cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Retail E-Commerce Security Status among Fortune 500 Corporations.

The authors assessed the Fortune 500 corporations’ retail e-commerce security to identify their strengths and weaknesses for improvement. They used online content analysis, information security auditing, and network security mapping for data collection and analysis. The findings indicate that most sites posted security policies; however, only one third stated what security measures were in action. Second, all of the sites secured My Account login with secure Sockets Layer Encryption, but only 16% limited 3 attempts of login access. Third, although the sites had most of their Internet ports filtered or behind firewalls, nearly one third of the sites’ computer operating systems were detected from the few open ports.
Seeding endothelium on canine arterial prostheses--the size of the inoculum.

Nineteen dogs were studied to determine the minimum length of saphenous vein which will yield sufficient endothelium to line arterial prostheses interposed in the infrarenal aorta. Knitted Dacron grafts preclotted by the Sauvage technique were seeded by endothelial cells mechanically harvested from lengths of autogenous saphenous vein varying from 3 to 150 mm. After 1 month, the grafts were removed; the percentage of clot-free surface was determined; the inner surface area of the grafts was calculated (Ag), and the linings were examined histologically. The inner surface areas of the donor vein (Av) and the installed graft (Ag) were computed. The percentage of clot-free surface was 87.6 ± 9.4 in dogs in which the ratio of the area of the vein to that of the graft (Av/Ag) was greater than 0.425 as compared to 25.9 ± 25.9 in others (P 0.425 had thinner inner capsules (217 ± 99 versus 480 ± 222 μm, P < 0.0005). We conclude that the amount of venous surface necessary to provide endothelium to line an arterial prosthesis using these techniques is slightly less than half the area of the graft to be lined. The size of undistributed venous endothelial cells was used to calculate the expected cell yield. In nine additional dogs the number of endothelial cells in the suspensions were compared to Av. If all cells were harvested and seeded successfully, the Av/Ag ratio might be lowered from 0.425 to 0.031.
Crossing the threshold: gene flow, dominance and the critical level of standing genetic variation required for adaptation to novel environments.

Genetic architecture plays an important role in the process of adaptation to novel environments. One example is the role of allelic dominance, where advantageous recessive mutations have a lower probability of fixation than advantageous dominant mutations. This classic observation, termed ‘Haldane's sieve’, has been well explored theoretically for single isolated populations adapting to new selective regimes. However, the role of dominance is less well understood for peripheral populations adapting to novel environments in the face of recurrent and maladaptive gene flow. Here, we use a combination of analytical approximations and individual-based simulations to explore how dominance influences the likelihood of adaptation to novel peripheral environments. We demonstrate that in the face of recurrent maladaptive gene flow, recessive alleles can fuel adaptation only when their frequency exceeds a critical threshold within the ancestral range.
A fresh(man) treatment of determinants

(1989). A Fresh(man) Treatment of Determinants. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 96, No. 10, pp. 915-920.
A seasonal-scale climatological analysis correlating spring tornadic activity with antecedent fall-winter drought in the southeastern United States

Using rain gauge and satellite-based rainfall climatologies and the NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1952–2007), this study found a statistically significant tendency for fall–winter drought conditions to be correlated with below-normal tornado days the following spring in north Georgia (i.e. 93% of the years) and other regions of the Southeast. Non-drought years had nearly twice as many tornado days in the study area as drought years and were also five to six times more likely to have multiple tornado days. Individual tornadic events are largely a function of the convective-mesoscale thermodynamic and dynamic environments, thus the study does not attempt to overstate predictability. Yet, the results may provide seasonal guidance in an analogous manner to the well known Sahelian rainfall and Cape Verde hurricane activity relationships.
Teacher Bridge: Creating a Community of Teacher Developers

As teachers gain practical experience, they develop best practices, often exploring and refining personal innovations as part of their pedagogy. However, many of these good ideas are practiced in isolation - there is little infrastructure for sharing and knowledge management in schools. We describe Teacher Bridge, a suite of tools and an associated online community for teachers' professional development. Teachers can use these tools to build online activities for their students and for themselves. Because the teachers develop these activities as part of an online community, the resulting content can be explored and used by other educators, either in direct support of their own teaching goals, or as a model for related activities. We report on the design process we followed to create Teacher Bridge and discuss how we have used it to create an online community of teacher developers
Co-Teaching in Inclusive Classrooms: A Metasynthesis of Qualitative Research

T: Thirty-two qualitative investigations of co-teaching in inclusive classrooms were in- cluded in a metasynthesis employing qualitative research integration techniques. It was concluded that co-teachers generally supported co-teaching, although a number of important needs were iden- tified, including planning time, student skill level, and training; many of these needs were linked to administrative support. The dominant co-teaching role was found to be "one teach, one assist," in classrooms characterized by traditional instruction, even though this method is not highly rec- ommended in the literature. The special education teacher was often observed to play a subordinate role. Techniques often recommended for special education teachers, such as peer mediation, strategy instruction, mnemonics, and training of study skills, self-advocacy skills, and self-monitoring, were infrequently observed.
Hierarchical Metadata Driven View Dependency in Spatial Data Warehouses

Recently, tremendous growth in the collection and use of spatial information can be seen. To efficiently and effectively analyze the spatial data and their interactive relationships, there is a need for a spatial data warehouse (SDW) that should be carefully constructed to support the spatial data analysis for decision support purposes. In an SDW, spatial objects represented as central measures are described by spatial metadata represented as dimensions, and some of dimensions have concept hierarchies manually or automatically built. The spatial metadata with built-in concept hierarchies present the spatial data at different abstract levels, which defines a sequence of mappings from lower-level views to higher-level or more general views. In this paper, we investigate the issue of using commonly used spatial metadata to construct a spatial view dependency framework in a 3D platform, which is used to express and quantify dependencies among spatial views. We also show the extendibility of the 3D framework if more spatial metadata considered or more complex concept hierarchies involved. We indicate that a spatial view dependency is mainly used for selective materialization of views to reduce query response time, which is a major query optimization technique for an SDW
“Any Questions?”: Investigating the Nature of Understanding‐Checks in the Language Classroom

Insofar as effective instruction is contingent upon the degree to which it is tailored to learner understandings in situ, developing a firmer grasp of how understanding-checks work in the reality of the classroom is integral to educators' knowledge of teacher practices and, ultimately, their ability to implement effective teacher training. The purpose of this article is to produce a detailed account of how yes-no questions (e.g., “Do you have any questions?”) work as understanding-checks in the language classroom. Based on 28 hours of interaction in an English as a second language classroom, this conversation analytic study shows how such questions are oriented to by the participants in two major sequential environments and, in particular, how they are not always produced and treated as inviting questions. Findings of this study provide an empirical basis for enhancing the efficacy of pedagogical interaction.
Synthesis of mild–hard AAO templates for studying magnetic interactions between metal nanowires

The sequential application of mild and hard anodization techniques in the fabrication of porous alumina membranes allows one to decrease the number of continuous pores in anodized aluminium oxide (AAO) templates. Initially, standard mild anodization techniques were used to create porous templates with 100 nm interpore distances and 70 nm pore diameters. Hard anodization treatment on the same membrane then produced interpore distances of about 265 nm with diameters of 110 nm. At the interface between the two anodization steps, many of the mild-side pores were terminated to create a mild–hard membrane (Mi–Ha AAO) where the functional interpore distances were 200–300 nm. Growth (electrodeposition) of nickel and cobalt nanowires in the various pore structures of the mild and hard sides of the Mi–Ha AAO templates allows one to probe magnetic interactions between nanowires and compares them to wires grown in standard mild templates (Mi-AAO). The magnetic properties of nanowires in Mi–Ha AAO and Mi-AAO showed distinct differences in the squareness of hysteresis loops and coercivity both as a function of pore structure and magnetic component. In general, the squareness of the hysteresis loops increased with aspect ratio and greater interpore distance. Coercivity also showed an increase with aspect ratio, but varied differently with interpore distance for Ni and Co. These various magnetic behaviors are discussed with respect to crystalline structure, morphology, and interactions of adjacent sets of nanowires.
Under the microscope: Assessing surgical aptitude of otolaryngology residency applicants

Objectives/Hypothesis: Application to otolaryngology residency is a highly competitive process. Programs identify the best candidates by evaluating academic performance in medical school, board scores, research experience, performance during an interview, and letters of recommendation. Unfortunately, none of these metrics completely assess an applicant's capacity to learn and perform surgical skills. We describe a direct assessment of an applicant's ability for rapid surgical skill acquisition, manual dexterity, and response to stress that can be performed during the interview process. Study Design: A retrospective study at an academic otolaryngology residency program. Methods: After orientation, applicants were seated at a microsurgical training station and allotted 20 minutes to suture an incision using 10-0 nylon suture on a latex practice card. Their performance was graded using a 1-to-5 scoring system for the following categories: microscope use, respect for tissue, instrument handling, knot tying and suture control, skills acquisition, and attitude toward the exercise. Applicants were given some instruction and assessed on their ability to incorporate what they had learned into their technique. Results: The average total applicant score was 23.2, standard deviation (SD) 3.6 (maximum 30); 13.4% of applicants scored 1 SD above the mean. Conclusions: The value of applicant screening tests in predicting surgical competency is controversial. We describe a direct assessment tool that may prove useful in identifying outliers, both high and low, to aid in final applicant ranking.
Submicron Heterostructures of Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors

The successful thin film growth of diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) by molecular beam epitaxy has “nucleated” a new field of research in which the DMS material is incorporated in a variety of novel superlattice and quantum well structures. The observation of reflection high energy electron diffraction intensity oscillations in ZnSe and MnSe has enabled the fabrication of ultrathin layered structures involving the “hypothetical” zincblende magnetic semiconductor MnSe. The expected antiferromagnetic ordering of MnSe is increasingly inhibited as the MnSe layer thickness is reduced from ten monolayers to the quasi-2D limit of one monolayer. Further developments include new observations of the epitaxial growth and nucleation of ZnSe, utilizing GaAs epilayers as the substrate material.
Psychosocial outcome of children evaluated for short stature.

Objective: To assess the psychosocial functioning of adults who were evaluated as children for short stature and were not treated with human growth hormone. Design: Inception cohort study. Setting: Hospital-based pediatric endocrinology clinic. Participants: From 1975 to 1980, medical record review indicated that 181 of the children referred to our clinic for concerns about short stature were non–growth hormone deficient. In 1992 and 1993, we were able to recruit 35 of these patients for a follow-up study. Eligible subjects were at least 18 years of age at the time of follow-up. Main Outcome Measures: Standardized self-report questionnaires assessed various domains of psychosocial adjustment. Also, a brief test of intellectual functioning was administered and subjects underwent a semistructured in-person interview to evaluate pragmatic functioning and experiences associated with short stature. Results: Few significant differences between the study sample and standardization samples were found on measures of psychosocial and intellectual functioning. Withingroup childhood height during the first evaluation appointment was not significantly associated with most adult measures of psychosocial adjustment. Shorter adult stature was significantly associated with lower educational achievement, lower self-esteem, and greater emotional distress. Conclusions: The absence of significant psychosocial distress or impairment in these subjects brings into question one basis for hormonal treatment for non–growth hormone deficient short stature; that short stature in childhood is likely to lead to psychological dysfunction in adulthood. The results, however, also suggest that shorter stature in adulthood may constitute a psychosocial stressor, increasing vulnerability across several domains. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1997;151:1017-1023
Pseudofam: the pseudogene families database

Pseudofam (http://pseudofam.pseudogene.org) is a database of pseudogene families based on the protein families from the Pfam database. It provides resources for analyzing the family structure of pseudogenes including query tools, statistical summaries and sequence alignments. The current version of Pseudofam contains more than 125000 pseudogenes identified from 10 eukaryotic genomes and aligned within nearly 3000 families (approximately one-third of the total families in PfamA). Pseudofam uses a large-scale parallelized homology search algorithm (implemented as an extension of the PseudoPipe pipeline) to identify pseudogenes. Each identified pseudogene is assigned to its parent protein family and subsequently aligned to each other by transferring the parent domain alignments from the Pfam family. Pseudogenes are also given additional annotation based on an ontology, reflecting their mode of creation and subsequent history. In particular, our annotation highlights the association of pseudogene families with genomic features, such as segmental duplications. In addition, pseudogene families are associated with key statistics, which identify outlier families with an unusual degree of pseudogenization. The statistics also show how the number of genes and pseudogenes in families correlates across different species. Overall, they highlight the fact that housekeeping families tend to be enriched with a large number of pseudogenes.
Combination hormonal, chemotherapy and radiotherapy in vitro: implications for therapy in vivo.

Abstract Hormonal therapy in breast cancer is widely employed, but its mechanism of action is poorly understood. We therefore studied the effect of 17β-estradiol (E2) and tamoxifen on an estrogen receptor-positive human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7). Neither E2 nor tamoxifen was significantly cytotoxic, even at pharmacologic doses. Physiologic doses of E2 enhanced proliferation, shortened overall cell cycle time and increased the proportion of cells in DNA synthesis. Pharmacologic concentrations of E2 decreased proliferation as well as the proportion of S-phase cells. When S-phase agents were used (ARA-C and MTX), physiologic concentrations of E2 enhanced killing whereas pharmacologic doses did not. Radiation survival curve parameters were unaffected by either concentration of the hormone. Sublethal (two-dose) damage repair was unaffected as well. The combination of S-phase agents with pharmacologic doses of hormones may lower the therapeutic ratio, whereas more physiologic concentrations may enhance the therapeutic efficacy of these agents.
Resolving crustal thickness using SS waveform stacks

We image lithospheric interfaces using variations in the character of SS waveform stacks, a method we term SS Lithospheric Interface Profiling (SSLIP). The variations are caused by reflected phases, that is, underside reflections (SS precursors) and topside multiples (SS reverberations), created at velocity discontinuities near the midpoint of the SS ray path. Stacks from continental versus oceanic bounce point regions produce distinctly different SS waveforms, consistent with the large continent/ocean difference in crustal thickness. To investigate the potential of SS waveform stacks to constrain Moho depths under continents, we develop a method to fit continental bounce point stacks with a reference SS waveform convolved with a crustal operator. The SSLIP inferred Moho depths agree with the CRUST 2.0 model in Asia for those regions where the SS bounce point density is the highest. The SSLIP depths are correlated (correlation coefficient 0.82) with the CRUST 2.0 values averaged over sample bins of 10° radius. The SSLIP method has broad lateral resolution in comparison to most other methods for resolving crustal thickness, but has the potential to sample regions where station coverage may be sparse.
Prospective associations of social self-control with drug use among youth from regular and alternative high schools.

Background This study examined the one year prospective associations between adolescent social self-control and drug outcomes (cigarette use, alcohol use, marijuana use, hard drug use, and problem drug use) among adolescents from regular and continuation high schools. In our previous cross-sectional study, poor social self-control was found to be associated with higher drug use, controlling for 12 personality disorder categories. In this study, we attempted to find out (a) whether lack of social self-control predicted drug use one year later, and (b) whether drug use at baseline predicted social self-control one year later.
Antigen-dependent Proliferation of CD4+ CD25+ Regulatory T Cells In Vivo

The failure of CD25+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) to proliferate after T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation in vitro has lead to their classification as naturally anergic. Here we use Tregs expressing a transgenic TCR to show that despite anergy in vitro, Tregs proliferate in response to immunization in vivo. Tregs also proliferate and accumulate locally in response to transgenically expressed tissue antigen whereas their CD25− counterparts are depleted at such sites. Collectively, these data suggest that the anergic state that characterizes CD25+ Tregs in vitro may not accurately reflect their responsiveness in vivo. These observations support a model in which Treg population dynamics are shaped by the local antigenic environment.
The Political Economy of State Building in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper explores the state-building process in the developing world through an application of the European-inspired predatory theory of the state. Predatory theory relies heavily on war as a catalyst for state-building activities, but since it is such a rare event in the developing world, the paper turns to the literature on interstate rivalry for a theoretical and empirical substitute. The paper investigates whether this modification of predatory theory is portable to a spatial-temporal domain outside of early modern Europe by applying it in the context of the postcolonial developing states of sub-Saharan Africa. This is accomplished by examining the effects of both internal and external rivals on state extractive capacity in the region from 1975 to 2000. A series of pooled, cross-sectional time-series analyses suggest that both interstate and intrastate rivals affect state extractive capacity much as predatory theory would expect. However, predation to enhance state revenue in Africa has not set in m...
Longitudinal and Secular Trends in Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior During Adolescence

OBJECTIVE. There is little epidemiologic research on longitudinal and secular trends in weight-related health behaviors throughout the stages of adolescence. In particular, few data are available to assess secular trends in various sedentary behaviors. The objective of this research was to investigate longitudinal and secular trends in physical activity and sedentary behavior in a large, diverse cohort of adolescents. METHODS. Project EAT-II is a 5-year longitudinal study (N = 2516) that includes 2 cohorts that allow for the observation of longitudinal changes from early to midadolescence (junior high to high school; n = 806; mean baseline age: 12.8 ± 0.8 years) and mid- to late adolescence (high school to post–high school; n = 1710; mean baseline age: 15.8 ± 0.8 years). EAT-II also examined secular trends in health behavior from 1999 to 2004 in midadolescence. The main outcome measures of the mixed-model regression analyses used in this research were self-reported weekly hours of moderate to vigorous physical activity, television/video viewing, and leisure-time computer use. RESULTS. Our findings indicate substantial longitudinal changes in moderate to vigorous physical activity, particularly among girls (decreasing 5.9–4.9 hours/week from early to midadolescence and 5.1–3.5 hours/week from mid- to late adolescence), and leisure-time computer use, particularly among boys (increasing 11.4–15.2 hours/week from early to midadolescence and 10.4–14.2 hours/week from mid- to late adolescence). Secular trends further indicate dramatic increases in midadolescent computer use from 1999 to 2004; girls increased from 8.8 to 11.1 hours/week, and boys increased from 10.4 to 15.2 hours/week. CONCLUSIONS. These adolescents experienced unfavorable shifts in activity patterns, such as longitudinal decreases in moderate to vigorous physical activity, coupled with longitudinal and secular increases in leisure-time computer use. Developing effective health promotion strategies that address a wide array of changing behavioral patterns will be important in promoting long-term health and active lifestyles among adolescents and young adults.
Applicability criterion for semiclassical Bohmian dynamics

In this paper we develop a criterion of the applicability for the trajectory-based semiclassical propagation methods that are exact for Gaussian wavepackets in locally quadratic potentials. The error estimate takes into account a deviation of the wavefunction from the Gaussian form due to the anharmonicity of a potential. The derivation is based on the time-dependent noncoherent solutions of the Schrodinger equation for a general quadratic potential that form a complete orthonormal time-dependent basis. The anharmonicity is treated as a time-dependent cubic perturbation, which is further related to the nonlinearity of a force acting on trajectories. The criterion is expressed in terms of scalar products of the average force, its first moments, and dispersion of the wavefunction and is efficient in the context of dynamics with the Bohmian trajectories. We give an application for the Bohmian dynamics with the approximate quantum potential, for the Gaussian wavepacket dynamics and for the semiclassical initial value representation propagator. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2004
The diving physiology of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). III. Thermoregulation at depth.

During diving, marine mammals initiate a series of cardiovascular changes that include bradycardia and decreased peripheral circulation. Because heat transfer from thermal windows located in peripheral sites of these mammals depends on blood flow, such adjustments may limit their thermoregulatory capabilities during submergence. Here, we demonstrate how the thermoregulatory responses of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are coordinated with the diving response. Heart rate, skin temperature and heat transfer from the dorsal fin and flank were measured while dolphins rested on the water surface, stationed 5–50 m under water and floated at the surface immediately following a dive. The results showed that heat flow ranged from 42.9+/−7.3 to 126.2+/−23.1 W m(−)(2) and varied with anatomical site and diving activity. Upon submergence, heat flow declined by 35 % from the dorsal fin and by 24 % from the flank. An immediate increase in heat flow to levels exceeding pre-dive values occurred at both sites upon resurfacing. Changes in heart rate during diving paralleled the thermoregulatory responses. Mean pre-dive heart rate (102.0+/−2.6 beats min(−)(1), N=26) decreased by 63.4 % during dives to 50 m and immediately returned to near resting levels upon resurfacing. These studies indicate that heat dissipation by dolphins is attenuated during diving. Rather than challenge the diving response, heat transfer is delayed until post-dive periods when the need for oxygen conservation is reduced.
Spatiotemporal partitioning of computational structures onto configurable computing machines

A complete computing system supports a design path from problem description to implementation. The term configurable computing refers to complete computing systems that support the development of applications for configurable computing machines. Configurable computing systems generally include a microprocessor-based host, a configurable processing array and the tools necessary for capturing the problem and mapping it into software for the host and configurations for the hardware. This work proposes a framework for a set of platform independent configurable computing tools. The proposed tools temporally partition large designs, described in a textual language, into stages that can be mapped onto the computing array. The temporal partitions are spatially partitioned to support multiple FPGA arrays. These results are then given to platform specific backends that convert the tool's description of the design into functional FPGA configurations, hardware controllers and host-based control code.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Experimental study and finite element analysis of the injection blow molding process

A finite element numerical analysis of preform inflation associated with the injection blow molding process has been developed using a neo-Hookean constitutive model. The analysis is capable of predicting final wall thickness distributions for axisymmetric mold geometries. Experimental studies were conducted on a Uniloy injection blow molding machine (Model 189-3 and Model 122). A twelve ounce (355 mL) cylindrical bottle mold was instrumented with contact sensors, thermocouples, and pressure transducers. Visualization studies of the inflation process were performed using specialized tooling and high-speed video cameras. The experimental studies provide justification for analyzing the deformation by means of a static elastic approach. The predicted wall thickness distribution is in reasonable agreement with the experimental data. Nonuniformities in the temperature distribution in the preform were found to have the most significant impact on the inflation behavior and the resulting wall thickness.
Spontaneous Cardiac Tumors in Eight Rats

Spontaneous cardiac neoplasms were diagnosed in one Sprague-Dawley and seven Fischer 344 rats ranging in age from eight months to two years. All eight neoplasms were diagnosed as neurilemmomas. One neoplasm was composed of dense Antoni type A tissue with Verocay body formation, while seven others were composed principally of loose Antoni type B tissue. No specific site predilection was found.
Breeder Age and Zinc Source in Broiler Breeder Hen Diets on Progeny Characteristics at Hatching

SUMMARY Metabolic, immune, and physical status of chicks can impact the incidence of morbidity and mortality of broilers during the first week of production. Assessments of chick quality are made primarily by subjective observations with few quantitative measurements. Given a better understanding of how broiler breeder hen age and nutrient intake may influence progeny physiology, certain actions can be taken to improve chick quality. This experiment evaluated the effects of broiler breeder age, dietary zinc source, and their interaction on the physiological characteristics of chicks at hatching. Caged broiler breeder hens were provided 1 of 3 diets from hatch through 65 wk of age. All experimental diets consisted of 160 ppm supplemental zinc from inorganic ZnSO4, AvailaZn zinc-amino acid complex (ZnAA) or a mixture of ZnAA and ZnSO4 (ZnAA + ZnSO4, 80 ppm zinc from each). Incubation length, relative organ weights, and carbohydrate status were measured in chicks from hens at 29, 41, 53, and 65 wk of age. The variation in hatch time among eggs set together was not influenced by hen age, but mean incubation length decreased from 29 to 53 wk of age and subsequently increased from 53 to 65 wk. Seasonal temperature changes may have caused confounding effects on incubation length. Chick heart glycogen declined as hens aged, and liver lactate was lowest in progeny from 65-wk-old hens. Relative yolk sac weight and relative heart weight were lowest in progeny from 29-wk-old hens. These data indicate that underdevelopment of supply organs may limit the performance of some chicks from young hens. Supplemental zinc source in breeder hen diets did not influence chick physiology at hatching.
Spectra of Spontaneous Growth-Dependent and Adaptive Mutations at ebgR

A comparison of the spectra of spontaneous growth-dependent and adaptive mutations in ebgR shows that both spectra are dominated by insertion sequence (IS)-mediated mutations. The difference between growth-dependent mutations (61% IS mediated) and adaptive mutations (80% IS mediated) is highly significant (P < 0.0001). In contrast, the spectra of growth-dependent and adaptive non-IS-mediated mutations do not differ from each other and therefore do not provide support for the hypothesis that adaptive and growth-dependent mutations arise by substantially different mechanisms.
Emerging concepts in glioma biology: implications for clinical protocols and rational treatment strategies

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common primary central nervous system neoplasm, is a complex, heterogeneous disease. The recent identification of stem cells in murine tumor xenografts that were capable of recapitulating the tumor phenotype adds a new dimension of complexity to the already challenging treatment of patients with GBMs. Although specific cellular and genetic changes are commonly associated with GBM, the mechanism by which those changes occur may have a significant impact on treatment outcome. Of the many bioinformatics techniques developed in recent years, gene expression profiling has become a commonly used research tool for investigating tumor characteristics, and the development of rationally targeted molecular therapies has also accelerated following the initial success of specifically designed inhibitors in the treatment of malignancies. Despite these advances in research techniques and targeted molecular therapies, however, limited clinical impact has been achieved in the treatment of infiltrative malignancies such as GBMs. Thus, further extension in survival of patients with GBMs may require use of multiple analyses of tumors to develop tailored therapies that reflect the inter- and intratumoral heterogeneity of this disease. In this review, the authors briefly consider the potential use of expression profiling combined with mutation analysis in the development of treatment modalities to address the heterogeneity of this complex tumor phenotype.
Target Physics Scaling for Z-Pinch Inertial Fusion Energy

The Z-pinch fusion energy power plant concept [1] is based upon an X-ray driven inertial confinement fusion (ICF) capsule having a hypothetical yield of 3 GJ with an overall target gain in the range of 50-100. In the present paper, a combination of analytic arguments, results of radiation-hydrodynamic computational simulations, and empirical scalings from Z-pinch hohlraum experiments are used to demonstrate that the absorption of approximately 6 MJ of X-ray energy by the capsule and 26 MJ by the hohlraum walls of an ICF target (∼ 32 MJ total X-ray input) will be adequate to provide a 3 GJ yield. As a result, it appears that the Ref. 1 assumption of a 3 GJ thermonuclear yield with an overall target gain approaching 100 is conceptually feasible.
They're the modern-day gay bar

Men view social networks for men who have sex with men (MSM) as safe spaces.The notion of gaydar becomes obsolete in these online contexts.These networks provide control over interactions and over the sharing of information.They are especially useful for men with barriers to accessing queer offline space.They are being used for a variety of aims, including sex, friendship, and romance. There currently exist many mobile social networks for men who have sex with men (MSM), from stand-alone applications like Grindr and Jack'd, to the on-the-go versions of established websites such as Adam4Adam or Manhunt. It has become increasingly common for MSM to seek out others by means of online social networks, and for a variety of purposes. This paper explores the motivations for MSM-specific social networking use, and the sought gratifications associated with this type of computer-mediated interpersonal interaction. In an online survey yielding 143 participants, men were asked their thoughts about social networking phone applications for gay, bisexual, and other MSM. Using these data, seven categories of sought gratifications were identified: safety, control, easiness, accessibility, mobility, connectivity, and versatility.
Coagulation Factor and Theranostics: A new paradigm in Molecular Imaging

In the current issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, Nielsen et al. ([1][1]) illustrate the potentials and significant challenges of targeting cancer cells’ surface receptors for imaging and therapy. It is grossly estimated that the human body is made up of about 37 trillion cells ([2][2]).
Antiinflammatory phospholipase-A2 inhibitors. I

Abstract A novel series of dehydroabietylamine derivatives has been synthesized and shown to be inhibitors of phospholipase-A 2 (PLA 2 ). These compounds exhibit in vivo antiinflammatory activity in the rat carrageenan paw edema assay and support the concept of PLA 2 inhibition as an approach to the discovery of novel antiinflammatories.
Ultraviolet Protectants of the Gypsy Moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) Nucleopolyhedrosis Virus

Materials were evaluated which had been used previously as ultraviolet (UV) protectants or feeding stimulants for other insect pathogens. Dar-mol molasses, Shade, and Coax provided good protection at a 5% concentration. Materials were also evaluated which are active ingredients in sunscreens for human usage. All materials, with the exception of homomenthyl salicylate and 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone, at least doubled viral persistence. All p -aminobenzoic acid compounds enhanced persistence 2.2 tp 2.6-fold, whereas benzilidine sulfonic acid enhanced persistence 3.6-fold at a 5% concentration. Excellent results were obtained with benzilidine sulfonic acid, whether diet or red oak seedlings were used as the test substrates. A high positive correlation (r = + 0.84) existed between UV B absorbance (280 to 320 nm) and UV protection among the water soluble sunscreens.
Numerical Investigation of Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) Combustion with Detailed Chemical Kinetics Using On-the-Fly Reduction

An on-the-fly mechanism reduction approach is employed in this paper to integrate detailed chemical kinetics with a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code. The reduction methodology employs an instantaneous element flux analysis to identify redundant species and reactions for given local conditions. The emphasis of this work is focused on the numerical study of homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine combustion in CFD code KIVA-3V using a detailed n-heptane oxidation mechanism with 653 species and 2827 elementary reactions. The proposed on-the-fly reduction method predicts species concentrations, temperatures, and pressures with high fidelity compared to solutions obtained using the detailed mechanism. In the mean time, central processing unit (CPU) time on chemistry calculation is tremendously reduced, enabling integration of complex kinetic mechanisms in engine CFD. When detailed chemistry is combined with realistic flow simulation, accurate predictions of in-cylinder combustion behavior ...
Numerical Microscale Modeling of Solidification

In the previous chapter, the basic elements required to build a macro-solidification model were introduced. Until recently, casting properties were evaluated based on empirical correlations between the quantity of interest and some significant output parameter of the macro-model. Most commonly used are temperature and cooling rate, \(\dot{T}\). However, the revolutionary development of numerical analysis and computational technology opened the door for prediction of microstructure evolution during solidification and subsequent cooling to room temperature through models that coupled macro-transport (MT) and transformation kinetics (TK) models. This in turn made prediction of mechanical properties based on direct microstructure-property correlations possible.
Method improvement of vinegar identification rate by electronic nose

Using two different brands of Shanxi vinegar as samples, through the range analysis of determination data by electronic nose, the sample handling methods were determined, the sensors performance parameters were optimized by orthogonal experiment, and template was established. The new samples affiliations were simultaneous identified by Euclid distance, correlation, Mahalanobis distance and discriminate function analysis. Results showed that the misjudgment rate decreased from 18.2% to 5.4%, and the recognition rate increased from 81.8% to 94.6%.
Control and Follow-Up Application of Hospital Information System in Retinopathy of Prematurity

This study was performed to explore the feasibility that the system management mode of prevention treatment and follow-up for retinopathy of prematurity(ROP) in the hospital information system(HIS).It includes the following aspects,such as safe education of formal oxygen use,perfect monitoring equipment,prevention and treatment of preterm newborns with various complications,screening objects,screening time,regular retinal screening,analysis of screening results,follow-up programs and case management of HIS application systems in order to screen all the preterm newborns who meet the standards would not be left out and the whole follow up of positive cases.Thus leading to diagnose early and treat prompt to reduce blindness and improve the quality of life in preterm infants.
Detection and analysis of pathogens for preterm premature rupture of membranes

Objective To analyze the relationship between mycoplasma infection,virus infection and preterm premature rupture of membranes. Methods From June 2011 to June 2012,37 cases with preterm premature rupture of membranes( PPROM) and gestation below 34 weeks as PPROM group and 30 normal pregnant women as control group were involved in this research. Mycoplasma from cervical secretion of the above cases was cultured and liquid gene chip technology was employed for virus detection in the maternal blood. Results The positive rate of mycoplasma in PPROM group was 32. 43%,there was significant statistical difference between PPROM group and the control group( P 0. 05). Mixed infection of mycoplasma and virus was found in 6 cases in PPROM group( 16. 22%),higher than that of the control group( 2 /30,6. 67%). There were 11 hepatitis B virus infection cases,7 HSV- Ⅱ infection cases,6 rubella virus infection cases and 5 cytomegalovirus infection cases in PPROM group. While in control group,only 12 cases were found hepatitis B virus infection,without other virus positive. Non- HBV cases were found in 18 cases in PPROM group,showing significant statistical difference compared with the control group( P 0. 05). Conclusion Mycoplasma infection and virus infection maybe closely related to PPROM in pregnant women below 34- week gestation. It is of important clinical significance to strengthen pre- pregnancy examination and early treatment for preventing premature rupture of membranes and improving the living quality of preterm neonates.
Relative risks and benefits of long‐term estrogen replacement therapy: A decision analysis

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the relative risks and benefits of exogenous estrogen use among women entering the climacteric and to consider estrogen use for relief of symptoms or prevention of disease. METHODS Decision analysis was used to assess the value of estrogen replacement therapy in a hypothetical cohort of 10,000 women assumed to be age 50 years; health outcomes were extrapolated to age 75. Risk ratios for mortality and morbidity of health outcomes associated with the use of estrogen replacement therapy were based on longitudinal studies reported in the literature. RESULTS Estrogen use for 25 years would decrease fatal coronary heart disease events by 48% (567 cases), decrease deaths from hip fracture by 49% (75), increase deaths from breast cancer by 21% (39), and increase deaths from endometrial cancer by 207% (29 excess deaths). On balance, 25 years of estrogen replacement therapy in a cohort of 10,000 women would prevent 574 deaths. Further, women using estrogens for 25 years would gain 3951 quality-adjusted life years compared with women not using estrogens. Sensitivity analysis suggests that the benefits of estrogen replacement therapy outweight the risks under most assumptions. CONCLUSION In a hypothetical, population-based analysis, the health benefits of postmenopausal estrogen replacement exceed the health risks incurred. Nevertheless, clinicians must still evaluate each individual's risks and needs.
Silica ecosystem for synergistic biotransformation

Synergistical bacterial species can perform more varied and complex transformations of chemical substances than either species alone, but this is rarely used commercially because of technical difficulties in maintaining mixed cultures. Typical problems with mixed cultures on scale are unrestrained growth of one bacterium, which leads to suboptimal population ratios and lack of control over bacterial spatial distribution, which leads to inefficient substrate transport. To address these issues, we designed and produced a synthetic ecosystem by co-encapsulation in a silica gel matrix, which enabled precise control of the microbial populations and their microenvironment. As a case study, two greatly different microorganisms: Pseudomonas sp. NCIB 9816 and Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 were encapsulated. NCIB 9816 can aerobically biotransform over 100 aromatic hydrocarbons, a feat useful for synthesis of higher value commodity chemicals or environmental remediation. In our system, NCIB 9816 was used for biotransformation of naphthalene (a model substrate) into CO2 and the cyanobacterium PCC 7942 was used to provide the necessary oxygen for the biotransformation reactions via photosynthesis. A mathematical model was constructed to determine the critical cell density parameter to maximize oxygen production and was then used to maximize the biotransformation rate of the system.
Molecular Forms of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin in Serum, Urine, and Placental Extracts*†

The molecular forms of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) were assessed in serum, urine, and placental extracts by gel filtration chromatography using radioimmunoassays for hCG, hCGα, and hCGβ and a radioreceptor assay for hCG. The predominant form in all three biologic specimens was native-sized hCG. An excess of free α-subunit was also found in all three specimens. A small molecular weight fragment, reactive in the hCGβ assay, was noted in urine and placental extracts. A large molecular form, reactive in all three radioimmunoassays and in the radioreceptor assay, was found in placental extracts. This large molecular species could not be dissociated by conditions that totally dissociate hCG.
Pericles: A Biography in Context

Pericles was the most famous leader of the most famous ancient Greek democracy - and also the most controversial in his own time and ever since. Was he a brutal imperialist ready to oppress other Greeks, or a clear-eyed defender of Athens' need for power to survive in a relentlessly hostile world? How did his intellectual training in ideas that many Athenians regarded as dangerous make him the most persuasive leader Athenian democracy ever knew? Why was his personal lifestyle so idiosyncratic? How should we evaluate his responsibility for the suffering and loss of the Peloponnesian War? Thomas R. Martin's unique emphasis on the effect on Pericles of his family's notorious history, his youthful experiences as a wartime refugee, and his unusual education reveals a brilliant politician whose hyper-rationality could not, in the end, protect him or his community from tragedy.