cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nonrandom distribution of metastases in neuroblastic tumors

Metastatic behavior of neuroblastic tumors was analyzed to determine whether the secondary distribution of tumor was random, or whether the pattern of metastases was predictable and related to tumor type. The authors reviewed the 64 patients subjected to complete autopsy who had metastases from a neuroblastoma, retinoblastoma, medulloblastoma, or pinealoblastoma. The organ and tissue distribution of metastases was recorded in relation to location of primary tumor, type of therapy, survival, and presence of central nervous system metastases. Data were analyzed using chi-square contingency tables, correlation coefficients, and cluster analysis. The results indicate that: (1) the development of central nervous system metastases from neuroblastoma correlates with the pattern of extracentral nervous system metastases; (2) the pattern of tumor metastases is altered by chemotherapy and/or radiation; and (3) regardless of the site of origin, neuroblastic tumors behave in a uniform manner with a nonrandom metastatic distribution in particular tissues within the central nervous system. Cluster analysis demonstrated patterns of neuroblastoma tumor metastases which were consistent with both Hutchison and Pepper syndromes. The findings suggest that a random distribution, as might be secondary to blood flow, does not account for metastatic patterns, but rather that there are preferential patterns of growth, possibly reflecting trophic tendencies in neoplasms.
A glimpse at future forests: predicting the effects of Phytophthora ramorum on oak forests of southern Appalachia

The highly pathogenic Phytophthora ra- morum, causal organism of sudden oak death (SOD), is established in forests of the Pacific Northwest (USA) and is threatening invasion of other regions. Given the breadth of its host range, with dozens of asymptomatic ornamental hosts and with oaks, Quercus spp., in the red oak (Erythrobalanus) subgenus particularly susceptible, we investigated the consequences of its invasion and establishment in oak-dominated deciduous forests of the eastern USA. We evaluated the nature and extent of pathogen invasion using vegetation assessments coupled with growth simulations. The woody plant community was assessed in three strata (upper, mid- and lower) and was used to characterize forest composition and structure. Using the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS), we then projected woody vegetation growth 50 years into the future with and without the effects of SOD. In forest simulations lacking pathogen invasion, little change in composition or structure is forecasted. Both red oaks and white oaks (subgenus Leucobalanus) increase slightly but significantly over the length of the simulation. In contrast, in SOD- affected forests our projections predict a significant loss of red oaks within 10 years of pathogen invasion. Basal area of white oaks and non-oaks is expected to increase more so in the absence of red oaks. The loss of red oaks to pathogen infection will result in greater increases in red maple, Acer rubrum, and yellow poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera, than in forests free of SOD. Loss of red oak represents a significant loss of hard mast, with potentially devastating consequences for wildlife. Red oak loss will also affect decompo- sition rates, nutrient cycling, forest structure, and timber values, with consequences for forest health and sustainability.
Persistent middle tier components without logging

Enterprise applications need to be highly available and scalable. In the past, this has required "stateless" applications, which essentially require the application to manage its state explicitly by storing it in transactional resource managers. Despite "stateful" applications being more natural and hence easier to write and get correct, having the system manage this state automatically has been considered too difficult and too costly. The Phoenix/App system showed how to manage state in stateful applications transparently, by logging interactions between components, guaranteeing "exactly once" execution of the application. By introducing some minor restrictions on Phoenix/App components, no logging need be done for middle tier components, thus making it easy to provide both availability and scalability. Because there is no logging, the performance of failure free application executions is excellent.
Comparison of IEEE and IEC harmonic standards

IEEE Standard 519-1992 is a mature document at this time and contains widely-adopted recommendations for harmonic control in electric power systems. Similarly, IEC Standard 61000-3-6 is also widely recognized. Both documents are presently in the final stages of a technical revision and it is appropriate to evaluate the similarities and differences in the two system-level harmonic control standards. This paper is a summary of the similarities and differences in the two standards including recommended limits in each and the processes by which equitable allocation of harmonic emissions is achieved. In this paper, it is assumed that the reader is familiar with the various caveats that apply to the various limit tables and the tables given here should not be used in lieu of the complete standard.
Millimeter Wave Mobile Communications for 5G Cellular: It Will Work!

The global bandwidth shortage facing wireless carriers has motivated the exploration of the underutilized millimeter wave (mm-wave) frequency spectrum for future broadband cellular communication networks. There is, however, little knowledge about cellular mm-wave propagation in densely populated indoor and outdoor environments. Obtaining this information is vital for the design and operation of future fifth generation cellular networks that use the mm-wave spectrum. In this paper, we present the motivation for new mm-wave cellular systems, methodology, and hardware for measurements and offer a variety of measurement results that show 28 and 38 GHz frequencies can be used when employing steerable directional antennas at base stations and mobile devices.
Introns in gene evolution.

Introns are integral elements of eukaryotic genomes that perform various important functions and actively participate in gene evolution. We review six distinct roles of spliceosomal introns: (1) sources of non-coding RNA; (2) carriers of transcription regulatory elements; (3) actors in alternative and trans-splicing; (4) enhancers of meiotic crossing over within coding sequences; (5) substrates for exon shuffling; and (6) signals for mRNA export from the nucleus and nonsense-mediated decay. We consider transposable capacities of introns and the current state of the long-lasting debate on the ‘early-or-late’ origin of introns. Cumulative data on known types of contemporary exon shuffling and the estimation of the size of the underlying exon universe are also discussed. We argue that the processes central to introns-early (exon shuffling) and introns-late (intron insertion) theories are entirely compatible. Each has provided insight: the latter through elucidating the transposon capabilities of introns, and the former through understanding the importance of introns in genomic recombination leading to gene rearrangements and evolution.
The Paradox of Education in Industry

To some, the fact of engineering education in industry may represent a paradox. It has been introduced in order to make it practical for the engineer to find a satisfying division of effort between pursuing immediate job goals and longer-term knowledge objectives. When one considers the economic objectives of industry, the objectives and responsibilities of engineers, and the effects of scientific and technological progress, the continued broad education of engineers seems a necessity. The discussion is intended to be helpful to individual engineers in determining their own knowledge objectives in connection with "engineering" their own personal development.
Descemet-stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty donor tissue preparation using the double-pass microkeratome technique.

Purpose To compare human donor corneal lenticule thickness, endothelial cell viability, area of cell damage, and cell counts between corneal tissue prepared with a double-pass microkeratome cut versus the standard single-pass microkeratome cut. Setting University of Colorado Teaching Hospital, Aurora, Colorado, USA. Design Experimental study. Methods Eleven matched pairs of human donor corneas unfit for transplantation were used for analysis. Tissue was prepared using a Moria CB microkeratome and artificial anterior chamber. One cornea was prepared using the standard single-pass cut; the second cornea was prepared with a double-pass technique. Visante optical coherence tomography images were obtained from each cornea, and central and peripheral thickness measurements were made. The tissue was also stained with trypan blue and alizarin red to assess tissue damage from preparation. Results The mean central thickness measurement was 92 μm ± 20 (SD) for the double-pass technique and 126 ± 34 μm for the single-pass technique. The area of cell damage after preparation was not significantly different between the 2 methods; however, there was a statistically significant increase in the ratio of nonviable to viable cells for the double-pass technique. Conclusion The double-pass microkeratome technique for donor preparation resulted in a thinner lenticule than a single-pass technique and an increase in endothelial cell damage. Financial Disclosure No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.
The rare earth element geochemistry of Mono Lake water and the importance of carbonate complexing

Rare earth element (REE) concentrations for the alkaline, saline waters of Mono Lake in eastern California are reported. The total REE concentrations of the lake water ranged from 4,68 1 to 7,979 pmol kg- I. Shale-normalized REE profiles for the lake water indicate that the heavy REEs (HREE) are enriched 20-200 times over the light REEs (LREE) compared to shale. The speciation of the REEs in Mono Lake was modeled with a combined specific ion interaction and ion-pairing model which allowed activity coefficients for the major solutes (yM, rX), the REEs (TV), and the REE ion pairs (rMX) to be determined in the high ionic strength lake waters (Z = 1.84 m). The speciation model suggests that essentially all the REEs in solution are complexed with carbonate ions and that >99% of each REE is complexed as Ln(CO,),- species. The carbonate ion concentration of Mono Lake water is 0.27 m. Stability constants for these complexes increase with atomic number; consequently, these complexes are responsible for the HREE enrichments. Activity product calculations for REE phosphate coprecipitates in the high phosphate waters of Mono Lake (i.e. 800-l ,000 pm01 kg-r) indicate that the lake water is close to saturation with respect to these precipitates and suggest that the coprecipitates may effectively limit the maximum dissolved REE concentrations in the lake.
Development and feasibility of a personalized, interactive risk calculator for knee osteoarthritis

The incidence of knee osteoarthritis (OA) is rising. While several risk factors have been associated with the development of knee OA, this information is not readily accessible to those at risk for osteoarthritis. Risk calculators have been developed for several prevalent chronic conditions but not for OA. Using published evidence on established risk factors, we developed an interactive, personalized knee OA risk calculator (OA Risk C) and conducted a pilot study to evaluate its acceptability and feasibility. We used the Osteoarthritis Policy (OAPol) Model, a validated, state-transition simulation of the natural history and management of OA, to generate data for OA Risk C. Risk estimates for calculator users were based on a set of demographic and clinical factors (age, sex, race/ethnicity, obesity) and select risk factors (family history of knee OA, occupational exposure, and history of knee injury). OA Risk C presents personalized risk of knee OA in several ways to maximize understanding among a wide range of users. We conducted a study of 45 subjects in a primary care setting to establish the feasibility and acceptability of the OA risk calculator. Pilot study participants were asked several questions regarding ease of use, clarity of presentation, and clarity of the graphical representation of their risk. These questions used a five-level agreement scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. OA Risk C depicts information about users’ risk of symptomatic knee OA in 5 year intervals. Study participants estimated their lifetime risk at 38 %, while their actual lifetime risk, as estimated by OA Risk C, was 25 %. Eighty-four percent of pilot study participants reported that OA Risk C was easy to understand, and 89 % agreed that the graphs depicting their risk were clear and comprehensible. We have developed a personalized, computer-based OA risk calculator that is easy to use. OA Risk C may be utilized to estimate individuals’ knee OA risk and to deliver educational and behavioral interventions focused on osteoarthritis risk reduction.
RAD50 and RAD51 Define Two Pathways That Collaborate to Maintain Telomeres in the Absence of Telomerase

Telomere length is maintained by the de novo addition of telomere repeats by telomerase, yet recombination can elongate telomeres in the absence of telomerase. When the yeast telomerase RNA component, TLC1, is deleted, telomeres shorten and most cells die. However, gene conversion mediated by the RAD52 pathway allows telomere lengthening in rare survivor cells. To further investigate the role of recombination in telomere maintenance, we assayed telomere length and the ability to generate survivors in several isogenic DNA recombination mutants, including rad50, rad51, rad52, rad54, rad57, xrs2, and mre11. The rad51, rad52, rad54, and rad57 mutations increased the rate of cell death in the absence of TLC1. In contrast, although the rad50, xrs2, and mre11 strains initially had short telomeres, double mutants with tlc1 did not affect the rate of cell death, and survivors were generated at later times than tlc1 alone. While none of the double mutants of recombination genes and tlc1 (except rad52 tlc1) blocked the ability to generate survivors, a rad50 rad51 tlc1 triple mutant did not allow the generation of survivors. Thus RAD50 and RAD51 define two separate pathways that collaborate to allow cells to survive in the absence of telomerase.
Upper mantle anisotropy - Evidence from free oscillations

Isotropic earth models are unable to provide uniform fits to the gross Earth normal mode data set or, in many cases, to regional Love-and Rayleigh-wave data. Anisotropic inversion provides a good fit to the data and indicates that the upper 200km of the mantle is anisotropic. The nature and magnitude of the required anisotropy, moreover, is similar to that found in body wave studies and in studies of ultramafic samples from the upper mantle. Pronounced upper mantle low-velocity zones are characteristic of models resulting from isotropic inversion of global or regional data sets. Anisotropic models have more nearly constant velocities in the upper mantle. Normal mode partial (Frediet) derivatives are calculated for a transversely isotropic earth model with a radial axis of symmetry. For this type of anisotropy there are five elastic constant. The two shear-type moduli can be determined from the toroidal modes. Spheroidal and Rayleigh modes are sensitive to all five elastic constants but are mainly controlled by the two compressional-type moduli, one of the shear-type moduli and the remaining, mixed-mode, modulus. The lack of sensitivity of Rayleigh waves to compressional wave velocities is a characteristic only of the isotropic case. The partial derivatives of the horizontal and vertical components of the compressional velocity are nearly equal and opposite in the region of the mantle where the shear velocity sensitivity is the greatest. The net compressional wave partial derivative, at depth, is therefore very small for isotropic perturbations. Compressional wave anisotropy, however, has a significant effect on Rayleigh-wave dispersion. Once it has been established that transverse anisotropy is important it is necessary to invert for all five elastic constants. If the azimuthal effect has not been averaged out a more general anisotropy may have to be allowed for.
Neuronal basis of contrast discrimination.

Psychophysical contrast increment thresholds were compared with neuronal responses, inferred from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to test the hypothesis that contrast discrimination judgements are limited by neuronal signals in early visual cortical areas. FMRI was used to measure human brain activity as a function of stimulus contrast, in each of several identifiable visual cortical areas. Contrast increment thresholds were measured for the same stimuli across a range of baseline contrasts using a temporal 2AFC paradigm. FMRI responses and psychophysical measurements were compared by assuming that: (1) fMRI responses are proportional to local average neuronal activity; (2) subjects choose the stimulus interval that evoked the greater average neuronal activity; and (3) variability in the observer's psychophysical judgements was due to additive (IID) noise. With these assumptions, FMRI responses in visual areas V1, V2d, V3d and V3A were found to be consistent with the psychophysical judgements, i.e. a contrast increment was detected when the fMRI responses in each of these brain areas increased by a criterion amount. Thus, the pooled activity of large numbers of neurons can reasonably well predict behavioral performance. The data also suggest that contrast gain in early visual cortex depends systematically on spatial frequency.
Natural Resource Types and Conflict Termination Initiatives

There is mounting evidence that natural resources can influence the likelihood, course and outcome of armed conflicts. Much of these relationships depend on the institutional setting in which the conflict and resource exploitation occurs, and the specific characteristics of resources involved. This paper examines the relevance of two broad resource characteristics—lootability and legality—for conflict termination initiatives. Observing revenue sharing, economic sanction and military interventions in a total of 26 conflicts between 1989 and 2006, the paper suggests that resource characteristics can affect the effectiveness of resource-related conflict termination instruments.
Plasticity of hatching in amphibians: evolution, trade-offs, cues and mechanisms

Many species of frogs and salamanders, in at least 12 families, alter their timing of hatching in response to conditions affecting mortality of eggs or larvae. Some terrestrially laid or stranded embryos wait to hatch until they are submerged in water. Some embryos laid above water accelerate hatching if the eggs are dehydrating; others hatch early if flooded. Embryos can hatch early in response to predators and pathogens of eggs or delay hatching in response to predators of larvae; some species do both. The phylogenetic pattern of environmentally cued hatching suggests that similar responses have evolved convergently in multiple amphibian lineages. The use of similar cues, including hypoxia and physical disturbance, in multiple contexts suggests potential shared mechanisms underlying the capacity of embryos to respond to environmental conditions. Shifts in the timing of hatching often have clear benefits, but we know less about the trade-offs that favor plasticity, the mechanisms that enable it, and its evolutionary history. Some potentially important types of cued hatching, such as those involving embryo-parent interactions, are relatively unexplored. I discuss promising directions for research and the opportunities that the hatching of amphibians offers for integrative studies of the mechanisms, ecology and evolution of a critical transition between life-history stages.
Foreign Policy and the Nationality Problem in Austria-Hungary, 1867–1914

The theories on foreign policy and international relations which have emerged in the last decade stress the interaction between foreign policy and internal social structure. Contemporary analysis of this interaction has benefited from refined social science methods and concepts developed since the end of the Second World War, but awareness of the connection between foreign policy and internal policy is not new. For instance, as long ago as the eve of the First World War Rudolf Goldscheid wrote that “nothing is more Utopian than the belief that substantial alterations in internal policy can be realized without simultaneous corresponding changes in foreign [policy] and vice versa.” The interaction between Austro-Hungarian foreign policy and the nationality problem in the monarchy from 1867 until 1914 is a striking example of Goldscheid's general thesis.
Concerted Mutagenesis: Its Potential Impact on Interpretation of Evolutionary Relationships

Spontaneous mutations are produced occasionally by mechanisms that produce more than one base substitution in a single mutational event. The mechanisms responsible for these concerted substitutions often depend on templated, but misaligned DNA synthesis. Thus, concerted mutations have two unusual properties: (1) they simultaneously produce multiple substitutions and (2) the specificity of these substitutions is directly determined by a DNA sequence elsewhere in the gene. If the molecular evolution of DNA sequences includes concerted mutations, classical interpretations of lineage relationships predicted solely on the characteristics of single substitutions may be compromised. Comparisons of DNA sequences from rodent HLA class II β genes are presented from the perspective of the ability of concerted mutations to account for the appearance of short DNA motifs in many different alleles. The motifs are found to be related to nearby DNA sequences in a manner suggesting that concerted mutagenesis provides a parsimonious explanation for the sequences of the motifs. Similar motifs appear to arise independently, and the proposed mutational mechanisms often permit motif shuffling. Thus, concerted mutagenesis may also explain the distributions of the motifs among alleles. Comparisons among the rodent sequences and with a human orthologue suggest that concerted mutagenesis offers a reasonable mechanistic explanation for convergence. Improved understanding of lineage relationships that take into account concerted mutagenesis may be able to provide a clearer picture of the mechanisms responsible for the unusual allelic diversity of many genes of the major histocompatibility complex.
NOTES: Platform Development for a Paradigm Shift in Flexible Endoscopy

The historic shift of flexible endoscopy from a purely diagnostic to a diagnostic/interventional modality that has happened over the last 3 decades has been a gradual evolution, having more to do with innovative uses of existing or slightly modified instrumentation than to any fundamental shift of how endoscopy is performed. The concept of natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) is provoking a radical rethinking of how flexible endoscopy is done, why it is done, and who will be doing it. Herein, we have reviewed the current status of NOTES, the technology that it is demanding, how NOTES procedures differ from both laparoscopic surgery and interventional endoscopy, and how industry is responding with new technology developments. Finally, we postulate on how this will result in a paradigm shift to intraluminal endoscopic surgery.
Misexpression of the white-phase-specific gene WH11 in the opaque phase of Candida albicans affects switching and virulence

Candida albicans WO-1 switches between a white- and an opaque-colony-forming phenotype. The gene WH11 is expressed differentially in the white phase. The WH11 open reading frame was inserted downstream of the promoter of the opaque-phase-specific gene OP4 in the transforming vector pCWOP16, and resulting transformants were demonstrated to misexpress WH11 in the opaque phase. Misexpression had no effect on the ability to switch from the white to the opaque or the opaque to the white phase, and it had no effect on the genesis of the unique opaque-phase cellular phenotype, even though the Wh11 protein was distributed throughout the cytoplasm in a manner similar to that observed for the endogenous gene product in the white phase. Misexpression did, however, increase the frequency of the opaque-to-white transition 330-fold and markedly increased the virulence of cells in the opaque phase in a mouse tail injection model.
Continuous SCRUM: agile management of SAAS products

Hosted software-as-a-service products provide an opportunity to provide consumers with continuous deployment of new features, as opposed to scheduled version upgrades as is the norm for products installed on-premise. In order to exploit this opportunity, a SaaS provider needs to adopt an agile process that is capable of releasing new features rapidly. The SCRUM [5,6] process is ideally suited for this purpose: However, when SCRUM has been used for agile development of an installed product, parallel, overlapping 'sprints' are executed by separate teams, each dealing with short, medium, and longer-term enhancements to the product[3]; with the result that version upgrades are therefore easier to manage. In contrast, in the case of a SAAS product, version upgrades are no longer a constraint, so we can do better. In this paper we describe 'Continuous SCRUM', a variant of Type-C SCRUM, augmented with engineering best practices, in a manner ideally suited for managing SAAS products. In our approach, bug-fixes, minor enhancements, as well as major features are released continuously, on a weekly basis by a single team, in contrast to "Meta-SCRUM" [3]. We also present field data from our experience with using Continuous SCRUM for a hosted platform-as-a-service product for more than two years. Our experience reinforces other recent evidence [11] that rapid, smaller releases are often preferable to infrequent, larger ones. Continuous SCRUM provides a mechanism to achieve and sustain a rapid release cycle, for SAAS products as well as, we believe, for custom applications developed in-house.
Stability-Dependent Exchange Coefficients for Air–Sea Fluxes

Abstract This study introduces exchange coefficients for wind stress (CD), latent heat flux (CL), and sensible heat flux (CS) over the global ocean. They are obtained from the state-of-the-art Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment (COARE) bulk algorithm (version 3.0). Using the exchange coefficients from this bulk scheme, CD, CL, and CS are then expressed as simple polynomial functions of air–sea temperature difference (Ta − Ts)—where air temperature (Ta) is at 10 m, wind speed (Va) is at 10 m, and relative humidity (RH) is at the air–sea interface—to parameterize stability. The advantage of using polynomial-based exchange coefficients is that they do not require any iterations for stability. In addition, they agree with results from the COARE algorithm but at ≈5 times lower computation cost, an advantage that is particularly needed for ocean general circulation models (OGCMs) and climate models running at high horizontal resolution and short time steps. The effects of any water vapor flux in calcu...
NSAIDs, osteoarthritis, and colorectal cancer risk: Can administrative data provide a window into the effectiveness of a cancer prevention?

1022 Background: Randomized trials show that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reduce the risk of pre-cancerous polyps and may reduce the risk of invasive colorectal cancer (CRC), but ...
StrokeBank: automating personalized chinese handwriting generation

Machine learning techniques have been successfully applied to Chinese character recognition; nonetheless, automatic generation of stylized Chinese handwriting remains a challenge. In this paper, we propose Stroke-Bank, a novel approach to automating personalized Chinese handwriting generation. We use a semi-supervised algorithm to construct a dictionary of component mappings from a small seeding set. Unlike previous work, our approach does not require human supervision in stroke extraction or knowledge of the structure of Chinese characters. This dictionary is used to generate handwriting that preserves stylistic variations, including cursiveness and spatial layout of strokes. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our model by a survey-based evaluation. The results show that our generated characters are nearly indistinguishable from ground truth handwritings.
Improved long wavelength 14xx and 19xx nm InGaAsp/InP lasers

We report on our progress developing long wavelength high power laser diodes based on the InGaAsP/InP alloy system emitting in the range from 1400 to 2010 nm. Output power levels exceeding 50 Watts CW and 40% conversion efficiency were obtained at 1470 nm wavelength from 20% fill factor (FF) bars with 2 mm cavity length mounted on water cooled plates. Using these stackable plates we built a water cooled stack with 8 bars, successfully demonstrating 400 W at 1470 nm with good reliability. In all cases the maximum conversion efficiency was greater than 40% and the maximum power achievable was limited by thermal rollover. For lasers emitting in the range from 1930 to 2010 nm we achieved output power levels over 15 W and 20 % conversion efficiency from 20% FF bars with 2 mm cavity length on a conductively cooled platform. Life testing of the 1470 nm lasers bars over 14,000 hours under constant current mode has shown no significant degradation.
Protection of Normal Rats Against Death from Water Intoxication with Adrenal Cortical Substances.

SummaryLarge doses of adrenal cortical extract or desoxycorticosterone acetate will protect normal rats from doses of water which otherwise produce lethal water intoxication.
Retention of B. burgdorferi pathogenicity and infectivity after multiple passages in a co-culture system.

In vitro cultivation ofB. burgdorferi in BSK medium results in the loss of infectivity and pathogenicity after repeated passages. To prevent this loss, a feeder layer of tibio-tarsal joint tissue derived from newborn LEW/N rats was grown on Cytodex 3 microcarriers in ESG (formerly BSKE), a novel medium developed to support the growth of both the feeder layer andB. burgdorferi. A new pathogenic isolate (FNJ) and a high passage, non-pathogenic strain (TNJ) grew well in this co-culture system with high yields of viable organism. FNJ caused no growth inhibition or visible damage to the cells in the feeder layer. FNJ remained arthritogenic for newborn LEW/N rats after 22 passages in the co-culture system, but lost its arthritogenicity after 7 passages when cultured in BSK medium. This borrelia-mammalian tissue co-culture technique presents an experimental system to study the long term interactions ofB. burgdorferi with the infected host tissues in vitro, as well as facilitate diagnostic tests and vaccine development.
Postoperative recurrence factors and reoperative therapy of thyroglossal duct cysts or fistula in children

OBJECTIVE To explore the postoperative recurrence factors and effect of reoperative therapy of thyroglossal duct cyst or fistula in children.METHODS Clinical data of 23 children with recurrent thyroglossal duct cysts or fistula from 2007 to 2010 were analyzed retrospectively.The reoperative method was extended Sistrunk technique.RESULTS All of the 23 cases got satisfied results after repeat operation.There were no complications,such as dysphonia,aspiration and dyspnea,occurred.No recurrence was found after follow up for more than 2 years.Remaining the middle part of the hyoid bone and thyroglossal exiguous branches were the main recurrent factors.CONCLUSION The extended Sistrunk technique can reduce the recurrence of recurrent thyroglossal duct cysts or fistula in children.
Selective neuronal, dendritic, and postsynaptic localization of viral antigen in measles-infected mice

The pathology of acute disease produced by intracerebral inoculation of hamster neurotropic strain of measles virus was studied in adult BALB/c mice using immunolabeling techniques at a light and electron microscopic level. Brains of animals with acute disease showed an abundance of viral antigen but no inflammatory cells, giant cells, or inclusions. Infection was limited to neurons which were rarely necrotic, indicating that the process was not cytolytic. Mapping of infected neurons identified a consistent predilection to the rhinencephalon, other components of the limbic system, and the striatum. Ultrastructural examination revealed similar findings in all of the involved areas. No evidence of viral assembly at the cell membrane was found. Viral antigen was identified in neuronal perikaryon with somatofugal spread into dendritic and synaptic sites. Unlabeled smooth nucleocapsid and labeled tubular structures were detected both in the cytoplasm and nucleus of neurons. Dendritic labeling when present was occasionally associated with the neurotubules. The most remarkable and frequent finding was identification of viral antigen in postsynaptic endings. This consisted of clumps of viral antigen and occasional staining of the postsynaptic density. This localization of viral antigen may create dysfunction of synaptic transmission, and in the absence of overt pathology, may account for clinical disease.
Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer

Adenocarcinoma arising in Barrett's esophagus is increasing in incidence and accounts for a substantial portion of intrathoracic esophageal malignancies today. Patients with Barrett's esophagus have a 50 to 100 times increase in their risk of developing cancer compared to the general population. Malignant degeneration of the columnar epithelium appears to pass through a phase of dysplasia prior to the development of invasive malignancy. Low-grade dysplasia often remains stable or regresses. High-grade dysplasia, however, is considered equivalent to carcinoma in situ and is a predictor of imminent or existing invasive cancer. Endoscopic surveillance can detect malignant change at an early stage when it is likely to be curable by surgery. Patients undergoing endoscopic surveillance of Barrett's esophagus compared to those not under surveillance have a significantly improved postoperative survival owing to earlier detection.
Developing insight in aspiring researchers: Challenges confronting public administration teachers and scholars

A 2 × 2 matrix identifying four discrete thought processes was presented. The contributions of the first three processes in developing the knowledge base of public administration were detailed as w...
LASER PHYSICS AND TISSUE INTERACTIONS

This article explains the basic principles of lasers from their historical beginnings to their use specifically in otolaryngology. The operation of the laser is shown in clear, easy-to-understand steps with the basics of laser delivery, laser optics, and laser-tissue interactions also presented. This article aims to give the surgeon enough information and understanding to help in deciding which laser to use for which purpose.
Stem Cell Factor Enhances Dendritic Cell Development

Stem cell factor (SCF), also known as steel factor, c-kit ligand, mast cell growth factor) by itself is only weakly effective or ineffective in regulating hematopoiesis but interacts with specific cytokines to enhance the development of multiple lineages. 1–10 Within a particular lineage, SCF may regulate the development of progeny by interacting with progenitor cells found at various stages of differentiation.11–13 SCF increases the number and size of the primary colony forming unit (CFU) by increasing the number of cells leaving quiescence and entering the cell cycle 14,16 and by permitting the CFU to undergo an additional number of divisions before entering a nonmitotic state.1,11,16 The latter effect can be assessed as an increase in the replating potential of the CFU.16
Foreshock wave interaction with the magnetopause: Signatures of mode conversion

Our previous hybrid simulation [Shi et al., 2013] under a radial interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and a supercritical solar wind Mach number has shown that foreshock compressional waves originated from the quasi-parallel (Q-∥) shock are mode converted to kinetic Alfven waves (KAWs) at the Alfven resonance surface of the subsolar magnetopause. In this paper, three-dimensional global dayside mode conversion is investigated for cases under various solar wind conditions using the global hybrid model. The global patterns and propagations of KAWs are distinguished and presented. Under a near-critical Mach number (MA=3), KAW structures due to mode conversion exhibit a feature of broader excitation regions in the magnetopause boundary layer (MPBL) compared to super-critical Mach number (MA=5) shocks. For cases with an oblique IMF with supercritical Mach numbers (MA=5), the amplitude of magnetosheath compressional waves is larger at the quasi-parallel shock (Q-∥) than at the quasi-perpendicular (Q-⊥) shock. Downstream of the Q-∥ shock, there is a general trend that the perturbations of density (N) and magnetic field (B) change from predominantly in-phase in the magnetosheath to anti-phase near the MPBL. While downstream of the Q-⊥ shock, an anti-phase relation between N and B is dominant throughout the magnetosheath and magnetopause except near the shock transition. The compressional drivers are found to reach an extended region of the magnetopause due to the combined effects of wave propagation in the plasma frame and flow convection, leading to a broad region of mode conversion at the magnetopause. Subsequently, the resulting KAWs can be carried to the regions downstream of the Q-⊥ shock owing to the iňCow convection at the magnetopause. The KAWs propagate poleward along the geomagnetic field lines and meanwhile are carried tailward by the ambient flows, and they are more intense in the downstream of Q-∥ shocks than downstream of Q-⊥ shocks.
Substance Use and Abuse: Everything Matters (2nd ed.), by Rick Csiernik: Toronto, Canada: Canadian Scholars’ Press, 2016, 471 pp., paperback, $74.40. ISBN: 978-1-55130891-3

In the preface to the second edition of this book, the author explains that one must approach substance abuse from a perspective that “everything matters” and that substance abuse is a global pheno...
Silicification Processes in Sponges: Geodia Asters and the Problem of Morphogenesis of Spicule Shape

The deposition of silica by sponges involves a special membrane and an internal organic matrix, the axial filament. A hexagonal cross sectional shape of the filament may act as a basis, through differential growth, of the formation of a trigonal shape. Dynamic processes involved in silica deposition include membrane and organic filament syntheses and assembly; transport, accumulation and polymerization of silicic acid; and termination of these processes. The theoretical details of these processes are discussed. The pattern of development of complex siliceous structures (asters) in Geodia cydonium involve the formation of short, terminal processes which then become fused together and finally form a star-shaped pattern. It is difficult to invoke the presence of a centrally located silicification center as a basis for this sequence of morphogenesis. Such centers appear to be present during the development of other morphological types of siliceous sponge structures and such a center may be present in the early stages of development of Geodia asters before the maturation of the tips of the structures. Both sodium and calcium ions appear to interact with the sponge silicification system as determined by their effects on spicules formed in the presence of germanic acid. The absence of central bulbs in marine spicules grown in germanic acid may be partly due to the high concentration of these (and other) ions in sea water.
Extraordinary Creatures: The Role of Birds in Early Iron Age Slovenia

Depictions of birds are overrepresented in the Dolenjska Hallstatt culture, and appear on over a quarter of artefacts depicting animals. A wide variety of artefacts with birds have been found prima...
Acute Portomesenteric Venous Thrombosis: Diagnosis and Treatment

Acute portomesenteric venous thrombosis (PMVT) is an unusual cause of acute mesenteric ischemia. Because of its rarity and nonspecific presentation, radiologic imaging plays a key role in the diagnosis of acute PMVT. Medical management with anticoagulation is the mainstay of therapy, with surgery reserved for patients suspected of having peritonitis or bowel infarction. However, endovascular therapy has an evolving role and may serve as an important adjunct to anticoagulation in selected patients with acute PMVT.
Dialysis Modality and Incident Atrial Fibrillation in Older Patients With ESRD.

Rationale & Objective Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common in patients with kidney failure treated by maintenance dialysis. Whether the incidence of AF differs between patients receiving hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis is uncertain. Study Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting & Participants Using the US Renal Data System, we identified older patients (≥67 years) with Medicare Parts A and B who initiated dialysis therapy (1996-2011) without a diagnosis of AF during the prior 2 years. Exposure Dialysis modality at incident end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and maintained for at least 90 days. Outcome Patients were followed up for 36 months or less for a new diagnosis of AF. Analytical Approach Time-to-event analysis using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate cause-specific HRs while censoring at modality switch, kidney transplantation, or death. Results Overall, 271,722 older patients were eligible; 17,487 (6.9%) were treated with peritoneal dialysis, and 254,235 (93.1%), with hemodialysis, at the onset of ESRD. During 406,225 person-years of follow-up, 69,705 patients had AF newly diagnosed. Because the proportionality assumption was violated, we introduced an interaction term between time (first 90 days vs thereafter) and modality. The AF incidence during the first 90 days was 187/1,000 person-years on peritoneal dialysis therapy and 372/1,000 person-years on hemodialysis therapy. Patients on peritoneal dialysis therapy had an adjusted 39% (95% CI, 34%-43%) lower incidence of AF than those on hemodialysis therapy. From day 91 onward, AF incidence was ∼140/1,000 person-years with no major difference between modalities. Limitations Residual confounding from unobserved differences between exposure groups; ascertainment of AF from billing claims; study of first modality may not generalize to patients switching modalities; uncertain generalizability to younger patients. Conclusions Although patients initiating dialysis therapy using peritoneal dialysis had a lower AF incidence during the first 90 days of ESRD, there was no major difference in AF incidence thereafter. The value of interventions to reduce the early excess AF risk in patients receiving hemodialysis may warrant further study.
Antibiotic Dosing in Chronic Kidney Disease and End-Stage Renal Disease: A Focus on Contemporary Challenges

Infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality among patients with chronic kidney disease. Therefore, appropriate antibiotic dosing is imperative to achieve positive patient outcomes while minimizing antibiotic dose-related toxicity. Accurately assessing renal function and determining the influence of renal replacement therapy on antibiotic clearance makes drug dosing in this patient population challenging. Furthermore, as technological advances in hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis occur, research incorporating newer dialysis parameters to guide drug dosing may not be readily available. Currently, there are limited data to guide drug dosing in the setting of automated peritoneal dialysis, short daily hemodialysis, and nocturnal hemodialysis. Antibiotic-dosing recommendations should be carefully evaluated considering the accuracy of the renal function assessment, the similarity of the operating characteristics of the renal replacement therapy studied compared with those being used, and whether the dosing strategy takes advantage of the pharmacodynamic profile of the antibiotic under consideration. After implementing the antibiotic-dosing regimen, therapeutic drug monitoring should occur when possible along with careful monitoring for antibiotic efficacy and safety.
Orthodoxy and Islam: Theology and Muslim–Christian Relations in Modern Greece and Turkey

Church History reveals that Christianity has its roots in Palestine during the first century and was spread throughout the Mediterranean countries by the Apostles. However, despite sharing the same ancestry, Muslims and Christians have been living in a challenging symbiotic co-existence for more than fourteen centuries in many parts of South-Eastern Europe and the Middle East. This book analyses contemporary Christian-Muslim relations in the traditional lands of Orthodoxy and Islam. In particular, it examines the development of Eastern Orthodox ecclesiological thinking on Muslim-Christian relations and religious minorities in the context of modern Greece and Turkey. Greece, where the prevailing religion is Eastern Orthodoxy, accommodates an official recognised Muslim minority based in Western Thrace as well as other Muslim populations located at major Greek urban centres and the islands of the Aegean Sea. On the other hand, Turkey, where the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is based, is a Muslim country which accommodates within its borders an official recognised Greek Orthodox Minority. The book then suggests ways in which to overcome the difficulties that Muslim and Christian communities are still facing with the Turkish and Greek States. Finally, it proposes that the positive aspects of the coexistence between Muslims and Christians in Western Thrace and Istanbul might constitute an original model that should be adopted in other EU and Middle East countries, where challenges and obstacles between Muslim and Christian communities still persist. This book offers a distinct and useful contribution to the ever popular subject of Christian-Muslim relations, especially in South-East Europe and the Middle East. It will be a key resource for students and scholars of Religious Studies and Middle Eastern Studies.