cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ultrastructural stereologic analysis of fetal rabbit type II alveolar epithelial cells following maternal pilocarpine treatment or fasting.

We have previously reported that subcutaneous administration of 5 mg/kg pilocarpine HC1, a muscarinic agonist, to pregnant white rabbits on days 24 through 27 of gestation results in an acceleration of fetal lung maturation. In the present study the ultrastructural differences observed within alveolar type II cells of 28-day fetuses from the pilocarpine and control groups were quantified by stereologic analysis. In addition, maturational changes occurring within the lungs of 28-day fetuses obtained from pregnant rabbits which were fasted for 7 days (days 21–28) were similarly analyzed. Stereologic analysis revealed that the fetal type II cells in the pilocarpinetreated group possessed a significantly greater volume density of lamellar inclusion bodies and rough endoplasmic reticulum and a significantly smaller volume density of glycogen than did controls. The volume density values for fetal type II cells of the fasted group were, with the exception of the Golgi apparatus, found to be intermediate between those of the control and the pilocarpine-treated groups. It was also noted that a high percentage of the lamellar inclusion bodies within type II cells of the fasted group appeared morphologically abnormal, being characterized by a highly irregular outline and tightly packed lipid membranes. The results of this study substantiate and quantify our previously reported observation of accelerated maturation in pilocarpine-treated fetuses. In addition, they suggest a similar, though not as pronounced, effect of maternal fasting prior to delivery. However, the abnormal morphology of the lamellar inclusion bodies in the fasted group may reflect a qualitative change in the pulmonary surfactant produced by these fetuses.
Rotation-invariant pattern recognition using a vector reference

In this paper, we extend the method of expansion into circular harmonic functions (CHF) by using vector rather than scalar target signatures. The reference vector consists of correlation products between the reference image and individual harmonics of the CHF expansion of the reference image. The use of vectors furnishes certain advantages including the ability to detect targets in poor signal-to-noise or low-contrast environments.
Probing the Role of Promoters in Zinc Reduction of Nitrobenzene: Continuous Production of Hydroxylaminobenzene [PREPRINT]

Production of hydroxylaminobenzene (HAB) via zinc reduction of nitrobenzene (NB) is an established batch process based on aqueous electrolytic reactions involving an electrolyte as the promoter. This experimental study explored continuous production of HAB that is needed as an intermediate in a novel zinc/biocatalyst processing train, recently demonstrated by Luckarift et al. to obtain aminophenols. Experiments were conducted using a Zn packed bed to probe the role of promoters under continuous-flow conditions at a temperature of 60 °C and promoter/NB molar ratios of 0.75, 1.15, and 1.5. In addition to the conventional NH4Cl, ammonium formate and acetate were used as promoters. The best HAB yield was 95%, as compared to the batch yield of 68%. The formation of oxidized zinc species caused the packed bed to build back pressure, which appeared to enhance the selectivity of HAB/aniline. The formation of NB and ammonium/zinc complexes, as supported by voltammetric evidence, appears to be one of the key roles ...
Dynamic spectrum access as a service

Recently there have been various studies on dynamic spectrum access (DSA) approaches, e.g., opportunistic spectrum access and spectrum auction, to address spectrum scarcity and inefficient spectrum utilization caused by today's static spectrum allocation policy. In this paper, we propose a new approach, demand spectrum access as a service (DSAS), to achieve DSA. We consider a spectrum service provider that dynamically offers spectrum service to users such that the users can set up dynamic topologies for data communication, e.g., transport a bulk data flow between two nodes, or carry out a video conference among a set of nodes. Through DSAS, the precious spectrum is dynamically shared and efficiently utilized by users. In this paper, we consider two spectrum services, SameBand and DiffBand, and develop efficient online algorithms to allocate spectrum for the two services, so that users can set up dynamic topologies. The performance of the algorithms is evaluated through both analysis and simulation.
7Li NMR studies of electrochemically lithiated V2O5 xerogels

Lithium ions were electrochemically inserted into V 2 O 5 .0.5H 2 O xerogel and studied with 7 Li magic-angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Two distinct lithium environments were resolved and assigned to lithium ions occupying either interfacial or intercalated sites in the V 2 O 5 .0.5H 2 O xerogel matrix. Lithium chemical shifts, relaxation measurements, and variable-temperature (VT) MAS NMR are used to determine the mobility of both interfacial and intercalated lithium ions and the associated coupling to paramagnetic sites on the V 2 O 5 xerogel lattice. From spin-lattice relaxation (T 1 ) data, a minimum is observed, yielding an average polaron correlation time in excellent agreement with a value based independently on conductivity measurements. Thus, revealing that the dominant relaxation mechanism is associated with the nuclear dipole coupling to polaron motion.
Inpatient and Emergency Services Utilization in Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (P07.253)

Objective: To determine the coding validity of the ICD-9 code for IIH, and describe the use of inpatient and emergency services related to IIH. Background Patients with IIH may seek care in the emergency department (ED) and sometimes require hospitalization. The magnitude of ED and inpatient use is difficut to assess; data are collected nationwide regarding hospital-based visits using the ICD-9 code for IIH (348.2), the code has never been validated. Design/Methods: We reviewed ED and inpatient encounters from patient (ages >18) charts coded with a diagnosis of IIH, optic nerve sheath decompression, or lumboperitoneal shunting. We recorded patient demographics, reason for the encounter, diagnostic testing and procedures performed and hospital chareges. We calculated the positive predictive value (PPV) of the ICD-9 code for IIH. Results: 137 visits from 51 patients were identified. The majority of encounters occurred in the ED (68%), with 40% of those converted to inpatient admissions. 94% of patients were seen in the ED at least once. The use of ED services increased from 10/year in 2007-2010. Encounters resulted from recurrent IIH symptoms IIH (43%), surgical complications (26%) and initial presentation (12%). The PPV of the ICD-9 code was 50%. Patients averaged nearly 3 visits each over the 10 year study period. Conclusions: The use of the ED by patients with IIH for IIH-related issues increased over the 10-year study period. This may be attributable to the increasing rates of obesity in the population, heightened awareness of the disorder by medical professionals, timeliness of access in the ED compared to outpatient care, insurance coverage, and increasing usage of shunt procedures which often require revision. Consistent with previous reports, surgical complications were common, accounting for 26% of hospital admissions from the ED. The 348.2 diagnosis code may not be a reliable indicator of utilization of IIH-related services. Disclosure: Dr. Friedman has received personal compensation for activities with MAP Pharmaceuticals, MAP Pharmaceuticals, and Allergan, Inc. Dr. Friedman has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for Neurology Reviews. Dr. Friedman has received research support from Amplatzer, Merck & Co., Inc., Quark Pharmaceuticals, MAP Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Inc, and National Eye Institute. Dr. Koerner has nothing to disclose.
Polynomial Chaos Quantification of the Growth of Uncertainty Investigated with a Lorenz Model

Abstract A time-dependent physical model whose initial condition is only approximately known can predict the evolving physical state to only within certain error bounds. In the prediction of weather, as well as its ocean counterpart, quantifying this uncertainty or the predictability is of critical importance because such quantitative knowledge is needed to provide limits on the forecast accuracy. Monte Carlo simulation, the accepted standard for uncertainty determination, is impractical to apply to the atmospheric and ocean models, particularly in an operational setting, because of these models’ high degrees of freedom and computational demands. Instead, methods developed in the literature have relied on a limited ensemble of simulations, selected from initial errors that are likely to have grown the most at the forecast time. In this paper, the authors present an alternative approach, the polynomial chaos method, to the quantification of the growth of uncertainty. The method seeks to express the initial...
Building MEMS-based storage systems for streaming media

The performance of streaming media servers has been limited by the dual requirements of high disk throughput (to service more clients simultaneously) and low memory use (to decrease system cost). To achieve high disk throughput, disk drives must be accessed with large IOs to amortize disk access overhead. Large IOs imply an increased requirement of expensive DRAM, and, consequently, greater overall system cost. MEMS-based storage, an emerging storage technology, is predicted to offer a price-performance point between those of DRAM and disk drives. In this study, we propose storage architectures that use the relatively inexpensive MEMS-based storage devices as an intermediate layer (between DRAM and disk drives) for temporarily staging large disk IOs at a significantly lower cost. We present data layout mechanisms and synchronized IO scheduling algorithms for the real-time storage and retrieval of streaming data within such an augmented storage system. Analytical evaluation suggests that MEMS-augmented storage hierarchies can reduce the cost and improve the throughput of streaming servers significantly.
The relation between the free energy of interaction and binding

Abstract For ordinary stoichiometric interactions the extent of binding and the free energy of interaction follow parallel and well understood courses as a function of ligand concentration. This simple picture changes when interactions are very weak and the solutions are concentrated and non-ideal. In these cases, which include most instances of protein denaturation or unfolding, binding must be understood as a competition between the ligand and the principal solvent. Under these circumstances unusual phenomena can arise such as a changes in sign of the thermodynamic binding as concentration is varied. The most striking instances occur when strongly interacting reagents apparently do not bind at all. This paper discusses the paradoxical fact that the free energy of interaction is strongest when thermodynamic binding (selective interaction) goes to zero. Examples are cited where these phenomena have been observed experimentally in agreement with the theory presented here.
Selection of the reference priors for a balanced random effects model

Reference priors for a balanced random effects model with its natural parameter setting were derived by Berger and Bernado (1992a). There are many different priors corresponding to different ordered groupings. The behavior of the posterior inferences for the between variance component in the model is studied for various reference priors. Two frequentist approaches are used to justify appropriate reference priors. It is found that, for a given parameter of interest, different frequentist perspectives may result in selecting different reference priors.
Utilization and Morbidity Associated With Routine Placement of a Feeding Jejunostomy at the Time of Gastro-Esophageal Resection

Background The purpose of the study was to evaluate the utilization and morbidity associated with feeding jejunostomy tubes (JT) placed at the time of gastroesophageal resection (GER).
From Communists to Foreign Capitalists: The Social Foundations of Foreign Direct Investments in Postsocialist Europe. By Nina Bandelj

The article presents a review of the book "From Communists to Foreign Capitalists: The Social Foundations of Foreign Direct Investments in Postsocialist Europe," by Nina Bandelj.
Palladium metal and palladium oxide particle production by spray pyrolysis

Abstract Spray pyrolysis was used to produce dense, spherical palladium metal particles at and above 900 °C in air and 800 °C in nitrogen, well below the melting point of palladium (1554 °C). Palladium oxide particles were produced at lower temperatures. At 500 °C the PdO particles were composed of nanocrystalline grains 5 to 15 nm in diameter and had surface areas of 30.2 to 32.8 m2/g. The particles became less porous and less polycrystalline as temperature increased. At 800 °C the PdO particles were polycrystalline with grains of 20 to 50 nm and a surface area of 3.23 m2/g. The Pd particles produced at 900 °C by decomposition of the oxide were single-crystalline and fully-dense. These observations are consistent with the formation of porous but not hollow aggregates of PdO at lower temperatures, which can be densified in the gas phase to form solid particles of Pd above 900 °C.
Perceptions of Organizational Politics: A Meta-analysis of Outcomes

Organizational researchers during the past few decades have increasingly focused on the role of subjective work issues and their impact on important worker-related outcomes. One of the most prominently studied factors, perceptions of organizational politics, has received much recent conceptual and empirical attention. In an effort to better understand the relationship between perceptions of organizational politics and key outcomes, we apply meta-analysis on 79 independent samples from 59 published and unpublished studies involving 25,059 individual participants. Results indicate strong negative relationships between POP and job satisfaction and between POP and organizational commitment, moderately positive relationships between POP and the outcomes of job stress and turnover intentions, and a non-significant relationship between POP and in-role job performance. Moderator tests show that age, work setting (i.e., public sector or private sector), and cultural differences (i.e., domestic sample or international sample), have contingent effects on certain POP relationships.
Impaired expression of PPARγ protein contributes to the exaggerated growth of vascular smooth muscle cells in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma), a member of the nuclear receptor family, has been implicated in the regulation of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) growth; however, the underlying mechanisms are still not fully understood. We hypothesized that PPAR gamma functional deficiency may contribute to the enhanced proliferation of VSMC associated with hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). We observed that PPAR gamma mRNA level in SHR VSMC was 3 approximately 4 fold higher than that from Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY), but the protein expression levels of PPAR gamma are significantly lower in SHR than WKY VSMC, suggesting an impaired control of PPAR gamma protein expression in SHR VSMC. The deficiency of PPAR gamma protein expression in SHR VSMC was demonstrated by PPAR gamma reporter gene assays. Furthermore, the exaggerated growth of SHR VSMC was markedly attenuated by adenoviral PPAR gamma overexpression. Taken together, our results provided the first direct evidence that impaired expression of PPAR gamma protein contributes to the exaggerated growth of SHR VSMC.
EVALUATING SUBSIDIES FOR PROFESSIONAL SPORTS IN THE UNITED STATES AND EUROPE: A PUBLIC-SECTOR PRIMER

The character of subsidies for the construction of professional sports stadiums is changing in Europe and the United States. The incidence of these subsidies and the manner in which they are changing offers insight into an evolving relationship between the public and private sectors in building sports facilities. The changing financial imperatives this paper identifies and analyses suggest that the myopic concerns of cities coupled with powerful financial incentives for leagues and teams to build stadiums account for the spate of facilities constructed in the USA since Joe Robbie stadium in 1987. Growing public scepticism and resistance to stadium construction has been responsible for the private sector bearing a larger portion of the stadium construction costs, but teams have been more than compensated with increasingly generous leases. Cities have placated the public through the imposition of taxes that are either too small per capita to justify strong resistance or through deflecting the tax burden stadiums impose to non-residents. Since cities taken together are adopting the same strategies, the reality is that stadiums collectively are being paid for by local taxpayers. The public will continue to pay for stadiums until cities recognize their shared interests and take a collective stand against the professional sports monopolies. As long as the leagues continue to maintain an excess team for franchises, cities will continue to comply with team and league financial demands while searching for ways to placate an increasingly sceptical taxpaying public.
A Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Cascade Regulating Infection-Related Morphogenesis in Magnaporthe grisea

Many fungal pathogens invade plants by means of specialized infection structures called appressoria. In the rice (Oryza sativa) blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea, the pathogenicity mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase1 (PMK1) kinase is essential for appressorium formation and invasive growth. In this study, we functionally characterized the MST7 and MST11 genes of M. grisea that are homologous with the yeast MAP kinase kinase STE7 and MAP kinase kinase kinase STE11. Similar to the pmk1 mutant, the mst7 and mst11 deletion mutants were nonpathogenic and failed to form appressoria. When a dominant MST7 allele with S212D and T216E mutations was introduced into the mst7 or mst11 mutant, appressorium formation was restored in the resulting transformants. PMK1 phosphorylation also was detected in the vegetative hyphae and appressoria of transformants expressing the MST7S212D T216E allele. However, appressoria formed by these transformants failed to penetrate and infect rice leaves, indicating that constitutively active MST7 only partially rescued the defects of the mst7 and mst11 mutants. The intracellular cAMP level was reduced in transformants expressing the MST7S212D T216E allele. We also generated MST11 mutant alleles with the sterile alpha motif (SAM) and Ras-association (RA) domains deleted. Phenotype characterizations of the resulting transformants indicate that the SAM domain but not the RA domain is essential for the function of MST11. These data indicate that MST11, MST7, and PMK1 function as a MAP kinase cascade regulating infection-related morphogenesis in M. grisea. Although no direct interaction was detected between PMK1 and MST7 or MST11 in yeast two-hybrid assays, a homolog of yeast STE50 in M. grisea directly interacted with both MST7 and MST11 and may function as the adaptor protein for the MST11-MST7-PMK1 cascade.
Characterization of an interleukin-6- and adrenocorticotropin-dependent, immune-to-adrenal pathway during viral infection.

There has been longstanding interest in the capacity of the immune system to access immunomodulatory glucocorticoid responses without invoking upstream neuroendocrine secretagogues, including CRH and ACTH. Here, we investigate the role of CRH and ACTH in adrenal glucocorticoid responses to murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV). Mice infected with MCMV exhibit IL-6-dependent glucocorticoid responses that peak at 36 h post infection and protect against cytokine (TNFα)-mediated lethality. Acute administration of a CRH-antibody (Ab) completely eliminated ACTH responses to both low- and high-dose MCMV. However, corticosterone responses in CRH-Ab-treated animals remained apparent in mice infected with low-dose MCMV and were robust in mice infected with high-dose MCMV. CRH-knockout (KO) mice exhibited robust corticosterone responses to both MCMV doses, despite reduced baseline and MCMV-induced ACTH. Interestingly, robust corticosterone responses in CRH-Ab-treated and CRH-KO mice were associated with exaggerated IL-6 lev...
Extraction of special effects caption text events from digital video

Abstract. The popularity of digital video is increasing rapidly. To help users navigate libraries of video, algorithms that automatically index video based on content are needed. One approach is to extract text appearing in video, which often reflects a scene's semantic content. This is a difficult problem due to the unconstrained nature of general-purpose video. Text can have arbitrary color, size, and orientation. Backgrounds may be complex and changing. Most work so far has made restrictive assumptions about the nature of text occurring in video. Such work is therefore not directly applicable to unconstrained, general-purpose video. In addition, most work so far has focused only on detecting the spatial extent of text in individual video frames. However, text occurring in video usually persists for several seconds. This constitutes a text event that should be entered only once in the video index. Therefore it is also necessary to determine the temporal extent of text events. This is a non-trivial problem because text may move, rotate, grow, shrink, or otherwise change over time. Such text effects are common in television programs and commercials but so far have received little attention in the literature. This paper discusses detecting, binarizing, and tracking caption text in general-purpose MPEG-1 video. Solutions are proposed for each of these problems and compared with existing work found in the literature.
Caregiving in counterpoint: reciprocal influences in the musical parenting of younger and older infants

In a national (US) telephone survey of parents of four‐month‐old to six‐month‐old infants (n = 2250), 904 respondents answered the question ‘Is there anything else you want to tell me about how or why you use music with your baby?’ Qualitative analyses of responses generated descriptors, which were applied to Bornstein’s four caregiving domains to ascertain music’s role in parenting infants. Findings indicated a preponderance of Social Caregiving and a merging of Material with Nurturant caregiving, showing the use of music with young infants to be primary and basic. Study 2 examines data from a follow‐up written survey with the same participant pool. In responses to the same question from parents with infants 10–16 months old (n = 339), analyses revealed an even distribution between three domains: Social, Material, and a new merging of Nurturant with Didactic—indicating that parents were responding to children’s familiar musical behavior with teaching as well as socializing.
Survivors Guide to Graduate Research.

As you conduct your research, you will undoubtedly suffer from the perennial condition of all graduate students—constant, paralyzing guilt. When you are not working on your research, you are agonizing because you should be.
An approach to modeling particle motion in turbulent flows—I. Homogeneous, isotropic turbulence

Abstract A model based on time-series analysis concepts is developed for generating the velocity field at particle positions using Eulerian temporal and spatial correlations functions. The particles are then moved in Lagrangian frame in response to the velocity field and body forces. The model was examined by simulating particle motion in homogeneous, isotropic turbulence and two grid-generated turbulent flows of Snyder and Lumley [J. Fluid Mech., 48,41 (1971)], and Wells and Stock [J. Fluid Mech., 136, 31 (1983)]. The predicted asymptotic particle longitudinal and transverse dispersion coefficients are shown to agree with the formula of Csanady [J. atmos. Sci., 20, 201 (1963)]. Comparison is also made for the computed particle fluctuating velocity with the experimental data of Snyder and Lumley and of Wells and Stock. Fairly good agreement is observed. In addition, particle longitudinal dispersion, velocity correlation and corresponding integral time scales are calculated both in presence and absence of particle drift velocity so as to investigate the crossing-trajectory, continuity and particle inertia effects. The trends are in accordance with previous theoretical studies of Reeks [J. Fluid Mech., 83, 529 (1977)], Pismen and Nir [J. Fluid Mech., 84, 193 (1978)] and Nir and Pismen [J. Fluid Mech., 94, 369 (1979)].
Implications of a Higgs interpretation of the ζ(8.3)

Abstract We consider the implications if the new state seen by the Crystal Ball collaboration in radiative ϒ-decay, the ζ(8.3), is interpreted as a Higgs boson. We show that BR(ζ→gg)
Transfer of training as analogical mapping

Research was conducted to clarify the role of similarity in transfer of training. Subjects learned a procedure for operating a simulated device and were asked to transfer the knowledge of the procedure to a new device. Two factors were varied: (1) the systematicity of the original device model (i.e. whether the subjects were given a coherent causal model or simply a set of operating procedures); and (2) the transparency of the mapping, or degree of surface similarity between corresponding device components. The dependent measure was the number of trials to a criterion in the original and transfer device. Having a systematic mental model both facilitated learning of the initial device and promoted transfer to the target device. Transparency had strong effects on transfer: subjects learned the new device faster when corresponding pairs of components were similar than when noncorresponding pairs were similar. >
Naming a Personal “Unearned” Privilege: What Pre-service Teachers Identify After a Critical Multicultural Education Course

AbstractThis qualitative study systematically documents pre-service teachers' responses to a writing prompt asking them to name a personal “unearned” privilege on an end-of-term final assessment. Findings suggest that typical White/European heritage pre-service teachers can name privileges that have advantaged their own lives, even after one 14-week critical multicultural education course. Categories reveal patterns in participants' responses about their own privilege that are traditionally attended to in critical multicultural education curriculum, such as White privilege. However, student responses show that students are most comfortable talking about inherited privileges related to social class and race is named at a lower rate. Other responses show a range of privileges that students can draw on when they reflect on the structured nature of privilege in society. Overall, our findings suggest that when opportunities are created for students to grapple with complex, personal, emotional concepts, the vas...
Folded spectrum analysis using a frame-addressed deformable mirror device

A folded optical rf spectrum analyzer is described which is built around the 128 x 128 Frame- Addressed Spatial Light Modulator (FASLM). The input waveform is sampled at 32 MHz and displayed on the FASLM at a 2 KHz frame rate. A time-bandwidth product of approximately 8000 is achieved. A brief description of the device operation and optical performance is included.
High Spinal Anesthesia Does Not Alter Experimental Myocardial Infarction Size or Ischemic Preconditioning

Abstract Objective : The role of the central nervous system in the development of myocardial infarction and ventricular fibrillation in virgin and ischemically preconditioned myocardium was investigated. Design : Infarct size and ventricular arrhythmias were assessed after regional ischemia-reperfusion. Animals were randomly assigned to four groups: (1) preconditioned, central nervous system intact; (2) nonpreconditioned, nervous system intact; (3) preconditioned, nervous system blocked; and (4) nonpreconditioned, nervous system blocked. Differences in hemodynamics and infarct size were assessed with analysis of variance, and differences in ventricular fibrillation were assessed with the Kruskal-Wallis test. Setting : Experiments were performed in the Anesthesiology Research Laboratory at a medical center. Participants : Anesthetized open-chest New Zealand white rabbits were used for these studies. Interventions : Rabbits underwent 30 minutes of coronary artery occlusion and 3 hours of reperfusion. The central nervous system was blocked with total spinal anesthesia. Ischemic preconditioning was elicited with 5 minutes of coronary artery occlusion and 10 minutes of reperfusion. Infarction was assessed with tetrazolium and expressed as a percentage of the risk zone (mean ± SEM). Measurements and Main Results : Preconditioning resulted in infarct size limitation compared with the control (8% ± 4% v 43% ± 5%; p 24 25 rabbits as compared with 6 14 rabbits without blockade. In blocked animals, preconditioning resulted in a decreased duration of fibrillation (2.5 minutes v 12.5 minutes; p = 0.0004). However, spinal blockade eliminated the preconditioning-induced delay in fibrillation (10 minutes v 12 minutes; p = NS). Conclusions : It is concluded that (1) activation of efferent sympathetic nerves is not necessary for ischemic preconditioning; (2) preconditioning delays the onset of ventricular arrhythmias; and (3) spinal blockade exacerbates ischemia-induced ventricular arrhythmias.
Day 100 Peripheral Blood Absolute Lymphocyte/Monocyte Ratio and Survival in Classical Hodgkin's Lymphoma Postautologous Peripheral Blood Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Day 100 prognostic factors of postautologous peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (APBHSCT) to predict clinical outcome in classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) patients have not been evaluated. Thus, we studied if the day 100 peripheral blood absolute lymphocyte/monocyte ratio (Day 100 ALC/AMC) affects clinical outcomes by landmark analysis from day 100 post-APBHSCT. Only cHL patients achieving a complete remission at day 100 post-APBHSCT were studied. From 2000 to 2010, 131 cHL consecutive patients qualified for the study. The median followup from day 100 was 4.1 years (range: 0.2–12.3 years). Patients with a Day 100 ALC/AMC ≥ 1.3 experienced superior overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) compared with Day 100 ALC/AMC < 1.3 (from day 100: OS, median not reached versus 2.8 years; 5 years OS rates of 93% (95% CI, 83%–97%) versus 35% (95% CI, 19%–51%), resp., P < 0.0001; from day 100: PFS, median not reached versus 1.2 years; 5 years PFS rates of 79% (95% CI, 69%–86%) versus 27% (95% CI, 14%–45%), resp., P < 0.0001). Day ALC/AMC ratio was an independent predictor for OS and PFS. Thus, Day 100 ALC/AMC ratio is a simple biomarker that can help to assess clinical outcomes from day 100 post-APBHSCT in cHL patients.
Antibiotic prophylaxis in dermatologic surgery: advisory statement 2008.

Background Antibiotic prophylaxis is an important component of dermatologic surgery, and recommendations in this area should reflect the updated 2007 guidelines of the American Heart Association, the American Dental Association with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons guidelines, and recent prospective studies on surgical site infection. Objective To provide an update on the indications for antibiotic prophylaxis in dermatologic surgery for the prevention of infective endocarditis, hematogenous total joint infection, and surgical site infection. Methods A literature review was performed, expert consensus was obtained, and updated recommendations were created, consistent with the most current authoritative guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American Dental Association with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Results For patients with high-risk cardiac conditions, and a defined group of patients with prosthetic joints at high risk for hematogenous total joint infection, prophylactic antibiotics are recommended when the surgical site is infected or when the procedure involves breach of the oral mucosa. For the prevention of surgical site infections, antibiotics may be indicated for procedures on the lower extremities or groin, for wedge excisions of the lip and ear, skin flaps on the nose, skin grafts, and for patients with extensive inflammatory skin disease. Limitations These recommendations are not based on multiple, large-scale, prospective trials. Conclusions There is a strong shift away from administration of prophylactic antibiotics in many dermatologic surgery settings, based on updated authoritative guidelines. These recommendations provide guidance to comply with the most current guidelines, modified to address dermatology-specific considerations. Managing physicians may utilize these guidelines while individualizing their approach based on all clinical considerations.
Brief LPV Systems with parameter-varying time delays: analysis and control

In this paper, we address the analysis and state-feedback synthesis problems for linear parameter-varying (LPV) systems with parameter-varying time delays. It is assumed that the state-space data and the time delays are dependent on parameters that are measurable in real-time and vary in a compact set with bounded variation rates. We explore the stability and the induced L"2 norm performance of these systems using parameter-dependent Lyapunov functionals. In addition, the design of parameter-dependent state-feedback controllers that guarantee desired L"2 gain performance is examined. Both analysis and synthesis conditions are formulated in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) that can be solved via efficient interior-point algorithms.
Interaction of environmental photoperiod and temperature on hypothalamic monoamine oxidase activity in Carassius auratus L.

Abstract 1. 1. The nature of photoperiod and temperature interactions on the level of hypothalamic monoamine oxidase activity in the goldfish was examined. 2. 2. Exposure of goldfish to long photoperiods (16L/8D) significantly elevated enzyme activity above that found in fish exposed to shorter photoperiods, but only when animals were kept at 20–22°C. No photoperiod effects were found in the case of animals maintained at 13°C however. 3. 3. Low temperatures (13°C) were effective in depressing hypothalamic monoamine oxidase activity, as compared to 22°C-acclimated fish, only when animals were maintained under a 16L/8D photoperiod. 4. 4. These data suggest that hypothalamic monoamine oxidase is regulated not simply by temperature or photoperiod acting independently, but by the interaction of these two factors.
Cournot, bertrand, and modern game theory

Although it is not generally remembered or known, Cournot applied his equilibrium concept to both quantity rivalry and price rivalry. This makes some of the nomenclature in modern game theory seriously inappropriate. Several critics, past and present, have treated Cournot's quantity rivalry case as only conveniently veiled price rivalry. If Cournot's mathematics are pursued far enough, it is clear that he had a method that symmetrically applies to both quantity rivalry and price rivalry.
Information Quality: The Importance of Context and Trade-Offs

"Information quality" is arguably the most important information systems construct, and yet there exists no common definition of this construct, or set of recommendations for its appropriate usage and measurement. This paper explores the nature of information quality as a contextual, or fit-based, construct. Using this contingency approach we see that the definition of information quality is dependent on context, and instead of containing a clear maximum (or maxima) is rather comprised of tradeoffs. A call is made for restraint in uniform definition and measurement of information quality, acknowledging its appropriate use based on a specific construct-context fit.
Determination of salirasib (S-trans,trans-farnesylthiosalicylic acid) in human plasma using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometric (LC/MS/MS) assay was developed for the quantitative determination of salirasib (S-trans, trans-farnesylthiosalicylic acid, FTS) in human plasma. Sample pretreatment involved liquid-liquid extraction with methyl t-butyl ether of 0.5-mL aliquots of lithium heparin plasma spiked with the internal standard, S-trans, trans-5-fluoro-farnesylthiosalicylic acid (5 -F-FTS). Separation was achieved on Waters X-Terra™ C18(50 × 2.1 mm i.d., 3.5 μm) at room temperature using isocratic elution with acetonitrile/10 mM ammonium acetate buffer mobile phase (80:20, v/v) containing 0.1% formic acid at a flow rate of 0.20 mL/min. Detection was performed using electrospray MS/MS by monitoring the ion transitions from m/z 357.2 →153.0 (salirasib) and m/z 375.1 → 138.8 (5-F-FTS). Calibration curves were linear in the concentration range of 1-1000 ng/mL. A 5000 ng/ml sample that was diluted 1:10 (v/v) with plasma was accurately quantitated. The values for both within day and between day precision and accuracy were well within the generally accepted criteria for analytical method (<15%). This assay was subsequently used for the determination of salirasib concentrations in plasma of cancer patients after oral administration of salirasib at a dose of 400 mg.
The synthesis of a benzamidine-containing NR2B-selective NMDA receptor ligand labelled with tritium or fluorine-18

A novel tritium or flourine-18-labelled benzamidine-containing NR2B-selective NMDA receptor ligand has been synthesized. This compound was designed to contain the fluoromethoxy group to allow for the synthesis of a high specific activity, fluorine-18-labelled PET tracer for imaging studies of the NR2B receptor. In addition to the fluorine-18-labelled compound, this compound was also tritium labelled. The tritiated ligand (11 Ci/mmol) was synthesized by a gas tritiation reaction of an aryl bromide precursor. The fluorine-18 ligand (2916 Ci/mmol), which was deuterated in the fluoromethoxy group to aid in metabolic stability, was synthesized by alkylating a phenolic precursor with [18F]fluoromethylbromide-d2. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
uDIREC: unified diagnosis and reconfiguration for frugal bypass of NoC faults

As silicon continues to scale, transistor reliability is becoming a major concern. At the same time, increasing transistor counts are causing a rapid shift towards large chip multi-processors (CMP) and system-on-chip (SoC) designs, comprising several cores and IPs communicating via a network-on-chip (NoC). As the sole medium of on-chip communication, a NoC should gracefully tolerate many permanent faults. We propose uDIREC, a unified framework for permanent fault diagnosis and subsequent reconfiguration in NoCs that provides graceful performance degradation with increasing number of faults. Upon in-field transistor failures, uDIREC leverages a fine-resolution diagnosis mechanism to disable faulty components very sparingly. At its core, uDIREC employs a novel routing algorithm to find reliable and deadlock-free routes that utilize the still-functional links in the NoC. uDIREC places no restriction on topology, router architecture and number and location of faults. Experimental results show that uDIREC, implemented in a 64-node NoC, drops 3×fewer nodes and provides 25% higher throughput (beyond 15 faults) when compared to other state-of-the-art fault-tolerance solutions. uDIREC's improvement over prior-art grows with more faults, making it a suitable NoC reliability solution for a wide range of fault rates.
Ammonia as a Contaminant in the Performance of an Integrated SOFC Reformer System

As supply of natural gas (NG) is limited, more attention is being given to operating fuel cells on syngas derived from gasification of feedstocks such as coal and biomass. Ammonia (NH2) is one of the problematic contaminants contained in syngas produced from these nitrogen containing feedstocks. NH3 can be easily oxidized to nitric oxide (NO) in a combustion process and thus if present in the anode exhaust gas would be problematic. The potential effects of NH3 (particularly at low levels) on fuel cell system performance have not been well studied. The former studies on NH3 have been limited to either the reforming process alone or testing the fuel cell at the cell level with NH3 containing gases. No studies have been accomplished on a fuel cell system level basis. Objectives of this work are to obtain a comprehensive understanding of fuel cell system performance on syngas containing NH3 using an integrated SOFC reformer system. Detailed analysis is conducted within the three major reacting components - indirect internal reformer, SOFC stack and combustion zone. Various simulation tools (etc., CHEMKIN, ASPEN, APSAT) are utilized for analysis. Results show that NH3 conversion (into N2 and H2) in the internal reformer is about 50% when temperature is 750°C. NH3 conversion (into N2 and H2) in the SOFC stack can affect NOX emissions significantly. More than 50% NH3 left from SOFC stack can convert into NOX in the combustion zone. Experimental study is also planned to validate the theoretical results. Copyright © 2006 by ASME.
Radiofluorinated L-m-Tyrosines: New In-Vivo Probes for Central Dopamine Biochemistry:

In this work, we introduce 6-[18F]fluoro-L-m-tyrosine (6-FMT) and compare its in-vivo kinetic and bio-chemical behaviors in monkeys and rodents with those of 4-FMT and 6-[18F]fluoro-L-3, 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) (FDOPA). These radiofluorinated m-tyrosine presynaptic dopaminergic probes, resistant to peripheral 3-O-methylation, offer a nonpharmacological alternative to the use of catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitors. Like FDOPA, 4-FMT and 6-FMT are analogs that essentially follow the L-DOPA pathway of central metabolism. After i.v. administration in nonhuman primates and rodents, these new radiofluorinated m-tyrosine analogs accumulate selectively in striatal structures and allow for the detection of additional innervation sites (e.g., brain stem) rich in aromatic amino acid decarboxylase. Bio-chemical analyses in rodents and monkeys revealed the specificity of their central and peripheral metabolism. Molecular and enzymatic mechanisms involved in their retention in central brain structures are consistent with involvement of dopaminergic neurons. The high signal-to-noise ratios observed make these radiofluorinated m-tyrosine analogs outstanding candidates for probing the integrity of central dopaminergic mechanisms in humans.
An embedded boundary method for soluble surfactants with interface tracking for two-phase flows

Surfactants, surface reacting agents, lower the surface tension of the interface between fluids in multiphase flow. This capability of surfactants makes them ideal for many applications, including wetting, foaming, and dispersing. Due to their molecular composition, surfactants are adsorbed from the bulk fluid to the interface between the fluids, leading to different concentrations on the interface and in the fluid. In a previous paper [21], we introduced a new second order method using uniform grids to simulate insoluble surfactants in multiphase flow. This method used Strang splitting allowing for a fully second order treatment in time. Here, we use the same numerical methods to explicitly represent the singular interface, treat the interfacial surfactant concentration, and couple with the Navier-Stokes equations. Now, we introduce a second order method for the surfactants in the bulk that continues to allow the use of regular grids for the full problem. Difficulties arise since the boundary condition for the bulk concentration, which handles the flux of surfactant between the interface and bulk fluid, is applied at the interface which cuts arbitrarily through the regular grid. We extend the embedded boundary method, introduced in [22], to handle this challenge. Through our results, we present the effect of the solubility of the surfactants. We show results of drop dynamics due to resulting Marangoni stresses and of drop deformations in shear flow in the presence of soluble surfactants. There is a large nondimensional parameter space over which we try to understand the drop dynamics.
Clostridium perfringens: An unusual case of septic arthritis

Anaerobic joint infections may be a more common occurrence than previously reported. A nine-year-old with a septic knee due to Clostridium perfringens following a puncture wound was seen in the emergency department. Diagnosis was established by isolating the organism from an anaerobic synovial fluid culture. The patient was treated successfully with open drainage and parenteral penicillin. This case illustrates the necessity for specifically requesting anaerobic cultures on synovial fluid of patients with acute septic monoarthritis.
Synthesis and pharmacology of 1-methoxy analogs of CP-47,497.

Three 1-methoxy analogs of CP-47,497 (7, 8 and 19) have been synthesized and their affinities for the cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors have been determined. Although these compounds exhibit selectivity for the CB2 receptor none have significant affinity for either receptor. Modeling and receptor docking studies were carried out, which provide a rationalization for the weak affinities of these compounds for either receptor.
A magnetoelastic resonance biosensor immobilized with polyclonal antibody for the detection of Salmonella typhimurium

Abstract Mass-sensitive, magnetoelastic resonance sensors have a characteristic resonant frequency that can be determined by monitoring the magnetic flux emitted by the sensor in response to an applied, time varying, magnetic field. This magnetostrictive platform has a unique advantage over conventional sensor platforms in that measurement is wireless and remote. A biosensor for the detection of Salmonella typhimurium was constructed by immobilizing a polyclonal antibody (the bio-molecular recognition element) onto the surface of a magnetostrictive platform. The biosensor was then exposed to solutions containing S. typhimurium bacteria. Binding between the antibody and antigen (bacteria) occurred and the additional mass of the bound bacteria caused a shift in the sensor's resonant frequency. Sensors with different physical dimensions were exposed to different concentrations of S. typhimurium ranging from 102 to 109 CFU/ml. Detection limits of 5 × 103 CFU/ml, 105 CFU/ml and 107 CFU/ml were obtained for sensors with the size of 2 mm × 0.4 mm × 15 μm, 5 mm × 1 mm × 15 μm and 25 mm × 5 mm × 15 μm, respectively. Good agreement between the measured number of bound bacterial cells (as measured by scanning electron microscopy (SEM)) and frequency shifts was obtained.