cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
More Practical and Secure History-Independent Hash Tables

Direct-recording electronic (DRE) voting systems have been used in several countries including United States, India, and the Netherlands to name a few. A common flaw that was discovered by the security researchers was that the votes were stored sequentially according to the time they were cast, which allows an attacker to break the anonymity of the voters. Subsequent research pointed out the connection between vote storage and the privacy property history-independence. In a weakly history-independent data structure, every possible sequence of operations consistent with the current set of items is equally likely to have occurred. In a strongly history-independent data structure, items must be stored in a canonical way, i.e., for any set of items, there is only one possible memory representation. Strong history-independence implies weak history-independence but considerably constrains the design choices of the data structures. In this work, we present and analyze an efficient hash table data structure that simultaneously achieves the following properties: It is based on the classic linear probing collision-handling scheme. It is weakly history-independent. It is secure against collision-timing attacks. That is, we consider adversaries that can measure the time for an update operation, but cannot observe data values, and we show that those adversaries cannot learn information about the items in the table. All operations are significantly faster in practice (almost 2x faster for high load factors) than those of the commonly used strongly history-independent linear probing method proposed by Blelloch and Golovin (FOCS’07), which is not secure against collision-timing attacks.
Bioaccumulation patterns and temporal trends of mercury exposure in Wisconsin common loons.

A long term field study was initiated by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in 1992 to elucidate patterns of common loon (Gavia immer) mercury (Hg) exposure. Analysis of loon blood and feather samples collected from recaptured adult loons in Wisconsin 1992–2000 found evidence of a decline in overall body burdens of mercury in common loons for this region. The interval between sampling individual loons spanned 2–8 years, a sufficient length of time to observe a change in tissue Hg concentrations. Loon chick blood Hg levels declined by 4.9% annually for chicks sampled on 33 lakes during the period 1992–2000. This is the first evidence we are aware of showing a recent regional annual decrease in common loon Hg exposure. Repeated captures of wild loon chicks in Wisconsin shows that blood Hg concentrations can increase during the period of rapid feather growth (weeks 2–5), although the rate of increase is very slow. Mean egg Hg levels ranged from 0.19 to 0.87 µg Hg/g wet weight (ww) in samples collected 1996–2000. Egg Hg concentration was inversely and significantly related to lake pH (p<0.0001; r2=0.55). Adults and chicks were often captured simultaneous during the period 1992–2000. Correlations were highest between sibling blood Hg levels (r=0.88) and chick blood and adult blood (male r=0.61, female r=0.52) Hg levels, likely reflecting the influence of the Hg content of prey from the natal lake on loon blood Hg levels. The relationship between feathers and blood of adults and that of chick blood and adult feathers was weaker.
Imaging of Prostate Cancer Using Gallium-68–Labeled Bombesin

Nuclear medicine can play an important role in evaluating prostate cancer combining anatomical and functional information with hybrid techniques. Various PET radiopharmaceuticals have been used for targeting specific biological markers in prostate cancer. Research is ideally oriented towards the development of radiopharmaceuticals targeting antigens overexpressed in prostate cancer, as opposed to normal prostate tissue. In this regard, gastrin-releasing peptide receptors (GRPR) are excellent candidates. Bombesin analogues targeting the GRPR have been investigated. Gallium-68 (68Ga) is an interesting PET radioisotope due to several advantages, such as availability, ease of radiochemistry, half-life, and costs. The focus of this review is on 68Ga-labeled bombesin analogues in prostate cancer.
Photoswitchable dye-nanoparticle probes with photothermal switching of light-dark states and colors (Withdrawal Notice)

Publisher's Note: This paper, originally published on 21, February, 2017, was withdrawn per author request.
Characterization of Polyelectrolyte Complex Formation Between Anionic and Cationic Poly(amino acids) and Their Potential Applications in pH-Dependent Drug Delivery

Polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) are self-assembling nano-sized constructs that offer several advantages over traditional nanoparticle carriers including controllable size, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and lack of toxicity, making them particularly appealing as tools for drug delivery. Here, we discuss potential application of PECs for drug delivery to the slightly acidic tumor microenvironment, a pH in the range of 6.5–7.0. Poly(l-glutamic acid) (En), poly(l-lysine) (Kn), and a copolymer composed of histidine-glutamic acid repeats ((HE)n) were studied for their ability to form PECs, which were analyzed for size, polydispersity, and pH sensitivity. PECs showed concentration dependent size variation at residue lengths of E51/K55 and E135/K127, however, no complexes were observed when E22 or K21 were used, even in combination with the longer chains. (HE)20/K55 PECs could encapsulate daunomycin, were stable from pH 7.4–6.5, and dissociated completely between pH 6.5–6.0. Conversely, the E51-dauno/K55 PEC dissociated between pH 4.0 and 3.0. These values for pH-dependent particle dissociation are consistent with the pKa’s of the ionizable groups in each formulation and indicate that the specific pH-sensitivity of (HE)20-dauno/K55 PECs is mediated by incorporation of histidine. This response within a pH range that is physiologically relevant to the acidic tumors suggests a potential application of these PECs in pH-dependent drug delivery.
How does execution information help with information-retrieval based bug localization?

Bug localization is challenging and time-consuming. Given a bug report, a developer may spend tremendous time comprehending the bug description together with code in order to locate bugs. To facilitate bug report comprehension, information retrieval (IR)-based bug localization techniques have been proposed to automatically search for and rank potential buggy code elements (i.e., classes or methods). However, these techniques do not leverage any dynamic execution information of buggy programs. In this paper, we perform the first systematic study on how dynamic execution information can help with static IR-based bug localization. More specifically, with the fixing patches and bug reports of 157 real bugs, we investigated the impact of various execution information (i.e. coverage, slicing, and spectrum) on three IR-based techniques: the baseline technique, BugLocator, and BLUiR. Our experiments demonstrate that both the coverage and slicing information of failed tests can effectively reduce the search space and improve IR-based techniques at both class and method levels. Using additional spectrum information can further improve bug localization at the method but not the class level. Some of our investigated ways of augmenting IR-based bug localization with execution information even outperform a state-of-the-art technique, which merges spectrum with an IR-based technique in a complicated way. Different from prior work, by investigating various easy-to-understand ways to combine execution information with IR-based techniques, this study shows for the first time that execution information can generally bring considerable improvement to IR-based bug localization.
Land Applications of Biochar: An Emerging Area

In recent years, there has been increasing interest on land application of biochar for improved carbon sequestration, pollutants removal, and soil amelioration. The biomass conversion into biochar and subsequent land application of biochar significantly stabilizes the ecosystem via GHG emission reduction and carbon sequestration, thus leading to the climate change mitigation. Biochar properties (e.g., surface area, microporosity, and pH) significantly improve the soil physiochemical (e.g., water-holding capacity, O2 content, moisture level, nutrient adsorption/desorption, pollutants immobilization), and biological properties (e.g., microbial abundance and activity) improves the soil health. Current research mainly aims to exploit biochar to recover nutrients from waste matters and utilize the resulting nutrient-enriched biochar as a source of micronutrients especially in nutrient-depleting soils to sustain the crop productivity. This chapter compiles the recent advances of biochar in land application, focusing important physiochemical attributes and mechanisms pertinent to soil amelioration and plant growth promotion. Moreover, biochar application rate and methods of land applications are also outlined.
ASSESSING SEVERITY OF LIVER DISEASE IN FONTAN FAILURE: A TRANSPLANT DILEMMA

Fontan palliation is associated with varying degrees of liver dysfunction. In patients with Fontan failure, there is often a dilemma deciding whether orthotopic heart transplant (OHT) versus combined heart-liver transplant (CHLT) is required. A 37 year-old male with pulmonary atresia/intact
Choosing to Learn: Evidence Evaluation for Active Learning and Teaching in Early Childhood

Choosing to take certain actions has direct consequences for learning. Do children tend to choose actions that support learning? We present research suggesting that before reaching kindergarten, children demonstrate proficiency in active learning that cannot be accounted for by simple heuristics for decision-making. Instead, children’s choices reveal a sophisticated ability to evaluate evidence (computing information gained by particular actions); potential evidence is compared to other possible rewards and costs associated with actions. This early emerging ability to select evidence underpins informal teaching of, and reasoning about, others. Specifically, we discuss recent empirical work demonstrating that preschool-aged children are able to evaluate potential evidence to support their own learning, another’s learning, and that they can even evaluate a teacher’s evidential selection for a third party’s learning.
Non-Euclidean, convolutional learning on cortical brain surfaces

In recent years there have been many studies indicating that multiple cortical features, extracted at each surface vertex, are promising in the detection of various neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. However, with limited datasets, it is challenging to train stable classifiers with such high-dimensional surface data. This necessitates a feature reduction that is commonly accomplished via regional volumetric morphometry from standard brain atlases. However, current regional summaries are not specific to the given age or pathology that is studied, which runs the risk of losing relevant information that can be critical in the classification process. To solve this issue, this paper proposes a novel data-driven approach by extending convolutional neural networks (CNN) for use on non-Euclidean manifolds such as cortical surfaces. The proposed network learns the most powerful features and brain regions from the extracted large dimensional feature space; thus creating a new feature space in which the dimensionality is reduced and feature distributions are better separated. We demonstrate the usability of the proposed surface-CNN framework in an example study classifying Alzheimers disease patients versus normal controls. The high performance in the cross-validation diagnostic results shows the potential of our proposed prediction system.
An Application of Maximum Entropy Method to Dynamical Correlation Functions at Zero Temperature

The ground state dynamical correlation function of the spin 1/2 Heisenberg chain is obtained with the maximum entropy method. Using sum rules, moments of a dynamical correlation function are expressed in terms of the equal- time correlation functions which be calculated with density matrix renormalization group method. With finite number of moments, we apply the maximum entropy method to obtain the dynamical correlation function.
Further Geometric Explorations

A domain Ω in \({\mathbb{C}}^{n}\) is a connected, open set. An automorphism of Ω is a biholomorphic self-map. The collection of automorphisms forms a group under the binary operation of composition of mappings. The standard topology on this group is uniform convergence on compact sets, or the compact-open topology. We denote the automorphism group by \(Aut(\Omega )\). When Ω is a bounded domain, the group \(Aut(\Omega )\) is a real (never a complex) Lie group.
Temperature jump : rigid-sphere gas with arbitrary gas/surface interaction

This paper reports on the problem of temperature jump, based on the linearized Boltzmann equation and arbitrary gas/surface interaction, solved using the S{sub n} method and collocation and finite element treatment of the energy (speed) variable. Accurate numerical results for the jump and for the density and temperature profiles are reported for the case of rigid-sphere intermolecular interaction and for Maxwell's diffuse-specular reflection boundary condition.
Prognostic Impact of High-Risk Pathologic Features in HPV-Related Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Tobacco Use:

ObjectivesTo assess the impact of pathologic features and chronic tobacco use on human papillomavirus (HPV)–related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC).Study DesignCase series with chart ...
A Consensus-Based Distributed Augmented Lagrangian Method

In this paper, we propose a distributed algorithm to solve multi-agent constrained optimization problems. Specifically, we employ the recently developed Accelerated Distributed Augmented Lagrangian (ADAL) algorithm that has been shown to exhibit faster convergence rates in practice compared to relevant distributed methods. Distributed implementation of ADAL depends on separability of the global coupling constraints. Here we extend ADAL so that it can be implemented distributedly independent of the structure of the coupling constraints. For this, we introduce local estimates of the global constraint functions and multipliers and employ a finite number of consensus steps between iterations of the algorithm to achieve agreement on these estimates. The proposed algorithm can be applied to both undirected or directed networks. Theoretical analysis shows that the algorithm converges at rate $O(1/k)$ and has steady error that is controllable by the number of consensus steps. Our numerical simulation shows that it outperforms existing methods in practice.
The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic activities of Juniperu thurifera

ABSTRACTThe antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic activities of Juniperus thurifera solvent extracts were evaluated. The solvent extracts demonstrated an antiradical effect, with the methanolic extract (MeE) having the greatest effect. The extracts also inhibited the oxidation of the linoleic acid. The MeE displayed a higher reducing power than the Hexane extract (HexE). The polyphenol content of the extracts correlated well with the antiradical activity. The oral administration of the MeE at 200 and 400 mg kg−1 decreased the pleurisy development. The MeE inhibited writhes caused by acetic acid and did not reduce body hyperthermia induced by brewer’s yeast in rats.
Individual Differences in the Interaction of Vision and Proprioception

In this chapter, I should like to propose that experimental research on individual differences in perception can contribute to the study of perception in general. Investigators have always been concerned about individual differences, but mostly as a source of unwanted variation in their measurements which was beyond their control. However, rarely have personal perceptual habits been studied to learn about perception. I will try to show that this may be worth doing by describing research on the interaction of vision and proprioception. A few studies about audition will be included as well.
Translating Provider and Staff Engagement Results to Actionable Planning and Outcomes

Staff and provider engagement leads to better quality and experience of care and less turnover and burnout. In this program, we describe an approach to better understand underlying factors that lead to low staff and provider engagement and address such factors by creating actionable plans that drive improved engagement measures. Focus groups were conducted with staff, advance practice providers, and faculty to better understand low scored areas in an annual third-party engagement survey. Focus group results were analyzed, and thematic action plans were then developed by a leadership team. These plans and the status of addressing the identified issues were published and disseminated back to all staff and providers using a "stoplight report." The leadership team met every 2 to 4 weeks until all issues were addressed and communicated back to the department. The subsequent year's engagement scores statistically increased across all engagement score domains for both staff and faculty. We conclude that using a qualitative approach to understanding low-scored engagement domains will allow a deeper and authentic understanding of the root factors that drive low engagement scores. This approach allows teams to develop responsive action plans, resulting in higher engagement scores, which will eventually lead to better service and care to patients.
PROMIS CAT forms demonstrate responsiveness in patients following arthroscopic rotator cuff repair across numerous health domains.

Background Recent studies of patients with rotator cuff tears have demonstrated improved efficiency with Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) when compared with traditional patient-reported outcome measures (PROM). However, these studies have been cross-sectional in nature and the responsiveness of PROMIS computer adaptive test (CAT) forms has not been evaluated. The purpose of this study was to determine the responsiveness of PROMIS CAT assessments in patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. Methods All patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair by one of 3 fellowship-trained surgeons were included in the study. PROMIS CAT upper extremity physical function (“PROMIS-UE”), pain interference (“PROMIS-PI”), and depression (“PROMIS-D”) scores from preoperative and 6-month postoperative visits were collected and analyzed. Patient-centric demographic factors, tear size, and biceps involvement were also correlated to preoperative and postoperative PROMIS scores. Results A total of 101 patients were enrolled in the study. The average age was 59.8 ± 8.9 years with 51 males (50.5%). Preoperative PROMIS-UE, PROMIS-PI, and PROMIS-D CAT scores improved significantly from 29.8 ± 6.0, 62.6 ± 5.1, and 48.4 ± 8.7, respectively, to 40.9 ± 9.8, 51.2 ± 9.3, and 42.9 ± 9.0, respectively, at 6-month follow-up (P Conclusion PROMIS CAT forms demonstrate responsiveness in patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair across numerous domains.
The wedding proposal.

Abstract In this narrative essay, the author, a medical student, describes a patient who was nearing the end of her life and who feared passing away before she could witness her daughter's wedding. This story describes the lengths to which the medical team went to in order to address this concern, illustrating a particularly humanistic instance of what end-of-life care can mean.
Service operations in public sector agencies: evidence from NCDMV

This paper studies customer service in public agencies within the context of vehicle titling and registration services in North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (NCDMV). Over 17,000 observations were recorded from the operations of 27 offices in North Carolina and analysis performed on the same to delineate operational factors that impact service quality. Primary findings include: salient determinants of customer service and waiting times; benefits of process standardisation/automation; evidence that privately-operated offices with permanent contracts or those that are state owned and operated provide worse service than those operated by private contractors with time-limited contracts and; evidence that incomplete transactions represent a significant customer service problem. The study also provides evidence of the consistency of NCDMV's compensation rates, a surprising result given that these rates were not set by the legislature after adequate data-based analyses. Theoretical implications of the findings are discussed along with the legislative impact of this study.
Chapter 1 – LABELED ENUMERATION

Publisher Summary The labeled enumeration problems always appear to be much easier to solve than the corresponding unlabeled problems. For example, the number of labeled graphs is instantly found from first principles, while the determination of the number of unlabeled graphs requires a considerable amount of combinatorial theory, including Polya's Theorem. This chapter presents a selected sample of some of the outstanding and interesting solutions to labeled enumeration problems in graph theory, including the determination of the number of labeled graphs, connected graphs, blocks, eulerian graphs, fc-colored graphs, acyclic digraphs, trees, and eulerian trails in an eulerian digraph.
Surgical correction of hydrothorax complicating pediatric peritoneal dialysis

Hydrothorax complicating continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis (CCPD) is an uncommon event. Its presentation may occur shortly after or years after initiation of dialysis. Surgical intervention offers the advantage of direct visualization and repair of the diaphragmatic defect. Video assisted thoracoscopy surgery (VATS) has been increasingly used in identifying these defects to facilitate this repair. We present 2 pediatric cases who underwent successful direct surgical repair of diaphragmatic defects using VATS with return to CCPD. Initial approach with VATS should be strongly considered in patients in whom a lifetime change in modality has significant repercussions.
Linear models for multivariate repeated measures data with block exchangeable covariance structure

The popularity of the classical general linear model (CGLM) is attributable mostly to its ease of fitting and validating; however, the CGLM is inappropriate for correlated observations. In this paper we explore linear models for correlated observations with an exchangeable structure (Arnold in J Am Stat Assoc 74:194–199, 1979). For the case of $$N>1$$ repeated measures observations having site-dependent or site-independent covariates, the maximum likelihood estimates (MLEs) of the model’s parameters are derived, likelihood ratio tests are obtained for relevant model building hypotheses, and some Monte Carlo simulation studies are performed to illuminate important aspects of the models and their tests of hypotheses. For the case of site-independent covariates, closed-form solutions exist for the MLEs and exact tests can be constructed for the model building hypotheses. Simulations revealed that these exact tests remain robust in the presence of moderate skewness or outliers. However, these fortuitous closed-form occurrences vanish for the case of site-dependent covariates. In order to ameliorate this deficiency, some Monte Carlo simulations are performed to estimate the bias of these MLEs, the probability of a multimodal likelihood, and the suitability of the limiting chi-squared approximation to the model building hypotheses. These simulations reveal that the estimated biases of the slope parameters are negligible for sample size combinations (n, N) as small as (2, 6). Likewise, this sample size combination resulted in only an approximate 1% estimated probability of a multimodal likelihood, which drastically decreased with the increase of either n or N. Moreover, the limiting $$\chi ^2$$ distributional assumption appears to hold reasonably well for a sample size of $$N=100$$ , regardless of the value of n. Finally, we provide examples of fitting our model and conducting tests of hypotheses using two medical datasets.
Impact of neutron irradiation on the thermophysical properties of additively manufactured stainless steel and inconel

Abstract This paper presents the initial results of a multi-year irradiation project to evaluate the impact of manufacturing method and neutron irradiation (at doses up to 1.63 displacements per atom) on the heat capacity and thermal diffusivity of Additively Manufactured (AM) stainless steel 316 L, Inconel 718, and Inconel 625 samples at temperatures between 50 °C and 400 °C. When complete, the project will have tested 48 irradiated Laser Flash Analysis (LFA) and 48 irradiated Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) specimens. At the current time, the project has tested 10 irradiated DSC and 11 irradiated LFA specimens. The unirradiated AM specimens have heat capacity values similar to, or lower than, the reference values, regardless of manufacturing method or material. The irradiated AM specimens have average heat capacities greater than the unirradiated specimens and reference values in every case. The thermal diffusivities of the unirradiated AM specimens are either larger or statistically similar to the reference values obtained from materials manufactured in conventional methods. The irradiated AM specimens exhibit lower thermal diffusivities compared to the reference unirradiated thermal diffusivity values. One of the stainless steel 316 L laser powder bed fusion samples exhibited thermal diffusivity values with statistically significant anisotropy prior to and after irradiation.
Hospital efficiency and quality of prostate cancer care.

223Background: There is no consistent evidence with respect to the role of hospital efficiency in improving quality of prostate cancer care. Study objective was to examine the association between h...
Posterior Transdural Approach for a Calcified Thoracic Intradural Disc Herniation Using a 3-Dimensional Exoscope: 2-Dimensional Operative Video

This video depicts the removal of an intradural thoracic disc herniation through a purely transdural approach. Thoracic disc herniations are rare, and less than 5% are intradural. Though thoracic disc herniations are removed through a posterolateral or transthoracic corridor, there is literature to support a transdural approach for central herniations.1-3 Although the transdural approach has been selectively adopted for central soft herniations, calcified herniations have been regarded as less suitable.1,2 Intradural thoracic herniations have not been specifically addressed by a transdural approach in the limited literature, though it has been utilized in conjunction with a larger transthoracic approach.4 Our case features a 72-yr-old female presenting with worsening left leg weakness. Computed tomography (CT) identified a multilobulated ventral calcified mass at T11-12. Magnetic resonance imaging was not possible because of an incompatible pacemaker. Our impression was that this likely represented an intradural meningioma though a calcified intradural disc herniation was considered. Given the apparent intradural location, we opted for a transdural approach only via T11-12 laminectomy and a midline dural opening. Dentate ligament sectioning allowed a clear corridor to the now apparent disc material. Postoperative CT confirmed near complete resection, and the patient showed neurological improvement. Ultimately, the transdural approach alone led to complete discectomy while avoiding the morbidity of an invasive transthoracic approach and instrumented fusion. To our knowledge, this is the first video documenting a purely transdural approach for resection of an intradural disc herniation. The patient consented to the surgical procedure and to the use of intraoperative video for education purposes.
The evolving sex, race, and ethnic composition of the surgical workforce: North Carolina is a bellwether of national change.

Abstract Background North Carolina, as a state with a significant Black population and fast-growing Hispanic population, serves as bellwether of demographic changes nationally and the challenges facing the nation to recruit and retain a general surgery workforce that mirrors the population. Methods Annual licensure data from the North Carolina Medical Board were analyzed between 2004 and 2019. Physicians self-reporting a specialty of abdominal surgery, critical care surgery, colon and rectal surgery, general surgery, trauma surgery, proctology, and surgical oncology were categorized as general surgeons. Results Female surgeons made the most gains from 2004, at just 8% of the workforce in 2004 to 26% of the workforce in 2019. Over the same period, Black surgeons increased from just 5% to 6% of the workforce, with those gains largely represented by Black female surgeons. Almost half of North Carolina’s Black physicians are aged 46 and 55 and will be nearing retirement in the coming decade. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Hispanic general surgeons were 45 or younger, and one-third of these young surgeons were international medical graduates. Conclusion Although the general surgery workforce in North Carolina is slowly diversifying, growth in the Black surgeon workforce has stagnated in the last 15 years at levels much lower than their representation in the population. More research is needed on the individual and life course phenomena that drive this underrepresentation.
An Ion Chromatography Method for Simultaneous Quantification of Chromate, Arsenate, Selenate, Perchlorate, and Other Inorganic Anions in Environmental Media.

Chromium (Cr) (VI) is a toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic water pollutant. The standard ion chromatography (IC) method for quantification of Cr (VI) in water samples is Environmental Protection Ag...
Promoting Healthy Eating: A Whole-of-System Approach Leveraging Social Network Brokers

Addressing the proliferation of poor diets and related diseases requires new initiatives that will change food systems. How to change these systems is a challenging question. We argue that a promising approach is to leverage the network of social actors who make up the backbone of food systems, who can influence peoples’ eating behaviors and the broader food environment. Two key leverage points that bridge the communities in this system are: (a) community health workers who have ties to individuals and families at high risk for poor diets and (b) community coalitions who can implement community-level changes. Their trusted and diverse relationships may be critical to activating, coordinating, and diffusing the resources, programs, and policies needed to improve multilevel features of food systems.
Modeling Oncogenic Signaling Networks from Gene Expression Dynamics

Decades of research have contributed to the understanding that carcinogenesis is governed by the concomitant activation of important cancer driver genes, termed oncogenes, and inactivation of key tumor suppressor genes. Based on this research, much progress has been made to develop anti-cancer drugs that target the protein products of well-studied oncogenes. However, despite targeted treatment advances, targeted therapies often fail in patients due to de novo or acquired drug resistance. Cancer processes are ultimately regulated by dynamic patterns of gene expression that are themselves subject to regulation by complex gene regulatory networks; and whole genome expression analysis by Next-generation sequencing or microarray of cancer cell lines and tumors offer a wealth of cancer data. This chapter presents how systems-level approaches and modeling of oncogenic signaling networks based on gene expression data from longitudinal perturbation studies are especially useful toward gaining new knowledge for target discovery and improved use of existing targeted cancer therapies.
Lei Maria da Penha: Um basta à Violência de Gênero

Maria da Penha Law was put in place with the intent of reducing and preventing domestic and familiar violence against woman. This study aims to investigate the scope of the Maria da Penha Law, from decisions in conflicts of jurisdiction in the Court of Rio Grande do Sul. Through theoretical study and analysis of judicial decisions the requirements were identified used for the incidence of the law. The survey results indicat the presence of requeriments the intimate relationship of affection, gender violence and victms vulnerability.
Integrating power inductors onto the IC-SOC implementation of inductor multipliers for dc-dc converters

This paper introduces the technique of active inductor multiplier, whereby a small inductor is effectively multiplied to generate the effects of a large power inductor. Medium/High power dc-dc converters, which are essential power supply circuits in almost all portable applications, require off-chip inductors, which take-up significant PCB real estate, add cost, and impede SOC implementation. The inductor multiplier technique developed here makes it possible for large inductors to be integrated onto the IC, thus meeting the demands of mobile battery-powered applications and approaching SOC solutions. A 1.8 V, 2.5 A buck-converter for 2-cell Ni-Cd/NiMH (3.2-1.8 V) battery applications was simulated with and without the inductor-multiplier. An inductance of 150 nH was effectively multiplied to 1.5 /spl mu/H, giving the same ripple performance. Efficiency, however, was lower throughout the load current range with a 5 to 19% difference in the range from 5 to 1.5 A (efficiency was 74% at 2.5 A), but still better than what a linear regulator would have yielded (less than 70%).
Specific Inhibition of Mammalian Ribonucleic Acid C-Type Virus Deoxyribonucleic Acid Polymerases by Rat Antisera

Inhibition of the ribonucleic acid (RNA)- and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-dependent DNA polymerase activities of mammalian C-type viruses was obtained with sera from rats bearing murine leukemia virus-induced transplant tumors. Polymerase activities of nonmammalian (viper) C-type virus and murine mammary tumor virus were not inhibited by such sera nor by serum from a rat immunized with the DNA polymerase of feline leukemia virus purified by isoelectric focusing. The latter serum appeared to inhibit preferentially the DNA-dependent DNA polymerase activity of mammalian C-type viruses showing no inhibition of RNA-dependent DNA synthesis.
Modeling and Analysis of Transient Vehicle Underhood Thermo-Hydrodynamic Events Using Computational Fluid Dynamics and High Performance Computing

This work has explored the preliminary design of a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool for the analysis of transient vehicle underhood thermo-hydrodynamic events using high performance computing platforms. The goal of this tool will be to extend the capabilities of an existing established CFD code, STAR-CD, allowing the car manufacturers to analyze the impact of transient operational events on the underhood thermal management by exploiting the computational efficiency of modern high performance computing systems. In particular, the project has focused on the CFD modeling of the radiator behavior during a specified transient. The 3-D radiator calculations were performed using STAR-CD, which can perform both steady-state and transient calculations, on the cluster computer available at ANL in the Nuclear Engineering Division. Specified transient boundary conditions, based on experimental data provided by Adapco and DaimlerChrysler were used. The possibility of using STAR-CD in a transient mode for the entire period of time analyzed has been compared with other strategies which involve the use of STAR-CD in a steady-state mode at specified time intervals, while transient heat transfer calculations would be performed for the rest of the time. The results of these calculations have been compared with the experimental data provided by Adapco/DaimlerChryslermore » and recommendations for future development of an optimal strategy for the CFD modeling of transient thermo-hydrodynamic events have been made. The results of this work open the way for the development of a CFD tool for the transient analysis of underhood thermo-hydrodynamic events, which will allow the integrated transient thermal analysis of the entire cooling system, including both the engine block and the radiator, on high performance computing systems.« less
Induction of nuclear protein factors specific for hormone-responsive region during activation of thyroglobulin gene by thyrotropin in rat thyroid FRTL-5 cells.

Abstract We have investigated the mechanism of stimulation of thyroglobulin gene expression by thyrotropin (TSH) and cAMP in rat thyroid FRTL-5 cells. In contrast to the c-fos gene, induction of the thyroglobulin gene by TSH or cAMP is slow (10 h) and sensitive to cycloheximide treatment. We have identified a TSH and cAMP-responsive region of thyroglobulin gene between - 171 and - 140 base pairs from the transcription initiation site. The hormone-responsive region contains DNA sequence elements similar to the consensus cAMP-responsive element as well as the transcription factor AP-1-binding site but with opposite sequence polarity. Three DNA-protein complexes are formed when the hormone-responsive region is incubated with nuclear extracts of FRTL-5 cells. Formation of these complexes is dependent on TSH or cAMP stimulation, thus suggesting that the factors involved in binding to the hormone-responsive region may be induced by TSH. Although the identity of these factors is not yet known, they do not appear to be related to either cAMP-responsive element-binding protein or AP-1. These results suggest that thyroglobulin gene expression in FRTL-5 cells may be mediated by nuclear factors that are induced by cAMP in contrast to other genes (e.g. c-fos) whose activation involves post-translational modification of the pre-existing proteins specific for cAMP-responsive element.
In the Spirit of William James

In this essay, I identify several ways in which James Dittes extended the spirit of William James in his writings on psychology of religion. Like James, Dittes gave minimal attention to psychological theory and God-talk. Both authors located their reflections on religion within a philosophical, as well as a psychological, perspective. Both employed a discourse that was personalist, pluralist, and pragmatist. In the last section, I briefly note some of the ways in which Dittes moved beyond William James in the spirit of William James.
Simulation of air traffic control at a VFR airport using OpEMCSS

A Complex Adaptive System (CAS) is a network of communicating, intelligent agents where each agent adapts its behavior in order to collaborate with other agents to achieve overall system goals. A VFR airport is modeled where each aircraft is an intelligent agent that communicates with other aircraft in order to decide when to enter the approach corridor. The control problem to be solved in this general aviation VFR airport is the variation in aircraft speed, which results in faster aircraft overtaking slower aircraft in the approach corridor. A graphical simulation library called Operational Evaluation Modeling for Context-Sensitive Systems (OpEMCSS) has been developed to simulate complex systems, including CAS. This simulation library includes a Classifier Event Action block that is a forward chaining, expert system controller used in intelligent agent decision-making. The Classifier Event Action block can implement both crisp and fuzzy rules. In one version of the model an equation is used to predict how long an aircraft is required to wait to enter the approach corridor in order to achieve the proper time and distance separation at final approach. Comparison of the required and actual performance is used to guide rule learning in the Classifier Event Action block. This paper discusses the performance of the proposed control strategy and the fuzzy rule-learning problem.
Endothelial Expression of Scavenger Receptor Class B, Type I Protects against Development of Atherosclerosis in Mice

The role of scavenger receptor class B, type I (SR-BI) in endothelial cells (EC) was examined in several novel transgenic mouse models expressing SR-BI in endothelium of mice with normal C57Bl6/N, apoE-KO, or Scarb1-KO backgrounds. Mice were also created expressing SR-BI exclusively in endothelium and liver. Endothelial expression of the Tie2-Scarb1 transgene had no significant effect on plasma lipoprotein levels in mice on a normal chow diet but on an atherogenic diet, significantly decreased plasma cholesterol levels, increased plasma HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) levels, and protected mice against atherosclerosis. In 8-month-old apoE-KO mice fed a normal chow diet, the Tie2-Scarb1 transgene decreased aortic lesions by 24%. Mice expressing SR-BI only in EC and liver had a 1.5 ± 0.1-fold increase in plasma cholesterol compared to mice synthesizing SR-BI only in liver. This elevation was due mostly to increased HDL-C. In EC culture studies, SR-BI was found to be present in both basolateral and apical membranes but greater cellular uptake of cholesterol from HDL was found in the basolateral compartment. In summary, enhanced expression of SR-BI in EC resulted in a less atherogenic lipoprotein profile and decreased atherosclerosis, suggesting a possible role for endothelial SR-BI in the flux of cholesterol across EC.
Phytochemical Investigation of Convolvulus arvensis (Convolvulaceae)

A phytochemical investigation of the aerial parts of Convolvulus arvensis resulted in the isolation and identification of several n-alkanes and n-alkanols, α-amyrin, campesterol, stigmasterol, and β-sitosterol.
A note on using the accelerated convergence method in climate models

Application of the accelerated convergence (or asynchronous integration) method of Bryan (1984) to climate problems with time-dependent forcing is investigated using an ocean general circulation model (GCM), with an idealized box ocean and forced with an idealized seasonal restoring surface temperature. Numerical experiments consist of a control experiment, which is integrated synchronously for 9000 years, and 2 experiments with asynchronous integration, one with depth dependent acceleration and one with depth independent acceleration. The latter 2 cases were integrated synchronously for 9000 years after asynchronous equilibria are reached. It is found that a few thousand years of synchronous integration is needed to reach a new equilibrium after asynchronous equilibrium is obtained, consistent with a scaling argument. However, at the new equilibrium, temperature in the deep ocean only differs from that of the early stage of synchronous adjustment by about 0.01°C. So for practical purposes, 50 years of synchronous integration beyond asynchronous equilibrium is sufficient. A simple interpretation of the accelerated convergence method of Bryan is also presented.
Acetylation of apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease-1 regulates Helicobacter pylori-mediated gastric epithelial cell apoptosis.

Background & Aims Helicobacter pylori –induced gastric epithelial cell (GEC) apoptosis is a complex process that includes activation of the tumor suppressor p53. p53-mediated apoptosis involves p53 activation, bax transcription, and cytochrome c release from mitochondria. Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease-1 (APE-1) regulates transcriptional activity of p53, and H pylori induce APE-1 expression in human GECs. H pylori infection increases intracellular calcium ion concentration [Ca 2+ ] i of GECs, which induces APE-1 acetylation. We investigated the effects of H pylori infection and APE-1 acetylation on GEC apoptosis. Methods AGS cells (wild-type or with suppressed APE-1), KATO III cells, and cells isolated from gastric biopsy specimens were infected with H pylori. Effects were examined by immunoblotting, real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction, immunoprecipitation, immunofluorescence microscopy, chromatin immunoprecipitation, mobility shift, DNA binding, and luciferase assays. Results H pylori infection increased [Ca 2+ ] i and acetylation of APE-1 in GECs, but the acetylation status of APE-1 did not affect the transcriptional activity of p53. In GECs, expression of a form of APE-1 that could not be acetylated increased total and mitochondrial levels of Bax and induced release of cytochrome c and fragmentation of DNA; expression of wild-type APE-1 reduced these apoptotic events. We identified a negative calcium response element in the human bax promoter and found that poly (adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase 1 recruited the acetylated APE-1/histone deacetylase-1 repressor complex to bax nCaRE. Conclusions H pylori –mediated acetylation of APE-1 suppresses Bax expression; this prevents p53-mediated apoptosis when H pylori infect GECs.
Children's play: A contextual‐functional perspective

Children construct and organize their knowledge of the social and physical world in dyadic play in an increasingly reciprocal way.
Characterization of early transition metal carbides and nitrides by NEXAFS

Powder materials of a series of early transition metal (groups 4–6B) carbides and nitrides, including TiC, VC, NbC, Mo2C, WC, TiN, VN and Mo2N, have been characterized by nearedge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS). A comparison of the carbon and nitrogen K-edge features reveals systematic trends in the electronic properties of these materials. These results are compared to an earlier NEXAFS characterization of thin VC films produced on a single crystal V(110) surface. In addition, the NEXAFS data are also compared to existing band-structure calculations for carbides and nitrides of early transition metals.
Ultrastructure of vagina and uterus in young mice after methoxychlor exposure.

Abstract Ultrastructural effects of 17β-estradiol were compared with technical pesticide methoxychlor in uterus and vagina of young mice. Neonates received 14 daily ip injections of either sesame oil, 10.0 μg 17β-estradiol, or 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, or 1.0 mg methoxychlor. Estradiol accelerated vaginal opening to 11 days, increased reproductive tract weight gain, and induced vaginal cornification, the cells of which exhibited complex surface microridge patterns. The hypertrophied uterine cells were covered with dense, enlarged microvilli with bulbous expansions or clumps. The highest three methoxychlor doses were stimulatory. Exposure to 0.5 or 1.0 mg methoxychlor increased reproductive tract weights threefold due to excessive fluid accumulation, and induced vaginal cornification and opening by 10 days. The cornified cells lacked complex surface microridges, while uterine cells exhibited dense microvilli growth, atypical morphology, and separation. Although 0.5 and 1.0 mg methoxychlor were highly stimulatory, the surface alterations in uterus and vagina appeared different from estradiol.
Therapeutic effects of a ketogenic diet in rett syndrome

Seven girls (age 5 to 10 years) with Rett syndrome were investigated extensively. In 6 patients elevations of blood pyruvate were found. Blood lactate levels were marginally elevated. Two patients had variably elevated blood glucose levels. Metabolic studies were otherwise normal apart from minimally elevated blood ammonia levels in 3 of 5 patients tested, 2 of whom were on valproic acid. All 7 patients had anticonvulsant resistant seizures. EEG changes included generalized slowing and multifocal spike wave discharges, and pseudo-periodic burst-suppression patterns during sleep. Respiratory monitoring revealed apneic episodes only during the waking record. Six patients were below the 5th centile for weight despite normal caloric intake. Treatment with ketogenic diets, using medium chain triglyceride (MCT) oil when possible, has improved seizure control in the 5 patients who could tolerate the diet. Slight behavioral and motor improvement has occurred in these 5 patients and 6 of 7 patients on high fat diets have gained weight. With a possible defect in carbohydrate metabolism and a difficult seizure disorder, use of a ketogenic diet is logical and appears to produce clinical benefit in patients with Rett Syndrome.