cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A rapid method for the separation and analysis of leaked and liposomal entrapped phosphoramide mustard in plasma

Abstract Pharmacokinetic studies of liposomal drugs should include simultaneous determination of leaked and entrapped drug in biological specimens. Due to the limited stability of many liposomal preparations in biological samples, a rapid analytical procedure is often necessary. Phosphoramide mustard (PM), a key cytotoxic metabolite of a widely used alkylating drug cyclophosphamide, has recently been entrapped into a liposomal formulation and the preparation has been found to be rather unstable in plasma. We have, therefore, developed a rapid method for the separation of liposome-associated PM from the unassociated drug and a method for their quantitation in plasma. This method involves the use of size exclusion mini-gel column and requires minutes to process. Due to the use of internal standards, this method tolerates low recovery and requires the collection of a single fraction of each of liposome-associated PM and the unassociated drug. The recovery of liposomal PM from the first fraction of the gel column was found to be 82.4 ± 7.9% (SD, n = 8), whereas that of liposome-unassociated PM from the major fraction was 16.8 ± 2.8% (SD, n = 8). However, the low recovery problem of liposome-unassociated PM was circumvented by adding the internal standard [α,β-2H8] PM prior to separation, thus compensating for the loss of liposome-unassociated PM due to incomplete collection. Two types of standard curve were constructed for quantitation of liposome-associated PM and unassociated PM and the linearity for both was excellent. Assay validation indicated that within-run RSD values at 213 ng, 426 ng and 1065 ng for liposomal PM were 4.2, 4.3 and 3.0%, respectively. For liposome-unassociated PM at 100 ng, 200 ng and 500 ng levels, within-run RSD values of 9.7, 3.6 and 2.1% respectively, were found. Between-run RSD values was 2.9% for liposome-associated PM and 6.3% for unassociated PM. For total PM in plasma, the within- and between-run RSD values were 10.3 and 11.3%, respectively, at 100 ng ml−1 level. This method was applied to separate liposome-associated PM from unassociated PM in the plasma obtained from rats following intravenous administration of liposomal PM at 5 mg kg−1. Surprisingly, liposomal PM was found to be quite stable in vivo since about 70–90% of total plasma PM levels was accounted for by PM associated with the liposomal form at least up to a 1-h period of observation.
Lipoxine und verwandte Eicosanoide: Biosynthese, biologische Eigenschaften und chemische Synthese

Unter den vielen auf Arachidonsaure wirkenden Enzymen im menschlichen Gewebe gibt es drei Lipoxygenase(LO)-Haupttypen, die an den Positionen 5, 12 und 15 angreifen. Die 5-LO ist ein Schlusselenzym und spielt eine zentrale Rolle in der Biosynthese der Leukotriene, die aus Arachidonsaure entstehen und starke Mediatoren bei Allergien und Entzundungen sind. Aufgrund der Bedeutung dieser 5-LO-Produkte fur die Humanpathophysiologie wurde begonnen, sowohl die Bedeutung der Lipoxygenierung an C-15 der Arachidonsaure zu studieren als auch die Hauptmetabolismen der LO auf Wechselwirkungen zu untersuchen. Diese Arbeiten fuhrten zur Identifizierung der Lipoxine, einer neuen Reihe biologisch aktiver Eicosanoide mit Tetraenpartialstruktur. Dieser Beitrag fast die Isolierung und Biosynthese der Lipoxine sowie die chemische Synthese dieser und verwandter Verbindungen, die auf einem neuen, allgemeinen Verfahren unter Palladiumkatalyse beruht, zusammen und gibt einen Uberblick uber neuere Ergebnisse hinsichtlich deren Bildung und biologischen Wirkungen. Der vorgestellte Syntheseansatz machte mehrere Typen acyclischer Eicosanoide in ihren naturlich vorkommenden Formen zuganglich, so das Vergleiche mit naturlich erhaltenem Material und detaillierte Studien uber die biologischen Wirkungen dieser Biomolekule moglich wurden. Ferner wurden Struktur-Wirkungs-Beziehungen aus der Verknupfung von chemischer Synthese mit biologischen Untersuchungen hergeleitet.
PLAG1 Alteration in Carcinoma Ex Pleomorphic Adenoma: Immunohistochemical and Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization Studies of 22 Cases

Carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma (CA-ex-PA) may arise with nearly any histologic subtype of carcinoma of the salivary gland. In the absence of recognizable residual pleomorphic adenoma (PA) or a prior history of PA, distinction of CA-ex-PA from morphologically similar de novo carcinomas may be difficult. Oncogenic rearrangement of PLAG1 (pleomorphic adenoma gene 1) has been established in PA; however, it has not yet been proven that PLAG1 alteration persists in carcinomas developed from preceding PA. We evaluated 22 histologically diverse CA-ex-PA by immunohistochemistry for PLAG1, and/or by FISH targeting PLAG1. Of these, 17 cases were immunoreactive (1+ to 3+) and 5 were immunonegative/rare positive for PLAG1. For comparison, 39 various salivary gland neoplasms were immunostained for PLAG1, of which all scored negative/rare positive. Twelve of 19 CA-ex-PA analyzed by PLAG1 FISH (63 %) were positive for gene rearrangement, 2 showed only a trisomy/polysomy profile, and 5 had a normal pattern. One FISH-positive tumor showed amplification of PLAG1. One of 3 cases analyzed for HMGA2 FISH was positive for gene rearrangement. In our series, the majority of CA-ex-PA harbored altered PLAG1 or HMGA2 genes detectable by FISH. While PLAG1 immunostain was specific for CA-ex-PA against other carcinomas, its application as a standalone discriminatory test was limited by variable expression. We conclude that most CA-ex-PA, regardless of morphologic subtype, carry altered PLAG1 or HMGA2 genes, and that FISH for PLAG1, along with immunohistochemistry for PLAG1, may help discriminate CA-ex-PA from its de novo carcinoma counterpart.
Early immune events in the induction of allergic contact dermatitis

Allergic contact dermatitis is a common skin disease that is driven by an inappropriate immune response to innocuous environmental antigens. This Review focuses on how the early immune mechanisms that are triggered in response to contact allergens promote subsequent disease development. The skin is a barrier site that is exposed to a wide variety of potential pathogens. As in other organs, pathogens that invade the skin are recognized by pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs). Recently, it has been recognized that PRRs are also engaged by chemical contact allergens and, in susceptible individuals, this elicits an inappropriate immune response that results in allergic contact dermatitis. In this Review, we focus on how contact allergens promote inflammation by activating the innate immune system. We also examine how innate immune cells in the skin, including mast cells and dendritic cells, cooperate with each other and with T cells and keratinocytes to initiate and drive early responses to contact allergens.
New photon-nucleon dispersion relation for evaluating the Thomson limit using rising total cross sections

New data showing that the photon-nucleon total cross section increases with energy for $\ensuremath{\nu}\ensuremath{\ge}50$ GeV invalidate earlier comparisons with dispersion relations. Parametrization of the data are presented and used in a new formulation of the dispersion relations, in which an assumed asymptotic behavior avoids the need for subtraction. With this form the fitted amplitude can be compared directly with the Thomson limit. The experimental uncertainties are shown to have a significant effect upon such a comparison.
Moment-based simulation of microphysical properties of sulfate aerosols in the eastern United States: Model description, evaluation, and regional analysis

[1] A six-moment microphysics module for sulfate aerosols based on the quadrature method of moments has been incorporated in a host 3-D regional model, the Multiscale Air Quality Simulation Platform. Model performance was examined and evaluated by comparison with in situ observations over the eastern United States for a 40-day period from 19 July to 28 August 1995. The model generally reproduces the spatial patterns (sulfate mixing ratios and wet deposition) over the eastern United States and time series variations of sulfate mass concentrations. The model successfully captured the observed size distribution in the accumulation mode (radius 0.1–0.5 μm), in which the sulfate is predominately located, while underestimating the nucleation and coarse modes on the basis of the size distributions retrieved from the modeled six moments at the Great Smoky Mountains (GSM). This is consistent with better model performance on the effective radius (ratio of third to second moment, important for light scattering) than on number-mean and mass-mean radii. However, the model did not predict some of the moments well, especially the higher moments and during the dust events. Aerosol components other than sulfate such as dust and organics appear to have contributed substantially to the observed aerosol loading at GSM. The model underpredicted sulfate mixing ratios by 13% with about 50% of observations simulated to within a factor of 2. One of the reasons for this underestimation may be overprediction of sulfate wet deposition. Sulfate mass concentrations and number concentrations were high in the source-rich Ohio River valley, but number concentrations were also high over the mid-Atlantic coast (New Jersey area). Most (77%) sulfate amount was below 2.6 km, whereas most sulfate number (>52%) was above 2.6 km except over Ohio River valley (41%). These results demonstrate the accuracy, utility, practicality, and efficiency of moment-based methods for representing aerosol microphysical processes in large-scale chemical transport models.
Disseminated candidiasis in a previously healthy girl: Implication of a leukocyte candidacidal defect☆

Abstract A previously healthy 15-year-old white female presented with a nearly fatal Candida albicans fungemia, peritonitis, and several perforations of the stomach wall with evidence of Candida infiltration. Investigation of this patient's immunologic functions revealed no deficiency of anti- Candida antibody production, in vitro lymphocyte response to mitogens or C. albicans antigen, delayed cutaneous reactivity to Candida antigen, immunoglobulin levels, or serum complement activity. Candidacidal assays using the patient's peripheral blood leukocytes repeatedly gave values significantly below the normal range in both autologous and normal AB serum. This leukocytic defect was still demonstrable more than a year after full recovery from Candida sepsis. Phagocytosis of C. albicans , leukocyte bactericidal activity against gram-positive and gram-negative organisms, nitroblue tetrazolium dye reduction, myeloperoxidase levels, and oxidation of [1- 14 C]glucose and [ 14 C]formate were normal. This patient apparently has a unique leukocytic defect for which final characterization must await newer methods of investigating leukocyte function.
Faculty Assessment Opinions of Correctional Facility Courses.

Public and private 2‐year college faculty teaching credit courses in correctional facilities were surveyed to assess their opinions regarding three key factors (scheduling, library, computers) about such courses. Faculty cited factors that may indicate that the quality of such courses might be less than similar on‐campus courses. A summary question about the extent of learning indicated that 84% of correctional facility faculty included in this survey reported that their students learned as much or more than they would in a comparable on‐campus course. The information is the personal opinion of the faculty and was not compared with other measures of learning. The availability and ease of use of a library and the availability of computers were significant factors influencing faculty opinion. The data from 2‐year college faculty teaching in correctional facilities were compared with a database of 271 other faculty teaching off campus, but not in correctional facilities, and results were similar.
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ expression in human vascular smooth muscle cells: inhibition of growth, migration, and c-fos expression by the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ activator troglitazone☆

This study was conducted to determine whether cultured human coronary artery and aorta vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cells express the nuclear transcription factor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma); whether the thiazolidinedione troglitazone, a ligand for PPARgamma, would inhibit c-fos expression by these cells; and whether troglitazone would inhibit proliferation and migration induced in these cells by mitogenic growth factors. Using immunoblotting and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) techniques, we show that both human aorta and coronary artery VSM cell lines expressed PPARgamma protein and mRNA for both PPARgamma isoforms, PPARgamma1 and PPARgamma2. Immunocytochemical staining localized the PPARgamma protein primarily within the nucleus. Troglitazone inhibited basic fibroblast growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor-BB induced DNA synthesis in a dose-dependent manner and downregulated the growth-factor-induced expression of c-fos. Troglitazone also inhibited the migration of coronary artery VSM cells along a platelet-derived growth factor-BB concentration gradient. These findings demonstrate for the first time the expression and nuclear localization of PPARgamma in human coronary artery and aorta VSM cells. The data also suggest that the downregulation of c-fos expression, growth-factor-induced proliferation, and migration by VSM may, in part, be mediated by activation of the PPARgamma receptor.
Immunopathogenesis of juvenile dermatomyositis

There is increasing evidence for involvement of the mechanisms of the innate immune system in the pathogenesis of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs), especially in the adult and juvenile forms of dermatomyositis. Juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) is the most common form of childhood IIM, and this review focuses on recent advances in understanding the actions of the innate immune system in this condition. Over the last few years, great strides have been made in understanding immune dysregulation in IIM, including JDM. Novel autoantibodies have been identified, and new genetic contributions have been described. Among the most striking findings is type I interferon activity in JDM tissue and peripheral blood. This is in conjunction with the description of dysregulation of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I gene and identification of plasmacytoid dendritic infiltrates as the possible cellular source of type I interferons. These findings also point toward the potential prognostic value of muscle biopsies and have helped expand our understanding of the etiopathogenesis of IIM.
Is resurfacing the patella cheaper? An economic analysis of evidence based medicine on patellar resurfacing

Abstract Background Primary total knee arthroplasty is a high volume procedure which is expected to grow dramatically in the near future. The decision to resurface the patella has been discussed extensively in the literature yet the financial implications of resurfacing versus not resurfacing have not been demonstrated. Methods We identified all randomized controlled trials comparing patellar resurfacing to nonresurfacing in the past ten years and identified the total number of patellofemoral revision surgeries for both resurfaced and nonresurfaced patellas in each study. An expected-value decision tree analysis was created using only data from the randomized controlled trials. Actual costs collected from Medicare reimbursement rates were then applied to the model and a sensitivity analysis was performed. Results The expected value of primary total knee arthroplasty with patellar resurfacing was $13,788.48 while a primary total knee arthroplasty without patellar resurfacing was $14,016.41 after five years. The difference represents an additional $227.92 of Medicare dollars for every primary total knee arthroplasty performed without patellar resurfacing at five years. The model remains valid as long as patellofemoral revision rates after patellar resurfacing remain below 3.54% and patellofemoral revision rates after nonresurfaced patellas remain above 0.77%. Conclusions While initially counterintuitive, resurfacing the patella during a primary total knee arthroplasty is the optimal financial strategy from a Medicare perspective over a mid term period.
Nonallelic histone gene clusters of individual sea urchins (Lytechinus pictus): Mapping of homologies in coding and spacer DNA

The linear arrangement and lengths of the spacers and coding regions in the two nonallelic histone gene variant clusters of L. pictus are remarkably homologous by R loop analysis and are similar in general topography to the histone gene repeat units of other sea urchins examined to date. No interventing sequences were detected. The coding regions of these two histone gene variants share considerable sequence homology; however, there are areas of nonhomology in every spacer region and the lengths of the nonhomologous spacers between the H2A and H1 genes are not the same for the two repeat unit classes (inter-gene heterogeneity). Combining length measurements obtained with both R loops and heteroduplexes suggests that the DNA sequences of the analogous leader regions for the two H1 mRNAs are nonhomologous. Similar observations were made for the H4 leader sequences, as well as the trailer region on H2B. S. purpuratus spacer DNA segments share little sequence homology with L. pictus; however, the analgous coding (and possibly flanking) regions have conserved their sequences. The various coding and spacer regions within a repeat unit do not share DNA sequences. Thus certain areas in the sea urchin histone gene repeat units have been highly conserved during evolution, while other areas have been allowed to undergo considerable sequence change not only between species but within a species.
Crossed-field devices: where are we and options for the future

Summary form only given, as follows. The industry sale of vacuum electron devices worldwide during 1999 was approximately $488M. The share of this in the crossed-field device (CFD) industry was about $105M, or 21%. The US industry sale of vacuum electron devices during the same time was around $251M with approximately $34M, or 14%, in the CFD industry. There are currently two dominant manufacturers of CFDs in the US and one additional dominant company in the world market. The US industrial sales trend in the recent past for CFDs has been a downward slope. This presentation identifies two concerns facing the US CFD industry and probably the world wide industry: (1) A large number of different organizations (especially in the US Department of Defense) that purchase CFDs, and (2) the limited vertical integration into microwave systems houses by the CFD industry. Both of these concerns are discussed and some suggestions for the industry presented.
Analyzing the effects of module encapsulation on search space bias

Modularity is thought to improve the evolvability of biological systems [18, 22]. Recent studies in the field of evolutionary computation show that the use of modularity improves performance and scalability of evolutionary algorithms for certain applications. [5, 12, 15, 16, 17]. The effects of introducing modularity to evolutionary search, however, are not well understood. This paper focuses on analyzing the effects of modularity on evolutionary computation. In particular, we analyze the effects of modular representations on the search space bias.
Constructing the Limits of State Violence in Central America: Towards a New Research Agenda

This analysis of the historically high level of state-sponsored violence in Central America, typically explained in terms of ‘authoritarianism’ or ‘civil-military relations’, argues for according it a more independent research status. Three historic dimensions of state-sponsored violence – the mechanisms by which caudillo violence was displaced upward in the late 19th century, the level of subaltern collaboration with the agents of state violence as a function of clientelist politics, and the intrusion of US military power after 1940 – are proposed. The implications for the utility of political culture theory and for a reevaluation of the literature on civil-military relations are developed.
Is It Always Appropriate to Be Developmental? Convergent Models for Early Intervention Practice

Three theoretical models of early intervention practice are discussed in order to identify the common values that characterize each of them. Although the developmental, functional, and biological models were each developed by different sets of practitioners and for different purposes and populations of children, it is possible to infer convergent principles that can guide professional practice. Previous assumptions that these models are discrete are questioned, and two examples of convergent paradigms are analyzed in light of the common values identified here.
Detection of vancomycin levels in patients receiving telavancin but not vancomycin

Sir, Telavancin is a lipoglycopeptide antibiotic with a chemical structure closely related to the glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin. Telavancin has excellent in vitro activity against methicillinresistant staphylococci and, in the trials which led to its approval for the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections, it was shown to be non-inferior to vancomycin. 1 Renal toxicity is the principal significant adverse effect of telavancin. 2 A standard dose of 10 mg/kg daily is recommended in patients with normal renal function and monitoring of serum or plasma levels is neither recommended nor available commercially. 2 It is not known if telavancin serum levels correlate with the efficacy or renal toxicity of this antibiotic. Perhaps due to a lack of therapeutic superiority data and concerns about renal toxicity, telavancin has yet to be widely used in clinical practice. Recently, a patient receiving the standard dose of telavancin for a staphylococcal infection was demonstrated to have an apparent detectable serum vancomycin level (after the level was inadvertently ordered by a house officer). This serendipitous finding led us to check vancomycin levels in several other patients with normal renal function who were receiving standard doses of telavancin. No patients had received vancomycin. Trough levels were obtained immediately prior to a dose of telavancin and peak levels were obtained 1 h after the infusion was completed. The vancomycin serum levels were determined by a particle-enhanced turbidometric inhibition immunoassay method (Synchron LX System, Beckman Coulter, Inc., Brea, CA, USA). The results are shown in Table 1. Wespeculatethatif aconsistent correlationcanbeestablished between serum vancomycin and telavancin levels in patients treated with telavancin, a commercially available vancomycin serum level assay can then be used to monitor telavancin therapy, in place of an unavailable telavancin assay, in order to establish possible correlation between telavancin levels and its clinical efficacy and/or renal toxicity. Although telavancin plasma assays were apparently done as part of approval studies, we had no access to a telavancin assay to attempt to establish the correlation. 3 If the manufacturer of telavancin or an independent investigator is able to perform telavancin assays, they may choose to perform such a study.
Implementation and evaluation of a 2400 bit/s mixed excitation LPC vocoder

The authors present an LPC (linear predictive coding) vocoder model with four features: mixed pulse and noise excitation, periodic or aperiodic pulses, pulse dispersion filter, and adaptive spectral enhancement. A 2400-bit/s speech coder based on this model has been implemented, as well as a 4800-bit/s coder which also includes Fourier series spectral information. Formal subjective test results show that this 2400-bit/s vocoder performs better than the government standard at the same bit rate, for both clean and noisy input speech. The quality of this coder approaches that of the higher-rate CELP (code-excited linear prediction) standard. The addition of Fourier magnitudes to the 4800-bit/s coder provides significant improvement, but both the bit rate and the computational requirements of the 4800-bit/s coder are much higher than for the 2400-bit/s vocoder. Therefore, this 4800-bit/s coder may not be as useful, but its performance does serve as a target for possible improvements to the parametric model. >
Mutational analysis of the putative pipo of soybean mosaic virus suggests disruption of PIPO protein impedes movement

Abstract The presence of a small open reading frame embedded in the P3 cistron of potyvirus turnip mosaic virus, termed “ pipo ,” was recently discovered. We have now studied the putative pipo of soybean mosaic virus (SMV). Introduction of single, or multiple, stop codon mutations at different locations within pipo , without substitution in polyprotein amino acids, did not abolish replication, but restricted the virus to small cluster of cells within the inoculated leaves. Furthermore, extensive mutagenesis of the conserved GA 6 motif at the 5′ end of pipo also generated two out of five mutants that remained restricted to small foci of infected cells within the inoculated leaves. Long-distance movement function of the movement-defective PIPO-mutants was not restored following co-inoculation with competent SMV strains. Taken together, the data suggest that the putative pipo of SMV is essential for the virus movement; however, knock out of its expression does not abolish replication.
On the Minimum k-Connectivity Repair in Wireless Sensor Networks

Repairing connectivity and achieving a certain level of fault tolerance are two important research challenges in wireless sensor networks that have, in many papers in the literature, been jointly studied. Most of the proposals that aim at restoring network connectivity deal with the network as a general graph of N nodes with the edge cost being the number of nodes needed to establish connectivity between the two ends of the edge. This assumption ignores the topological properties of the network, especially the overlap between sensors' communication ranges, and the node-failure pattern that caused the disconnection. In this paper, we try to exploit these properties to minimize the number of additional nodes needed to repair the connectivity.
Chiral synthesis VIA organoboranes. 26. An efficient synthesis of isoprenyl derivatives of borane - valuable reagents for the isoprenylboration of aldehydes. A convenient route to both enantiomers of ipsenol and ipsdienol in high optical purity

Abstract Preparation of B-isoprenyldialkylboranes is achieved by adopting the Brandsma modification of the Schlosser procedure, namely metallation of isoprene with potassium 2,2,5,5-tetramethylpiperidide followed by sequential treatment with B-methoxydialkylborane and boron trifluoride-etherate. These reagents are used for the convenient isoprenylation of aldehydes. Reaction of isovaleraldehyde and β, β-dimethylacrolein with B2'isoprenyldiisopinocampheylborane provides both ipsenol and ipsdienol, respectively in 65% yields and 96% ee.
Issues in Banawá Prosody: Onset Sensitivity, Minimal Words, and Syllable Integrity

Three aspects of Banawa prosody (Buller, Buller, and Everett 1993, Everett 1996a,b) have been argued to present significant difficulties for metrical stress theory. First, Banawa stress is sensitive to the presence or absence of syllable onsets; second, Banawa tolerates monomoraic feet yet requires a bimoraic minimal word; and, third, it seems to employ mora-based footing that is free to ignore syllable boundaries. In this article, I argue that these issues are not nearly as problematic as they might first appear. The article demonstrates that Banawa's onset sensitivity can be produced by a constraint aligning the head syllables of feet with onsets, that its minimal word restriction can be produced with Nonfinality constraints, and that it can maintain syllable integrity simply by giving clash and lapse avoidance priority over other footing considerations.
Using climate-FVS to project landscape-level forest carbon stores for 100 years from field and LiDAR measures of initial conditions

Background: Forest resources supply a wide range of environmental services like mitigation of increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). As climate is changing, forest managers have added pressure to obtain forest resources by following stand management alternatives that are biologically sustainable and economically profitable. The goal of this study is to project the effect of typical forest management actions on forest C levels, given a changing climate, in the Moscow Mountain area of north-central Idaho, USA. Harvest and prescribed fire management treatments followed by plantings of one of four regionally important commercial tree species were simulated, using the climate-sensitive version of the Forest Vegetation Simulator, to estimate the biomass of four different planted species and their C sequestration response to three climate change scenarios. Results: Results show that anticipated climate change induces a substantial decrease in C sequestration potential regardless of which of the four tree species tested are planted. It was also found that Pinus monticola has the highest capacity to sequester C by 2110, followed by Pinus ponderosa, then Pseudotsuga menziesii, and lastly Larix occidentalis. Conclusions: Variability in the growth responses to climate change exhibited by the four planted species considered in this study points to the importance to forest managers of considering how well adapted seedlings may be to predicted climate change, before the seedlings are planted, and particularly if maximizing C sequestration is the management goal.
Low latency and cheat-proof event ordering for peer-to-peer games

We are developing a distributed architecture for massively-multiplayer games. In this paper, we focus on designing a low-latency event ordering protocol, called NEO, for this architecture. Previous event ordering protocols prevent several types of cheats at the expense of operating at the latency of the slowest player. We broaden the definition of cheating to include four common protocol level cheats and demonstrate how NEO prevents these cheats. At the same time, NEO has a playout latency independent of network conditions and adapts to network congestion to optimize performance.
Privatization and Competition Policy

Why are we discussing privatization in a book about competition policy? Because the scope of government and the role of the state are central to broader issues of competition. Privatization of monopolies without sufficient antitrust protection has been a recurring complaint among critics of privatization. So, on the other side, has been anticompetitive behavior by state-owned enterprises that often are not subject to antitrust at all. More theoretically, antitrust law may focus on certain problems and choose to ignore others as being unrealistic because of an assumption that firms behave as profit maximizers. But given the mass of public choice literature exploring what governments supposedly maximize, as well as empirical evidence that privatization often increases productivity and profitability, this may be a bad assumption when firms are owned (or even heavily regulated) by government. This chapter, therefore, explores the links between privatization and competition policy.
Deception-Based Survivability

Critical systems in current threat landscape demand more than just fault-tolerance and security; they demand survivability. Survivability is the ability of a system to continue delivering essential services during attacks, faults or accidents. This is usually accomplished via a four-layered defense setting that consists of prevention, detection, recovery and adaption. As evident by the recent incline in advanced persistent threats, the existing defense systems are in a dire need of evolution. This new generation of defense systems should be smart, adaptive and unlike traditional systems, stay ahead of the malicious actors. Many researchers have started to consider deception as a means to this end. Deception involves misrepresenting or hiding information in order to manipulate a user’s actions. When engrafted in the prevention and detection layers, deception can help trace attacker intent, objective and strategies (AIOS) which aids in the development of targeted recovery and adaptation procedures. Such procedures, in turn, help a system survive in hostile environments. Though the adoption of deception-based defense has been hindered by legal and moral issues in the past but the recent increase in interest in this field holds great promise. This chapter discusses deception-based survivability, its benefits and shortcomings. It presents a high-level deployment architecture that uses deception to ensure system survivability. Other aspects of deception-based survivability such as performance overhead, continued effectiveness and precision have also been discussed.
Test of a kinetics scheme: Emission in H(2S) + NO(2?)

The mechanism to explain the afterglow in the collision of H(2S) and NO(2Π) is critically examined by calculating part of the energy surface of the 3A″ state. It is found that the long range interaction energies are consistently repulsive even though at shorter distances attractive ionic interactions dominate. It is concluded that the essential feature of the Clyne and Thrush mechanism is missing; intimate interaction of H(2S) and NO(2Π) is not possible at room temperature along the 3A″ surface. This study was undertaken to provide an example where a theoretical calculation is required to critically test a kinetics mechanism.
When are effective medications just too expensive

Physicians may have been taught that it isn’t their job to think about costs—but they should.
Reduced compressibility and an inverse problem for a spinning gas

A spinning ideal gas in a cylinder with a smooth surface is shown to have unusual properties. First, under compression parallel to the axis of rotation, the spinning gas exhibits reduced compressibility because energy can be stored in the rotation. Second, the spinning breaks the symmetry under which partial pressures of a mixture of gases simply add proportional to the constituent number densities. Thus, remarkably, in a mixture of spinning gases, an inverse problem can be formulated such that the gas constituents can be determined through external measurements only.
Diverse forms of pulmonary hypertension remodel the arterial tree to a high shear phenotype

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is associated with progressive changes in arterial network complexity. An allometric model is derived that integrates diameter branching complexity between pulmonary art...
Brief Report: Integrating Social-Emotional Learning with Literacy Instruction: An Intervention for Children at Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders:

It is widely believed that children's social-emotional growth and academic learning are inextricably connected. Pressured by high-stakes assessments, however, school professionals find it difficult...
Methods for Analyzing Secondary Outcomes in Public Health Case–Control Studies

Case–control studies are common in public health research. In these studies, cases are chosen based on the primary outcome but there are usually many other related variables which are collected. While the analysis of the association between the primary outcome and exposure variables is generally the main focus of the study, the association between secondary outcomes and exposure variables may also be of interest. Since the experiment was designed for the analysis of the primary outcome, the analysis of secondary outcomes may suffer from selection bias. In this chapter we will introduce the problem and the potential biased inference that can result from ignoring the sampling design. We will discuss and compare a design-based and model-based approach to account for the bias, and demonstrate the methods using a public health data set.
LTBD: A Triage Framework

Log, used for saving the production behaviors in transaction processing system in a cloud, is widely used to triage production failures. Log has posed challenges for cloud as its large volume in data, unstructured formats and untraceable failures. The paper proposes a new logging solution for effective and efficient triaging of the production failures.
EFFECT OF VERY LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEINS ON LIPID TRANSFER IN INCUBATED SERUM.

Incubation of human serum solutions low in glyceride content for 16 hr resulted in a net increase of cholesterol esters in all three major human serum lipoprotein classes, namely the very low-density lipoproteins of d When serum was incubated in the presence of high concentrations of VLDL lipoproteins, the increase in cholesterol esters was found only in the VLDL fraction. The VLDL apparently took up newly-formed cholesterol esters produced by serum fatty acid transferase activity, and accepted some cholesterol esters initially bound to the LDL and HDL. When the transferase was inhibited with sodium p-hydroxymercuribenzoate, some of the cholesterol esters initially bound to the LDL and HDL were still transferred to the VLDL. The HDL class was then the principal contributor of the cholesterol esters. These observations indicate that reciprocal transfer of cholesterol esters for glycerides in human serum lipoproteins can occur.
The Usefulness of Ultrasound in the Evaluation of Renal Masses in Adults

The efficacy of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of renal masses in our own series and in the recent literature has been reviewed. Ultrasonography in combination with cyst puncture approaches 100 per cent accuracy in the diagnosis of lesions more than 3 cm. in diameter that can be adequately delineated. Complications appear to be minimal.
Postoperative Letalität und Komplikationsrate nach erweiterter D3-Lymphknotendissektion beim in kurativer Intention resezierten Magenkarzinom

Bei 76 wegen eines Magenadenocarcinoms in kurativer Absicht operierten Patienten (11’95-8’97) wurde die postoperative Letalitat und Komplikationsrate nach D3-Lymphknotendissektion (LND) retrospektiv analysiert (45,3 LK/Patient, Lymph node ratio: 0,16). Im Vergleich mit einer historischen Kontrollgruppe von 383 Patienten (’82–’89) unseres Hauses, bei denen eine D2-Dissektion erfolgte, war die Letalitatsrate des neuen Verfahrens niedriger (1% vs 6,8%), wahrend die Gesamtkomplikationsrate gleich blieb (34% vs 32,1%). Es traten keine Anastomoseninsuffizienz (vs 9,4%) und weniger nicht-chirurgische Komplikationen auf (17,1% vs 27,9%). Die Relaparotomierate betrug 1% vs 9,7%. Allerdings musten bei 6% der Patienten CT gesteuerte Drainagen gelegt werden. Die durchschnittliche Krankenhausverweildauer blieb gleich (21,9 vs 20,7 Tage). Die D3 LND ist ein sicheres, ohne unmittelbaren Nachteil behaftetes Verfahren.
Ancestor Veneration and Lineage Organization in the Maya Region

Ancestors and lineage are ubiquitous themes that pervade the ethnographic and ethnohistoric literature of Yucatan. The extent to which rhesc themes exerted a powerful influence on everything from dynastic succession to the placement of fields and orchards will be demonstrated in this chapter and those to follow. Here, principles, practices, and places of ancestor veneration and lineage organization throughout the Maya region are discussed in order to establish the presence and importance of these institutions. ANATOMY OF A LINEAGE By A.D. 1547, Spaniards had succeeded in gaining a foothold in northern Yucatan. One of their first actions was to divide the land into encomiendas that were bestowed as spoils of conquest on the Spanish adventurers (Farriss 1984). Shortly thereafter, the Spanish Crown asked for detailed descriptions of the occupied lands: geography, hydrology, crop production, crop potential, and presence of metals and precious stones, as well as descriptions of the population and political history of the current occupants. Having very limited knowledge of the partially subjugated Maya population, many of the encomenderos relied on the literate Maya Caspar Antonio Chi to “ghostwrite” the historical portion of their reports or relaciones geograficas .
The Boundaries of the “We:” Cruelty, Responsibility and Forms of Life

This paper establishes a dialogue between the later works of Wittgenstein, those of Cavell and the novels of J. M. Coetzee concerning the problem of violence, authority and the authoritative voice. By drawing on J. M. Coetzee's Waiting for the Barbarians and Diary of a Bad Year, the paper discusses lessons and insights on the nature of violence and the ways in which it can be accepted as “normal.” The term “normalization” is used in order to show how violence and cruelty can become a “form of life” (Ludwig Wittgenstein) that develops according to its own actors, cultural practices and legitimacies (Stanley Cavell and, by implication, Richard Rorty).
Posttraumatic Elbow Stiffness: A Critical Analysis Review

Open and arthroscopic release are both effective surgical treatments for posttraumatic elbow stiffness. Both static and dynamic bracing are effective for increasing elbow range of motion when heterotopic ossification is not present. Some loss of immediate postoperative range of motion is expected. Recurrence of heterotopic ossification around the elbow is rare. The occurrence of ulnar nerve palsy is rare and often requires transposition.
Statistical methods for analyzing ancient DNA from hominins

In the past few years, the number of autosomal DNA sequences from human fossils has grown explosively and numerous partial or complete sequences are available from our closest relatives, Neanderthal and Denisovans. I review commonly used statistical methods applied to these sequences. These methods fall into three broad classes: methods for estimating levels of contamination, descriptive methods, and methods based on population genetic models. The latter two classes are largely methods developed for the analysis of present-day genomic data. When they are applied to ancient DNA (aDNA), they usually ignore the time dimension. A few methods, particularly those concerned with inferring something about selection or ancestor–descendant relationships, take explicit account of the ages of aDNA samples.
KHF2: A Mild and Selective Desilylating Agent for Phenol tert-Butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS) Ethers

TBDMS (t-BuMe2Si, tert-butyldimethylsilyl) ethers of a variety of phenols have been deprotected with KHF2 in MeOH, at room temperature. Carboxylic ester and labile phenolic acetate were unaffected under these conditions. In competition reactions between TBDMS ethers of a phenol and two primary benzylic alcohols, the phenolic ether underwent cleavage whereas the alcohol ethers remained intact. From a substrate containing both a phenolic hydroxyl group and a secondary, doubly benzylic hydroxyl group protected as TBDMS ethers, the phenol was rapidly and selectively released. Cleavage of TBDMS, TBDPS, and TIPS ethers of a phenol was also compared. TBDMS and TBDPS ethers underwent cleavage at room temperature within 30 minutes, whereas removal of the TIPS ether required 2.5 hours. Ease of cleavage appears to be TBDMS ≈ TBDPS > TIPS. At 60 °C, TBDMS ethers of primary benzylic, allylic, and unactivated alcohols can be efficiently desilylated over a prolonged period (13–17 h). Thus, KHF2 proves to be a mild and effective reagent for the selective desilylation of phenol TBDMS ethers at room temperature.
A retrospective review of squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal in HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients

e15586 Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients (pts) are at increased risk for squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCAC) and the incidence of SCCAC has increased in the era of HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy). The outcome of SCCAC in HIV (+) pts has not been evaluated in prospective trials and the published literature is limited to small retrospective case series. The aim of this study is to describe the outcome, tolerability, and overall survival (OS) in pts with and without HIV infection treated at Karmanos Cancer Institute, at Wayne State University from 1991 to 2007. Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review. We collected data regarding HIV status, demographics (age, gender, race), stage at diagnosis, treatment, response to treatment, toxicity, and survival. Results: Fifty pts with SCCAC were identified, of whom 18 were HIV (+) and 32 were HIV (−), 26% Caucasians, 68% African American, 56% males and 44% females. HIV (+) pts had significantly better...
Qualitative study of patients’ and family caregivers’ (FC) perceptions and information preferences about hospice.

50 Background: Despite the benefits of hospice for patients with advanced cancer and their FC, many patients are referred late or not at all. To assess potential patient and FC barriers to enrollment, we assessed their perceptions, knowledge, and information preferences about hospice. Methods: We conducted qualitative interviews with 16 adult patients with metastatic cancer and a prognosis ≤ 12 months and 8 of their FC. We used a semi-structured interview guide to elicit their perceptions (including perceived barriers to utilization), knowledge, and information preferences about hospice. Two raters coded interviews independently and reached acceptable inter-rater reliability (κ > 0.85). We used content analysis to identify themes. Results: We found similar themes between patients and FC interviews. Participants had mixed views about which patients need hospice with some stating it is for patients only at the end-of-life and others perceiving it as important for patients who need care their family cannot p...
Collaboration: Making Eclecticism Possible in Economic Law and Politics

Rose-Ackerman’s collaborations build on her single-authored works and her collaborations have been diverse and mostly one-shot. She has collaborated with senior and junior colleagues including her students, and people with unique knowledge of particular countries. Comparative law and poltics are especially appropriate for collaborative efforts.