cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lack of NF1 expression in a sporadic schwannoma from a patient without neurofibromatosis

The neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) gene encodes a tumor suppressor protein, neurofibromin, which is expressed at high levels in Schwann cells and other adult tissues. Loss ofNF1 expression has been reported in Schwann cell tumors (neurofibrosarcomas) from patients with NF1 and its loss is associated with increased proliferation of these cells. In this report, we describe downregulation ofNF1 expression in a single spinal schwannoma from an individual without clinical features of neurofibromatosis type 1 or 2. Barely detectable expression ofNF1 RNA was found in this tumor byin situ hybridization using anNF1-specific riboprobe as well as by Northern blot and reverse-transcribed (RT)-PCR analysis. In Schwann cells cultured from this schwannoma, abundant expression ofNF1 RNA could be detected by Northern blot and RT-PCR analysis. These results suggest that, in some tumors, expression ofNF1 may be downregulated by factors produced within the tumor and may represent a novel mechanism for inactivating these growth suppressing genes and allowing for increased cell proliferation in tumors.
Profiles of Third World mineral producers

Abstract The paper attempts to determine whether Third World mineral and nonmineral economies can be profiled on the basis of a limited number of economic variables. Using discriminant analysis, the study finds that mineral economies differ significantly from their non-mineral counterparts. Of significance is the fact that external debt variables rather than such standard candidates as export instability or the share of the government sector in GNP are critical in this differentiation.
An agent-based model of the response to angioplasty and bare-metal stent deployment in an atherosclerotic blood vessel.

Purpose: While animal models are widely used to investigate the development of restenosis in blood vessels following an intervention, computational models offer another means for investigating this phenomenon. A computational model of the response of a treated vessel would allow investigators to assess the effects of altering certain vessel- and stent-related variables. The authors aimed to develop a novel computational model of restenosis development following an angioplasty and bare-metal stent implantation in an atherosclerotic vessel using agent-based modeling techniques. The presented model is intended to demonstrate the body's response to the intervention and to explore how different vessel geometries or stent arrangements may affect restenosis development. Methods: The model was created on a two-dimensional grid space. It utilizes the post-procedural vessel lumen diameter and stent information as its input parameters. The simulation starting point of the model is an atherosclerotic vessel after an angioplasty and stent implantation procedure. The model subsequently generates the final lumen diameter, percent change in lumen cross-sectional area, time to lumen diameter stabilization, and local concentrations of inflammatory cytokines upon simulation completion. Simulation results were directly compared with the results from serial imaging studies and cytokine levels studies in atherosclerotic patients from the relevant literature. Results: The final lumen diameter results were all within one standard deviation of the mean lumen diameters reported in the comparison studies. The overlapping-stent simulations yielded results that matched published trends. The cytokine levels remained within the range of physiological levels throughout the simulations. Conclusion: We developed a novel computational model that successfully simulated the development of restenosis in a blood vessel following an angioplasty and bare-metal stent deployment based on the characteristics of the vessel crosssection and stent. A further development of this model could ultimately be used as a predictive tool to depict patient outcomes and inform treatment options. © 2014 Curtin, Zhou.
A covalently linked DNA-RNA molecule from human leukemia cells

An enzyme complex was prepared from the cytoplasm of a continuous line of monocytic human leukemia cells isotopically labeled in culture. Such preparations carry out RNA dependent DNA synthesis using endogenous primers and templates and contain radioactive RNA and DNA. The endogenous [3H]-thymidine labeled DNA in these preparations was characterized by sedimentation in Cs2SO4 and neutral sucrose density gradients in conjunction with heat and alkali treatments and digestion with RNase. The resulting data support a view that a portion of the DNA is covalently linked to a larger piece of RNA in a molecule with a sedimentation coefficient of approximately 24S. This in turn may be hydrogen bonded to additional DNA in the native state.
Vocabulary and Working Memory in Children Fit with Hearing Aids.

Purpose To determine whether children with mild-to-moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss (CHL) present with disturbances in working memory and whether these disturbances relate to the size o...
Hands-on physics displays for undergraduates

Initiated by Frank Oppenheimer in 1969, the Exploratorium in San Francisco has been the model for hands-on science museums throughout the world. The key idea has been to bring people with all levels of scientific background in contact with interesting and attractive exhibits that require the active participation of the visitor. Unfortunately, many science museums are now forced to cater primarily to very young audiences, often 8 years old or less, with predictable constraints on the intellectual depth of their exhibits. To counter this trend, the author has constructed several hands-on displays for the University of Michigan Physics Department that demonstrate: (1) magnetic levitation of pyrolytic graphite, (2) the varied magnetic induction effects in aluminum, copper and air, (3) chaotic motion of a double pendulum, (4) conservation of energy and momentum in a steel ball magnetic accelerator, (5) the diffraction pattern of red and green laser pointer beams created by CDs and DVDs, (6) a magnetic analog of the refraction of light at a dielectric boundary and (7) optical rotation of light in an aqueous fructose solution. Each of these exhibits can be constructed for something like $1000 or less and are robust enough to withstand unsupervised public use. The dynamic behavior of these exhibits will be shown in accompanying video sequences. The following story has a history that goes back quite a few years. In the late 70’s, I was spending time at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center accompanied by my family that included our two grade school children. Needless to say, we much enjoyed weekend excursions to all sorts of interesting sites in the Bay Area, especially the Exploratorium, an unusual science museum created by Frank Oppenheimer that opened in 1969. The notion that exhibits would be designed specifically for “hands-on” interactions was at that time quite revolutionary. This idea captivated a number of people everywhere including a friend in Ann Arbor, Cynthia Yao. With a core group of a few dozen people, Cynthia convinced the City of Ann Arbor to allow free use of an old firehouse. The Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum opened its doors to the public in 1982 and remains a thriving institution to this day.
Localization of thiamine pyrophosphatase in synaptic vesicles

In the perikarya of pontine reticular formation neurons thiamine pyrophosphatase activity was localized within the innermost lamellae of the Golgi complex and, to a lesser extent, within cisternae of the rough endoplasmic reticulum. In axons, thiamine pyrophosphatase activity was localized within tubular profiles, presumed to be endoplasmic reticulum, and in axonal terminals it was found within presynaptic vesicles. This selective localization of pyrophosphatase activity suggests the derivation of synaptic vesicles from membranes of the Golgi complex.
Design, Build, and Test of a Permanently Implanted Prosthetic Hand

The feasibility of a permanently implanted prosthetic hand was evaluated from both an internal biocompatibility and exterior mechanics point of view. A literature review of the issues involved in permanent implantation of a percutanious device was performed in the areas of bone interaction and fixation and neural interface control. A theoretical implant was designed for a 90th percentile male, using a HA-G-Ti composite material to provide a permanent base to which the hand could attach. Using a radial implant length of 1.87 inches and an ulna implant length of 1.32 inches, the simulated implant could withstand a push out force of 10.260 pounds. Using nerve guidance channels and microelectrode arrays, a Regenerative Neural Interface was postulated to control the implant. The use of Laminin-5 was suggested as a method of preventing the lack of wound closure observed in percutanious devices. The exterior portion of a permanent artificial hand was analyzed by the construction of a robotic hand optimized for weight, size, grip force and wrist torque, power consumption and range of motion. Using a novel dual drive system, each finger was equipped with both joint position servos as well as a tendon. Fine grip shape was formed using the servos, while the tendon was pulled taunt when grasping an object. Control of the prosthetic hand was performed using a distributed network of micro-controllers. Each finger’s behavior was governed by a master/slave system where input from a control glove was processed by a master controller with joint servo and tendon instructions passed to lower-level controllers for management of hand actuators. The final weight of the prototype was 3.85 pounds and was approximately 25% larger than the 90th percentile male hand it was based on. Grip force was between 1.25 and 2 pounds per finger, depending on amount of finger flexion with a wrist lifting torque of 1.2 pounds at the center of the palm. The device had an average current draw of 3 amps in both normal operation and tight grasping. Range of motion was similar to that of the human model. Overall feasibility of the device is examined and factors involved in industrial implementation are discussed.© 2002 ASME
Aortic Neck Dilation after Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair: Should Oversizing Be Blamed?

Long-term durability after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) is dependent upon the maintenance of an effective seal between the endograft and the proximal landing zone. Continuous neck dilation might lead to the loss of such a seal. This study aims at evaluating the incidence, risk factors, and clinical consequences of post-EVAR aneurysm neck dilation in patients treated with two types of endografts: AneuRx® and Ancure®. We reviewed data concerning all consecutive patients submitted to primary EVAR using the AneuRx and Ancure devices. Preoperative neck anatomic characteristics (diameter, calcification, and thrombus load) were evaluated, and device oversize percentage was calculated. Postoperative same-level neck diameter was measured on all postoperative computed tomographic (CT) scans. Probabilities of neck dilation (≥10% and ≥15%) relative to preoperative diameter and first postoperative diameter were estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method and compared between patients using both types of endograft. The impact of anatomic characteristics on neck dilation incidence was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards models. Mean neck dilation was compared between patients with and without device migration and proximal type I endoleak. Both groups had similar probabilities of dilating >10% relative to preoperative diameter and to first postoperative diameter. Proximal necks in AneuRx-treated patients had higher probabilities of dilating ≥15% relative to preoperative diameter than Ancure-treated patients (45.5% vs. 18.7% at 1.5 years, p = 0.025), but the probability of such dilation relative to the first postoperative diameter was not different between the two groups (12.4% vs. 9.1% at 1.5 years, p = 0.832). None of the preoperative neck characteristics was associated with neck dilation risk. Device oversize percentage was correlated with the percentage of neck dilation at first postoperative CT scan relative to preoperative diameter in both the AneuRx (correlation coefficient = 0.469, p < 0.0001) and the Ancure (correlation coefficient = 0.464, p < 0.011) groups, but it was not correlated with the percentage of neck dilation at 1 or 1.5 years relative to first postoperative CT scan in either group. Patients with and without caudad device migration (≥5 mm) had similar percentages of neck dilation at 1.5 years relative to preoperative diameter, but migrators had higher mean percentages of dilation at 1.5 years relative to first postoperative neck diameter (11.4% vs. 5.6, p = 0.012). Two phenomena may be differentiated: an immediate postimplant dilation, strongly correlated with the percentage of oversize and more likely to reach values ≥15% with an AneuRx device than with an Ancure graft, and a subsequent dilation, relative to the first postoperatively measured diameter, equally probable with either type of device, not correlated with the percentage of oversizing but associated with caudad device migration. Our study does not support any adverse role for the degree of oversize.
Experimental investigation of the buckling of nuclear containment-like cylindrical geometries under combined shear and bending

Abstract This paper describes the method for and results of, determining the static buckling interaction curves for both ring-stiffened and unstiffened cylindrical geometries that have radius-to-thickness ( R / t ) ratios and other parameters characteristic of nuclear steel containments. The purpose of developing these test methods and interaction curves is to have this information available for a dynamic buckling study on the same or similar shells that will be directed at answering questions regarding the freezing-in-time analysis method.
Approximate statistics of random vector magnitudes

Simple, rough approximations are presented for the mean and 99% values for random vectors of up to three independent elements. The accuracy of the provided approximate expressions has been investigated with the aid of Monte Carlo simulations involving 15 different combinations of the three statistical parameters. The results of this investigation are discussed.
Oligopeptide inhibition of class I ribonucleotide reductases

Class I ribonucleotide reductases (RRs), which are well-recognized targets for cancer chemotherapeutic and antiviral agents, are composed of two different subunits, R1 and R2, and are inhibited by oligopeptides corresponding to the C-terminus of R2, which compete with R2 for binding to R1. These peptides specifically inhibit the RRs from which they are derived, and closely homologous RRs, but do not inhibit less homologous RRs. Here we review results obtained for oligopeptide inhibition of RRs from several sources, including related x-ray, NMR, and modeling results. The most extensive studies have been performed on herpes simplex virus-RR (HSV-RR) and mammalian-RR (mRR). A common model fits the data obtained for both enzymes, in which the C-terminal residue of the oligopeptide (Leu for HSV-RR, Phe for mRR) binds with high specificity to a narrow and deep hydrophobic subsite, and two or more hydrophobic groups at the N-terminal portion of the peptide bind to a broad and shallow second hydrophobic subsite. The studies have led to the development of highly potent and specific inhibitors of HSV-RR and promising inhibitors of mRR, and indicate possible directions for the development of inhibitors of bacterial and fungal RRs.
Knowledge-Based and Contextual Factors Associated with R&D Teams’ Improvisation Capability

We examine three knowledge-based processes and interactions underlying an effective improvisation capability in research and development (R&D) teams: a team’s ability to create a shared understanding of new knowledge, a team’s experience working together, and a team’s ability to gather external knowledge. Using a sample of 100 R&D teams developing computer technology innovations, we also examine the moderating role of “minimal structures” (goal clarity combined with autonomy) as a contextual factor supporting effective improvisation. Our results detected different ways in which the processes and interactions involved in an improvisation capability interacted with the context. We find support for the positive relationship between shared understanding of new knowledge and improvisation capability and find that this relationship is strengthened by minimal structures. Team’s experience working together was not associated with improvisation capability, but when minimal structures are present, more experience w...
An investigator-blind, randomized, 4-week, parallel-group, multicenter pilot study to compare the safety and efficacy of a nonsteroidal cream (Promiseb Topical Cream) and desonide cream 0.05% in the twice-daily treatment of mild to moderate seborrheic dermatitis of the face

The treatment of seborrheic dermatitis includes topical antifungal agents to eradicate Malassezia spp, corticosteroids, which treat the inflammatory component of the disease and keratolytics which remove scale and crust. This study compared the efficacy of a nonsteroidal topical cream and a low-potency topical corticosteroid for the treatment of mild to moderate seborrheic dermatitis of the face in 77 volunteers randomized to twice-daily treatment with nonsteroidal cream or corticosteroid cream for up to 28 days. If the individual was rated clear by day 14, the study drug was collected and the participant was told not to use any topical products on the previously treated areas until after the 28-day follow-up visit. Both treatments were similarly effective in reducing disease severity, with approximately 90% of participants clearing or almost clear during the study. Both treatments demonstrated significant reductions in erythema, scaling, and pruritus (P < .0001). Safety in both groups was rated as excellent in more than 90%. Those using the nonsteroidal cream who cleared after 14 days of treatment were more likely to remain clear than were participants using the corticosteroid cream (P = .0173). Investigator global assessments of improvement found both study agents were essentially the same, and participants in both groups achieved clinically important improvement.
Functional Characterization of Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans of Brain: Interactions with Neurons and Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules

Ng-CAM and N-CAM are cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), and each CAM can bind homophilically as demonstrated by the ability of CAM-coated beads (Covaspheres) to self-aggregate. We have found that the extent of aggregation of Covaspheres coated with either Ng-CAM or N-CAM was strongly inhibited by the intact 1D1 and 3F8 chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans of rat brain, and by the core glycoproteins resulting from chondroitinase treatment of the proteoglycans. Much higher concentrations of rat chondrosarcoma chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (aggrecan) core proteins had no significant effect in these assays. The 1D1 and 3F8 proteoglycans also inhibited binding of neurons to Ng-CAM when mixtures of these proteins were adsorbed to polystyrene dishes. Direct binding of neurons to the proteoglycan core glycoproteins from brain but not from chondrosarcoma was demonstrated using an assay in which cell-substrate contact was initiated by centrifugation, and neuronal binding to the 1D1 proteoglycans was specifically inhibited by the 1D1 monoclonal antibody. Different forms of the 1D1 proteoglycan have been identified in developing and adult brain. The early postnatal form (neurocan) was found to bind neurons more effectively than the adult proteoglycan, which represents the C-terminal half of the larger neurocan core protein. Our results therefore indicate that certain brain proteoglycans can bind to neurons, and that Ng-CAM and N-CAM may be heterophilic ligands for neurocan and the 3F8 proteoglycan. The ability of these brain proteoglycans to inhibit adhesion of cells to CAMs may be one mechanism to modulate cell adhesion and migration in the nervous system.
Release Characteristics of Cardiac Biomarkers and Ischemia-modified Albumin as Measured by the Albumin Cobalt-binding Test after a Marathon Race

Numerous studies have monitored the appearance of both cardiac and skeletal muscle proteins and enzymes after short- and long-term exercise regimens. Both animal and human exercise models have attempted to determine whether the stress of long-duration exercise, such as a marathon race (42.2 km), could cause myocardial necrosis and the release of cardiac-specific proteins, such as cardiac troponin I (cTnI) or T (cTnT) (1)(2)(3)(4). In a rat animal model, the severe stress of swimming for 5 h caused microscopic evidence of myocardial necrosis, which led to substantially increased serum cTnT concentrations (1). However, in a less stressful regimen of 1–3 h of swimming, no evidence of ischemic injury and only very minor alterations in serum cTnT concentrations were detected. Middle-aged male marathon runners had increases in inflammatory and prothrombotic markers within 4 h after completion of a race (5). Increases in cTnI were also observed (6). However, no evidence of microinfarction was found by sestamibi imaging, nor was evidence of left ventricular dysfunction found by B-natriuretic peptide testing (6). Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), measured by the albumin cobalt-binding (ACB) test (7), is reported to predict subsequent cTnI results for patients presenting with symptoms of acute coronary syndromes. Furthermore, studies that included percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty as a model of transient myocardial ischemia have demonstrated that serum IMA concentrations, as measured by the ACB test, were increased very early after an ischemic event (8); thus, IMA may be a very early indicator of myocardial ischemia before necrosis. To test this hypothesis in healthy persons at very low risk for cardiac disease but at high risk for skeletal muscle damage, we studied the appearance and clearance characteristics of the IMA marker compared with cTnI, cTnT, and myoglobin in runners after a marathon race. Nineteen Caucasian runners, …
Chemical composition and energy value of the body, fatty acid composition of adipose tissue, and liver and kidney size in the horse.

A study was made of the chemical composition and energy value of the whole, empty body, and of the relative size of certain organs in 11 ponies ranging in full-body weight from 81 to 259 kg. The fatty acid composition of various adipose tissues was examined in three ponies.Ingesta-free body weight (Y) was found to be highly predictively related (r2 = 0·) to the full-body weight (X) in accordance with the equation, Y = 0·9678X–10·41. The gastrointestinal contents constituted 9·65 ± 3·44% of the full-body weight.Despite the heterogeneous nature of the population examined and the small range in body fatness (6·6% to 18·9% of ether-extractable lipids in the empty body), 93·3 % of the variation in the concentration of body fat was associated with the variation in the concentration of water. The mean fat-free, empty body contained 70·7 % of water, 22·6 % of protein and 6·0 % of ash. Of the variation in the weights of water, fat, protein, ash and energy, 97·0%, 64·5%, 91·0%, 85·2% and 87·0%, respectively, were ascribable to the variation in empty-body weight.For the conglomerate body, the calorific values of protein and fat were 5·381 and 9·311 kcal/g, respectively.The ranges for the mean percentage contents of major individual acids in the fatty acids of five adipose tissues were: oleic, 29·5–33·3; palmitic, 26·1–28·0; linoleic, 17·1–24·0; palmitoleic, 6·2–9·5; and linolenic, 3·8–10·2. In one animal the depot fats contained relatively high concentrations (8·6–12·0 %) of linolenic acid; the concentrations of palmitic and linoleic acids were correspondingly lower than those of the depot fats of the other horses.Tissue weights of various segments of the gastrointestinal tract were linear functions of body weight. About 87 % and 82 % of the variation in the weights of liver and kidneys respectively, was associated with the variation in full-body weight.
A nested real-time PCR assay for the quantification of Plasmodium falciparum DNA extracted from dried blood spots

Background: As public health efforts seek to eradicate malaria, there has been an emphasis on eliminating low-density parasite reservoirs in asymptomatic carriers. As such, diagnosing submicroscopic Plasmodium infections using PCR-based techniques has become important not only in clinical trials of malaria vaccines and therapeutics, but also in active malaria surveillance campaigns. However, PCR-based quantitative assays that rely on nucleic acid extracted from dried blood spots (DBS) have demonstrated lower sensitivity than assays that use cryopreserved whole blood as source material. Methods: The density of Plasmodium falciparum asexual parasites was quantified using genomic DNA extracted from dried blood spots (DBS) and the sensitivity of two approaches was compared: quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) targeting the P. falciparum 18S ribosomal RNA gene, either with an initial conventional PCR amplification prior to qPCR (nested qPCR), or without an initial amplification (qPCR only). Parasite densities determined by nested qPCR, qPCR only, and light microscopy were compared. Results: Nested qPCR results in 10-fold higher sensitivity (0.5 parasites/μl) when compared to qPCR only (five parasites/ul). Among microscopy-positive samples, parasite densities calculated by nested qPCR correlated strongly with microscopy for both asymptomatic (Pearson’s r =0.58, P <0.001) and symptomatic (Pearson’s r =0.70, P <0.0001) P. falciparum infections. Conclusion: Nested qPCR improves the sensitivity for the detection of P. falciparum blood-stage infection from clinical DBS samples. This approach may be useful for active malaria surveillance in areas where submicroscopic asymptomatic infections are prevalent.
Effects of enhanced summer monsoons, nitrogen deposition and soil disturbance on Larrea tridentata productivity and subsequent herbivory in the Mojave Desert

Important global change factors in the Mojave Desert include altered precipitation, nitrogen deposition and soil disturbance. We examined the effects of enhanced summer monsoons, nitrogen deposition, and decreased nitrogen inputs via soil disturbance on Larrea tridentata productivity, reproduction, and herbivory. Larrea growth increased with summer monsoons in the dry years of 2004 and 2006, while Larrea growth decreased with summer monsoons in the wet year of 2005. Contrary to predictions, nitrogen addition only increased branch production in the summer of 2005. Combined treatments of monsoons and nitrogen did not result in enhanced growth or reproduction. Disturbance, which was intended to decrease N inputs from biological soil crust, decreased stem elongation in 2005. No treatments affected Larrea reproduction or insect herbivory. Substantial branch-level herbivory by mammals was observed, which significantly increased in the fall of 2005 and 2006, particularly with enhanced monsoons. While nitrogen addition alone had no effect, the addition of water and nitrogen significantly increased branch removal. Our results suggest that increased summer monsoons and nitrogen deposition may result in only small growth increases by Larrea in the Mojave Desert. However, any biomass gains are likely to be lost due to extensive mammalian herbivory with water and nitrogen additions.
A study of low level vibrations as a power source for wireless sensor nodes

Advances in low power VLSI design, along with the potentially low duty cycle of wireless sensor nodes open up the possibility of powering small wireless computing devices from scavenged ambient power. A broad review of potential power scavenging technologies and conventional energy sources is first presented. Low-level vibrations occurring in common household and office environments as a potential power source are studied in depth. The goal of this paper is not to suggest that the conversion of vibrations is the best or most versatile method to scavenge ambient power, but to study its potential as a viable power source for applications where vibrations are present. Different conversion mechanisms are investigated and evaluated leading to specific optimized designs for both capacitive MicroElectroMechancial Systems (MEMS) and piezoelectric converters. Simulations show that the potential power density from piezoelectric conversion is significantly higher. Experiments using an off-the-shelf PZT piezoelectric bimorph verify the accuracy of the models for piezoelectric converters. A power density of 70 @mW/cm^3 has been demonstrated with the PZT bimorph. Simulations show that an optimized design would be capable of 250 @mW/cm^3 from a vibration source with an acceleration amplitude of 2.5 m/s^2 at 120 Hz.
Horizontal and Vertical Tax Competition in Florida Local Governments

This is an empirical exploration of tax competition among Florida local governments. We estimate a spatial lag reaction function for property tax rate of Florida municipal governments in 2000 and 2004. The level of ``neighborliness'' is measured as spatial distance between geographical centers of municipalities. The weight matrix excludes the municipalities locating within the same county to eliminate their common responses to higher-tier government property tax policy. By including the property tax rate levied by other local governments (counties, school districts), we find that tax competition exists for property tax among neighboring municipalities (horizontal) as well as between municipalities and other local governments (vertical). The response of municipal governments is negative to county's property tax rate but positive to school district's property tax rate.
Is surgical excision necessary for atypical ductal hyperplasia of the breast diagnosed by Mammotome

Abstract Background: Core biopsy findings of atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) underestimates the diagnosis of malignancy by 18% to 88%. Using the Mammotome biopsy technique, more accurate assessment of the lesion is possible, making selective excision of these lesions a consideration. Methods: The records of 62 patients who were found to have ADH at Mammotome biopsy and subsequently underwent excision of the lesion were reviewed. Patient data were statistically analyzed for predictors of malignancy at the time of surgical excision. Results: Of the 62 patients, 9 (15%) had malignancy at excision. Variables predicting for malignancy included markedly atypical hyperplasia and incomplete removal of calcifications at Mammotome biopsy, a previous contralateral breast cancer, and a family history of breast cancer, with a combined sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 80%. Conclusions: Mild ADH found on Mammotome, not associated with a personal or family history of breast cancer, may not need excision if all calcifications have been removed.
FisB mediates membrane fission during sporulation in Bacillus subtilis

How bacteria catalyze membrane fission during growth and differentiation is an outstanding question in prokaryotic cell biology. Here, we describe a protein (FisB, for fission protein B) that mediates membrane fission during the morphological process of spore formation in Bacillus subtilis. Sporulating cells divide asymmetrically, generating a large mother cell and smaller forespore. After division, the mother cell membranes migrate around the forespore in a phagocytic-like process called engulfment. Membrane fission releases the forespore into the mother cell cytoplasm. Cells lacking FisB are severely and specifically impaired in the fission reaction. Moreover, GFP-FisB forms dynamic foci that become immobilized at the site of fission. Purified FisB catalyzes lipid mixing in vitro and is only required in one of the fusing membranes, suggesting that FisB–lipid interactions drive membrane remodeling. Consistent with this idea, the extracytoplasmic domain of FisB binds with remarkable specificity to cardiolipin, a lipid enriched in the engulfing membranes and regions of negative curvature. We propose that membrane topology at the final stage of engulfment and FisB–cardiolipin interactions ensure that the mother cell membranes are severed at the right time and place. The unique properties of FisB set it apart from the known fission machineries in eukaryotes, suggesting that it represents a new class of fission proteins.
Managing Configuration Complexity during Deployment and Maintenance of SOA Solutions

Successful deployment and maintenance of enterprise SOA solutions involves configuring and managing several middleware software stacks. These middleware stacks have several hundreds to thousands of configuration attributes to be configured and managed. Ineffective Management of configuration information increases the cost, labor and time of troubleshooting configuration problems. The reason for it are two-folds: (a) configuration dependencies cut across different software stacks and there is no formal method to capture and consolidate them, and (b) incorrect configuration of attributes results in runtime exceptions. Correlating exceptions obtained during runtime to deployment/maintenance time configuration values is difficult as the context of the error is lost and is often not traceable. Current approaches to managing and troubleshooting problems associated with configuration information involve extensive human labor which comes at a premium. In this paper, we introduce Configuration Map (CM), which is an ordered set of configuration attributes for a deployable middleware component. Such a map when associated with exceptions helps reduce the cost of resolving configuration problems. We present several use cases and show from real life deployment scenarios that CM significantly reduces the cost of labor and time.
Eleven Coordinate Systems

The book is limited to orthogonal coordinate systems in euclidean 3-space. Skew coordinate systems do not allow separation of variables and will not be considered.
Making Meaning: A Couple’s Perspective of the Reflecting Team Process

The reflecting team (RT) process was once a common practice in couple and family therapy training programs. This qualitative case study utilized the interview process to gain understanding about a ...
Development of the Serious Illness Care Program: a randomised controlled trial of a palliative care communication intervention

Introduction: Ensuring that patients receive care that is consistent with their goals and values is a critical component of high-quality care. This article describes the protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial of a multicomponent, structured communication intervention. Methods and analysis: Patients with advanced, incurable cancer and life expectancy of <12 months will participate together with their surrogate. Clinicians are enrolled and randomised either to usual care or the intervention. The Serious Illness Care Program is a multicomponent, structured communication intervention designed to identify patients, train clinicians to use a structured guide for advanced care planning discussion with patients, ‘trigger’ clinicians to have conversations, prepare patients and families for the conversation, and document outcomes of the discussion in a structured format in the electronic medical record. Clinician satisfaction with the intervention, confidence and attitudes will be assessed before and after the intervention. Self-report data will be collected from patients and surrogates approximately every 2 months up to 2 years or until the patient’s death; patient medical records will be examined at the close of the study. Analyses will examine the impact of the intervention on the patient receipt of goal-concordant care, and peacefulness at the end of life. Secondary outcomes include patient anxiety, depression, quality of life, therapeutic alliance, quality of communication, and quality of dying and death. Key process measures include frequency, timing and quality of documented conversations.
CAD Visualization by Outsourcing

This paper describes an approach for state-of-the-art visualization in Computer Aided Design and Applications (CAD) based on connecting CAD to computer animation. Instead of replicating functionality in rapidly outdated visualization modules for each CAD software system, CAD scene is imported into an animation software system where state-of-the-art visualizations are produced. The approach of outsourcing CAD visualization to animation has the advantages of simplicity—it is easier to translate CAD scene descriptions to formats suitable for import into animation software systems than to re-implement state-of-the-art visualization techniques—, of automatic updates—as animation software advances at a rapid pace driven by popular applications in entertainment, the advances automatically benefit CAD—, and of promoting CAD visualization research— collaborations between CAD and visualization experts can focus exclusively on devising novel visualization techniques as opposed to making state-of-the-art visualization available to CAD. The approach is exemplified on the production of a high-quality visualization of the September 11 Attack on the Pentagon, based on importing FEA output data into an animation software system.
Calculation of MAC of Radioactivity in Air and Water

Fact that radiation damage is proportional to absorbed energy provides means for calculating MAC (maximum allowable concentration) values for many radioactive environmental contaminants; these calculated MAC values are based on maximum exposure rate of 300 millirem per week, corresponding to absorption of 30 ergs per gram of tissue for beta or gamma radiation.
User-Centered Design (UCD) in the Enterprise: Corporations Begin to Focus on UCD

Computer interaction communities have been talking about user-centered design (UCD) for as much as two decades. Researchers, analysts, and designers have made much progress in understanding the terms, concepts, process, tools, and document resources that facilitate this process.
“I Just Want to be a Cosmic Cowboy”: Hippies, Cowboy Code, and the Culture of a Counterculture

“Cowboys” and “Hippies” are not as different as one might think. This article explores the connections between cowboys and hippies portrayed by 1960s and 1970s countercultural musicians, moviemakers, and novelists who stressed themes of the Myth of the West and the Cowboy Code. These portrayals of “Cosmic Cowboys” show that many scholars generalizations about the “radical” and “leftist” nature of the 1960s “counterculture” break down under close inspection.
Taxing Contingent Attorneys' Fees: Many Courts Are Getting It Wrong

In this report, Polsky addresses the controversial issue of whether the contingent attorneys' fee portion of a taxable recovery is included in, or excluded from, the claimant's gross income. Several courts have concluded that the contingent fee portion is excluded from the claimant's gross income. In reaching their conclusions, these courts determined that contingent fee arrangements operate to transfer a portion of the claimant's claim to the attorney for tax purposes. Polsky concludes that these courts erroneously neglected to apply section 83 to this transfer. Had they applied section 83, he contends, these courts would have concluded that the contingent fee portion must be included in the claimant's gross income.
The Formal Description of Natural Languages

As we mentioned in Chapter 1, the modern theory of formal grammars was in large part initiated by Chomsky’s analysis of the generative power of natural languages, the languages of everyday human usage. In this chapter and the next we will explore in more detail just what formal power natural languages seem to have, and how this is captured in contemporary linguistic theories. We will see that there is no easy answer to the question, What is the generative power of natural languages? There is still some disagreement, in fact, over whether natural languages are recursive or not.
On some new variational formulations and finite element models in classical elastoplasticity

The paper deals with the systematic development of variational methods and associated finite element schemes for the approximate analysis of elastoplastic continua. The major difference between these novel models and existing ones consists in treating the yield condition as an a posteriori (‘natural’) constraint and not as an a priori (‘essential’) constraint. The advantages of this approach over existing ones are pointed out and discussed from a theoretical and a computational standpoint as well.
Multiple-line single-reservoir automatic cardiotomy blood return system.

Summary A cardiotomy blood return system has been described that provides variable but constant suction for use in conjunction with cardiopulmonary bypass pumps. This unit consists of a single vacuum reservoir supplied by constant vacuum provided by large regulated leakage into a high capacity vacuum line. Several suction lines of smaller diameter than the main supply line may be opened and closed without significant alteration of the reservoir vacuum. The system has been used routinely in conjunction with a vacuum-assisted venous return bypass pump during correction of major cardiac anomalies. The unit is advantageous over the commonly used systems because of cost, ease of operation, sterilization, and maintenance, plus the ability to quantitate cardiotomy blood return.
Stimulation of Biological Uptake of Heavy Metals

This research was conducted to investigate the relative capabilities of unacclimated, acclimated, and cysteine-cystine-stimulated aerobic cultures to remove heavy metals. Loss of organism viability was observed at metal concentrations above 30 mg/L, however, loss of cell viability did not affect metal uptake. Metal-complexing capacities from 0.041 to 2.13 mg/mg protein were observed. Metal removal from binary and ternary mixtures exceeded those of single metals. Surprisingly, culture acclimation resulted in reduced metal uptake. However, a cysteine-cystine-stimulated culture had substantially increased metal-removal capabilities possibly due to the synthesis of metallothionein-like proteins. Biopolymers of the unacclimated organisms had an affinity for metal binding of the order: Cu > Pb > Cd. This research points to the feasibility of in-vitro detoxification of high metal-content hazardous wastes by cell materials derived from cysteine-cystine-stimulated chemostat cultures. Coupling in-vitro metal complexation with metal leaching from biosolids could provide an opportunity for recycling hazardous heavy metals.
Hierarchical Size Scaling during Multicellular Growth and Development

Multicellular organisms must regulate their growth across the diverse length scales of biological organization, but how this growth is controlled from organelle to body, while coordinating interdependent functions at each scale, remains poorly understood. We utilized the C. elegans worm intestine as a model system to identify distinct allometric scaling laws, revealing that the growth of individual structures is differentially regulated during development. We show that the volume of the nucleolus, a subcellular organelle, is directly proportional (isometric) to cell size during larval development. In contrast to findings in a variety of other systems, the size of the nucleus grows more slowly and is hypoallometric to the cell. We further demonstrate that the relative size of the nucleolus, the site of ribosome biogenesis, is predictive of the growth rate of the entire worm. These results highlight the importance of subcellular size for organism-level function in multicellular organisms.
Development of the WRF-CO2 4DVar assimilation system

Regional atmospheric CO 2 inversions commonly use Lagrangian particle trajectory model simulations to calculate the required influence function. To provide an alternative, we developed an adjoint based four-dimensional variational (4DVar) assimilation system, WRF-CO2 4DVar. This system is developed based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model system, including WRF-Chem, WRFPLUS, and WRFDA. In WRF-CO2 4DVR, CO 2 is modeled as a tracer and its feedback to meteorology is ignored. This configuration allows most WRF physical parameterizations to be used in the assimilation system without incurring a large amount of code development. WRF-CO2 4DVar solves for the optimized CO 2 emission scaling factors in a Bayesian framework. Two variational optimization schemes are implemented for the system: the first uses the L-BFGS-B and the second uses the Lanczos conjugate gradient (CG) in an incremental approach. We modified WRFPLUS forward, tangent linear, and adjoint models to include CO 2 related processes. The system is tested by simulations over a domain covering the continental United States at 48 km × 48 km grid spacing. The accuracy of the tangent linear and adjoint models are assessed by comparing against finite difference sensitivity. The system's effectiveness for CO 2 inverse modeling is tested using pseudo-observation data. The results of the sensitivity and inverse modeling tests demonstrate the potential usefulness of WRF-CO2 4DVar for regional CO 2 inversions.
NeuroSensor: A 3D image sensor with integrated neural accelerator

3D integration provides opportunities to design high-bandwidth and low-power CMOS image sensors (CIS) [1–4]. The 3D stacking of pixel tier, peripheral tier, memory tier(s), and compute tier(s) enables high degree of parallel processing. Also, each tier can be designed in different technology nodes (heterogeneous integration) to further improve power-efficiency. This paper presents a case study of a smart 3D image sensor with integrated neuro-inspired computing for intelligent vision processing. Hardware acceleration of neuro-inspired computing has received much attention in recent years for recognition and classification [5]. We present the physical design of NeuroSensor, a 3D CIS with an integrated convolutional neural network (CNN) accelerator. The rationale for our approach is that 3D integration of sensor, memory, and computing will effectively harness the inherent parallelism in neural algorithms. We design the NeuroSensor considering different complexities of CNN platform, ranging from only feature extraction to complete classification, and study the trade-offs between complexity, performance, and power.
Replication and refinement of a vaginal microbial signature of preterm birth in two racially distinct cohorts of US women

Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Previous studies have suggested that the maternal vaginal microbiota contributes to the pathophysiology of PTB, but conflicting results in recent years have raised doubts. We conducted a study of PTB compared with term birth in two cohorts of pregnant women: one predominantly Caucasian (n = 39) at low risk for PTB, the second predominantly African American and at high-risk (n = 96). We profiled the taxonomic composition of 2,179 vaginal swabs collected prospectively and weekly during gestation using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Previously proposed associations between PTB and lower Lactobacillus and higher Gardnerella abundances replicated in the low-risk cohort, but not in the high-risk cohort. High-resolution bioinformatics enabled taxonomic assignment to the species and subspecies levels, revealing that Lactobacillus crispatus was associated with low risk of PTB in both cohorts, while Lactobacillus iners was not, and that a subspecies clade of Gardnerella vaginalis explained the genus association with PTB. Patterns of cooccurrence between L. crispatus and Gardnerella were highly exclusive, while Gardnerella and L. iners often coexisted at high frequencies. We argue that the vaginal microbiota is better represented by the quantitative frequencies of these key taxa than by classifying communities into five community state types. Our findings extend and corroborate the association between the vaginal microbiota and PTB, demonstrate the benefits of high-resolution statistical bioinformatics in clinical microbiome studies, and suggest that previous conflicting results may reflect the different risk profile of women of black race.