observation that pathologic causes of marked pubertal gynecomastia are unusual. However, the potential for significant health problems among boys with marked breast development supports the need for an endocrine evaluation of all affected subjects. Our data also indicate that boys with marked idiopathic breast development have greater body mass than other boys of similar age. This may contribute in part to the greater breast development in these subjects.
Solving MoM problems with million level unknowns using a parallel out-of-core solver on a high performance cluster

A newly developed code, TIDES, is run on a high performance computing cluster for complicated EM problems. TIDES has the capability to exceed the memory limitations of typical computer systems by using the method of moments with higher-order basis functions and a parallel out-of-core solver. In 2008, TIDES solved an MoM problem with half a million unknowns using only 320 GB RAM and 4 TB of hard disk space. A project with million level unknowns is simulated in this paper to create a new record by using only 1 TB RAM with approximately 16 TB RAM of hard disk space.
Collective Graphical Models

There are many settings in which we wish to fit a model of the behavior of individuals but where our data consist only of aggregate information (counts or low-dimensional contingency tables). This paper introduces Collective Graphical Models—a framework for modeling and probabilistic inference that operates directly on the sufficient statistics of the individual model. We derive a highly-efficient Gibbs sampling algorithm for sampling from the posterior distribution of the sufficient statistics conditioned on noisy aggregate observations, prove its correctness, and demonstrate its effectiveness experimentally.
Development of an optical fiber cable plant for sixth generation avionics networks

Avionics networks have slowly evolved from simple radios and electromechanical control servos to sophisticated inter-networked suites of systems which provide integrated interfaces to platform aircrew and subsystems as well as connections to the global information grid for network centric warfare. This paper describes the development and current standardization of an optically transparent, future-proofed cable plant that can support the aerospace industrypsilas transition to high speed, high connectivity optical networking that can survive the 25-100 year life of the airframe.
SELF-SIMILAR GRAVITATIONAL COLLAPSE IN STELLAR DYNAMICS

Self-similar gravitational collapse of a globular cluster is studied using the nonlinear kinetic standard model of stellar dynamics consisting of the Fokker-Planck-Vlasov transport equation coupled self-consistently to Poisson’s equation for the Newtonian gravitational potential. It is shown rigorously that any locally integrable self-similar solution to these equations must approach a mass density profile , , in the final 2a r(r, t) / r a p 3 stage of the collapse. The discrepancy between the exact value and previous results in the range a p 32 ! obtained from the orbit-averaged approximation to the kinetic model raises some questions about the a ! 2.5 validity of this popular approximation. Subject headings: celestial mechanics, stellar dynamics — galaxies: star clusters — globular clusters: general
Retinol release by activated rat hepatic lipocytes: regulation by Kupffer cell-conditioned medium and PDGF

In normal liver, lipocytes are the principal reservoir for retinoids, which are stored as retinyl esters. In liver injury, lipocytes activate into myofibroblast-like cells, which lack retinoid. We examined mechanisms of retinoid loss using a culture model in which lipocyte activation is provoked by exposure to Kupffer cell-conditioned medium (KCM) (S.L. Friedman and M. J. P. Arthur, J. Clin. Invest. 84: 1780-1785, 1989). In lipocytes exposed to KCM, there was approximately 11-fold more retinol in medium than in untreated cells, without release of retinyl esters. Both bile salt-dependent and -independent retinyl ester hydrolase was entirely intracellular, suggesting that the increase in retinol was due to intracellular hydrolysis; activity of bile salt-independent hydrolase was increased in KCM-treated lipocytes. Release of retinol was serum dependent and inhibited 40% by antibodies to platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). The addition of 10 nM PDGF to serum-free KCM also induced retinol release. Lipocyte expression of mRNAs for cellular retinol-binding protein, retinoic acid receptor (RAR)-alpha, and RAR-beta was unchanged after exposure to KCM. In summary, activation of cultured lipocytes by KCM is accompanied by serum- and PDGF-dependent release of retinol; a similar mechanism may underlie retinoid loss by activated lipocytes in vivo.
Outness, Stigma, and Primary Health Care Utilization among Rural LGBT Populations.

Background Prior studies have noted significant health disadvantages experienced by LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) populations in the US. While several studies have identified that fears or experiences of stigma and disclosure of sexual orientation and/or gender identity to health care providers are significant barriers to health care utilization for LGBT people, these studies have concentrated almost exclusively on urban samples. Little is known about the impact of stigma specifically for rural LGBT populations, who may have less access to quality, LGBT-sensitive care than LGBT people in urban centers. Methodology LBGT individuals residing in rural areas of the United States were recruited online to participate in a survey examining the relationship between stigma, disclosure and “outness,” and utilization of primary care services. Data were collected and analyzed regarding LGBT individuals’ demographics, health care access, health risk factors, health status, outness to social contacts and primary care provider, and anticipated, internalized, and enacted stigmas. Results Higher scores on stigma scales were associated with lower utilization of health services for the transgender & non-binary group, while higher levels of disclosure of sexual orientation were associated with greater utilization of health services for cisgender men. Conclusions The results demonstrate the role of stigma in shaping access to primary health care among rural LGBT people and point to the need for interventions focused towards decreasing stigma in health care settings or increasing patients’ disclosure of orientation or gender identity to providers. Such interventions have the potential to increase utilization of primary and preventive health care services by LGBT people in rural areas.
Small cell carcinoma of the esophagus: Review of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) experience

4631 Background: Esophageal small cell carcinoma (ESC) is rare and accounts for <1% of all esophageal cancers. It is treated like pulmonary SC but the optimal approach of surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy is unknown. Prior series (Chest 107:179, Cancer 88:262) indicate a poor median overall survival (OS) of 7–12 months (mos), rare long-term (LT) survival and the need for surgery as part of curative therapy. Methods: We reviewed records of patients (pts) with ESC treated from 1980 to 2005. All pathology was reviewed at MSKCC. Results: 24 pts were identified, with records available for 21. 86% male, 14% female, median age 60, 67% smokers. 81% had pure SC histology, with 85% of tumors in the lower esophagus or gastroesophageal junction. 13/21 (62%) had limited disease (LD) by VALSG criteria. For extensive disease (ED), liver (63%) was most common metastatic site (mets). Treatment for LD was: chemotherapy (chemo) only (3 pts, 23%), surgery only (1 pt, 8%), surgery and adjuvant chemo (3 pts) and chemoradia...
A practical hybrid model of application, integration, and competencies at interactive table conferences in histology (ITCH)

Significant changes have been implemented in the way undergraduate medical education is structured. One of the challenges for component courses such as histology in medical and dental curricula is to restructure and deliver training within new frameworks. This article describes the process of aligning the purpose and experience in histology laboratory to the goal of applying knowledge gained to team-based medical practice at Tulane University School of Medicine. Between 2011 and 2015, 711 medical students took either a traditional laboratory-based histology course (353 students) or a team-based hybrid histology course with active learning in laboratory (358 students). The key difference was in the laboratory component of the hybrid course - interactive table conferences in histology-during which students developed new competencies by working in teams, reviewing images, solving problems by applying histology concepts, and sharing learning. Content, faculty and online resources for microscopy were the same in both courses. More student-student and student-faculty interactions were evident during the hybrid course but student evaluation ratings and grades showed reductions following introduction of table conferences when compared to previous ratings. However, outcomes at National Board of Medical Examiners(®) (NBME(®) ) Subject Examination in Histology and Cell Biology showed significant improvement (72.4 ± 9.04 and 76.44 ± 9.36 for percent correct answers, traditional and hybrid courses, respectively, P < 0.0001). This model of table conferences to augment the traditional histology laboratory experience exemplifies the extent that restructuring enhancements can be used in currently taught courses in the undergraduate medical curriculum. Anat Sci Educ 9: 286-294. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.
Dimensional crossover in a spin-imbalanced Fermi gas

We model the one-dimensional (1D) to three-dimensional (3D) crossover in a cylindrically trapped Fermi gas with attractive interactions and spin imbalance. We calculate the mean-field phase diagram and study the relative stability of exotic superfluid phases as a function of interaction strength and temperature. For weak interactions and low density, we find 1D-like behavior, which repeats as a function of the chemical potential as new channels open. For strong interactions, mixing of single-particle levels gives 3D-like behavior at all densities. Furthermore, we map the system to an effective 1D model, finding significant density dependence of the effective 1D scattering length.
Opportunities for Automation and Control of the Next Generation of Nuclear Power Plants

Application of automation using digital systems to control and manage nuclear power plants, along with the introduction of some of the techniques of artificial intelligence, can offer the public as...
Comparative Sensitivity of Intraoperative Motor Evoked Potential Monitoring in Predicting Postoperative Neurologic Deficits: Nondegenerative versus Degenerative Myelopathy

Study Design Retrospective review. Objective Intraoperative motor evoked potential (MEP) monitoring in spine surgery may assist surgeons in taking corrective measures to prevent neurologic deficits. The efficacy of monitoring MEPs intraoperatively in patients with myelopathy from nondegenerative causes has not been quantified. We compared the sensitivity and specificity of intraoperative MEP monitoring in patients with myelopathy caused by nondegenerative processes to patients with degenerative cervicothoracic spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). Methods We retrospectively reviewed our myelopathy surgical cases during a 1-year period to identify patients with degenerative CSM and CSM of nondegenerative causes and collected data on intraoperative MEP changes and postoperative new deficits. Categorical variables were analyzed by Fisher exact test. Receiver operator curves assessed intraoperative MEP monitoring performance in the two groups. Results In all, 144 patients were identified: 102 had degenerative CSM and 42 had CSM of nondegenerative causes (24 extra-axial tumors, 12 infectious processes, 5 traumatic fractures, and 1 rheumatoid arthritis). For degenerative CSM, there were 11 intraoperative MEP alerts and 7 new deficits ( p p > 0.99). The sensitivity (33%) and specificity (74%) were lower. Among patients with degenerative CSM, the model performed well for predicting postoperative deficits (area under the curve [AUC] 0.826), which appeared better than the nondegenerative group, although it did not reach statistical significance (AUC 0.538, p = 0.16). Conclusions Based on this large retrospective analysis, intraoperative MEP monitoring in surgery for nondegenerative CSM cases appears to be less sensitive to cord injury and less predictive of postoperative deficits when compared with degenerative CSM cases.
Potentiation of anti-glioma immunity induced by oncolytic adenovirus Delta-24-RGD through viral expression of immune co-stimulator OX40 ligand

Meeting abstracts Oncolytic viruses are promising alternative cancer therapies that can cause anti-cancer immunity. We found Delta-24-RGD, an oncolytic adenovirus currently undergoing Phase I clinical trial in patients with recurrent glioblastomas, induced anti-glioma immunity in an immunpcompetent
Renal Injury Persists Following LVAD Despite Significant Improvement in Glomerular Filtration Rate: Preliminary Insights From Urinary Injury Biomarkers

s S75 echocardiography. These findings demonstrate that PAT signals possess inherent signatures which can be extracted by DSP techniques for clinical assessment, one of which is detection of the state of AV in patients with CF-VADs.
A study on the sleep disorders and influencing factors in a medical college students in Xinjiang

Objective To investigate and analyze the prevalence and influencing factors of sleep disorder in medical college students in Xinjiang.Methods Stratified sampling,Pittsburgh sleep quality index(PSQI) and self-developed questionnaire of influencing factors were adopted in 552medical college students.Logistic regression model was conducted to analyze the related factors.Results The mean score of PSQI was(7.17±3.5)in a medical college students in Xinjiang with the 42.93%prevalence of sleep disorders.The difference between genders was not statistically significant(P 0.05),while the difference among different years of students was statistically significant(P 0.05).Related factors causing sleep disorder in medical college students included:study pressure,pressure of postgraduate entrance exams,the employment pressure,relationship with roommates,the recent mood,and the worries about family.ConclusionHigh incidence of sleep disorder was found in medical students with complicated influencing factors,and the effective measures were suggested to improve the quality of their sleep.
Design and Development of Substation Equipment Condition Monitoring Master Station System

On the basis of state gird production management information system, this paper designs a unified substation equipment condition monitoring master station system with standard data specification, which provides the visualization, warning, statistics, analysis and diagnosis function for the monitoring information of various substation equipments. The function design, the database design, the structure design and various technologies involved in the developing process are described in detail. The system achieves the goals of comprehensively monitoring and management of the substation equipments condition.
PowerPoint Outside Class The Impact of Slide Design on Student Use

How well does PowerPoint support learning outside class? This project answers this question by data mining a large dataset of 1,413 PowerPoint files from 54 professors. PowerPoint text and image data were combined with course and faculty data, as well as server logs indicating how many times each file was downloaded. The results show that slide images do not lead to increased downloads. Instead, slides with a large number of concise bullet points were downloaded at higher rates. This suggests that slide best practices need to be revisited for learning outside class.
National disparities in minimally invasive surgery for pancreatic tumors

For patients with pancreatic tumors, several disparities have been shown to impact access to care, including surgery, and subsequently adversely affect long-term oncologic outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate national disparities in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) across different demographics for pancreatic tumors. We utilized the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) to identify patients with pancreatic tumors from 2010 to 2011 who had undergone surgery through either an open or MIS approach. Multivariable analysis was performed to investigate differences in patient characteristics in relation to surgical approach and conversion to open. A total of 2809 patients were identified. The initial surgical approach included 86.5 % open (2430) and 13.5 % MIS (87.6 % were laparoscopic, and 12.4 % were robotic). Tumor histology was significantly associated with MIS, whereby patients with neuroendocrine tumors were more than twice as likely to have an MIS approach compared to adenocarcinoma. Tumor location within the pancreas was also associated with MIS, with tumors in the tail being three times more likely to be removed through MIS compared to tumors in the head. For patients with disease in the body or tail of the pancreas, ethnicity was independently associated with MIS whereby patients of Hispanic origin were less likely to have MIS. The conversion rate to open was 27.7 %, and geographic location was associated with conversion rates. MIS procedures comprise approximately 13.5 % of surgical procedures for pancreatic tumors. In addition to tumor histology, differences in surgical approach were identified with respect to ethnicity for patients with tumors in the body/tail of the pancreas.
Introduction: On the Discrimination of Apostasies

A great deal of critical energy has been expended on the early political passions of the Lake poets during the 1790s: Southey’s plans for a pantisocratic community on the banks of the Susquehanna; Coleridge’s Bristol lectures against the slave trade and the war with France; Wordsworth’s inflammatory defense of regicide. But the later lives of these same poets, while every bit as representative of the so-called ‘spirit of the age,’ have been subjected to far less scrutiny. By 1815, the year of Waterloo and Wordsworth’s collected Poems, the same poets whose republican idealism had once been ridiculed by the conservative editors of the Anti-Jacobin had renounced their youthful ideologies: Wordsworth had been named Distributor of Stamps for Westmoreland in 1813 and was actively campaigning on behalf of local Tory politicians; Southey, appointed Poet Laureate the same year, was composing servile royal odes; and Coleridge, no longer lecturing ad populum, was writing for the ministerial papers and planning the Statesman’s Manual, his ad clerum address to ‘the higher classes of society.’
Neonatal Morbidity and Learning

Neurocognitive and school performance outcomes of low birth weight infants were examined prospectively at the University of Rhode Island, and Brown University School of Medicine, Providence, RI.
A descriptive model of resting-state networks using Markov chains

Resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) studies considering pairwise linear correlations have attracted great interests while the underlying functional network structure still remains poorly understood. To further our understanding of RSFC, this paper presents an analysis of the resting-state networks (RSNs) based on the steady-state distributions and provides a novel angle to investigate the RSFC of multiple functional nodes. This paper evaluates the consistency of two networks based on the Hellinger distance between the steady-state distributions of the inferred Markov chain models. The results show that generated steady-state distributions of default mode network have higher consistency across subjects than random nodes from various RSNs.
Effect of Sn grain structure on electromigration reliability of Pb-free solders

The anisotropic properties of the Sn crystal play an important role in the electromigration (EM) reliability of Sn-based Pb-free solder interconnects in flip chip packages. This study investigates the effect of the Sn grain structure on the EM lifetime and statistics of Pb-free solder bumps. The electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD) technique was applied in this study to characterize the Sn grain size and the grain orientation of the Pb-free solders. Results of failure analyses on Sn2.5Ag solders after EM tests showed that the Sn structure is important in controlling in the kinetics of the intermetallic compound (IMC) growth and void formation under EM. Further microstructural analysis revealed that the grain sizes and orientations of Sn2.5Ag solders with multiple solder reflows were statistically different from those with a single solder reflow and resulted in an improved EM lifetime and statistics. This demonstrates that the EM reliability of Pb-free solders can be improved by optimization of the Sn grain structure.
Architecture and Algorithm for a Stochastic Soft-output MIMO Detector

In this paper, we propose a novel architecture for a soft-output stochastic detector in multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) systems. The stochastic properties of this detector are studied and derived in this work, and several complexity reduction techniques are proposed to significantly reduce its cost from an architecture-implementation perspective. We also propose an efficient architecture to implement this detector. Finally, this detector is incorporated into an iterative detection-decoding structure, and through simulations, it is shown that the overall frame error rate (FER) performance and complexity is of the same order as that of the conventional K-best sphere detector.
Dualism, panpsychism, and the bioethical status of brainless embryos

Summary We draw upon David Chalmers (1996) and Galen Strawson's (2006) defense of the pervasiveness of experience and wed it to Peter Unger's (2006) immaterialist solution to the Problem of the Thinking Many. The idea is that the soul's thoughts depend upon physical composites that though, pace panpsychism, are themselves are unable to think, still contribute to a thinking soul whenever they exist. And they will exist wherever a living organism is found. We think the result is more plausible than either dualism or panpsychism taken by themselves, both of which we still hope to show are more compelling than most will initially think. We will proceed by first stating an argument in favor of dualism. We agree with Unger that the most compelling argument for dualism follows from the considerable troubles that can be advanced against materialism on the basis of the metaphysical Problem of the Thinking Many. Our conception of ourselves, our self-knowledge, our freedom, and our bioethics would appear in great trouble if there were overlapping thinkers, each composed of a good part of the brain that belongs to the others. The absurdity of such an abundance of thinkers enough reason to doubt that materialism is true. In addition to the absurdity of countless thinkers, a consequence is that we will lack what Unger believes is the power to be a genuine chooser. Philosophers sympathetic to libertarian free will are likely to be bothered by the threat to genuine choosing that Unger diagnoses. And even those who are not bothered, perhaps because they are of a compatibilist stripe, will likely count it as a strike against materialism that it brings with it the absurdity of uncompensated suffering at levels they never earlier expected. We then defend dualism against its two major criticisms: the neurological dependence of thought and the problem of interactionism. Next, we explore the appeal of panpsychism's critique of consciousness as emergent. We borrow a transformed version of that idea that has the result that there are far more experiences than recognized by the typical materialist or dualist. We then conclude with why this is not morally problematic. Once the morally relevant sense of potential is recognized, an abundance of minimally-minded organisms is no more morally problematic than the fact that typical materialists allow that some insects may have minimal minds. Incidentally, the final part of our paper on potentiality should be of interest as well to both those dye-in-the-wool-panpsychics who are unmoved by our marriage of their view with dualism and those orthodox materialist readers who are uninterested in making use of any aspect of panpsychism or dualism. So unreconstructed panpsychics can still help themselves to our moral conclusions about the moral significance of the potential of some minimal minds to become sophisticated minds. Likewise, even those readers who do not take panpsychism or dualism or their combination seriously, may still find compelling our arguments about the morally relevant type of potential.
Optical antenna enhanced spontaneous emission rate in electrically injected nanoscale III–V LED

We experimentally demonstrate greater than 100-fold enhancement of the spontaneous emission rate in an electrically injected nanoscale III–V light emitting diode coupled to a cavity-backed slot antenna.