cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multiple Myeloma In Patients Under 40 Years Old Is Associated With High-Risk Features and Worse Outcomes

Background The median age of patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM) is approximately 70 years old. It is an uncommon malignancy in persons younger than 40 years, representing only 2% of all patients diagnosed with MM. It has been suggested that young patients may present with more aggressive and less common disease features, frequently delaying the initial diagnosis and thereby affecting outcomes. With this background, we explored the outcome of young MM patients presenting to our institution over the past thirteen years. Methods We performed a retrospective review of a cohort of 236 patients with MM who received treatment for active MM at the University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center between January 2000 and July 2013. The demographics and disease features of patients up to 40 years of age at diagnosis were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The survival outcomes of these young patients were compared with the remainder of the cohort using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results Nineteen (6.5%) out of the 236 patients with MM were ²40 years of age at diagnosis, with a median age of 35.5 years old. The median follow-up of this group of young patients was 42 months (range 5-92). The patient and disease characteristics are outlined in [Table 1][1]. Seven young patients (37%) had MM with no heavy chain component, including light chain only secreting or non-secretory disease. Seven patients (37%) had a non-IgG paraprotein. Nine (56%) patients presented with extramedullary plasmacytomas. Two (10%) patients had plasma cell leukemia. All patients received at least one treatment regimen that included a novel agent. Fifteen patients (79%) had received high-dose therapy, and four patients (21%) underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) after at least one prior autologous SCT. The 5-year and 7-year overall survival (OS) from diagnosis was 51.7% and 28%, respectively, and the median OS was 60.7 months. In contrast, the median OS of patients ≥41 years old at diagnosis was 78.6 months (p=0.15, [figure 1][2]). View this table: Table 1 Baseline characteristics of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients ²40 years ![Figure][3] Conclusion In this single center study with long follow up, we demonstrate that patients diagnosed with MM ²40 years of age exhibit several high-risk features and frequently present with advanced stage disease. Despite the use of novel agents in this population, there is a statistical trend towards a worse outcome with an 18-month difference in median overall survival when compared to older patients with MM. More aggressive treatment strategies are needed to improve survival in this young patient population. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare. [1]: #T1 [2]: #F1 [3]: pending:yes
The Hormonal Control of Bud and Seed Dormancy in Woody Plants

Perennial woody plants of the temperate zone have evolved a dormancy mechanism which helps them to survive winter cold. This mechanism exerts a major influence on their growth and development, to the point where it is probably the single most important factor preventing the adaptation of most temperate zone woody plants to tropical areas. Much is known about the physiology of dormancy, but the basic biochemical mechanism through which it operates is still a mystery. It is commonly assumed to be hormonally controlled, and indeed there is considerable evidence that hormones may play a role in its regulation.
A Conceptual Framework for Quantitative Text Analysis On Joining Probabilities and Substantive Inferences about Texts

Quantitative text analysis refers to the application of one or more methods for drawing statistical inferences from text populations. After briefly distinguishing quantitative text analysis from linguistics, computational linguistics, and qualitative text analysis, issues raised during the 1955 Allerton House Conference are used as a vehicle for characterizing classical text analysis as an instrumental-thematic method. Quantitative text analysis methods are then depicted according to a 2 3 conceptual framework in which texts are interpreted either instrumentally (according to the researcher's conceptual framework) or representationally (according to the texts' sources' perspectives), as well as in which variables are thematic (counts of word/phrase occurrences), se- mantic (themes within a semantic grammar), or network-related (theme- or relation-positions within a conceptual network). Common methodological errors associated with each method are discussed. The paper concludes with a delineation of the universe of substantive answers that quantitative text analysis is able to provide to social science researchers.
Unsafe Havens: The Case for Constitutional Protection of Foster Children from Abuse and Neglect

The Article argues that foster children have an equal, if not greater, claim to federal judicial protection from harm while in state care than do institutionalized persons who are already accorded significant protection. Yet, in stark contrast to scores of decrees entered to protect institutionalized persons from physical harm, there is but one reported federal case that has enforced by injunctive decree a constitutional right of foster children to protection from harm while in foster care.The six sections of this Article present the case for direct federal court involvement in aiding foster children who are at risk of abuse and neglect while in foster care. Section I discusses the extent of abuse and neglect in foster care as well as the structural causes of this maltreatment. It also explains the inevitable failure of the political branches of government to confront the problem. Section II describes the constitutional right to safety and surveys the judicial treatment of that right, including the lack of development of the right for children in foster care. Section III discusses differences between children in foster family care and institutionalized persons, and argues that none of the differences can account for the failure to accord foster children the benefits of the right to safety. Section IV explores the appropriate remedy for the right to safety for foster children, and it demonstrates that damage remedies are inadequate because their availability is severely circumscribed by a variety of immunity doctrines, and because even if they were available, monetary awards deflect attention from the root causes of abuse and neglect of foster children. This section presents the case for structural injunctions as the most practical remedy.The final section of the Article proposes five basic guidelines which, if followed, would maximize the potential effectiveness of district courts in making foster care safe. The Article concludes that federal judicial involvement offers the promise of benefitting children in foster care by materially improving a system that thus far has resisted reform. Without judicial scrutiny, the abuse and neglect that many children suffered in their original homes will continue after the state places them in foster care. For these children, the temporary, substitute family system imposed on children in foster care by the state will not be a haven, but a hell.
Matching, Quality Upgrading, and Trade between Heterogeneous Firms

This paper analyzes trade between firms that are heterogeneous in product quality in a simple general equilibrium model. The multi-sided heterogeneity of exporters and importers creates a new source of gains from trade. The opening of trade raises the quality of final goods by improving matching of firms. The quality upgrading is decomposed as the short run effect of a reduction in the quality gap among parts and components and the long run effect of intensified competition among suppliers. Under the existence of fixed trade costs, firms' trade pattern is consistent with a variety of stylized facts that have not been explained in the conventional love of variety model. Firms selectively trade with those with similar sizes at similar quality levels. Both exporting and importing are concentrated into large and high quality firms, though not all large and high quality firms engage in trade. Trade in intermediate goods improves the quality of even firms that do not import intermediate goods.
Perspectives on the prevention and treatment of infection for orthopedic tissue engineering applications

The emergence of orthopedic tissue engineering devices as viable clinical solutions demands that the field address significant clinical complications associated with the implantation of foreign materials in the body, especially infection. While tissue engineering has focused on the development of methods to regenerate and repair, until recently there has been a relative dearth of literature regarding the intersection of tissue engineering and infection. In particular, local delivery of antimicrobials has long been of clinical interest, but only recently has that been translated into the realm of tissue engineering. In this perspective, we briefly review major modes of local delivery for infection prevention and treatment and discuss possible strategies for preventing implant-associated infections.
Non-parametric bootstrap recycling

The double bootstrap provides diagnostics for bootstrap calculations and, if need be, appropriate adjustments. The amount of computation involved is usually considerable, and recycling provides a less computer intensive alternative. Recycling consists of using repeatedly the same samples drawn from a recycling distribution G for estimation under each first-level bootstrap distribution, rather than independently repeating the simulation and estimation steps for each of these. Recycling is successful in parametric applications of the bootstrap, as demonstrated by M.A. Newton and C.J. Geyer (J. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 89: 905–912, 1994). We show that it is bound to fail in non-parametric bootstrap applications, and suggest a modification that makes the method work. The modification consists of smoothing the first-level bootstrap distributions, with the desired consequence that this removes the zero probabilities in the multinomial distributions that define them. We also discuss efficient choices of recycling distributions, both in terms of estimator efficiency and simulation efficiency.
Soft Tissue Cyst Secondary to Bullet Retention

56-year-old man presented with a painful soft tissue mass in the posterior aspect of the right upper extremity, proximal to the elbow joint. The mass first became noticeable shortly after a gunshot injury to his right elbow region 28 years prior to presentation. Recently, the mass had enlarged to approximately 14 cm. A radiograph of the right elbow revealed a retained bullet within the confines of a well-defined cystic soft tissue lesion, posterior to the distal end of the humerus (Figure 1, arrowheads). Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated no evidence of communication between the cystic mass and the adjacent joint. Following excision, gross examination revealed a 640-g, 14 3 9 3 6-cm, thick-walled cyst containing 400 mL of turbid brown fluid. The inner surface of the cyst wall was tan-red, smooth, and contained loosely attached necrotic debris. A distorted, silver-gray bullet measuring
Evaluation and treatment of pump thrombosis and hemolysis

Ventricular assist devices (VADs) are not fully biocompatible, and are therefore predisposed to device thrombosis and subsequent pump dysfunction. Clinically significant hemolysis in VADs most often occurs as a result of device thrombosis, but can also be caused by other factors. Herein we describe the evaluation and management of VAD thrombosis and hemolysis.
Reliability, Readability and Quality of Online Information about Femoracetabular Impingement.

Background: The Internet has become the most widely-used source for patients seeking information more about their health and many sites geared towards this audience have gained widespread use in recent years. Additionally, many healthcare institutions publish their own patient-education web sites with information regarding common conditions. Little is known about how these resources impact patient health, though, as they have the potential both to inform and to misinform patients regarding their prognosis and possible treatments. In this study we investigated the reliability, readability and quality of information about femoracetabular impingement, a condition which commonly affects young patients. Methods: The terms “hip impingement” and “femoracetabular impingement” were searched in Google® in November 2013 and the first 30 results were analyzed. The LIDA scale was used to assess website accessibility, usability and reliability. The DISCERN scale was used to assess reliability and quality of information. The FRE score was used to assess readability. Results: The patient-oriented sites performed significantly worse in LIDA reliability, and DISCERN reliability. However, the FRE score was significantly higher in patient-oriented sites. Conclusion: According to our results, the websites intended to attract patients searching for information regarding femoroacetabular impingement are providing a highly accessible, readable information source, but do not appear to apply a comparable amount of rigor to scientific literature or healthcare practitioner websites in regard to matters such as citing sources for information, supplying methodology and including a publication date. This indicates that while these resources are easily accessed by patients, there is potential for them to be a source of misinformation.
Surgical management of double-outlet right ventricle with subaortic ventricular septal defect

Abstract Double-outlet right ventricle (DORV) and subaortic ventricular septal defect (VSD) is defined anatomically as a defect where the entire pulmonary trunk and at least half of the aorta arises from the right ventricle (RV) and the VSD is most closely aligned with the aorta. The surgical management of DORV and subaortic VSD usually results in a 2 ventricle repair where the left ventricular outflow is diverted via the VSD to the aorta. Pulmonary and/or subpulmonary obstruction is found in a large portion of these patients and requires relief at the time of repair. Resection of subpulmonary muscular obstruction with right ventricular outflow augmentation with a patch is required in most to eliminate the obstruction. Important anatomic features to consider in constructing the left ventricular outflow tunnel include the prominence of the conal septum, tricuspid valve attachments to conal septum, and the distance between the pulmonary and tricuspid valves. Operative mortality is low and long-term complications and need for reoperation is uncommon. This report describes the surgically relevant anatomic features and operative techniques. Copyright © 2000 by W.B. Saunders Company
Vimentin filament precursors exchange subunits in an ATP-dependent manner.

Intermediate filaments (IFs) are a component of the cytoskeleton capable of profound reorganization in response to specific physiological situations, such as differentiation, cell division, and motility. Various mechanisms were proposed to be responsible for this plasticity depending on the type of IF polymer and the biological context. For example, recent studies suggest that mature vimentin IFs (VIFs) undergo rearrangement by severing and reannealing, but direct subunit exchange within the filament plays little role in filament dynamics at steady state. Here, we studied the dynamics of subunit exchange in VIF precursors, called unit-length filaments (ULFs), formed by the lateral association of eight vimentin tetramers. To block vimentin assembly at the ULF stage, we used the Y117L vimentin mutant (vimentinY117L). By tagging vimentinY117L with a photoconvertible protein mEos3.2 and photoconverting ULFs in a limited area of the cytoplasm, we found that ULFs, unlike mature filaments, were highly dynamic. Subunit exchange among ULFs occurred within seconds and was limited by the diffusion of soluble subunits in the cytoplasm rather than by the association and dissociation of subunits from ULFs. Our data demonstrate that cells expressing vimentinY117L contained a large pool of soluble vimentin tetramers that was in rapid equilibrium with ULFs. Furthermore, vimentin exchange in ULFs required ATP, and ATP depletion caused a dramatic reduction of the soluble tetramer pool. We believe that the dynamic exchange of subunits plays a role in the regulation of ULF assembly and the maintenance of a soluble vimentin pool during the reorganization of filament networks.
The Passing of Jay Gatsby: Class and Anti‐Semitism in Fitzgerald's 1920s America

Published in 1925, six years after the Eighteenth Amendment was ratified and one year after the Immigration Act was signed into law, The Great Gatsby reveals the extent to which Prohibition and nativism respectively represent important subjects of literary discourse for the period. More importantly, a careful analysis of this novel reveals the extent to which these two movements are so closely connected. Central to this connection and to the narrative are Gatsby's professional identity and his even more ambiguous ethnic/religious identity, not to mention his class status and origins. While various critics over the past ten years have argued that this novel either approximates or represents a passing narrative, none have explicitly argued that Jay Gatsby is a Jewish American who has concealed his identity in order to transcend class, ethnic, and religious barriers. However, as one reconsiders The Great Gatsby in the convergent historical contexts of Prohibition, nativism, and American anti-Semitism, just such a claim can be made. Perhaps more importantly, accepting the possibility that Fitzgerald's protagonist is a passing Jew necessitates a significant reinterpretation of the work itself, as well as a reevaluation of its cultural and historical importance. For more than a decade, the influence of nativist ideology, rhetoric, and politics during the 1920s has been the subject of a great deal of literary discourse. Analyzing pivotal works by authors such as Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Cather, and Faulkner, Walter Benn Michaels, in Our America: Nativism , Modernism , and Pluralism (1995), argues that this period in American literature is marked by questions centered around national identity, an identity that can be seen as a response to post-Reconstruction and to the nation's largest influx of Southern and Eastern European immigrants, whose ethnic otherness represented new challenges to a racially defined sense of nationality. Also shaping the political and literary discourse of the period are the rather prominent nativist and classisi ideologies of several pseudo-scholars. Lothrop Stoddard's The Rising Tide of Color Against White World-Supremacy and eugenicist Henry Herbert Goddard's Human Efficiency and Levels of Intelligence , both published in 1920, helped shape political views and, in the case of Fitzgerald at least, the literature of the period.1
Influence of Urea Alone or Combined with Fish Solubles, Fish Meal, or Feather Meal in Liquid Supplement with and Without L-Carnitine on Performance and Ruminal and Metabolic Parameters of Weanling Calves

Using growing calves (n = 368) grazing mature forage in three 84-d experiments, one objective was to compare the effects of feeding molasses-based liquid supplements containing urea (U) alone or combined with fish solubles (FS), fish meal (FM), or feather meal (FE) on performance, and blood metabolites. Another objective was to evaluate the effects on these criteria of adding carnitine to these supplements to provide 1 g·h−1·d−1 L-carnitine. Including FM or FE in the mixture improved (P<0.05) supplement consumption in two experiments and improved growth rate in all experiments. Carnitine improved the growth rate when U was the only protein source, but reduced growth rate when FM was included in the liquid supplement (P<0.05). During the growth phase, plasma ammonia N (PAN) was higher (P<0.05) when U was the only protein source as compared with FM or FE. Carnitine did not influence these metabolic parameters. During the metabolic phase of each experiment, calves similar to those used in the growth phase were dosed via stomach tube with 3 g liquid supplement/kg BW. Ruminal and blood samples were collected at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 h after dosing. Ruminal ammonia N, PAN, and plasma urea N (PUN) concentrations were higher (P<0.05) when calves were dosed with U or FS supplement than when dosed with FM or FE supplements. Calves dosed with liquid supplement containing carnitine had lower (P<0.05) concentrations of ruminal ammonia N and PAN. Carnitine reduced (P<0.05) PUN in one experiment and increased (P<0.05) PUN in another. Branched-chain volatile fatty acids were increased (P<0.05) by dosing with FS or FM supplements. Including ruminally undegradable protein sources (FM or FE) in liquid supplement improved intake and performance and was related to reduced ruminal ammonia N, PAN, and PUN. Carnitine fed in liquid supplement also reduced ruminal ammonia N and PAN concentrations.
Bone disease after kidney transplantation

Kidney transplantation is the optimal form of renal replacement therapy for many with end-stage kidney disease. However, kidney transplantation comes with a unique set of medical complications, important among them is bone disease. Posttransplant bone disorders are manifestations of pathologic processes occurring posttransplant that are superimposed on preexisting disorders of bone and mineral metabolism secondary to kidney failure and/or diabetes mellitus. As a consequence of early rapid bone loss, which is seen commonly within the first 3 to 6 months of transplant, the fracture risk posttransplant increases and has been reported as high as 5% to 44%. Posttransplant fractures occur more commonly at peripheral than central sites. Patients with a history of diabetes mellitus are at particular risk for fracture. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and osteocalcin levels generally decrease after transplantation. Alkaline phosphatase and urinary collagen cross-links are unpredictable. Bone histology varies. No single biomarker unequivocally distinguishes between the various bone disorders found on biopsy examination. Immunosuppression is a major cause of posttransplant bone disorders. Glucocorticoids lead to decreased bone formation whereas the calcineurin inhibitors appear to cause increased bone turnover. Evaluating and managing posttransplant bone disease is an integral part of posttransplant medical care.
Muscovite and its melting relations in the system KAlSi3O8H2O

Abstract At low partial pressures of water and high temperatures orthoclase melts incongruently to leucite plus liquid. At somewhat higher partial pressures of water orthoclase melts congruently to hydrous liquid and at still higher pressure orthoclase reacts with water to form muscovite + fluid or fluids. Muscovite in turn reacts with the fluid and disappears at still higher temperatures. The reaction of orthoclase with high pressure water, which forms muscovite, results in fluids enriched in potassium and silica. These fluids may escape from a cooling granitic mass and at lower temperatures and pressures introduce by reaction substantial amounts of either orthoclase, sericite or muscovite into their host rocks.
Molecular electrostatic potentials. Negative potentials associated with some methyl and methylene groups

Abstract It is shown that both CH 3 and CH 2 groups can give rise to negative electrostatic potentials. Several examples are presented and discussed, including both molecules which do and which do not show these effects.
Design of Ultrahigh-Performance Concrete Waffle Deck for Accelerated Bridge Construction

As part of an innovation project funded by the FHWA Highways for LIFE program, a full-depth precast, ultrahigh-performance concrete (UHPC) waffle deck panel and appropriate connections suitable for field implementation of waffle decks were developed. After a successful full-scale validation test on a unit consisting of two panels with three types of connections under laboratory conditions, the waffle deck was installed on a replacement bridge in Wapello County, Iowa. The subsequent load testing confirmed the desirable performance of the UHPC waffle deck bridge. With lessons from the completed project and outcomes from a series of simple and detailed finite element analyses of waffle decks, a design guide was developed to help broaden the design and installation of the UHPC waffle deck panel cost-effectively in new and existing bridges. This paper describes the waffle deck design introduced in the guide as it is applied to new bridges. To minimize the cost of this new bridge deck system, information on max...
Dispersion of neural progenitors within the germinal zones of the forebrain

ONE of the early events in the establishment of regional diversity in brain is the subdivision of the forebrain into the cerebral cortex1–7 and underlying basal ganglia8. This subdivision is of special interest, owing to the striking difference in cellular patterning in these two regions. Whereas the dorsal aspect of the telencephalon gives rise to the laminar, cortical regions of brain, the basal aspect gives rise to nuclear, subcortical regions. To examine early events in the regionalization of the forebrain, we visualized cell movement within the ventricular zones of the dorsal and basal regions of the E15 murine telencephalon. Over an 8–24-hour observation period, labelled cells moved extensively in the plane of the cortical ventricular zone. Cell dispersion was restricted, however, at the border between the cortical ventricular zone and the lateral ganglionic eminence, the basal telencephalic ventricular zone. We suggest that this restriction of cell movements establishes a regional pattern of neurogenesis in the developing brain.
Defective retinoic acid regulation of the Pit-1 gene enhancer: a novel mechanism of combined pituitary hormone deficiency.

Pit-1 is a pituitary-specific transcription factor responsible for pituitary development and hormone expression in mammals. Pit-1 contains two protein domains, termed POU-specific and POU-homeo, which are both necessary for DNA binding and activation of the GH and PRL genes and regulation of the PRL, TSH-β subunit (TSH-β), and Pit-1 genes. Pit-1 is also necessary for retinoic acid induction of its own gene during development through a Pit-1-dependent enhancer. Combined pituitary hormone deficiency is caused by defective transactivation of target genes in the anterior pituitary. In the present report, we provide in vivo evidence that retinoic acid induction of the Pit-1 gene can be impaired by a Pit-1 gene mutation, suggesting a new molecular mechanism for combined pituitary hormone deficiency in man.
Distinctive immunological properties of cultured murine thymic epithelial cells

Skin painting with chemically reactive haptens induces a hapten-specific state of hypersensitivity that is long lasting and can be transferred to unirradiated recipient mice. A similar state of hapten-specific contact sensitivity can be induced by intravenous immunization with hapten-conjugated cells. Thus far, only two cell types have been described that can perform this function: Langerhans cells of the skin, and splenic dendritic cells. All other types, coupled with hapten, induce either tolerance or a short-lived state of contact hypersensitivity that is readily suppressed, and cannot be transferred to normal recipients. In the present experiments, it was demonstrated that culture-enriched, hapten-coupled thymic epithelial cells can also induce a state of stable contact hypersensitivity identical to that induced by skin painting. This provides evidence that thymic epithelial cells have distinctive properties as antigen-presenting cells in vivo. The relationship of this finding to the postulated role of thymic epithelium in T-cell development is discussed.
Credibility and political business cycles

Abstract This paper develops a political business cycle model based on partisanship and credibility arguments that explains the pre-electron behavior of inflation, output, and money growth. The approach taken is to introduce elections and a Mundell-Tobin effect into a structure similar to the Barro-Gordon (1983) model of governmental reputation. The model's predictions are similar to those of the simple manipulative models of Nordhaus (1975) and Frey and Schneider (1978) , but the predictions do not rely on economic irrationally, myopia, or memory loss.
Development of an Instrument to Assess Student Opinions of the Quality of Distance Education Courses

The purpose of this study was to develop a culturally sensitive instrument to assess the quality of distance education courses offered at a university in the southern United States through evaluation of student attitudes, opinions, and perceptions of distance education. Quality indicators, identified in a systematic literature review, coupled with an ecological framework served as the theoretical foundation for the instrument development process. The process of test development, outlined in the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (1999), was used and combined with Dillman’s (2000) four stages of pretesting to construct the instrument. Results indicated that the model constructed from the quality indicators and ecological framework provided valid and reliable measures of student attitudes, opinions, and perceptions of quality of the distance education courses.
Signal transduction pathways as novel therapeutic targets in malignant glioma

Malignant gliomas are the most common primary brain tumors in adults. Current therapies, including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, are generally palliative and rarely offer long-term survival. Novel therapies targeting the underlying pathogenesis are urgently required. Despite the genetic and pathological heterogeneities of malignant gliomas, common signaling pathways that drive cellular proliferation, survival, invasion and angiogenesis have been identified. Growth factor ligands and their cognate receptor tyrosine kinases, such as epidermal, vascular endothelial and platelet-derived growth factor receptor, are inappropriately activated frequently in human brain tumors and contribute to tumor malignancy. Growth factor receptor activity is mediated in part by intracellular oncogenic pathways regulating proliferation and survival: the RAS and phosphoinositide 3-OH kinase pathways. Other critical contributors to brain-tumor development and growth involve angiogenesis and invasion, which are regulated b...
Model verification for Lévy-driven Ornstein–Uhlenbeck processes with estimated parameters

Abstract When an Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (or CAR(1)) process is observed at discrete times 0 , h , 2 h , … [ T / h ] h , the unobserved driving process can be approximated from the observed process. Approximated increments of the driving process are used to test the assumption that the process is Levy-driven. Asymptotic behavior of the test statistic at high sampling frequencies is developed in Abdelrazeq et al. (2014) assuming that the model parameters a , σ are known. Here we explore the performance of the test statistic when the model coefficient a is unknown and must be estimated. The parameter σ can be assumed to be one. We will show the consistency and asymptotic normality of our proposed estimator and then demonstrate its effect on the asymptotic behavior of the test statistic. Performance of the proposed test with estimated a is illustrated through simulation.
Mot1-mediated control of transcription complex assembly and activity.

Mot1 is an essential Snf2/Swi2-related ATPase and TATA-binding protein (TBP)-associated factor (TAF). In vitro, Mot1 utilizes ATP hydrolysis to disrupt TBP–DNA complexes, but the relationship of this activity to Mot1's in vivo function is unclear. Chromatin immunoprecipitation was used to determine how Mot1 affects the assembly of preinitiation complexes (PICs) at Mot1-controlled promoters in vivo. We find that the Mot1-repressed HSP26 and INO1 promoters are both regulated by TBP recruitment; inactivation of Mot1 leads to increased PIC formation coincident with derepression of transcription. For the Mot1-activated genes BNA1 and URA1, inactivation of Mot1 also leads, remarkably, to increased TBP binding to the promoters, despite the fact that transcription of these genes is obliterated in mot1 cells. In contrast, levels of Taf1, TFIIB, and RNA polymerase II are reduced at Mot1-activated promoters in mot1 cells. These results suggest that Mot1-mediated displacement of TBP underlies its mechanism of repression and activation at these genes. We suggest that at activated promoters, Mot1 disassembles transcriptionally inactive TBP, thereby facilitating the formation of a TBP complex that supports functional PIC assembly.
Characterization of a spontaneously immortalized bovine trabecular meshwork cell line.

Trabecular meshwork (TM) cells have widely been used as an in vitro model for glaucoma research. However, primary TM cells suffer the disadvantages of limited cell numbers and slow rates of proliferation. We discovered a spontaneously transformed bovine TM (BTM) cell line, BTM-28T. This cell line proliferated rapidly in low-glucose culture medium but also demonstrated contact inhibition in high-glucose culture medium. BTM-28T cells expressed key TM cell markers including α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), laminin and collagen IV (col IV). Also, 100 nM dexamethasone (DEX) enhanced the formation of cross-linked actin networks (CLANs) in confluent BTM-28T cell cultures. Transforming growth factor beta 2 (TGFβ2) induced the expression of fibronectin (FN), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in our cell cultures. This cell line will be helpful to better understand the aqueous humor outflow pathway as related to the pathophysiology of glaucoma.
Space charge spectroscopy of integrated quantum well infrared photodetector–light emitting diode

Abstract We present the results of the space charge spectroscopy of integrated quantum well infrared photodetector – light emitting diode (QWIP-LED). Quasistatic capacitance–voltage ( C – V ) characteristics under reverse bias display a step-like behavior due to a step-wise extension of the space charge region with bias. The parameters of the steps, and the frequency dispersion of the capacitance are used to determine the QW period thickness, QW doping level, and the number of QW periods. Measurement of the QWIP-LED admittance at various temperatures is used to obtain the QW activation energy and the conduction band offset.
Labor relationships strategies, tactics, and post‐election management practices in trucking

The purpose of this paper was to explore various labor relations strategies and tactics used by trucking companies in union elections in the United States. In addition, the paper also examined how trucking firms changed their HRM practices after an election. The study, conducted in Summer of 2003, is based on a survey of trucking firms that had a union election between January 2001 and December 2002. Union suppression was the dominant and the most successful labor relations strategy. Some widely used management tactics during an election included hiring a labor lawyer, spreading rumors about job loss, and using a consultant known for breaking unions. After the election, significant increases in many progressive HRM practices were reported in firms regardless of the election outcome. But only firms where unions lost elections reported a significant increase in productivity and service quality. Implications for managers, educators, and union leaders in trucking are discussed.
Human language: Are nonhuman precursors lacking?

Contra Wilkins & Wakefield, we argue that an evolutionarily inspired approach to language must consider different facets of language (i.e., more than syntax and semantics), and must explore the possibility of nonhuman precursors. Several examples are discussed, illustrating the power of the comparative approach in illuminating our understanding of language evolution.
Heat Transfer in Processing and Use of Rubber

Abstract Heat transfer in rubber is likely to be significant from the first processing steps to the end use of the product. At the start, it is encountered in preparing, drying, and handling raw po...
The Second Stage of Kierkegaardian Scholarship in America

It is now some sixty years since the American “Dane,” David Swenson, discovered the “Danish Socrates,” Snren Kierkegaard. During the last twenty-five years Americans have had the opportunity of becoming well acquainted with Kierkegaardian reflection, both philosophical and theological. There has poured forth from the American presses not only the major works of this strange thinker, but also numerous attempts to present his life and the general tenor of his thought. Such attempts were both necessary and fruitful.1 This first stage of scholarship, however, although much needed and frequently well done, was but a preliminary to the work which is now beginning to appear. Professor Lowrie confessed to his limitations at interpretation, and many other have intended no more than an introductory presentation of “Kierkegaard in English.” Further work of this kind may still be needed to clarify scholarly issues of a biographical nature, and to present to a new age, in their terms, the general structure of Kierkegaardian thought. It is the thesis of this essay, however, that we have entered the preliminary stages in a more significant task, and that American students have started to move to a second stage in Kierkegaardian scholarship.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine use in women during pregnancy: do their healthcare providers know?

The National Institutes of Health reported in 2007 that approximately 38% of United States adults have used at least one type of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). There are no studies available that assess general CAM use in US pregnant women. The objectives of our study were to determine the prevalence and type of CAM use during pregnancy at one medical center; understand who is using CAM and why they are using it; and assess the state of patients’ CAM use disclosure to their obstetrical providers. A cross-sectional survey study of post-partum women was done to assess self-reported CAM use during pregnancy. Results of this survey were compared to results from a previous survey performed by this research team in 2006. Data were analyzed using binary logistic regression. In 2013, 153 women completed the survey, yielding a response rate of 74.3%. Seventy-two percent and 68.5% of participants reported CAM use during their pregnancies in 2006 and 2013 respectively. The percentage of participants who reported discussing CAM use with their obstetrical providers was less than 1% in 2006 and 50% in 2013. Increased use of different CAM therapies was associated with increased maternal age, primagravida, being US-born, and having a college education (p ≤ 0.05). However, these factors were poor predictors of CAM use. Given the frequency of CAM use and the difficulty in predicting who is using it, obstetrical providers should consider being informed about CAM and incorporating discussions about its use into routine patient assessments.
Importance of Seed Transmission in The Spread of Cylindrocladium Crotalariae1

Abstract Cylindrocladium crotalariae, which causes Cylindrocladium black rot (CBR) of peanut (Arachis hypogaea), can be isolated at a low frequency from nondamaged peanut seed (seed size ≥6.4 × 25.4 mm slotted screen) not treated with a seed protectant fungicide. Peanut seed obtained from peanut fields in Suffolk, VA, and Martin County, NC, where CBR was severe in 1985 were infected at a frequency of 1.5% and 1.4%, respectively. Cylindrocladium crotalariae was isolated at twice the frequency from pieces of seed than from whole seed. However, C. crotalariae was not isolated from seed treated for 2 weeks with a seed protectant (DCNA + captan). The fungus was not isolated from seed devoid of testae or seed embryos, but was isolated from seed testae at a frequency of 0.4%. Discolored seed (≥6.4 × 25.4 mm) were infected at a frequency of 7.9%, but following seed treatment, the isolation frequency dropped to zero. Discolored seed measuring < 6.4 × 25.4 mm were infected with C. crotalariae at a frequency often e...
Medical Futility Procedures: What More Do We Need to Know?

Unilateral medical futility policies, which allow health-care providers to limit or withdraw life-sustaining treatment over patient or surrogate objections, are increasingly designed around a procedural approach. Medical or ethics committees follow a prespecified process, the culmination of which is a justified decision about whether ongoing treatment should be withheld or withdrawn. These procedures have three stages. First, health-care providers must decide to refer patients for consideration of whether ongoing treatment is futile. Second, the committees involved must decide whether ongoing treatment is actually futile. Third, there is a clinical outcome that often is, but not always, patient death. We review the available data on procedure-based futility policies, arguing that there is limited information on their potential harms and how these harms are distributed. We consider the ethical implications of policy-making under informational uncertainty, invoking the precautionary principle—in the absence of clear data, if a policy has significant risk of significant harm, the burden of proof that it is not harmful falls on those recommending the policy—as the guiding moral standard for hospitals and professional organizations considering whether to adopt a procedural approach to medical futility. On the basis of this principle, we argue that any new futility guideline must include a significant commitment to collecting prospective data on its application.
Prevention of air embolism in the decerebrate preparation.

Abstract A method for rapid decerebration by suction and a simple technique to prevent air embolism is described
Refractory pituitary granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's) treated with rituximab

Objective: Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), also known as Wegener's granulomatosis, is an autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation of blood vessels most often seen in the upper respiratory tract, lungs, kidneys, and skin. Central nervous system (CNS) involvement of GPA is rare, particularly in the pituitary, and can be difficult to treat.Methods: Case report.Results: We present a 30-year-old woman with pituitary and ocular GPA, whose unusually recalcitrant disease led to the development of pan-hypopituitarism and near-total vision loss. After failing multiple systemic immunosuppressants, she was ultimately treated with the novel immunomodulatory agent rituximab together with pulse corticosteroids, which achieved a gratifying response.Conclusion: Pituitary and optic chiasm involvement is a rare complication of GPA. We believe this case illustrates the complexity of management of pituitary GPA and provides insight into the potential utility of the biologic agent rituximab in this disease.
Crack deflection by rod-shaped inclusions

This paper presents a model for crack deflection around rod-shaped inclusions. In this analysis both a stress intensity factor approach and a crack surface area approximation are used. The local stress intensity factors of a deflected crack along two adjacent rod-shaped inclusions are derived first. Then, the path of advancement of the deflected crack front along the inclusions can be determined. Knowledge of the crack path provides the basis for evaluating the deflection-induced reduction in strain energy release rate as well as the basis for calculating the deflected crack surface area. The analytical predictions are compared with the theoretical results of Faber and Evans and the differences between these two analyses are discussed.
Diagnosis of breast cancer using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy: Comparison of a Monte Carlo versus partial least squares analysis based feature extraction technique.

Background and Objective We explored the use of diffuse reflectance spectroscopy in the ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectrum for the diagnosis of breast cancer. A physical model (Monte Carlo inverse model) and an empirical model (partial least squares analysis) based approach, were compared for extracting diagnostic features from the diffuse reflectance spectra. Study Design/Methods The physical model and the empirical model were employed to extract features from diffuse reflectance spectra measured from freshly excised breast tissues. A subset of extracted features obtained using each method showed statistically significant differences between malignant and non-malignant breast tissues. These features were separately input to a support vector machine (SVM) algorithm to classify each tissue sample as malignant or non-malignant. Results and Conclusions The features extracted from the Monte Carlo based analysis were hemoglobin saturation, total hemoglobin concentration, beta-carotene concentration and the mean (wavelength averaged) reduced scattering coefficient. Beta-carotene concentration was positively correlated and the mean reduced scattering coefficient was negatively correlated with percent adipose tissue content in normal breast tissues. In addition, there was a statistically significant decrease in the beta-carotene concentration and hemoglobin saturation, and a statistically significant increase in the mean reduced scattering coefficient in malignant tissues compared to non-malignant tissues. The features extracted from the partial least squares analysis were a set of principal components. A subset of principal components showed that the diffuse reflectance spectra of malignant breast tissues displayed an increased intensity over wavelength range of 440–510 nm and a decreased intensity over wavelength range of 510–600 nm, relative to that of non-malignant breast tissues. The diagnostic performance of the classification algorithms based on both feature extraction techniques yielded similar sensitivities and specificities of approximately 80% for discriminating between malignant and non-malignant breast tissues. While both methods yielded similar classification accuracies, the model based approach provided insight into the physiological and structural features that discriminate between malignant and non-malignant breast tissues. Lasers Surg. Med. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Export diversification and structural dynamics in the growth process: The case of Chile

Abstract It is frequently suggested that export diversification, or the progression from ‘traditional’ to ‘non-traditional’ exports, is an important component of export-led growth. This paper constructs several measures of diversification and structural change in exports in the context of the Chilean experience of the last 30 years. We find that since the mid-1970s, Chilean growth has been accompanied by export diversification, while little diversification had taken place previously. Structural change has accelerated during periods of internal crisis and external shock. Thus, while diversification may happen in the long run, in Chile it only happened during times of severe structural change and this suggests that a policy of deliberate diversification may not be as desirable as the diversification process that is a result of a change in currency valuation and trade liberalization.