cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of initial conditions on reproducibility of scientific research.

Background: It is estimated that about half of currently published research cannot be reproduced. Many reasons have been offered as explanations for failure to reproduce scientific research findings- from fraud to the issues related to design, conduct, analysis, or publishing scientific research. We also postulate a sensitive dependency on initial conditions by which small changes can result in the large differences in the research findings when attempted to be reproduced at later times. Methods: We employed a simple logistic regression equation to model the effect of covariates on the initial study findings. We then fed the input from the logistic equation into a logistic map function to model stability of the results in repeated experiments over time. We illustrate the approach by modeling effects of different factors on the choice of correct treatment. Results: We found that reproducibility of the study findings depended both on the initial values of all independent variables and the rate of change in the baseline conditions, the latter being more important. When the changes in the baseline conditions vary by about 3.5 to about 4 in between experiments, no research findings could be reproduced. However, when the rate of change between the experiments is ≤2.5 the results become highly predictable between the experiments. Conclusions: Many results cannot be reproduced because of the changes in the initial conditions between the experiments. Better control of the baseline conditions in-between the experiments may help improve reproducibility of scientific findings.
Thermal dose and time—temperature factors for biological responses to heat shock

The application of hyperthermia in human cancer therapy, especially by radiotherapists who are accustomed to prescribing ionizing radiation treatments in physical dose units, has stimulated workers in this area to consider the possibility and utility of defining a unit of 'thermal dose'. Previous thermal dose definitions have, primarily, been based on biological isoeffect response relationships, which attempt to relate exposure times that elicit a given biological response at one temperature to exposure times at another temperature that elicit the same biological response. This 'equivalent time' method is shown to have certain limitations. For both 42.4 and 45 degrees C hyperthermia, these relationships accurately describe cell survival responses only when the heating rate is rapid (greater than 0.5 degrees C min-1 from ambient to hyperthermic temperature). Further, the form of these isoeffect relationships appears to be temperature range and cell/tissue-type dependent, and it is suggested that these relationships be referred to as a 'time-temperature factor' (TTF) to help distinguish them from possible physical thermal dose definitions. Two physical dose definitions are discussed, one being simply exposure time at some temperature and the other being a more fundamental definition, the free energy change which is a temperature-dependent driving force for chemical reactions.
Discovering personally meaningful places: An interactive clustering approach

The discovery of a person's meaningful places involves obtaining the physical locations and their labels for a person's places that matter to his daily life and routines. This problem is driven by the requirements from emerging location-aware applications, which allow a user to pose queries and obtain information in reference to places, for example, “home”, “work” or “Northwest Health Club”. It is a challenge to map from physical locations to personally meaningful places due to a lack of understanding of what constitutes the real users' personally meaningful places. Previous work has explored algorithms to discover personal places from location data. However, we know of no systematic empirical evaluations of these algorithms, leaving designers of location-aware applications in the dark about their choices.Our work remedies this situation. We extended a clustering algorithm to discover places. We also defined a set of essential evaluation metrics and an interactive evaluation framework. We then conducted a large-scale experiment that collected real users' location data and personally meaningful places, and illustrated the utility of our evaluation framework. Our results establish a baseline that future work can measure itself against. They also demonstrate that that our algorithm discovers places with reasonable accuracy and outperforms the well-known K-Means clustering algorithm for place discovery. Finally, we provide evidence that shapes more complex than “points” are required to represent the full range of people's everyday places.
Polymer semiconductor crystals

One of the long-standing challenges in the field of polymer semiconductors is to figure out how long interpenetrating and entangled polymer chains self-assemble into single crystals from the solution phase or melt. The ability to produce these crystalline solids has fascinated scientists from a broad range of backgrounds including physicists, chemists, and engineers. Scientists are still on the hunt for determining the mechanism of crystallization in these information-rich materials. Understanding the theory and concept of crystallization of polymer semiconductors will undoubtedly transform this area from an art to an area that will host a bandwagon of scientists and engineers. In this article we describe the basic concept of crystallization and highlight some of the advances in polymer crystallization from crystals to nanocrystalline fibers.
Effect of Arabidopsis COP10 ubiquitin E2 enhancement activity across E2 families and functional conservation among its canonical homologues.

Arabidopsis thaliana COP10 (constitutive photomorphogenic 10) is a UEV [Ub (ubiquitin)-conjugating enzyme (E2) variant protein] that is required for repression of seedling photomorphogenesis in darkness. COP10 forms a complex {the CDD complex [COP10–DET1 (de-etiolated 1)–DDB1 (DNA damage binding protein 1) complex]} with DET1 and DDB1a in vivo and can enhance the activity of Ub-conjugating enzyme (E2) in vitro . To investigate whether COP10 might act as a general regulator of E2s, we tested the specificity of COP10 E2 enhancement activity across E2 families of Arabidopsis . We found that COP10 is capable of enhancing members of four E2 subgroups significantly, while having a milder effect on another. Surprisingly, we found that close canonical E2 homologues of COP10, such as UbcH5a (human ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme 5), are also capable of enhancing E2s. Furthermore, we detected direct interactions between COP10 and three of the enhanced E2s, hinting at a possible mechanism for the enhancements. The present study suggests that some E2s, including the generic Ubc4/5p families involved in many processes, might possess dual activities: the formation of the classic E2–Ub thiol ester and the previously unknown E2 enhancement activity. Therefore COP10, despite being a catalytically inactive E2, might still enhance a variety of E2s and regulate numerous aspects of plant development.
Analytical Performance of One-Step Majority Logic Decoding of Regular LDPC Codes

In this paper, we present a combinatorial algorithm to calculate the exact bit error rate performance of regular low-density parity check codes under one-step majority logic decoding. Majority logic decoders have regained importance in nano-scale memories due to their resilience to both memory and logic gate failures. This result is an extension of the work of Rudolph on error correction capability of majority-logic decoders.
Establishing Trailer Ventilation (Boarding) Requirements for Finishing Pigs during Transport

Specifically, this study aimed to establish the effects on mortality and morbidity of boarding levels (amount of side-wall trailer ventilation) for finishing pigs in mild weather (8.80 ± 0.30 °C, 71.70% ± 1.12% humidity). Pigs from commercial finishing sites were transported in 302 pot-bellied trailers to commercial processing plants. Measures collected at the processing plant were rates of dead on arrival (DOA), non-ambulatory, non-injured (NANI), non-ambulatory, injured (NAI), and total dead and down (D&D). Boarding levels (% that side walls were closed off with inserted boards) were divided into 3 bins: low, medium, and high, and outside temperature was divided into 4 bins 15 °C. Average rates of DOA, NANI, NAI, and D&D were approximately 0.30%, 0.12%, 0.04%, and 0.46%, respectively. The D&D was highest when boarding level was low with temperatures <5 °C (p < 0.05). However, variations in boarding level (medium and high boarding) in the temperature range of 5.10 °C to 23.30 °C did not affect pig losses.
Enhanced dual task performance following corpus commissurotomy in humans

A commissurotomy patient and two neurologically intact control observers were required to encode spatial patterns presented concurrently to the two hemifields. Under conditions of maximal perceptual load, in which different patterns appeared in the two fields, the commissurotomy patient encoded more information than the control observers. Based on these findings, it is concluded that competition for common internal processing mechanisms interferes with overall processing efficiency.
Positive treadmill stress tests post myocardial infarction in patients with single-vessel coronary disease

Abstract To investigate the possiblity that patients with single-vessel coronary artery disease (CAD) and recent myocardial infarction (MI) can have ST segment depression on post infarction treadmill testing due to ischemia, we studied 16 such patients who underwent cardiac catheterization and exercise testing after MI. Of the 11 patients with ST segment depression on treadmill testing, 10 failed to increase their ejection fraction and nine had a focal worsening of wall motion during exercise radionuclide ventriculography. Seven of these 11 patients had hypokinesis or normokinesis in the suspected area of infarction. In contrast, four of the five patients without ST segment depression on treadmill stress testing had an increase in ejection fraction with stress which was significantly greater than that seen in patients with ST depression (7.2% vs 0%, p
Incidence, sources, and control of food-borne Salmonella spp. in poultry feeds

Transmission of food-poisoning salmonellae in the poultry industry is often associated with a contaminated feed supply. Occurrence of food-borne Salmonella spp. continues to be documented on poultr...
Darwin's Ambiguity: The Secularization of Biological Meaning

Darwin is well known for his wondrously ambiguous rhetoric. The author who used an ‘entangled bank’ as his metaphor for Nature and its complex relationships built up the substance of his text from a corresponding entanglement of unresolved theoretical relations. Ambiguous positions, arguments that seem to fold in on themselves, vacillations, contradictions, and pluralities of explanation suffuse Darwin's science and its constituent metascience. The Origin abounds in ambiguities with regard to the technical features of evolutionary biology. But the domain of ambiguity I wish to address is Darwin's metaphysical stance. I want to approach the question of Darwin and secularization through what might be called the trope of ambiguity. My principle concern is with the origins of that ambiguity. These lie in the conflicting cultural and ideological resources Darwin used to construct the theory of natural selection.
Single Streptomyces lividans K+ Channels: Functional Asymmetries and Sidedness of Proton Activation

Basic electrophysiological properties of the KcsA K+ channel were examined in planar lipid bilayer membranes. The channel displays open-state rectification and weakly voltage-dependent gating. Tetraethylammonium blocking affinity depends on the side of the bilayer to which the blocker is added. Addition of Na+ to the trans chamber causes block of open-channel current, while addition to the cis side has no effect. Most striking is the activation of KcsA by protons; channel activity is observed only when the trans bilayer chamber is at low pH. To ascertain which side of the channel faces which chamber, residues with structurally known locations were mapped to defined sides of the bilayer. Mutation of Y82, an external residue, results in changes in tetraethylammonium affinity exclusively from the cis side. Channels with cysteine residues substituted at externally exposed Y82 or internally exposed Q119 are functionally modified by methanethiosulfonate reagents from the cis or trans chambers, respectively. Block by charybdotoxin, known to bind to the channel's external mouth, is observed only when the toxin is added to the cis side of channels mutated to be toxin sensitive. These results demonstrate unambiguously that the protonation sites linked to gating are on the intracellular portion of the KcsA protein.
Role of Transesophageal Echocardiography-Guided Cardioversion of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

Electrical cardioversion of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is frequently performed to relieve symptoms and improve cardiac performance. Patients undergoing cardioversion are treated conventionally with therapeutic anticoagulation for three weeks before and four weeks after cardioversion to decrease the risk of thromboembolism. A transesophageal echocardiography (TEE)-guided strategy has been proposed as an alternative that may lower stroke and bleeding events. Patients without atrial cavity thrombus or atrial appendage thrombus by TEE are cardioverted on achievement of therapeutic anticoagulation, whereas cardioversion is delayed in higher risk patients with thrombus. The aim of this review is to discuss the issues and controversies associated with the management of patients with AF undergoing cardioversion. We provide an overview of the TEE-guided and conventional anticoagulation strategies in light of the recently completed Assessment of Cardioversion Using Transesophageal Echocardiography (ACUTE) clinical trial. The two management strategies comparably lower the patient's embolic risk when the guidelines are properly followed. The TEE-guided strategy with shorter term anticoagulation may lower the incidence of bleeding complications and safely expedite early cardioversion. The inherent advantages and disadvantages of both strategies are presented. The TEE-guided approach with short-term anticoagulation is considered to be a safe and clinically effective alternative to the conventional approach, and it is advocated in patients in whom earlier cardioversion would be clinically beneficial.
Are All Pressure Ulcers Avoidable

A quality of care debate centers on whether pressure ulcers result from factors largely dependent on caregivers, or whether pressure ulcers result from factors associated with patient morbidity. A reduction in incidence, defined as the development of a new pressure ulcer, is the focus of prevention strategies. Yet epidemiological data demonstrates a stability in the incidence of pressure ulcers despite drastic improvements in understanding of pressure ulcers, increased regulatory oversight, and improvements in technologies available for prevention of pressure ulcers. The explanation for this stable incidence of pressure ulcers includes a failure of known effective preventive treatment to be applied or the failure of prevention strategies to be effective in spite of being applied. No intervention strategy has been reported that consistently and reproducibly reduces the incidence of pressure ulcers to zero. The published data on prevention of pressure ulcers do not support an assumption that all pressure ulcers are preventable. An effective prevention strategy demonstrated to eliminate pressure ulcers across healthcare settings is lacking.
Policy-driven personalized multimedia services for mobile users

This paper proposes an agent-based service provisioning system for mobile users. It describes a set of cooperative agents distributed over different sites that work together to provide personalized services for mobile users over the Internet. Users moving outside the office are able to maintain an off ice-like environment at home, or at temporary locations such as a meeting at another company, a business trip, or a hotel. Agents representing the end-users and the system agents engage in a negotiation process to facilitate access to personalized services at other sites. This access is obtained in accordance with the users' home policies as well as those at their current location. An Adaptive Service Presentation agent is used to adapt the service presentation to the capabilities of the users' workstations, laptops, phones, PDAs, or other devices. This work is conducted in Canada as part of the Mobile Agent Alliance project involving the University of Ottawa, the National Research Council, and the Mitel Corporation.
Drugs as Indicators of Hepatic Function

It is well recognized that liver disease may influence the disposition of many drugs. Conversely, it has been suggested that knowledge of the disposition of a model drug might provide an index of certain aspects of hepatic function. This review discusses the physiology of drug disposition and indicates how recent progress in understanding the determinants of drug disposition has provided useful indices of individual aspects of hepatic function. Topics which are discussed are the interpretation of pharmacokinetic parameters as indices of hepatic function, including half-life clearance, and intrinsic clearance. Utilizing the "intact hepatocyte hypothesis" as an operational model, an approach is described that uses the pharmacokinetic disposition of high and low intrinsic clearance drugs following p.o. and i.v. administration to provide quantitative estimates of hepatic function, flow to functioning hepatocytes, and the extent of portasystemic shunting through the liver. Thus, the theoretical basis for quantitation of certain aspects of hepatic function are available. It remains to be determined whether these indices will provide clinically useful measures to follow the natural history of hepatic disease.
Cofilin Promotes Actin Polymerization and Defines the Direction of Cell Motility

A general caging method for proteins that are regulated by phosphorylation was used to study the in vivo biochemical action of cofilin and the subsequent cellular response. By acute and local activation of a chemically engineered, light-sensitive phosphocofilin mimic, we demonstrate that cofilin polymerizes actin, generates protrusions, and determines the direction of cell migration. We propose a role for cofilin that is distinct from its role as an actin-depolymerizing factor.
Secular Trends in Stroke Incidence and Survival, and the Occurrence of Dementia

See related article, pages 1155–1159 The 20th century witnessed marked improvements in public health and drastic reductions in mortality from common diseases of early- and midlife leading to a large and growing segment of the population over the age of 65.1 These demographic trends are expected to continue in the coming decades.1 As a result, demographers are forecasting an increase in the number of persons with common chronic conditions of aging. Among the most common, most feared, and most expensive conditions for individuals, families, and society is progressive dementia. Recent data suggest that the number of persons with dementia in the world will increase markedly over the coming decades.2,3 Accurate forecasts of the occurrence of dementia and other age-related conditions in the future are essential for proper public health planning. However, such forecasts rely on a number of assumptions in addition to census projections regarding fertility, mortality, and immigration. For example, after Alzheimer disease, stroke is generally considered to be the second most common cause of dementia.4,5 Recent data suggest that the lifetime risk of both stroke and dementia are very high.6 In addition, health care utilization costs of dementia related to stroke appears to exceed that of Alzheimer disease on a per patient basis.7,8 These data suggest that recent trends in the incidence of and survival from stroke could …
Variation in the Cost of Radiation Therapy Among Medicare Patients With Cancer

Factors unrelated to the individual patient accounted for the majority of variation in the cost of radiation therapy, suggesting potential inefficiency in health care expenditure.
Proteomic identification of proteins specifically oxidized in Caenorhabditis elegans expressing human Aβ(1–42): Implications for Alzheimer's disease

Protein oxidation has been shown to lead to loss of protein function, increased protein aggregation, decreased protein turnover, decreased membrane fluidity, altered cellular redox poteintial, loss of Ca2+ homeostaisis, and cell death. There is increasing evidence that protein oxidation is involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and amyloid beta-peptide (1-42) has been implicated as a mediator of oxidative stress in AD. However, the specific implications of the oxidation induced by Abeta(1-42) on the neurodegeneration evident in AD are unknown. In this study, we used proteomic techniques to identify specific targets of oxidation in transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) expressing human Abeta(1-42). We identified 16 oxidized proteins involved in energy metabolism, proteasome function, and scavenging of oxidants that are more oxidized compared to control lines. These results are discussed with reference to Alzheimer's disease.
Pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer in two large pooled case–control studies

Objective The association between duration of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer has not been well characterized in large population-based studies. We conducted detailed analyses to determine the association between pancreatitis onset and pancreatic cancer risk.
Systematic Analysis of the Eocene Primate Family Omomyidae Using Gnathic and Postcranial Data

Abstract Relationships within the primate order Omomyidae are assessed with dental and postcranial data, using cladistic techniques. Quantitative and qualitative characters of the dentition, mandible, maxilla and, where known, calcaneus and astragalus were evaluated for 28 omomyid species. Characters were subjected to a series of parsimony analyses including dental only, and combined dental and postcranial data, as well as evaluations with limited and expanded numbers of taxa. Trees were rooted through the use of a hypothetical outgroup taxon consisting of closely related primate and nonprimate taxa. Tarsal elements showed variability within the Omomyidae and this variability contained phylogenetic signal. When all dental and postcranial data were evaluated cladistically, omomyids prove to consist of three subfamilies: Omomyinae, Anaptomorphinae, and Microchoerinae. The omomyines consist of the tribes Washakiini, Uintaniini, Omomyini and Macrotarsiini, whereas the anaptomorphines consist of a paraphyletic...
A Compact First-Order $\Sigma\Delta $ Modulator for Analog High-Volume Testing of Complex System-on-Chips in a 14 nm Tri-Gate Digital CMOS Process

On complex system-on-chips (SOCs), a compact on-die analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is required in high-volume testing, in order to reduce the test time and improve the test coverage of on-die analog intellectual properties (IPs). This paper presents a compact first-order ${\Sigma\Delta }$ modulator for on-die voltage measurements in such applications. The primary design focus is to achieve a highly compact area so that many instances can be integrated to cover the testing of multiple analog IPs on a single chip die. The proposed modulator deploys an inverter-based architecture which enables the aggressive area reduction. There are two new additional enhancements: 1) hardware dithering to minimize the limit-cycling effect and 2) time-multiplexed pseudodifferential operation for common mode rejection. The modulator exhibits a figure of merit (FOM) of 554.7 fJ/conv-step, in spite of the compact area of only ${0}.{00023}\;{\text{mm}}^{2}$ .
Analyzing Disagreements

We address the problem of distinguishing between two sources of disagreement in annotations: genuine subjectivity and slip of attention. The latter is especially likely when the classification task has a default class, as in tasks where annotators need to find instances of the phenomenon of interest, such as in a metaphor detection task discussed here. We apply and extend a data analysis technique proposed by Beigman Klebanov and Shamir (2006) to first distill reliably deliberate (non-chance) annotations and then to estimate the amount of attention slips vs genuine disagreement in the reliably deliberate annotations.
Effect of castration and transplantation on ventral gland of the gerbil.

SummaryThe male gerbil has a mid-ventral gland composed of specialized sebaceous gland units associated with hair follicles. This gland hypertrophies and becomes active at the onset of sexual maturity. In the adult male, the gland is a slightly elevated orange fusiform pad in the mid-ventral line and averages 22.2 mm × 7.4 mm in length and width. The gland functions equally well when transplanted to another site of the body. Castration causes the gland to involute. However, this is reversible by administration of testosterone. The sebaceous glands of the mid-ventral skin of the gerbil are androgen sensitive.
Oxygen tension of subcutaneous gas pockets in cobalt-treated mice and adrenalectomized mice

SummaryThe gas pocket method of estimating O2 tension of subcutaneous tissue was utilized to see if the protection afforded by CoCl2 and adrenalectomy in high oxygen pressure could be due to a generalized depression of tissue pO2. (a) Mice previously treated with cobalt and control animals previously treated with saline were studied in O2 at one atmosphere and in room air. (b) Pockets were observed in an experimental group during a period of cobalt injections and in control animals which received saline injections. (c) Gas pockets in a group of adrenalectomized mice were compared with those in intact, untreated controls. The cobalt injections produced an increase in pO2 of the gas pocket which appeared the first day after beginning treatment. The adrenalectomized mice showed no difference from their controls in gas pocket pO2. Since decreased pO2 was not observed, it was concluded that the protection of the two treatments against oxygen toxicity must be due to other factors.
Modeling and Design of a BioSuit Donning System

Mechanical counterpressure (MCP) spacesuits use form-fitting elastic garments to produce pressure against the skin. MCP suits offer significant mobility, energy expenditure, and safety advantages over stiff, immobile, and bulky gas-pressurized suits currently used for extravehicular activity. However, one of the major challenges associated with MCP suits is the difficulty of putting the suit on and taking it off, or donning and doffing. This research develops a network of gas-pressurized tubes integrated to the outside of an elastic glove to aid in donning. When pressurized, the tubes expand, pulling open the MCP garment. The stretched material and enlarged opening allow the person to don the glove easily. The system was designed using a mathematical model of the expansion properties of the tubes and resistance of the glove material. A prototype consisting of an MCP glove at a fraction of the current spacesuit pressure and the gas-pressurized tubing system was developed to achieve a proof-of-concept design. The use of gas-pressurized tubing to solve the MCP donning problem has been demonstrated at fractional suit pressures and shows promise to be extrapolated to a full pressure MCP glove.
The role of neuropeptide F in a transition to parental care

The genetics of complex social behaviour can be dissected by examining the genetic influences of component pathways, which can be predicted based on expected evolutionary precursors. Here, we exami...
Morphologic evidence for the in vivo activity of transfused chronic myelogenous leukemia cells in a case of massive staphylococcal septicemia.

Morphologic and clinical evidence for the in vivo activity of white blood cell transfusions in a previously well young man with marrow depression and staphylococcal septicemia is presented. No underlying malignancy or chronic immunosuppressive therapy was present. Characteristics and problems of white blood cell transfusions are discussed with special emphasis on the site and clinical importance of tissue sequestration of the transfused cells.
Heterogeneous Catalysis: Deuterium Exchange Reactions of Hydrogen and Methane

Two gas phase deuterium/hydrogen exchange reactions are described utilizing a simple inexpensive glass catalyst tube containing 0.5% Pd on alumina through which gas mixtures can be passed and products collected for analysis. The first of these exchange reactions involves H2 + D2, which proceeds at temperatures as low as 77 K yielding a mixture that includes HD. Products are analyzed by 1H NMR spectrometry. At low temperatures, this reaction requires a catalyst, but it proceeds without a catalyst at high temperature of a gentle flame. The second deuterium/hydrogen exchange reaction involves CH4 + D2 producing a series of isotopologues, methane-dx, x = 0–4, with product analysis by GC–MS and 1H NMR spectrometry. This reaction only takes place in the presence of a catalyst at elevated temperatures due to the large energy of activation of the sp3-carbon-to-hydrogen bond. Two outcomes have been observed in the literature regarding D/H exchange and methane. Some catalysts and temperature conditions yield a sing...
Development of the ProtoEXIST2 advanced CZT detector plane

The ProtoEXIST program was conceived for the development of a highly scalable detector plane architecture utilizing pixilated CdZnTe (CZT) detectors for eventual deployment in a large scale (1–4 m2 active area) coded aperture X-ray telescope. Development is now underway for ProtoEXIST2, which ultimately will be comprised of a closely tiled 8×8 array of 19.9 mm × 19.9 mm, 5 mm thick Redlen CZT crystals, analogous to ProtoEXIST1, but will now utilize the NuASIC which accommodates the direct bonding of CZT detectors with a 32×32 pixilated anode with a 604.8 µm pixel pitch and a guard ring surrounding the perimeter of the anode pattern. Currently 6 prototype detectors have been fabricated and tested. An energy threshold of approximately 6 keV and energy resolutions of 2.5 keV FWHM at 122.0 keV and 2.1 keV at 59.6 keV have been achieved with individual detectors. The performance and energy resolution of the individual prototype detectors is discussed in detail. In addition, during preliminary testing of the prototype ProtoEXIST2 detectors reduced photopeak efficiency and pixel distortions were observed for pixels within approximately 3 mm of the CZT edge. These distortions have been largely corrected with two independent techniques: the application of an 73 mm × 73 mm extended cathode centered directly above the detector and the use of a grounded, 6mm tall, electrostatic side shield surrounding the perimeter of the detector. The effects of the side shield and extended cathode are covered in detail.
PET Imaging of Reactive Oxygen Species for Detection of Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity: Pre-clinical Feasibility Studies

394 Objectives Doxorubicin induces cardiotoxicity through the formation and elevation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can be detected in vivo by PET imaging with a recently developed novel 18F-labeled analog of dihydromethidine, named [18F]FDMT at our Center. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of quantitative ROS PET imaging in both normal and doxorubicin-treated rats and dogs using this tracer. Methods The [18F]FDMT tracer was synthesized using reaction sequence reported in the literature but modified and optimized at our Center for reliable and large scale production. Three rats were injected with [18F]FDMT and scanned for 10 min starting at 60 min post injection on the Inveon microPET/CT. The rats received either 25 mg/kg of doxorubicin (n=1) or an equal volume of saline (n=2) 5 days before imaging. Additional 3 rats were also injected with [18F]FDMT without performing PET imaging (one treated at 48 h and two treated at 24 h before imaging with 25 mg/kg of doxorubicin). Tissue well-counting for various organs was performed for all 6 rats euthanized at 2 h post injection. For the dog study, a 2-h dynamic scan was performed using a Siemens mCT PET/CT scanner. Serial arterial blood samples were drawn and HPLC analysis was performed to determine plasma metabolite characteristics. All images were reconstructed with iterative reconstruction with corrections for attenuation and scatter. Dynamic images were generated with 10s per frame for the first 5 min, and 5 min per frame afterwards. Myocardium and blood pool ROIs were defined to generate time activity curves (TAC). Both 1-tissue and 2-tissue (reversible and irreversible) compartmental models were applied to fit the TACs and estimate parameters. Results [18F]FDMT was produced with high radiochemical purity (>97%) and was stable for at least 5 h after synthesis (maintaining >97% radiochemical purity). The myocardium SUV in the treated rat was ~50% higher than that of the normal rats. The myocardium-to-blood pool activity ratio increased by ~70% in the treated rat. Tissue well-counting of all rats showed a consistent increase in myocardial uptake in the treated rats compared to the controls. In the dog study, unmetabolized parent fraction in plasma was about 50% at 1 h and 25% at 2 h post injection. A 2-tissue irreversible (2Ti) model provided superior fitting than the 1-tissue model and provided a net uptake Ki value of 0.0166 mL/min/cm3. The Patlak plot showed a clear linear trend and provided a Ki value of 0.0160 mL/min/cm3, very close to that of the 2Ti model. The linearity of the Patlak plot suggested that a shorter scan might be feasible. The quality of SUV images was very good and the parametric Ki images using voxel-by-voxel Patlak fitting showed higher image contrast than SUV images with very low noise. Conclusions [18F]FDMT is a promising PET tracer for imaging reactive oxygen species in vivo for early detection of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity.
Set-Congruent Priming Stimuli Normalize the Information Processing of Psychopathic Offenders

Psychopathic individuals display characteristic deficits in processing emotion cues, the abstract meaning of words, and peripheral inhibitory cues, that have been linked to deficits in self-regulation and antisocial behavior. One view, supported by recent research, is that psychopathic individuals have difficulty processing set-incongruent information and that their difficulty may be ameliorated using task manipulations that establish a set-relevant focus of attention. We evaluated this characterization of the psychopathic deficit using a lexical decision (i.e., word recognition) task and priming manipulation that caused target stimuli to be set-congruent or set-incongruent. As predicted, low-anxious (i.e., primary) psychopathic participants displayed a significantly greater priming effect than low anxious non-psychopathic participants. The results highlight the potential value of priming relevant cognitive sets to overcome the costly information processing deficits associated with psychopathy. Treatment efforts emphasizing a balance of attention between primary and peripheral information may prove especially effective for reducing maladaptive behavior in psychopathic individuals.
SO2 interference on separation performance of amine-containing facilitated transport membranes for CO2 capture from flue gas

Abstract Post-combustion carbon capture using membranes is a key approach to control CO2 emissions from power plants using fossil fuels. The minor contaminants, such as SO2 and O2, may influence the long-term membrane performance. With the presence of SO2 in the feed gas, SO2 could preferably react with amine carriers and hinder the permeation of CO2 in the amine-containing facilitated transport membranes. Possible amine degradation and competitive reactions would reduce membrane performance with real flue gas. With SO2 concentrations of 0.7–5 ppm, two amine-containing facilitated transport membranes were tested at 57 and 102 °C, respectively. Unstable membrane performance was observed at 102 °C for the membrane containing Lupamin® as fixed-site carrier and potassium glycinate (K-Gly) as mobile carrier in the presence of SO2. On the contrary, two membranes containing polyvinylamine (PVAm) as fixed-site carrier and amino acid salts as mobile carriers showed stable separation performance in the presence of 1–3 ppm SO2 at 57 °C. Therefore, the operating temperature plays a significant role in the membrane stabilities in the presence of SO2. In addition, the infrared (IR) spectra of the membrane components exposed to SO2 with respect to exposure time were collected. It was found that the amines reacted with SO2 to form sulfite products irreversibly at 102 °C. The spectral results were consistent with the observed membrane separation performance. The stable membrane performances of the facilitated transport membranes at 57 °C with SO2 at ppm levels indicate the applicability of the developed amine-containing membranes for use in CO2 capture from real flue gas.
Identifying and Managing Undue Influence From Family Members in End-of-Life Decisions for Patients With Advanced Cancer

Undue influence from family members of patients with advanced cancer remains a serious ethical problem in end-of-life decision making. Despite the wealth of articles discussing the problem of undue influence, little has been written by way of practical guidance to help clinicians identify and effectively manage situations of undue influence. This article briefly lays out how to identify and manage situations of undue influence sensitively and effectively. We explain how undue influence may present itself in the clinic and distinguish it from ethically permissible expressions of relational autonomy. In addition, we lay out a process by which any clinician suspecting undue influence may gather additional information and, if necessary, conduct a family meeting to address the undue influence. It is our hope that by providing clinicians at all levels of patient care with such guidance, they will feel empowered to respond to cases of undue influence when they arise.
Reduced-Order Electromagnetic Modeling for Design-Driven Simulations of Complex Integrated Electronic Systems

Robust design of state-of-the-art and future, high speed, high performance computer and communication modules, subsystems and systems is strongly dependent on the availability of a new generation of simulators which are able to model distributed electromagnetic effects and which exhibit the computation efficiency necessary for computer-aided design purposes. Except for very simple systems, such distributed electromagnetic analysis is hindered by the large number of degrees of freedom involved in the mathematical model. This suggests that the development of reduced-order modeling techniques, which allow the replacement of most of the mathematical model of the electromagnetic system with a substantially smaller model that approximates sufficiently its behavior, is of equal importance to advances in efficiency and modeling capability of electromagnetic simulators. Possible approaches to the development of such reduced-order modeling techniques are the subject of this paper. The potential and the benefits from such electromagnetic reduced-order modeling are discussed and demonstrated through several examples related to interconnect modeling in high-speed digital and high-frequency analog electronic circuits.
Color-octet J/ psi production in the Upsilon decay.

The direct production rate of $\ensuremath{\psi}$ in the $\ensuremath{\Upsilon}$ decay is shown to be dominated by the process $\ensuremath{\Upsilon}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\mathrm{gg}{g}^{*}$ followed by ${g}^{*}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\psi}$ via the color-octet mechanism proposed recently to explain the anomalous prompt charmonium production at the Fermilab Tevatron. We show that this plausibly dominant process has a branching ratio compatible with the experimental data. Further experimental study in this channel is important to test the significance of the color-octet component of the $c\overline{c}$ pair inside the $\ensuremath{\psi}$ system.
We Have Built It, But They Have Not Come: Examining the Adoption and Use of Assistive Technologies for Informal Family Caregivers

We conducted interviews with 14 informal family caregivers of elderly Alzheimer’s and dementia patients in the U.S. to understand opportunities to increase the adoption and use of assistive technologies (ATs) in the home. We identified three key themes: (1) Most of the caregivers were interested in adopting assistive technologies, but they did not know where to begin; healthcare providers gave little to no guidance. (2) Caregivers demonstrated a need for assistive technologies that enabled or enhanced remote caregiving, as many were adult children who worked full-time and had to leave their elderly parent at home, unattended during the day. (3) While caregivers rarely adopted assistive technologies designed specifically for caregiving, they often repurposed everyday technologies (e.g., home security systems, calendar applications) to aid in care. These findings provide insights for how we can better support the use of assistive technologies by informal family caregivers.
The Functional Significance of Amino Acid Polymorphisms in Class I MHC Molecules

The x-ray crystal model of the HLA-A2 molecule depicts an antigen presenting domain consisting of two α-helices under which are found eight antiparallel β-strands. Furthermore, the position, orientation, and functional contribution of many amino acid side chains has been proposed (Bjorkman 1987a,b). In general, amino acid residues that point inward/upward from the α-helices or point upward from the β-strand floor are thought to be involved with either peptide binding or T-cell receptor (TcR) interaction. Amino acid side chains that point outward from the α-helices, project downward from the β-strand floor, or are located on loops outside of the antigen recognition site (ARS) are thought to be silent with regard to TcR interaction or peptide binding (Bjorkman 1987b).
Athletic Hip Injuries in Major League Baseball Pitchers Associated With Ulnar Collateral Ligament Tears.

Background:Ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction is a reliable treatment for elite overhand throwers with UCL tears. In recent years, this procedure has become increasingly common among Ma...
Electrical and acoustic vibroscopic measurements for determining carbon nanotube fiber linear density

Abstract Lightweight materials for next-generation electrical and mechanical applications are expected to have significant impacts on aerospace and ground transportation by reducing fuel consumption. Assessing the potential of novel wiring or fibers requires accurate measurement of linear density. The linear densities of fibers are measured by determining the fiber's resonant frequency vibroscopically, which requires complex mechanical equipment for vibrating the fiber. Here, we leverage the electrical conductivity of carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers to induce vibrations by applying an alternating current (AC) to a fiber under a known tension in the presence of a permanent magnetic field, eliminating the need for mechanical actuation. The fiber vibrates at maximum amplitude when the AC frequency matches the fiber's fundamental resonant frequency, creating an audible sound and inducing measurable changes in the fiber electrical properties. Linear density can be calculated accurately from the resonant frequency or the changes in electrical properties in this simplified apparatus during a tensile test.
Efficacy of low-dose radiotherapy for refractory mycosis fungoides of the face.

Mycosis fungoides (MF) represents the most common type of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. MF is characterized by pruritic patches, plaques, and tumors that wax and wane, often with delayed diagnosis. Although the mortality rate of MF is lower than other types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, it has a significant impact on quality of life. This case describes refractory facial MF tumors that responded to low-dose radiation therapy (RT).
Inferior lumbar triangle hernia with incarceration.

Abstract Lumbar hernia is a rare condition in which intra or extraperitoneal tissue protrudes through a defect in the posterolateral region of the flank. Incarceration is uncommon but represents a surgical emergency when present. A 54-year-old-male presented to the ED after sudden onset left flank pain after coughing. He was in significant distress secondary to pain and vomiting, and his physical exam revealed a tender mass in his left lateral lumbar region near the site of a previous stab wound. Bedside ultrasound revealed a fluid-filled structure, and CT scan demonstrated herniation of small bowel though the inferior lumbar triangle with associated small bowel obstruction. The patient underwent emergent surgical reduction with mesh repair and recovered uneventfully. Incarcerated lumbar hernia represents a rare diagnosis that may not be at the forefront of most practitioners' differential diagnoses. CT scan is useful to distinguish hernia from solid mass, abscess, or other pathology, while bedside ultrasound may prompt an attempt at immediate reduction. The presence of incarcerated bowel or obstruction warrants immediate surgical consultation.
Contribution of bioaerosols to airborne particulate matter.

Fine and coarse particulate matter (PM), as measured, for example, in regulatory air pollution monitoring networks, contains biological entities such as fungal spores, pollen, animal dander, leaf w...
Development of set yoghurt adding three different edible oils

Edible oils constitute valuable natural antioxidants as the bio active compounds and therefore yoghurt can be enriched by fortification with edible oils. Therefore, the aim of this present study was to investigate the nutritional and physical properties and shelf life of yoghurts incorporated with edible oils namely, sunflower oil, and olive oil and sesame oil, at the rate of concentration 1.5% (w/w). Yoghurt samples analyzed for physico-chemical and sensory properties during refrigerated storage at 4oC and sensory characteristics analyzed, at day 1, week 1, week 2, week 3 and week 4 of storage. Ash, dry matter, fat, pH, titratable acidity and mineral contents were significantly difference (p<0.05) among the treatments at day one. The results of this study revealed that, the ash (0.85±0.05%) and dry matter (26.28±1.55%) content were significantly (p<0.05) higher in yoghurt incorporated with of olive oil. Fat content was significantly (p<0.05) higher in yoghurt incorporated with of sesame oil, (8.70±0.17%). pH was significantly higher in yoghurt incorporated with olive oil (4.97±0.02%). Sesame oil added yoghurt showed the highest antioxidant activity (0.311) and least value (0.166) showed in without oil added yoghurt at 593 nm absorbance. Syneresis of yoghurt was significantly (p<0.05) higher in yoghurt with olive oil after 1 hour of syneresis. During storage, the ash and dry matter content and fat content was significantly (p<0.05) increased. pH was significantly (p<0.05) decreased and titratable acidity increased with the storage period. Finally, 1.5% of sunflower oil added yoghurt had the highest mean score of overall quality of all sensory properties among sensory panelists.