cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SU‐E‐T‐874: Investigation of the Interplay Effect Between MLC and Lung Tumor Motions Using 4DCT and RPM Profile Data

Purpose: To evaluate the dosimetric impact of the interplay effect between the MLC motion and respiratory‐induced tumor motion in the context of 4D planning of small lung lesions treated with SBRT. Methods: IMRT plan was generated using the ITV from 10 respiratory‐correlated CT datasets on the reference (50% phase, CT50) image. The PTV included a 3 mm uniform expansion of ITV; the dose was calculated with Varian Eclipse AAA algorithm and 2.5 mm grid size. To account for the interplay effect, the time‐stamped signal from respiratory surrogate (RPM marker trace) was used to correlate the MLC control points to the individual CT phase. The dose to each phase was then computed using the actual MLC apertures and MU numbers for the specific phase. Doses from individual phases were mapped and accumulated to the CT50 dataset using a Demons‐based deformable registration algorithm. A “standard” 4D plan was also generated in which the entire treatment plan was applied to each phase with appropriate weighting of the time spent at each phase, but without accounting for the correlation of the MLC sequence with the respiratory phases. The method was applied to two lungSBRT cases with tumor motion 1.2 and 2.0 cm in amplitude sup/inf. Results: For mean PTV dose, the discrepancy induced by interplay effect was −5.7% to 33.4% (with mean −+ SD of 1.3 −+ 8.7%) for individual phases. For the accumulated dose it was 0.0% and 0.1% for the two cases respectively. The maximum point dose discrepancy within PTV was 0.4 out of 48 Gy. The interplay effect reduced the minimum PTV and ITV dose by about 0.5%. Conclusions: This initial study showed that the dosimetric impact of interplay effect dimmed out as 4D doses were accumulated. Further assessment for wide spectrum of plan and delivery scenarios should be performed.
Some Volatile Constituents of Passion Fruit Wine

SUMMARY A dry table wine prepared from Passiflora edulis var. flavicarpa was found to contain the following volatile substances: methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, isobutyl alcohol, isobutyl alcohol, active amyl alcohol, n-hexyl alcohol, 2-phenethyl alcohol, acetaldehyde, diethyl acetal, 2-butanone, 2,3-butanedione, ethyl acetate, ethyl isovalerate, ethyl caproate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl caprylate, ethyl caprate, ethyl laurate, isobutyl isobutyrate and isoamyl acetate. Probably present are: n-butanol, ethyl isobutyrate, and n-hexyl caproate. Gas chromatographic retention times are given for a number of unidentified components of the passion fruit wine volatiles. The compounds responsible, for the typical passion fruit wine aroma remain unidentified.
Peritoneal cytology and invasive carcinoma of the cervix

One hundred thirty-nine patients with invasive carcinoma of the cervix underwent laparotomy at the University of South Florida between February 1980 and November 1983. One hundred nineteen had laparotomy prior to treatment and 20 after treatment for recurrence or some other reason. One hundred twenty patients had negative peritoneal cytology, 8 had equivocal cytology and 11 had positive cytology. Positive peritoneal cytology was more common in higher-stage disease and was statistically significantly more common in patients with positive retroperitoneal lymph nodes (P less than 0.05). The rate of peritoneal cytologic positivity in patients with squamous carcinoma was the same as that for adenocarcinoma and adenosquamous carcinoma. Positive peritoneal cytology was associated with a very poor prognosis but was associated with other poor prognostic factors in all but 1 patient. Equivocal cytology did not seem to be of any particular significance. No patient in this series had an alteration in treatment planning based on peritoneal cytology. The utility and future of peritoneal cytology in invasive carcinoma of the cervix are discussed.
The pessary process: Spanish-speaking Latinas' experience.

Little is known about women’s experience with conservative management of pelvic organ prolapse. We sought to understand the experiences of Spanish-speaking women who choose a pessary. Spanish-speaking women from a urogynecological pessary clinic were recruited for this study. Interviews were conducted and the women were asked about their pessary experience including questions involving symptom relief, pessary management, and quality of life. All interview transcripts were analyzed using the qualitative methods of grounded theory. Sixteen Spanish-speaking women who had been using a pessary for at least 1 month were enrolled in this study. Grounded theory methodology yielded several preliminary themes, in which one major concept emerged as a pessary adjustment process. In this process patients had to first decide to use a pessary, either because of physician’s recommendations or out of personal choice. Second, the patients entered an adjustment period in which they learned to adapt to the pessary, both physically and mentally. Lastly, if the patients properly adjusted to wearing a pessary they experienced relief of bothersome symptoms. Our findings demonstrate that Spanish-speaking women go through a process in order to adjust to a pessary. Furthermore, the physician plays a major role in not only determining a woman’s decision to use a pessary, but also whether she can adjust to wearing the pessary. This process is most successful when patients receive comprehensive management from a healthcare team of physicians and nurses who can provide individualized and continuous pessary care.
High-fat diet decreases cancellous bone mass but has no effect on cortical bone mass in the tibia in mice

Body mass has a positive effect on bone health. Whether mass derived from an obesity condition or excessive fat accumulation is beneficial to bone has not been established; neither have the mechanisms by which obesity affects bone metabolism. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of obesity on bone structure and osteoblastic expression of key markers involved in bone formation and resorption in a diet-induced obesity mouse model. Six-wk-old male C57BL/6 mice (n=21) were assigned to two groups and fed either a control (10 kcal% energy as fat) or high-fat diet (HFD, 45 kcal% energy as fat) for 14 weeks. Bone marrow stromal/osteoblastic cells (BMSC) were cultured. Osteoprogenitor activity [alkaline phosphatase (ALP) positive colonies] and mineralization (calcium nodule formation) were determined. Gene expression was measured using quantitative real-time PCR. Bone structure of proximal and midshaft tibia was evaluated by micro-computed tomography. Mice fed the HFD were 31% heavier (P<0.01) than those fed the control diet. There were more ALP positive colony forming units at d 14 and calcium nodules at d 28 of culture by BMSC from HFD mice than from control mice (P<0.01). Receptor activator of NF-kappaB ligand (RANKL) mRNA levels and the ratio of RANKL to osteoprotegerin expression in HFD animals was higher (P<0.01) than in control diet animals. Serum tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase levels were higher in HFD fed mice when compared to control diet fed mice (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in tibial fat-free weight, length, and cortical parameters of midshaft between the two groups. Compared with control mice, tibial trabecular bone volume was reduced, and trabecular separation was increased in HFD mice. Trabecular number was lower (P<0.05) and connectivity density tended to be less (P=0.07) in HFD mice than in control mice. In conclusion, our data indicate that obesity induced by a high-fat diet decreases cancellous bone mass but has no effect on cortical bone mass in the tibia in mice.
A marine ichthyofauna from the Miocene of Panama, and the Tertiary Caribbean faunal province

ABSTRACT The marine vertebrate fauna collected from the Gatun Formation, middle Miocene of Panama, includes the following genera in the non-otolith assemblage: Carcharodon, Procarcharodon, Ginglymostoma, Hemipristis, Galeocerdo cf. Carcharhinus, Sphyrna cf. Isistius, Dasyatis, Myliobatis, Rhinoptera, Aetobatus, Acipenser, Sphyraena, Trichiurus, Lepisosteus and unidentified crocodilian, chelonian, and mammalian taxa. The otolith assemblage consists of 20 taxa of bony fishes. The fauna contains a mixture of marine forms representing coastal to open-water habitats. The Gatun ichthyofauna compares favorably to the Miocene selachian fauna from Ecuador, the Miocene ichthyofaunas from the Caribbean, and the large ichthyofauna from the Pungo River Formation in North Carolina, U.S.A. These tropical occurrences collectively represent the vertebrate fauna of the Tertiary Caribbean Faunal Province that reached its greatest interoceanic connection between the Pacific and the Caribbean in the Miocene. The provincial li...
Al-Qaeda as an Adversary: Do We Understand Our Enemy?

Several recent books on al-Qaeda depict the organization as capable, committed, and bloodthirsty. The authors contend that further attacks, perhaps exceeding the scale of September 11, are likely and may even be inevitable. Indeed, they portray the United States as caught in an enduring struggle with Islamic extremism. Although the effort to arrest, kill, or disrupt al-Qaeda's leadership may be going extremely well, radical Islam appears to be thriving. The bleak outlook, however, ignores several positive signs. Infighting among Islamists remains rampant, a perennial problem that al-Qaeda has managed to reduce but not eliminate. Islamist regimes such as the Taliban's Afghanistan have been overthrown, while revolutionary regimes in Sudan and Iran are now far less fervent. Nor have violent movements gained mass support in the Muslim world, as their bloody tactics alienate more Muslims than they attract. This portrait of al-Qaeda as an adversary suggests several policies. First, many of the bromides regarding counterterrorism in general—often drawn from struggles against small, left-wing European groups with at best limited popular appeal—do not apply to al-Qaeda. Its size, dedication, and popular appeal make it unusually, perhaps uniquely, formidable. Second, one must be wary of confusing al-Qaeda with its many affiliates and of confusing these violent radical groups with the broader political Islamist movement. Third, the United States must reengage its allies, ensuring that its counterterrorism strategy is robust enough to maintain their support. Fourth, public diplomacy, always an American weakness, must go from an episodic and underfunded foreign policy instrument to a major tool of national power. Fifth, al-Qaeda's unusually innovative nature requires the United States to try to defend not only against obvious methods such as truck bombs but also against new means like surface-to-air missiles and sustained suicide bombing campaigns. Sixth and finally, political leaders must engage the public to increase the ability of the United States to stand fast in the event of another major attack.
Pose estimation in industrial machine vision systems under sensing dynamics: A statistical learning approach

This paper deals with the problem of pose esti- mation (i.e., estimating position and orientation of an moving target) for real-time visual servoing, where the vision hardware is assumed to have severely limited measurement capability. In other words, we aim to compensate the slow sensor dynamics in industrial machine vision systems. The common approach is to predict the present target motion by propagating the delayed estimates with the target dynamics. Such method is sometimes problematic since the target motion characteristics (i.e., target dynamics) may change from one visual servoing task to another. Therefore, this paper presents a method which is able to estimate the target pose as well as learn the target dynamics. We apply the Expectation-Maximization algorithm to simultaneously solve the pose estimation problem and the target dynamics modeling problem. Several techniques including the extended Kalman filter/smoother, the block coordinate descent method, and the convex optimization method are utilized to ad- dress this problem. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated experimentally on a 6-DOF industrial robot.
Visual attention movements : a developmental study

The pattern of attention movements underlying reorientation of visual selective attention independent of eye movements was studied developmentally in 2 experiments. In Experiment 1, 8-year-old, 11-year-old, and college-age subjects first oriented their attention to a central location and were then cued to direct their attention either to the left or the right peripheral field. Following variable intervals, the target appeared at the cued location and reaction times were recorded. The data were interpretable in terms of the attentional spotlight theory since there was an interaction between distance of the target from fixation and SOA. In terms of this theory, the data indicate that the velocity of attention movements increases throughout the age range studied. Experiment 2, in contradiction to attentional spotlight theory, failed to find evidence of an interaction between distance and SOA. This experiment suggested that young children can covertly orient their attention by including valid, neutral, and invalid cues, and that these cues can both facilitate and inhibit attentional orientation. This experiment also extended the findings to central as well as peripheral cues.
Intra‐Industry Effects of Stock Splits: Focus on Insurance Companies

This paper examines the intra‐industry effects of 120 stock split announcements within the insurance industry between 1985 and 2006. Our results of the valuation effects are suggestive of dominant competitive effects for stock splits by insurance companies, especially life insurers, thus indicating possible changes in the competitive balance of the industry. The results of our cross‐sectional analyses suggest that for non‐splitting firms with a high concentration of competition the industry effects are less favorable. Industry effects are more favorable when the valuation effects of the splitting firms are more favorable, when the splitting firms are larger, and when the non‐splitting firms are more similar to the splitting firm. Overall, our results show that both industry‐wide and firm‐specific characteristics are important to explain the cross‐sectional variation in the intra‐industry effects, and that competitive effects and contagion effects are not entirely mutually exclusive.
Redistribution and Non-Consumption Smoothing in an Open Economy

This paper presents a model where income distribution and redistributive fiscal policy interact to affect the budget deficit and the pattern of net borrowing of a country. According to the standard representative agent paradigm, a small open economy should smooth consumption by borrowing from (lending to) the rest of the world when its income increases (declines) over time. The simple model of this paper delivers exactly the same predictions in the absence of income dispersion. When income distribution is not degenerate, however, the same model gives rise to a surprising wealth of results. In particular, poor economies with high inequality may exhibit completely counter-intuitive patterns of fiscal policy and external borrowing. The country's production path declines over time, because the more mobile agents leave the country to escape taxation; yet, the country might end up having a budget deficit and borrowing from abroad, thereby reinforcing rather than smoothing the asymmetry in consumption between the two periods. An important feature of this outcome is that it is backed by both the poor and the rich, who gain from the fiscal system at the expense of the middle class.
Physical Activity in Relation to Cardiovascular Disease and Total Mortality Among Men With Type 2 Diabetes

Background— The present study was conducted to examine the relationship of physical activity with risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality among men with type 2 diabetes. CVD risk and mor...
Breathers in polyacetylene and their optical absorption

Abstract A semiclassical formalism for the optical absorption in a coupled electron-phonon system is derived and applied to breather modes in trans-polyacetylene. We show that such breathers can account for both the photoinduced absorption peak observed at 1.35eV and the groundstate intragap absorption tail.
Cataractogenic potential of ionizing radiations in animal models that simulate man.

Aspects of experiments on radiation-induced lenticular opacification during the life spans of two animal models, the New Zealand white rabbit and the rhesus monkey, are compared and contrasted with published results from a life-span study of another animal model, the beagle dog, and the most recent data from the ongoing study of the survivors from radiation exposure at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. An important connection among the three animal studies is that all the measurements of cataract indices were made by one of the authors (Lee), so variation from personal subjectivity was reduced to a minimum. The primary objective of the rabbit experiments (radiations involved: Fe-56, Ar-40, and Ne-20 ions and Co-60 gamma photons) is an evaluation of hazards to astronauts from Galactic particulate radiations. An analogous evaluation of hazards from solar flares during space flight is being made with monkeys exposed to 32, 55, 138 and 400-MeV protons. Conclusions are drawn about the proper use of animal models to simulate radiation responses in man and the levels of radiation-induced lenticular opacification that pose risks to man in space.
Performance sensitivity analysis using statistical method and its applications to delay

The performance of deep submicron designs can be affected by various parametric variations, manufacturing defects, noise or modeling errors that are all statistical in nature. We propose a statistical framework for analyzing the performance sensitivity of designs to various timing related defects/noise/variations. The core engine of our approach is a highly efficient statistical timing analysis tool. We describe the application of our framework for delay fault modeling and analysis of resistive opens and shorts and as well as interconnect crosstalk. We present experimental results demonstrating the accuracy of our statistical framework as compared to SPICE (for a given set of input patterns) and nominal worst-case analysis, Experimental results for analysis of resistive opens and shorts are also included.
Computational Optimization of a Down-Scaled Diesel Engine Operating in the Conventional Diffusion Combustion Regime Using a Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm

Computational optimization of a high-speed diesel engine, combined with diesel engine size-scaling, is presented. A multi-objective genetic algorithm was employed to simultaneously optimize fuel consumption and engine-out emissions of the down-scaled version of a previously optimized baseline engine. By separating the design parameters into hardware parameters (e.g., the piston bowl geometry) and controllable parameters (e.g., injection pressure and timings), multiple operating conditions were optimized simultaneously. A new variable was introduced to evaluate the convergence of the optimization, defined as the ratio of the number of Pareto designs and the number of valid designs in each generation. Particular interest was placed on the effect of injection pressure on the optimization of the engine and whether the previously optimized baseline engine design holds for different engine sizes. For 32 generations, totaling 1024 designs, no better design than the initial optimum, which was generated for the ba...
Discussion of treatments for the kinetics of radical polymerization with primary radical termination

Without knowledge of the familiar geometric mean, the following equation was derived for the radical polymerization with primary radical termination under the condition that reaction between primary radicals is negligible: where both A and B are constants depending on various rate constants. This equation was mathematically and experimentally dealt with.
Inhalation of Environmental Stressors & Chronic Inflammation: Autoimmunity and Neurodegeneration

Human life expectancy and welfare has decreased because of the increase in environmental stressors in the air. An environmental stressor is a natural or human-made component present in our environment that upon reaching an organic system produces a coordinated response. This response usually involves a modification of the metabolism and physiology of the system. Inhaled environmental stressors damage the airways and lung parenchyma, producing irritation, recruitment of inflammatory cells, and oxidative modification of biomolecules. Oxidatively modified biomolecules, their degradation products, and adducts with other biomolecules can reach the systemic circulation, and when found in higher concentrations than normal they are considered to be biomarkers of systemic oxidative stress and inflammation. We classify them as metabolic stressors because they are not inert compounds; indeed, they amplify the inflammatory response by inducing inflammation in the lung and other organs. Thus the lung is not only the target for environmental stressors, but it is also the source of a number of metabolic stressors that can induce and worsen pre-existing chronic inflammation. Metabolic stressors produced in the lung have a number of effects in tissues other than the lung, such as the brain, and they can also abrogate the mechanisms of immunotolerance. In this review, we discuss recent published evidence that suggests that inflammation in the lung is an important connection between air pollution and chronic inflammatory diseases such as autoimmunity and neurodegeneration, and we highlight the critical role of metabolic stressors produced in the lung. The understanding of this relationship between inhaled environmental pollutants and systemic inflammation will help us to: (1) understand the molecular mechanism of environment-associated diseases, and (2) find new biomarkers that will help us prevent the exposure of susceptible individuals and/or design novel therapies.
Gas phase recombination of ionic molecules for ion-induced surface emission

Abstract The gas phase recombination mechanism has been used to interpret ion-induced emission from TiSi 2 and MoSi 2 surfaces in the presence of Cl 2 . Direct time-of-flight measurements have been performed on Si + , SiCl + , Ti + and TiCl + emitted from TiSi 2 and on Si + , SiCl + , Mo + and MoCl + emitted from MoSi 2 . It was found that the ionic molecular products were formed by recombination above the surface of a neutral Cl atom and an ionized metal or semiconductor atom. Theoretical calculations based on this approach agree very well with experimental data down to about 1 eV when an image potential adjustment is considered. This accounts for over 90% of the emitted ionic molecular products. It is significant that the emission of SiCl + from TiSi 2 and MoSi 2 results from a different mechanism than emission of neutral SiCl from elemental Si.
Teaching fiber-optic communications in engineering technology programs by virtual collaboration with industry

A fiber-optic communications course requires a deep understanding of the physical processes in the components and systems. Unfortunately, students in engineering technology programs lack the scientific background. Another challenge is that these students need to be trained as maintenance personnel. To resolve these problems, we focus our teaching on the use of corporate technical documentation.
Wired for Gender: Experientiality and Gender-Stereotyping in Computer-Mediated Communication

The present experiments examined how experiential thinking moderates gender stereotyping in anonymous, text-based computer-mediated communication. In Experiment 1, participants played a trivia game with an ostensible partner via computer, represented by a randomly assigned gender-marked character. Consistent with the cognitive-experiential self-theory, high experientials were more likely than lows to infer their partner's gender from arbitrary characters and also exhibited greater conformity to the male- than to female-charactered partners. In Experiment 2, when the partner's comments revealed gender-linked language differences, high experientials were more likely than lows to base their gender inferences on the linguistic features. Women were more likely to accept the partner's answers when masculine than feminine questions were asked and showed greater overall conformity than men, but such self-stereotyping was more pronounced among high experientials than lows.
A unified framework for group independent component analysis for multi-subject fMRI data

Abstract Independent component analysis (ICA) is becoming increasingly popular for analyzing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. While ICA has been successfully applied to single-subject analysis, the extension of ICA to group inferences is not straightforward and remains an active topic of research. Current group ICA models, such as the GIFT [Calhoun, V.D., Adali, T., Pearlson, G.D., Pekar, J.J., 2001. A method for making group inferences from functional MRI data using independent component analysis. Hum. Brain Mapp. 14, 140–151.] and tensor PICA [Beckmann, C.F., Smith, S.M., 2005. Tensorial extensions of independent component analysis for multisubject FMRI analysis. Neuroimage 25, 294–311.], make different assumptions about the underlying structure of the group spatio-temporal processes and are thus estimated using algorithms tailored for the assumed structure, potentially leading to diverging results. To our knowledge, there are currently no methods for assessing the validity of different model structures in real fMRI data and selecting the most appropriate one among various choices. In this paper, we propose a unified framework for estimating and comparing group ICA models with varying spatio-temporal structures. We consider a class of group ICA models that can accommodate different group structures and include existing models, such as the GIFT and tensor PICA, as special cases. We propose a maximum likelihood (ML) approach with a modified Expectation–Maximization (EM) algorithm for the estimation of the proposed class of models. Likelihood ratio tests (LRT) are presented to compare between different group ICA models. The LRT can be used to perform model comparison and selection, to assess the goodness-of-fit of a model in a particular data set, and to test group differences in the fMRI signal time courses between subject subgroups. Simulation studies are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed method under varying structures of group spatio-temporal processes. We illustrate our group ICA method using data from an fMRI study that investigates changes in neural processing associated with the regular practice of Zen meditation.
Malignant head and neck paragangliomas: treatment efficacy and prognostic indicators.

Abstract Purpose Malignant head and neck paragangliomas (MHNPs) are rare and occur in 6%–19% of all HNPs. We sought to identify predictors of survival and compare efficacy of treatment modalities to inform management of this rare disease. Materials and methods We performed a retrospective cohort study of MHNP cases in the National Cancer Institute Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database (SEER) from 1973 to 2009. We identified 86 patients with MHNP who had documented regional or distant tumor spread with a median follow-up of 74 months. We used Cox proportional hazard models to assess the significance of demographic factors and treatment on five-year overall survival. Results The most common treatment was surgery alone (36.0 %), followed by surgery with adjuvant radiation (33.7%). Five-year overall survival was 88.1% for surgery alone and 66.5% for adjuvant radiation (p = 0.2251). In univariate analysis, regional (vs. distant) spread (HR 0.23, p p p = 0.006) conferred significant survival advantage whereas age > 50 (HR 4.04, p 50 (HR 2.98, p = 0.005) remained significant in multivariate analysis. In patients with regional-only disease, five-year overall survival was 95.4% for surgery alone compared to 75.6% for surgery with radiation ( p = 0.1055). Conclusions This is the largest and most contemporary series of MHNP patients. Age and tumor stage are significant factors in predicting survival. Surgical resection significantly improves survival outcomes. From this analysis, the value of adjuvant radiation is not clear.
Effect of Temperatures on Fish Alkaline Protease, Protein Interaction and Texture Quality

The effect of the activity of fish alkaline protease and protein denaturation on texture changes in mullet muscle during heating were studied. The proteolytic enzyme and the urea denatured hemoglobin substrate were incubated at different pH values and various temperatures. The enzyme activity was optimal at pH 8 and at 65°C. The extent of protein-protein interactions in mullet actomyosin solutions increased with increasing temperature. The rate of protein-protein interactions increased sharply as temperature increased from 35°C to 45°C at pH 6. When mullet muscle was heated at various temperatures ranging from 55°-85°C, the shear force value increased (toughening) during the initial stage of heating and then decreased (softening). The toughening of fish flesh is probably due to muscle protein interactions, and the later tenderizing of fish flesh may be explained by alkaline protease activity (hydrolysis) masking the protein denaturation effect. When fish flesh was cooked at 100°C, no tenderizing effect was observed. This was probably due to loss of enzyme activity and only protein denaturation had significant effect on texture quality.
Electroweak corrections using effective field theory : Applications to the CERN LHC

Electroweak Sudakov logarithms at high energy, of the form ({alpha}/sin{sup 2}{theta}{sub W}){sup n}log{sup m}s/M{sub Z,W}{sup 2}, are summed using effective theory (EFT) methods. The exponentiation of Sudakov logarithms and factorization is discussed in the EFT formalism. Radiative corrections are computed to scattering processes in the standard model involving an arbitrary number of external particles. The computations include nonzero particle masses such as the t-quark mass, electroweak mixing effects which lead to unequal W and Z masses and a massless photon, and Higgs corrections proportional to the top-quark Yukawa coupling. The structure of the radiative corrections, and which terms are summed by the EFT renormalization group is discussed in detail. The omitted terms are smaller than 1%. We give numerical results for the corrections to dijet production, dilepton production, tt production, and squark pair production. The purely electroweak corrections are significant--about 15% at 1 TeV, increasing to 30% at 5 TeV, and they change both the scattering rate and angular distribution. The QCD corrections (which are well-known) are also computed with the EFT. They are much larger--about a factor of 4 at 1 TeV, increasing to a factor of 30 at 5 TeV. Mass effects are also significant; the qq{yields}tt ratemore » is enhanced relative to the light-quark production rate by 40%.« less
Nonesterified Phytosterols Dissolved and Recrystallized in Oil Reduce Plasma Cholesterol in Gerbils and Humans

When free phytosterols are adequately heated and then cooled in fat, they recrystallize and are rendered bioavailable for blocking cholesterol absorption. To extend the application of phytosterols to fried foods, the activity of these modified crystals was assessed in 2 experiments with 26 male gerbils fed purified diets containing 0.15 g/100 g cholesterol with or without 0.75 g/100 g free phytosterols. The heat-modified soybean sterols were added directly to the diet (Expt. 1) or as phytosterol-enriched potato chips (Expt. 2). In the gerbil experiments, only the diet containing phytosterols significantly reduced plasma cholesterol (35-48%) and the total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio (40%), as well as hepatic cholesterol esters (80%). In a subsequent human study, subjects (n = 7) consumed two 28-g servings of tortilla chips fried in oil with or without phytosterols that provided 0 or 1.5 g/d for 4-wk periods in a crossover design (Expt. 3). During consumption of the phytosterol-enriched chips, significant reductions in plasma cholesterol (10%) and LDL cholesterol (15%) were achieved without affecting HDL-C. This novel means of delivering free phytosterols proved to be both functionally efficient and effective.
Rational polypharmacy in the treatment of mood disorders

AbstractIncreasing awareness of treatment resistance and the emergence of tolerance on once effective medications have facilitated acceptance of a variety of novel drug combination treatment strategies. Although clinical practice is based for the most part on a literature that is still seriously lackin in well-controlled and methodologically rigorous studies, the risk-benefit ratio in most cases seems acceptable if a clear understanding of the possible therapeutic and adverse interactions on the part of both the physician and the patient prevails. Historically, drug combinations have emerged out of serendipity, but increasingly, theories of complimentary drug action serve a heuristic propose in guiding clinical research efforts, and in testin the purposed mechanisms of actions for each of the drugs separately.
Collection and storage of human blood and adipose for genomic analysis of clinical samples

In this methods article, we describe collection and storage of clinically acquired blood and adipose samples for transcript analysis in an ongoing study exploring obesity in renal transplant recipients. Total ribonucleic acid (RNA) was isolated from whole blood using the LeukoLOCK™ Total RNA Isolation System (n = 4), and comparisons between fresh and frozen samples were made. Abdominal subcutaneous adipose samples (n = 4) were obtained during kidney transplantation, flash frozen, and stored at −80°C. Adipose RNA was extracted using either the STAT-60 method modified for lipids or Trizol plus RNeasy extraction. Affymetrix HG-U133 plus 2.0 arrays and Affymetrix Human Gene 1.0 ST arrays were used for both blood and adipose transcriptome analysis. Purity, quality, and quantity of RNA were high with comparable results using both array platforms. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 34:408–418, 2011
Robot performance measurement and calibration using a 3D computer vision system

The use of a single-camera 3D computer vision system as a position sensor in order to perform robot calibration is examined. A vision feedback scheme, termed vision-guided robot control (VRC), that can improve the accuracy of a robot in an online iterative manner is described. This system demonstrates the advantage that can be achieved by a Cartesian space robot control scheme when end-effector position and orientation are actually sensed instead of calculated from the kinematic equations. The viability of using a vision system for robot calibration is demonstrated by experimentally showing that the accuracy of a robot can be drastically improved. The vision system can also be used to determine the repeatability and accuracy of a robot in a simple, efficient, and quick manner. Experimental work with an IBM electric drive robot and the proposed vision system produced a 97- and 145-fold improvement in the position and orientation accuracy of the robot, respectively. >
Effects of the P1 Plasmid Centromere on Expression of P1 Partition Genes

The partition operon of P1 plasmid encodes two proteins, ParA and ParB, required for the faithful segregation of plasmid copies to daughter cells. The operon is followed by a centromere analog, parS, at which ParB binds. ParA, a weak ATPase, represses the par promoter most effectively in its ADP-bound form. ParB can recruit ParA to parS, stimulate its ATPase, and significantly stimulate the repression. We report here that parS also participates in the regulation of expression of the par genes. A single chromosomal parS was shown to augment repression of several copies of the par promoter by severalfold. The repression increase was sensitive to the levels of ParA and ParB and to their ratio. The increase may be attributable to a conformational change in ParA mediated by the parS-ParB complex, possibly acting catalytically. We also observed an in cis effect of parS which enhanced expression of parB, presumably due to a selective modulation of the mRNA level. Although ParB had been earlier found to spread into and silence genes flanking parS, silencing of the par operon by ParB spreading was not significant. Based upon analogies between partitioning and septum placement, we speculate that the regulatory switch controlled by the parS-ParB complex might be essential for partitioning itself.
A multi-element enhanced bandwidth PIFA for beam steering in a mobile phone at 1900 MHz

A multi-element parasitic planar inverted F-antenna (PIFA) array operating at 1900MHz was designed for beam steering. The array consists of a driven element and two parasitic elements both terminated with capacitive reactances. The proposed antenna array has 60%-130% wider bandwidth than a single PIFA and can direct its beam at three different angles in one of the elevation planes. The beam direction change was achieved by selecting appropriate capacitive terminations at the feed points of the parasitic elements.
Metadata Characteristics as Predictors for Editor Selectivity in a Current Awareness Service

RePEc is a large digital library for the economics community. “NEP: New Economics Papers” is a current awareness service for recent additions to RePEc. The service is run by volunteer editors. They filter new additions to RePEc into subject-specific reports. The intended purpose of this current awareness service is to filter papers by subject matter without any judgment of their academic quality. We use binary logistic regression analysis to estimate the probability of a paper being included in any of the subject reports as a function of a range of observable variables. Our analysis suggests that, contrary to their own claims, editors use quality criteria. These include the reputation of the series as well as the reputation of the authors. Our findings suggest that a current awareness service can be used as a first step of a peer-review process.
Quantitative analysis of diffusion tensor images across subjects using probabilistic tractography

White matter tractography can generate a 3D macroscopic view of the white matter connections in the brain by measuring the diffusion of cellular fluid in tissue and visualize the connections with line strips, tubes, etc. In the past, tractography techniques based on deterministic methodologies have been extensively used. Deterministic tracking follows the primary eigen direction of diffusion that limits its clinical applicability to areas where anisotropy is not clear. More recently, probabilistic tractography methods have been emerging as new tools for extracting fiber tracts. This paper presents a new probability-based framework for quantitative, inter-subject analysis of diffusion tensor imaging data. Advantages of the probabilistic tractography are in its inherent ability to model noise and uncertainty in its global estimation model. This facilitates more accurate tracking in complex neighborhoods, such as branching and crossing fibers. With a combination of statistical measures, our approach can pinpoint abnormalities through the comparison between a set of normal population and patient data. The experiments demonstrate its excellent performance in identifying imaging symptoms of epilepsy and Tourette Syndrome.
Unhealthy and healthy weight control behaviours among bus operators

Background Urban bus operators are an occupational group with high rates of overweight and obesity. Understanding methods bus operators use for weight control may be important; there may be increased risk for these workers to engage in less healthy weight management behaviours due to stressful working conditions.
Exploring Nonresponse Bias in the Department of Veterans Affairs' Bereaved Family Survey

Abstract Background: Patients' and families' evaluations of health care, including palliative care, are widely used as performance measures. Survey scores may be affected by nonresponse bias, resulting in inaccurate performance evaluation. Objectives: Our aim was to examine nonresponse bias for the mailed version of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Bereaved Family Survey Performance Measure (BFS-PM) and evaluate the effect of nonresponse bias on facilities' BFS-PM scores. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of a national sample was conducted. The sample consisted of 20,540 veterans who died in one of 146 VA Medical Centers (VAMCs) between October 2012 and September 2013. Next of kin (NOK) were asked to complete and return the survey. The BFS-PM is defined as the proportion of NOK who rated overall care for the veteran during the last month of life as “excellent.” After creating a model to predict the likelihood of response based on patient and clinical characteristics, we applied inverse probabilit...
Multiple-Carrier Behavior of a Frequency-Selective Ferrite Limiter

The ferrite limiter is a device which has the property of independently limiting two or more RF carriers if they are spaced by several megacycles from each other. This property may have utility in communication satellites as a multiple access tool or for minimizing the effects of jamming signals. The introductory section describes the device, its limiting action, and mode of operation in a commercial or military communications satellite. The body of the paper summarizes the measurements taken to determine the communications performance of the device. Specifically, measurements covering the steady state and dynamic bandwidth, the limiting action for one and two FM carriers, the phase linearity, and the crosstalk between two FM carriers are presented. The measured performance of the device was in reasonable agreement with performance predicted from a simplified analytic model. Measurements found the device to be essentially distortionless for a single wideband FM signal. With two carriers present, the limiting factor of performance was found to be coherent crosstalk.
Mixed-species bird flocks in dipterocarp forest of north-central Burma (Myanmar)

We studied the bird community in deciduous, dipterocarp forest of north-central Burma (Myanmar) during December 1994, March 1996, and January 1997 and 1999. Most members of this community participated in mixed-species flocks. Seventy-three flocks were encountered during our study, containing 52 species. Of these, 25 species occurred in more than 10% of flocks, and were included in our analyses. There were 26 significant correlations among species pairs, 25 of which were positive. Cluster analysis indicated that there were three principal types of flocks: one consisting mostly of small passerines and picids, commonly including Common Wood-Shrike, Small Minivet and White-browed Fantail, among others; a second type consisting mainly of sylviids, e.g. Arctic, Dusky and Radde's Warblers; and a third type which generally centred around Greater and Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrushes. Bird-eating hawks were numerous at these sites, and we witnessed several attacks on flocks during the study. Thus we infer that enhanced protection from predation is an important benefit conferred by flock membership. In contrast, there was little overlap in foraging behaviour among species, suggesting that foraging facilitation is a relatively minor benefit enjoyed by flock members, although we did observe White-browed Fantails and Greater Racket-tailed Drongos kleptoparasitizing other species on occasion.
Clinical Reasoning: A 36-year-old man with vertical diplopia

A 36-year-old man with Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome presented with binocular vertical diplopia following suboccipital craniotomy for resection of a cerebellar hemangioblastoma. His diplopia was worse in left gaze. He was effectively treated with a 6-diopter base-down prism in the right eye. With-out spontaneous improvement after 10 months of using prisms, he desired an alternative to prism correction. ### Question for consideration: 1. What features of the examination will help determine the cause of vertical diplopia? A detailed neuro-ophthalmologic history and examination is critical for evaluation of double vision (table). First, it should be established whether double vision is monocular (persists with the fellow eye closed) or binocular (abates with one eye closed). Binocular diplopia results when misaligned eyes relay contradictory visuospatial information; it therefore does not occur when viewing through one eye only. Examination should include observation of abnormal posture, such as a head tilt or head turn that the patient may use to minimize symptoms; these may also be evident on old photographs. Ocular ductions (movements of each eye individually) and versions (movements of the eyes together) should be carefully examined in all directions, to identify abnormalities of muscle weakness or overaction.1 Weakness in a particular direction of gaze may be partial or complete, and may result from dysfunction at the level of the cranial nerve, eye muscle, or neuromuscular junction. Muscle overaction in a direction of gaze often signifies compensation for a long-standing or congenital process. The possibility of mechanical restriction (for example, from an orbital mass or extraocular muscle fibrosis) may be tested by evaluating forced ductions, using a cotton-tipped applicator or ophthalmic forceps to rotate the globe after applying topical anesthesia. In patients with nonrestrictive paresis, the eye can be moved the full extent of a normal duction. View this table: Table Examination techniques in the diagnosis of vertical diplopia It is common …
The time course of radiation therapy-induced reductions in regional perfusion: A prospective study with >5 years of follow-up

Abstract Purpose: To assess the time-dependence of radiation therapy (RT)-induced reductions in regional lung perfusion, as measured by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) lung perfusion scans. Methods and Materials: Between 1991 and 1999, 79 patients had SPECT lung perfusion scans before and serially after RT. Changes in regional perfusion were correlated with regional dose using 3D planning tools and image fusion (PLUNC-Plan UNC). Multiple post-RT follow-up scans were evaluated to determine the temporal nature of RT-induced regional perfusion changes. To facilitate the comparison of dose-response curves (DRCs) at different post-RT intervals, each DRC was fit to a linear model and thus described by its slope. Results: There was a dose-dependent reduction in regional perfusion at nearly all time points post-RT ( p = 0.0001). The slope of the DRCs for RT-induced reductions in regional perfusion became steeper at essentially each successive follow-up interval ( p = 0.0001). However, the increases in slope became progressively smaller at later follow-up intervals. Overall, about 80% of the long-term RT-induced regional perfusion injury was manifest within 12 months post-RT. Conclusion: There is a progression of RT-induced reductions in regional perfusion, with most of this injury manifest within 12 months post-RT. Additional regional injury appears to evolve for years.