cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Family and Caregiver Spillover Effects in Cost-Utility Analyses of Alzheimer’s Disease Interventions

Alzheimer’s disease or dementia can impose a significant burden on family and other informal caregivers. This study investigated how the inclusion of family/informal caregiver spillover effects in a cost-utility analysis may influence the reported value of Alzheimer’s disease/dementia interventions. We used PubMed to identify Alzheimer’s disease or dementia cost-utility analyses published from 1 January, 2000 to 31 March, 2018. We reviewed and abstracted information from each study using a two-reader consensus process. We investigated the frequency and methods in which family/caregiver spillover costs and health effects were incorporated into cost-utility analyses, and examined how their inclusion may influence the reported incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. Of 63 Alzheimer’s disease/dementia cost-utility analyses meeting inclusion criteria, 44 (70%) considered at least some family/caregiver spillover costs or health effects. Thirty-two studies incorporated spillover costs only, two incorporated spillover health effects only, and ten incorporated both. The most common approach for accounting for spillover was adding informal caregiving time costs to patient costs (n = 36) and adding informal caregiver quality-adjusted life-years to patient values (n = 7). In a subset of 33 incremental cost-effectiveness ratio pairs from 19 studies, incorporating spillover outcomes made incremental cost-effectiveness ratios more favorable (n = 15; 45%) or kept the intervention cost saving (n = 13; 39%) in most cases. In fewer cases, including spillover increased incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (n = 2; 6%), kept the intervention dominated [more costs/less quality-adjusted life-years] (n = 2; 6%), or changed incremental cost-effectiveness ratio from dominated to less cost/less quality-adjusted life-years (n = 1; 3%). In 11 cases (33%), adding spillover effects into analyses resulted in a lower incremental cost-effectiveness ratio that crossed a common cost-effectiveness threshold, which could have downstream implications for programs or policies that are adopted based on cost-effectiveness analysis results. Most Alzheimer’s disease/dementia cost-utility analyses incorporated spillover costs, often as caregiver time costs, but considered spillover health impacts less often. In about 85% of the analyses, including Alzheimer’s disease/dementia spillover cost or health effects decreased incremental cost-effectiveness ratios or kept the intervention cost saving. The broader value of an Alzheimer’s disease/dementia intervention to society may in some cases be underestimated without considering these spillover effects on family and informal caregivers.
Changes in students’ mental models from computational modeling of gene regulatory networks

Computational modeling is an increasingly common practice for disciplinary experts and therefore necessitates integration into science curricula. Computational models afford an opportunity for students to investigate the dynamics of biological systems, but there is significant gap in our knowledge of how these activities impact student knowledge of the structures, relationships, and dynamics of the system. We investigated how a computational modeling activity affected introductory biology students’ mental models of a prokaryotic gene regulatory system (lac operon) by analyzing conceptual models created before and after the activity. Students’ pre-lesson conceptual models consisted of provided, system-general structures (e.g., activator, repressor) connected with predominantly incorrect relationships, representing an incomplete mental model of gene regulation. Students’ post-lesson conceptual models included more context-specific structures (e.g., cAMP, lac repressor) and increased in total number of structures and relationships. Student conceptual models also included higher quality relationships among structures, indicating they learned about these context-specific structures through integration with their expanding mental model rather than in isolation. Student mental models meshed structures in a manner indicative of knowledge accretion while they were productively re-constructing their understanding of gene regulation. Conceptual models can inform instructors about how students are relating system structures and whether students are developing more sophisticated models of system-general and system-specific dynamics.
Food Allergy Management at School.

BACKGROUND Approximately 8% of schoolchildren in the United States experience potentially life-threatening food allergies. They must diligently avoid allergenic foods and have prompt access to epinephrine to treat anaphylaxis. These prevention strategies must be sustained without interruption, posing a range of challenges at school. METHODS We conducted semi-structured interviews with 178 participants about their experiences managing food allergies outside the home. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using an iterative approach in NVivo 10. RESULTS Participants reported highly varied school experiences across the ecological model. They described the need to be proactive and self-sufficient to manage food allergies. Whereas food allergy-related social exclusion was common, participants also described positive peer interactions, including intensive peer engagement and support. They perceived that formal school policies were limited in scope and inconsistently implemented. Prevention-oriented policies were more common in lower grades than in higher grades. CONCLUSIONS Poorly defined and implemented policies disrupted students' social and educational experiences at school, families' relationships with school staff, and, ultimately, the safety and wellbeing of students with allergies. Given the high prevalence of food allergies among children, these findings demonstrate the need for multiple layers of support to facilitate safe, socially inclusive food allergy management at schools.
Liquid-phase mega-electron-volt ultrafast electron diffraction.

The conversion of light into usable chemical and mechanical energy is pivotal to several biological and chemical processes, many of which occur in solution. To understand the structure–function relationships mediating these processes, a technique with high spatial and temporal resolutions is required. Here, we report on the design and commissioning of a liquid-phase mega-electron-volt (MeV) ultrafast electron diffraction instrument for the study of structural dynamics in solution. Limitations posed by the shallow penetration depth of electrons and the resulting information loss due to multiple scattering and the technical challenge of delivering liquids to vacuum were overcome through the use of MeV electrons and a gas-accelerated thin liquid sheet jet. To demonstrate the capabilities of this instrument, the structure of water and its network were resolved up to the 3 rd hydration shell with a spatial resolution of 0.6 A; preliminary time-resolved experiments demonstrated a temporal resolution of 200 fs.
Effect of Dopant Compensation on the Conductivity of the Intrinsic poly-Si Isolation Region in Passivated IBC Silicon Solar Cells

The performance of IBC solar cells depends on the ability of this region to electrically isolate the doped fingers so that shunting does not occur and reduce the cell fill factor. We report on simulations which model the region between the p- and n-type poly-Si fingers of interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar cells as a series of resistors extending from one doped finger to the other. We demonstrate that the existence of a well-compensated region between the doped fingers is enough to prevent shunting and loss of cell performance, despite contamination of dopants from the opposing dopant fingers. We show through these simulations that a net doping concentration below ~1018 cm−3 will enable a high resistivity and identify the conditions under which this highly resistive region forms despite imperfect finger edges. Additionally, we apply this analysis to tails measured by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and confirm this hypothesis for our experimentally measured tails.
Data Cooperatives for Neighborhood Watch

The increasing proliferation of user data is moving the world from the era of ’big data’ to a new era of shared data, and some are considering data as a factor of production that is paving the way for a new business economy. In this paper, we propose a solution that uses blockchain technology as a platform for online neighborhood watch using a form of data cooperative among individuals or organizations in the sharing of data through a peer-to-peer mechanism. We prove the concept by implementing a distributed phishing data sharing system that will maintain a community ledger of reported phishing activities with a consensus-based approval of the phishing transaction and a novel reputation scoring system thereby adding reliability to the system and effectively tackling the phishing problem. The data cooperative provides a way for timely multi-party sharing of phishing data among anti-phishing organizations and users of the internet eliminating the current approach of each organization maintaining its database. Our results show that blockchain is effective in complementing the existing methods of phishing detection and serves as a platform for sharing phishing data with respect to scalability, cost, and memory consumption. Also, our results further show that transaction times on the Ropsten test net follow a Gamma distribution. Our approach can be extrapolated to other data sharing systems like medical data, spam calls, discussion forums, etc.
How to Govern Conduct

In previous work we have distinguished between rule-governed decision-making and unconstrained practical, moral, and empirical decision-making. A rule is a general, determinate directive that dictates the outcome of all cases that fall within its terms. Rules achieve settlement and facilitate coordination, at the cost of some outcomes that may not serve the principles underlying the rule. Here we consider the nature and function of standards of decision. Standards describe the scope of their own application in determinate terms and outline objectives or values a later decision-maker should pursue. The effect is a guided delegation of decision-making power to future decision-makers. We provide a variety of examples.
American Government: Political Development and Institutional Change

1. The Origins of American Political Principles 2. The Revolution and the Constitution 3. Federalism and American Political Development 4. Political Socialization and Public Opinion 5. The Mass Media and the Political Agenda 6. Interest Groups: The Politics of Influence 7. Political Parties: Winning the Right to Govern 8. Voting, Campaigns, and Elections 9. Congress: Local Representation and National Lawmaking 10. The President: Governing in Uncertain Times 11. Bureaucracy: Redesigning Government for the Twenty-First Century 12. The Federal Courts: Activism versus Restraint 13. Civil Liberties: Ordered Liberty in America 14. Civil Rights: Where Liberty and Equality Collide 15. Government, the Economy, and Domestic Policy 16. America's Place in a Dangerous World. Appendix A: Declaration of Independence. Appendix B: The Articles of Confederation. Appendix C: Constitution of the United States. Appendix D: Federalist Numbers 10, 51, and 78. Appendix E: Partisan Control of the Presidency, Congress, and the Supreme Court
Radio's Hidden Voice: The Origins of Public Broadcasting in the United States

Review of: "Radio's Hidden Voice: The Origins of Public Broadcasting in the United States," by Hugh Richard Slotten. This is part of the "History of Communication Series."
Production of cryoprotectant extracellular polysaccharide substances (EPS) by the marine psychrophilic bacterium Colwellia psychrerythraea strain 34H under extreme conditions.

Extracellular polysaccharide substances (EPS) play critical roles in microbial ecology, including the colonization of extreme environments in the ocean, from sea ice to the deep sea. After first developing a sugar-free growth medium, we examined the relative effects of temperature, pressure, and salinity on EPS production (on a per cell basis) by the obligately marine and psychrophilic γ-proteobacterium, Colwellia psychrerythraea strain 34H. Over growth-permissive temperatures of ~10 to –4 °C, EPS production did not change, but from –8 to –14 °C when samples froze, EPS production rose dramatically. Similarly, at growth-permissive hydrostatic pressures of 1–200 atm (1 atm = 101.325 kPa) (at –1 and 8 °C), EPS production was unchanged, but at higher pressures of 400 and 600 atm EPS production rose markedly. In salinity tests at 10‰–100‰ (and –1 and 5 °C), EPS production increased at the freshest salinity tested. Extreme environmental conditions thus appear to stimulate EPS production by this strain. Furtherm...
Is Green Tea the Panacea We’ve Been Searching For? A Review of the Scientific Literature on Green Tea and Human Health

There are many claims surrounding the health benefits of consuming green tea, some of which involve its use in the treatment of medical conditions as wide ranging as cancer, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders. The desire for the use of non-toxic and natural drugs to treat various diseases makes any health-benefitting claims about green tea and its components important to investigate for their potential public health benefits. I conducted a critical review of the research literature on green tea and its effects on human health and synthesized the results. There is convincing epidemiological evidence pointing to the health benefits derived from consumption of green tea, but National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded clinical trials are few in number and have produced only modest results. The main biologically active compound in green tea, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), does not demonstrate specific binding to biological molecules and varies greatly in its concentration in green tea. EGCG also has a weak, but notable, relationship between dose and maximum plasma concentration in humans; however, most concentrations of EGCG used in laboratory studies are far beyond the physiologically achievable levels. Additionally, there is evidence that high doses of EGCG may lead to liver damage. Finally, green tea polyphenols are implicated in a vast number of interactions, but these are not well understood and suggest the possibility of pan-assay interference. Without clear mechanistic evidence or reliable dosing strategies, it is unlikely that green tea will be suitable for pharmaceutical uses in the treatment of human disease.
Lidocaine 5% Patch for Treatment of Acute Pain After Robotic Cardiac Surgery and Prevention of Persistent Incisional Pain: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Trial

Objectives To test the hypotheses that lidocaine 5% patches decrease the severity of acute pain and incidence of persistent incisional pain after robotic cardiac valve surgery. Design A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial. Setting Tertiary care academic medical center. Subjects Patients having robotic cardiac valve surgery. Methods Patients having robotic cardiac valve surgery were randomly assigned to 5% lidocaine patches or identical-appearing placebo patches. Patches were applied around each incision 12 hours/day until pain resolved, or for 6 months. Supplemental opioid was provided by patient-controlled analgesia or orally. Pain was initially evaluated with a Visual Analog Scale, and subsequently by telephone with a Verbal Response Scale and the Pain Disability Index (our primary outcome) after 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months. Global Perceived Effect, a measure of patient satisfaction, was simultaneously recorded. Repeated-measures analysis of variance and generalized estimating equations were our primary statistical tools. Results Acute pain scores and opioid use were low, as was the incidence of persistent pain. Lidocaine 5% patches did not influence any measure of acute or persistent incisional pain. Estimated difference (95% CI) in mean Pain Disability Index for Lidocaine patch minus placebo was −2.5 (95% CI −7.1, 2.1), P = 0.28. Conclusions Lidocaine 5% patches did not reduce acute or persistent pain in patients having robotic thoracic surgery, though pain scores were low in both treatment groups. Clinicians should choose alternative analgesic approaches in these patients.
An Efficient Heuristic Solution to the Single-Facility Euclidean Location Problem

It is well known in location theory that the modified gradient procedure (MGP) is called for to solve the Euclidean mini-sum single facility location problem (MSSFLP). Since it is often tedious to implement the MGP, some researchers have proposed the use of the center of gravity (COG) as an approximation to the optimal solution to the Euclidean MSSFLP to reduce the computational efforts. They argue that, aside from the advantage of being easy to calculate, the COG usually results in a transportation cost that is close to the true minimum albeit no evidence is provided. The main thrust of this paper is to conduct a simulation experiment to empirically substantiate the claim. In addition, data collected from the study is subject to regression analysis to identify the key factors affecting the effectiveness of the COG as a substitute for the MGP-based optimal solution to the Euclidean MSSFLP in practical applications.
Workaholism, Work Engagement and Work–Home Outcomes: Exploring the Mediating Role of Positive and Negative Emotions

This study examines the mechanisms through which workaholism and work engagement impact work-home conflict and enrichment, respectively. Specifically, we examine the mediating role of positive and negative emotions (e.g. joviality and guilt) in the relationship between workaholism, work engagement and work-home outcomes. Results, based on a sample of 340 working adults participating in a two-wave study, indicate that negative emotions-particularly anxiety, anger and disappointment-mediate the relationship between workaholism and work-home conflict and positive emotions-particularly joviality and self-assurance-mediate the relationship between work engagement and work-home enrichment. These results provide further evidence that workaholism and work engagement are related to distinct sets of emotional variables and disparate work and home outcomes.
Comparative genotoxicity of nanosilver in human liver HepG2 and colon Caco2 cells evaluated by a flow cytometric in vitro micronucleus assay

Two widely used in vitro cell culture models, human liver HepG2 cells and human colon Caco2 cells, and flow cytometry techniques were evaluated as tools for rapid screening of potential genotoxicity of food-related nanosilver. Comparative genotoxic potential of 20 nm silver was evaluated in HepG2 and Caco2 cell cultures by a flow cytometric-based in vitro micronucleus assay. The nanosilver, characterized by the dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy and inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry analysis, showed no agglomeration of the silver nanoparticles. The inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry and transmission electron microscopy analysis demonstrated the uptake of 20 nm silver by both cell types. The 20 nm silver exposure of HepG2 cells increased the concentration-dependent micronucleus formation sevenfold at 10 µg ml–1 concentration in attached cell conditions and 1.3-fold in cell suspension conditions compared to the vehicle controls. However, compared to the vehicle controls, the 20 nm silver exposure of Caco2 cells increased the micronucleus formation 1.2-fold at a concentration of 10 µg ml–1 both in the attached cell conditions as well as in the cell suspension conditions. Our results of flow cytometric in vitro micronucleus assay appear to suggest that the HepG2 cells are more susceptible to the nanosilver-induced micronucleus formation than the Caco2 cells compared to the vehicle controls. However, our results also suggest that the widely used in vitro models, HepG2 and Caco2 cells and the flow cytometric in vitro micronucleus assay are valuable tools for the rapid screening of genotoxic potential of nanosilver and deserve more careful evaluation. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Metabolic interaction between cyclosporine and sirolimus.

Background. When the immunosuppressants cyclosporine (CsA) and sirolimus (SRL) are co-administered to transplant patients, lower doses are used than when either drug is given alone. Since both drugs share similar transport and metabolic pathways, there is the potential for an interaction leading to unpredictable effects. Furthermore, both drugs affect the activity of cytochrome P450 3A1/2 (CYP3A1/2), the rat parallel to human CYP3A4, and the multidrug transporter P-glycoprotein (Pgp). Methods. To clarify the role of metabolic enzymes and membrane transporters involved in the disposition of both drugs, we examined hepatic CYP3A1/2, Pgp, and multidrug resistance gene (mdr) mRNA during chronic therapy with CsA and SRL in salt-depleted rats. Specifically, rats were given intravenous doses of CsA 2.5 mg/kg and SRL 1 mg/kg, alone or in combination, for two weeks via constant rate intravenous infusion. Results. CsA treatment inhibited hepatic CYP3A1/2 protein expression, catalytic activity, and mRNA levels. SRL dosing suppressed CYP3A1/2 protein expression and catalytic activity, without affecting mRNA. With combined dosing, however, there was a much greater reduction. Hepatic Pgp protein levels were elevated after treatment with either drug alone, as well as with combined dosing. Compared to controls, there were significant increases in mdrla and mdrlb mRNA levels in all treatment groups, with the combined drugs causing the greatest increase. Conclusions. Both CYP3A1/2 and Pgp participate in the disposition of CsA and SRL in rats. Changes in the individual activities of CYP3A1/2 and Pgp may contribute to an interaction between CsA and SRL resulting in unanticipated effects during chronic therapy.
Combined Use of Post-Ion Mobility/Collision-Induced Dissociation and Chemometrics for b Fragment Ion Analysis

Although structural isomers may yield indistinguishable ion mobility (IM) arrival times and similar fragment ions in tandem mass spectrometry (MS), it is demonstrated that post-IM/collision-induced dissociation MS (post-IM/CID MS) combined with chemometrics can enable independent study of the IM-overlapped isomers. The new approach allowed us to investigate the propensity of selected b type fragment ions from AlaAlaAlaHisAlaAlaAla-NH2 (AAA(His)AAA) heptapeptide to form different isomers. Principle component analysis (PCA) of the unresolved post-IM/CID profiles indicated the presence of two different isomer types for b4+, b5+, and b6+ and a single isomer type for b7+ fragments of AAA(His)AAA. We employed a simple-to-use interactive self-modeling mixture analysis (SIMPLISMA) to calculate the total IM profiles and CID mass spectra of b fragment isomers. The deconvoluted CID mass spectra showed discernible fragmentation patterns for the two isomers of b4+, b5+, and b6+ fragments. Under our experimental conditions, calculated percentages of the “cyclic” isomers (at the 95 % confidence level for n = 3) for b4+, b5+, and b6+ were 61 (± 5) %, 36 (± 5) %, and 48 (± 2) %, respectively. Results from the SIMPLISMA deconvolution of b5+ species resembled the CID MS patterns of fully resolved IM profiles for the two b5+ isomers. The “cyclic” isomers for each of the two-component b fragment ions were less susceptible to ion fragmentation than their “linear” counterparts.
Neural correlates of transformational apparent motion.

Abstract When a figure discretely and instantaneously changes its shape, observers typically do not perceive the abrupt transition between shapes that in fact occurs. Rather, a continuous shape change is perceived. Although this illusory “transformational apparent motion” (TAM) is a faulty construction of the visual system, it is not arbitrary. From the many possible shape changes that could have been inferred, usually just one is perceived because only one is consistent with the shape-based rules that the visual system uses to (1) segment figures from one another within a scene and (2) match figures to themselves across successive scenes. TAM requires an interaction between neuronal circuits that process form relationships with circuits that compute motion trajectories. In particular, this form–motion interaction must happen before TAM is perceived because the direction of perceived motion is dictated by form relationships among figures in successive images. The present fMRI study ( n = 19) provides the first evidence that both form (LOC, posterior fusiform gyrus) and motion (hMT+) processing areas are more active when TAM is perceived than in a control stimulus where it is not. Retinotopic areas ( n = 10), hMT+ ( n = 7), and LOC ( n = 7) were mapped in a subset of subjects. Results : There is greater BOLD response to TAM than to the control condition in V1 and all subsequent retinotopic areas, as well as in hMT+ and the LOC, suggesting that areas that process form interact with hMT+ to construct the perception of moving figures.
OCR error rate versus rejection rate for isolated handprint characters

Over twenty-five organizations participating in the First Census OCR Systems Conference submitted confidence data as well as character classification data for the digit test in that conference. A three parameter function of the rejection rate r is fit to the error rate versus rejection rate data derived from this data, and found to fit it very well over the range from r equals 0 to r equals 0.15. The probability distribution underlying the model e(r) curve is derived and shown to correspond to an inherently inefficient rejection process. With only a few exceptions that seem to be insignificant, all of the organizations submitting data to the conference for scoring seem to employ this same rejection process with a remarkable uniformity of efficiency with respect to the maximum efficiency allowed for this process. Two measures of rejection efficiency are derived, and a practical definition of ideal OCR performance in the classification of segmented characters is proposed. Perfect rejection is shown to be achievable, but only at the cost of reduced classification accuracy in most practical situations. Human classification of a subset of the digit test suggests that there is considerable room for improvement in machine OCR before performance at the level of the proposed ideal is achieved.
Perioperative clinical variables and long-term survival following vascular surgery

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Coronary artery disease (CAD) is highly prevalent, and often times coexist, in patients with PAD. The management of patients with PAD that requires a high-risk vascular surgical procedure for intermittent claudication, critical limb ischemia or expanding abdominal aortic aneurysm requires risk stratification with the revised cardiac risk index, optimization of medical therapies, and limited use of cardiac imaging prior to surgery. Preventive revascularization in patients with stable CAD, with the sole intention to mitigate the risk of cardiac complications in the peri-operative period, is not effective and may be associated with significant bleeding and thrombotic risks, in particular if stents are used. A strategy of universal use of cardiac troponins in the perioperative period for active surveillance of myocardial ischemia may be more reasonable and cost-effective than the current standard of care of widespread use of cardiac imaging prior to high-risk surgery. An elevated cardiac troponin after vascular surgery is predictive of long-term mortality risk. Medical therapies such as aspirin and statins are recommended for patients with post-operative myocardial ischemia. Ongoing trials are assessing the role of novel anticoagulants. Additional research is needed to define the role of cardiac imaging and invasive angiography in this population.
Comparison of four clinical prediction rules for estimating risk in heart failure.

Study objective We examine the performance of 4 clinical prediction rules prognostic of short-term fatal and hospital-based nonfatal outcomes in heart failure patients. Methods We used a retrospective cohort of 33,533 adult patients admitted to Pennsylvania hospitals in 1999 with a diagnosis of heart failure. We stratified patients into risk categories defined by each clinical prediction rule. We assessed prognostic accuracy according to sensitivity and specificity and compared discriminatory power according to area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The outcomes were inpatient death, 30-day mortality, and death or serious medical complications before hospital discharge. Results The 4 rules each created risk groups of various proportions and frequencies of outcomes. The proportion of patients assigned to the lowest risk group ranged from 13.3% to 73.0%. The rates of inpatient death or complications in the lowest risk group ranged from 6.7% to 9.2%, and 30-day death rates varied from 1.7% to 6.0%. Patients categorized at the highest risk of death or complication demonstrated similar variability. The area under the ROC curve for inpatient death and complications differed only slightly among rules (0.58 to 0.62). The area under the ROC curve for fatal outcomes tended to be higher and differed among rules (0.59 to 0.74) Conclusion Current acute heart failure prediction rules offer varying ability to predict short-term death or serious outcomes. Although each creates a risk gradient, differences in risk-group proportions and outcome frequencies should drive rule selection or use in clinical practice.
Hankel Matrices and Their Applications to the Numerical Factorization of Polynomials

Abstract Globally convergent algorithms for the numerical factorization of polynomials are presented. When the zeros of a polynomial are all simple and of different modulus, these procedures are useful in the simultaneous determination of all zeros. These methods are derived based on the algebraic properties of sums of powers of complex numbers and Hankel matrices. The remainder and quotient polynomials which arise from applying the Euclidean and a version of Householder's algorithms are investigated in terms of their convergence properties which turn out to be useful in the splitting of a polynomial into a product of two factors.
Carbonates, Thiocarbonates, and the Corresponding Monoalkyl Derivatives. 2. X-ray Crystal Structure of Potassium Methyltrithiocarbonate (KS2CSCH3)

This study presents the first crystal structure determination of a potassium S-alkylthiocarbonate, the title compound potassium methyltrithiocarbonate (KS2CSCH3) Single crystals of KS2CSCH3 were obtained by the slow introduction of methylene chloride into a saturated solution of KS2CSCH3 in a 1:1 mixture of methylene chloride and tetrahydrofuran at 0 °C in a dry N2 atmosphere. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/c containing Z = 4 K+ cations and S2CSCH3- anions per unit cell. The unit cell dimensions are a = 7.6639(3) A, b = 6.5804(2) A, c = 12.8426(5) A, and β = 91.565(2)°. The isomorphism to the structurally closely related compounds KO2COCH3, KOSCOCH3, and KS2COCH3 is examined.
Wind-driven nonlinear oscillations of cables

The objective of this paper is the study of the dynamics of damped cable systems, which are suspended in space, and their resonance characteristics. Of interest is the study of the nonlinear behavior of large amplitude forced vibrations in three dimensions. As a first-order nonlinear problem the forced oscillations of a system having three-degrees-of-freedom with quadratic nonlinearities is developed in order to consider the resonance characteristics of the cable and the possibility of dynamic instability. The cables are acted upon by their own weight in the perpendicular direction and a steady horizontal wind. The vibrations take place about the static position of the cables as determined by the nonlinear equilibrium equations. Preliminary to the nonlinear analysis the linear mode shapes and frequencies are determined. These mode shapes are used as coordinate functions to form weak solutions of the nonlinear autonomous partial differential equations.
Representation Formulas of Curves in a Two- and Three-Dimensional Lightlike Cone

In this paper we give the representation formulas for spacelike curves in two-dimensional lightlike cone \({{\mathbb Q}^2}\) and three-dimensional lightlike cone \({{\mathbb Q}^3}\). Using these formulas we discuss the properties and structures of cone curves in \({{\mathbb Q}^2}\) and \({{\mathbb Q}^3}\). Some examples are also given.
Flux tube or bremsstrahlung

The classical problem of radiation emitted by an accelerated charge is considered. We use the analogy to suggest that the space-time development of the bremsstrahlung which accompanies the color exchange in hadron-hadron inelastic scattering is very similar to that of the color flux-tube model. The bremsstrahlung yields a considerable contribution to the effective string tension. It is argued that one should distinguish between the string tension measured in static and dynamic processes.
Effects of exogenous phospholipases on brain membrane phospholipid perturbation, (Na(+) + K(+))-ATPase activity and cellular swelling of brain slices.

Abstract Rat brain membranes were incubated with bee venom phospholipase A2 (PLA2) or phospholipase C (PLC) from Clostridium perfringens. PLA2 caused a significant increase in free polyunsaturated fatty acids concomitant with membrane phospholipid degradation as monitored by HPLC and by gas chromatography. Equal concentrations of PLC had a much lesser effect than PLA2. Divergent and differential effects were shown on deacylation and incorporation of [3H]arachidonic acid in membrane phospholipids. The incorporation of [3H]arachidonic acid into various phospholipids was greatly reduced by PLA2 (0.018 units/ml) whereas PLC at identical concentration was not effective. PLA2 inhibited (Na+ + K+)-ATPase but was not effective on p-nitrophenyl-phosphatase activity whereas PLC stimulated both enzymes. PLA2 induced swelling of cortical brain slices whereas PLC was not effective. Thus, the severity of the perturbation of membrane integrity, and the inhibition of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase in brain membranes may play an important role in cellular swelling of brain slices induced by PLA2.
On the relationship between kainic acid-induced epileptiform activity and hippocampal neuronal damage.

The electrophysiological effects of kainic acid on evoked hippocampal granule cell activity and recurrent inhibition (as measured with the twin-pulse technique) were examined in urethaneanesthetized rats. In the 3-hr period after injection, kainic acid (10 mg/kg i.v.) caused repetitive cycles of decreased recurrent inhibition, granule cell epileptiform discharges and depression of evoked activity. These electrophysiological effects were accompanied by twitching of the vibrissae, mild hyperpyrexia and “wet-dog” shakes which, despite anesthesia, often occurred at the end of an epileptiform granule cell discharge. Four hours after the injection of kainic acid, recurrent inhibition was abolished and granule cell spike amplitudes in response to perforant path stimuli were significantly greater than saline controlor pre-drug values. Concomitantly, kainic acid caused acute damage to dentate hilar interneurons and to the cell body and proximal apical dendritic regions of CA3 pyramidal cells. These results indicate that an early effect of kainic acid is impairment of recurrent inhibition, possibly as a result of damage to inhibitory interneurons. The presumably resultant epileptiform activity of dentate granule cells and acute damage to the region of the pyramidal cells which receive dense excitatory input from granule cell axon terminals supports the view that epileptiform activity plays a significant role in the neurotoxic effects of kainic acid.
Effects of dissolved organic carbon on accumulation and acute toxicity of fenvalerate, deltamethrin and cyhalothrin to Daphnia magna (straus)

The effects of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the form of Aldrich humic acid on the accumulation and acute toxicities of three synthetic pyrethroids — fenvalerate, deltamethrin, and cyhalothrin—to Daphnia magna in laboratory experiments were investigated. Concentrations of DOC as low as 2.6 mg/L, 3.2 mg/L, and 3.1 mg/L for deltamethrin, fenvalerate, and cyhalothrin, respectively, resulted in a significant decrease in bioaccumulation. Acute toxicities of all three pyrethroids were found to decrease as DOC concentrations increased; e.g., at a DOC concentration of 15.5 mg/L, the acute toxicity of fenvalerate was reduced by a factor of 17. The percentages of deltamethrin and fenvalerate bound to DOC increased as DOC concentrations increased after 2-h and 24-h contact times. At low concentrations of DOC (e.g., 1.7 mg/L), as much as 40% of fenvalerate and 20% of deltamethrin were found sorbed to the dissolved material. After 24-h contact times, 76.4 and 80.8% of fenvalerate and deltamethrin, respectively, were bound to DOC. Reverse-phase partition coefficients (Krp) for both fenvalerate and deltamethrin were found to vary with DOC concentrations and were in the range 1.0 to 4.8 × 105 L/kg for fenvalerate and 0.9 to 5.6 × 105 L/kg for deltamethrin.
Effect of surgical approach on physical activity and pain control after sacral colpopexy

Objective We sought to compare recovery of activity and pain control after robotic (ROB) vs abdominal (ABD) sacral colpopexy. Study Design Women undergoing ROB and ABD sacral colpopexy wore accelerometers for 7 days preoperatively and the first 10 days postoperatively. They completed postoperative pain diaries and Short Form-36 questionnaires before and after surgery. Results At 5 days postoperatively, none of the 14 subjects in the ABD group and 4 of 28 (14.3%) in the ROB group achieved 50% total baseline activity counts ( P = .283). At 10 days, 5 of 14 (35.7%) in the ABD group and 8 of 26 (30.8%) in the ROB group ( P = .972) achieved 50%. Postoperative pain was similar in both groups. Short Form-36 vitality scores were lower ( P = .017) after surgery in the ABD group, but not in the ROB group. Conclusion Women undergoing ROB vs ABD sacral colpopexy do not recover physical activity faster, and pain control is not improved.
Diagnostic dilemmas and potential pitfalls in the evaluation of endometrial adenocarcinoma

Abstract Endometrial adenocarcinoma is the most common malignancy of the gynaecologic tract, and therefore one of the most commonly encountered surgical pathology specimens. Accurate diagnosis, grading and staging are necessary to direct therapy for this common disease. Evaluation of these cases is usually straightforward. Some cases, however, may be complicated by a variety of issues such as difficulty assessing depth of invasion; difficulty assessing cervical involvement; possibility of synchronous ovarian primaries; evaluation of lymphovascular space invasion; difficulties with FIGO grade (especially in the company of altered differentiation); and subtle patterns of myoinvasion. The purpose of this review is to emphasize these problematic areas and offer straightforward guidelines to apply when these situations are encountered. Proper recognition of these diagnostic challenges will hopefully improve grading and staging accuracy, and subsequently therapy, for the multitudes of women affected by this disease.
Nonnegative matrices with power invariant zero patterns

Abstract If A is a nonsingular M -matrix, the elements of the sequence { A − k } all have the same zero pattern. Using the Drazin inverse, we show that a similar zero pattern invariance property holds for a class of matrices which is larger than the generalized M -matrices.
Conducting polymer nanoparticles decorated with collagen mimetic peptides for collagen targeting

We report on the formation of conducting polymer nanoparticles (CPNs), stabilized by a collagen mimetic peptide (CMP)-polymer amphiphile. CPNs ranging from ∼15 to 40 nm were readily accessible upon modifying the amphiphile concentration. Surface presentation of CMPs on CPN precluded intra-/inter-particle trimerization, while preserving their ability to target collagen without pre-activation.
Neurobiological markers of exercise-related brain plasticity in older adults

The current study examined how a randomized one-year aerobic exercise program for healthy older adults would affect serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), insulin-like growth factor type 1 (IGF-1), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) - putative markers of exercise-induced benefits on brain function. The study also examined whether (a) change in the concentration of these growth factors was associated with alterations in functional connectivity following exercise, and (b) the extent to which pre-intervention growth factor levels were associated with training-related changes in functional connectivity. In 65 participants (mean age=66.4), we found that although there were no group-level changes in growth factors as a function of the intervention, increased temporal lobe connectivity between the bilateral parahippocampus and the bilateral middle temporal gyrus was associated with increased BDNF, IGF-1, and VEGF for an aerobic walking group but not for a non-aerobic control group, and greater pre-intervention VEGF was associated with greater training-related increases in this functional connection. Results are consistent with animal models of exercise and the brain, but are the first to show in humans that exercise-induced increases in temporal lobe functional connectivity are associated with changes in growth factors and may be augmented by greater baseline VEGF.
Oral-Nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure as a Treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

The effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) applied via a mask covering the nose and mouth (oral-nasal CPAP=ONCPAP) on obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was studied in ten male patients with a mean (± SD) age of 48.1 ±11.1 years who could not tolerate nasal CPAP (NCPAP) due to nasal congestion. Using ONCPAP at pressures of 11.0 ±4.5 cm H 2 O, the apnea+hypopnea index was reduced from 58.3 ± 22.3 (baseline night) to 5.2 ±1.6 events per hour (ONCPAP night) (p 2 O) applied through a nasal mask (NCPAP) and ONCPAP in a different group of patients (mean age 60 ± 14.6 years) with moderate to severe OSA using NCPAP on a long-term basis. The apnea-hypopnea indexes on NCPAP nights (7.2 ± 3.5) and ONCPAP nights (7.6 ± 4.9 events per hour of sleep) were very similar. We conclude that ONCPAP may be a reasonable treatment alternative in patients who cannot tolerate NCPAP due to nasal congestion and that the pressure required to maintain upper airway patency may be similar to the level required using NCPAP.
Embedded-atom-method study of (110) surface relaxation and bulk vibrations in Pb

The relaxation at the Pb(110) surface is studied using the embedded-atom method (EAM), and the predictions are compared to the very large measured changes in interplanar spacings. The EAM potentials are also used to calculate bulk phonon-dispersion curves for comparison with the anomalous phonon spectra observed for Pb by inelastic neutron scattering. In neither case does EAM give the kind of agreement with the experimental results normally found. Parallel calculations for Cu(110) and bulk Cu are presented to place the results for Pb in context.
Mechanical Performance of Thin Films in Flexible Displays

The use of brittle materials in flexible displays requires the understanding of the mechanical limitations of the materials and the various display architectures. We discuss various approaches to mechanical bend tests for components of flexible displays and describe a new test method based on a three-axis motion. We discuss the mechanical limitations of indium tin oxide (ITO) as a transparent conductor, and present results for a more mechanically robust multilayer transparent conductor made of an ITO-metal-ITO (IMI) stack. The IMI structures showed dramatically improved mechanical properties when subjected to bending both as a function of radius of curvature as well as number of cycles to a fixed radius. Organic light emitting devices fabricated on IMI anodes showed improved performance compared with those made on ITO anodes at current densities greater than 1 mA/cm2 due to the improved conductivity of the anode. We discuss the difficulties in analysis of the mechanical failure of transparent thin film permeation barriers. We present a novel approach for etching barrier-coated polymer substrates such that film cracking is readily visible. We report on the bend test results for sputter- deposited SiOxNy films.
An environmentally friendly and cost effective synthesis of estradiol featuring two novel reagents: Si(0)/KF and PMHS/hexamethyldisiloxane/pTSA

Abstract Si(0)/KF is introduced as a strong, inexpensive, environmentally friendly, and safe reagent for ‘dissolving metal’-type reduction. PMHS/hexamethyldisiloxane/pTSA is introduced as an inexpensive substitute for Et3SiH/TFA for ‘ionic hydrogenation’, where the hexamethyldisiloxane functions as a capping agent to block the oligomeric silicone by-product from cross-linking to a gel, rubber, or plastic. An environmentally friendly and cost effective synthesis of estradiol is described which showcases these new reagents.
Special issue devoted to papers presented at the second INFORMS workshop on artificial intelligence and data mining, Seattle, November 3, 2007

The Second INFORMS Workshop on artificial intelligence and data mining (WAID-07) was held in Seattle on November 3, 2007. The workshop was a pre-conference workshop to the National INFORMS meeting. Twenty papers were presented at the workshop, divided in two tracks—AI and Data Mining. A special issue of Information Technology and Management was devoted to papers from WAID-07. Twelve papers were submitted for possible publication in the special issue, of which six have been accepted for publication. Three papers were published in Volume 10 issue 1, 2009 of Information Technology and Management. Three more papers are being published in this issue. The first paper, titled ‘‘A Finite-Sample Simulation Study of Cross Validation in Tree-Based Models’’ by Seoung Bum Kim, Xiaoming Huo and Kwok-Leung Tsui, explores the behavior of cross validation in tree-based classifiers. The performance of cross-validated tree-based classifier and Bayes classifier are empirically tested. The authors find that the differences between the testing and training errors from a cross-validated tree classifier and the Bayes classifier follow a simple linear regression model. Based on their experience, the authors recommend using cross-validated tree-based classifiers when sample size is relatively small. The second paper, titled ‘‘Antecedents of Open Source Software Defects: A Data Mining Approach to Model Formulation, Validation and Testing’’ by Uzma Raja and Marietta J. Tretter, uses data mining and text mining techniques to develop, test and validate a model for the antecedents of Open-Source Software (OSS) defects. The authors look at over 5,000 active and mature OSS projects to validate their model. Results indicate that variables such as project type, end-user activity, process quality, team size and project popularity have a significant impact on the defect density of operational OSS projects. The third paper, titled ‘‘Identifying Fall-Related Injuries: Text Mining the Electronic Medical Record’’ by Monica Chiarini Tremblay et al. uses data mining and text mining techniques to investigate if unstructured text-based information included in the electronic medical records can validate and enhance those records in the administrative data that should have been coded as fall related injuries. The authors identify many challenges involved in any study involving text mining.