cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Interactions of Cd and Cu in anaerobic estuarine sediments. I. Partitioning in geochemical fractions of sediments

Partitioning of Cd and Cu between geochemical fractions of an anaerobic estuarine sediment was determined after equilibrating fine-sandy sediment with different combinations of added Cd (0, 2.5, 5 mg/kg) and Cu(0, 12.5, 25 mg/kg). Sediments were placed in aquaria with 20 ppt seawater where bioassay test organisms were exposed for 14 d. At the start and conclusion of the experimental period, sediments were sequentially extracted to determine the elemental content of the exchangeable (EP), easily reducible (ERP), organic- sulfide (OSP), moderately reducible (MRP), and acid extractable (AEP) phases. Partitioning of the metals in both the native and treated sediments was, for Cd: OSP {much_gt} ERP > AEP > EP (MRP was below detection) and for Cu: OSP {much_gt} AEP > ERP > MRP > EP. Cadmium extracted in all phases and Cu in the EP, RP, and OSP were proportional to the respective treatments. The EP-Cd, ERP-Cd, and OSP-Cd were affected by the Cu treatment and significant interactions occurred between Cd and Cu for the EP-Cd, ERP-Cd, OSP-Cd, EP-Cu, and ERP-Cu. Increasing levels of applied Cd and Cu resulted in greater amounts of EP-Cd and ERP-Cd, fractions that are the most bioavailable and the most readily available for desorption intomore » the water column. A significant conclusion is that the input of nontoxic metals may affect the geochemical phase distribution, potential bioavailability, and toxicity of native sediment metals.« less
DROUGHT IN THE UNITED STATES, 1931–40

ABSTRACT The 1930s were generally a decade of widespread drought in the United States. Details of the spatial and temporal patterns of drought conditions were identified by eigenvalue/eigenvector analysis. The most intense drought occurred in the northern Rocky Mountains, the northern Plains, and the central Plains. Other areas such as the Prairie Wedge and the Lower Great Lakes had the same general pattern, but the drought was much less intense. Some areas had moisture conditions nearly the reverse of those in the major drought region.
Requirements for scalable access control and security management architectures

Maximizing local autonomy by delegating functionality to end nodes when possible (the end-to-end design principle) has led to a scalable Internet. Scalability and the capacity for distributed control have unfortunately not extended well to resource access-control policies and mechanisms. Yet management of security is becoming an increasingly challenging problem in no small part due to scaling up of measures such as number of users, protocols, applications, network elements, topological constraints, and functionality expectations.In this article, we discuss scalability challenges for traditional access-control mechanisms at the architectural level and present a set of fundamental requirements for authorization services in large-scale networks. We show why existing mechanisms fail to meet these requirements and investigate the current design options for a scalable access-control architecture.We argue that the key design options to achieve scalability are the choice of the representation of access control policy, the distribution mechanism for policy, and the choice of the access-rights revocation scheme. Although these ideas have been considered in the past, current access-control systems in use continue to use simpler but restrictive architectural models. With this article, we hope to influence the design of future access-control systems towards more decentralized and scalable mechanisms.
Microwave clinkering of ordinary and colored portland cements

Abstract Regular and colored cement clinkers were prepared by microwave processing at 2.45 GHz. Microwave enhancement in clinker reaction was observed. The preliminary results show that microwave processing can lower the clinkering temperature by about 100 °C compared to the samples processed in a fast-heating electric furnace.
Characterization by measurement of a CDMA 1x EVDO network

Cellular networks are increasingly carrying Internet traffic for Email and Web browsers, VoIP and online games and streaming video. While there have been some studies characterizing the throughput of cellular data networks, there has been few measurement studies focusing on the latest Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO) cellular protocol, considering characteristics for throughput-sensitive, latency-sensitive and streaming applications. This paper provides a measurement-based characterization of an EVDO network, using measures of TCP throughput, round-trip times and loss rates, and bandwidth estimation in order to gauge the ability of EVDO to support the QoS requirements of a range of applications. A week's worth of active measurement data reveals throughputs satisfactory for Email and Web browsing, latencies too high for interactive applications, and consistent results for bandwidth estimations, suitable for streaming.
Trapeziectomy Arthroplasty With Suture Suspension: Short- to Medium-Term Outcomes From a Single-Surgeon Experience.

Purpose To describe the technique and a single-surgeon experience with a suture suspension and first dorsal compartment release treatment for thumb trapeziometacarpal (TMC) osteoarthritis. Methods We performed 19 procedures on 18 patients using this technique and compared results with preoperative assessment. At an average of 20 months (range, 8–45 months) after surgery, standard measures after TMC joint arthroplasty were performed. Results All patients had advanced Eaton stage III or IV osteoarthritis. Grip strength, key pinch, and thumb abduction showed statistically significant increases of 7 kg, 0.7 kg, and 4°, respectively. Seventeen of 18 patients no longer had reports of TMC joint pain on follow-up. There was one reoperation for pain because of osteophytes at the ulnar surface of the thumb metacarpal base, which resolved with proximal metacarpal excision. One case of index metacarpal fracture was treated with an orthosis. Conclusions This surgical technique for the treatment of thumb TMC joint arthritis achieved pain relief and recreated support of the base of the metacarpal to resist proximal migration or radial deviation. This technique also provided an increase in grip strength and key pinch with return of range of motion early in the postoperative period. Type of study/level of evidence Therapeutic IV.
Effect of Distributed and Centralized Grooming of Access Traffic on Ring Architectures in Tier-1 Metropolitan Optical Networks

Carrier metropolitan networks have transformed in to optical networks from asynchronous electrical networks with the standardization and proliferation of SONET deployment. While the traditional approach of homing the traffic from edge nodes to central hub nodes and performing centralized grooming of lower rate services has worked for voice and private line centric service model, carriers are migrating from centralized large WB-DXC at core hubs to distributed grooming model for low speed services due to the distributed nature of data services. Other factors driving such a migration are multi-vendor interoperability of UPSR/BLSR and maturity of third generation SONET/SDH technologies (GFP/VCAT/LCAS) for efficient transport of fast growing data service traffic. Due to the size of the deployed network assets and optimizing operations coming out of the recent economic down turn, carriers are continuously searching for a better value proposition.
Beyond blocks: syntax and semantics

How the future of general-purpose programming tools could include blocks-based structured editing, and how we should study students transitioning to text-based programming tools.
Case Report: Marked Mature Neutrophilic Leukocytosis: A Leukemoid Variant Associated with Malignancy

Abstract Two cases of extreme granulocytosis are reported, emphasizing the clinical implications and differential diagnosis. Leukemoid reactions to malignancy, not chronic neutrophilic leukemia, will comprise the majority of such cases when the granulocytic response contains largely mature cells, whereas confusion with chronic granulocytic leukemia may result when peripheral immaturity is more manifest. Distinguishing features are discussed.
Investigation and analysis of new nurse training needs basing position competency

Objective To understand unified training needs of the new nurses in hospital from all levels of nursing staff, and to provide the basis for making training program with our new nurse characteristics. Methods My courtyard 485 nurses were sampled survey through The new nurse training needs survey questionnaire of basing position competency , which was a self design. Results Through the analysis, the demand degree of the three dimension theory, skills and attitudes of the first 15, 10, 2 training content was high, and 8 kinds of training methods were more acceptable to everyone. Conclusion New nurse need standardized training, but that should be based on the status of new nurses training needs to develop feasible specification training program, in order to ensure the effectiveness of training, so that the new nurses adapt to clinical nursing post as soon as possible.
Yield estimation and statistical design of memristor cross-point memory systems

Memristor is one of the promising emerging non-volatile memory (NVM) technologies because it combines high endurance, scalability, and speed. However, process variation severely limits yields of memristor-based memories. In this paper we propose a yield-aware statistical design method for memristor cross-point memory systems under high process variations. This method jointly optimizes the performance and yield during the design procedure by choosing the optimal size of the cross-point arrays and peripheral circuits. To facilitate the proposed statistical design, we develop a novel analytical model to statistically characterize the read and write operations of memristor cross-point memory arrays, given the process variation model for each single memristive device. Then we use this model to accurately and efficiently estimate memory yield. We demonstrate the advantages of the statistical design using a yield-per-area optimization example.
Pipistrellus mimus (Pigmy pipistrelle)

The karyotypes presented here are gifts of Dr. S. Pathak, who collected the specimens in the campus of Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India.
HYDROGENASES: PHYSIOLOGY, LOCATION AND RELEVANCE FOR SULFATE REDUCING AND METHANE FORMING BACTERIA

Hydrogenases play an essential role in the process known as interspecific hydrogen transfer which occurs in many important complex fermentations such as methane formation from cellulose degradation. The best type of interaction involving molecular hydrogen transfer is obtained using sulfate reducing and methane forming bacteria. Current knowledge of the physiology of the bacteria gives some insight into the mechanism of this process. In particular, the regulation of electron flow between the reduction of sulfate and the reduction of protons can be explained at the molecular level by the existence of different electron transfer chains feeding two types of hydrogenases.
Acute Obstructive Suppuration of the Pancreatic Duct Causing Sepsis

Objective: We report a rare case of acute obstructive suppuration of the pancreatic duct causing sepsis, which was successfully treated with emergent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Methods: We describe the patient’s clinical presentation, laboratory test results, and imaging used for diagnosis and treatment. Results: A 33-year-old female with a history of recurrent acute pancreatitis was admitted during an episode of acute pancreatitis. Computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen revealed acute pancreatitis, diffuse pancreatic atrophy and pancreatic ductal dilatation with obstruction due to a soft tissue lesion within the distal duct. Shortly after admission she developed symptoms and signs of sepsis. Urgent ERCP was performed to further assess the suspected cholangitis. “Clean” bile emanated from the common bile duct, while copious purulent fluid was detected at the dilated pancreatic duct orifice, confirming suppuration of the pancreatic duct. A plastic single pigtail stent was placed traversing the ampulla and pancreatic duct stones that were causing the obstruction, which were later removed. After endoscopic decompression, the patient rapidly improved over the following 24 hours and had no subsequent admissions for pancreatitis. Conclusion: Acute suppuration of the pancreatic duct (ASPD) is a rare and potentially fatal infectious complication of pancreatic ductal obstruction with few cases reported in the English literature. It would be of interest to further investigate the exact pathophysiology leading to development of ASPD. The endoscopic methods of urgent ERCP and pancreatic duct decompression utilized in our case proved effective in successfully treating ASPD. This unusual condition should be considered in patients with acute pancreatitis who develop early clinical decompensation.
Temperature Effect Inversion-Aware Power-Performance Optimization for FinFET-Based Multicore Systems

Energy and temperature are the main constraints for modern high-performance multicore systems. To save power or increase performance, dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) is widely applied in literally all computing systems. As CMOS technology continues scaling, FinFET has recently become the common choice for multicore systems. In contrast with planar CMOS, FinFET is characterized by lower delay under higher temperatures in super-threshold voltage region, an effect called temperature effect inversion (TEI). This paper explores TEI-aware performance improvement and energy savings for multicore systems. Our experimental results show that on average 15.70% throughput improvement or 31.26% energy savings can be achieved in steady state by a TEI-aware DVFS policy over a TEI-agnostic one. By further investigation, multiple sweet spots (SSs) resulting from TEI effects are observed. Based on these SS operation regimes, this paper introduces fast algorithms which provide iso-power maximum performance or iso-performance minimum energy consumption. Experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach by exhibiting a $45.9 \times $ – $55.3 \times $ speedup when compared to state-of-the-art algorithms while losing only 0.22% or 0.68% in achieved performance or energy, respectively.
Correlating the Effects of Antimicrobial Preservatives on Conformational Stability, Aggregation Propensity, and Backbone Flexibility of an IgG1 mAb

Multidose formulations of biotherapeutics, which offer better dosage management and reduced production costs, require the addition of antimicrobial preservatives (APs). APs have been shown, however, to decrease protein stability in solution and cause protein aggregation. In this report, the effect of 4 APs, m-cresol, phenol, phenoxyethanol, and benzyl alcohol on conformational stability, aggregation propensity, and backbone flexibility of an IgG1 mAb, mAb-4, is investigated. Compared with no preservative control, each of the APs decreased the conformational stability of mAb-4 as measured by differential scanning calorimetry and extrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy. The addition of APs resulted in increased monomer loss and aggregate accumulation at 50°C over 28 days, as monitored by size-exclusion chromatography. The extent of conformational destabilization and protein aggregation of mAb-4 induced by APs followed their calculated octanol-water partition coefficients. Increases in backbone flexibility, as measured by hydrogen exchange, of a region located in the CH2 domain of the mAb (heavy chain 237-254) in the presence of APs also correlated with hydrophobicity. Based on these results, the destabilizing effect of APs on mAb-4 correlates with the increased hydrophobicity of the APs and their ability to enhance the local backbone flexibility of an aggregation hot spot within the CH2 domain of the mAb.
Repeat after me: Using mixed reality humans to influence best communication practices

In the past few years, advances have been made on how mixed reality humans (MRHs) can be used for interpersonal communication skills training for medical teams; however, little research has looked at how MRHs can influence communication skills during training. One way to influence communication skills is to leverage MRHs as models of communication behavior. We created a mixed reality medical team training exercise designed to impact communication behaviors that are critical for patient safety. We recruited anesthesia residents to go through an operating room training exercise with MRHs to assess and influence residents' closed loop communication behaviors during medication administration. We manipulated the behavior of the MRHs to determine if the MRHs could influence the residents' closed loop communication behavior. Our results showed that residents' closed loop communications behaviors were influenced by MRHs. Additionally, we found there was a statistically significant difference between groups based on which MRH behavior residents observed. Because the MRHs significantly impacted how residents communicated in simulation, this work expands the boundaries for how VR can be used and demonstrates that MRHs could be used as tools to address complex communication dynamics in a team setting.
Post-hospital Care for People Recovering from Acute Injuries in Low and Middle Income Countries: 5 Domains of Health Management

Injury is a leading cause of death and disability globally. After an acute hospitalization for an injury, a care transition model has been shown to reduce mortality and morbidity but these are uncommon in a low and middle income setting. When planning a post hospitalization care plan, many health management factors should be taken into account as they can impact outcome. This manuscript delineates a 5 Domains of Healthcare Management or ‘5 Domains’ which should be addressed in this care transition model. The literature behind each of these domains and their impact on post hospitalization outcomes along with a case study of a care transition plan for a low income country is described.
Interrupting Burn-Induced Changes in Serum Acute Response Markers via Connexin 32 Gap Junction Inhibition and Neutralization at the Liver

Severe burn injuries are associated with chronic hypermetabolism. Through its metabolic, inflammatory, immune, and acute phase functions, the liver plays a central role in the creation and maintena...
Hydrogen evolution: Not living on the edge

Transition-metal dichalcogenides are appealing catalysts for H2 generation from water. They tend to rely on scarce edge sites, rather than the more abundant basal-plane sites, to drive catalysis. Now, guided by computation, H-TaS2 and H-NbS2 are proposed as highly basal-plane-active catalysts that improve with electrochemical cycling.
Faculty and Housestaff Priorities in Psychosocial Education: Results of a Questionnaire

The authors surveyed houseofficers in internal medicine and faculty members integrally involved in the psychosocial curriculum using a previously published questionnaire. Results indicated strong agreement in priorities between the two groups (correlation coefficient—0.85). Items identifying broad conceptual skills and those related to practical application were similarly integrated. These data tend to support the concept of providing both levels of knowledge in a training program to allow more comprehensive teaching in psychosocial areas.
Retrospect and Prospect on Research and Development of Electroluminescent Panels

Electroluminescence (EL) discovered in 1936 [1] was recognized as a new physical phenomenon. However, EL remained unexplored as far as the device was concerned, due to the immature development of both peripheral materials and technologies.
Water-Nucleophilic Attack Mechanism for the CuII(pyalk)2 Water-Oxidation Catalyst

We investigate the mechanism of water oxidation catalyzed by the CuII(pyalk)2 complex, combining density functional theory with experimental measurements of turnover frequencies, UV–visible spectra, H/D kinetic isotope effects (KIEs), electrochemical analysis, and synthesis of a derivative complex. We find that only in the cis form does CuII(pyalk)2 convert water to dioxygen. In a series of alternating chemical and electrochemical steps, the catalyst is activated to form a metal oxyl radical species that undergoes a water-nucleophilic attack defining the rate-limiting step of the reaction. The experimental H/D KIE (3.4) is in agreement with the calculated value (3.7), shown to be determined by deprotonation of the substrate nucleophile upon O–O bond formation. The reported mechanistic findings are particularly valuable for rational design of complexes inspired by CuII(pyalk)2.
A Pilot Study Exploring Treatment Burden in a Skilled Nursing Population.

PURPOSE This study aimed to measure treatment burden in adults diagnosed with multiple chronic conditions transitioning from a skilled nursing facility to home. DESIGN Prospective, two-time point, cohort design utilizing convenience sampling from one skilled nursing facility in Northeast, Ohio. METHODS Seventy-four men and women participated answering self-report questions measuring treatment burden at two time points: prior to discharge and 30 days after discharge. RESULTS t-test analysis determined treatment burden was not statistically different between time points (p > .05). Multivariate analysis explained 23% of treatment burden's variance, with the severity of multiple chronic conditions and the presence of a caregiver predicting treatment burden (p < .05). CONCLUSION Findings were contrary to our hypothesis of this population being at risk for high treatment burden. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Moderate, fluctuating levels of treatment burden suggest that it is possible to estimate demands of treatment prior to discharge from the skilled nursing facility to better inform discharge planning.
Development and Preliminary Validation of a Virtual Reality–Based Measure of Response Inhibition Under Normal and Stressful Conditions

Response inhibition is a neurobehavioral construct important in understanding a range of various forms of psychopathology. Response inhibition is commonly assessed using paper-and-pencil behavioral measures and/or self-report questionnaires. Given that these assessment methods may be limited by a lack of ecological validity and retrospective recall biases, respectively, additional assessment methodologies are necessary. Virtual reality (VR) assessment may address some of the limitations of current assessment approaches in mental health. The purpose of this study was to therefore develop and preliminarily evaluate the validity of a VR-based measure of response inhibition and response inhibition under stress. Thirty-four participants completed the VR Task, as well as paper-and-pencil neurocognitive measures and self-report measures of attention and distress intolerance. Results suggest the VR Task performance converges with assessments of attention and response inhibition, and performance in the VR stressor condition is associated with perceived distress intolerance. These results, while highly preliminary, suggest that VR assessment of neurocognitive constructs relevant to mental health is feasible and a promising line of research.
Astroglial Response to Liver Failure

The brain is highly dependent on the integrity of other organs for its own function. Organ failure leads to neurological abnormalities often referred to as metabolic encephalopathies. While these encephalopathies are often reversible, permanent changes occur especially when the process has been severe or prolonged. Our laboratory has been particularly interested in the effect of liver failure on the nervous system, a condition referred to as hepatic encephalopathy (HE). It is a disorder in which astroglial changes dominate the histopathology. We have been working on the premise that this disorder may be a primary disorder of astrocytes and that the neuronal dysfunction results from a glial defect. We also believe that a better understanding of this disorder will yield insights into the function of astrocytes and into the CNS consequences of dysfunction of these cells. In this article, I will review recent progress concerning the role of astrocytes in HE especially as it deals with astroglial swelling.
Impact of Complications After Cardiac Operation on One-Year Patient-Reported Outcomes

Background Current reporting on cardiac surgical outcomes focuses on a patient's status at 30 days and lacks long-term meaningful data. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of complications after cardiac operation on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) at 1 year after surgery. Methods All patients undergoing cardiac operation at an academic institution (2014-2015) were contacted 1 year after surgery to obtain vital status, location, and PROs using the validated National Institutes of Health Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (NIH-PROMIS). Records were merged with Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) data, and multivariate linear regression evaluated the risk-adjusted effects of complications on 1-year PROs. Results A total of 782 eligible patients underwent cardiac operation, with PROs data available for 91% of patients alive at 1 year (648 of 716). Mean NIH-PROMIS scores were global physical health (GPH), 48.8 ± 10.2; global mental health (GMH), 51.3 ± 9.5; and physical functioning (PF), 45.5 ± 10.2 (reference score for general adult population, 50 ± 10). Occurrence of an STS Major Morbidity (prolonged ventilation, renal failure, reoperation, stroke, or deep sternal wound infection) significantly reduced 1-year PROs (GPH, 45.4 ± 8.9 [P Conclusions Although cardiac surgical patients have PROs scores similar to the general population, complications after cardiac operation continue to negatively influence patient quality of life 1 year after surgery. Use of NIH-PROMIS shows that prolonged ventilation and renal failure have the largest impact on 1-year patient-reported outcomes.
Effects of an open-coast oil-production outfall on patterns of giant kelp ( Macrocystis pyrifera ) recruitment

Field and laboratory experiments were used to investigate the spatial scale of benthic effects of an active nearshore produced-water (=aqueous wastes of oil and gas production) outfall on various components of recruitment in the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera. Results showed that discernible effects on all parameters measured were limited to areas very close to the outfall (<50 m). Zoospore production in sporophytes transplanted to varying distances from the diffusers did not vary in a systematic way. Survival and successful reproduction (i.e., sporophyte production) of outplanted gametophytes varied significantly among experimental dates. Performance of these parameters was significantly reduced only at the site nearest the diffusers (5 m away). Poor gametophyte survival near the outfall may have resulted from exploitative competition with Beggiatoa sp. (a fast-growing filamentous marine bacteria that exploits areas high in hydrogen sulfide, an abundant constituent of the produced-water effluent) rather than from toxicity of produced water. Laboratory assays indicated that gametophyte reproduction and subsequent sporophyte production were inhibited at levels likely to occur within the near vicinity of the diffusers. Nonetheless, field data indicate that the lack of sporophyte production near the diffusers probably resulted from factors affecting gametophyte survival.
Healthy and Sustainable Diets and Food Systems: the Key to Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2?

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are considered a unifying global goal setting agenda that every country is meant to achieve. One of those goals, SDG2, promises to ensure food security and nutrition within sustainable food systems. However, achieving that goal is riddled with uncertainty because of the way in which the world currently produces and consumes foods. The global trends of diets and the food systems that produce those diets suggest that they are neither healthy nor sustainable, which has implications for achieving SDG2. This paper characterizes the current state of global diets and food systems, the concept of “healthy and sustainable diets,” and the ethical considerations to achieving healthy and sustainable diets for sustainable development.
Research on alcohol and other drug (AOD) use among sexual minority women: a global scoping review.

Until the 1980s, the limited research on alcohol and other drug (AOD) use among sexual minority women (SMW) focused on alcohol and used samples recruited from gay bars, resulting in inflated estimates of hazardous drinking. Over the past several decades the number of AOD studies with SMW has increased dramatically. To characterize this literature, we conducted a scoping review to answer the following questions: What do we know, and what are the gaps in research about AOD use among SMW? We searched multiple electronic databases (Medline [PubMed], CINAHL, PsycInfo, and Web of Science) for peer-reviewed research articles about AOD use among adult SMW published between January 1, 2000 and May 31, 2017. After duplicates were removed the search identified 4,204 articles. We reviewed the titles and abstracts and removed articles that did not meet inclusion criteria. We used full-text review of the remaining 229 articles to make a final determination regarding inclusion and we retained 181 articles for review. Although the quantity of AOD research with SMW has grown substantially, the great majority of studies have been conducted in the United States (US) and most focus on hazardous drinking; relatively little research has focused on other drugs. In addition, although there has been marked improvement in theories and methods used in this research, many gaps and limitations remain. Examples are the lack of longitudinal research; reliance on samples that tend to over-represent white, well-educated, and relatively young women; sparse attention to mechanisms underlying the disproportionately high rates of AOD use among SMW; and the absence of intervention research. In general, more high-quality research on SMW's use of AODs is needed, but gaps and limitations are particularly large in non-western countries. Addressing these research gaps and limitations is essential for providing information that can be used to develop more effective prevention and early intervention strategies, as well as for informing policies that can help to reduce risky drinking and drug misuse among SMW.
Correction of Artifacts Induced by B 0 Inhomogeneities in Breast MRI Using Reduced-Field-of-View Echo-Planar Imaging and Enhanced Reversed Polarity Gradient Method.

Background Diffusion-weighted (DW) echo-planar imaging (EPI) is prone to geometric distortions due to B0 inhomogeneities. Both prospective and retrospective approaches have been developed to decrease and correct such distortions. Purpose The purpose of this work was to evaluate the performance of reduced-field-of-view (FOV) acquisition and retrospective distortion correction methods in decreasing distortion artifacts for breast imaging. Coverage of the axilla in reduced-FOV DW magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and residual distortion were also assessed. Study type Retrospective. Population/phantom Breast phantom and 169 women (52.4 ± 13.4 years old) undergoing clinical breast MRI. Field strength/sequence A 3.0 T/ full- and reduced-FOV DW gradient-echo EPI sequence. Assessment Performance of reversed polarity gradient (RPG) and FSL topup in correcting breast full- and reduced-FOV EPI data was evaluated using the mutual information (MI) metric between EPI and anatomical images. Two independent breast radiologists determined if coverage on both EPI data sets was adequate to evaluate axillary nodes and identified residual nipple distortion artifacts. Statistical tests Two-way repeated-measures analyses of variance and post hoc tests were used to identify differences between EPI modality and distortion correction method. Generalized linear mixed effects models were used to evaluate differences in axillary coverage and residual nipple distortion. Results In a breast phantom, residual distortions were 0.16 ± 0.07 cm and 0.22 ± 0.13 cm in reduced- and full-FOV EPI with both methods, respectively. In patients, MI significantly increased after distortion correction of full-FOV (11 ± 5% and 18 ± 9%, RPG and topup) and reduced-FOV (8 ± 4% both) EPI data. Axillary nodes were observed in 99% and 69% of the cases in full- and reduced-FOV EPI images. Residual distortion was observed in 93% and 0% of the cases in full- and reduced-FOV images. Data conclusion Minimal distortion was achieved with RPG applied to reduced-FOV EPI data. RPG improved distortions for full-FOV images but with more modest improvements and limited correction near the nipple. Evidence level 3 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 1.
Cleft Palate Repair in Robin Sequence following Mandibular Distraction Osteogenesis Compared to Tongue-Lip Adhesion.

Objective To evaluate the timing and safety of cleft palate (CP) repair in patients with Robin sequence (RS) treated with mandibular distraction osteogenesis (MDO) or tongue-lip adhesion (TLA) for airway obstruction. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Tertiary Pediatric Hospital during 2004-2020. Patients 148 patients with RS underwent MDO, 66 met inclusion by having MDO and followed by palatoplasty. 26 patients with RS underwent TLA, 14 met inclusion by having TLA and followed by palatoplasty. Main outcome measures Patient characteristics, hospital/operative details, postoperative complications, and polysomnographic (PSG) data were compared. Results Groups were well-matched except more patients with syndromes underwent MDO (N = 27, 41%, P ≤ .002). In the MDO and TLA cohorts, mean CP repair age was 12.8 ± 1.9 months and 14.6 ± 1.6 months, respectively (P ≤ .002). Despite the earlier CP repair in the MDO group, there were no differences in peri-operative complication rates after palatoplasty in either group. All sleep respiratory parameters improved after MDO/TLA prior to palatoplasty P ≤ .050. All PSG parameters remained significantly improved after palatoplasty compared to preoperative values, P ≤ .043. Obstructive apnea hypopnea index and Oxygen saturation nadir further improved after palatoplasty within the MDO group, P ≤ .050, while no changes in the TLA group, P ≥ .500. Conclusions MDO was associated with earlier age at palatoplasty than TLA with a similar perioperative risk profile. In those patients with pre- and post-palatoplasty PSG data, palatoplasty was not associated with a deterioration in PSG parameters, and in fact in the MDO group, PSG data improved.
With Culture in Mind : Psychoanalytic Stories

Dimen, Introduction. Part I: The Social Third. Sheehy, Melissa: Lost in a Fog, or "How Difficult is This MOMMY Stuff, Anyway?" Hartman, Darren and Stephen: Erotic Interludes in Political Transference. Lobban, Li-An: Wounded by War. Pugachevsky, Mariana: An MS Patient in My Office. Rozmarin, Dori: "O Thou Seer, Go, Flee Thee." Guralnik, Ede: Race, the Law, and I. Benjamin, Facing Reality Together: Discussion of "The Social Third." Part II: Interpellations. Guralnik, Raven: Travels in Reality. Hartman, Darren with Dominic: From the Social to the Psychic. Lobban, Glenys: White or Not. Rozmarin, David and Jonathan: The Hostility of Discourse. Pugachevsky, Amy: The Intersection of Body and History. Sheehy, Anonymous: Floaters. Orbach, Bringing History to Mind: Discussion of "Interpellations." Part III: Subjective Experience, Collective Narratives. Guralnik, Interpellating Grace. Hartman, Darren then Harvey: The Incest Taboo Reconsidered: The Collective Unconscious Reprised. Rozmarin, Asaf: I Am Yourself. Saketopoulou, DeShawn: Beyond the Color-blindness in Gender. Pugachevsky, Lynn, Ben, Lucy: Forbidden to Be. Lobban, Martha: Resignification Road. Samuels, Letters to the Authors: Discussion of "Subjective Experience, Collective Narratives."
Chapter 20 Regulation of brain nicotinic cholinergic recognition sites and prolactin release by nicotine

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the regulation of brain nicotinic cholinergic recognition sites and prolactin release by nicotine. Nicotinic cholinergic agonists bind with high affinity to sites that have characteristics of nicotinic cholinergic receptors in mammalian brain. The nicotinic sites that bind agonists with high affinity are widely distributed in brain, and lesion studies suggest that in some rat brain regions the sites are located on dopamine, serotonin, and acetylcholine neurons. Consistent with a location on dopamine neurons or terminals, nicotine increases dopamine turnover in vivo , and in vitro , nicotinic cholinergic agonists induce release of dopamine from striatal and nucleus accumbens tissue. This release is demonstrated in synaptosomes as well as in slices, suggesting that the effects are mediated directly at dopamine axons rather than transynaptically. Similarly, nicotinic agonist-induced release of acetylcholine has been found in mouse cerebral cortical synaptosomes as well as in slices of rat cerebral cortex and hippocampus.
Data Mining in Telecommunications

Telecommunication companies generate a tremendous amount of data. These data include call detail data, which describes the calls that traverse the telecommunication networks, network data, which describes the state of the hardware and software components in the network, and customer data, which decsribes the telecommmunication customers. This chapter describes how Data Mining can be used to uncover useful information buried within these data sets. Several Data Mining applications are described and together they demonstrate that Data Mining can be used to identify telecommunication fraud, improve marketing effectiveness, and identify network faults.
Fuzzy association rule mining and classification for the prediction of malaria in South Korea

Malaria is the world’s most prevalent vector-borne disease. Accurate prediction of malaria outbreaks may lead to public health interventions that mitigate disease morbidity and mortality.
Hypocalcemia in experimental pancreatitis occurs independently of changes in serum nonesterified fatty acid levels.

Hypocalcemia and lipid abnormalities commonly occur in acute pancreatitis. Experimentally, increased plasma concentrations of free fatty acids (NEFA) can lower the serum calcium (Ca). We hypothesized that changes in blood-ionized calcium might parallel changes in NEFA concentration in pancreatitis. This hypothesis was tested in a model of severe necrotizing pancreatitis and a model of mild edematous pancreatitis. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (300-400 g) were randomized to receive: 100 microL sodium glycodeoxycholic acid (GDOC 34 mmol/L) infused into the pancreatic duct to produce severe necrotizing pancreatitis (Group 1); 100 microL 0.9% NaCl (NS) infused into the pancreatic duct (Group 2); Sham laparotomy (Group 3); A 6 h IV infusion of cerulein (5 mucg/kg/h) to produce mild edematous pancreatitis (Group 4); and a 6 h IV infusion of NS (Group 5). A significant time dependent decrease in blood-ionized Ca concentration, compared to normal rats, was observed in both GDOC-pancreatitis (0.836 +/- .057 vs 1.069 +/- .038 mmol/L p less than 0.001) and cerulein pancreatitis (0.988 +/- .028 vs 1.069 +/- .038 p less than 0.05), which was maximal 24 h after induction of pancreatitis. The degree of hypocalcemia correlated with the severity of pancreatitis (GDOC 0.836 +/- .057 vs cerulein 0.988 +/- .028 p less than .001). Hypocalcemia was not observed in any of the control groups. All experimental and control groups had significantly increased baseline NEFA concentrations compared with normal rats (p less than 0.001); however, no further increase in NEFA concentration occurred in conjunction with the observed time-dependent decline in ionized calcium concentrations. Although the NEFA concentrations observed in these experiments were comparable to those measured in human acute pancreatitis (exclusive of hyperlipemic pancreatitis), the time course of the changes suggests that increases in serum NEFA concentrations in experimental pancreatitis are not the primary factor mediating hypocalcemia.
A Stochastic Filtering Approach To Survival Analysis

We connect some basic issues in survival analysis in biostatistics with estimation and convergence theories in stochastic filtering. Viewing censored data problems through a filtering perspective, we can derive estimators expressed using stochastic integral/differential equations. We then study statistical asymptotic using convergence theory of stochastic equations. We illustrate the effectiveness of such a program by revisiting the right censored and the doubly censored data problems.
Auxiliary Variables for Markov Random Fields with Higher Order Interactions

Markov Random Fields are widely used in many image processing applications. Recently the shortcomings of some of the simpler forms of these models have become apparent, and models based on larger neighbourhoods have been developed. When single-site updating methods are used with these models, a large number of iterations are required for convergence. The Swendsen-Wang algorithm and Partial Decoupling have been shown to give potentially enormous speed-up to computation with the simple Ising and Potts models. In this paper we show how the same ideas can be used with binary Markov Random Fields with essentially any support to construct auxiliary variable algorithms. However, because of the complexity and certain characteristics of the models, the computational gains are limited.
Impact of a Simple Inexpensive Quality Assurance Effort on Physician's Choice of Thrombolytic Agents and Door-to-Needle Time: Implication for Costs of Management

The objective of this study were to assess the impact of a quality assurance effort on the door-to-needle time and the choice of thrombolytic agent for the management of acute myocardial infarction in the emergency department. The study design involved a prospective collection of data on a series of consecutive patients who received a thrombolytic agent for a presumed acute myocardial infarction. The study was carried out in the emergency department of a major university urban tertiary care center. A total of 349 patients were studied from September 1989 to March 1994. The quality assurance program began in 1989 and included chart review of all patients receiving thrombolytic therapy, with special attention to all patients with door-to-needle times >60 minutes to identify causes for delay. Feedback was directed to pharmacy, nursing, and physician staff. Biannual reports were distributed throughout the hospital and the emergency department. Nursing-specific feedback led to the development of protocols for all aspects of the delivery of thrombolytic agents. The choice of thrombolytic agent was not dictated by the protocol, but the physician staff was continuously updated on the results of the latest clinical trials comparing one thrombolytic agent with another. The mean age was 58 years for men and 67 years for women in this cohort consisting of 78% men and 22% women. Thirty-seven percent of the myocardial infarctions were in an anterior location and 56% were in an inferior location. The median duration of chest pain before presentation to the emergency department was 120 minutes. Hospital mortality was 3%. Median door-to-needle time fell from 46 (1989–1991) to 36 (1992–1994) minutes, P 60 minutes decreased from 35% (1989–1991) to 16% (1992–1994) minutes, P < 0.0001. Corresponding with the ISIS-3 report, there was a significant increase in the proportion of patients receiving streptokinase over the first 3 years of the study (P < 0.0001), which changed to a trend toward increased utilization of tissue plasminogen activator with the GUSTO report in the final 6 months of the study. In conclusion, a quality assurance program led to a significant reduction in the door-to-needle time, and recent megatrials were found to influence the choice of thrombolytic agent used.
The place of cognitive architectures in a rational analysis.

The basic goal of a theorist in specifying a cognitive architecture is to specify the mind’s principles of operation and organization much like you would specify those of a computer. Any cognitive phenomena should be derivative from these principles. As this conference gives witness, there are many cognitive architec­ tures. This chapter will try to make some claims about the role of architectures generally in psychological theory, but it will do this by taking as examples three of the architectures which figure prominently at Carnegie Mellon University. There is the Soar architecture of Laird, Newell, and Rosenbloom (1987) my own ACT* architecture (Anderson, 1983), and the PDP architecture of McClelland and Rumelhart (McClelland & Rumelhart, 1986, Rumelhart & McClelland,Now that there are numerous candidates for cognitive architectures, one is naturally led to ask which might be the correct one or the most correct one. This is a particularly difficult question to answer because these architectures are often quite removed from the empirical phenomena that they are supposed to account for. In actual practice one sees proponents of a particular architecture arguing for that architecture by reference to what I call signature phenomena. These are empirical phenomena that are particularly clear manifestations of the purported underlying mechanisms. The claim is made that the architecture provides particu­ larly natural accounts for these phenomena and that these phenomena are hard to account for in other architectures.
Diffractive optics and computer generated holograms for optical interconnects

Diffractive optical elements (DOEs) and computer generated holograms (CGHs) can be fabricated with microelectronic technology. Therefore, they can play important roles in the packaging of optically interconnected multi-chip-modules as well as other electronic systems. In this paper, we will identify the varieties of DOEs and CGHs needed in single- and multi-stage optoelectronic interconnection networks, and present several fabricated examples. >
Solar EUV Photoelectric Observations from Skylab

Most of the atomic species originating in the solar atmosphere between the upper chromosphere and the corona have their strong characteristic wavelengths in the extreme ultraviolet region of the spectrum. A simple normal-incidence spectrometer system with solar blind detectors such as the Harvard instrument operating between approximately 250 A and 1350 A is ideally suited for observing in this most interesting range of the solar atmosphere where the temperature rises outward from 104 to 3 × 106 K. The temperature range represented by the various atomic and ionic species in the extreme ultraviolet is associated with many types of solar structure, prominences and filaments, the supergranulation cells and network, active regions and their associated loop structures and other features. Simultaneous observations in lines of different characteristic temperatures provide a three-dimensional probe of the solar atmosphere. In the instrument, the principal polychromatic position observes the Lyman continuum, Lα, C II, C III, O IV, O VI, and Mg X with seven detectors simultaneously from the same spatial image element, 5″ in size. Approximately 60 additional polychromatic positions are used routinely to carry out specific observing programs, for example, covering several lines of a given stage of ionization, observing lines or continuum from specific species of interest such as helium in prominences, comparing combinations of lines from a given ionic species such as O V where the relative intensities give a rather direct measurement of the density at a given temperature, or measuring differing positions in the Lyman continuum providing intensity measurements which can be interpreted in terms of the departure from ionization equilibrium.