cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Viral-Associated Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (CITP) is a diagnosis of exclusion that occurs either de novo or secondary to other underlying disorders. Chronic infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are now well-characterized causes of CITP. Between 6% and 15% of patients infected with HIV may develop thrombocytopenia. Patients with CITP with risk factors for HIV infection should be screened for the virus. Treatment of HIV-related CITP should be directed toward antiviral therapy with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens. Hepatitis C viral infection can also be associated with chronic thrombocytopenia, even in the absence of overt liver disease. While HCV-related thrombocytopenia is typically less severe than primary CITP, affected patients are at greater risk of major bleeding. Sustained suppression of HCV virus with interferon-ribavirin therapy can improve platelet counts. Screening for HCV infection should be considered in patients with ITP with risk factors for infection, from regions with high rates of infection or in patients with unexplained mild elevations of liver enzymes.
Fading Sodium Channels in Failing Hearts

See related article, pages 1146–1154 Heart failure (HF) affects over 5 million Americans with 550 000 new cases diagnosed each year. Despite advances in understanding and treatment the mortality rate remains extremely high with up to 50% of the patients dying suddenly.1 Ventricular arrhythmias are frequently the cause of sudden death in these heart failure patients. The mechanisms for these arrhythmias remain the focus of fervent research, but ion channel remodeling in the heart with prolongation of the action potential is one of the best documented changes in heart failure that lead to these fatal arrhythmias.2 Prolongation of the cardiac action potential can occur through a decrease in outward current or an increase in inward current during the plateau phase of the action potential. Reduction in outwardly conducting potassium channels during heart failure has been well documented.2,3 The role of the inwardly conducting cardiac sodium channel (NaV1.5) in sudden death in heart failure patients is much less clear. In this issue of Circulation Research , Shang et al4 report a novel contribution of altered gene transcription in failing hearts to the expression of potentially arrhythmogenic dysfunctional sodium channels expressed in the heart. During excitation, opening of the cardiac sodium channel produces a large and rapid inward current that underlies membrane depolarization and conduction of electrical impulses in the heart. The precise timing of ion channel opening and closing can be altered under pathological conditions or during drug …
A single case design evaluation of a software and tutor intervention addressing emotion recognition and social interaction in four boys with ASD

Many students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have delays learning to recognize emotions. Social behavior is also challenging, including initiating interactions, responding to others, developing peer relationships, and so forth. In this single case design study we investigated the relationship between use of computer software (Mind Reading: The Interactive Guide to Emotions) and emotion recognition (ER) and social behavior change. After using Mind Reading for 7 to 10 weeks with a tutor, four boys with ASD improved ER scores and social interactions with peers. However, observed behavior changes were not strong enough to claim a causal relationship between variables. Findings, practice implications, and future research are discussed.
RE-AIMing Research for Application: Ways to Improve Evidence for Family Medicine

Objective: To outline changes in clinical research design and measurement that should enhance the relevance of research to family medicine. Methods: Review of the traditional efficacy research paradigm and discussion of why this needs to be expanded. Presentation of practical clinical and behavioral trials frameworks, and of the RE-AIM model for planning, evaluating, and reporting studies. Results: Recommended changes to improve the external validity and relevance of research to family medicine include studying multiple clinical practices, realistic alternative program choices, heterogeneous and representative patients, and multiple outcomes including cost, behavior change of patients and staff, generalization, and quality of life. Conclusions: The methods and procedures discussed can help program planners, evaluators and readers of research articles to evaluate the replicability, consistency of effects, and likelihood of widespread adoption of interventions.
Identifying exemplary teaching: Using data from course and teacher evaluations

A review of the data on the effectiveness of student evaluations reveals that they are a widely used but greatly misunderstood source of information for exemplary teaching.
Inhibitory Effects of 2-Naphthoic Acid on the Gating of NMDA Receptors

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors mediate excitatory synaptic transmission in central nervous system and play important roles in development and synaptic plasticity, but have also been found to mediate neurotoxicity. Recently, 2-naphthoic acid (NPA) and its derivatives have been identified as allosteric, noncompetitive NMDA receptors inhibitors. The inhibitory selectivity of NPA derivatives among NMDA receptor subtypes was mapped to the ligand-binding domain (LBD), and the binding site of NPA is proposed to be located in the LBD dimer interface. However, the mechanism by which NPA exerts inhibitory effect is still unclear. We examined how NPA affects the gating reaction of NMDA receptors. Whole-cell patch clamp on HEK 293 cells expressing recombinant NR1-1a/NR2A showed that NPA has 90% maximum inhibition with IC50 of 2.1 mM. Furthermore, by recording single-channel currents from NR1-1a/NR2A receptors with 4 mM NPA, we found a 62% decrease in open probability (Po), due to a 2.5-fold decrease in mean open time (MOT) and a 2-fold increase in mean closed time (MCT). Kinetic modeling suggests NPA increases energy barrier of gating and destabilizes the open state, thus making NRs accumulate in the closed states along the activation pathway. These results provide insight into the inhibitory mechanism of NPA, and help anticipate its effects on both physiological and pathological conditions.
Zero bias resonant tunnel Schottky contact diode for wide-band direct detection

A Schottky-collector resonant tunnel diode detector has been fabricated and characterized at zero bias up to 400 GHz. General device structure and fabrication are discussed, and small-signal equivalent models are presented for different diode areas. Over the measured range of 200 to 400 GHz using a monolithic antenna structure, noise equivalent power values between 3-8 pW/Hz/sup 1/2/ are achieved. The current-voltage characteristics of the diode show weak temperature dependence over a measured range of 213-323 K.
Design and control of the atrio-aortic left ventricular assist device based on O/sub 2/ consumption

A protocol for optimal timing of the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is discussed. Timing is studied using a closed-loop analog model of the heart, vascular system, and the LVAD. The model is tested for basic representation of the physiological system. The LVAD is incorporated into the model to discover its interaction with cardiac preload and afterload. Heart workload is computed via the pressure-volume-area method. The normal and impaired heart are modeled; in each case the pump control variables are adjusted. A protocol for adjustment of the LVAD based on reduced heart oxygen consumption is proposed. It was found that the pump should begin ejection immediately after the close of the aortic valve and that the pump filling pressure should be set to a value which produces maximum filling of the pump. Although aortic pressure and flow could be improved at pump rates above the heart rate, oxygen utilization of the heart rates could only be minimized for synchronous pumping. >
Humeral fracture secondary to civilian gunshot injury

Violence is the leading cause of death in the USA. The cost of violence due to gunshot wound is about $425 billion. While the closed fracture of the humerus is common, humeral shaft fractures caused by gunshot wound occur infrequently. There is much controversy regarding their management, i.e. should these injuries be treated surgically or can they be safely treated with minimal intervention. The aim of this study is to review our experience in the management of fourteen patients with a humeral fracture due to gunshot wounds. Of fourteen, seven patients were treated with local debridement, oral antibiotics and fracture brace. The remaining seven patients underwent surgical stabilization of the fracture. The time to union was similar in both groups (6 weeks in non-operative to 9 weeks in open treatment). In conclusion, fracture of the humeral shaft secondary to low velocity gunshot wound in the civilian setting can safely be treated as a closed fracture with local wound care and oral antibiotics.
The Military-Industrial Divide:

In the debate on the incidence and dynamics of new industrial complexes, technological innovation has been treated as exogenous, and endogenous entrepreneurial growth forces have been stressed at the expense of state actions, interregional interactions, and geographical transfers of capital and labor. In this paper it is argued that technological paths are deliberately chosen and that the state, through its commitment to cold-war armament, has been a major source of demand for and underwriter of the new flexible technologies and new product lines so central to the new industrial districts phenomenon in the USA. The emergence of specific agglomerations, such as Los Angeles, Orange County, Silicon Valley, and the Boston area's Route 128, and the parallel failure of the industrial heartland cities to host military-related high-tech development, are the products of concerted locational choice and developmental efforts by military personnel, politicians, boosters, and military-industrial corporate managers, Mi...
Lack of microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 reduces cardiac function following angiotensin II infusion

Our laboratory previously reported that inducible PGE2 synthase, mPGES-1, contributes to micromolar production of PGE2 in neonatal ventricular myocytes in vitro, which stimulates their growth. We t...
CMOS-Integrated Optical Receivers for On-Chip Interconnects

This paper reviews recent progress on CMOS-integrated optical receivers for on-chip interconnects, which have become attractive for achieving communication bandwidth well beyond terabit-per-second with low-power consumption. The design of optical receivers and the performance metrics required from the photodetector (PD) for a low-power receiver is discussed. The progress in waveguide-integrated germanium PDs is reviewed in depth by exploring various optical/electrical designs, and the associated integration approaches for Ge films and metal contacts. The impact of design and integration on PD performance is evaluated by comparing reported results. Finally, the challenges of monolithic integration of PDs within standard CMOS process are discussed.
Cytogenetic and molecular delineation of the smallest commonly deleted region of chromosome 5 in malignant myeloid diseases

Abstract Loss of a whole chromosome 5 or a deletion of its long arm (5q) is a recurring abnormality in malignant myeloid neoplasms. To determine the location of genes on 5q that may be involved in leukemogenesis, we examined the deleted chromosome 5 homologs in a series of 135 patients with malignant myeloid diseases. By comparing the breakpoints, we identified a small segment of 5q, consisting of band 5q31, that was deleted in each patient. This segment has been termed the critical region. Distal 5q contains a number of genes encoding growth factors, hormone receptors, and proteins involved in signal transduction or transcriptional regulation. These include several genes that are good candidates for a tumor-suppressor gene, as well as the genes encoding five hematopoietic growth factors (CSF2, IL3, IL4, IL5, and IL9). By using fluorescence in situ hybridization, we have refined the localization of these genes to 5q31.1 and have determined the order of these genes and of other markers within 5q31. By hybridizing probes to metaphase cells with overlapping deletions involving 5q31, we have narrowed the critical region to a small segment of 5q31 containing the EGR1 gene. The five hematopoietic growth factor genes and seven other genes are excluded from this region. The EGR1 gene was not deleted in nine other patients with acute myeloid leukemia who did not have abnormalities of chromosome 5. By physical mapping, the minimum size of the critical region was estimated to be 2.8 megabases. This cytogenetic map of 5q31, together with the molecular characterization of the critical region, will facilitate the identification of a putative tumor-suppressor gene in this band.
Genetic disorders influencing lung formation and function at birth

Adaptation to air breathing at birth is dependent on formation and function of the lung. Lung morphogenesis is a complex process dependent on precise temporal-spatial control of cell proliferation, differentiation and behavior mediated by autocrine-paracrine signaling that instructs transcriptional processes during organogenesis. Mutations in genes causing severe, and often lethal, lung malformations include those in the sonic hedgehog, fibroblast growth factor and thyroid transcription factor-1 pathways. Mutations in genes regulating surfactant homeostasis, necessary for reduction of surface tension in the alveoli, cause lethal respiratory distress at birth or interstitial lung disease in childhood. Inherited disorders of the surfactant system that affect neonatal respiratory adaptation at birth include hereditary surfactant protein B deficiency, mutations in surfactant protein C and the ABCA3 transporter.
Pituitary adenylate cyclase‐activating polypeptide prevents contrast‐induced nephropathy in a novel mouse model

We determined whether pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide 38 (PACAP38) prevents contrast-induced nephropathy using human renal proximal tubule epithelial (HK-2) cells and homozygous endothelial nitric oxide synthase-deficient (eNOS / ) mice as a novel in vivo model. Cultured HK-2 cells were pretreated with 10 9 –10 6 mol/L PACAP or vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) for 1 h, and then exposed to ionic (Urografin) or nonionic (iohexol) contrast media at 50 mg iodine/mL for 24 h. Male eNOS / mice received Urografin (1.85 g iodine/kg) intravenously after water deprivation for 24 h, and PACAP38 (10 lg) intraperitoneally 1 h before and 12 h after Urografin injection. Urografin and iohexol increased lactate dehydrogenase and kidney injury molecule 1 in the culture medium, induced apoptosis, and inhibited cell proliferation in HK-2 cell cultures. PACAP38 and VIP reduced these changes in a dose-dependent manner. PACAP38 was more potent than VIP. In eNOS / mice, Urografin raised serum creatinine and cystatin C levels, caused renal tubule damage, induced apoptosis, and promoted neutrophil influx. Urografin also increased kidney protein levels of proinflammatory cytokines, and kidney mRNA levels of proinflammatory cytokines, kidney injury biomarkers, and enzymes responsible for reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. PACAP38 significantly reduced these Urografin-induced changes in eNOS / mice. This study shows that both Urografin and iohexol are toxic to HK-2 cells, but Urografin is more toxic than iohexol. Urografin causes acute kidney injury in eNOS / mice. PACAP38 protects HK-2 cells and mouse kidneys from contrast media and is a potential therapeutic agent for contrastinduced nephropathy.
Governance Legalism: Hayek and Sabel on Reason and Rules, Organization and Law

The field of new governance has generated passionate debate about the potential effects of its efforts to democratize political decision making through the bottom-up production of law. Some analysts suggest that new governance may reinforce neoliberal efforts to replace the state with market forms of regulation and control. But predictions about the effects of new governance’s techniques – self-regulation, devolution of state power, subsidiarity, anti-adversarialism, and so on – are extraordinarily complex: agents can and do deploy all these means for multiple and shifting social ends. This Article therefore explores how two of the most innovative thinkers of new governance, on the one hand, and neoliberal governance, on the other, themselves understand key conceptual distinctions between their normative projects. Specifically, it traces the ways in which Charles Sabel and Friedrich Hayek hold disparate conceptions of three interrelated ideas: the individual’s capacity for reason, the relation between small-scale organizations and the overall order of society, and the possibilities of making bottom-up rules of law. Building on these distinctions, the Article puts forth an account of new governance that diverges from most contemporary scholarship. Analysts widely distinguish new governance from liberal legalism – for example, they describe new governance as a rejection of the kind of centralized legal regulation favored by liberal advocates of the New Deal state, and as an embrace of informal, flexible, lay, and even extralegal problem solving. This Article, however, explores new governance as an effort to bring formalizing and law-like procedures to bear on Hayekian models of flexible organization. It suggests that studying the discontinuities between new governance and neoliberalism – and the continuities between new governance and liberal legalism – may help clarify ongoing questions about new governance’s view of law as a tool of distribution and social change.
Teachers of Latinos on the Margins: Beginning at a Pedagogy from Within

This pedagogical refl ection essay considers how teacher candidates can use their own lived experiences, biculturalism, and bilingualism as sources of pedagogy and empowerment for not only marginalized Latino students but for themselves, too. The learning of this pedagogy and ability to empower comes from the interactions they have with marginalized students and learning how to reveal what is making them silent and to create space for their voice. Much of this discovery of self and others comes in their preparation to become teachers, which must be facilitated by teacher educators beyond the classroom. As future teachers of the marginalized, in these lived encounters, they realize that they already have much to build on from their own experiences and that they have the ability to teach and create change in our schools and classrooms now. Understanding Silence
The Unappreciated Congruity of the Second and Third Restatements on Design Defects

There was much criticism of the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability for its backtracking after decades of strict products liability, spurred by § 402A of the Second Restatement of Torts. This article delves into what the founders - Prosser, Keeton, Traynor, Wade, and others - intended in adopting liability without fault when a product was defective. It concludes that the combination of negligence and § 402A are equivalent to the Third Restatement, especially when one recognizes that § 3 of the Third Restatement captures what the founders intended with their defectiveness standard. In the course of this inquiry, the article takes strong issue with George Priest's claim that § 402A was only meant to address manufacturing defects.
A Further Examination of the Influence of Spatial Abilities on Computer Task Performance in Younger and Older Adults

An important finding in the field human-computer interaction and psychology is that differences in spatial ability may be responsible for individual differences in performance on computer-based tasks. However, methodological issues plague many studies examining spatial abilities and computer-based task performance. This presentation reports two studies that are being conducted. The first study was designed to resolve two main issues important for understanding spatial abilities and computer-based task performance. In this study, spatial ability and spatial demand of the task are manipulated. The study was designed to examine the relationship between spatial ability and computer-based task performance in older adults. The second study explicitly examines older adults' performance in a computer task and how it is related to spatial ability.
Increased Excretion of Dehydroascorbico and Diketogulonic Acids by Rats After X-Ray Irradiation.

Summary1. Adult albino rats were exposed to 800 r single dose total body X-ray irradiation. 2. Urinary excretion of dehydroascorbic acid increased 150% after irradiation, diketogulonic acid excretion increased 230%. 3. The increase in excretion of oxidized ascorbic acid in the urine may be a general response to stress.The authors wish to thank Dr. Charlotte P. Don-Ian of the Radiology Department, George Washington University Hospital, for irradiation of the rats.
Waiter! One Classic Calculus Problem, Hold the Calculus

SummaryUsing the AM-GM inequality, we solve the classic open-top box problem from first-semester calculus.
International Experience of Power Demand Side Management and Enlightenment to China

Power demand side management (DSM) is one of effective measures to economize on energy and reduce discharge. In order to confirm the effective implementation of DSM, on the basis of researches on operation mode and incentive mechanism abroad, conditions that should be absolutely necessarily to implement DSM in China is proposed, and then based on the international experience of implementing DSM, some suggestions on how to promote DSM in China are put forward.
Trust, Influence and Reputation Management Based on Human Reasoning.

Understanding trust, influence and reputation and constructing computational models of these notions are two essential scientific challenges in computer science as well as social sciences. Although scientists in both disciplines have independently conducted research on these topics over the last couple of decades, there is a huge gap between two literatures. This paper therefore illustrates an interdisciplinary work-in-progress on trust, influence and reputation modeling based on human reasoning. Using a survey-based data collection approach, we would like to understand how humans gain/lose trust in their daily life interactions and how behavior/attitudes of humans can be influenced or shaped in various social encounters. The data will be then transformed into mathematical models to be used in technological or software systems.
IE based approach to determine the effective constitutive parameters of periodic structure using microstrip measurement

This paper introduces an approach to determine the effective permittivity and permeability of periodic structures. The approach involves measurement of microstrip line with de-embedding structure. The periodic structure is built as the substrate of the microstrip line. An integral equation (IE) based method is setup to analyze the de-embedded S parameter of the microstrip line for characteristic impedance and propagation constant, then we can solve the complex permittivity and permeability of the periodic structure. Periodic metal patches structure is designed, fabricated and measured. Our proposed IE based method is applied to analyze the measurement data and results are validated.
Visual Basic Programming Impact on Cognitive Style of College Students: Need for Prerequisites.

This research investigated the impact learning a visual programming language, Visual Basic, has on hemispheric cognitive style, as measured by the Hemispheric Mode Indicator (HMI). The question to be answered is: will a computer programming course help students improve their cognitive abilities in order to perform well? The cognitive styles for the right hemisphere involve concrete experiences and creativity while the left hemisphere involves abstract and logic thinking. Prior research has shown procedural programming involved a left brain hemispheric style thinking. Object-oriented programming has been found to require neither left nor right hemispheric cognitive style. Even though Visual Basic contains objectoriented components, left brain thinking was found to be required for success in Visual Basic. Prior researches were relational studies, and no cause/effect was established. This study found hemispheric cognitive style remained the same after a semester course in Visual Basic. College age students’ cognitive style was not impacted. This may be due to maturation of the brain. Since left hemispheric cognitive style is required to be successful in Visual Basic and Visual Basic does not create such cognitive style, this research, as well as other research, supports the need for prerequisites for Visual Basic to ensure students’ success.
HIV and Viral Hepatitis in Corrections: A Public Health Opportunity

Inmates are disproportionately impacted by communicable diseases such as HIV and viral hepatitis (Hammett et al., 2002, BOJ Statistics, 2002). Once incarcerated, the conditions that exist in most of the world’s jails and prisons create an ideal environment for the transmission of contagious diseases. Overcrowded communal living environments, delays in medical treatment, insufficient access to clean laundry, soap, and water, and prohibitions against the use of harm reduction measures such as condoms and needle exchange increase the probability that infectious diseases will be transmitted from one inmate to another. The transient status of inmates who are frequently and often abruptly moved from one location to another complicates the diagnosis of infection, recognition of an outbreak, interruption of transmission, performance of a contact investigation, and eradication of disease. While incarcerated, inmates interact with over 500,000 correctional employees and millions of annual visitors (Hammett et al., 2002). Most inmates are eventually released and return to their communities (Zack et al., 2000). Once released, former inmates often do not access health care, and frequently fail to continue treatments that have been initiated during their incarceration (Wohl et al., 2004, Springer et al., 2004). Many jails and prisons have insufficient information technology, and linkages between the different jurisdictions and agencies responsible for the care of inmates are often poor. Many correctional systems inadequately communicate with their public health counterparts in the free world, squandering opportunities for continuity of care.
Sensing an electron cloud emanating from a microchannel plate stack

Microchannel plates (MCPs) are routinely used in the detection of photons, electrons, and ions. Due to their high amplification and excellent timing characteristics they are particularly useful in the detection of a single photon, electron, or ion. In addition to sub-nanosecond time resolution, MCP detectors can also provide position resolution making them useful in imaging applications. In the described approach, the position of the incident particle is determined by sensing the electron cloud as it emanates from a MCP stack. The bipolar nature of the induced signals provides a particularly unique signal. By coupling a sense wire plane to a delay line a position resolution of 466 pm has been achieved. A setup to characterize the dependence of the induced signals on the position and magnitude of the electron cloud, through an independent measurement of its position, is presented. A second generation prototype detector which employs a differential approach is also described.
Scaling of rotational inertia of primate mandibles.

The relative importance of pendulum mechanics and muscle mechanics in chewing dynamics has implications for understanding the optimality criteria driving the evolution of primate feeding systems. The Spring Model (Ross et al., 2009b), which modeled the primate chewing system as a forced mass-spring system, predicted that chew cycle time would increase faster than was actually observed. We hypothesized that if mandibular momentum plays an important role in chewing dynamics, more accurate estimates of the rotational inertia of the mandible would improve the accuracy with which the Spring Model predicts the scaling of primate chew cycle period. However, if mass-related momentum effects are of negligible importance in the scaling of primate chew cycle period, this hypothesis would be falsified. We also predicted that greater "robusticity" of anthropoid mandibles compared with prosimians would be associated with higher moments of inertia. From computed tomography scans, we estimated the scaling of the moment of inertia (Ij) of the mandibles of thirty-one species of primates, including 22 anthropoid and nine prosimian species, separating Ij into the moment about a transverse axis through the center of mass (Ixx) and the moment of the center of mass about plausible axes of rotation. We found that across primates Ij increases with positive allometry relative to jaw length, primarily due to positive allometry of jaw mass and Ixx, and that anthropoid mandibles have greater rotational inertia compared with prosimian mandibles of similar length. Positive allometry of Ij of primate mandibles actually lowers the predictive ability of the Spring Model, suggesting that scaling of primate chew cycle period, and chewing dynamics in general, are more strongly influenced by factors other than scaling of inertial properties of the mandible, such as the dynamic properties of the jaw muscles and neural control. Differences in cycle period scaling between chewing and locomotion systems reinforce the suggestion that displacement and force control are more important in the design of feeding systems than energetics and speed.
Potential Development of Tumor-Targeted Oral Anti-Cancer Prodrugs: Amino Acid and Dipeptide Monoester Prodrugs of Gemcitabine

One of the main obstacles for cancer therapies is to deliver medicines effectively to target sites. Since stroma cells are developed around tumors, chemotherapeutic agents have to go through stroma cells in order to reach tumors. As a method to improve drug delivery to the tumor site, a prodrug approach for gemcitabine was adopted. Amino acid and dipeptide monoester prodrugs of gemcitabine were synthesized and their chemical stability in buffers, resistance to thymidine phosphorylase and cytidine deaminase, antiproliferative activity, and uptake/permeability in HFF cells as a surrogate to stroma cells were determined and compared to their parent drug, gemcitabine. The activation of all gemcitabine prodrugs was faster in pancreatic cell homogenates than their hydrolysis in buffer, suggesting enzymatic action. All prodrugs exhibited great stability in HFF cell homogenate, enhanced resistance to glycosidic bond metabolism by thymidine phosphorylase, and deamination by cytidine deaminase compared to their parent drug. All gemcitabine prodrugs exhibited higher uptake in HFF cells and better permeability across HFF monolayers than gemcitabine, suggesting a better delivery to tumor sites. Cell antiproliferative assays in Panc-1 and Capan-2 pancreatic ductal cell lines indicated that the gemcitabine prodrugs were more potent than their parent drug gemcitabine. The transport and enzymatic profiles of gemcitabine prodrugs suggest their potential for delayed enzymatic bioconversion and enhanced resistance to metabolic enzymes, as well as for enhanced drug delivery to tumor sites, and cytotoxic activity in cancer cells. These attributes would facilitate the prolonged systemic circulation and improved therapeutic efficacy of gemcitabine prodrugs.
Three-Dimensional Disc-Satellite Interaction: Torques, Migration, and Observational Signatures

The interaction of a satellite with a gaseous disk results in the excitation of spiral density waves which remove angular momentum from the orbit. In addition, if the orbit is not coplanar with the disk, three-dimensional effects will excite bending and eccentricity waves. We perform three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations to study nonlinear disk-satellite interaction in inviscid protoplanetary disks for a variety of orbital inclinations from $0^\circ$ to $180^\circ$. It is well known that three-dimensional effects are important even for zero inclination. In this work we (1) show that for planets with small inclinations (as in the Solar system), effects such as the total torque and migration rate strongly depend on the inclination and are significantly different (about 2.5 times smaller) from the two-dimensional case, (2) give formulae for the migration rate, inclination damping, and precession rate of planets with different inclination angles in disk with different scale heights, and (3) present the observational signatures of a planet on an inclined orbit with respect to the protoplanetary disk. For misaligned planets we find good agreement with linear theory in the limit of small inclinations, and with dynamical friction estimates for intermediate inclinations. We find that in the latter case, the dynamical friction force is not parallel to the relative planetary velocity. Overall, the derived formulae will be important for studying exoplanets with obliquity.
Holographic reconstruction of scalar fields in extended Kaluza–Klein cosmology

In recent years, many studies have been conducted to reconstruct the physical properties of scalar fields by establishing a connection between some energy densities and a scalar field of dark energ...
Cyclic Symmetry Finite Element Forced Response Analysis of a Distortion-Tolerant Fan with Boundary Layer Ingestion

Accurate prediction of the blade vibration stress is required to determine overall durability of fan blade design under Boundary Layer Ingestion (BLI) distorted flow environments. Traditional single blade modeling technique is incapable of representing accurate modeling for the entire rotor blade system subject to complex dynamic loading behaviors and vibrations in distorted flow conditions. A particular objective of our work was to develop a high-fidelity full-rotor aeromechanics analysis capability for a system subjected to a distorted inlet flow by applying cyclic symmetry finite element modeling methodology. This reduction modeling method allows computationally very efficient analysis using a small periodic section of the full rotor blade system. Experimental testing by the use of the 8-foot by 6-foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel Test facility at NASA Glenn Research Center was also carried out for the system designated as the Boundary Layer Ingesting Inlet/Distortion-Tolerant Fan (BLI2DTF) technology development. The results obtained from the present numerical modeling technique were evaluated with those of the wind tunnel experimental test, toward establishing a computationally efficient aeromechanics analysis modeling tool facilitating for analyses of the full rotor blade systems subjected to a distorted inlet flow conditions. Fairly good correlations were achieved hence our computational modeling techniques were fully demonstrated. The analysis result showed that the safety margin requirement set in the BLI2DTF fan blade design provided a sufficient margin with respect to the operating speed range.
Conflict-free vectorization of associative irregular applications with recent SIMD architectural advances

Irregular applications that involve indirect memory accesses were traditionally considered unsuitable for SIMD processing. Though some progress has been made in recent years, the existing approaches require either expensive data reorganization or favorable input distribution to deliver good performance. In this work, we propose a novel vectorization approach called in-vector reduction that can efficiently accelerate a class of associative irregular applications. This approach exploits associativity in the irregular reductions to resolve the data conflicts within SIMD vectors. We implement in-vector reduction with the new conflict detecting instructions that are supported in Intel AVX-512 instruction set and provide a programming interface to facilitate the vectorization of such associative irregular applications. Compared with previous approaches, in-vector reduction eliminates a large part of the overhead of data reorganization and achieves high SIMD utilization even under adverse input distributions. The evaluation results show that our approach is efficient in vectorizing a diverse set of irregular applications, including graph algorithms, particle simulation codes, and hash-based aggregation. Our vectorization achieves 1.5x to 5.5x speedups over the original sequential codes on a single core of Intel Xeon Phi and outperforms a competing approach, conflict-masking based vectorization, by 1.4x to 11.8x.
ξ-asymptotically uniformly smooth, ξ-asymptotically uniformly convex, and (β) operators

Abstract For each ordinal ξ, we define the notions of ξ-asymptotically uniformly smooth and w ⁎ –ξ-asymptotically uniformly convex operators. When ξ = 0 , these extend the notions of asymptotically uniformly smooth and w ⁎ -asymptotically uniformly convex Banach spaces. We give a complete description of renorming results for these properties in terms of the Szlenk index of the operator, as well as a complete description of the duality between these two properties. We also define the notion of an operator with property (β) of Rolewicz which extends the notion of property (β) for a Banach space. We characterize those operators the domain and range of which can be renormed so that the operator has property (β) in terms of the Szlenk index of the operator and its adjoint.
Total Hip Lithiasis: A Rare Sequelae of Spilled Gallstones

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a surgical treatment for acute cholecystitis or symptomatic cholelithiasis. One potential complication, the spillage of gallstones into the peritoneal cavity, can form a nidus for infection and may be associated with hepatic, retroperitoneal, thoracic, and abdominal wall abscesses. We report a case of a patient presenting with a right iliopsoas abscess and an infected right hip prosthesis status postlaparoscopic cholecystectomy. A CT demonstrated that the acetabular shell was overmedialized and perforated through the medial wall. The patient was taken to the operating room for explantation of components. A collection of gallstones was identified deep to the acetabulum during the explantation. The case highlights the importance of avoiding overmedialization of the acetabular component, which can provide a direct route for infection into the hip joint.
Renal brush biopsy: survey of indications, techniques and results.

AbstractUrine cytology is inaccurate in the diagnosis of low grade tumors of the ureter and pelvis. In 1973 the retrograde brush biopsy technique was introduced in an effort to improve diagnostic capabilities. We herein review our experience with retrograde brushing of upper urinary tract radiolucent filling defects in 21 patients during a 6-year period. In addition, we have surveyed other urologists concerning their experience with this new technique. The data accrued from both sources, involving 68 procedures, were analyzed with respect to the results, technique and complications of this procedure.In lesions from which tissue was obtained we found an over-all diagnostic accuracy rate of 78 per cent. The major and minor complication rates were 7 and 34 per cent, respectively. Our results support the conclusion that this procedure is of value in the management of selected patients with problem radiolucent filling defects of the renal pelvis and ureter.
Future Developments in Preventive Cardiology: The EUROACTION Project

Although there is substantial scientific evidence that professional lifestyle intervention on smoking, diet and physical activity, together with control of blood pressure, cholesterol and glycemia, and selective use of cardioprotective drug therapies can reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, the translation of that evidence into everyday clinical practice remains a challenge. The joint European Societies guidelines on prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) define priorities for preventive cardiology in clinical practice, thresholds for treatment, and treatment goals.1 The priorities are firstly patients with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease; coronary disease, and all other manifestations of atherosclerosis. The second priority is apparently healthy individuals in the general population who are at high risk of developing CVD because of hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, or a combination of these and other risk factors.
Technology, Stress, and Family Violence: Some Issues in Teaching Social Work Practice

This paper examines family violence. Specifically, the variables most often associated with this phenomenon are discussed. As part of this analysis, a model for assessing family violence is proposed. It is noted, however, that this mode of assessment differs in many ways from technologically oriented methodologies. Moreover, the social work profession must come to recognize the difference between community sensitive and technological models, or misinformed social policies may be the result.
Grand mal discharge.

Two hundred nineteen grand mal discharges were reviewed in 50 epileptic patients. It was commonly seen in patients with prenatal and perinatal causes, mental deficiency with neurological deficits, and multiple types of seizures. Eighty-eight percent of the discharges were bilaterally synchronous with 49 percent of bifrontal predominance. Fifty-eight percent were associated with drowsiness or sleep, and 64 percent were associated with clinical accompaniments. The most common clinical signs were tonic movement of arms, legs or neck, eye opening, eye fluttering, head drop, etc. The increased frequency of clinical seizures usually observed during the occurrence of this pattern may provide some clues that the antiepileptic medication should be reassessed to control the oncoming seizure attacks.
Improving Security Connection in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have concerned much attention in recent years. The prospective applications of WSNs are massive. They are used for collecting, storing and sharing sensed data. WSNs have been used for various applications including habitat monitoring, agriculture, nuclear reactor control, security and tactical surveillance. Wireless sensor networks are threatened by numerous attacks. Therefore, security is now becoming a significant new path of research and attempts to counter these attacks.
Incretin-Based Therapies and Diabetic Retinopathy: Real-World Evidence in Older U.S. Adults

OBJECTIVE Recent large trials yield conflicting results on the association between incretin-based therapies (IBTs) and diabetic retinopathy (DR). We examined whether IBTs increase DR risk compared with other antihyperglycemics. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We implemented an active comparator, new-user cohort design using a nationwide 20% random sample of fee-for-service U.S. Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years or older with Parts A, B, and D coverage between 2007 and 2015. We identified the following cohorts without prior treatment for retinopathy: dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors (DPP4i) versus sulfonylureas (SU), DPP4i versus thiazolidinediones (TZD), glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1RA) versus long-acting insulin (LAI), and GLP1RA versus TZD. Primary outcome was advanced diabetic retinopathy requiring treatment (ADRRT), defined as a procedure code for retinopathy treatment. Incident diabetic retinopathy (IDR), identified by a diagnosis code, was a secondary outcome. We estimated propensity scores to balance confounders and adjusted hazard ratios (95% CI) using weighted Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS We identified 213,652 eligible patients. During a median duration of 0.58 to 0.87 years across comparisons, with a rate from 6.0 to 12.8 per 1,000 person-years, IBTs were not associated with increased ADRRT or IDR risk. The adjusted hazard ratios (95% CI) for ADRRT were 0.91 (0.79–1.04) by comparing DPP4i to SU ( n = 39,292 and 87,073); 0.91 (0.75–1.11), DPP4i to TZD ( n = 51,410 and 22,231); 0.50 (0.39–0.65), GLP1RA to LAI ( n = 9,561 and 82,849); and 0.75 (0.53–1.06), GLP1RA to TZD ( n = 10,355 and 27,345). CONCLUSIONS Our population-based cohort study of older U.S. adults with diabetes suggests that IBTs used for approximately 1 year do not increase the DR risk.
Copyright's Male Gaze: Authorship and Inequality in a Panoptic World

When Erin Andrews found out that an intimate recording of her had leaked online, the authorship-as-fixation doctrine told her that the felon who illicitly captured the footage owned the copyright, not her. When Lynn Thomson’s creative partner, Jonathan Larson, died tragically just hours after the final rehearsal for the musical Rent, joint authorship’s mutual-intent requirement told her that she had no copyright interest in the Broadway hit. When The Fearless Girl took on Charging Bull and challenged its unabashedly masculine celebration of American capitalism by calling attention to the underrepresentation of women on Wall Street, copyright law told her that she might constitute an unauthorized derivative work, both without copyright protection (i.e., no cognizable authorship) and subject to destruction. In all three of these scenarios, the legal meaning of authorship had far-reaching consequences — not just for copyright law itself, but for society at large. This Article examines how the heuristics of authorship — the relationship of fixation to authorship, the role of intention in joint authorship, and the allocation of authorship in derivative works — have imbued rightsholders with the power to control representations of female (and nonwhite) bodies and to suppress narratives of resistance, with resulting adverse consequences for egalitarian and dignity interests. In the process, the Article not only adds to a burgeoning literature on the impact of copyright’s ostensibly neutral principles on inequality, particularly in relation to gender, but also breaks new ground by applying film theorist Laura Mulvey’s concept of the male gaze to the operation of copyright law. In examining a wide range of cases, from revenge porn and celebrity sex tapes to the voyeuristic art of Arne Svenson, the analysis demonstrates just how our reigning authorship regime has reified the male gaze and translated it into a property right rationalized along traditional binaries of activity and passivity, object and subject, male and female. All told, the Article calls for a broader conversation about the ways in which courts determine issues of authorship — not just as a matter of doctrinal consistency with copyright’s four corners, but also as a vital matter of public policy in a society where the tools of creation and surveillance are at everyone’s fingertips.
Whiting out Algeria: On the Limits of Assia Djebar's Le Blanc de l'Algérie as Post-Traumatic Liturgy

This essay reflects on Assia Djebar's mode of memorialisation of the symbolic and aesthetic aftermath of the Algerian Black Decade – and of the forms of collective trauma that it instigated. It pro...