cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of ecologically-based treatment with substance-abusing homeless mothers: Substance use and housing outcomes

This randomized pilot study tested the efficacy of an integrative treatment targeting homeless substance abusing mothers with young children in their care. Sixty mothers with 2-6 year old children were recruited from a local family shelter. The mothers were randomly assigned to Ecologically-Based Treatment (n=30) or treatment as usual (n=30). The intervention group received 3 months of rental and utility assistance up to $600 per month, case management services, and substance abuse counseling (referred to as supportive services). The treatment as usual group received housing and services through the family shelter and community housing programs. All participants completed follow-up assessments at 3, 6, and 9 months post-baseline. Mothers receiving Ecologically-Based Treatment showed a quicker decline in alcohol frequency and a quicker increase in housing stability. Furthermore, with supportive services, two-thirds of women were successful in maintaining their apartments 6 months after rental assistance ended.
Digital versus local anesthesia for finger lacerations: a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: To compare the pain of needle insertion, anesthesia, and suturing in finger lacerations after local anesthesia with prior topical anesthesia with that experienced after digital anesthesia. Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial in a university-based emergency department (ED), with an annual census of 75,000 patient visits. ED patients aged >8 years with finger lacerations were enrolled. After standard wound preparation and 15-minute topical application of lidocaine-epinephrine-tetracaine (LET) in all wounds, lacerations were randomized to anesthesia with either local or digital infiltration of 1% lidocaine. Pain of needle insertion, anesthetic infiltration, and suturing were recorded on a validated 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS) from 0 (none) to 100 (worst); also recorded were percentage of wounds requiring rescue anesthesia; time until anesthesia; percentage of wounds with infection or numbness at day 7. Outcomes were compared by using Mann-Whitney U and chi-square tests. A sample of 52 patients had 80% power to detect a 15-mm difference in pain scores. Results: Fifty-five patients were randomized to digital (n = 28) or local (n = 27) anesthesia. Mean age (SD) was 38.1 (16.8) years, 29% were female. Mean (SD) laceration length and width were 1.7 (0.7) cm and 2.0 (1.0) mm, respectively. Groups were similar in baseline patient and wound characteristics. There were no between-group differences in pain of needle insertion (mean difference, 1.3 mm; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 17.0 to 14.3 mm); anesthetic infiltration (mean difference, 2.3 mm; 95% CI = 19.7 to 4.4 mm), or suturing (mean difference, 7.6 mm; 95% CI = 3.3 to 21.1 mm). Only one patient in the digital anesthesia group required rescue anesthesia. There were no wound infections or persistent numbness in either group. Conclusions: Digital and local anesthesia of finger lacerations with prior application of LET to all wounds results in similar pain of needle insertion, anesthetic infiltration, and pain of suturing. ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2006; 13:1046‐1050 a 2006 by the Society for Academic Emergency
Plasma cell granuloma of the nasal cavity treated by radiation therapy

Plasma cell granuloma is a rare, benign tumor most commonly found in the lungs in patients younger than 30 years. Although presentation has been reported at a number of other anatomic sites, this report is the first of plasma cell granuloma of the nasal cavity. The tumor was initially resected, but progression was seen at 1-month follow-up. Because further surgery to completely eradicate the tumor would have been extensive and disfiguring, 40-Gy external beam radiation was given in 20 fractions using a three-field wedge technique. Most recent clinical follow-up at 27 months showed local control. Surgery remains the treatment of choice for plasma cell granuloma when the disease can be completely resected. However, irradiation can also be effective in patients with recurrent or inoperable local disease.
Size-Dependent Spectroscopy of InP Quantum Dots

The spectroscopic behavior of colloidal InP quantum dots (QDs) has been investigated as a function of the mean QD diameter (which ranged from 26 to 60 A). Absorption spectra show up to three peaks or shoulders which reflect excited state transitions in the QDs. Global photoluminescence (PL) spectra (excitation well to the blue of the absorption onset and which consequently excites most of the QDs in the size distribution) show broad PL emission. The emission and absorption features shift to higher energy with decreasing QD size. Resonant PL spectra (size-selective excitation into the tail of the absorption onset) show increasing fluorescence line narrowing with increasing excitation wavelength; PL and photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy were used to derive the PL red shift as a function of QD size. The resonant red shifts for QDs of a single size were extracted from PL data that reflect the emission from an ensemble of QD diameters. An analysis of the single-dot resonant red shift (difference betwee...
A thousand BIM: A rapid value-simulation approach to developing a BIM tool for supporting collaboration during schematic design

The purpose of this study is to develop a BIM-based plug-in that is able to assist a collaboration among heterogeneous professionals. The tool will enable them to communicate in the same language, articulate criteria and priorities in multiple perspectives, and to share rapidly simulated evaluations of schematic design variations. Among many barriers that block collaborations among professionals, a quintessential barrier in the building and design industries may be epistemological rather than physical. The professionally different ways of thinking, expertise, values, and priorities can be a block on the collaborative development process of architectural design projects. This paper takes the example of the relationship between developers and architects, who tend to have different evaluation criteria. A real-time value simulation tool is introduced as a means to generate possible building typologies on a given project site, with computation of expected total values expressed in simple financial terms.
Simulation of Si:P spin-based quantum computer architecture

We present a systematic and realistic simulation for single and double phosphorous donors in a silicon-based quantum computer design. A two-valley equation is developed to describe the ground state of phosphorous donors in a strained silicon quantum well (QW), with the central cell effect treated by a model impurity potential. The valley splitting of the donor ground state as a function of QW width or donor position is calculated and a comparison with the valley splitting of the lowest QW states is presented. Oscillation of the valley splitting is observed as the QW width or donor position is varied at atomic scale. We find that the increase of quantum well confinement leads to shrinking charge distribution in all three dimensions. Using an unrestricted Hartree-Fock method with generalized valence bond (GVB) single-particle wave functions, we are able to solve the two-electron Schr\"odinger equation with quantum well confinement and realistic gate potentials. The lowest singlet and triplet energies and their charge distributions for a neighboring donor pair in the quantum computer (QC) architecture are obtained at different gate voltages. The effects of QW width, gate voltages, donor separation, and donor position shift are calculated and analyzed. The gate tunability and gate fidelity are defined and evaluated, for a typical QC design. Estimates are obtained for the duration of spin-half-swap gate operation and the required accuracy in voltage control. A strong exchange oscillation is observed as both donors are shifted along [001] axis but with their separation unchanged. Applying a gate potential tends to suppress the oscillation. The exchange oscillation as a function of donor separation along [100] axis is found to be completely suppressed as the donor separation is decreased. The simulation presented in this paper is of importance to the practical design of an exchange-based silicon quantum computer.
Indole-3-carbinol induces a G1 cell cycle arrest and inhibits prostate-specific antigen production in human LNCaP prostate carcinoma cells.

BACKGROUND Indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a naturally occurring component of Brassica vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts, is a promising anticancer agent for certain reproductive tumor cells. The objective of the current study was to characterize the cell cycle effects of I3C in human prostate carcinoma cells. METHODS The incorporation of [3H]thymidine and flow cytometry of propidium iodide–stained nuclei were used to monitor I3C-regulated changes in prostate carcinoma cell proliferation and cell cycle progression. Western blotting was used to document expression changes in cell cycle components and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. The enzymatic activities of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) were tested by in vitro protein kinase assays using the retinoblastoma protein as a substrate. RESULTS I3C suppressed the growth of LNCaP prostate carcinoma cells in a dose-dependent manner by inducing a G1 block in cell cycle progression. I3C selectively inhibited the expression of CDK6 protein and transcripts and strongly stimulated the production of the p16 CDK inhibitor. In vitro protein kinase assays revealed the striking inhibition by I3C of immunoprecipitated CDK2 enzymatic activity and the relatively minor down-regulation of CDK4 enzymatic activity. In LNCaP prostate carcinoma cells, I3C treatment inhibited production of PSA, whereas combinations of I3C and the androgen antagonist flutamide more effectively inhibited DNA synthesis and PSA levels compared with either agent alone. CONCLUSIONS The results of the current study demonstrated that I3C has a potent antiproliferative effect in LNCaP and other human prostate carcinoma cells. These findings implicate this dietary indole as a potential chemotherapeutic agent for controlling the growth of human prostate carcinoma cells. Cancer 2003. © 2003 American Cancer Society.
Coral community dynamics at multiple scales

Our understanding of ecosystem dynamics is directly linked to the scale at which we make our ecological observations. The ecological dynamics of Pleistocene coral communities varies with spatial and temporal scale of study. Reef coral communities studied over small spatial and temporal scales show ecological chaos where disturbance prevents ecological equilibrium, and those studied at the largest biogeographic scales show large differences due to history, chance, dispersion, and regional-scale processes. However, communities that are located within tens of kilometers of one another appear to show a large degree of order, probably due to underlying principles of niche similarity. Similarly, temporal studies conducted over large temporal scales show persistence in coral community structure through tens of thousands of years. The history of Caribbean reef coral communities shows that this persistence has been recently interrupted by massive degradation of coral reef habitats. Whether such habitat reduction and change in species composition are unprecedented and due to the acceleration of human consumption and pollution, or whether they represent a short-term fluctuation in an otherwise predictable community structure, is one of the most important questions facing reef managers today. Investigations of coral community structure at different spatial scales illuminate the dependence of ecological dynamics on spatial scale, and at different temporal scales show that present trends are not predicted from history but may well be related to human-induced environmental modification.
MOVING CAMERA MOVING OBJECT SEGMENTATION IN COMPRESSED VIDEO SEQUENCES

In this paper, we address the problem of camera and object motion detection in the compressed domain. The estimation of camera motion and the moving object segmentation have been widely stated in a variety of context for video analysis, due to their capabilities of providing essential clues for interpreting the high-level semantics of video sequences. A novel compressed domain motion estimation and segmentation scheme is presented and applied in this paper. MPEG-2 compressed domain information, namely Motion Vectors (MV) and Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) coefficients, is filtered and manipulated to obtain a dense and reliable Motion Vector Field (MVF) over consecutive frames. An iterative segmentation scheme based upon the generalized affine transformation model is exploited to effect the global camera motion detection. The foreground spatiotemporal objects are separated from the background using the temporal consistency check to the output of the iterative segmentation. This consistency check process can coalesce the resulting foreground blocks and weed out unqualified blocks. Illustrative examples are provided to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach.
A cortical vs. subcortical distinction of dementia contrasts with the unifying pathoetiology of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

(1987). A Cortical vs. Subcortical Distinction of Dementia Contrasts with the Unifying Pathoetiology of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease. International Journal of Neuroscience: Vol. 32, No. 3-4, pp. 983-985.
Oil spill response planning with consideration of physicochemical evolution of the oil slick: A multiobjective optimization approach

Abstract This paper addresses the optimal planning of oil spill response operations under economic and responsive criteria, with consideration of oil weathering process. The economic criterion is measured by total cost, while the measure of responsiveness is the time span of the entire response operations. A bi-criterion, multiperiod mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model is developed that simultaneously predicts the optimal time trajectories of oil volume and slick area, transportation profile, response resource utilization levels, cleanup schedule, and coastal protection plan. The MILP model integrates with the prediction of an oil weathering model that accounts for oil physicochemical properties, spilled amount, hydrodynamics, and weather conditions. The multi-objective optimization model is solved with the epsilon-constraint method and produces a Pareto optimal curve that reveals how the optimal total cost and response operations change under different specifications of responsiveness. We present two illustrative examples for oil spill incidents in the Gulf of Mexico and New England.
Cyclopropylglyoxylate as a mechanistic probe of thiamine pyrophosphate dependent pyruvate-metabolizing enzymes

Abstract Four pyruvate-decarboxylating enzymes with thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) cofactors catalyze the decarboxylation of the cyclopropyl substrate analog cyclopropylglyoxylate. Pyruvate: ferredoxin oxidoreductase, an archaebacterial enzyme which catalyzes oxidation of the hydroxyethyl-TPP (HETPP) intermediate by two one-electron transfers to an iron-sulfur center, generates the coenzyme A thioester of cyclopropylcarboxylic acid. A long-lived free radical, HETPP is thought to be an intermediate in the pyruvate to acetyl-CoA conversion; however, cleavage of the cyclopropyl ring was not detected. Pyruvate decarboxylase, pyruvate oxidase, and pyruvate dehydrogenase also generate the corresponding cyclopropyl products. The applicability of cyclopropyl substrate analogs as indicators of free-radical enzyme mechanisms is discussed in light of these results.
An Overview of Nano‐Polymers for Orthopedic Applications

This review paper presents many exciting nanotechnology and tissue engineering approaches involving polymers that have enormous potential impact on human health care, particularly for orthopedic applications. As scaffolds play a vital role in tissue engineering, the feasibility of designing polymeric nano-featured scaffolds is reviewed. Although bone is a very diverse tissue providing different functions within the body, recent work has resulted in new biomaterials with promise to solve orthopedic problems. Significant advancements in orthopedic care are required since recent data highlight a less than 15 year lifetime of current hip implants. Nanotechnology (or the use of nanomaterials) is providing a wide range of new materials to improve the current short lifetimes of orthopedic implants.
Prospects for device implementation of wide band gap semiconductors

Diamond, silicon carbide, gallium nitride, aluminum nitride, and boron nitride are currently under development for both electronic and optoelectronic semiconductor devices. Predictions based on their physical properties indicate that devices made from these materials should be far superior to currently available devices in high power, high frequency, and short wavelength applications. Yet actual device implementation requires that adequate materials processing technology exists. In this review, the current state of the art for producing semiconductor devices from these materials is evaluated, and recommendations for areas needing further research are outlined.
In situ determination of the activation energy for restructuring of nanometer aerosol agglomerates

Abstract A new approach to the kinetics of the rearrangement of aerosol agglomerates is presented. This analysis is based on the change in free energy per primary particle during restructuring. The excess free energy compared with the final state drives the agglomerate to become more compact which results in an increase in the coordination number, as estimated from the changing fractal dimension of the aerosol agglomerates The analysis was tested on agglomerates of nanometer silver and copper particles produced by an evaporation-condensation technique and by laser ablation. The assumption that the rearrangement is an activated process was supported by the results. It was concluded that the interaction between the primary particles occurs over a short range. The activation energies were one order of magnitude lower than the bond energies expected from the bulk Hamaker constants for silver and copper. Within the measured size range no significant difference in the activation energies of silver and copper agglomerates was found. A maximum in the activation energy was found for particles about 18 nm in diameter. Larger particles showed decreasing activation energy with increasing diameter. The addition of oxygen (50%) before the agglomeration of the primary particles increased the activation energy by a factor of two and shifted the maximum in the activation energy to 15 nm. The prefactor in the rate coefficient for restructuring increased by four orders of magnitude when oxygen was added
Rate-Dependent Mixed ${\cal H}^{2}/{\cal H}^{\infty}$ Filter Design for Parameter-Dependent State Delayed LPV Systems

In this paper, we address the design of parameter-dependent mixed H2/Hinfin filters for output estimation of linear parameter-varying (LPV) plants that include a time-varying delay. We investigate the conditions to satisfy asymptotic stability, and H2 and Hinfin performance requirements in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Our synthesis conditions, that provide mixed H2/Hinfin filters, are dependent linearly on the rate of change of the delay. We take the estimation error into account in the performance index and design the filters to minimize the output energy subject to a bound on the L2-gain from the noise to the estimation error. The designed filters are shown to have the capability of tracking the desired outputs of the plant in the presence of external disturbances and time varying delays. We examine two classes of filters: one that is rational and another one that has delay in the filter dynamics and, hence, it is nonrational. It is shown that the time-delayed (nonrational) filter results in reduced conservatism and improved performance. Illustrative examples are used to verify the design methodology and to demonstrate the superiority of using the proposed delayed filter configuration compared to the rational one.
Proton knight shifts in the light rare earth hydrogen systems

Abstract Large temperature dependent Knight shifts are reported for the 1 H NMR in the alloys (Ce, Pr, Nd and Gd)H x where 2 ⩽ x
Analysis of mouse retinal dehydrogenase type 2 promoter and expression.

The mouse RALDH2 gene spans >50 kb, has a structure similar to that of human class 1 aldehyde dehydrogenase genes, and localizes to the central region of chromosome 9 by single-strand polymorphism analysis. Expression of mouse RALDH2 was detected in testis, lung, brain, and heart (Northern blot) and in liver and kidney (RNase protection assays). Expression was not detected by RNase protection assay in testis of vitamin A-deficient rats, and all-trans-retinoic acid dosing did not increase expression in vitamin A-deficient rat testis. A 2.3-kb section of the gene 5' to the transcription start site included neither retinoic acid nor retinoid X response elements, but included TATA and CCAAT motifs and AP, AHR, CREB, ER, Ets, and SREBP sites. The promoter initiated transcription of a luciferase reporter in human embryonic kidney cells (EBNA) and mouse Leydig- (TM3) and Sertoli-derived (TM4) cell lines, but neither all-trans-retinoic acid nor 9-cis-retinoic acid affected reporter transcription. These data suggest that relatively weak RALDH2 expression in vitamin A-deficient testis reflects vastly decreased numbers of germ cells, the major site of expression.
Guest Editors' Introduction: New Directions in Intercultural Professional Communication

Intercultural professional communication (IPC) has gone through quick growth since the 1990s. Early studies borrowed extensively from cultural heuristics and cultural dimension theories from interc...
Shifts in problem drinking during a life transition: adaptation to medical school training.

This study addresses the course of alcohol-related problems in future physicians from the perspectives of occupational stress versus selection and life-span developmental frameworks. A cohort of medical students was surveyed at medical school entrance and during the early fall of the second training year. Self-report questionnaires assessed: alcohol-related problems (using a modified time-linked version of the MAST), pretraining psychosocial and psychopathological characteristics and experiences (symptomatic distress, motivations for drinking, personality attributes/deficits, familial history of problem drinking, family disruption and earlier parental bonding) and medical-training characteristics (perceived stressors and levels of social support). On the basis of MAST scores, respondents manifested the following drinking patterns: consistent nonproblem drinking (67.4%), problem exit or remission during medical training (19.4%), problem entrance or onset during medical training (6.3%) and problem chronicit...
DESIGNING HIGH‐CONTACT SERVICE SYSTEMS: APPLICATION TO BRANCHES OF A SAVINGS AND LOAN*

The customer-contact model represents one of the few conceptually based approaches for designing service systems. This paper develops that concept further for high-contact systems, relative to efficiency and effectiveness notions. Four design features (contact technologies, contact training, data bases, and contact roles) are developed and a simple design methodology (built around the four design features) is presented. A demonstration of the design methodology is provided through its applications to branches of a savings and loan. Areas for additional theoretical and practical refinement of the model and the desirability of multidisciplinary research are discussed.
Curative Factors in Offenders' Groups

Curative factors were assessed among therapy groups of offenders experiencing differentially restrictive incarceration, from probation through minimum security and maximum security to a special segregation unit for behaviorally problematic prisoners. Catharsis was highly rated as in earlier studies, while interpersonal learning input was rated at varying levels. Existential awareness was rated much higher than with typical outpatient populations, while cohesiveness was rated lower. The significance of these findings is discussed.
Triplet Energy Migration in Polymer Photochemistry. A Model for the Photodegradation of Poly(phenyl vinyl ketone) in Solution

Plots of the progress of the degradation of poly(phenyl vinyl ketone) as a function of irradiation time are nonlinear; the effect is the result of triplet quenching by unsaturated end groups generated in the reaction. The process in intramolecular, and from a study of polymers of different initial chain length and application of random walk theory for a one-dimensional lattice it is possible to determine the frequency of triplet energy hopping; the value obtained was approx. 1 x 10/sup 12/s/sup -1/ at 30/sup 0/C in benzene. Poly(phenyl vinyl ketone) has a critical chain length of 750 units, this being the average number of chromophores visited by the excitation during the triplet lifetime.
Malcoaptation of the pulmonary valve diagnosed using transthoracic 3D echocardiography.

A 41-year-old woman with a history of type II diabetes, congestive heart failure, and pulmonary embolism was admitted for accidental burns on both her lower extremities due to severe peripheral neuropathy. During her hospitalization, a transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) was ordered to evaluate a murmur heard on physical examination. The echocardiogram revealed a dilated cardiomyopathy with a …
The ST-Segment–Elevation Myocardial Infarction Chain of Survival

The benefit of expertly performed, timely, primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) over fibrinolysis is clear for patients with ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Primary PCI is superior to fibrinolysis for reduction of overall short-term mortality, nonfatal reinfarction, stroke, and the combined end point of death, nonfatal reinfarction, and stroke.1 These results remain valid during long-term follow-up and are independent of both the type of fibrinolytic used and whether the patient is transferred for primary PCI. Article p 67 Although the relationship between time delay from hospital emergency department arrival to fibrinolytic treatment and increasing mortality has been firmly established,2 a similar relationship for primary PCI treatment has been proven only recently. De Luca et al3 assessed the relationship between ischemic time and 1-year mortality in 1791 primary PCI-treated STEMI patients. After adjustment for age, gender, diabetes, and previous revascularization, these investigators showed that every 30 minutes of primary PCI treatment delay is associated with a 7.5% (95% CI, 1.008 to 1.15; P =0.041) relative increase in 1-year mortality. With use of hierarchical models adjusted for patient characteristics to evaluate the effect of door-to-balloon time on in-hospital mortality on 29 222 PCI-treated STEMI patients treated in ≤6 hours of presentation at 395 hospitals that participated in the National Registry of Myocardial Infarction–3 and –4 from 1999 to 2002, McNamara et al4 found that a longer door-to-balloon time interval is associated with increased in-hospital mortality. Adjusted for patient characteristics, patients with a door-to-balloon time interval >90 minutes were more likely to die (odds ratio, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.24 to 1.62) compared with patients who had a door-to-balloon time interval ≤90 minutes. These findings provide evidence-based support for the goal of a door-to-balloon time interval “within 90 minutes” cited in the 2004 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines …
Integrated Spectral Analysis of Mare Soils and Craters: Applications to Eastern Nearside Basalts

Abstract High spatial resolution Clementine images are examined to measure the reflectance properties of small and optically immature mare craters that have sampled discrete compositional units. The spectral properties of these relatively crystalline mare materials are compared to associated mature soils to determine the effects of space weathering on specific basalt types. Space weathering is observed to alter the optical properties of distinct lunar basalt units in a systematic manner allowing compositional distinctions to be recognized across maturity states. Ultraviolet/visible reflectance properties of mare basalts are sensitive to titanium content but are relatively independent of maturity state and demonstrate only a slight reddening as regoliths mature to soils. Other compositional distinctions between basalt types are identified by differences in albedo and band strength of ferrous minerals that are maintained over a full range of maturity states. Immature deposits within large craters are compared to the spectral properties of well-defined mare units to examine the composition of buried materials. When craters excavate through the mare, highland contamination is readily identified as a mixing relation between mafic and feldspathic lithologies. The approach presented here provides new information on the composition and stratigraphy of several nearside mare deposits, including the identification of thin low-iron and very low titanium basalts in Lacus Somniorum and more iron-rich low-titanium basalts in eastern Mare Frigoris.
Asystolic cardiac arrest from near drowning managed with therapeutic hypothermia

An estimated 200,000 cardiac arrests occur out-of-hospital annually in the United States.1,2 The survival rates are 0–11% depending on the presenting rhythm.3,4 Following cardiac arrest, the brain can tolerate anoxia up to 2–4 minutes, upon which irreversible neuronal damage commences in the absence of re-establishment of circulation.5 Brain re-oxygenation with successful return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) begins a deleterious chemical cascade that generates free radicals and other inflammatory mediators leading to devastating neurological outcomes termed post-resuscitation syndrome.6 The harmful effects of reperfusion injury can be mitigated with the use of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) as demonstrated in case reports and dog models from as early as the 1950s.7,8 Physiological benefits of post-resuscitation therapeutic hypothermia include reduction in cerebral metabolic demands, reduction in intracranial pressure, and attenuation of an array of temperature dependent deleterious biochemical processes.9 Therapeutic hypothermia may be neuroprotective in many causes of brain injury. There have been limited published data using therapeutic hypothermia to treat patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest after near drowning. To date, results from available studies enrolling patients resuscitated from asystolic cardiac arrest have failed to show statistically significant treatment benefit. We describe the management of a patient with asystolic cardiac arrest after drowning in whom therapeutic hypothermia was used.
Gleason pattern 5 is frequently underdiagnosed on prostate needle-core biopsy

Objective To assess underdiagnosing Gleason pattern 5 on needle biopsy and discuss the potential consequences for patient management. Material and Methods We retrieved 300 consecutive prostate biopsy cases from the consultation files at The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) from 2009-2010 in which we identified Gleason pattern 5. All of these cases were diagnosed by one of the authors and all were sent in as a final diagnosis for which the outside pathologist was not requesting consultation because of difficulty with the diagnosis. The Gleason grades assigned to these cases at our institution were compared with the grade rendered by the submitting pathologists from the outside institution. Results In 146 (48.7%) of the cases, Gleason pattern 5 was not identified by the outside pathologists. Of the 146 cases, the outside Gleason score was ≤7 in 61 (20.3%) and 4 + 4 = 8 in 85 (28.4%). Even when the tumor was diagnosed at JHH as Gleason score 5 + 5 = 10, only 26 (41.3%) were diagnosed as the same by the outside pathologists; Gleason score 9 was graded in 27 (42.8%). Conclusion Considering the important prognostic and therapeutic implication of misdiagnosing Gleason pattern 5, efforts should be made by the pathology community to acknowledge this as a problem and improve on individual pathologists' accuracy by diverse medical education programs. In addition, urologists should not hesitate in sending biopsies with high-grade prostate cancer for expert genitourinary pathology second opinions.
Reinventing Administrative Prescriptions: The Case for Democratic-Constitutional Impact Statements and Scorecards

Originally from: Public Administration Review 67 (2007): 28-39. Policy impact statements and scorecards are common tools for proddingpublic administrative organizations to pay attention to speciﬁc concerns and values. In federal administration, environmental impact statements, which were ﬁrst broadly mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Public Law 91-109), are complemented by impact statements and assessments regarding the potential eﬀects of agency rules and policies on family values, federalism, environmental justice, and other matters (see Executive Orders 12606 [1987], 12612 [1987], and 12898 [1994]). The contemporary widespread use of scorecards began following the publication of Robert Kaplan and David Norton’s (1992) now-classic article, “The Balanced Scorecard: Measures That Drive Performance.”We have scorecards for the war on terrorism, freedom, civil liberties, school breakfasts, legislative performance, and corporate social responsibility, among others (American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, 2002; Food Research and Action Center, 2005; Fluke & Kump, 2004; Human Rights Campaign, n.d.; Levitt, 2002; Marcus, 2006). During the George W. Bush administration, the U.S. Oﬃce of Management and Budget (OMB) used a scorecard to assess agencies’ progress toward the goals of the President’s Management Agenda (PMA) (U.S. Oﬃce of Management and Budget, 2001). Conspicuously missing from the plethora of impact statements and scorecardsavailable today are those focusing on the protection and promotion of democratic-constitutional values, including individual rights, constitutional integrity, transparency, and the rule of law. This chapter proposes (1) that democratic-constitutional impact statements be required as part of all substantial prescriptions for administrative reform and (2) that evaluations of program and policy implementation routinely include democratic-constitutional scorecards. The term democratic-constitutional refers to those aspects of American government and politics that have democratized the original constitutional design, as amended. Examples include freedom of information, open meetings, the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 (Public Law 79-404), and the expansion of individual rights through constitutional law. It is understood that the United States is a republic, not a democracy.
Value of Book Discussions in a Psychology of Women Course.

This article describes a means to achieve the basic goals of a psychology of women course through stimulating reading anti examining book authors' feminist positions. Guided discussions of the theses of six books allowed students to compare theory, experiences, and thinking, thus providing them with an intellectual rather than an emotional examination of value-laden materials. Students reported that their own personal change was substantial and that the instructor's advocacy was moderate. Course evaluations suggested that this strategy is an effective means to reach the stated goals.
Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice: Implementation Science

Purpose This article introduces implementation science, which focuses on research methods that promote the systematic application of research findings to practice. Method The narrative defines impl...
Animal Duets: Forcing a Mate to be Attentive

Abstract An animal duet is a joint signaling performance, usually vocal and loud, produced by mates. The initiator of a duet can test its mate's commitment if the responses elicited are costly. In addition, the initiator may be able to force its mate to stay nearby, ready to respond. It is suggested that the latter effect exploits the vulnerability of both males and females to competitors. Either mate can initiate a duet. A reply shows that the initiator is paired, and the delay before the reply reveals how attentive the responder is to its mate. Inattentive mates may be nearby but relatively unresponsive, or may be distant. Distance imposes a delay in replying because sound travels sufficiently slowly in air that the initiator's vocalization will not be heard by its mate for appreciable fractions of a second. If competitors are more likely to intrude upon a pair when one partner is not attentive to the other, then initiating a duet should function as a way of forcing the costly and informative behavior of being closely attentive.
The mysterious RAMP proteins and their roles in small RNA-based immunity

A new class of prokaryotic RNA binding proteins called Repeat Associated Mysterious Proteins (RAMPs), has recently been identified. These proteins play key roles in a novel type immunity in which the DNA of the host organism (e.g. a prokaryote) has sequence segments corresponding to the sequences of potential viral invaders. The sequences embedded in the host DNA confer immunity by directing selective destruction of the nucleic acid of the virus using an RNA-based strategy. In this viral defense mechanism, RAMP proteins have multiple functional roles including endoribonucleotic cleavage and ribonucleoprotein particle assembly. RAMPs contain the classical RNA recognition motif (RRM), often in tandem, and a conserved glycine-rich segment (G-loop) near the carboxyl terminus. However, unlike RRMs that bind single-stranded RNA using their β-sheet surface, RAMPs make use of both sides of the RRM fold and interact with both single-stranded and structured RNA. The unique spatial arrangement of the two RRM folds, facilitated by a hallmark G-loop, is crucial to formation of a composite surface for recognition of specific RNA. Evidence for RNA-dependent oligomerization is also observed in some RAMP proteins that may serve as an important strategy to increase specificity.
Robot-assisted azygos lobectomy for adenocarcinoma arising in an azygos lobe

The azygos lobe is a well-known and well-described anatomical variation of the right lung. Primary lung cancer arising from an azygos lobe, however, is exceedingly rare. Only a handful of cases have been previously reported in the literature. We report the first case with operative demonstration of a primary adenocarcinoma arising from an azygos lobe, which was treated with robot-assisted azygos lobectomy.
Inducible heat tolerance in Antarctic notothenioid fishes

Significant increases in heat tolerance (time of survival at 14°C) were observed for some, but not all, species of notothenioid fishes collected from McMurdo Sound, Antarctica (77°51′S) following acclimation to 4°C. The increase in thermal tolerance was rapid in Trematomus bernacchii, developing within 1–2 days of acclimation to 4°C. Long-term (6–8 weeks) acclimation to 4°C led to greater heat tolerance in Trematomus pennellii than in T. bernacchii. Unlike its demersal congeners, the cryopelagic notothenioid Pagothenia borchgrevinki did not increase heat tolerance during warm acclimation. A deep-living zoarcid fish, Lycodichthys dearborni, also failed to increase heat tolerance, but survived significantly (> threefold) longer at 14°C than the notothenioids.
Boosting the accuracy of analog test coverage computation through statistical tolerance analysis

Increasing numbers of analog components in today's systems necessitate system level test composition methods that utilize onchip capabilities rather than solely relying on costly DFT approaches. We outline a tolerance analysis methodology for test signal propagation to be utilized in hierarchical test generation for analog circuits. A detailed justification of this proposed novel tolerance analysis methodology is undertaken by comparing our results with detailed SPICE Monte-Carlo simulation data on several combinations of analog modules. The results of our experiments confirm the high accuracy and efficiency of the proposed tolerance analysis methodology.
Determinants of Secretion and Intracellular Localization of Human Herpesvirus 8 Interleukin-6

Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) interleukin-6 (vIL-6) is distinct from human and other cellular IL-6 proteins in that it does not require the nonsignaling α-receptor subunit for the formation of gp130-based signal transducing complexes and also is largely retained intracellularly rather than being secreted. We and others have reported that vIL-6 is retained and is active in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) compartment, and data from our laboratory have demonstrated that intracellular vIL-6 is functional in the autocrine promotion of proliferation and survival of HHV-8 latently infected primary effusion lymphoma cells. It has also been reported that vIL-6 secretion in gp130-deficient cells can be enhanced by introduced gp130, thereby implicating the signal transducer in vIL-6 trafficking to the cell surface. We examine here the requirements for intracellular retention and localization of vIL-6. Using vIL-6-hIL-6 chimeric and point-mutated vIL-6 proteins, we identified regions and residues of vIL-6 influencing vIL-6 secretion. However, there was no correlation between vIL-6 secretion and gp130 interaction. We found that vIL-6, but not hIL-6, could associate stably with ER-resident chaperone protein calnexin. Glycosylation-dependent interaction of vIL-6 with calnexin correlated with proper protein folding, but there was no direct relationship between vIL-6-calnexin interaction and intracellular retention. While calnexin depletion had little influence on absolute amounts of secreted vIL-6, it led to markedly reduced levels of intracellular cytokine. This was reversed by gp130 transduction, which had no detectable effect on vIL-6 secretion, but redistributed vIL-6 into ER-distinct locations in calnexin-depleted cells, specifically. Our data reveal that calnexin plays a role in ER localization of vIL-6 and that gp130 promotes ER exit, but not secretion, of the viral cytokine.
An F approximation for two‐parameter weibull and log‐normal tolerance bounds based on possibly censored data

An approximation suggested in Mann, Schafer and Singpurwalla [18] for obtaining small-sample tolerance bounds based on possibly censored two-parameter Weibull and lognormal samples is investigated. The tolerance bounds obtained are those that effectively make most efficient use of sample data. Values based on the approximation are compared with some available exact values and shown to be in surprisingly good agreement, even in certain cases in which sample sizes are very small or censoring is extensive. Ranges over which error in the approximation is less than about 1 or 2 percent are determined. The investigation of the precision of the approximation extends results of Lawless [8], who considered large-sample maximum-likelihood estimates of parameters as the basis for approximate 95 percent Weibull tolerance bounds obtained by the general approach described in [18]. For Weibull (or extreme-value) data the approximation is particularly useful when sample sizes are moderately large (more than 25), but not large enough (well over 100 for severely censored data) for asymptotic normality of estimators to apply. For such cases simplified efficient linear estimates or maximum-likelihood estimates may be used to obtain the approximate tolerance bounds. For lognormal censored data, best linear unbiased estimates may be used, or any efficient unbiased estimators for which variances and covariances are known as functions of the square of the distribution variance.
Spermatophore number transferred increases linearly with copulation duration in Melanoplus differentialis (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

Abstract Melanopline grasshoppers are known to transfer both sperm and nutritive secretions, from the accessory reproductive glands in the form of internal spermatophores, to females during mating. It remains difficult in most species, without extensive destructive sampling, to determine numbers transferred. This study documents that for Melanoplus differentialis, remnants of spermatophores, which have already discharged their contents into the spermatheca, can be found associated with the external genitalia after mating. For males mating for the first time and with virgin females, the numbers of spermatophore casings found were significantly positively correlated with copulation duration. Casings were not found on the external genitalia after most matings in M. femurrubrum. This study also examined mating behavior in M. differentialis and M. femurrubrum. In both species, mounting followed relatively simple behavior by the male, such as antenna pointing, indicating that the male was aware of a conspecific...
The implications of the US renewable fuel standard programme for farm structure

ABSTRACTWe investigate the impact of the 2005 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) on farm structure, particularly farm size. We rely on the salience of a new ethanol plant in a farmers’ local neighbourhood to identify the impact of the RFS mandate on these spatially advantaged farms. To control for the nonrandom selection of ethanol production facilities, we utilize a propensity score matching estimator, and to remove impact of farm-level or market shifting unobservables resulting from shifts in commodity prices we employ a difference-in-difference (DD) matching approach. We estimate the treatment effect of an ethanol production facility on farm size prior to the RFS mandate and after the RFS programme. The effect of the RFS policy on farm size is obtained as the difference between these two DD matching estimators. Overall, our results suggest that the RFS programme raised the probability of farm size increase by roughly 12–18%, on average, for farms located within a 30-mile radius of new ethanol plants. In add...
Electric utility interface issues for power beamed from space

The feasibility of interconnecting space-based power sources to the terrestrial power grid is examined. The work is intended to provide background information on the various issues that must be faced and to provide discussion on the basic procedures that are followed today. Because the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has legal jurisdiction, with enforcement authority, over interstate commerce of electrical energy in the US, rules and regulations set down by this body apply directly to any space-based system connecting to the grid. However, the FERC has never placed grid commerce above grid reliability. The North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) provides voluntary leadership in matters related to maintaining grid reliability and has developed and endorsed detailed procedures for grid interconnections that have been approved by the FERC. To contemplate seriously space-based power supplied into terrestrial-based grids, it is essential to understand the background and present-day positions of the FERC and the NERC as well as the technical issues associated with grid interconnections.
Using First Principles Thermodynamics to Predict the Shape Surface Structure and Reactivity of Solvated Nanoparticles at High Temperatures and Pressures.

Hydrothermal nanoparticle synthesis uses high temperature and pressure water to control the chemical processes that lead to specific compositions and structures. Analyses of the chemistry associated with this process have been mainly restricted to bulk thermodynamics in the form of quantities such as solubilities and empirical models based on experimental observations. In this paper we demonstrate for NiO and NiFe 2 O 4 particles how effective reference chemical potentials derived from first principles calculations can be used to predict cluster shapes, nucleation barriers and surface reactivity. Implications for controlling the nanoparticle size and shape by adjusting pH and temperature will be discussed, as well as implications of these results in forming nanostructured materials by cluster condensation.