cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Performance assessments of Android-powered military applications operating on tactical handheld devices

Transformative Apps (TransApps) is a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) funded program whose goal is to develop a range of militarily-relevant software applications (“apps”) to enhance the operational-effectiveness of military personnel on (and off) the battlefield. TransApps is also developing a military apps marketplace to facilitate rapid development and dissemination of applications to address user needs by connecting engaged communities of endusers with development groups. The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) role in the TransApps program is to design and implement evaluation procedures to assess the performance of: 1) the various software applications, 2) software-hardware interactions, and 3) the supporting online application marketplace. Specifically, NIST is responsible for evaluating 50+ tactically-relevant applications operating on numerous Android™-powered platforms. NIST efforts include functional regression testing and quantitative performance testing. This paper discusses the evaluation methodologies employed to assess the performance of three key program elements: 1) handheld-based applications and their integration with various hardware platforms, 2) client-based applications and 3) network technologies operating on both the handheld and client systems along with their integration into the application marketplace. Handheld-based applications are assessed using a combination of utility and usability-based checklists and quantitative performance tests. Client-based applications are assessed to replicate current overseas disconnected (i.e. no network connectivity between handhelds) operations and to assess connected operations envisioned for later use. Finally, networked applications are assessed on handhelds to establish baselines of performance for when connectivity will be common usage.
Synchrony indices based on computer-corrected algal cell data

Abstract Described is a method that utilizes the decision-making capability of a digital computer to detect and correct probable errors in algal cell counts used for synchrony index computations. The computer uses appropriate criteria to identify and alter points on a log cell number versus time plot incongruous with neighboring points. Repeated simulations have been employed to test the effectiveness of the method in eliminating the positive bias in index values computed from imprecise counts. The effectiveness of the method has been found to vary inversely with the degree of synchrony in an algal culture—the less the synchrony, the more the remaining bias.
Glucose Metabolic Trapping in Mouse Arteries: Nonradioactive Assay of Atherosclerotic Plaque Inflammation Applicable to Drug Discovery

Background 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of atherosclerosis in the clinic is based on preferential accumulation of radioactive glucose analog in atherosclerotic plaques. FDG-PET is challenging in mouse models due to limited resolution and high cost. We aimed to quantify accumulation of nonradioactive glucose metabolite, FDG-6-phosphate, in the mouse atherosclerotic plaques as a simple alternative to PET imaging.
A moving horizon state estimator in the control of thermostatically controlled loads for demand response

The quality and effectiveness of the load following services provided by centralized control of thermostatically controlled loads depend highly on the communication requirements and the underlying cyberinfrastructure characteristics. Specifically, ensuring end-user comfort while providing real-time demand response services depends on the availability of the information provided from the thermostatically controlled loads to the main controller regarding their operating statuses and internal temperatures. State estimation techniques can be used to infer the necessary information from the aggregate power consumption of these loads, replacing the need for an upstream communication platform carrying information from appliances to the main controller in real-time. In this paper, we introduce a moving horizon mean squared error state estimator with constraints as an alternative to a Kalman filter approach, which assumes a linear model without constraints. The results show that some improvement is possible for scenarios when loads are expected to be toggled frequently.
Surgical management of left colon obstruction: the University of Minnesota experience.

Abstract Background: Management of left-sided colonic obstruction is a surgical challenge. This study was performed to review our management of patients with left colon obstruction presenting to the University of Minnesota Hospitals over a 10-year period, 1985 to 1994. Study Design: We did a retrospective chart review of 143 patients (48 male and 95 female; mean age 70 years). Results: Sites of obstruction were rectosigmoid, 40%; sigmoid colon, 47%; descending colon, 5%; and splenic flexure, 8%. Fifty-two percent of patients had obstructing colorectal cancer. Two patients presented with generalized peritonitis secondary to colonic perforation. The majority (n = 121, 85%) of patients underwent resection (subtotal in 39 [32%], and segmental in 82 [68%]) and anastomosis in a single stage after appropriate resuscitation. Intraoperative colonic cleansing was undertaken in 40 patients (28%). Morbidity within 30 days of operation was 11%, including 1 anastomotic leak, and mortality was 3%. The 4 deaths occurred in patients over 75 years of age and were not from anastomotic complications. Conclusions: A single stage resection and an anastomosis facilitated by intraoperative colonic cleansing in one-third of cases was performed in 85% of patients presenting with left colon obstruction. One anastomotic leak occurred. Our current policy of strongly favoring a single stage, definitive operation for patients presenting with left colon obstruction appears reasonable on the basis of this retrospective review of our experience.
Ontogeny and induction of hepatic isometallothioneins in immature rats.

Abstract It is well established that hepatic concentrations of metallothioneins (MTs) are very high in developing rats. In this study, the ontogeny of hepatic isometallothioneins (MT-I and MT-II) was determined. MTs were separated and quantitated with a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. MT-I and MT-II, first detected in fetal liver on gestation Day 18, increased coordinately during late gestation and reached maximum hepatic concentrations of approximately 400 and 500 μg/g, respectively, which were maintained from postpartum Days 1 through 7. Thereafter, MT concentrations decreased, reaching concentrations similar to adult levels (approximately 10 μg/g liver) between 28 and 35 days of age. MT-II was significantly higher than MT-I in 14- and 21-day-old rats. In 35-day-old rats, MT-I was below the detection limit. MT-I and MT-II mRNA levels were quantitated by Northern blot hybridization with mouse cRNA probes. In contrast to protein concentrations, MT mRNA reached maximal levels during late gestation which were maintained throughout the first 3 weeks postpartum. Additional experiments indicated that Cd (1–30 μmol/kg), Zn (100–3000 μmol/kg), and dexamethasone (0.3–10 μmol/kg) increased hepatic concentrations of MT-I and MT-II and their respective mRNAs in 14-day-old rats, despite the preexisting high levels of protein and mRNA at this time. These results indicate that hepatic concentrations of MT-I and MT-II isoproteins and mRNA, which increase coordinately during fetal development, decline differently during neonatal development. In 14-day-old neonates, MT-I and MT-II genes are responsive to Cd, Zn, and dexamethasone when constitutive levels of both MT mRNA and isoproteins are high.
The electrical conductivity and Hall effect of glassy carbon

Abstract The electrical conductivity and Hall effect of glassy carbon heat treated for three hours between 1200 and 2700°C was measured at temperatures from 3 to 300 K in magnetic fields up to 5 tesla. The electrical conductivity, of the order of 200 (ohm cm)−1 at room temperature, can be empirically written σ = A + B exp (−CT − 1 4 )-DT − 1 2 , where the first term is a strongly scattering metallic component, the second term is attributed to variable range hopping, and the third and new term is negative correction to the metallic conductivity associated with one-dimensionality. All of the constants A, B and C were insensitive to heat-treatment temperature; the constant D decreased with increasing temperature until it disappeared at about 2200°C. The Hall coefficient was independent of magnetic field, insensitive to temperature, but was a strong function of heat-treatment temperature, crossing over from negative to positive at about 1700°C and ranging from −0.048 to 0.126 cm3/coul. The idea of one-dimensional filaments in glassy carbon suggested by the electrical conductivity is compatible with the present consensus view of the microstructure constructed through such means as lattice imaging in transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction and small angle scattering.
Charter laws: Disaster, detour, irrelevant, or reform tool?

Charter laws have been the reform debate's path of least resistance. But the combination of regulatory barriers, open admissions, lack of consumer sovereignty, preferential funding of traditional public schools, and political control of prices means that charter laws may be irrelevant as reform catalysts, or worse. Even the strongest charter laws may offer a tempting, but ultimately unproductive, avenue of system change. Some critics argue that a charter option will expand the public sector, but not improve it much, and decimate the tiny, frail private sector. This article examines what charter laws have in commonconcerns about strongcharter laws.
Sex determination and differentiation.

This review elucidates the molecular mechanisms of sex determination and sex differentiation with examples from embryology, animal models, and clinical syndromes. Sex reversal, defective masculinization, pseudohermaphroditism, and syndromes involving the gonads and other organs are some of the clinical problems discussed.
Field desorption mass spectrometry of ten medicinal carbamates

The field desorption mass spectra of ten medicinal carbamates—meprobamate, mebutamate, carisoprodol, emylcamate, bethanechol chloride, styramate, hydroxyphenamate, mephenesin carbamate, methocarbamol and chlorphenesin carbamate—were run and compared with their published electron impact spectra. Of the ten compounds run only emylcamate did not give a field desorption mass spectrum. All others gave abundant molecular ions, with the exception of bethanechol chloride which has a quarternary ammonium group and gave a field desorption spectrum characteristic of compounds possessing such a functional group. No general characteristic fragmentation was attributed to the carbamate function in the field desorption mode. However, the ease of obtaining abundant molecular ions or quasimolecular ions makes the field desorption method a valuable complementary technique to electron impact studies of carbamates.
Electric field spectrum of pyridazine

Abstract An electric field induced spectrum has been obtained in the region of the 000 band of pyridazine near 3752 A. Since all intensity in this single-peaked spectrum is negative we interpret this to indicate field induced mixing with a very dense set of states.
Xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group C single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the nucleotide excision repair pathway correlate with prolonged progression-free survival in advanced ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND: The nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway is the principal DNA repair pathway for removing bulky platinum DNA adducts. Suboptimal DNA repair may lead to improved response to platinum agents. The objective of this study was to determine whether single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in NER pathway genes could be markers of platinum response in ovarian cancer. METHODS: The authors identified patients with advanced-stage, papillary serous ovarian cancer who underwent primary cytoreductive surgery followed by platinum-based chemotherapy. DNA was isolated from peripheral blood specimens. Twenty-two SNPs within NER genes (xeroderma pigmentosum [XP] complementation group A [XPA], XPB/excision repair cross-complementing rodent repair deficiency, complementation group 3 [ERCC3], XPC, XPD/ERCC2, XPF/ERCC4, XPG/ERCC5, Cockayne syndrome group B protein [CSB]/ERCC8, ERCC1) were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction analysis. RESULTS: In total, 139 patients with stage III and IV papillary serous ovarian cancer were genotyped. The XPC (reference SNP 3731108 [rs3731108]) adenosine-guanine (AG)/AA genotype versus the GG genotype was associated with prolonged a progression-free survival (PFS) of 21.3 months versus 13.4 months (hazard ratio [HR], 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.42-0.95; P = .03). The XPC (rs1124303) guanosine-thymidine (GT)/GG genotype versus the TT genotype was associated with a prolonged PFS of 22.8 months versus 14.9 months (HR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.24-0.94; P = .03). The XPC poly(AT) (PAT) (−/+)/(−/−) genotype versus the (+/+) genotype was associated with a prolonged PFS of 17 months versus 11.6 months (HR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.36-0.89; P = .01). The XPF/ERCC4 (rs12926685) cytidine-thymidine (CT)/CC genotype versus the TT genotype was associated with a prolonged PFS of 16.7 months versus 12.4 months (HR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.41-0.95; P = .03). On multivariate analysis adjusting for breast cancer (BRCA) gene and cytoreductive surgery status, the XPC SNPs remained significantly associated with prolonged PFS. CONCLUSIONS: The current results indicated that XPC is a key component of the NER pathway that participates in DNA damage repair. SNPs in the XPC gene may represent novel markers of ovarian cancer response to platinum-based chemotherapy. Cancer 2012;. © 2011 American Cancer Society.
Modeling liquid porosimetry in modeled and imaged 3-D fibrous microstructures

In this paper, an analysis to distinguish the geometric and porosimetric pore size distributions of a fibrous material is presented. The work is based on simulating the intrusion of nonwetting fluid in a series of 3-D fibrous microstructures obtained from 3-D image reconstruction or virtual geometries mathematically generated according to the properties of the media. We start our study by computing the pore size distribution of two typical hydroentangled nonwoven materials and present a theoretical model for their geometric pore size distributions based on Poisson line network model of the fibrous media. It is shown that the probability density function of the geometric pore size distribution can be approximated by a two-parametric Gamma distribution. We also study connectivity of the pore space in fibrous media by computing and comparing the accessible and allowed pore volumes in the form access function graphs. It is shown that the so-called ink-bottle effect can significantly influence the fluid intrusion in a porous material. The pore space connectivity of a homogeneous fibrous media is observed to be a function of thickness, solid volume fraction (SVF), and fiber diameter. It is shown that increasing the materials' thickness or SVF, while other properties are kept constant, reduces the pore space connectivity. On the other hand, increasing the fiber diameter enhances the connectivity of the pores if all other parameters are fixed. Moreover, modeling layered fibrous microstructures; it is shown that the access function graphs can be used to detect the location of the bottle neck pores in a layered/composite porous material.
Effects of flush-mounted probe bias on local turbulent fluctuations

Recent measurements on Alcator C-Mod explore the reliability of fluctuation measurements made with surface-mounted probe triplets in the divertor region. The normal configuration of each triplet consists of one angled probe operating as a swept tip and two nearby flush tips measuring floating potential fluctuations. In this mode, changes in the floating potential fluctuation levels and spectra have been observed which correlate to the level of current collected by the swept tip. The disturbance amplitude falls off with distance from the source probe, as well as with increasing electron density. The observed fluctuation changes are likely related to the low frequency plasma potential changes induced by the neighboring probe bias. An understanding of these observations is essential to interpretation of fluctuation measurements in any high-density divertor region.
Factors influencing the island-mass effect of the Galápagos Archipelago

[1] Enhanced phytoplankton biomass in the wake of the Galapagos Islands is thought to result from an island-mass effect (IME) fueled by upwelling of the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC) and by natural iron enrichment from the island platform. Annual means of five variables describing the thermocline, the pycnocline, and the availability of nitrate at the surface were derived from the World Ocean Atlas 1998 (WOA98). The first principal component of these variables explained 55.8% of the variance, corroborating that the Galapagos IME is associated with features of the EUC, mainly a shallow thermocline/pycnocline and its vertical spreading in the vicinity of the Galapagos. Regression analysis of SeaWiFS-derived chlorophyll-a (chl) on the WOA98 variables indicated that the depth of the thermocline and nitrate availability explain 91.9% of the chl variance. A secondary IME of enhanced chl levels associated with the wind-sheltered area north of Isabela Island was evident in the residual variability.
Coming of Age: How Adolescent Boys Construct Masculinities via Substance Use, Juvenile Delinquency, and Recreation

This research aims to uncover aspects of adolescent masculine development among adult substance abusers. In-depth interviews and the resulting narrative provide the data for this exploratory analysis. Three main areas of adolescent masculinities are discussed: substance abuse, juvenile delinquency, and recreation. The findings are interpreted in light of Connell's conceptualization of hegemonic masculinities. Based on this sample, masculinities are constructed via a menu of adolescent behaviors that are descriptive of a working class lifestyle. It is the cultural context that sets the stage for substance abuse and its meaning to identity formation in adolescence, as well as in adulthood. Substance abuse in adolescence, along with other forms of juvenile delinquency and recreation, is a means of achieving masculinity. Unfortunately, for these men the use of substance abuse to achieve masculinity in adolescence becomes problematic later in adulthood. This article concludes that to successfully recover from substance abuse and addiction, these men must revisit and reframe their adolescent constructions of masculinity to better fit the problems and challenges they face as adults.
Rhodium complexes of two bidentate secondary amine oxime ligands and application to the labelling of proteins

The syntheses of a new, bifunctional ligand, 3-[N-(4-aminobenzyl)]amino-3- methyl-2-butanone oxime, ligand I , and a non-bifunctional analogue 3-benzylamino-3- methyl-2-butanone oxime, ligand II , the former for labelling proteins with 105 Rh complexes for internal radiotherapy applications are reported. The rhodium complex of ligand II was isolated and characterized by 1 H NMR, IR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. The crystal structure consists of discrete mononuclear, neutral and slightly distorted octahedral molecules. The octahedron around rhodium consists of two trans -chlorine atoms and four nitrogen atoms from the two bidentate amine oxime ligands. The complex formed in situ with the bifunctional ligand I gives up to 95% yield with 105 Rh in pH 9 bicarbonate buffer. This complex was converted to the isothiocyanate derivative with thiophosgene and extracted into CHCl 3 (91%). Conjugation yields of greater than 90% could be obtained with human γ-globulin. The protein conjugation method described is suitable for the preparation of 105 Rh labelled antibodies with specific activities of 1.6–9.3 mCi mg −1 .
A Model of Disease-Specific Worry in Heritable Disease: The Influence of Family History, Perceived Risk and Worry About Other Illnesses

Disease-related worry is associated with family history and perceived risk of that disease; however, the influences of general risk perceptions and tendencies to worry about diseases have been neglected in the literature. This study investigates a model of disease-specific worry which includes family history, disease-specific perceived risk, and perceived risk for and worry about other diseases. Participants completed a survey assessing these variables in relation to several heritable diseases. Structural equation modeling found that family history predicted disease-specific perceived risk but not perceived risk for other diseases. Disease-specific perceived risk predicted disease-specific worry and worry about other diseases. Perceived risk for other diseases predicted worry about other diseases and disease-specific perceived risk but not disease-specific worry. Disease-specific worry predicted worry about other diseases. This model was supported across several diseases and indicates that disease-specific and general considerations of risk influence worry about a disease and should be considered in interventions.
How Anticommons Resources Emerge through Territorial Conflict in Organizations

In organizations, conflict often occurs over commons resources because they are shared and often critical for influence, performance, and survival. Research in property rights, territoriality, and social dilemma literatures maintain that, to reduce such conflict, organizations should facilitate the (psychological) privatization of commons resources. The current paper draws from the law and social psychology literatures to model how privatizing a commons resource can lead to the emergence of anticommons resources in organizations.
PDZ Domain Suppression of an ER Retention Signal in NMDA Receptor NR1 Splice Variants

The NMDA receptor NR1 subunit has four splice variants that differ in their C-terminal, cytoplasmic domain. We investigated the contribution of the C-terminal cassettes, C0, C1, C2, and C2', to trafficking of NR1 in heterologous cells and neurons. We identified an ER retention signal (RRR) in the C1 cassette of NR1, which is similar to the RXR motif in ATP-sensitive K(+) channels (Zerangue et al., 1999). We found that surface expression of NR1-3, which contains C1, is due to a site on the C2' cassette, which includes the terminal 4 amino acid PDZ-interacting domain. This site suppresses ER retention of the C1 cassette and leads to surface expression. These findings suggest a role for PDZ proteins in facilitating the transition of receptors from an intracellular pool to the surface of the neuron.
Role of EDRF in the Regulation of Shear Rate in Large Coronary Arteries in Conscious Dogs

To determine whether dilation of large coronary arteries normalizes shear during increased flow following brief occlusion, six dogs were instrumented to measure aortic and left ventricular pressures, left circumflex coronary artery external diameter, and coronary blood flow. The coronary artery was occluded for 15 or 30 s. Data were obtained before and after blockade of EDRF synthesis with nitro-L-arginine. Internal coronary artery diameter and wall shear were calculated on a moment-to-moment basis and the area under the flow curve was measured. Peak flow and shear rate were unaffected by NLA or by the occlusion duration. Flow curve area increased with the duration of occlusion. Internal and external diameters increased significantly for 15 s occlusions before NLA (by 4 +/- 1% in external diameter and by 11 +/- 4% in internal diameter) and for 30 s occlusions before NLA (by 5 +/- 1% in external diameter and by 14 +/- 5% in internal diameter) but not after NLA. Adenosine infusions of 0.05, 0.10, 0.50, and 1.0 mumol/kg/min were also used to dilate the coronary arteries. With each infusion, flow, shear and diameter were allowed to reach steady state. Steady state shear was reduced only slightly and did not approach the baseline state. We conclude that increased shear rate causes an increase in coronary artery diameter which is EDRF dependent. Increased coronary artery diameter during reactive hyperemia and adenosine infusions did not normalize wall shear.
Production efficiency in sunflower: The role of water and nitrogen stress

Abstract We monitores the impact of water stress, nitrogen stress, and the combination of both on the fractional interception of photosynthetically active radiation (fPAR) and growth per unit of intercepted radiation in sunflower canopies over a growing season. The efficiency with which intercepted radiation was converted into biomass (e) was reduced by approximately 35% in the nitrogen-limited canopy and approximately 30% in the water-limited canopy. the relative effect of the stress treatments on e was sensitive to assumptions concerning solar geometry. The impact of stress on fPAR depended more on whether the canopy was nitrogen-and/or water-limited. In the second half of the season, nitrogen stress reduced fPAR by about 70%. Reduction in leaf area index, 45% and 85% for the nitrogen-stressed and water-stressed canopies, respectively, appeared to be a major factor in the fPAR reductions. In the water-stressed canopy, wilting also contributed to the reduced fPAR. Neither of the stress treatments affected the strong correlationbetween fPAR and simple ratio (SR) or the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). We used three approaches to calculate fPAR, with two based on a single sun position and one based on the sun position updated at hourly intervals. In general, e was notably higher in the calculations with higher solar elevation angles.
Prophylactic anticonvulsants for prevention of immediate and early postcraniotomy seizures.

Abstract Phenytoin (15 mg/kg) was administered intravenously to 189 patients shortly before their intracranial, supratentorial surgery was completed. Intravenous phenytoin of 5–6 mg/kg/day in three divided doses was administered daily for the first 3 postoperative days. Therapeutic serum levels (10–20 μg/mL) were achieved in 113 (59.8%) patients. An equally constituted, randomized control group of 185 patients received a placebo under identical conditions. The group receiving phenytoin had only one immediate and two early postoperative seizures. The 185 controls had four immediate and nine early postoperative seizures. None of the follow-up computed tomography scans of the patients with seizures showed postoperative hematoma. One patient had a significant tension pneumocranium, a possible cause of postoperative seizures. To avoid a decrease in the serum anticonvulsant level due to intraoperative blood loss, it is suggested that for patients who need an urgent or emergent craniotomy, prophylatic anticonvulsant medication should be given at least 20 minutes before completion of wound closure.
Transforming clinical practice guidelines into legislative mandates: proceed with abundant caution.

CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINES (CPGS) ARE AN INTEgralpartofmedicalpracticeandanimportantqualityof-care indicator. Because CPGs offer the promise of more consistent and effective health care, policy makers should promote their development and use. Except in rare instances,however, support shouldnotbe transformed into legislativemandates, aswas recentlyconsidered inTexas. In July 2006, an independent group of cardiologists published the Screening for Heart Attack Prevention and Education (SHAPE) Task Force Report. The group recommended screening of all asymptomatic men aged 45 to 75 years and women aged 55 to 75 years (except those defined as very low risk) for subclinical atherosclerosis. Based on this controversial proposal, Texas Rep Rene Oliveira introduced legislation on February 14, 2007, to mandate that health insurers in Texas provide reimbursement for screening to detect asymptomatic atherosclerosis. Although the legislation was not enacted, it reportedly will be reintroduced in 2008 (J.J. Garza, Chief of Staff to Rep Oliveira, written communication, December 10, 2007). Regardless of whether this particular mandate is enacted, physicians and patients have reason to be concerned about its implications. The legislation is bad public policy—for physicians, patients, and evidence-based medicine—and should be opposed. Since the conditions motivating similar legislation remain in place, it seems highly likely that the Texas legislation will not be an isolated event. The conditions include increasing entrepreneurial activity among physician specialty groups; using legislation to pursue narrow clinical and financial objectives; fast-moving technological advances in areas such as cardiology; the proliferation and fragmentation in guidelines development; and increasing pressure on legislators to mandate access to new technologies. Closer examination of the SHAPE guidelines demonstrates why this episode is likely to be replicated. Developing diagnostic tools to identify the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), the leading cause of mortality for US men and women, is a major clinical and public health objective. If disease is detected early, clinical or behavioral interventions may reduce harm or extend life. Indeed, more aggressive CHD screening strategies could motivate patients to change their behavior. Yet the evidence from early screening is mixed. For example, while colon cancer screening has been highly successful at reducing mortality, evidence is not convincing that screening reduces mortality from prostate cancer. Screening also yields false-positive results, leading to unnecessary procedures thatcancauseharm. Especiallywherethe linkbetween screening and better outcomes is uncertain, as with CHD, the costs of population-based screening can be substantial.
The 80-hour workweek restriction: How are OB/GYN resident procedure numbers affected?

Objective. To evaluate the surgical caseload in a military obstetrics and gynecology residency program, prior to and after implementation of an 80-hour workweek.Methods. A retrospective cohort study evaluating data submitted to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for cumulative resident procedures in obstetrics and gynecology for the years before (July 2001–June 2002) and after (July 2002–June 2003) 80-hour workweek implementation. Total obstetric and gynecology procedures were examined using both the Student's paired t-test and a two-way mixed factor analysis of variance.Results. Between July 2001 and June 2002 there were 822 gynecological cases and 3958 deliveries done by 17 OB/GYN residents; these were compared with 827 cases and 3504 deliveries done by 18 OB/GYN residents between July 2002 and June 2003 (p = 0.189). The total numbers of obstetric and gynecology cases pre- and post-80-hour workweek intervention were similar when evaluated by month (July through June of 2001...
Comparison of hospital performance in nonemergency versus emergency colorectal operations at 142 hospitals.

Background Quality improvement efforts have demonstrated considerable hospital-to-hospital variation in surgical outcomes. However, information about the quality of emergency surgical care is lacking. The objective of this study was to assess whether hospitals have comparable outcomes for emergency and nonemergency operations. Study Design Patients undergoing colorectal resections were identified from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) 2005 to 2007 dataset. Logistic regression models for 30-day morbidity and mortality after emergency and nonemergency colorectal resections were constructed. Hospital risk-adjusted outcomes as measured by observed to expected (O/E) ratios, outlier status, and rank-order differences were compared. Results Of 25,710 nonemergency colorectal resections performed at 142 ACS NSQIP hospitals, 6,138 (23.9%) patients experienced at least 1 complication, and 492 (1.9%) patients died. There were 5,083 emergency colorectal resections; 2,442 (48%) patients experienced at least 1 complication, and 780 (15.3%) patients died. Outcomes for nonemergency versus emergency operations were weakly correlated for morbidity and mortality (Pearson correlation coefficient: 0.28 versus 0.13). Median differences in hospital rankings based on O/E ratios between nonemergency and emergency performance were 30.5 ranks (interquartile range [IQR] 13 to 59) for morbidity and 34 ranks (interquartile ratio 17 to 61) for mortality. Conclusions Hospitals with favorable outcomes after nonemergency colorectal resections do not necessarily have similar outcomes for emergency operations. Hospitals should specifically examine their performance on emergency surgical procedures to identify quality improvement opportunities and focus quality improvement efforts appropriately.
Rickettsial infections: Indian perspective.

Context Underdiagnosed and misdiagnosed rickettsial infections are important public health problems. They also lead to extensive investigations in children with fever of undetermined origin contributing to financial burden on families. The present review addresses the epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis and management issues of these infections, primarily for a practicing clinician.
A Descriptive Study of Psychiatric Consultations in a Community Primary Care Center.

Background: This retrospective chart review study describes on-site psychiatric consultations at a large, urban community primary care center. The referral population, diagnostic reliability of primary care providers (PCPs) and social workers, appropriateness of PCP-initiated treatment, impact of treatment recommendations, and outcomes are examined. Method: Charts of all patients who received psychiatric consultations (N = 78) during an 8-month period (August 1996 to April 1997) were reviewed. Results: Prereferral diagnoses by PCPs matched the psychiatrist's diagnosis based on DSM-IV diagnostic criteria approximately half the time. PCPs initiated psychopharmacology in half the referrals (39/78) and used generally appropriate medications (30/39) based on diagnosis by a psychiatrist, but at subtherapeutic doses (21/39). PCPs tended to continue medications recommended by the psychiatrist. At 1 year, PCPs clearly documented improvement in nearly a third of the consults (24/78). Conclusion: Diagnostic disagreement of caregivers, inadequate PCP psychopharmacology practices, and patient nonadherence are 3 main problems that impede optimal care within the model of psychiatric consultation described in this study.
Helping survivors of sexual abuse through labor.

The experience of labor can evoke memories of early trauma. Learning to listen to survivors is a first step toward creating a safe environment.
Recent developments in the pathogenesis of allergic contact dermatitis.

• Allergic contact dermatitis is both an important clinical problem and a model system for lymphocyte-mediated pathologic changes. Elicitation of allergic contact dermatitis requires interaction of antigen with epidermal Langerhans cells, followed by migration of the Langerhans cells to the lymph nodes to present antigen to T lymphocytes. These activated T lymphocytes must then home to the antigen-exposed skin. Adhesion molecules such as LFA-1 and ICAM-1 have a role in this homing. Only a small proportion of the T lymphocytes in the skin lesion are specific for the inducing antigen. Studies of poison ivy (urushiol dermatitis) have determined this fraction to be less than one per 100 infiltrating lymphocytes. By a variety of amplification mechanisms, it is possible for this small number of antigen-specific T lymphocytes to induce the pathologic changes of allergic contact dermatitis. Improved understanding of this condition should result in increased knowledge of the pathogenesis of a variety of T lymphocyte—mediated skin conditions. ( Arch Dermatol. 1991;127:1558-1563)
Modafinil Reduces Fatigue in Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease Type 1A: A Case Series:

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, the most common hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy, is a slowly progressive disorder characterized by diffuse muscle weakness and prominent distal atrophy that predominantly involves the intrinsic muscles of the feet and the peroneal muscles. It results in marked reduction in functional aerobic capacity during exercise and fatigue is commonly reported. To date, no pharmacologic treatment has been shown to be effective for treating fatigue in Charcot-Marie-Tooth. Modafinil is used to treat the symptoms of fatigue and excessive daytime sleepiness in narcolepsy. However, fatigue and subsequent excessive daytime sleepiness secondary to fatigue are common symptoms in many neurologic disorders. Prior reports on patients with myotonic muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, have shown beneficial effects of modafinil in treating fatigue. We report 4 patients with genetically confirmed Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease who had significant fatigue that was almost completely relieved by modafinil.
3D and 2D silicon photonic crystals for microphotonic circuits

Summary form only given. Photonic crystals might offer a unique solution for building ultradense photonic integrated circuits. Recent achievements in fabrication of silicon photonic crystals compatible with microelectronics processing will be reported.
DEVise: integrated querying and visual exploration of large datasets

DEVise is a data exploration system that allows users to easily develop, browse, and share visual presentation of large tabular datasets (possibly containing or referencing multimedia objects) from several sources. The DEVise framework is being implemented in a tool that has been already successfully applied to a variety of real applications by a number of user groups.Our emphasis is on developing an intuitive yet powerful set of querying and visualization primitives that can be easily combined to develop a rich set of visual presentations that integrate data from a wide range of application domains. While DEVise is a powerful visualization tool, its greatest strengths are the ability to interactively explore a visual presentation of the data at any level of detail (including retrieving individual data records), and the ability to seamlessly query and combine data from a variety of local and remote sources. In this paper, we present the DEVise framework, describe the current tool, and report on our experience in applying it to several real applications.
Lessons from the Tequila Crisis

Abstract This paper draws several important lessons from the Tequila Crisis of 1994 and 1995. The overriding lesson is that the dynamics of financial crises in emerging market countries differ from those in industrialized countries because institutional features of their debt markets differ. Several policy lessons for emerging market countries also emerge from the analysis: (1) pegged exchange-rate regimes are extremely dangerous, (2) strong prudential supervision of the banking system is critical for prevention of financial crises, (3) financial liberalization must be managed extremely carefully and (4) different policies are needed to promote recovery in emerging market countries than those that are applicable to industrialized countries.
Giant renal cell carcinoma directly invading the heart

1010-7940/03/$ see front matter q 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S1010-7940(03)00152-0 Fig. 1. (A) CT-scan of the abdomen. The tumor consistently modifies the features and increases the size of the right kidney causing parenchymal distortion with fluid collection (arrow). (B) An MRI of the abdomen shows a mass (M) causing intraluminal invasion of the IVC. Fig. 2. (A) Intraoperative TEE: a floating mass (M), with no myocardial invasion, is visible within the right atrium (RA). No protrusion into the right ventricle (RV) is present. (B) Surgical specimen: right atrial portion of the tumoral mass (1), a pedicle invading the IVC (2) and the enlarged right kidney containing the primary tumor (3).
Abundances in SN 1987A and Other Supernovae

Although the cosmic abundances of elements point to a supernova origin, abundance measurements in individual supernovae are difficult. Abundances of radionuclides with relatively short half-lives are the best determined, especially for SN 1987 A. These radionuclides excite emission from the surrounding heavy elements, enabling their study in the late spectra of supernovae. Shock interactions with the ambient medium provide another means of study, which will become facilitated in the next few years with the launch of new X-ray space observatories.
Endocarditis of the Pulmonic Valve Simulating Cardiac Tumor

A unique case of calcific bacterial endocarditis involving the pulmonic valve, which simulated cardiac tumor, is reported. The clinical, fluoroscopic and angiographic findings are described and correlate well with the lesions discovered at surgery. In this case, the diagnosis was originally suspected because of the calcification noted during fluoroscopy. However, the unusual auscultatory findings may prove useful in detecting other cases of a similar nature.
Interpersonal aggression in work groups: Social influence, reciprocal, and individual effects

This cross-level study of 149 employees from 25 groups demonstrates the impact of group social context on individual interpersonal aggression. Extending the work of Robinson and O'Leary-Kelly (1998...
Anomalous output conductance in N-polar GaN-based MIS-HEMTs

We propose that the anomalous output conductance in N-polar GaN MIS-HEMTs was caused by ionization of donor-like traps from a net negative polarization interface. It is a low-frequency phenomenon that changes the V T of the device with V D , while no evidence of increased output conductance or related device performance degradation was found under RF conditions. Appropriate back-barrier designs are needed to mitigate the DC-G DS in N-polar GaN MIS-HEMTs.
Shock wave pressure sensors on PEN substrate

A wearable Flexible Blast Monitor to detect, record and display the peak shock experienced by personnel exposed to high energy explosions can help in early detection of possible traumatic brain injury (TBI). Sensors fabricated on flexible substrates allow for the systems to be mounted on non planar surfaces overcoming the limitations of rigid sensors. The design detailed here uses a contact mode measurement where a movable membrane comes in contact with a stationary electrode upon activation by a pressure wave. The resistance change measured across the two electrodes indicating the state of the sensor array is used to drive an electrophoretic display element that is low power and bistable. The passive nature of the sensor design eliminates the need for an attached power supply and offers very long shelf life. The integrated display provides a visual readout of the sensor state when activated by an external power source.
'You'd stand in line to buy potato peelings': German women's memories of World War II

How do U.S. women immigrants remember their experiences of World War II? In what ways do these women choose to transmit their memories to the next generation? These are the questions explored in this study. Women immigrants have been treated as if they were insignificant actors in history and socialization (Kelson & DeLaet, 1999). Feminist scholarship challenges this portrait of women as insignificant actors, arguing against gender-biased perspectives on the immigration experience. Yet scholarly sources provide little information about the “real life problems” of women immigrants (Barber, 2005). Immigration research historically has tended toward historical and demographical data compilations, resulting in a database devoid of personal voice or lived experience (Errante, 2000; Heinemann, 1996). Researchers have largely ignored women immigrants‟ stories. Studying contemporary European immigrant women's narratives of wartime experience can provide scholars with fresh perspectives on the World War II era. This article draws from both the feminist framework and oral history research methodology to record and analyze European immigrant women‟s experiences with and memories of war and to illuminate scholars‟ understanding of women as civilians during times of war. The researcher recounts 10 European women's experiences of and memories about World War II. The study adds to the available literature by considering women‟s experiences of war, as told by women, and as passed down to successive generations.
Property-based testing of privileged programs

Addresses the problem of testing security-relevant software, especially privileged (typically, setuid root) and daemon programs in UNIX. The problem is important, since it is these programs that are the source of most UNIX security flaws. For some programs, such as the UNIX sendmail program, new security flaws are still being discovered, despite being in use for many years. For special-purpose systems with fewer users, flaws are likely to remain undiscovered for even longer. Our testing process is driven by specifications we create for the privileged programs. These specifications simultaneously define the allowed behavior far these programs and identify problematic system calls, regions where the program is vulnerable, and generic security flaws. The specifications serve three roles in our testing methodology: as criteria against which a program is sliced, as oracles against which it is tested, and as a basis for generating useful tests. Slicing is employed to significantly reduce the size of the program to be tested. We show that a slice of a privileged program (rdist) with respect to its security specifications is quite small. We introduce the Tester's Assistant, a collection of tools to mechanize the process of testing security-related C programs. >
Silicon-Based Thermo-Optically Tunable Photonic Crystal Lens

We report an extremely compact (30 ?m × 7 ?m) silicon-based 2-D thermo-optically tunable photonic crystal (PhC) lens operated at around telecommunication wavelength (1.55 ?m ) with transverse-magnetic-like polarization light. A honeycomb lattice array of high index silicon rods with 340 nm in thickness, 234 nm in diameter, and 338 nm in lattice constant were embedded in 3-?m-thick low index silicon dioxide. A 150-nm-thick NiCr micro-heater was placed directly on top of the PhC structure to provide localized heating to the silicon rod array. The localized heating causes refractive index change in silicon due to thermo-optic effect which results in change of the focal length of the PhC lens. The device was characterized with a tunable laser light source in the wavelength range of 1500 ~ 1580 nm. Tuning of focal length in this device was experimentally demonstrated by applying different current through the heater. Such experimental results showed good agreement with the simulation results.
Nonequilibrium MHD generator losses due to wall and insulator boundary-layer leakages

The current leakages through the channel walls, ground-loop paths, and insulator-wall boundary layers are examined, and simplified analytical models are developed for nonequilibrium Faraday MHD generators. The results indicate that high insulator wall resistance and high insulator boundary-layer resistance are considerably more important for supersonic generators employing nonequilibrium ionization than for those employing equilibrium or frozen ionization. The high electrical resistance for these current leakage paths is required to keep the attainable nonequilibrium electron density high and the electron-density relaxation length short. The analytical models should prove useful to experimentalists, both as a guide in designing MHD generator test sections and in the analysis and interpretation of experimental results. In particular, the models can be used to estimate the minimum acceptable channel dimensions, wall resistances, wall temperatures, and pre-ionizer performance required for good test results.