cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Association of Red Blood Cell Transfusion, Anemia, and Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Very Low-Birth-Weight Infants

Importance Data regarding the contribution of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion and anemia to necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) are conflicting. These associations have not been prospectively evaluated, accounting for repeated, time-varying exposures. Objective To determine the relationship between RBC transfusion, severe anemia, and NEC. Design, Setting, and Participants In a secondary, prospective, multicenter observational cohort study from January 2010 to February 2014, very low-birth-weight (VLBW, ≤1500 g) infants, within 5 days of birth, were enrolled at 3 level III neonatal intensive care units in Atlanta, Georgia. Two hospitals were academically affiliated and 1 was a community hospital. Infants received follow-up until 90 days, hospital discharge, transfer to a non–study-affiliated hospital, or death (whichever came first). Multivariable competing-risks Cox regression was used, including adjustment for birth weight, center, breastfeeding, illness severity, and duration of initial antibiotic treatment, to evaluate the association between RBC transfusion, severe anemia, and NEC. Exposures The primary exposure was RBC transfusion. The secondary exposure was severe anemia, defined a priori as a hemoglobin level of 8 g/dL or less. Both exposures were evaluated as time-varying covariates at weekly intervals. Main Outcomes and Measures Necrotizing enterocolitis, defined as Bell stage 2 or greater by preplanned adjudication. Mortality was evaluated as a competing risk. Results Of 600 VLBW infants enrolled, 598 were evaluated. Forty-four (7.4%) infants developed NEC. Thirty-two (5.4%) infants died (all cause). Fifty-three percent of infants (319) received a total of 1430 RBC transfusion exposures. The unadjusted cumulative incidence of NEC at week 8 among RBC transfusion-exposed infants was 9.9% (95% CI, 6.9%-14.2%) vs 4.6% (95% CI, 2.6%-8.0%) among those who were unexposed. In multivariable analysis, RBC transfusion in a given week was not significantly related to the rate of NEC (adjusted cause-specific hazard ratio, 0.44 [95% CI, 0.17-1.12]; P = .09). Based on evaluation of 4565 longitudinal measurements of hemoglobin (median, 7 per infant), the rate of NEC was significantly increased among VLBW infants with severe anemia in a given week compared with those who did not have severe anemia (adjusted cause-specific hazard ratio, 5.99 [95% CI, 2.00-18.0]; P = .001). Conclusions and Relevance Among VLBW infants, severe anemia, but not RBC transfusion, was associated with an increased risk of NEC. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether preventing severe anemia is more important than minimizing RBC transfusion.
The Nomos Debate in Antigone and Ancient Athens

Drama in classical Athens was inexorably linked to political life in ways that seem truly foreign to modern audiences, and the works of master tragedian Sophokles were no exception. Sophokles wrote in the golden age of Greek theater, the mid- to late-fifth century BCE, which was also a time of great political upheaval in Athens. Antigone, one of the most famous works of classical tragedy, takes place in the distant city of Thebes in the mythic past, yet the political issues addressed in the play would have resonated with fifth-century Athenian audiences. Ancient Greek tragedy was fundamentally political in nature, and it simultaneously reinforced and challenged political norms. Antigone addresses one of the great political debates of the age, the conflict between the relatively-new written laws and the age-old customs that had previously governed. The primacy of man-made law was advocated most strongly in the public sphere by Perikles and in Antigone by Kreon. This view is challenged by real-life philosophers like Antiphon the Sophist as well as the fictional Antigone. While Sophokles acknowledges that each party has a claim to the truth, his ultimate sympathies lie with Antigone and the authority of custom.
All-Possible-Subsets for MANOVA and Factorial MANOVAs: Less than a Weekend Project

Multivariate techniques are increasingly popular as researchers attempt to accurately model a complex world. MANOVA is a multivariate technique used to investigate the dimensions along which groups differ, and how these dimensions may be used to predict group membership. A concern in a MANOVA analysis is to determine if a smaller subset of variables may be used in the classification functions without any loss of explanatory power when precision of parameter estimates or parsimony needs to be addressed cf. Huberty, 1984; Huberty & Olejnik, 2006. One way to address these concerns is through the use of all possible subsets. However, not all common statistical packages easily facilitate this analysis, and the analysis can be a weekend project Huberty & Olejnik, 2006. As such, the purpose of the current paper is to examine and demonstrate R and SPSS solutions to conduct an all-possible-subsets MANOVA, including all-possible-subsets factorial MANOVA.
Improving collaborative visualization of structural biology

Structural biology is the study of how molecular shape, chemistry and physics connect to biological function. This work is inherently multidisciplinary and co-located group discussions are a key part of the work as participants need to refer to and study visualizations of the molecule's shape and properties. In this paper, we present the design and initial assessment of CollabMOL, a collaborative molecular visualization tool specifically designed to support small to medium size groups working with a large stereo display. We present a task analysis for co-located collaborative work in structural biology in which we find shortcomings in existing practice as well as key requirements of an appropriate solution. In this paper we present our design of this solution and an observation based user study to validate its effectiveness. Our design incorporates large stereo display support, commodity input devices and displays, and an extension to an existing molecular visualization tool.
Electron microscopical observations on Mycobacterium johnei.

Summary An electron microscopical study was made of Mycobacterium johnei in fluid culture and in the small intestine of C57 black mice. Organisms in culture revealed a cell wall of about 60 to 130 A in thickness. Separating this from the cytoplasm was a 50 to 70 A plasma membrane. Contained within the cytoplasm were nuclear regions, large electron translucent inclusions, volutin granules and smaller electron dense bodies. Sections of the small intestine of C57 black mice showed the organism to be intracytoplasmic and surrounded by a host cell membrane. Structures that were observed in the cultured organisms were also noted in those examined intracellularly, and numerous osmiophilic bodies were also present. No large ‘peribacillary spaces’ were observed in the Myco. johnei infected tissues.
Integration of visible branch sections and cherry clusters for detecting cherry tree branches in dense foliage canopies

To minimise the demand for seasonal workers in sweet cherry production, there is a need to develop automated harvesting systems. The first step in automating a shake-and-catch type harvesting system is to develop a machine vision system for detecting tree branches and localising shaking points in those branches. In this study, an image processing algorithm was developed to detect branches of cherry trees using segmentation of branch and cherry pixels. Firstly, partially visible branch segments within the tree canopies were connected using morphological features of the segments to form whole branches. Then, the positions of cherry clusters in the canopy were used as an indication to detect branch sections that were occluded by cherries and leaves. Different cherry clusters were grouped together based on their spatial location and distance between them. Branch equations were then defined through those cherry clusters using minimum residual criteria. Overall, 93.8% branches were detected in a Y-trellis fruiting wall cherry orchard, with 55.0% of branches detected using only branch pixels and 38.8% additional branches detected using cherry clusters. The method resulted in a total of 12.4% of false positive detection. The results showed that branch detection accuracy can be substantially improved by integrating cherry location information with the location of segments of partially visible branches. This study has shown the potential of machine vision systems to detect cherry tree branches in full foliage season, which is highly promising for the development of automated sweet cherry harvesting systems.
Why Software DoS Is Hard to Fix: Denying Access in Embedded Android Platforms

A new class of software Denial of Service (DoS) attacks against Android platforms was recently discovered, where the attacks can force the victim device unresponsive, target and terminate other applications on the device, and continuously soft reboot the device [26]. After Google was informed of these DoS attacks, their attempt to resolve the problem did not adequately address the fundamental underlying attack principles. In this paper, we show that engineering software DoS defenses is challenging, especially for embedded and resource-constrained devices. To support our findings, we detail a revised DoS attack strategy for the latest version of Android. For our experimental evaluation, we demonstrate that the new class of DoS attacks are even more damaging to embedded Android devices. As part of our proof-of-concept attacks, we were able to render the Sony Bravia XBR-43X830C Android TV and the Amazon Fire TV Stick 1st generation devices permanently unusable. In addition, other devices, including the Moto 360 1st generation smartwatch, required flashing firmware images, whereas the Nvidia Shield Android TV and the Amazon Fire 7\(''\) Tablet required a factory reset to recover. Our attack is applicable to most Android devices and requires manual intervention to attempt to recover the device. The proposed attack strategy is more debilitating to devices that do not provide means for the end-user to easily access safe mode, recovery mode, or the ability flash firmware images. To mitigate the attack, we created an open-source defense application that has a 100 % prevention rate after a single soft reboot of the device while incurring less than 1.6 % performance overhead.
Progressive ataxia and palatal tremor

A previously healthy 72-year-old man presented with 1 year of progressive ataxia and slurred speech. There was no notable family history and no history of alcohol abuse or neurotropic drug use. Examination showed bilateral hypometric saccades, a 2–3 Hz palatal tremor with face and neck involvement, and truncal ataxia (video at [Neurology.org/cp][1]). There was no pendular nystagmus. MRI brain 6 months after the onset of symptoms showed high signal abnormality in the inferior olivary nuclei of the anterior medulla and mild superior vermal atrophy (figure, A and B). His clinical presentation and neuroimaging were consistent with a diagnosis of progressive ataxia and palatal tremor (PAPT), a rare idiopathic neurodegenerative disease with bulbar features, palatal tremor, and cerebellar ataxia. PAPT imaging features include a typical hypertrophic olivary appearance on MRI, sometimes with cerebellar degeneration.1,2 [1]: http://cp.neurology.org/lookup/doi/10.1212/CPJ.0000000000000298
Estimating the Impact of Discontinuing Shuttle Launches on Payroll and Employment in the Space Coast Using the Synthetic Control Method

The objective of this study is to quantify the impact of public investment in space programs on the regional economic activity in the areas host to the program launch operations. I implement an econometric strategy that takes the timing of the Shuttle program retirement as a natural experiment to investigate the role of public investment in space as a driver of regional economic activity. I rely on a technique known as the synthetic control method to estimate the counterfactual outcomes for the Space Coast. Comparing the observed outcomes with the estimated counterfactual outcomes provides evidence of large spillover effects of the Shuttle program in the economy of the Space Coast. My results suggest discontinuing the Shuttle program made payroll in Brevard County on average $824 million lower than the counterfactual outcome for every year since the final Shuttle mission, for a cumulative reduction in payroll of $3.3 billion below potential by 2015. In percentage terms, payroll grew at an average annual rate of 1.88% where its counterfactual growth rate was 5.25%. Evidence on employment suggests employment grow of 0.43% annually relative to counterfactual employment growth of 1.6%, keeping the recovery from the Great Recession anemic. Together, these estimates provide strong evidence that public investment in space is a boon for economic activity. The implications for space policy with this evidence are clear: public investment in space generates large and significant regional economic activity that needs to be taken into account when considering the costs and benefits of the investment. Further implications of the evidence for regional planners and firm managers are discussed.
Self-assembled Nanomaterials for Autophagy Detection and Enhanced Cancer Therapy Through Modulating Autophagy

Autophagy is a highly conserved cellular metabolism process and has become a diagnostic and therapeutic target for some diseases. In recent years, the applications of excellent self-assembled nanosystems in autophagy detection and modulation increase rapidly and provide promising approaches for disease diagnostics and therapeutics. Here, we review the recent advances in self-assembled nanomaterials for autophagy detection and autophagy-mediated cancer therapy. Meanwhile, the nanoprobe based on “in vivo self-assembly” strategy is highlighted. The “in vivo self-assembly” endows nanoprobes with higher accumulation, longer and better signal stability for in vivo bioimaging. Next, we will introduce the progress of self-assembled nanomaterials as autophagy modulators or drug carriers for enhanced cancer therapy through autophagy modulation.
Steroid requirements for suppression of HMG CoA reductase activity in cultured human fibroblasts.

The rate of cholesterol synthesis in cultured human fibroblasts is determined by the activity of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutary1 coenzyme A reductase (HMG CoA reductase) (1–3). The activity of this enzyme in normal fibroblasts becomes suppressed when low density lipoproteins (LDL) bind to specific receptors on the cell surface (4, 5) and deliver cholesterol and cholesteryl esters to the cell (6). High density lipoproteins (HDL), which do not bind to the LDL receptor (4, 5), do not increase the cellular content of cholesterol and cholesteryl esters (6) nor do they suppress HMG CoA reductase activity and cholesterol synthesis (1, 3). Cultured fibroblasts from subjects with the autosomal dominant disorder familial hypercholesterolemia are deficient in the LDL receptor (4, 5, 7). As a result, LDL does not bind to the cells (4, 5, 7), cholesterol is not transferred intracellularly (6), HMG CoA reductase activity is not suppressed, and cholesterol is overproduced (2, 3).
A Call for Dreamkeepers in Rural United States: Considering the Postsecondary Aspirations of Rural Ninth Graders

Highly effective teachers not only are the percolators of student dreams but also actively convey their hopes and dreams, catalyzing student dreams of further education. Within rural education contexts, there are not enough Dreamkeepers—teachers, counselors, and other school personnel who inspire student success. This article explores the college aspiration gap among ninth graders by population density. The authors posit that the college enrollment gap between urban/suburban and town/rural students is correlated with this aspiration gap, which in turn is fueled by a lack of Dreamkeepers. They explored this using the High School Longitudinal Survey of 2009, comparing student postsecondary aspirations by locale and connecting those to student perceptions of their teachers’ expectations for their success. Differences emerged between urban and rural students concerning the intensity with which ninth graders perceived teachers’ expectations for their future successes. This article begins with a contextual discussion of social perceptions of urbanicity compared to rurality and then turns to a discussion of rural students’ college aspirations and the role of families and schools therein. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.
Passive standoff imaging using spatial-spectral multiplexing

The concept of a passive far-field imaging system, using a unique spatial-spectral multiplexing (SSM) technique, is presented. The described SSM technique uses spectrally resolved interferometry to multiplex a scene’s angular spectrum onto the power spectrum, while dispersion characteristics are implemented to heterodyne the channeled spectrum into the spectral range of visible light. In this paper, the theory of the design is detailed and an analysis of the spatial and spectral tradespace of the system are discussed. Applications for this imaging technique are primarily focused in remote sensing and far-field target identification.
IBERIAN DOMINANCE AND THE INTRUSION OF THE NORTHERN EUROPEANS INTO THE ATLANTIC WORLD: SLAVE TRADING AS A RESULT OF ECONOMIC GROWTH?

Abstract The British, French and, eventually, the Americans attract a disproportionate share of scholarly attention in the history of the Atlantic World before 1800. The impact of the St. Domingue revolution, British power in the nineteenth century, and the dominance of the American economy in the 20th and 21st centuries have ensured that historians fail to recognize the continued influence of the two Iberian nations in the three centuries after Columbian contact. Until at least 1800 Spanish America was the largest, richest, most heavily populated, as well as the most urbanized European imperial domain in the New World. In the Atlantic Ocean and Africa, the Portuguese had a similar position, not because of conquests, but because of the slave trading system they developed based on their relations with parts of sub-Saharan Africa. They were able to supply slaves to the Americas more efficiently than any other European nation - an advantage that persisted through the whole period of the slave trade.Much of the recent literature - in the US especially - has revived an old argument about how slavery enabled capitalism. But a more accurate picture of the pre-1800 world raises the question of why after three centuries of slavery in the Americas it was northern Europe and North America that first became advanced capitalist societies rather than Iberia and South America. This paper examines the Portuguese system of slave trading and assesses its impact on the transatlantic slave trade and the experiences of the African peoples carried off to the Americas.
A Model for Hiring Individuals with Autism

This chapter introduces a diversity and inclusion model for organizations that wish to hire individuals with autism and provide them with positive work and career outcomes. While inclusive environments have been achieved in educational, religious, and community settings for neurodiverse individuals, there is still much work to be done to create diverse and inclusive organizations and workplaces. This chapter presents a seven-step model for organizations to develop inclusive programs to hire individuals with ASD. Diversity and inclusion programs have the potential to be of a great value to organizations and employees with autism. Additionally, successful programs may help to mitigate the stigma associated with ASD.
Proxy interviews and bias in the distribution of cognitive abilities due to non-response in longitudinal studies: a comparison of HRS and ELSA.

Cognitive impairment is an important topic for longitudinal studies of aging, and one that directly affects ability to participate. We study bias in measured cognition due to non-response in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). The much greater use of proxy interviews for impaired respondents in the HRS virtually eliminates attrition bias in measured cognition, whereas there is a noticeable bias in ELSA where proxies are infrequently used. Using Medicare claims data for the HRS we are able to compare cognitive impairment among dropouts post-attrition with that for continuing participants. There again we see the use of proxy interviews virtually eliminates a bias that would otherwise appear.
Jill Lindsey Harrison. From the inside out: the fight for environmental justice within government agencies

This book by Jill Lindsey Harris “shows how norms, communications, presumptions, and other aspects of organizational culture can reinforce environmental problems-that organizational failures to curtail environmental problems stem in part from the ways in which their members strive to do to do what they think best serves the organizational mission” (Harrison 2019, 205). This book’s author draws from in-depth interviews and observations what progress has been made with agency environmental justice (EJ) programs over the last 8 years with special attention to constructing racial meanings, reinforcing racial inequity, and delinking agency EJ efforts from the original basic principles.
Laboratory measurements of the physics of auroral electron acceleration by Alfvén waves

While the aurora has attracted attention for millennia, important questions remain unanswered. Foremost is how auroral electrons are accelerated before colliding with the ionosphere and producing auroral light. Powerful Alfven waves are often found traveling Earthward above auroras with sufficient energy to generate auroras, but there has been no direct measurement of the processes by which Alfven waves transfer their energy to auroral electrons. Here, we show laboratory measurements of the resonant transfer of energy from Alfven waves to electrons under conditions relevant to the auroral zone. Experiments are performed by launching Alfven waves and simultaneously recording the electron velocity distribution. Numerical simulations and analytical theory support that the measured energy transfer process produces accelerated electrons capable of reaching auroral energies. The experiments, theory, and simulations demonstrate a clear causal relationship between Alfven waves and accelerated electrons that directly cause auroras. It was predicted that Alfven waves can account for the acceleration of precipitating auroral electrons. Here, the authors show laboratory measurements of the resonant transfer of energy from Alfven waves to electrons under conditions relevant to the auroral zone as a direct test.
Toward Intrusion Tolerance as a Service: Confidentiality in Partially Cloud-Based BFT Systems

Recent work on intrusion-tolerance has shown that resilience to sophisticated network attacks requires system replicas to be deployed across at least three geographically distributed sites. While commodity data centers offer an attractive solution for hosting these sites due to low cost and management overhead, their use raises significant confidentiality concerns: system operators may not want private data or proprietary algorithms exposed to servers outside their direct control. We present a new model for Byzantine Fault Tolerant replicated systems that moves toward “intrusion tolerance as a service”. Under this model, application logic and data are only exposed to servers hosted on the system operator’s premises. Additional offsite servers hosted in data centers can support the needed resilience without executing application logic or accessing unencrypted state. We have implemented this approach in the open-source Spire system, and our evaluation shows that the performance overhead of providing confidentiality can be less than 4% in terms of latency.
Performance of dead reckoning-based location service for mobile ad hoc networks: Research Articles

A predictive model-based mobility tracking method, called dead reckoning, is developed for mobile ad hoc networks. It disseminates both location and movement models of mobile nodes in the network so that every node is able to predict or track the movement of every other node with a very low overhead. The basic technique is optimized to use ‘distance effect’, where distant nodes maintain less accurate tracking information to save overheads. The dead reckoning-based location service mechanism is evaluated against three known location dissemination service protocols: simple, distance routing effect algorithm for mobility (DREAM) and geographic region summary service (GRSS). The evaluation is done with geographic routing as an application. It is observed that dead reckoning significantly outperforms the other protocols in terms of packet delivery fraction. It also maintains low-control overhead. Its packet delivery performance is only marginally impacted by increasing speed or noise in the mobility model, that affects its predictive ability. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Management of Incontinence After Pelvic Malignancy

Patients undergoing surgery for pelvic malignancy or radiation for pelvic malignancy suffer from a variety of urinary issues post treatment. An understanding of the etiology and pathophysiology of their voiding dysfunction is imperative to assessing and treating these patients. The most common causes of urinary incontinence following surgery for pelvic malignancy are denervation of the bladder or sphincter, detrusor overactivity, decreased bladder compliance, outlet obstruction, and fistula formation. The causes of voiding dysfunction following pelvic radiation for malignancy include detrusor overactivity, decreased bladder compliance, outlet obstruction, and fistula formation. Following a thorough history and workup, the treatments can range from a simple medication or surgery, to a more complex management regiment. Often patients receiving radiation after pelvic malignancy surgery will present with complex urinary complaints and the treatment options for these patients are more complex compared to patients treated with only surgery for pelvic malignancy.
Multiplex Cytokine Assays

This chapter explores both traditional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the newer multiplexed assays. For each of the methods, the author examines the technology, instrumentation, and data analysis. The sequential ELISA still has several pitfalls. First, the sample volume necessary is still greater than that used in most multiplex assays. Second, the amount of time required to measure each one of the cytokines is not reduced in the sequential ELISA, so there is no cost savings with regards to time. Third, if there is potential cross-reactivity of the antibodies, then measurement of the first cytokine will result in an overestimate of the amount of that cytokine present and measurement of the next cytokine in the sequence will result in an underestimate of the amount of that cytokine present. A recent paper described a novel method for rapidly detecting cytokines by capillary electrophoresis. Bead array assays are rapidly becoming the rage in cytokine measurement. There are several commercial vendors marketing the bead array assays The major limitation is obtaining antibody with sufficient specificity in order to prevent cross-reactivity. Finally, the volume of sample required to measure multiple cytokines is extremely small. Multiplex cytokine assays for measuring cytokines are rapidly becoming standard across the world. A clear indicator of the enthusiasm for these assays may be found in the large number of companies which are presently producing and manufacturing multiplex cytokine kits.
Turbo Product Codes for Optical CDMA Systems

The application of turbo product codes (TPC) in intensity modulated, direct detection (incoherent) optical code division multiple access (CDMA) systems with on-off keying (OOK) or binary pulse position modulation (PPM) is presented in this chapter. Optical multiple access interference caused by other users is the main source of noise that degrades system performance and limits the total number of active users in an optical CDMA system. Furthermore, very long optical orthogonal code (OOC) sequences are required, which results in large bandwidth expansion. The implementation of turbo product codes in an optical CDMA system promises significant improvement of the probability of bit error, permitting a higher number of active users and a system with a reduced bandwidth expansion factor. Furthermore, this level of improvement in performance is not obtainable by conventional forward error correction (FEC) codes such as Reed-Solomon and BCH codes. Keywords: optical fiber communications; optical code division multiple access; error correction coding; iterative decoding methods; turbo product codes
Tidal breathing flow-volume loops in bronchiolitis in infancy: the effect of albuterol [ISRCTN47364493]

To evaluate the effect of nebulized albuterol on tidal breathing flow-volume loops in infants with bronchiolitis due to respiratory syncytial virus. A randomized, double-blind, control study. Pediatric unit in a community teaching hospital. Twenty infants younger than 1 year of age (mean age, 5.8 ± 2.8 months) with a first episode of wheezing due to respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis. Chloral hydrate (50 mg/kg) was administered orally for sedation. One dose each of nebulized albuterol (0.15 mg/kg in 3 ml saline) and saline (3 ml) were given at 6 hour intervals in a random order. Tidal breathing flow-volume loops were obtained before and after each aerosol treatment with a Neonatal/Pediatric Pulmonary Testing System (Model 2600; Sensor Medics, Anaheim, CA, USA). At the same time, the fraction of tidal volume exhaled at peak tidal expiratory flow (PTEF) to total tidal volume (VPTEF/VE), and the fraction of exhaled time at PTEF to total expiratory time (tPTEF/tE) were measured. The PTEF, the tidal expiratory flows at 10%, 25%, and 50% of the remaining tidal volume (TEF10, TEF25, and TEF50), and the wheeze score were also determined. There were no significant changes in VPTEF/VE and tPTEF/tE after albuterol or saline treatment. PTEF increased significantly both after albuterol and saline treatments but the difference between the two treatments was not significant (P = 0.6). Both TEF10 and the ratio of the tidal expiratory flow at 25% of the remaining tidal volume to PTEF (25/PT) decreased significantly (P < 0.05) after administration of albuterol. All other investigated variables were not significantly affected by aerosol administration. Nebulized albuterol in infants with mild bronchiolitis due to respiratory syncytial virus did not improve VPTEF/VE and tPTEF/tE but did decrease TEF10 and 25/PT.
Development and Performance of Superconducting Undulators at the Advanced Photon Source

Several years ago, an article in SRN [1] with the same title as this article summarized the decade-long development of superconducting undulators (SCUs) at the Advanced Photon Source (APS). The article presented those developments leading to the point when the first prototype, called SCU0 and intended for installation at the APS, was under fabrication. SCU0 was built in 2012, its cryogenic performance has been extensively tested, and detailed magnet measurements of the device have been conducted. After verification that SCU0 met all of the technical requirements for APS insertion devices, it was installed in the APS storage ring in January 2013, commissioned in a record short time (two weeks), and became a routinely used source of hard X-rays at the APS Sector 6 ID beamline.
MAGIC Observations of Active Galactic Nuclei

The MAGIC Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope is located at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory at La Palma. Currently it is the largest detector of its kind in operation. It is able to study sources of cosmic gamma-rays of energy between 50 and 60GeV and some TeV with sensitivity down to less than 2% of the Crab nebula flux in 50h. In this contribution we present a review of its recent results for the AGNs in flaring and quiescent states. These results can help in understanding the mechanisms of gamma-ray production in AGN jets, estimate the distribution of Extragalactic Background Light (EBL), and detecting signs of quantum gravity.
The Case For Substantial Dust Extinction At z ~ 3

Estimates of the total metal production rate (\dot{\rho}_Z) and star formation rate at z > 2 are based on Lyman break systems observed in the rest-frame ultraviolet (UV). These observations are very sensitive to dust obscuration. Here I elucidate and refine the Meurer et al. (1997) method for calculating UV obscuration, presenting new relationships which accurately model the dust reprocessing of radiation in local starbursts. The median lambda = 1600 Angstroms obscuration factor is ~10 at z ~ 3 which is shown to be consistent with other constraints on the high-z \dot{\rho}_Z. Two tests are proposed to further constrain \dot{\rho}_Z at these redshifts.
The impact of cell phone texting on the amount of time spent exercising at different intensities

This study assessed the effect of cell phone texting during a 30-min bout of treadmill exercise on the amount of time spent exercising at different intensities. Thirty-two college students participated in two conditions (cell phone and control). During the cell phone condition participants could use their cell phone only for texting purposes. During the control condition participants did not have access to their cell phone nor any interaction with other individuals or electronics. Heart rate was measured continuously and was used to determine how much time was spent exercising at different intensities. Vigorous intensity minutes was significantly greater (p?=?0.001) in the control condition (12.94???8.76?min) than the cell phone condition (7.09???8.38?min). Low intensity minutes was significantly greater (p?=?0.001) in the cell phone condition (9.47???9.73) than the control condition (3.44???6.52). Moderate intensity minutes in the cell phone (13.44???8.43) and control (13.69???8.13) conditions were not significantly (p?=?0.89) different. In conclusion, using a cell phone for texting can interfere with treadmill exercise by promoting greater participation in low intensity exercise and less participation in vigorous intensity exercise due to a possible dual-tasking effect. Cell phone texting during treadmill exercise was examined.Texting during exercise increases the time spent exercising at a low intensity.No cell phone during exercise increases participation in high intensity exercise.Altered exercise intensities may have important implications on health and fitness.
Enhancement of DNA vaccine potency by linkage of antigen gene to a gene encoding the extracellular domain of FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3-ligand

Recently, Flt3 (Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3)-ligand has been identified as an important cytokine for the generation of professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs), particularly dendritic cells (DCs). A recombinant chimera of the extracellular domain of Flt3-ligand (FL) linked to a model antigen may potentially target the antigen to DCs and their precursor cells. Using human papillomavirus-16 E7 as a model antigen, we evaluated the effect of linkage to FL on the potency of antigen-specific immunity generated by naked DNA vaccines administered intradermally via gene gun. We found that vaccines containing chimeric FL-E7 fusion genes significantly increased the frequency of E7-specific CD8+ T cells relative to vaccines containing the wild-type E7 gene. In vitro studies indicated that cells transfected with FL-E7 DNA presented E7 antigen through the MHC class I pathway more efficiently than wild-type E7 DNA. Furthermore, bone marrow-derived DCs pulsed with cell lysates containing FL-E7 fusion protein presented E7 antigen through the MHC class I pathway more efficiently than DCs pulsed with cell lysates containing wild-type E7 protein. More importantly, this fusion converted a less effective vaccine into one with significant potency against established E7-expressing metastatic tumors. The FL-E7 fusion vaccine mainly targeted CD8+ T cells, and antitumor effects were completely CD4 independent. These results indicate that fusion of a gene encoding the extracellular domain of FL to an antigen gene may greatly enhance the potency of DNA vaccines via CD8-dependent pathways.
A Different Kind of Flesh: Public Obscenity, Globalisation and the Mumbai Dance Bar Ban

AbstractWhy did Mumbai's famous dance bars have to close in 2005? This paper analyses the ban and its aftermath in terms of (1) a colonial and post-colonial genealogy of the regulation of allegedly obscene public performances in India and (2) the provocative location of the dance bars vis-a-vis the cultural politics of consumerist globalisation. Combining a reading of arguments around the ban with first-hand ethnographic vignettes, the paper is a contribution to a critical analysis of the politics of publicity in India.
Values, Attitudes, and Social Concepts of Japanese and American Children

THE data reported here constitute one unit of a larger investigation. The whole investigation is focused upon children's values, attitudes, and social concepts, but different methods and subjects are used in each of three units. In the unit presently under discussion, value-attitude-concept systems are approached through analyzing the occupational aspirations of elementary school children in Japan and in the United States.' What the children told us of their occupational aspirations and the reasons for them provides a basis for inferences concerning systemic features of the social views held by the young of the two nations. These features in turn suggest patterns and themes prominent in the cultures where the children's thinking has been shaped. In comparing responses of children in these culturally remote but increasingly connected areas, we have been able to identify aspects of Western-inspired culture in the views of Japanese children, and to get some measure of their relative magnitude. In this study, as in the other units of the larger project to which it belongs, the methods of gathering and handling data reflect our assumption that children can serve as anthropological-style informants, being qualified like their elders by membership in a society and command of a limited part of that society's culture. It is reasonable to assume that children not only can but should be solicited to act as informants, since their very naivet6 offers advantages. They can tell us first-hand and without retrospection what their society and culture look like through their eyes, or what childhood is like with respect to its perceptions of society and culture. With Powdermaker (1956), we assume that an informant is still such though he speaks through devices other than the field ethnographer's interview, and that data elicited through asking him to state some of his views in writing may be functionally equivalent to interview-elicted data.
A constant-current stimulator.

Abstract This device produces constant-current pulses for brain stimulation. Voltage build-up on the tissue (tissue-polarization) is prevented by a discharge circuit that is operative during the pulse interval. Control pulses must be supplied from an external source.
When Should We Pull the Trigger for Post–Radical Prostatectomy Radiotherapy?

Short of a randomized controlled trial (RCT), the paper by Briganti and esteemed colleagues in this issue of European Urology provides the best current data to suggest that early salvage radiotherapy (eSRT) is comparable to adjuvant external radiotherapy (aRT) for men with pT3 prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy [1]. The authors are to be congratulated for putting together a large cohort of patients (N = 890) and a robust propensity-matched analysis to show that 2- and 5-yr biochemical controls are equivalent between these two treatment options. Briefly, they show 2-and 5–yr biochemical recurrence-free survival rates of 91.4% and 78.4%, respectively, in aRT versus 92.8% and 81.8%, respectively, in patients who had initial observation and eSRT at the time of relapse. The strength of this work is in its multicenter cohort and tracking the observed plus eSRT group in comparison to the men who received aRT. In addition, the inclusion criteria were tight. In other words, the aRT group received radiation within 6 mo of when their prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level was still 0.2 ng/ml but <0.5 ng/ml. While this paper is not an RCT and some will be critical of this work, citing possible flaws and biases in the propensity-matching strategy and the lack of long-term follow-up, the results make sense and are plausible. This paper will help clinicians, like me, in the trenches to help patients with this difficult and important decision. As I write this editorial, I just learned that the US Preventive Services Task Force will finalize its anti-PSA screening recommendations with a D rating [2]. I wonder how this may change things and how this will affect radical prostatectomy (RP), positive margins, and the issue of adjuvant versus salvage RT. If the D rating for PSA causes most medical insurers and governments to stop covering PSA testing, it will have a sobering impact. It may reverse the stage migration we have seen in the PSA era. We may be operating on more high-risk men and planning more aRT due to more unfavorable pathology, as but one consequence. Times remain very interesting in the prostate
Haploinsufficiency of Human APOE Reduces Amyloid Deposition in a Mouse Model of Amyloid-β Amyloidosis

The e4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene is the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Evidence suggests that the effect of apoE isoforms on amyloid-β (Aβ) accumulation in the brain plays a critical role in AD pathogenesis. Like in humans, apoE4 expression in animal models that develop Aβ amyloidosis results in greater Aβ and amyloid deposition than with apoE3 expression. However, whether decreasing levels of apoE3 or apoE4 would promote or attenuate Aβ-related pathology has not been directly addressed. To determine the effect of decreasing human apoE levels on Aβ accumulation in vivo, we generated human APOE isoform haploinsufficient mouse models by crossing APPPS1-21 mice with APOE isoform knock-in mice. By genetically manipulating APOE gene dosage, we demonstrate that decreasing human apoE levels, regardless of isoform status, results in significantly decreased amyloid plaque deposition and microglial activation. These differences in amyloid load between apoE3- and apoE4-expressing mice were not due to apoE4 protein being present at lower levels than apoE3. These data suggest that current therapeutic strategies to increase apoE levels without altering its lipidation state may actually worsen Aβ amyloidosis, while increasing apoE degradation or inhibiting its synthesis may be a more effective treatment approach.
A dynamic model of occupational choice

Abstract A dynamic model of occupational choice is developed where, within an occupation, the match at the current job may help forecast matches at future jobs. An index policy is shown to be optimal. Each occupation is assigned an index and the occupation with the highest index is sampled. When training costs are low and layoff risks are nonnegligible, occupations in which job-matching information is relatively occupation-specific receive higher indices. However, this result is reversed when training costs are sufficiently high.
Real Time Analyzer for Inverse Kinetics Rod Drop Experiments

A system is described that measures subcritical reactivity in nuclear reactors by the Inverse Kinetics Rod Drop (IKRD) technique. The analyzer was used in a large scale reactivity experiment performed in the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) engineering mock-up core loaded in the ZPR-9 at Argonne National Laboratory. The hardware used in the system included (1) a computer operating in a real time environment, (2) an interface to condition the signals from seven neutron sensors located in the reactor core and to transfer them into the computer at fixed time intervals (provisions were made to interface signals from individual neutron detectors operating in either the current or the pulse mode of operation), and (3) a cassette tape recorder for permanent storage of the raw data. This system performs the following functions: (1) Examination of data from a Preselected neutron sensor during the steady state operation to determine when the transient (rod drop) begins, (2) Simultaneous acquisition and storage of data from all sensors once the test is in progress, (3) Solution of the inverse kinetics equation for each of the seven sensors in real time by the three point method, and (4) Display of significant results immediately after the conclusion of the test. The system allows the operator to determine the reactivity condition of the reactor immediately.
Modification of the regenerative response of dorsal column axons by olfactory ensheathing cells or peripheral axotomy in adult rat

The regeneration of sciatic-dorsal column (DC) axons following DC crush injury and treatment with olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) and/or sciatic axotomy (“conditioning lesion”) was evaluated. Sciatic-DC axons were examined with a transganglionic tracer, cholera toxin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase, and evaluated at chronic time points, 2–26 weeks post-lesion. With DC injury alone (n = 7), sciatic-DC axons were localized to the caudal border of the lesion terminating in reactive end bulbs with no indication of growth into the lesion. In contrast, treatment with either a heterogeneous population of OECs (equal numbers of p75- and fibronectin-positive OECs) (n = 9) or an enriched population of OECs (75% p75-positive OECs) (n = 6) injected either directly into the lesion or 1-mm rostral and caudal to the injury, stimulated DC axon growth into the lesion. A similar regenerative response was observed with a conditioning lesion either concurrent to (n = 4) or 1 week before (n = 4) the DC injury. In either of the latter two paradigms, some DC axons grew across the injury, but no axons grew into the rostral intact spinal cord. Upon combining OEC treatment with the conditioning lesion (n = 21), the result was additive, increasing DC axon growth beyond the rostral border of the lesion in best cases. Additional factors that may limit DC regeneration were tested including formation of the glial scar (immunoreactivity to glial fibrillary acidic protein in astrocytes and to chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans), which remained similar between treated and untreated groups.
Reduced mortality following bone marrow transplantation for breast cancer with the addition of peripheral blood progenitor cells is due to a marked reduction in veno-occlusive disease of the liver

Clinical trials involving breast cancer in the Duke University Bone Marrow Transplant Program were evaluated to assess the association between type of hematopoietic support and treatment-related morbidity/ mortality. Case histories of patients treated with high-dose chemotherapy and hematopoietic rescue on three separate protocols between 1986 and 1994 were reviewed. This included 307 patients with stage IV disease and 85 patients with high-risk (10 or more positive axillary lymph nodes) stage II or III disease. One hundred and twenty-eight of these patients were rescued with autologous bone marrow (BM) alone and 264 additionally received autologous peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC). The 100 day transplant-related mortality rate in those patients who received BM alone was 20.3%, with an overall mortality rate due to the high-dose chemotherapy procedure of 24.2%. The PBPC-treated group experienced a 100 day transplant-related mortality of only 6.1% and an overall transplant- related mortality of 10.2%. Sixteen of 31 deaths were attributed to veno-occlusive disease (VOD) in the group that received BM alone compared to only one VOD-related death in the PBPC group. These data demonstrate a marked improvement in transplant-related mortality which is related to the use of PBPC. This effect has been almost entirely due to a reduction in mortality from hepatic veno-occlusive disease.