cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Primary Mediastinal (Thymic) Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Primary mediastinal (thymic) large B-cell lymphoma (PMBL) is a distinct entity that arises from the thymic B cell, with clinical and pathologic features that differ from diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). In the era of immunochemotherapy, a variety of chemotherapy regimens have been used for PMBL, including rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP); rituximab, methotrexate, leucovorin, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisone, and bleomycin (R-MACOP-B); rituximab, etoposide, leucovorin, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisone, and bleomycin (R-VACOP-B); and infusional dose-adjusted etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin (EPOCH)-rituximab. The role of radiotherapy for PMBL is evolving. Phase II studies have investigated the use of chemotherapy alone, and retrospective analyses have explored a PET-guided approach on the radiotherapy decision. The use of PET response to guide decision on radiation therapy in PMBL is currently explored by a prospective randomized trial conducted by the International Extranodal Lymphoma Study Group (IELSG-37). While awaiting level I evidence, adjuvant radiotherapy should be strongly considered in patients with initial bulky disease or in those with a less than complete response to chemotherapy. Radiation therapy also plays an important role as part of salvage therapy in patients with relapsed or refractory disease after chemotherapy.
The hemophilic pseudotumor

The pseudotumor is the most spectacular and serious of all the musculoskeletal lesions seen in hemophilia. It was first described, in the German literature, by Starker in 1918. Since then over one hundred cases have been reported. In a review of his experience at Oxford, Gunning (1966) estimated its incidence to be about 1% of all severe hemophiliacs. Most of these cases occurred before the advent of adequate factor replacement, and Gilbert stated in 1975 that “with improved treatment its incidence appears to be on the wane.” However, despite the availability of early factor replacement the elimination of this entity has not been achieved, a fair number of new lesions being seen each year. The natural history and clinical and radiologic manifestations have been well documented, but etiologic factors such as the original site of hemorrhage and the factors that lead to encapsulation rather than resorption remain obscure.
UV-enhanced CO sensing using Ga2O3-based nanorod arrays at elevated temperature

Monitoring and control of the gaseous combustion process are critically important in advanced energy systems such as power plants, gas turbines, and automotive engines. However, very limited gas sensing solutions are available in the market for such applications due to the inherent high temperature of the combustion gaseous atmosphere. In this study, we fabricated and demonstrated high-performance metal oxide based nanorod array sensors assisted with ultra-violet (UV) illumination for in situ and real-time high-temperature gas detection. Without UV-illumination, it was found that surface decoration of either 5 nm LSFO or 1 nm Pt nanoparticles can enhance the sensitivity over CO at 500 °C by an order of magnitude. Under the 254 nm UV illumination, the CO gas-sensing performance of Ga2O3-based nanorod array sensors was further enhanced with the sensitivity boosted by 125% and the response time reduced by 30% for the La0.8Sr0.2FeO3(LSFO)-decorated sample. The UV-enhanced detection of CO might be due to the i...
Characterization of H 2 Adsorption Sites: Where Are the Hydrogens Stored in the Materials?

The most significant parameters such as pore size and binding energy need to be quantified to design advanced absorbents and improve their hydrogen uptake. The in situ and ex situ examination of hydrogen storage materials is helpful to provide the information with hydrogen favorable sites. The most common techniques to probe hydrogen molecules are: Neutron powder diffraction (NPD) Inelastic neutron scattering (INS) Variable temperature Infrared spectroscopy Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (SSNMR)
A historical perspective on the IEEE antennas and propagation society awards for individual achievement and outstanding papers

The history of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society's awards is discussed. The various categories and criteria for both the achievement and best paper awards are detailed; and the past winners are listed for the AP-S Distinguished Achievement Award, the Chen-To Tai Distinguished Educator Award, and the John Kraus Antenna Award.
Parent and Adolescent Motivational Enhancement Intervention for Substance-Using, Truant Adolescents: A Pilot Randomized Trial.

The purpose of this article is to present the results of a treatment development study designed to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of motivational enhancement thera...
Habitat risk assessment for regional ocean planning in the U.S. Northeast and Mid-Atlantic

Coastal habitats provide important benefits to people, including habitat for species targeted by fisheries and opportunities for tourism and recreation. Yet, such human activities also can imperil these habitats and undermine the ecosystem services they provide to people. Cumulative risk assessment provides an analytical framework for synthesizing the influence of multiple stressors across habitats and decision-support for balancing human uses and ecosystem health. To explore cumulative risk to habitats in the U.S. Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Ocean Planning regions, we apply the open-source InVEST Habitat Risk Assessment model to 13 habitats and 31 stressors in an exposure-consequence framework. In doing so, we advance the science priorities of EBM and both regional planning bodies by synthesizing the wealth of available data to improve our understanding of human uses and how they affect marine resources. We find that risk to ecosystems is greatest first, along the coast, where a large number of stressors occur in close proximity and secondly, along the continental shelf, where fewer, higher consequence activities occur. Habitats at greatest risk include soft and hard-bottom nearshore areas, tidal flats, soft-bottom shelf habitat, and rocky intertidal zones-with the degree of risk varying spatially. Across all habitats, our results indicate that rising sea surface temperatures, commercial fishing, and shipping consistently and disproportionally contribute to risk. Further, our findings suggest that management in the nearshore will require simultaneously addressing the temporal and spatial overlap as well as intensity of multiple human activities and that management in the offshore requires more targeted efforts to reduce exposure from specific threats. We offer a transparent, generalizable approach to evaluating cumulative risk to multiple habitats and illustrate the spatially heterogeneous nature of impacts along the eastern Atlantic coast and the importance of spatial scale in estimating such impacts. These results offer a valuable decision-support tool by helping to constrain the decision space, focus attention on habitats and locations at the greatest risk, and highlight effect management strategies.
Bagging, Boosting, and Random Forests Using R

Abstract Huge data sets are a fact of life. An impressive amount of research has been evolving with the advent of rising power of computing to extract information and signals from large noisy data. The purpose of this article is to present some machine learning tools and explain how open source software like R can be used to do your bidding. The reader needs only a rudimentary knowledge of Statistics and R. It is assumed that the reader has R installed on his computer or laptop and has some degree of familiarity with the commands of R.
Economic and technological development and their relationships to body size and productivity

Publisher Summary The growth in material wealth has been matched by changes in body size over the past 300 years, especially during the twentieth century. Perhaps the most remarkable secular trend has been the reduction in mortality. This chapter elucidates the long-run relationship between labor productivity and body size. Improvements in the nutritional status of a number of societies in Western Europe since the early eighteenth century have initiated a virtuous circle of technophysio evolution. The theory of technophysio evolution posits the existence of a synergism between technological and physiological improvements, which has produced a form of human evolution that is biological but not genetic, rapid, culturally transmitted, and not necessarily stable over time. An increase in agricultural efficiency and labor productivity improved human physiology, in turn leading to further gains in labor productivity. The chapter concludes with a summary of the findings that outline possible scenarios for further nutrition-induced changes in body size and labor productivity.
Chromosomes and Tumor Progression.

Neoplasms frequently become more aggressive during the course of their development, often with concomitant loss of specific differentiated properties. This is “tumor progression”, and my purpose is to suggest how cytogenetic data may provide clues to the nature of the process.
LY2157299 Monohydrate, a TGF-βR1 Inhibitor, Suppresses Tumor Growth and Ascites Development in Ovarian Cancer

Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) signaling has pleiotropic functions regulating cancer initiation, development, and metastasis, and also plays important roles in the interaction between stromal and cancer cells, making the pathway a potential therapeutic target. LY2157299 monohydrate (LY), an inhibitor of TGF-β receptor I (TGFBRI), was examined for its ability to inhibit ovarian cancer (OC) growth both in high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) cell lines and xenograft models. Immunohistochemistry, qRT-PCR, and Western blot were performed to study the effect of LY treatment on expression of cancer- and fibroblast-derived genes. Results showed that exposure to TGF-β1 induced phosphorylation of SMAD2 and SMAD3 in all tested OC cell lines, but this induction was suppressed by pretreatment with LY. LY alone inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of HGSOC cells in vitro. TGF-β1-induced fibroblast activation was blocked by LY. LY also delayed tumor growth and suppressed ascites formation in vivo. In addition, independent of tumor inhibition, LY reduces ascites formation in vivo. Using OVCAR8 xenograft specimens we confirmed the inhibitory effect of LY on TGF-β signaling and tumor stromal expression of collagen type XI chain 1 (COL11A1) and versican (VCAN). These observations suggest a role for anti-TGF-β signaling-directed therapy in ovarian cancer.
Metallaphotoredox Difluoromethylation of Aryl Bromides

Herein, we report a convenient and broadly applicable strategy for the difluoromethylation of aryl bromides by metallaphotoredox catalysis. Bromodifluoromethane, a simple and commercially available alkyl halide, is harnessed as an effective source of difluoromethyl radical by silyl-radical-mediated halogen abstraction. The merger of this fluoroalkyl electrophile activation pathway with a dual nickel/photoredox catalytic platform enables the difluoromethylation of a diverse array of aryl and heteroaryl bromides under mild conditions. The utility of this procedure is showcased in the late-stage functionalization of several drug analogues.
Influence of biological sex, trait gender, and state gender on pain threshold, pain tolerance, and ratings of pain severity

Abstract The current study investigated pain threshold, pain tolerance, and pain severity in relation to sex, trait gender, and state gender using an experimental design. The participants included 232 women and 69 men. The BEM Sex Role Inventory was used to measure trait gender. State gender was assessed by randomly assigning participations to a feminine, a masculine, or a neutral prime. Pain was assessed using the cold pressor task. Participants were assessed for their pain threshold, pain tolerance, and pain severity at both threshold and tolerance. Two three-way interactions were found. For pain threshold, masculine males had the highest pain in the feminine prime, while masculine females had the highest pain in the masculine prime. For pain severity at threshold, feminine males reported less pain in the feminine condition, while androgynous males reported the highest pain in the feminine condition. For females, masculine females reported the least pain in the masculine prime, while androgynous females reported more pain in the neutral condition. The study supports the premise that both trait gender and state gender can play a role in influencing male's and female's responses to pain. Future research should explore these effects in patient populations.
Modeling TPV Devices Based on Exact Analytical Solution of the Generalized Shockley – Queisser Model

Exact solution of the generalized Shockley – Queisser model provides simple and effective tool for modeling of photovoltaic (PV) and thermophotovoltaic (TPV) devices with advanced photonic management. This formalism takes into account spectral characteristics of absorption/emission and a variety of recombination processes in semiconductor cell. In the current work we generalize this formalism to devices with non-ideal light reflectors used for light recycling and trapping. As an example, we investigate effects of the light management in InGaAsSb TPV converters (0.53 eV bandgap) with back surface reflector and with an additional front surface scattering layer, which provides Lambertian trapping of photons. We calculate the output power (efficiency) and investigate tradeoff between photon absorption and Auger recombination processes as a function of the device thickness. Finally, we compare performance of these TPV devices with the performance of traditional devices.
Chalcophile chemistry for enhanced detection of copper in its compounds and minerals

Abstract Samples of elemental copper, upon laser irradiation under negative-ion LDI-MS conditions, do not generate noticeable signals for copper-bearing gaseous ions. In contrast, a several thousand-fold enhancement of the generated ion current was observed when freshly made mixtures of copper and sulfur powders were laser-ablated. Time-of-flight mass spectra recorded showed a range of peaks with m/z ratios extending to over m/z 8000, indicating the formation in situ of an array of Cu–S ion clusters by a chemical reaction that takes place between the two elements upon laser irradiation. Evidently, sulfur acts as a potent reactive matrix and generates at least three distinguishable series of ion clusters: Cu1Sx− (x = 2, 3, 4…), Cu2Sy− (y = 3, 4, 5…), and Cu3Sz− (z = 3, 4, 5…). Laser ablation of CuS alone did not produce signals beyond m/z 600. Some of the high-mass ions formed in this manner were isobaric; consequently, composite peaks were observed under low-resolution MS conditions. Under high-resolution conditions, however, we were able to separate and determine the composition of some isobaric mixtures. For example, the peak recorded at m/z 287 was resolved to two peaks that represented primarily the 63Cu265Cu32S3− and 63Cu32S7− ions. Intriguingly, the spectra recorded from many copper-containing minerals mixed with sulfur were remarkably similar to those acquired from copper-and-sulfur mixtures, which demonstrated that elemental sulfur has the ability to extract chemically bound copper even from its compounds, and form gas-phase Cu–S clusters of varying composition.
Iodination of vanillin and subsequent Suzuki-Miyaura coupling: two-step synthetic sequence teaching green chemistry principles

A two-step synthetic sequence was developed for the undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory using vanillin as the starting material. The multi-step synthesis was designed to replace two traditio...
A Mixed Methods Study of Organizational Readiness for Change and Leadership During a Training Initiative Within Community Mental Health Clinics

This longitudinal mixed-methods study explored variation in organizational readiness for change and leadership behavior across seven organizations during a 12-month training initiative in person-centered care planning. Quantitative data was used to examine trajectories of organizational readiness for change and leadership behavior over time and qualitative data explored provider perspectives on the trajectory of these organizational factors during the 12-month training initiative. Findings indicated that levels of organizational readiness for change and leadership behavior varied across clinics, but most experienced a significant positive change at the mid-point of the training. Organizational readiness for change was positively correlated with leaderships behaviors across time. Provider focus group findings gave insight into their initial resistance to adopting the new practice and their increasing receptivity in the second 6 months due to increased understanding of the practice and leadership endorsement. Increasing provider openness to a new practice prior to training and having a consistently engaged leadership have the potential to improve the efficiency of a training initiative.
A way forward for cancer prevention therapy: personalized risk assessment

Cancer is characterized by genetic and molecular aberrations whose number and complexity increase dramatically as cells progress along the spectrum of carcinogenesis. The pharmacologic application of agents in the context of a lower burden of dysregulated cellular processes constitutes an efficient strategy to enhance therapeutic efficacy, and underlies the rationale for using cancer prevention agents in high-risk populations. A longstanding barrier to implementing this strategy is that the risk in the general population is low for any given cancer, many people would have to be treated in order to benefit a few. Therefore, identifying and treating high-risk individuals will improve the risk: benefit ratio. Currently, risk is defined by considering a relatively low number of factors. A strategy that considers multiple factors has the ability to define a much-higher-risk cohort than the general population. This article will review the rationale for evaluating multiple risk factors so as to identify individuals at highest risk. It will use breast and lung cancer as examples, will describe currently available risk assessment tools, and will discuss ongoing efforts to expand the impact of this approach. The high potential of this strategy to provide a way forward for developing cancer prevention therapy will be highlighted.
Harry’s Most Important Work:

Harry considers his most important work was achieved in the last 2 years of his life as ‘Harry the Hospice Cat’. Situated in his sun spot in St Angela’s garden and then his window sill in the marke...
Responses to the Gender Minority Stress and Resilience Scales among Transgender and Nonbinary Youth.

Stress arising from the experience of stigma and discrimination around gender identity is known to negatively influence health outcomes for transgender individuals. The Gender Minority Stress and R...
Impact of Pharmacy Type on HIV Viral Suppression: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Cohort Study

Background People with HIV (PWH) use various pharmacy types beyond traditional local pharmacies. Some specialized pharmacies offer additive adherence services such as refill reminders, expedited delivery, and adherence packaging. Methods This single-center, retrospective cohort study evaluated the impact of pharmacy type on the gain or loss of HIV viral suppression (VS; HIV RNA ≤50 copies/mL). Patients (≥19 years) were categorized by VS and pharmacy type: HIV-specialized (additive adherence/delivery services) vs traditional (without adherence/delivery services). Fisher exact tests examined the effect of pharmacy type on differences in VS between years, and logistic regression models identified possible predictors of gaining or losing VS. Results During 2017-2018, no differences were observed for the gain or loss of VS across pharmacy types (VS gain vs continued viremia, P = .393; VS loss vs continued VS, P = .064). Predictors for the gain of VS included antiretroviral therapy adherence as percentage of days covered (PDC; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.05; P 200 cells/ccm (aOR, 0.19; P = .013). Conclusions The gain or loss of VS among PWH in this retrospective cohort was not impacted by pharmacy transitions within the 2-year study period. However, PDC, FPL, illicit substance use, protease inhibitor use, and CD4 >200 cells/ccm were identified as factors associated with changes in VS.
Single- versus Dual-Attending Surgeon Approach for Spine Deformity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND Surgical management of spine deformity is associated with significant morbidity. Recent literature has inconsistently demonstrated better outcomes after utilizing 2 attending surgeons for spine deformity. OBJECTIVE To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis on studies reporting outcomes following single- vs dual-attending surgeons for spine deformity. METHODS MEDLINE, Embase, Web of science, and Cochrane databases were last searched on July 16, 2020. A total of 1013 records were identified excluding duplicates. After screening, 10 studies (4 cohort, 6 case series) were included in the meta-analysis. Random-effect models were used to pool the effect estimates by study design. When feasible, further subgroup analysis by deformity type was conducted. RESULTS A total of 953 patients were analyzed. Pooled results from propensity score-matched cohort studies revealed that the single-surgeon approach was unfavorably associated with a nonstatistically significant higher blood loss (mean difference = 421.0 mL; 95% CI: -28.2, 870.2), a statistically significant higher operative time (mean difference = 94.3 min; 95% CI: 54.9, 133), length of stay (mean difference = 0.84 d; 95% CI: 0.46, 1.22), and an increased risk of complications (Mantel-Haenszel risk ratio = 2.93; 95% CI: 1.12, 7.66). Data from pooled case series demonstrated similar results for all outcomes. Moreover, these results did not differ significantly between deformity types (adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and adult spinal deformity). CONCLUSION Dual-attending surgeon approach appeared to be associated with reduced operative time, shorter hospital stays, and reduced risk of complications. These findings may potentially improve outcomes in surgical treatment of spine deformity.
Interprofessional Communication: Integrating Evidence to Enhance Systems During a Pandemic.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic placed challenges on interprofessional communication patterns among clinical care teams at a time when effective communication was greatly needed. The development of enhanced systems for communication that integrate the latest evidence and communication technologies can offer a solution to this crisis. Objectives This article provides a framework for ways in which nursing teams can develop evidence-based enhanced interprofessional communication systems during a pandemic. Methods Based on communication models and related technologies, this article reviews strategies to enhance interprofessional communication. Two case studies are included that illustrate how nursing teams can enhance communication during a pandemic. Findings To improve communication during a pandemic, clinicians can incorporate interprofessional communication models in clinical practice and apply enhanced communication strategies.
Smart Inverters for Seamless Reconnection of Isolated Residential Microgrids to Utility Grid

This paper proposes an approach to achieve seamless reconnection of isolated residential microgrids to utility grid. Any abnormal condition on the grid side results in isolating the residential microgrid from utility grid, and giving the full responsibility of supplying household loads to local distributed generation (DG) units. However, after resolving the abnormal condition on the grid side, the residential microgrid needs to seamlessly reconnect to the main grid. To this end, a seamless transition algorithm is presented which monitors the system condition in real time, and coordinates the operation of all inverter-based DG units in residential microgrid before reconnection to the main grid. A modified control scheme is proposed for single-phase inverters which turns them into smart inverters enable to interact with seamless transition algorithm. The proposed approach synchronizes each phase voltage with its respective grid-side voltage in order to seamlessly reconnect the residential microgrid to the main grid. Case study results are carried out in PSCAD/EMTDC environment to verify the validity of proposed method.
Presidential Home Style: Trump in the Era of COVID-19

In Homestyle: House Members in their Districts (1978) Richard Fenno argued that members of Congress utilize different “home styles” when communicating with various segments of their constituency These tailored, face-to-face interactions help build trust, are essential to the reelection effort, and shape member behavior once in office In this paper, we reconfigure and extend Fenno’s theory to help explain presidential (in)action in the digital age By analyzing President Trump’s daily press briefings and social media presence during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, we argue that just as a representative’s home style carries over into governance, the same can be said for a president in what we have called “presidential home styles ” We find that the characteristics that made Trump a successful campaigner in the 2016 election are not conducive to effective governance, especially during a crisis
Understanding Distinctions of Worth in the Practices of Instructional Design Teams

In this article we report our research into the concerns and other matters of significance for members of instructional design teams. Specifically we studied how members of a design team depicted the quality of their own motives while participating in team pursuits. This is a type of self-evaluation known as drawing distinctions of worth. Our research took the form of a case study, focusing on an instructional design team at a university in the United States. Based on interviews with team members and observations of their work, we developed an account of our research participant’s distinctions of worth organized around three themes: (a) distinctions of worth could guide their decision-making more than did the goals of the project; (b) competing distinctions of worth could be difficult for them to reconcile; and (c) their distinctions of worth could be accompanied by unanticipated costs. Overall, these themes reflect that distinctions of worth were a real aspect of our participants’ team involvement, and not merely their subjective responses to situational factors. This has implications for those managing teams or otherwise helping teams improve, which we discuss. We also discuss how research into instructional design teams that only focuses on external dynamics team members experience, and not on factors such as their distinctions of worth, cannot fully account for what it means for people to contribute towards team outcomes.
A Cohort Scholarship Program that Reduces Inequities in STEM retention

Lyman Briggs College (LBC) is a small residential college within Michigan State University (MSU), devoted to preparing students for STEM careers via preparation in the biophysical sciences that is paired with the humanistic and social scientific study of science in its social contexts. This paper reports and interprets the quantitative outcomes of an ongoing NSF-sponsored S-STEM project, begun in 2009, seeking to improve STEM retention in the college via a combination of scholarships and cohort-based curricular and co-curricular activities. The program supported scholars in their second through the fourth year. In examining the over 90 participants against a comparison population (eligible students who did not participate in the program), there was no statistical change in graduation rates from MSU, though there was a statistical increase in retention in STEM majors. Moreover, the program has shown success in closing some inequitable STEM retention gaps between demographic groups with more or less social privilege (especially students with high financial need and students with low pre-college math preparation), while not closing others (for underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities).
Urine versus stent cultures and clinical UTIs

Current American Urological Association guidelines recommend pre-operative antimicrobial therapy based on prior urine cultures (UC); however, the role of stent culture (SC) in urologic practice is unclear. We examined whether UC and SC differed at the time of stent removal, as well as the association, microbiology, and timing of subsequent UTIs as related to SC. This was a retrospective review of 159 patients with ureteral stents for indications of urolithiasis, benign stricture, malignant obstruction, and kidney transplant. UC and SC were analyzed at the time of stent removal. Patients were followed for 12 months after stent removal for development, concordance, and timing of clinical UTIs. In 159 patients, 15% had positive UC and 45% had positive SC. Of patients who had positive SC, 66% had negative UC. All patients with positive UC had identical micro-organisms on SC; however, 33% of these had SC with additional micro-organisms. Relative to those with both negative UC and SC, patients with negative UC and positive SC had a 5.7 odds, and those with both positive UC and SC had a 13.6 odds of developing a clinical UTI within 12 months. Concordance of SC and future UTI was highest in those with post-operative sepsis, and those with Candida species on SC. SC was a unique risk factor for development of UTI within 12 months of stent removal. Clinicians should consider SC results when empirically treating those with post-operative sepsis or those with UTI after Candida on SC.
AN INCREASE IN THE LEVELS OF RETROVIRAL-MEDIATED TRANSDUCTION OF ENGRAFTING HUMAN HEMATOPOIETIC PROGENITORS CAN BE OBTAINED BY MANIPULATION OF THE HEMATOPOIETIC CELL CYCLE

The bnx/hu xenograft system uses immune deficient beige/nude/xid (bnx) mice as recipients of transduced human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells.1 Long-term engraftment in the mice is supported by co-transplantation of primary human stromal cells that have been genetically engineered to secrete human interleukin 3 (IL-3). Production of IL-3, a species-specific cytokine, was determined to be both necessary and sufficient to support long-term human hematopoiesis in the mice.1 Multilineage human hematopoiesis can be followed in bnx mice for up to 18 months. All myeloid lineages, erythroid and myeloid progenitors, αβTCR+ T lymphocytes, and B lymphocytes can be recovered from the bone marrow of long-term engrafted mice.1–11 The bnx/hu xenograft model can be used to assess the effects of various in vitro trans- duction methods on the efficacy of gene transfer, as well as on the viability and commitment to differentiation of the target human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells.
Securing collaborative environments

The diverse set of organizations and software components involved in a typical collaboratory make providing a seamless security solution difficult. In addition, the users need support for a broad range of frequency and locations for access to the collaboratory. A collaboratory security solution needs to be robust enough to ensure that valid participants are not denied access because of its failure. There are many tools that can be applied to the task of securing collaborative environments and these include public key infrastructure, secure sockets layer, Kerberos, virtual and real private networks, grid security infrastructure, and username/password. A combination of these mechanisms can provide effective secure collaboration capabilities. In this paper, we discuss the requirements of typical collaboratories and some proposals for applying various security mechanisms to collaborative environments.
Activating BRAF mutations in eruptive melanocytic naevi

Summary Background Eruptive melanocytic naevi (EMN) are melanocytic proliferations developing rapidly on previously unaffected skin in association with various clinical scenarios, most commonly systemic immunosuppression. However, the exact mechanism leading to development of EMN is not understood. In particular, it is not known whether EMN harbour the BRAF mutations which occur frequently in melanoma and most common naevi. Objectives To evaluate whether activating BRAF mutations may play a role in genesis of EMN. Methods Genomic DNA was isolated from 20 EMN from a patient treated with 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP). Primary BRAF genotyping was performed by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction, followed by validation using direct sequencing. Results The BRAF V600E mutation was identified in 85% of EMN examined. Conclusions Our results implicate mutational activation of the BRAF–MAPK pathway as a factor in development of EMN in the setting of 6-MP treatment. The mechanism leading to development of EMN in this, and potentially other patients, may relate to synergistic mutagenic effects of thioguanines and ultraviolet (UV) A. Together with the documented importance of BRAF mutations in melanoma development and maintenance, these findings highlight the importance of UVA protection, especially in patients treated with thiopurines such as 6-MP.
The State of the Art in Concurrent, Distributed Configuration Management

Introduction The most widely used definition of software configuration management (SCM) comes from the standards community [IEEE87, IEEE90a, IEEE90b, Buck93]. Configuration management (CM) is a discipline that oversees the entire life-cycle of a software product (or family of related products). Specifically, CM requires identification of the components to be controlled (configuration items) and the structure of the product, control over changes to the items (including documentation), accurate and complete record keeping, and a mechanism to audit or verify any actions. This definition is not complete. Dart [Dart92] suggests that the definition should be broadened to include manufacturing issues (optimally managing the construction of the product), process management (ensuring adherence to the defined processes) and team work (supporting and controlling the efforts of multiple developers). Tichy [Tich88] provides a definition that is popular in the academic and research communities: software configuration management is a discipline whose goal is to control changes to large software system families, through the functions of: component identification, change tracking, version selection and baselining, software manufacture, and managing simul. taneous updates (teana work). We prefer these definitions because the emphasis is on evolution of and access to software components by teams of developers, rather than control or prevention of access in the standards definition. Concurrent (or parallel), distributed configuration management is simply a recognition of the true state of software development in the 1990"s--managing the evolution of software produced by geographically distributed teams, working semi-autonomously, but sharing a common software base, We recently conducted a survey of both commercial and freely available SCM systems for an industrial collaborator and were struck by the lack of support, in most systems, for true concurrent, distributed software development. The purpose of this paper is to examine why distributed and concurrent activities in software development are important, to describe some of the currently popular mechanisms for handling concurrency, and to describe how we handle distributed, concurrent so.ware development in our own research vehicle, the Database and Selectors Cel approach to configuration management (DaSC). This paper ties some of the survey results together with thoughts based on over ten years of research into software configuration management. The survey examined the features and limitations of 33 commercial and free CM systems [MacK94] through data provided by the suppliers of each CM system
On-chip three-phase coupled power inductor for switching power converters

This paper presents an on-chip three-phase coupled power inductor (3-CPI) structure which consists of a layer of ferrite core material and another layer of three phase coupled spiral windings on a silicon substrate. The flux cancellation effect of the inversely coupled windings significantly reduces the net flux in the ferrite layer, which helps increasing the saturation current of the power inductor. An ANSYS®/Maxwell® 3-D physical model of an 8mm×7.6mm 3-CPI design is developed and simulation results are obtained. Simulation results show that the saturation current (12A/phase) of the 3-CPI is twice the saturation current (6A) of the non-coupled power inductor with the same inductance density. Based on a 5V/1.5V 5MHz three-phase buck converter design, the equivalent steady-state inductance and transient inductance of the 3-CPI design are calculated to be equal to 33.8nH and 7.2nH, respectively.
Measurement of Thermal Lensing for the LiCaAlF6: Cr3+ Laser Material

It has been demonstrated in a series of recent articles that the new crystal, LiCaAlF6: Cr3+, (known as Cr:LiCAF), holds substantial promise as a practical laser material.1-3 The laser output is tunable from 720-840 nm, and the Cr3+ ion exhibits two broad absorption bands in the visible range, thereby permitting the efficient absorption of flashlamp light. In this paper we report measurements of the thermal and thermo-optical properties of Cr:LiCAF that are relevant to the laser performance. The thermal lensing of Cr:LiCAF has been directly measured and compared to that of alexandrite (BeAl2O4:Cr3+).4
Vertical optokinetic nystagmus in the split-brain monkey

Abstract Electrooculograms during optokinetic stimulation in the vertical plane were recorded from seven monkeys ( Macaca mulatta ) before and after section of pregeniculate visual pathways or midsagittal division of brain commissures, or both. Section of one optic tract or of the chiasma did not alter the response. Additional cutting of the corpus callosum resulted in a nystagmus of lower frequency and perverted direction with an oblique component toward the side of the visually “deprived” hemisphere. The deficits in the monkeys with section of the optic chiasma appeared only on monocular stimulation. Additional division of massa intermedia, anterior, posterior, habenular, and intercollicular commissures, completely abolished the nystagmus upward. This defect was also present on binocular stimulation of animals with section of the optic chiasma. These findings support the concept that both sides of the brain must receive adequate visual input, either through the classic optic pathway or through the commissures, to result in normal optokinetic nystagmus in the vertical plane. Subcortical commissures, particularly the posterior commissure, may be more related to the oculomotor output since their section affects the response even on binocular stimulation of monkeys with division of both the optic chiama and the corpus callosum. Since optokinetic nystagmus is a most sensitive indicator of the integrity of the oculomotor system, the possibility of defective eye movements should be considered in the interpretation of the results of visual tests in split-brain monkeys.
Book Review: Wind Energy – The Facts: a guide to the technology, economics and future of wind power by The European Wind Energy Association

Wind Energy – The Facts: a guide to the technology, economics and future of wind power, by The European Wind Energy Association. London, Earthscan, 2009. ISBN: 978-1-84407-710-6
Abstract B46: Identification of biomarkers for stratification of Gleason score 7 patients using whole-transcriptome expression profiling

Abstract Motivations: Gleason score is the most prognostic variable in prostate cancer pathology. Patients with high Gleason (8+) are the most likely to experience biochemical recurrence (BCR), clinical progression (CP) and prostate-cancer specific mortality (PCSM), whereas patients with Gleason ≤6 are expected to have excellent long-term outcomes. However, the majority of prostate cancer patients are diagnosed with Gleason score 7, a heterogeneous group in terms of patient outcomes. In the absence of adverse pathological factors (APF, such as preoperative PSA, SM+, ECE and SVI) most Gleason 7 patients will have excellent outcomes. In contrast, Gleason 7 patients with APF are considered at high-risk for recurrence and therefore are candidates for adjuvant therapy. In this study, we have investigated whether a classifier based on differentially expressed genomic features could be used to improve prognostication of Gleason 7 patients, independent of APF. Methods: Two whole-transcriptome (1.4 million feature) oligonucleotide microarray expression datasets from radical prostatectomy specimens were analyzed. The first one (GEO accession: GSE21032) consisted of 125 fresh frozen (FF) samples from the MSKCC Oncogenome Project and the second dataset had 545 formalin-fixed-paraffin- embedded (FFPE) samples from the Mayo Clinic tumor registry. For genomic feature selection, differential expression in the FF dataset between Gleason ≤6 (n=40) and ≥8 (n=15) was assessed with false discovery rate adjusted t-tests (p Results: The KNN classifier segregated the Gleason 7 samples into high and low risk CP groups. The KNN odds ratios were 2.9 (p Conclusions: A KNN classifier developed using differentially expressed genomic features significantly stratified Gleason score 7 patients for several clinically relevant endpoints. Future validation studies will address the utility of this classifier in predicting pathological Gleason score from biopsy specimens, which may be particularly useful for evaluation of biopsy Gleason 6 cases. In these patients, deferring prostatectomy in favour of active surveillance is an appealing treatment option unless the ‘true’ Gleason of the index lesion is in fact a Gleason 7 or higher, where immediate surgery is likely a life-saving procedure. Citation Format: Nicholas Erho, Thomas Sierocinski, Elai Davicioni, Robert B. Jenkins, Mercedeh Gadhessi, Christine Buerki, Ismael A. Vergara, Anamaria Crisan, Zaid Haddad, Benedikt Zimmermann, Anirban Mitra, Timothy J. Triche. Identification of biomarkers for stratification of Gleason score 7 patients using whole-transcriptome expression profiling [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Advances in Prostate Cancer Research; 2012 Feb 6-9; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(4 Suppl):Abstract nr B46.
Real-time performance analysis of wireless multimedia networks based on partially observed multivariate point processes

Third-generation (3G) wireless networks will support integrated multimedia services based on a cellular extension of a packet-switched architecture using variants of the Internet protocol (IP). Services can be categorized as real- time and delay-sensitive, or non-real-time and delay- insensitive. Each call, arriving to or active within the network, carries demand for one or more services in parallel; each service type with a guaranteed quality of service (QoS). Admission of new calls to the wireless IP network (WIN) from the gateway of a wired network or from a mobile subscriber (MS) is allowed by call admission control procedures. Roaming of the MSs among the nodes of the WIN is controlled by handoff procedures between base stations (BSs), or BS controllers, and the MSs. Metrics such as the probabilities of call blocking and dropping, handoff transition time, processing latency of a call, throughput, and capacity are used to evaluate the performance of network control procedures. The metrics are directly related to the network resources required to provide the QoS for the integrated services.
Gold inhibition of the production of the second complement component by lymphokine‐stimulated human monocytes

The ability of gold sodium thiomalate to inhibit production of the second complement component (C2) by monocytes stimulated by a lymphokine (monocyte complement stimulator is demonstrated. This gold salt inhibits C2 production irreversibly if monocytes are incubated with it before or during lymphokine stimulation. Thiomalic acid is not inhibitory. Monocytes already stimulated by lymphokine are resistant to inhibition of C2 production by gold sodium thiomalate. Gold salts do not reduce monocyte viability, phagocytic ability (latex heads) accessory cell function (as measured by the ability to present antigen to autologous lymphocytes), or capacity to act as stimulating cells in mixed leukocyte culture. Gold sodium thiomalate's inhibition of monocyte responsiveness to lymphokine may be significant in explaining the therapeutic benefit of gold salts in rheumatoid arthritis.
Condensation of the Hexapeptide Ester of Glycine into the 96- and Higher (3 × 2 n ) Peptide Esters

Condensation of the Hexapeptide Ester of Glycine into the 96- and Higher (3 × 2 n ) Peptide Esters
Mutagenesis by insertion of a drug-resistance element carrying an inverted repetition.

A novel genetic element, which carries genes conferring tetracycline resistance (flanked by a 1400 base-pair inverted repetition), is capable of translocation as a unit from one DNA molecule to another. The tet R element, which is found in nature on a variety of R-factors, was acquired by bacteriophage P22 (producing P22Tc-10 and P22Tc-106) and has now been observed to insert into a large number of different sites on the Salmonella chromosome. Insertion of the tet R element is mutagenic when it occurs within a structural gene, and polar when it occurs within an operon. Insertion of the element is usually precise, occurring without loss of information on the recipient DNA molecule. Excision, on the other hand, is usually not precise, although excisions precise enough to restore a gene function can always be detected at low frequencies. Both insertion and excision processes are independent of the recA function.
Studying the functional genomics of stress responses in loblolly pine with the Expresso microarray experiment management system

Conception, design, and implementation of cDNA microarray experiments present a variety of bioinformatics challenges for biologists and computational scientists. The multiple stages of data acquisition and analysis have motivated the design of Expresso, a system for microarray experiment management. Salient aspects of Expresso include support for clone replication and randomized placement; automatic gridding, extraction of expression data from each spot, and quality monitoring; flexible methods of combining data from individual spots into information about clones and functional categories; and the use of inductive logic programming for higher-level data analysis and mining. The development of Expresso is occurring in parallel with several generations of microarray experiments aimed at elucidating genomic responses to drought stress in loblolly pine seedlings. The current experimental design incorporates 384 pine cDNAs replicated and randomly placed in two specific microarray layouts. We describe the design of Expresso as well as results of analysis with Expresso that suggest the importance of molecular chaperones and membrane transport proteins in mechanisms conferring successful adaptation to long-term drought stress.