cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Facilitation of alternative one-lung and two-lung ventilation by use of an endotracheal tube exchanger for pediatric empyema during video-assisted thoracoscopy.

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has emerged as an innovative and popular procedure for the management of postpneumonic empyema in children refractory to medical response. Alternative uses of two- and one-lung ventilations have been required during VATS. This study evaluated the efficacy of alternating one- and two-lung ventilation through intraoperatively through the same single-lumen endobronchial tube using a tube exchanger during a thoracoscopic procedure for pediatric empyema. Between May 1995 and August 2001, 62 consecutive pediatric patients undergoing VATS for evacuation of the loculated empyema cavity were studied. The same single-lumen endobronchial tube was used, with an indwelling endotracheal tube exchanger in place for readjustment of the tube position to provide alternation of one- and two-lung ventilations in a thoracosopic procedure. Duration of operation, heart rate, mean arterial pressure, peak airway pressure, an partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) and carbon dioxide (PaCO2) changes during one- and two-lung ventilations were recorded. The quality of lung deflation and inflation was rated by the surgeon using direct visualization as excellent, fair or poor. The mean operating time was 90 min (range, 50–120 min). No differences were found in heart rate, mean arterial pressure, or PaO2 during one- and two-lung ventilations. Peak airway pressure and PaCO2 during two-lung ventilation were significantly higher than during one-lung ventilation. The quality of lung deflation and inflation was judged excellent for all the patients. The VATS procedure can be performed safely and effectively in children using proper anesthetic technique. Retention of a tube exchanger within a single-lumen endobronchial tube an easily provide alternative one- and two-lung ventilations without inducing any significant airway flow obstruction during the operation.
Primary myelolipoma of mediastinum

Myelolipoma is a benign nonepithelial neoplasm composed of mature marrow elements and fat cells. This rare neoplasm is usually discovered by pathologists incidentally at autopsy, and, with rare exceptions, usually occurs in the adrenal glands. One of these exceptional anatomic sites is the mediastinum, and only three cases of primary mediastinal myelolipomas have been documented in the English-language literature (1-3). We are presenting a primary myelolipoma involving the posterior mediastinum that was discovered on routine chest radiographs and successfully resected. Computed tomography (CT) scan findings of this rare mediastinal tumor are also presented. This is the first case report in the English language of primary myelolipoma in the mediastinum that was detected clinically and resected successfully.
Barriers to Treatment Participation Scale: evaluation and validation in the context of child outpatient treatment

This study examined barriers that families experience during treatment and the role these barriers play in participation and completion of therapy. We developed the Barriers to Treatment Participation Scale and evaluated performance among children (N = 260, ages 3-13) and families referred for outpatient treatment. The results indicated that: (a) the scale yielded high levels of internal consistency; (b) the experience of barriers to participation, whether rated by parents or therapists, predicted higher rates of dropping out of treatment, fewer weeks in treatment, and higher rates of cancelled appointments and not showing up for sessions; (c) the perception of barriers was distinguishable from several family, parent, and child characteristics assessed at intake and the experience of critical life events during treatment; and (d) perceived barriers added significant information in predicting participation in treatment, over and above other characteristics that are already known to predict poor participation in treatment. Barriers associated with treatment participation can help identify cases at risk for dropping out and suggest targets for intervention to improve retention of families in treatment.
Technology Choice and the Cost Reduction Potential of Photovoltaics

We use a combination of system component analyses and individual experience curves for crystalline silicon (x-Si) modules, thin-film (TF) modules, and the balance of system (BOS) components, to compare future growth scenarios for photovoltaics (PV). The growth rates of TF and x-Si technologies are varied, while overall PV growth is held constant at 30%. For each of these scenarios, we estimate the total investment required for PV to reach a break-even point with fossil fuel based generation; and we investigate the intrinsic/lowest achievable costs from an analysis of potential materials, processing, and efficiency improvements. Our results show that a high growth rate (50 to 70% per year) of new technologies with low intrinsic costs could decrease the total investment required to reach break-even by up to 70 billion USD, as compared to a scenario where x-Si continues to dominate the market. Furthermore, the system component analysis indicates that existing TF modules can reach the low cost levels assumed in the experience curve model. These results suggest that the future growth of photovoltaics (PV) is dependent on which PV technologies grow most rapidly. New, low intrinsic cost technologies that are successfully able to enter the market could dramatically increase the potential for PV to become a globally significant energy conversion technology within the next two decades.
Justice for all? Material and semiotic impacts of Fair Trade craft certification

Abstract In the last two decades, the fair trade movement has undergone significant institutional changes. From an informal network of activists and producers, it has evolved into a structured set of actors whose collective adherence to “fair” principles is guaranteed by external certification programs. Focusing on the craft sector, this paper explores the impacts of both the material practice of certification (evaluation and monitoring) and the semiotic practice of certification (product labeling). Drawing on a collaborative research experience with a craftswomen’s cooperative in the Ecuadorian Andes, it argues that the material practice of certification impedes artisans’ attempts to join the formal Fair Trade network, while the semiotic practice of certification limits fair trade’s ability to “lift the veil” of the commodity fetish, which was one of the central goals of the original movement.
Uptake by plants of iron from iron chelates

Abstract Several studies have been conducted with BPDS as a trapping agent of Fe2+ to prevent iron uptake by plants. The BPDS does inhibit iron uptake although the BPDS chelated iron is available to plants particularly at low solution pH. Such results, however, do not prove obligatory reduction of Fe3+ chelates before absorption of iron even though reduction is probably part of the uptake process. Computer derived curves (from the literature) for availability of Fe2+ associated with iron uptake in the presence of chelating agents imply that the first step of iron uptake is a root binding of the Fe3+ chelate. Reduction, splitting of the Fe from chelate and possible, but not obligatory, expulsion of the chelate from the root can follow. A hundred μmolar excess of DTPA chelating agent often enhances uptake of iron by plants even though the simultaneously available level of unchelated Fe2+ can be below 10‐9.2 M, a level postulated by other workers as being too low for any uptake of iron in the Fe2+ form. It w...
A generation of attitude trends among US householders as measured in the NORC General Social Survey 1972-2010.

Abstract Two generations (1972–1976 and 2006–2008) are compared using 43 replicated attitudes in the NORC General Social Survey. The report describes the generational changes (primarily liberal), weighs the causal impact of rising educational levels (liberal), cohort replacement (liberal) and period effects (mildly conservative). It argues that this long term causal mechanism is slowly eroding.
Those Who Hesitate Are Lost: The Case for Setting Behavioral Health Treatment and Disability Standards, Part I

There are multiple factors that impede the implementation of standards into the behavioral health (BH) treatment and disability processes. The combination of physical and psychological conditions as well as the influence of psychosocial issues has consistently been identified as having negative effects on treatment and treatment outcomes. Further, the wide-spread lack of standardization causes a multitude of problems throughout both BH processes. The focus of this first article in a three-part series will examine the explosion of behavioral health claims and the major factors, such as comorbid physical conditions and psychosocial issues, associated with these types of claims. In addition, the overarching theme of lack of standardization will begin to be explored in regard to the problematic definition of disability, communication difficulties between treating professionals and disability insurers and agencies as well as the introduction of bias into the BH treatment and disability processes.
A gel permeation chromatography method to determine grafting efficiency during graft copolymerization

A new method of measuring the efficiencies of free radical grafting reactions is presented. This technique utilizes the compositional analysis capability of dual-detector (ultraviolet and refractive index) gel permeation chromatography (g.p.c.) in which the mixture of polymers resulting from the graft copolymerization reaction is also subjected to separation by molecular size. Samples of the reaction mass drawn from a reactor are diluted with g.p.c. eluent and injected directly into the chromatograph without any other preparative step. Grafting efficiency, graft ratio, molecular weight distributions and the frequency of graft chains along the backbone polymer are simultaneously determined. Low molecular weight diluents (residual monomer, solvent, initiator, etc.) are readily separated from the polymer within the chromatograph, allowing for the determination of the fractional conversion of graft monomer (to grafted and ungrafted polymer) from the same analysis. This simple technique overcomes the need to separate or purify the polymer mixture prior to analysis, as required for most other methods. Experimental results are presented for the grafting of styrene onto cis -polybutadiene. Gelled samples cannot be analysed by this new technique.
Validation of Chromosome Painting as a Biodosimeter in Human Peripheral Lymphocytes Following Acute Exposure to Ionizing Radiation in Vitro

Fluorescence in situ hybridization with chromosome-specific composite DNA probes (‘chromosome painting’) appears to be a useful tool for quantifying symmetrical cytogenetic damage. However, a thorough comparison between chromosome painting and the conventional methods of GTG-banding and dicentric analysis has not been performed. We have undertaken the validation of chromosome painting using human blood exposed in vitro to 137Cs γ-rays at doses ranging from 0 to 400 cGy, then cultured according to standard procedures and harvested at 52h. For painting, bound probes were detected either with fluoresceinated avidin and counterstained with propidium iodide, or with ChromoBlue WCP Probe and Giemsa. The first approach utilizes ultraviolet excitation in which painted chromosomes appear yellow and the remaining chromosomes appear red. The ChromoBlue labelling approach requires ordinary light microscopy in which painted chromosomes appear dark blue and the remaining chromosomes appear light blue. With each method,...
Intramolecular hydrogen bonding and its influence on conformation. Circular dichroism of chiral bilirubin analogs

Abstract Enantiopure synthetic bilirubin analogs with variously modified (e.g. alkyl for natural propionic acid or ester) C(8) and C(12) side chains and with but a single chiral center in either or both, exhibited exciton coupled circular dichroism (CD) spectra. The CD intensity is greater when the stereogenic center is in a propionic acid side chain than in an alkyl side chain.
Comparison of laparoscopic saline infused to dry radio frequency ablation of renal tissue: evolution of histological infarct in the porcine model.

ABSTRACTPurpose:: We investigated and compared the gross and histopathological features of radio frequency (RF) ablated renal tissue using saline infused RF ablation (RFA) vs dry RFA in a porcine model.Materials and Methods:: Ten porcine kidneys underwent laparoscopic RFA. The lower and upper poles of each right kidney were treated with 1 and 2 cycles of saline augmented (wet) RFA, respectively. The upper pole of each left kidney was RF ablated without saline infusion (dry RFA) and a control lesion was created in the lower pole. The animals were sacrificed immediately after ´, 2 and 9 days after (subacute), and 14 and 21 days after (chronic) treatment, respectively. Gross pathological and histological changes caused by the different RF treatments were compared.Results:: Mean time to attain target temperature was shorter with wet than with dry RFA. Grossly the lesion sizes achieved were larger using wet RFA but independent of the number of wet RFA treatment cycles. Gross lesion sizes decreased with time fo...
Aging and Retrospective Revaluation of Causal Learning

In a two-stage causal learning task, young and older participants first learned which foods presented in compound were followed by an allergic reaction (e.g., STEAK - BEANS → REACTION) and then the causal efficacy of one food from these compounds was revalued (e.g., BEANS → NO REACTION). In Experiment 1, unrelated food pairs were used and although there were no age differences in compound or single cue – outcome learning, older adults did not retrospectively revalue the causal efficacy of the absent target cues (e.g. STEAK). However, they had weaker within – compound associations for the unrelated foods and this may have prevented them from retrieving the representations of these cues. In Experiment 2, older adults still showed no retrospective revaluation of absent cues even though compound food cues with pre-existing associations were used (e.g., STEAK - POTATO) and they received additional learning trials. Finally, in Experiment 3, older adults revalued the causal efficacy of the target cues when small, unobtrusive icons of these cues were present during single cue revaluation. These findings suggest that age – related deficits in causal learning for absent cues are due to ineffective associative binding and reactivation processes.
Isolation, pointing, and suppression (IPS) system for high-performance spacecraft

Passive mechanical isolation is often times the first step taken to remedy vibration issues on-board a spacecraft. In many cases, this is done with a hexapod of axial members or struts to obtain the desired passive isolation in all six degrees-of-freedom (DOF). In some instances, where the disturbance sources are excessive or the payload is particularly sensitive to vibration, additional steps are taken to improve the performance beyond that of passive isolation. Additional performance or functionality can be obtained with the addition of active control, using a hexapod of hybrid (passive/active) elements at the interface between the payload and the bus. This paper describes Honeywell's Isolation, Pointing, and Suppression (IPS) system. It is a hybrid isolation system designed to isolate a sensitive spacecraft payload with very low passive resonant break frequencies while affording agile independent payload pointing, on-board payload disturbance rejection, and active isolation augmentation. This system is an extension of the work done on Honeywell's previous Vibration Isolation, Steering, and Suppression (VISS) flight experiment. Besides being designed for a different size payload than VISS, the IPS strut includes a dual-stage voice coil design for improved dynamic range as well as improved low-noise drive electronics. In addition, the IPS struts include integral load cells, gap sensors, and payloadside accelerometers for control and telemetry purposes. The associated system-level control architecture to accomplish these tasks is also new for this program as compared to VISS. A summary of the IPS system, including analysis and hardware design, build, and single axis bipod testing will be reviewed.
Receptor-mediated binding of IgE-sensitized rat basophilic leukemia cells to antigen-coated substrates under hydrodynamic flow

The physiological function of many cells is dependent on their ability to adhere via receptors to ligand-coated surfaces under fluid flow. We have developed a model experimental system to measure cell adhesion as a function of cell and surface chemistry and fluid flow. Using a parallel-plate flow chamber, we measured the binding of rat basophilic leukemia cells preincubated with anti-dinitrophenol IgE antibody to polyacrylamide gels covalently derivatized with 2,4-dinitrophenol. The rat basophilic leukemia cells' binding behavior is binary: cells are either adherent or continue to travel at their hydrodynamic velocity, and the transition between these two states is abrupt. The spatial location of adherent cells shows cells can adhere many cell diameters down the length of the gel, suggesting that adhesion is a probabilistic process. The majority of experiments were performed in the excess ligand limit in which adhesion depends strongly on the number of receptors but weakly on ligand density. Only 5-fold changes in IgE surface density or in shear rate were necessary to change adhesion from complete to indistinguishable from negative control. Adhesion showed a hyperbolic dependence on shear rate. By performing experiments with two IgE-antigen configurations in which the kinetic rates of receptor-ligand binding are different, we demonstrate that the forward rate of reaction of the receptor-ligand pair is more important than its thermodynamic affinity in the regulation of binding under hydrodynamic flow. In fact, adhesion increases with increasing receptor-ligand reaction rate or decreasing shear rate, and scales with a single dimensionless parameter which compares the relative rates of reaction to fluid shear.
Progress toward Producing n-Type CdSe Quantum Dots: Tin and Indium Doped CdSe Quantum Dots

Controlling conductivity via doping in semiconductor quantum dots is an important part of nanoparticle research. In this report, doping of CdSe quantum dots with indium and tin is explored. High-resolution nanoprobing confirms the presence of indium and tin in the particles and the inclusion of indium into the particles without forming a separate phase. The tin doped CdSe samples show preferential adsorption of tin in quantum dots from the solution during synthesis while incorporation of indium is somewhat statistical. In agreement with the expected n-type behavior, the photoluminescence (PL) of both indium and tin doped samples exhibits a significantly steeper temperature dependence, compared to undoped CdSe quantum dots. Comparison of theory and experimental data suggests that the approximate locations of the dopants levels are at 280 and 100 meV below the conduction band edge of the indium and tin doped quantum dots, respectively. The relative temperature dependent Stokes shifts of the doped samples ar...
Spectrophotometry and UBVRI photometry of Eros

Spectrophotometric and broad-band photoelectric observations of Eros are reported. No existing meteorite spectrum matches the asteroid data directly. Assemblages of iron or stony-iron with ordinary-chondrite material generate the best match for the reflectivity curve of Eros. Variability was found in the 0.6 micron band and V-R and V-I colors.
Infectious diseases in early life in industrialized countries

A specific group of pathogens is important in neonatal infections. An understanding of the epidemiology, pathogenesis and etiology of neonatal infections has led to interventions which have decreased the risk of transmission or acquisition of infection in the newborn period. The interventions span the spectrum of preventive medicine from infection control, to antibiotics, to antivirals and to vaccines. However, the individual case management of the expectant mother is as critical to the control of neonatal infections as broad public health policies.
Seed proteins and world food problems

ing food protein from the general problem and treating it separately comes in part from the fact that more often the protein problem is the more critical one and because from a scientific and technological viewpoint its treatment has a number of unique aspects. There is no need to document here the fact that protein foods are in critical supply in some areas of the world; the critical shortage 1Presented at the symposium on Nutrition for an Expanding World Population, Society of Economic Botany, Cambridge, Mass., May 13-14, 1961. 2Seed Protein Pioneering Research Laboratory, New Orleans, Louisiana, one of the laboratories of the Southern Utilization Research and Development Division, Agricultural Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture. is expected to intensify with population growth. This point has been adequately docuinented elsewhere and can be accepted here as the basis for the discussion of new sources of protein (36, 38, 44, 46). We wish to discuss here the potential for obtaining added protein for humans from seeds: the new methods which will have to be developed, the degree of sophistication in processing these seeds which will be required, and the newer knowledge about seed proteins which must be acquired. This discussion will be illustrated by examples drawn from the socalled oilseeds (5).
Rapid speciation and the evolution of hummingbird pollination in neotropical Costus subgenus Costus (Costaceae): evidence from nrDNA ITS and ETS sequences

We estimate phylogenetic relationships and the biogeographic and pollination history of Costus subgenus Costus (Costaceae) using sequence data from the internal and external transcribed spacer (ITS and ETS) regions of 18S‐26S nuclear ribosomal DNA. The African members of the subgenus form a series of lineages basal to a monophyletic neotropical species radiation. The neotropical species have large, showy flowers visited by either euglossine bees or hummingbirds. The hummingbird pollination syndrome is supported as a derived character state from the bee pollination syndrome, and we estimate that it has evolved independently seven or more times in the neotropics. A molecular clock approach suggests that diversification of the neotropical clade has been recent and rapid and that it coincides with dramatic climatic and geologic changes, Andean orogeny, and the closing of the Panama isthmus that occurred in the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs. We propose a scenario for the diversification of Costus, in which rapid floral adaptation in geographic isolation and range shifts in response to environmental changes contribute to reproductive isolation among close relatives. We suggest that these processes may be common in other recently diversified plant lineages centered in Central America or the Northern Andean phytogeographic region.
Fuzzy modeling of the manufacturing processes

Detailed simulation of manufacturing processes is traditionally a time intensive and computationally expensive process. This research is aimed at reducing the time for a single cycle simulation by using a fuzzy model to describe the process. The training set is generated by a designed experiment and the fuzzy parameters are optimized by backpropagation.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Noninvasive perfusion imaging of human brain tumors with EPISTAR

A total of 17 patients with histologically proven diagnoses of low-grade astrocytoma (n = 4), high-grade astrocytoma (n = 8), lymphoma (n = 3), and meningioma (n = 2) were examined by using EPISTAR MR imaging. Meningiomas had the highest EPISTAR tumor/white matter contrast and low-grade astrocytomas and lymphomas the lowest. High-grade astrocytomas demonstrated elevated EPISTAR signal with marked regional heterogeneity. There was agreement between tumor vascularity by SPECT and EPISTAR in the five cases where both were done. Our results show that tumor vascularity can be assessed qualitatively by using EPISTAR without the need for contrast medium injection.
Administration of concurrent vaginal brachytherapy during chemotherapy for treatment of endometrial cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate the tolerability and toxicity of administering vaginal brachytherapy (VB) concurrently during chemotherapy compared with the sequential approach for patients with endometrial cancer. Methods and Materials: A retrospective analysis of 372 surgically staged patients with endometrial cancer American Joint Committee on Cancer 2009 stages I to IV treated with adjuvant postoperative radiation therapy (RT) at our institution from 2001 to 2012 was conducted. All patients received VB + external beam RT (EBRT) + 6 cycles of adjuvant carboplatin- and paclitaxel-based chemotherapy. The VB mean dose was 15.08 Gy (range, 15-20 Gy), with 3 to 4 weekly applications, and the EBRT mean dose was 45 Gy delivered with 3-dimensional or intensity modulated RT techniques. Hematologic, gastrointestinal (GI), and genitourinary (GU) toxicities were assessed by Common Toxicity Criteria (CTC) and compared between sequential and concurrent chemotherapy and VB schedules. Results: Among patients who received RT and adjuvant chemotherapy, 180 of 372 patients (48%) received RT sandwiched between cycles 3 and 4 of chemotherapy. A separate group of 192 patients (52%) were treated with VB during the first 3 cycles of chemotherapy, with a weekly application on nonchemotherapy days, and received the EBRT portion in a sandwiched fashion. Patients treated withmore » VB during chemotherapy had a decreased overall treatment time by 4 weeks (P .05). CTC grade 3 or 4 hematologic, GI, and GU toxicities were zero. Conclusions: VB during chemotherapy is well tolerated, decreases overall treatment time, and does not render more toxicity than the sequential regimen.« less
An evaluation of the state factor model of soil ecosystems

Abstract Hans Jenny's conceptual equation describing soil ecosystems as a function of five state factors (time, climate, parent material, topography, and biota) has never been solved. The interdependence of the state factors and the difficulty in quantifying some factors have been considered the primary obstacles to a solution. The problem is reevaluated because qualitative systems analysis methods are available which can overcome both these obstacles. Qualitative asymptotic stability analysis supports previous suggestions that a general, comprehensive solution of Jenny's equation is not possible. The obstacles to such a solution are the multiple time scales over which state factors operate, and the difficulty of combining internal, external and temporal components of the soil ecosystem into a single model, rather than quantification and factor interdependence problems. Future applications of the state factor model should utilize the model's general form, based on energy and matter fluxes in the soil ecosystem.
Operational and axiomatic semantics of PCF

PCF, as considered in this paper, is a lazy typed lambda calculus with functions, pairing, fixed-point operators and arbitrary algebraic data types. The natural equational axioms for PCF include e-equivalence and the so-called “surjective pairing” axiom for pairs. However, the reduction system pcfe,sp defined by directing each equational axiom is not confluent, for virtually any choice of algebraic data types. Moreover, neither e-reduction nor surjective pairing seems to have a counterpart in ordinary execution. Therefore, we consider a smaller reduction system pcf without e-reduction or surjective pairing. The system pcf is confluent when combined with any linear, confluent algebraic rewrite rules. The system is also computationally adequate, in the sense that whenever a closed term of “observable” type has a pcfe,sp normal form, this is also the unique pcf normal form. Moreover, the equational axioms for PCF, including (e) and surjective pairing, are sound for pcf observational equivalence. These results suggest that if we take the equational axioms as defining the language, the smaller reduction system gives an appropriate operational semantics.
Fusion of machine intelligence and human intelligence for colonic polyp detection in CT colonography

In this paper, we proposed a novel method to improve colonic polyp detection in computed tomographic colonography. Utilizing the human knowledge workers via the Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) webservice, we distributed polyp detections from a computer-aided detection system (CAD) to anonymous online knowledge workers and asked them to distinguish true and false polyp candidates. We combined decisions from the CAD system (machine intelligence) and the MTurk workers (human intelligence) using alpha-integration. Preliminary experimental results indicated that the combined decisions were superior to either alone, with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve improving by 5.8% and 7.0% compared with CAD and MTurk workers alone, respectively.
Cognitive neuroscience 2.0: building a cumulative science of human brain function

Cognitive neuroscientists increasingly recognize that continued progress in understanding human brain function will require not only the acquisition of new data, but also the synthesis and integration of data across studies and laboratories. Here we review ongoing efforts to develop a more cumulative science of human brain function. We discuss the rationale for an increased focus on formal synthesis of the cognitive neuroscience literature, provide an overview of recently developed tools and platforms designed to facilitate the sharing and integration of neuroimaging data, and conclude with a discussion of several emerging developments that hold even greater promise in advancing the study of human brain function.
Chemoprevention of colorectal cancer by aspirin: A cost-effectiveness analysis

Background & Aims: The aim of the study is to compare the cost-effectiveness of aspirin and colonoscopy in the prevention of colorectal cancer. Methods: A Markov process is used to follow a hypothetical cohort of 100,000 subjects aged 50 years until death. Four strategies are compared: (1) no intervention, (2) colonoscopy once per 10 years and every 3 years in subjects with polyps, (3) chemoprevention with 325 mg of daily aspirin, and (4) combination of the second and third strategies. The various strategies are compared calculating incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). Results: The expected number of colorectal cancers is 5904 per 100,000 subjects. Colonoscopy prevents 4428 colorectal cancers and saves 7951 life-years at an ICER of $10,983 per life-year saved compared with no intervention. Aspirin prevents 2952 colorectal cancers and saves 5301 lifeyears at an ICER of $47,249 per life-year saved compared with no intervention. The cost of aspirin therapy plus management of aspirin-related complications was reported to be $172 per year per patient. Varying the annual aspirin-related costs between $50 and $200 results in ICER changes between $4617 and $57,080, with the 2 strategies breaking even at $70. Applying aspirin chemoprevention plus colonoscopy screening concomitantly yields an ICER of $227,607 per life-year saved compared with screening colonoscopy alone. Conclusion: As compared with colonoscopy once per 10 years, the use of aspirin to prevent colorectal cancer saves fewer lives at higher costs. The high complication cost and the lower efficacy of aspirin render screening colonoscopy a more cost-effective strategy to prevent colorectal cancer.
Wireless LAN technologies and applications

Wireless local area networks (LANs) and personal communications services (PCS) represent the growth sectors of the communications network technology of the 1990s. While PCS will support primarily voice communications, wireless LANs will typically support data communications. The authors discuss wireless LAN technologies, including infrared and RF transmission. The potential use of wireless LAN technologies for multimedia communications (voice, data, and imagery) are presented. The research activities in this growing technology area are also described. >
Update on Antiplatelet Therapy for Stroke Prevention

The high rates of mortality and long-term disability associated with ischemic stroke, coupled with its prevalence, necessitate good, long-term preventive strategies. Risk-factor management is effective for individuals with preclinical and clinical cerebrovascular disease. Patients suffering from a transient ischemic attack or stroke are particularly vulnerable to subsequent stroke. Most of these individuals are candidates for antiplatelet treatment to prevent a recurrence. Available antiplatelet therapies include aspirin, ticlopidine, and clopidogrel. The combination of low-dose aspirin plus extended-release dipyridamole has been shown to offer safe, effective antiplatelet therapy for appropriate patients. In the second European Stroke Prevention Study, the combination was found to be significantly more effective than either drug alone, at the cost of relatively few treatment-related adverse effects. This combination is currently recommended as one of the first-line treatments for stroke prevention after first transient ischemic attack or stroke.
Baltimore City's landmark alcohol and tobacco billboard ban: an implementation case study

Alcohol is the leading cause of death and disability globally among males aged 15–24 in all regions except the Eastern Mediterranean and females aged 15–24 in the wealthy nations and the Americas; much of this burden is from injury.1 Excessive alcohol use is the leading drug problem among young people in the USA,2 and the leading causes of alcohol-related deaths among young people in the USA are injury: MVCs, homicide, suicide, poisoning (not alcohol), child maltreatment and drowning comprise 95% of the approximately 4173 deaths caused by alcohol among persons under 21 annually.3 Exposure to alcohol advertising increases the likelihood that young people will hold positive beliefs about alcohol, intend to drink and consume alcohol.4–6 Longitudinal studies have consistently found that youth exposure to alcohol advertising in various settings—including broadcast, print, outdoor, point-of-purchase and at sporting events—correlates with earlier onset of drinking among non-drinkers and increased levels of drinking among youth already drinking.7 ,8 Adolescents who report exposure to and liking of ads in early adolescence (7th grade) are more likely later (10th grade) to report negative alcohol-related consequences, including getting into fights.9 Outdoor advertisements target pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic and appear in a wide array of formats and sizes. In the early 1990s, tobacco companies were the most prominent outdoor advertisers: in 1992, the tobacco industry spent $123 million on outdoor advertising and by 1996 six of the top ten outdoor advertisers were tobacco companies.10 Following the Master Settlement Agreement in 1998, outdoor advertising for tobacco fell precipitously, and expenditures on outdoor advertising for alcohol surpassed spending on tobacco ads. By 2002, the Anheuser-Busch Company was the largest outdoor advertiser in the USA, spending just under $50 million annually on outdoor advertisements.11 Saffer and Dave12 assessed the impact …
THE NATIVE MEMBRANE FUSION MACHINERY IN CELLS

Recombinant SNAREs have been demonstrated as the minimal membrane fusion machinery. The participation of additional proteins in the regulation of membrane fusion has been suggested. In this study we provide nanometer-resolution images of native NSF oligomers and SNARE complexes isolated from neurons and the pancreas. Our study reveals the presence of new coiled rod-like structures in association with the SNARE complex only in neuronal tissue. Neuronal SNAREs were found coiled and super-coiled with these structures. The existence of NSF as pentamers in its native state is also demonstrated. The extent of coiling and super-coiling of SNAREs may regulate the potency and efficacy of membrane fusion in cells.
The Gateway to the Profession: Assessing Teacher Preparation Programs Based on Student Achievement

With teacher quality repeatedly cited as the most important schooling factor influencing student achievement, there has been increased interest in examining the efficacy of teacher training programs. This paper presents research examining the variation between and impact that individual teacher training institutions in Washington state have on the effectiveness of teachers they train. Using administrative data linking teachers' initial endorsements to student achievement on state reading and math tests, we find the majority of teacher training programs produce teachers who are no more or less effective than teachers who trained out-of-state. However, we do find a number of cases where there are statistically significant differences between estimates of training program effects for teachers who were credentialed at various in-state programs. These findings are robust to a variety of different model specifications.
Outcomes Following a Community Based Program of Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation Using HDR Brachytherapy in Early Stage Breast Cancer

spacing of 1.0 cm and V-150%!30% (p 5 0.0001). Two patients healed after 6 months of conservative treatment. Surgery was required in six patients who developed fat necrosis. Conclusions: With median 72 month followup, Breast Conservation radiation therapy utilizing Interstitial Multi-Catheter HDR Implant has yielded local recurrence rates and cosmetic results which compare favorably to EBRT in selected patients. There was no difference in LR between patients with IDC and DCIS. Treatment with anthracycline based Chemotherapy, large (O200 cm) implant volumes, and V-150% O30%, appear to be relative contraindications to Interstitial HDR Implant. Finally, catheter spacing of 1 cm yielded optimal dosimetry and minimized complications. Compared to Mammosite technique, the Interstitial Multi-Catheter method offers greater flexibility of radiation delivery. Advantages include, no concern regarding surgical cavity shape irregularities, balloon conformality to surgical cavity, balloon rupture, balloon movement, air gaps, skin balloon proximity to skin, balloon shape distortion, and catheter movement within the balloon.
Stability of switched and hybrid systems

This paper outlines some preliminary work on the stability analysis of switched and hybrid systems. The hybrid systems considered are those that combine continuous dynamics, represented by differential or difference equations, with finite dynamics usually thought of as being a finite automaton. Here, we concentrate on the continuous dynamics and model the finite dynamics as switching among finitely many continuous systems. We introduce multiple Lyapunov functions as a tool for analyzing Lyapunov stability of such "switched systems". We use iterated function systems theory as a tool for Lagrange stability. We also discuss the case where the switched systems are indexed by an arbitrary compact set. >
Antigen identification in drug-induced bullous pemphigoid

Immunobullous diseases usually develop spontaneously, but drug-induced bullous disease develops in a small subgroup of patients. We examined a patient in whom bullous pemphigoid developed after she received enalapril for treatment of hypertension. IgG antibody directed against a 230 kd antigen was identified. The eluted IgG autoantibody was shown to bind to the basement membrane zone on splitskin.This study demonstrates that drug-induced bullous pemphigoid autoantibody in this patient was directed against the same antigen as the spontaneous bullous pemphigoid antigen.
Functional Role of the Bovine Oocyte-Specific Protein JY-1 in Meiotic Maturation, Cumulus Expansion, and Subsequent Embryonic Development

Oocyte-expressed genes regulate key aspects of ovarian follicular development and early embryogenesis. We previously demonstrated a requirement of the oocyte-specific protein JY-1 for bovine early embryogenesis. Given that JY-1 is present in oocytes throughout folliculogenesis, and oocyte-derived JY-1 mRNA is temporally regulated postfertilization, we hypothesized that JY-1 levels in oocytes impact nuclear maturation and subsequent early embryogenesis. A novel model system, whereby JY-1 small interfering RNA was microinjected into cumulus-enclosed germinal vesicle-stage oocytes and meiotic arrest maintained for 48 h prior to in vitro maturation (IVM), was validated and used to determine the effect of reduced oocyte JY-1 expression on nuclear maturation, cumulus expansion, and embryonic development after in vitro fertilization. Depletion of JY-1 protein during IVM effectively reduced cumulus expansion, percentage of oocytes progressing to metaphase II, proportion of embryos that cleaved early, total cleavage rates and development to 8- to 16-cell stage, and totally blocked development to the blastocyst stage relative to controls. Supplementation with JY-1 protein during oocyte culture rescued effects of JY-1 depletion on meiotic maturation, cumulus expansion, and early cleavage, but did not rescue development to 8- to 16-cell and blastocyst stages. However, effects of JY-1 depletion postfertilization on development to 8- to 16-cell and blastocyst stages were rescued by JY-1 supplementation during embryo culture. In conclusion, these results support an important functional role for oocyte-derived JY-1 protein during meiotic maturation in promoting progression to metaphase II, cumulus expansion, and subsequent embryonic development.
Heavy-Tail and Plug-In Robust Consistent Conditional Moment Tests of Functional Form

We present asymptotic power-one tests of regression model functional form for heavy-tailed time series. Under the null hypothesis of correct specification the model errors must have a finite mean, and otherwise only need to have a fractional moment. If the errors have an infinite variance then in principle any consistent plug-in is allowed, depending on the model, including those with non-Gaussian limits and/or a sub-\(\sqrt{n}\)-convergence rate. One test statistic exploits an orthogonalized test equation that promotes plug-in robustness irrespective of tails. We derive chi-squared weak limits of the statistics, we characterize an empirical process method for smoothing over a trimming parameter, and we study the finite sample properties of the test statistics.
Human surfactant protein B promoter in transgenic mice: temporal, spatial, and stimulus-responsive regulation.

Surfactant protein B (SP-B) is a developmentally and hormonally regulated lung protein that is required for normal surfactant function. We generated transgenic mice carrying the human SP-B promoter...
ANTIGEN STIMULATED PROLIFERATION IN LYMPHOID AND MYELOID TISSUES FROM IMMUNIZED RABBITS.

SummarySuspensions of cells from spleen, mesenteric lymph nodes, popliteal lymph nodes, bone marrow, peripheral leukocytes, thymus, and alveolar macrophages were prepared from the tissues of hyperimmune rabbits. An in vitro secondary response, as measured by the uptake of tritiated thymi-dine, was elicited in spleen or lymph node cultures when incubated with the immunizing antigen. The uptake of tritiated thymi-dine represented an increased rate of DNA synthesis and was associated with division of the responding cells. A similar response was not seen in cultures of thymus cells, peripheral leukocytes or alveolar macrophages. The rate of DNA synthesis in cultures of bone marrow cells was depressed when they were incubated with either the immunizing antigen or phytohemagglutinin.
Perspectives on the Functional Characterization and In Vitro Maintenance of Circulating Tumor Cells

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) that detach and migrate from primary tumors are implicated in the metastatic spread of cancer. The identification of CTCs in peripheral blood samples has been associated with poor survival outcomes in various cancer types. As a readily accessible source of tumor tissue there is a vast potential to develop CTCs as a biomarker to advance cancer diagnosis, prognosis and the development of novel and targeted therapies. The fact that CTCs occur as extremely rare events in whole blood presents a technical challenge for characterization, requiring enrichment techniques that are both highly sensitive and sufficiently specific. The culture and expansion of CTCs is desirable as a means of yielding a population suitable for comprehensive functional characterization and drug testing. Reports of successful in vitro culture of CTCs are rare, but various approaches have been attempted and significant progress has been made. The development of protocols for reliable and efficient culture of viable CTCs will advance our biological understanding of cancer metastasis and facilitate the development of personalized therapies.
The selection of a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug. Is there a difference

The availability of an ever expanding number of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID) relates to their utility for the treatment of a broad spectrum of disorders. Both the efficacy and adverse effects of NSAID relate primarily to their antiprostaglandin mechanism of action, prostaglandin inhibition. At full antiinflammatory doses, there is little evidence to support a rank order of effectiveness. The major differences among NSAID are their half-lives and safety profiles. With newer agents the emphasis is on safety, especially with respect to gastrointestinal irritation. Acknowledgment of inherent drug differences with respect to pharmacology and safety enhances tolerability by the patient and increases the likelihood for continued drug therapy.
A More Perfect Union: Bacon’s Correspondence of Form and Policy

A re-interpretation of Francis Bacon’s understanding of policy highlights the relationships he drew between the study of natural bodies and the formation, expansion and preservation of political bodies. Bacon’s term ‘policy’ has often been understood unproblematically as law, government or civil science. However, it should be understood in relation to the far more suspect – from both a moral and an epistemological point of view – notion of reason of state. Policy produced and managed political change. Policy offered contingent, probabilistic tools for advancing political power, but ones that were insufficiently supported by the certainty of knowledge required, in Bacon’s view, to serve as the basis for a successfully enduring polity. He hoped to design stable, perfectly mixed political bodies through grounding policy within an understanding of natural forms. However, he failed to arrive at a complete metaphysical understanding of forms, and thus did not succeed in constructing a certain, civil science. If he could not stabilize policy through natural knowledge, he could at least bring change to natural knowledge through policy. Bacon thus drew on tools for advancing actual empire in order to advance the bounds of epistemic empire. Deploying the political charlatan’s techniques for manipulating human hope, desire and our tendency to delusion, he proposed a wish-list of the most desired discoveries which might tempt humankind to extend the boundaries of epistemic empire.