cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Spatially Modeling the Effects of Meteorological Drivers of PM2.5 in the Eastern United States via a Local Linear Penalized Quantile Regression Estimator.

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) poses a significant risk to human health, with long-term exposure being linked to conditions such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, lung cancer, and atherosclerosis. In order to improve the current pollution control strategies and to better shape public policy, the development of a more comprehensive understanding of this air pollutant is necessary. To this end, this work attempts to quantify the relationship between certain meteorological drivers and the levels of PM2.5. It is expected that the set of important meteorological drivers will vary both spatially and within the conditional distribution of PM2.5 levels. To account for these characteristics, a new local linear penalized quantile regression methodology is developed. The proposed estimator uniquely selects the set of important drivers at every spatial location and for each quantile of the conditional distribution of PM2.5 levels. The performance of the proposed methodology is illustrated through simulation, and it is then used to determine the association between several meteorological drivers and PM2.5 over the Eastern United States. This analysis suggests that the primary drivers throughout much of the Eastern United States tend to differ based on season and geographic location, with similarities existing between “typical” and “high” PM2.5 levels.
Probiotics and gastrointestinal conditions: An overview of evidence from the Cochrane Collaboration

Alterations in the composition of the gut microbiota are associated with a number of gastrointestinal (GI) conditions, including diarrhea, inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), and liver diseases. Probiotics, live microorganisms that may confer a health benefit to the host when consumed, are commonly used as a therapy for treating these GI conditions by means of modifying the composition or activity of the microbiota. The purpose of this review was to summarize the evidence on probiotics and GI conditions available from Cochrane, a nonprofit organization that produces rigorous and high-quality systematic reviews of health interventions. Findings from this review will help provide more precise guidance for clinical use of probiotics and to identify gaps in probiotic research related to GI conditions.
The Reduced Iwan Plus Pinning Joint Model

Bolted joints are prevalent in most assembled structures; however, predictive models for the behavior of these joints do not yet exist. Many calibrated models have been proposed to represent the stiffness and energy dissipation characteristics of a bolted joint. In particular, the Iwan model put forth by Segalman and later extended by Mignolet has been shown to be able to predict the response of a jointed structure over a range of excitations once calibrated at a nominal load. The Iwan model, however, is not widely adopted due to the high computational expense of implementing it in a numerical simulation. To address this, an analytical, closed form representation of the Iwan model is derived under the hypothesis that upon a load reversal, the distribution of friction elements within the interface resembles a scaled version of the original distribution of friction elements. Additionally, the Iwan model is extended to include the pinning behavior inherent in a bolted joint. Analysis of systems with the resulting Reduced Iwan Plus Pinning joint is used to discuss methods to deduce joint properties.
Chapter 34 New solutions for neuroscience communications are still needed

Publisher Summary This chapter asserts that even the most active neuroscientist spends more working hours in reading, reviewing, and writing scientific reports than on direct experimental effort. Despite the obvious recognition by all participants in the profession of neuroscience, there have been only a few changes in the habits of scientific information gathering, sharing, and analyzing that have been the traditional standards of neuroscientists. The chapter presents some of the steps that are being taken to harness the flow of scientific data and develop within the community of neuroscientists some means of information handling that rival the sophistication of the instruments and methods by which data are acquired. A program to encourage such research efforts has recently been promulgated by several of the NIH institutes with ultimate international applications in mind. Software is being developed to create and distribute an interactive Brain Object Database of the nervous system oriented within species on the templates representing the pages of a classical brain structural atlas.
A Multi-view Optical Technique to Obtain Mode Shapes of Structures

Abstract The vibration characteristics of a structure are conventionally obtained by exciting the structure using an impact hammer or a mechanical shaker and measuring the response using accelerometers. However, using accelerometers for vibration measurement may induce mass loading effects and does not provide the full-field response of the structure. Also, sometimes it is challenging to excite measurement points in all the three x, y and z directions using an impact hammer and obtaining the 3D mode shapes becomes nearly impossible. Digital Image Correlation (DIC) has provided a solution to these problems because it provides the full-field response of the structure, is a non-contacting technique, and does not induce any mass loading effects. However, the DIC technique (similar to other optical methods) is limited by the field of view of the cameras and can only measure the response on the parts of the structure that cameras have a line of sight. Thus, this technique cannot be used to obtain the mode shapes of large and complex structures. In this paper, we have proposed and validated a new approach to obtain a uniform scaling factor that enables us to stitch the mode shapes from different views of cameras. This technique enables us to extract the mode shapes of complex structures using only a single pair of cameras. To show the merit of the proposed technique, the mode shapes of a fender are extracted using this optical based technique. The fender is excited with a known force using an impact hammer. A pair of high-speed cameras is used to measure the response of the structure limited to its field of view. The mode shape of every field of view is then obtained based on the excitation force and measured response using the digital signal processing theory. Further, the mode shapes of individual fields of view are stitched using a minimum of three reference points in the region common to the adjacent field of view to obtain the mode shapes of the entire structure. The proposed approach expands the applications of digital image correlation technique in the field of structural dynamics and enables us to extract mode shapes of a complex structure using this optical technique.
The Role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in American STEM Education

This paper positions the discussion of leveraging Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the effort to increase diversity in STEM Education. STEM Education can be prominently featured at HBCUs with the outcome of producing STEM graduates that enter into technical fields. As HBCUs shift from their initial founding and look to achieve strategic success in other areas, STEM Education would seem to be a natural fit. However, as with many well-intentioned goals at HBCUs, the ability to be successful in STEM Education hinges on several criteria, including funding, external corporate partnerships and internal collaborations. Given the roadblocks that HBCUs face and have been able to overcome, thus far, anchoring themselves as a cornerstone in STEM Education could prove to be a shift they could master. We conclude with five research questions that should further be explored by HBCUs as an extension of their STEM Education goals. HBCUs are unique institutions that will continue to play a pivotal role in America's postsecondary educational system. Participation in STEM education is just one of the many ways their role will continue to be solidified.
TEACCH: An Intervention Approach for Children and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders and their Families

The TEACCH autism program is a clinical service and professional training program dedicated to serve individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) of all ages and ability levels and their families. Established in the early 1970s by Dr. Eric Schopler and colleagues, the mission of TEACCH is to enable individuals with ASD to function as meaningfully and as independently as possible in their community by providing exemplary services to individuals, their families, and the professionals who serve and support them, and by generating and disseminating theory, practice, and research on autism nationally and internationally. TEACCH is based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has a statewide presence, including regional service clinics across North Carolina, early intervention and supported employment programs, and a model adult residential community.
Tools for Study: National Databanking

Some considerations bearing on the creation of a national databank for urotheilal cancer are discussed, including some potential applications of such a resource. A brief discussion of database design issues and caBIG™ serve to highlight the importance of teamwork and semantic interoperability. Finally, some specific data elements are put forward as a starting framework for the design of such a national repository.
Improving Below Ground Radar Imagery of Targets Obscured by Metal Plates

Improving target detection and imagery in the presence of metal plates for any scanning device is a very important for two reasons: First, side plates are part of the scanning devices cannot be eliminated. Second, designing side plates using materials that absorb unwanted energy is very complicated and expensive. In this paper, we investigate the effect of metal side plates on a scanning radar operating at high frequency. Our goal is to improve the target image in the presence of these metal side plates. Mathematically, we can reduce the reflected waves from these surfaces and improve the resulting target image if we know the scattering caused by these plates (or at least a part of them).
A Rare Insight into China’s Domestic Reaction to Xi Jinping’s Reform Policies

In a political and academic atmosphere dominated by the debate over the rise of China and its threat to the United States, Elizabeth C. Economy took a subtly different approach by examining the eff...
Oral health disparities: Racial, language and nativity effects.

Abstract This study examined racial oral health disparities among Non-Hispanic Whites, Non-Hispanic Blacks, and Hispanics. For Hispanics, this study also examined the role of language in oral health disparities between English-speaking Hispanics and Spanish-speaking Hispanics. This study included 12, 307 adults older than 20 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2016. Oral health is measured by self-rated oral health, the frequencies of dentist visits, and the number of missed teeth. Exposures of interest referred to social gradients, which include education, annual family income, foreign born, and citizenship. Covariates included age, gender, and marital status. Ordinal logistic regression models were used to estimates the effects of social gradients on self-rated oral health and dentist visits. Negative binomial regression model was applied to estimate the effects of social gradients on the number of missed teeth. Overall, Spanish-speaking Hispanics presented the most disadvantaged social gradients and the worst oral health results. Non-Hispanic Blacks and English-speaking Hispanics reported disadvantaged oral health status when compared to Non-Hispanic Whites. Foreign-born, higher education levels and annual family income play protective role on oral health outcomes, while respondents who do not have citizenship are at higher risk of self-rated fair/poor oral health and dentist visits.
Relative Humidity on Mars: New Results From the Phoenix TECP Sensor.

In situ measurements of relative humidity (RH) on Mars have only been performed by the Phoenix (PHX) and Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) missions. Here we present results of our recalibration of the PHX thermal and electrical conductivity probe (TECP) RH sensor. This recalibration was conducted using a TECP engineering model subjected to the full range of environmental conditions at the PHX landing site in the Michigan Mars Environmental Chamber. The experiments focused on the warmest and driest conditions (daytime) because they were not covered in the original calibration (Zent et al., 2010, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JE003420) and previous recalibration (Zent et al., 2016, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JE004933). In nighttime conditions, our results are in excellent agreement with the previous 2016 recalibration, while in daytime conditions, our results show larger water vapor pressure values. We obtain vapor pressure values in the range ~0.005-1.4 Pa, while Zent et al. (2016, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JE004933) obtain values in the range ~0.004-0.4 Pa. Our higher daytime values are in better agreement with independent estimates from the ground by the PHX Surface Stereo Imager instrument and from orbit by Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars. Our results imply larger day-to-night ratios of water vapor pressure at PHX compared to MSL, suggesting a stronger atmosphere-regolith interchange in the Martian arctic than at lower latitudes. Further, they indicate that brine formation at the PHX landing site via deliquescence can be achieved only temporarily between midnight and 6 a.m. on a few sols. The results from our recalibration are important because they shed light on the near-surface humidity environment on Mars.
A Multi-Model Adaptive Kalman Filtering Approach to Power System Dynamic State Estimation

Accurate information about dynamic states (such as rotor angle and speed of a synchronous machine) is important for monitoring and controlling power system rotor-angle stability. In this paper, a multi-model adaptive Kalman filtering (MMAKF) approach is proposed to accurately and robustly estimate power system dynamic states. This approach consists of three major steps: (i) multiple Kalman filtering approaches, i.e., the extended Kalman filter (EKF), unscented Kalman filter (UKF), ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF), and cubature Kalman filter (CKF), are run concurrently in parallel to estimate the dynamic states of a synchronous generator using phasor measurement unit data; (ii) probability indexes, which quantify the likelihood of each estimation model, are determined at each time step using hypothesis testing based on the measurement innovation; (iii) the a posteriori estimate of states is obtained using the best-fix approach. The two-area four-machine system is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed MMAKF approach. It is shown through the Monte-Carlo method that the estimation accuracy and robustness of the proposed approach is better than those from any individual filtering algorithm.
Autonomous Artificial Intelligence in Diabetic Retinopathy: From Algorithm to Clinical Application:

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithms are rapidly entering the health care field and have the potential to improve patient care. Our article focuses on the use of autonomous AI algorithms (...
Chapter 6 – Knot Diagrammatics

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews knot theory and explains the invariants of knots and links from the point of view of categories of diagrams. It discusses the foundations of knot theory, focusing on virtual knot theory and topological quantum field theory. The chapter also presents a discussion on graph embeddings that extends Reidemeister's theorem to graphs and proves the appropriate moves for topological and rigid vertices. Discussions of the four-term relations, Lie algebra weights, relationships with the Witten functional intergal, and combinatorial constructions for some Vassiliev invariants are also presented. Reidemeister's theorem states that two diagrams represent ambient isotopic knots (or links) if and only if there is a sequence of Reidemeister moves taking one diagram to the other. Diagrams are always subject to topological deformations in the plane that preserve the structure of the crossings. These deformations could be designated as “Move Zero”.
The Impact of Femoral Nerve Anesthesia on Short-Term Clinical Outcomes and Opioid Claims After Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Abstract Background The impact of femoral nerve blocks (FNBs) during primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) on clinical outcomes and pain management remains unclear. The present research investigates the impact that continuous and single-shot FNBs during TKA have on postoperative opioid claims and short-term clinical outcomes. Methods An administrative claims database was queried to identify patients who underwent primary TKA with a continuous FNB, single-shot FNB, or no FNB. More than 300,000 patients were analyzed from the database. Rates of opioid claims were compared via achi-square analysis. Incidence of postoperative complications was compared with multivariable logistic regression. Results Patients receiving a FNB had a significantly higher risk of falls both at 6 months (odds ratio [OR], 1.30) and 1 year postoperatively (OR, 1.25), as well as readmissions within 90 days (OR, 1.18) compared with patients without FNBs. The FNB cohort exhibited a higher risk of deep vein thrombosis (OR, 1.57), myocardial infarction (OR, 1.79), and cerebrovascular accident (OR, 1.20) during the inpatient stay. Relative to single-shot FNBs, continuous FNBs were associated with a higher risk of readmissions within 90 days and systemic complications, although the risk varied by age, sex, and Charlson Comorbidity Index score. More patients without FNBs filed opioid claims within 1 year postoperatively, but the average total morphine milligram equivalents prescribed was comparable to patients who received FNBs. Conclusions FNBs during TKA place patients at a significantly higher risk of falls, readmissions, and systemic complications in the short term. The risk of readmission and systemic complications was higher for continuous FNBs. More patients without FNBs filed opioid claims postoperatively than patients who received FNBs.
Injury-induced inhibition of bystander neurons requires dSarm and signaling from glia

Summary Nervous system injury and disease have broad effects on the functional connectivity of the nervous system, but how injury signals are spread across neural circuits remains unclear. We explored how axotomy changes the physiology of severed axons and adjacent uninjured “bystander” neurons in a simple in vivo nerve preparation. Within hours after injury, we observed suppression of axon transport in all axons, whether injured or not, and decreased mechano- and chemosensory signal transduction in uninjured bystander neurons. Unexpectedly, we found the axon death molecule dSarm, but not its NAD+ hydrolase activity, was required cell autonomously for these early changes in neuronal cell biology in bystander neurons, as were the voltage-gated calcium channel Cacophony (Cac) and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascade. Bystander neurons functionally recovered at later time points, while severed axons degenerated via α/Armadillo/Toll-interleukin receptor homology domain (dSarm)/Axundead signaling, and independently of Cac/MAPK. Interestingly, suppression of bystander neuron function required Draper/MEGF10 signaling in glia, indicating glial cells spread injury signals and actively suppress bystander neuron function. Our work identifies a new role for dSarm and glia in suppression of bystander neuron function after injury and defines two genetically and temporally separable phases of dSarm signaling in the injured nervous system.
Conventional immunomarkers stain a fraction of astrocytes in vitro: A comparison of rat cortical and spinal cord astrocytes in naïve and stimulated cultures

Astrocytes are responsible for a wide variety of essential functions throughout the central nervous system. The protein markers glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), glutamate aspartate transporter (GLAST), glutamate transporter-1 (GLT-1), glutamine synthetase (GS), 10-formyltetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase (ALDH1L1), and the transcription factor SOX9 are routinely used to label astrocytes in primary rodent cultures. However, GLAST, GLT-1, GS, and SOX9 are also produced by microglia and oligodendrocytes and GFAP, GLAST, GLT-1, and GS production levels are affected by astrocyte phenotypic changes associated with reactive astrogliosis. No group has performed a comprehensive immunocytochemical evaluation to quantify the percentage of cells labeled by these markers in vitro, nor compared changes in staining between cortex- and spinal cord-derived cells in naive and stimulated cultures. Here, we quantified the percentage of cells positively stained for these six markers in astrocyte, microglia, and oligodendrocyte cultures isolated from neonatal rat cortices and spinal cords. Additionally, we incubated the astrocytes with transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 or TGF-β3 to determine if the labeling of these markers is altered by these stimuli. We found that only SOX9 in cortical cultures and ALDH1L1 in spinal cord cultures labeled more than 75% of the cells in naive and stimulated astrocyte cultures and stained less than 5% of the cells in microglia and oligodendrocyte cultures. Furthermore, significantly more cortical than spinal cord astrocytes stained for GFAP, GLAST, and ALDH1L1 in naive cultures, whereas significantly more spinal cord than cortical astrocytes stained for GLAST and GS in TGF-β1-treated cultures. These findings are important as variability in marker staining may lead to misinterpretation of the astrocyte response in cocultures, migration assays, or engineered disease models.
Regularity theory of elliptic systems in ε-scale flat domains

Abstract We consider the linear elliptic systems or equations in divergence form with periodically oscillating coefficients. We prove the large-scale boundary Lipschitz estimate for the weak solutions in domains satisfying the so-called e-scale flatness condition, which could be arbitrarily rough below e-scale. This particularly generalizes Kenig and Prange's work in [34] and [35] by a quantitative approach. Our result also provides a mathematical explanation on why the boundary regularity of the solutions of partial differential equations should be physically and experimentally expected even if the surfaces of mediums in real world may be arbitrarily rough at small scales.
Disproportionality Reduction in Exclusionary School Discipline: A Best-Evidence Synthesis:

A full canon of empirical literature shows that students who are African American, Latinx, or American Indian/Alaskan Native, and students who are male, diagnosed with disabilities, or from low soc...
Abstract P68: Disrupted Electrophysiological Sleep in Critically ill Stroke Patients: Does it Matter?

Mounting evidence suggest that poor sleep quality may impact outcome following stroke. While sleep disturbances are common among critically ill patients, little is known about sleep characteristics...
The Impact of a Brief Interprofessional Intervention on Attitudes toward Wellness Promotion among College Students in Helping Professions

Research demonstrates that interprofessional education (IPE) is effective in changing attitudes and behaviors among college students and health professionals. This study utilized a longitudinal, mi...
Modeling Precision Cardio-Oncology: Using Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for Risk Stratification and Prevention.

Cardiovascular toxicity is a leading cause of mortality among cancer survivors and has become increasingly prevalent due to improved cancer survival rates. In this review, we synthesize evidence illustrating how common cancer therapeutic agents, such as anthracyclines, human epidermal growth factors receptors (HER2) monoclonal antibodies, and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), have been evaluated in cardiomyocytes (CMs) derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) to understand the underlying mechanisms of cardiovascular toxicity. We place this in the context of precision cardio-oncology, an emerging concept for personalizing the prevention and management of cardiovascular toxicities from cancer therapies, accounting for each individual patient’s unique factors. We outline steps that will need to be addressed by multidisciplinary teams of cardiologists and oncologists in partnership with regulators to implement future applications of hiPSCs in precision cardio-oncology. Current prevention of cardiovascular toxicity involves routine screenings and management of modifiable risk factors for cancer patients, as well as the initiation of cardioprotective medications. Despite recent advancements in precision cardio-oncology, knowledge gaps remain and limit our ability to appropriately predict with precision which patients will develop cardiovascular toxicity. Investigations using patient-specific CMs facilitate pharmacological discovery, mechanistic toxicity studies, and the identification of cardioprotective pathways. Studies with hiPSCs demonstrate that patients with comorbidities have more frequent adverse responses, compared to their counterparts without cardiac disease. Further studies utilizing hiPSC modeling should be considered, to evaluate the impact and mitigation of known cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, diabetes, and physical activity in their role in cardiovascular toxicity after cancer therapy. Future real-world applications will depend on understanding the current use of hiPSC modeling in order for oncologists and cardiologists together to inform their potential to improve our clinical collaborative practice in cardio-oncology. When applying such in vitro characterization, it is hypothesized that a safety score can be assigned to each individual to determine who has a greater probability of developing cardiovascular toxicity. Using hiPSCs to create personalized models and ultimately evaluate the cardiovascular toxicity of individuals’ treatments may one day lead to more patient-specific treatment plans in precision cardio-oncology while reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality.
Practical quantum encryption protocol with varying encryption configurations

The authors develop a quantum encryption protocol based on varying encryption configurations and apply it to a model for the English alphabet.
Influence of ecological momentary assessment study design features on reported willingness to participate and perceptions of potential research studies: an experimental study.

Objective Intensive ambulatory assessment, such as ecological momentary assessment (EMA), is increasingly used to capture naturalistic patient-reported outcomes. EMA design features (eg, study duration, prompt frequency) vary widely between studies, but it is not known if such design decisions influence potential subjects' willingness to participate in a study. We hypothesise that intentions to participate will be higher in studies that are less burdensome and have higher reward (eg, compensation). Design This experimental study examined if four EMA study design features (study duration, prompt frequency, prompt length, compensation) affected intentions to participate in a hypothetical EMA study and participation appraisals (eg, participation effort). Participants were randomly assigned to conditions (reflecting a fully crossed design of the four features, each with two levels). Each condition presented a vignette describing a study (each a unique combination of design features) and asked them to report on likelihood of participating and study appraisals. Participants A convenience sample of participants (n=600; 46% female, Mage=40.39) were recruited using an online service. Primary and secondary outcome measures Primary outcomes were willingness to participate (No/Yes) and reported participation likelihood (0-100 scale). Secondary outcomes included appraisals of interest, enjoyment, effort, and if the study makes a valuable contribution to science. Results We examined main effects, and two-way interactions for participation likelihood, across study design features. Overall, reported willingness to participate and participation likelihood were high (89%, M=83.90, respectively). Shorter study duration, fewer prompts, shorter prompts and higher compensation increased willingness to participate and elicited higher participation likelihood (each associated with ~6%-8% increases). Findings suggested that more intensive studies were judged as somewhat less interesting and enjoyable, and requiring more effort. Conclusion Hypotheses were generally supported. Design features influence behavioural intentions to participate in, and appraisals of, EMA studies. Implications for participant recruitment and generalisability, and remaining research questions, are discussed.
A Smooth Algorithm for Adaptive Stabilization of a Discrete Linear System with an Unknown High Frequency Gain

This paper presents a simple algorithm for adaptively stabilizing a linear one-dimensional discrete time process. Prior knowledge of the sign of the process high frequency gain is not required, and the adaptive control law is a continuous function of its arguments. Performance of the algorithm is considered and a simple modification is suggested to improve algorithm convergence rate while preserving system stability.
Neutralizing antibodies modulate replication of simian immunodeficiency virus SIVmac in primary macaque macrophages.

Abstract Cultured macaque macrophages are permissive for the replication of SIVmac251, and inoculation with virus is followed by the production of viral p27. Neutralizing macaque polyclonal and murine monoclonal antibodies preincubated with the virus prevented infection but did not prevent cytopathic virus replication when added more than 3 days after inoculation with virus. However, application of the neutralizing antibodies to macrophages 24 h after inoculation with virus resulted in sustained, low-level production of viral antigen. Cell lysates and individual macrophages from treated cultures contained less viral protein by Western blot (immunoblot) and immunocytochemistry than untreated controls. In situ hybridization and polymerase chain reaction procedures for detecting and estimating relative amounts of viral RNA and DNA showed that both viral nucleic acids failed to increase beyond the levels obtained before the addition of neutralizing antibodies. The data suggest that macrophages may need to be infected with a minimum threshold of virus particles in order to reach their full potential for virus replication and that their exposure to neutralizing antibodies prior to reaching this threshold resulted in limited virus replication.
"Was anyone out there watching last night?" : the creation and early history of New England Sports Network, 1980--1989

i DEDICATION iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv CHAPTERS CHAPTER 1 – Introduction 1 CHAPTER 2 – Literature Review 14 CHAPTER 3 – Methods 44 CHAPTER 4 – The History: Cable, Satellite, Sports, and NESN 57 CHAPTER 5 – Analysis & Findings: NESN and the Sports/Media Complex 113 CHAPTER 6 – Conclusion 151 REFERENCES 161 VITA 179
Heavy Traffic and Singular Control Problems: Examples and Markov Chain Approximations

Many of the process models which are used for purposes of analysis or control are approximations to the true physical model. Perhaps the dimension of the actual physical model is very high, or it might be difficult to define a manageable controlled dynamical (Markov) system model which describes well the quantities of basic interest. Sometimes the sheer size of the problem and the nature of the interactions of the component effects allows a good approximation to be made, in the sense that some form of the central limit theorem might be used to “summarize” or “aggregate” many of the random influences and provide a good description of the quantities of interest. Because these simpler or aggregate models will be used in an optimization problem, we need to be sure that optimal or nearly optimal controls (and the minimum value function, respectively) for the aggregated problem will also be nearly optimal for the actual physical problem (and a good approximation to the associated minimum value function, respectively).
Legal-Writing Myths

This article debunks misconceptions associated with writing in the law. From the Editor: "We finish with the next installment of our 'Best of' series, this time featuring short pieces by Gerald Lebovits. Judge Lebovits . . . offers practical advice shaped by his years as a legal reader and writer. He has written many pieces worthy of inclusion here, but we’ve picked our favorite favorites."
Two effects of repetition: Support for a dual-process model of know judgments and exclusion errors

In three experiments, aremember/know recognition test (Experiments 1–2) and an exclusion test (Experiments 2–3) were used to examine effects of repeated study presentations. An effect of study repetition was obtained for remember but not know judgments, similar to results reported by Gardiner, Kaminska, Dixon, and Java (1996). Experiment 2 demonstrated the similarity between know responses and exclusion errors; neither was affected by repeated study presentations. In Experiment 3, a response deadline procedure was used to show that exclusion errors are the product of two opposing processes—recollection and familiarity—both of which are influenced by repetition. The interpretation of exclusion errors and know responses is shown to require a dual-process model that includes an assumption about the relationship between processes.
“Interactive video conferencing” in the provision of neuropsychological services to rural areas

This article describes the use of interactive videoconferencing in providing neuropsychological services to residents of rural areas. Videoconferencing, as employed in the service provision program described here, permits “live” interviewing of the client, and direction and supervision of a technician at the rural satellite facility. The advent of interactive videoconferencing via digital telephone lines has greatly reduced the cost associated with earlier rural health care efforts requiring satellite communication. Interactive videoconferencing enhances availability and accessibility of neuropsychological services to rural residents. Furthermore, initial informal evaluation of the program indicates that it meets with patient acceptance and satisfaction.
Stemming as a system design consideration

A good deal of work has been done over the years trying to demonstrate the feasibility or superiority of automatic indexing techniques. (1--8) Most of these techniques are designed for natural language systems, i. e., systems which have an uncontrolled vocabulary. While they incorporate many desirable features, they also have some disadvantages.
Pupal cuticle formation by Manduca sexta epidermis in vitro: Patterns of ecdysone sensitivity

Abstract During the larval-pupal transformation, various regions of the epidermis of Manduca sexta larvae have previously been found to require different lengths of exposure to the prothoracic glands in order to form pupal cuticle. To distinguish between requirements for differing threshold concentrations of ecdysone and those for differing durations of exposure to ecdysone, wandering stage larval epidermis was cultured in Grace's medium. When most of the thick larval cuticle was removed, the epidermis responded to concentrations of β-ecdysone of 1.0 μ/ml or greater for 4 days by forming cysts which later formed tanned pupal cuticle. No fat body or protein supplement was required. When the larval integument was explanted intact, similar requirements for cuticle formation and for tanning were found. All regions of the fifth abdominal segment required similar concentrations of β-ecdysone (0.4–0.6 μg/ml) for 4 days for 50% to form pupal cuticle, but gin trap epidermis required the least exposure to a threshold concentration of ecdysone (1.5 days in 0.9 μg/ml). The anterior dorsal intersegmental region required about 0.5 day longer, followed by the posterior intersegmental and the dorsal intrasegmental regions. Thus, the duration of exposure seemed more important. About 1 day longer of exposure to ecdysone was required for subsequent tanning of the new cuticle than for cuticle formation, yet tanning of the cuticle did not occur with prolonged exposure to ecdysone.
Routine microbiological assay for carnitine activity in biological fluids and tissues

Abstract A practical method for measuring acid-soluble and total (acid- and alkaline-soluble) carnitine growth activity for a carnitine-specific mutant of the enteric yeast Torulopsis bovina in biological fluids and tissues is described. It grows at 37°C in a simple, cheap, chemically defined medium; its response threshold to carnitine is 100 pg ml −1 . Growth is measured as absorbance units with any turbidometer. Carnitine contents in human and rat fluids and tissues so measured accord with those obtained after multi-step extraction methods, enzyme procedures or radiochemical procedures.
Pyrene cholesterol reports the transient appearance of nonlamellar intermediate structures during fusion of model membranes

We have hypothesized that modulating the free energy of hydrophobic mismatch (HM) might be a principal means to control the fusion process and that it may be a role of cholesterol to counteract HM and make membranes fusogenic. To test these hypotheses, we examined the ability of cholesterol 1-pyrenebutyrate (PY-Ch) and other pyrene-containing fluorescent probes to report interstices formed during the L(alpha)-H(II) transition of DiPoPE in terms of changes in excimer/monomer (E/M) fluorescence ratios. We found a significant (>150%) increase in the PY-Ch E/M in the hexagonal phase relative to the lamellar phase, presumably resulting from redistribution of PY-Ch from the curved lamellar leaflets to coexisting HMs that constitute 20 vol % of this phase. All other probes showed a much smaller or even an opposite (PY-hexadecanoic acid) effect. The time course of the PY-Ch E/M ratio during fusion of DOPC/PE/Ch small unilamellar vesicles showed a transient increase with a subsequent decrease, consistent with fusion proceeding through intermediates with significant HM. The amplitude and position of the maximum in E/M correlated with the rate of contents mixing. An increase in E/M was not seen when lipid mixing occurred in the absence of contents mixing. Our results suggest that PY-Ch provides a tool for monitoring fusion intermediates that occur after the initial fusion intermediate but prior to pore formation, possibly by accumulating in regions associated with HM.
Population evacuation in volcanic eruptions, floods, and nuclear power plant accidents: Some elementary comparisons

This paper reports a comparative analysis of citizen evacuation response to three different types of environmental threats: a riverine flood, a volcanic eruption, and the nuclear reaction accident at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania. While there have been numerous discussions in the theoretical literature regarding the extent to which human response to nuclear and nonnuclear threats are likely to be comparable, to date there have been no empirical studies of the phenomenon. It was found that citizen belief in real situational danger and warnings from authorities were most frequently cited by evacuees as reasons for leaving in both nuclear and nonnuclear incidents. Mass media warnings were infrequently cited as important reasons for evacuating, and social network contacts were relatively more important to evacuation decision making in the natural disasters than at Three Mile Island. For both the natural disasters and the nuclear accident, most citizens who did not evacuate chose not to do so because they did not believe that a real danger existed.
Rectus sheath hematoma after transvaginal follicle aspiration: A rare complication of in vitro fertilization

Objective To discuss the diagnosis and management of rectus sheath hematomas after transvaginal follicle aspiration. Design Case report. Setting A single healthy patient in an academic IVF center. Patient(s) A healthy patient undergoing routine transvaginal follicle aspiration for IVF. Intervention(s) CT scan, serial phlebotomy, IV fluid, in-patient observation. Main Outcome Measure(s) Condition at discharge. Result(s) Patient was successfully managed with conservative measures. After the initial decline, serial hematocrits were stable over 24 hours without any operative interventions. Conclusion(s) Rectus sheath hematomas are rare complications of IVF and can be managed conservatively.
Apoptosis versus necrosis: which should be the aim of cancer therapy?

AbstractSince the discovery of apoptosis (1) and its potential implications for the treatment of cancer, various in vestigators have devoted their efforts to the development of novel, apoptosis-based, therapeutic strategies. Among various approaches being tried is the synthesis of chemotherapeutic agents (cytotoxic or noncytotoxic) capable of inducing apoptosis in apoptosis-susceptible tumor cells.
Malignant neuroectodermal tumor with melanocytic and rhabdomyoblastic differentiation

Malignant melanoma can metastasize widely and vary significantly in its histological appearance; it rarely presents as a deep-seated mass without an obvious primary site elsewhere. Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) is a high-grade sarcoma characterized by conventional and epithelioid subtypes. MPNST can demonstrate heterologous differentiation, usually in the form of osteosarcomatous, chondrosarcomatous, or rhabdomyosarcomatous differentiation. MPNST does not harbor true melanocytic differentiation, although epithelioid MPNST typically is diffusely S-100 protein positive and superficially can resemble malignant melanoma. An unusual intra-abdominal mass was recently encountered with features of both melanoma and conventional or epithelioid MPNST containing a fascicular spindle cell component, an epithelioid component with melanocytic differentiation, as well as a rhabdomyosarcomatous component. The terminology “malignant neuroectodermal tumor with melanocytic and rhabdomyoblastic differentiation” is proposed to describe this neoplasm, reflecting the unusual concomittant lines of differentiation as well as offering a possible rationale for nosologically challenging aspects of this neoplasm.
PEGylation of Val-1(α) Destabilizes the Tetrameric Structure of Hemoglobin†

A hexaPEGylated hemoglobin (Hb), (Propyl-PEG5K)6-Hb, is essentially in αβ dimers (Hu et al. (2007) Biochem. J. 402, 143−151). In order to provide a biochemical insight into the tetramer−dimer dissociation of this PEGylated Hb, we prepared and characterized two PEGylated Hbs site-specifically modified at Val-1(α) and at Val-1(β), respectively. PEGylation at Val-1(α) and at Val-1(β) increase the tetramer−dimer dissociation constant (Kd) of Hb by 2 and 1 order of magnitude, respectively. Accordingly, the sites of PEGylation can determine the tetramer stability of the PEGylated Hb. In order to determine the role of the polyethylene glycol (PEG) chains on the tetramer stability of Hb, we prepared a propylated Hb site-specifically modified at Val-1(α). Interestingly, site-specific propylation of Hb at Val-l(α) stabilizes the Hb tetramer by 1 order of magnitude. Therefore, conjugation of the PEG chains at Val-1(α) can greatly destabilize the tetramer stability of Hb. On the structural aspects, the PEG chains con...
A Comprehensive Analysis of Hospital Charges Between Direct Heart Transplantation and Patients Bridged With a Left Ventricular Assist Device

Conclusion: We identified significant between-country differences in baseline demographics, length of stay, and co-morbidities, as well as significantly higher readmission rates in the United States. No country showed significant changes in rehospitalization rates over time. As healthcare systems continue efforts to reduce heart failure hospitalization and readmission, the GC database will provide a valuable tool for evaluating their efficacy.
Potential for Tunable Static and Dynamic Contact Angle Anisotropy on Gradient Microscale Patterned Topographies

Translationally symmetric topographies can be designed to induce anisotropy of static and dynamic contact angles. The validity of ignoring directionality of topography in contact angle characterization was evaluated using microscale patterned topographies. Seven patterned topographies comprising elongated discontinuous microfeatures oriented along parallel paths and one topography comprising ridges were fabricated in a poly(dimethyl siloxane) elastomer (PDMSe). The static contact angle, advancing contact angle, receding contact angle, contact angle hysteresis, and slip angle were measured using water on each surface at three in-plane perspectives, with respect to the feature orientation. Static and dynamic contact angle anisotropies were investigated on the topographies to evaluate the effect of discontinuities along the feature lengths on the anisotropy that has been shown on channels or ridges in previous reports. Discontinuous feature topographies exhibited a statistically significant anisotropy of 2 degrees-6 degrees between the perpendicular and parallel directions, with respect to the static and dynamic contact angles. The ridges topography exhibited much larger 5 degrees-42 degrees anisotropy in the contact angles. The discontinuities along the feature lengths greatly reduced, but did not eliminate, the anisotropies compared to the ridges. This evidence of contact angle anisotropy indicates a need to identify the orientation of topography, in relation to contact angle measurements. It also implies a need to consider directionality in the design of microfluidic devices and self-cleaning surfaces.
Case Files of the Harvard Medical Toxicology Fellowship at Children’s Hospital Boston: An Insulin Overdose

Keywords Insulin.Insulin pump.Overdose.Hypoglycemia.Diabetes.AdolescentCase PresentationA 16-year-old boy with a history of type I diabetes mellitusbeing managed with an insulin pump presented to theemergency department in cardiac arrest. Per report from thepatient’s mother, the patient had noticed that his insulincartridge, containing insulin lispro, was empty the nightprior to admission so he had replaced it at approximately7:00 PM. He had used his glucometer through the nightwith recorded values of 225–389 mg/dL and had adminis-tered a total of 14.5 units of insulin via his pump. At around6:30 AM, the morning of admission, his mother attemptedto wake him for school and found him cyanotic andmotionless. She attempted to obtain a fingerstick glucosemeasurement but was unable to do so and administeredglucagon, as well as activating Emergency MedicalServices (EMS). When EMS arrived, the patient waspulseless. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was initiated,and the patient was endotracheally intubated. Point-of-careglucose determination was 81 mg/dL. He received epineph-rine, atropine, naloxone, and an ampule of 50% dextrose(25 g) during his prehospital care. He was defibrillated twiceat 200 J for ventricular fibrillation. He was transferred to theemergency department with cardiopulmonary resuscitationin progress. EMS reported that an empty insulin syringe hadbeen seen underneath the patient’s bed. After approximately1 h of resuscitative efforts, during which the patient receivedadditional epinephrine, sodium bicarbonate, and hydrocorti-sone, he had return of spontaneous circulation. His initialarterialbloodgasrevealedapHof6.8,PaCO
Isomeric tropane analogues of histamine H2‐receptor antagonists

In an attempt to investigate stereochemical requirements of antagonists of the histamine H2-receptor, tropane analogues of cimetidine and metiamide have been synthesized possessing axial and equatorial N-methylthiourea and N-methyl-N-cyanoguanidine moieties at the 3-position of the tropane system. The tropane analogues of this study have been fully characterized with regard to configuration at C-3 and to conformation of the piperidine ring of the tropane nucleus.