cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prophylaxis of cytomegalovirus disease in mismatched patients after heart transplantation using combined antiviral and immunoglobulin therapy.

Background. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common cause of infection and morbidity after heart transplantation. Seronegative recipients (R) of seropositive donor hearts (D) are at high risk for CMV disease. We compared three different CMV prophylaxis regimens using combined antiviral and immunoglobulin therapy. Methods. In 99 patients who survived more than 30 days after heart transplant, all received induction with antilymphocytic therapy and triple-drug therapy. In group A, DR patients received one dose of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) followed by one dose of CMV-specific immunoglobulin (CMV-IVIG), and intravenous ganciclovir (GCV) for 4 weeks followed by 11 months of oral acyclovir (ACV). In group B, DR patients received one dose IVIG followed by five doses of CMV-IVIG and intravenous GCV for 14 weeks followed by 9 months of oral ACV. In group C, DR patients were treated with the same regimen as for group B, except oral ACV was replaced with oral GCV. Results. The actuarial freedom from CMV disease for DR patients at 1 month, 1 year, and 2 years after transplantation in group A was 100%, 25% 15%, and 25% 15%, respectively; group B was 100%, 67% 27%, and 67% 27%; group C was 100%, 83% 15%, and 83% 15% (P .01, groups B and C vs group A). By comparison, the actuarial freedom from CMV disease for seropositive recipients (DR or DR )a t 1 month, 1 year, and 2 years in group A was 100%, 87% 7%, and 82% 8%, respectively; group B was 100%, 88% 8%, and 75% 11%; group C was 100%, 72% 9%, and 72% 9% (P NS among groups). Rejection rates did not differ among the three groups. Conclusions. A longer course of intravenous GCV with multiple doses of CMV-IVIG was a more effective prophylaxis regimen against CMV disease for the high-risk group of seronegative recipients of seropositive donor hearts.
Cis-acting elements in the 5'-flanking DNA of the malic enzyme gene regulate tissue-specific T3-responsiveness in chick embryo fibroblasts.

Abstract Triiodothyronine (T3) stimulates transcription of the malic enzyme gene in chick embryo hepatocytes (CEH), but not in chick embryo fibroblasts (CEF), even though the two cell types contain similar nuclear T3 binding activities (F. B. Hillgartner, W. Chen, and A. G. Goodridge, J. Biol. Chem. 267, 12299–12306, 1992). Based on Western blot analyses and gel electrophoretic mobility-shift assays, differences in mass of thyroid hormone receptor (TR)α or binding of TRα to T3 response element (T3RE) are not responsible for tissue-specific T3 responsiveness. Using transfection assays, we show that the primary T3RE in RCAS-TRα-CEF, cells that constitutively over-express TRα, is located downstream of the T3REs that are primarily responsible for T3 responsiveness in CEH and is only weakly functional in CEH. T3RE 2, the major T3RE of the malic enzyme gene in CEH is active in CEF when the construct does not contain additional malic enzyme DNA, but not in constructs containing DNA from −3858 to −3541 bp. Responsiveness conferred by T3RE 2 is inhibited in CEF and RCAS-TRα-CEF by three or more cis -acting elements downstream from T3RE 2. One element each was localized to fragments from −3622 to −3595 and −3561 to −3541 bp. The inhibitory effect of these elements was not observed in CEH and, although they cannot explain all of the difference in responsiveness in the two cell types, may contribute to the tissue-specific T3 responsiveness of the malic enzyme gene.
A shared memory parallel algorithm for hybrid image classification

This work presents a shared memory parallel version of the hybrid classification algorithm IGSCR (iterative guided spectral class rejection) to facilitate the transition from serial to parallel processing. This transition is motivated by a demonstrated need for more computing power driven by the increasing size of remote sensing datasets due to higher resolution sensors, larger study regions, and the like. Parallel IGSCR was developed to produce fast and portable code using Fortran 95 and OpenMP. Parallel results are given using the SGI Altix 3300 shared memory computer and the SGI Altix 3700 with as many as 64 processors reaching speedups of almost 77.
Genomic profiles of colorectal cancers differ based on patient smoking status.

Human sporadic colorectal cancer is the result of a lengthy somatic evolutionary process facilitated by various forms of genomic instability. Such instability arises endogenously from mutations in genes whose role is to preserve genomic integrity, and exogenously from environmental agents that generate genomic damage. We have found that cigarette smoking shifts the genomic profiles and genomic instability patterns of colorectal carcinomas. The genomic profiles of 57 consecutive cancers were examined; 31 cases were current or former smokers and 26 were nonsmokers. Genome-wide allelotypes of 348 markers were examined, along with comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) on ordered BAC microarrays, microsatellite instability, and inter-(simple sequence repeat) polymerase chain reaction instability. Tumors from nonsmokers exhibited losses of heterozygosity, particularly on chromosomes 14 and 18, whereas tumors from smokers exhibited a more diffuse pattern of allelic losses. Tumors from smokers exhibited higher overall rates of loss of heterozygosity, but showed lower rates of background microsatellite instability (MSI-L). On BAC array CGH, higher levels of generalized amplifications and deletions were observed in tumors from smokers, differentially affecting male smokers. In the transforming growth factor-β signaling pathway, MADH4 mutations were more common in tumors from smokers, whereas transforming growth factor-β RII mutations were more common among nonsmokers.
An Economic Analysis Model With Environmental Strategies Embedded for End-of-Life Management of Electronic Products

With huge amount of electronic products becoming obsolete each year, more and more Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and recycling companies engage in economic pursuits from the End-of-Life (EOL) management of the electronic wastes, while the increasing environmental concerns from society and governmental agencies ask for proper considerations of environmental strategies during the EOL management process to reduce the environmental impact of these electronic products. This paper proposes an economic analysis model with environmental strategies embedded for the management of EOL electronic products, in which both economic and environmental factors are well considered. The purpose of this model is to help OEMs and recyclers in economic and environmental analysis of their EOL management processes.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Legal abortions and trends in age-specific marriage rates.

Of the many studies which consider correlates of legal abortion in the United States, only one explores directly the relationship between abortion and trend in marriage rates.' That research was stimulated by the observations that most legal abortions are performed for the unmarried2 and legal abortion is associated with fewer legitimate and illegitimate births which were first births of young mothers.3 4 From this it was reasoned liberalized abortion policies might be providing a new alternative to marriage forced by premarital pregnancy, and thereby be related to a decline in marriage rates. The findings supported that notion: trends in crude marriage rates for states with many and few legal abortions were similar before 1969, when there were few legal abortions in the U.S., but after that states with many legal abortions began exhibiting declines in crude marriage rates that were not experienced by states with relatively few legal abortions. That study concluded more analyses were necessary before inferring a causal connection between legal abortions and marriage rate trends. One of the analyses suggested is presented here: examination of the relationship between legal abortions and age-specific marriage rates. If legal abortions lead to postponement of marriage, the relationship between legal abortions and marriage rate trends should be stronger for younger than older women. The basis for this hypothesis is two-fold. First, most legal abortions are performed for young and unmarried women: in 1971, 80 percent of legal abortions were for women under 30 years of age, and 67 percent of the women were unmarried.2 Secondly, presumably premarital pregnancy is a stronger determinant of marriage among younger women than those who are older.5 Although confirmation of this hypothesis would not provide definitive proof of a causal relationship between legal abortions and marriage rate trends, lack of support for it would weaken the notion it is causal.
What does control theory bring to systems research

Feedback mechanisms can help today's increasingly complex computer systems adapt to changes in workloads or operating conditions. Control theory offers a principled way for designing feedback loops to deal with unpredictable changes, uncertainties, and disturbances in systems. We provide an overview of the joint research at HP Labs and University of Michigan in the past few years, where control theory was applied to automated resource and service level management in data centers. We highlight the key benefits of a control-theoretic approach for systems research, and present specific examples from our experience of designing adaptive resource control systems where this approach worked well. In addition, we outline the main limitations of this approach, and discuss the lessons learned from our experience.
Modulation of respiratory burst activity and mitogenic response of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and murine splenocytes and peritoneal cells by malathion.

Abstract Previous studies showed that acute administration of noncholinergic doses of malathion in vivo elevated the humoral immune and mitogenic responses but did not alter the generation of the cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response to alloantigen of splenocytes from treated mice. However, in vitro exposure to malathion suppressed the generation of a CTL response. In this study, the effects of in vivo and in vitro (with and without and NADPH-regenerating liver enzyme system) exposure to malathion on the mitogenic responses of murine splenocytes or respiratory burst activity of peritoneal cells were examined. The effect of in vitro exposure to malathion on the ability of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) to perform these functions was also examined. In vivo exposure to malathion significantly elevated proliferative responses of murine splenocytes to mitogens. Cell separation and reconstitution studies indicated that adherent splenocytes from treated mice could elevate the proliferative responses of nonadherent splenocytes from control mice. Alternatively, in vitro exposure of murine splenocytes or human PBMC to malathion or malathion metabolized by a liver enzyme system suppressed or did not change, respectively, the proliferative responses to mitogens. In addition, cell separation and reconstitution experiments indicated that in vitro exposure to malathion affected nonadherent splenocytes and PBMC. In vivo exposure to malathion also elevated the production of hydrogen peroxide, following stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate, by murine peritoneal cells. In vivo exposure of murine peritoneal cells to malathion suppressed or elevated the respiratory burst activity following exposure to malathion or malathion metabolized by a liver enzyme system, respectively. Exposure of human PBMC to metabolized malathion in vitro enhanced their ability to produce hydrogen peroxide.
Spectropolarimetric Test of the Relativistic Disk Model for the Broad Hα Line of Arp 102B

The favored form of the relativistic disk model for the broad Hα line of Arp 102B leads to predictions for the percent polarization, polarized flux profile, and polarization position angle of the line. The line is polarized, but observations do not confirm the specific predictions.
Electroporation of cells and tissues

Electrical pulses that cause the transmembrane voltage of fluid lipid bilayer membranes to reach at least U/sub m//spl ap/0.2 V, usually 0.5-1 V, are hypothesized to create primary membrane "pores" with a minimum radius of -1 nm. Transport of small ions such as Na/sup +/ and Cl/sup -/ through a dynamic pore population discharges the membrane even while an external pulse tends to increase U/sub m/, leading to dramatic electrical behavior. Molecular transport through primary pores and pores enlarged by secondary processes provides the basis for transporting molecules into and out of biological cells. Cell electroporation in vitro is used mainly for transfection by DNA introduction, but many other interventions are possible, including microbial killing. Ex vivo electroporation provides manipulation of cells that are reintroduced into the body to provide therapy. In vivo electroporation of tissues enhances molecular transport through tissues and into their constitutive cells. Tissue electroporation, by longer, large pulses, is involved in electrocution injury. Tissue electroporation by shorter, smaller pulses is under investigation for biomedical engineering applications of medical therapy aimed at cancer treatment, gene therapy, and transdermal drug delivery. The latter involves a complex barrier containing both high electrical resistance, multilamellar lipid bilayer membranes and a tough, electrically invisible protein matrix.
Ammonia emissions from broiler litter: response to bedding materials and acidifiers

1. In a pen study, NH(3) flux estimates were performed when clean wheat straw or wood shavings were used as bedding materials in combination with two NH(3) control amendments: sodium bisulphate and a commercial premix of phosphoric + hydrochloric + citric acids. 2. Ammonia emissions from wood shavings were 19% greater than from wheat straw around waterers, but statistically similar around feeders. These results could be due to the greater caking observed when wheat straw was used. 3. Sodium bisulphate reduced NH(3) emissions significantly only in the first half of the rearing period; the loss of efficacy in the second half resulted in total NH(3) volatilisation not statistically different from the untreated control. The treatment containing phosphoric + hydrochloric + citric acids did not have a significant effect in decreasing NH(3) emissions. 4. Bird mortality was not affected by the treatments, but broiler weight gain when wheat straw was used was significantly lower than with wood shavings, which could have been caused by the greater caking observed with wheat straw.
The Late Quaternary Mammalian Fauna of Nelson Bay Cave (Cape Province, South Africa): Its Implications for Megafaunal Extinctions and Environmental and Cultural Change

Nelson Bay Cave is located on the Robberg Peninsula (34°06′ S, 23°24′ E) at Plettenberg Bay, Cape Province, South Africa. Excavation of the Late Quaternary fill of the cave has provided a rich assemblage of mammalian remains dated between ca. 18,000 and 5000 radiocarbon years B.P. Identification and analysis of these remains has shown that important changes in the composition of the mammalian fauna took place first about 12,000 B.P. and again about 9000 B.P. The earlier change is especially clear-cut and is interpreted to reflect the disappearance of grassland from the area as well as the influence of rising sea level. Both faunal changes were accompanied by changes in associated artifactual materials and it is suggested that faunal and cultural changes were causally linked. The mammalian species dated between 18,000 and 12,000 B.P. include the latest recorded Sub-Saharan occurrences of some extinct taxa and indicate that terminal Pleistocene/Early Holocene megafaunal extinctions may have been more important in Southern Africa than has hitherto been thought.
Redefining the role of Broca’s area in speech

For over a century neuroscientists have debated the dynamics by which human cortical language networks allow words to be spoken. Although it is widely accepted that Broca’s area in the left inferior frontal gyrus plays an important role in this process, it was not possible, until recently, to detail the timing of its recruitment relative to other language areas, nor how it interacts with these areas during word production. Using direct cortical surface recordings in neurosurgical patients, we studied the evolution of activity in cortical neuronal populations, as well as the Granger causal interactions between them. We found that, during the cued production of words, a temporal cascade of neural activity proceeds from sensory representations of words in temporal cortex to their corresponding articulatory gestures in motor cortex. Broca’s area mediates this cascade through reciprocal interactions with temporal and frontal motor regions. Contrary to classic notions of the role of Broca’s area in speech, while motor cortex is activated during spoken responses, Broca’s area is surprisingly silent. Moreover, when novel strings of articulatory gestures must be produced in response to nonword stimuli, neural activity is enhanced in Broca’s area, but not in motor cortex. These unique data provide evidence that Broca’s area coordinates the transformation of information across large-scale cortical networks involved in spoken word production. In this role, Broca’s area formulates an appropriate articulatory code to be implemented by motor cortex.
Passing to India: a critique of American football’s expansion:

Although India has long held a passion for cricket, an organization called the Elite Football League of India (EFLI) is looking to disrupt that sporting nerve center, and introduce the foreign sport of American football to the country’s growing middle class. While it is too soon to assess how Indian audiences will respond to, negotiate and perhaps create new cultural practices around American football, we focus this article on an analysis of efforts made by promoters of the new league to create a cultural context in which this very foreign game might make sense. Drawing from press releases, promotional videos and news coverage, we demonstrate how language of social, economic and individual (male) development is deployed to create American football as a platform for delivering global brands to a vast Indian market. In deconstructing these efforts, we critically explicate how creative practices are implemented to produce an atmosphere within which globalization may occur.
Effect of Al Composition and Gate Recess on Power Performance of AlGaN/GaN High-Electron Mobility Transistors

AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors with different Al compositions and barrier thicknesses were compared. The samples with higher Al composition and similar 2D electron gas density showed higher gate leakage, utilizing a slant field plate gate process. By applying a gate recess etch and a slant field plate gate process, gate leakage was improved to a similar level for all the devices, and the power density and PAE were much improved.
Response of a Gas-Liquid Interface to Concentration Pulses

Frequency response techniques have been applied to the study of the absorption of sulfur dioxide in water contaminated with surface-active material. The response of a 0.004-in. thick liquid film to a sinusoidally varying sulfur dioxide pressure was determined for frequencies ranging from 1 to 10 cycles/sec. The total quantity of sulfur dioxide dissolved was observed continuously by measuring the amount of light absorbed by the film, which contained a colored hydrogen ion indicator, cresol red. The experimental data indicate the presence of a surface phase of absorbed material through which sulfur dioxide molecules had to pass as they were transferred between gas and liquid. In addition to creating a resistance to the passage of the solute molecules, the surface phase apparently was capable of storing the molecules temporarily.
Fetal breathing movements and the abnormal contraction stress test.

Abstract The presence or absence of fetal breathing movements (FBMs) in a 30 minute observation period was determined in 29 patients with abnormal contraction stress tests (CSTs). The study population included 14 patients with positive CSTs, 11 patients with equivocal CSTs, and four patients with unclassified CSTs. In patients with either an equivocal or a positive CST, the presence of FBMs was associated with a high incidence of false predictive tests. Conversely, the absence of FBMs in a patient with a positive CST was uniformly associated with intrapartum fetal distress. The presence or absence of FBMs was no helpful in assessing the patients with unclassified CSTs. These data suggest FBMs may be a useful means of evaluating the patient with a positive or equivocal CST.
Cocoon Deposition and Hatching in the Aquatic Leech, Theromyzon tessulatum (Annelida, Hirudinea, Glossiphoniidae)

Abstract Cocoons of the leech, Theromyzon tessulatum, are secreted underwater and sealed by two opercula (plugs) that are asymmetrically positioned on the upper aspect of the cocoon membrane. The opercula are protein-based, but their amino acid composition appears to differ from the surrounding cocoon membrane. Fluid deposited inside the cocoon by the parent leech contains several proteins ranging in size from ∼40–100 kDa, most of which have pI's below 6.8. While inside the cocoon, late stage embryos display peristaltic contractions that may contribute to weakening of the opercula/membrane boundary. Juveniles break through the opercula after 2–3 wk and exit the cocoon over the course of several hours. The asymmetrical position of the opercula on the upper surface of the cocoon membrane may facilitate contact between the brooding parent leech and the emerging young, which attach to the venter of the parent and are brought to their first blood meal.
Disconnects between popular discourse and home advantage research: What can fans and media tell us about the home advantage phenomenon?

Many of the factors identified as influencing the home advantage have an underlying social basis, presumably through the influence exerted by the home crowd. Beliefs in the home advantage and the causes of that advantage also have a social basis: sports coverage and fan discourse focus on some aspects of the phenomenon at the expense of others. This paper compares home advantage research with the use of the concept in media narratives and fan Internet postings. While there are many similarities across sources, the findings suggest three major differences. Fans, and to a lesser extent the media, (1) focus almost exclusively on winning as the evidence for a home advantage, (2) see crowd noise as the main factor for the home advantage, and (3) treat the phenomenon as much more transient than is suggested by academic studies. I identify several features of the phenomenon that facilitate popular views of the home advantage and suggest how future research may benefit from incorporating those views.
The Present Status of the Controversy Regarding the Bulk Viscosity of Fluids

Some years ago it was common for physicists to take the Stokes relation as obviously true. During the past two or three years many have come to hold the opposite view and to regard the Stokes relation as obviously false except for monatomic gases. Eight years of discomfort about the Stokes relation have brought me the conviction that nothing on either side of the argument is obvious. In most of what follows, the word viscosity shall refer only to the two coefficients μ and μ' which occur in Poisson’s dynamical equation, which is based upon the formula t i j = ( - p + μ' d k k ) d i j + 2μ d i j for the stress tensor t i j as a linear function of the rate of deformation tensor d i j . By their definition, these viscosities are for each fluid constants or functions of the thermodynamic state; they cannot depend upon the rate of deformation, the frequency of the motion, etc., for otherwise the linearity of the basic equation (1) would become meaningless.
Chromosome Location, Linkage with Simple Sequence Repeat Markers, and Leaf Rust Resistance Conditioned by Gene Lr63 in Wheat

RL6137, a ‘Thatcher’ backcross line of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) has resistance to Puccinia triticina (causal agent of wheat leaf rust) derived from T. monococcum. To determine the chromosome location of this resistance, RL6137 was crossed with Thatcher and F 2 individual seedlings were tested for segregation of leaf rust resistance and segregation of polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Leaf rust resistance genotypes of F 2 individuals were confi rmed with segregation of F 3 families. The F 2 seedlings and F 3 families segregated for a single leaf rust resistance gene. The SSR markers barc 57 and barc 321 located on chromosome 3AS were tightly linked with the leaf rust resistance gene. The leaf rust resistance gene in RL6137 was designated as Lr63. This gene conditions low to intermediate infection types to most P. triticina isolates and can be used in wheat improvement programs to enhance leaf rust resistance.
The where's and when's of kinase anchoring

Kinase anchoring has gained acceptance as a means to synchronize spatial and temporal aspects of cell signaling. A-kinase anchoring proteins (AKAPs) are a diverse group of functionally related proteins that target protein kinase A and other enzymes to coordinate a range of signaling events. Recent advances in this field have shown that incorporating phosphodiesterases into AKAP signaling complexes exerts local control of cAMP metabolism, that phosphorylation of some AKAPs potentiates downstream signaling events, that anchoring of distinct enzyme combinations functions as a mechanism to expand the repertoire of cellular events controlled by a single AKAP, and that fluorescent biosensors can be used to visualize dynamic aspects of localized cAMP signaling.
Bunch pattern by-3 in PEP-II

After a long 4-month down time where additional RF was installed and heating problems addressed, the PEP-II B-factory should be capable of delivering about 1.5 times the currents. This can only be done by going to more bunches from a full by-4 pattern to either a partly filled by-3 or by-2 pattern. The by-2 pattern has parasitic crossings, so the by-3 pattern is the next candidate. Heating issues from the different higher order modes, especially in the longitudinal and transverse feedback structures are a concern. Effects from an electron cloud seem to be still visible in the by-3 and by-2 pattern.
Differential Lytic Response of Enterococci Associated with Addition Order of Lysozyme and Anions

Suspensions of Streptococcus faecium, prepared by washing with and resuspending in water, were lysed slowly if sodium chloride was added prior to lysozyme; however, if brief incubation with lysozyme was followed by addition of sodium chloride, lysis was immediate and extensive. Relatively lysozyme-resistant strains of S. faecalis could be lysed readily by adding lysozyme first. The primary addition of lysozyme apparently resulted in a “sensitized” cell with a damaged wall, as evidenced by N-acetylhexosamine release. Anionic detergents could replace sodium chloride in lysing these sensitized cells. The difference in activity associated with the order of addition probably involved a competition for reactive sites on the cell surface.
The Swimsuit Becomes Us All: Ethnicity, Gender, and Vulnerability to Self-Objectification

Self-objectification theory posits and past research has found that Caucasian women's body image is negatively affected by a stigma of obesity and sociocultural norm of thinness that leads women to self-focus from a critical external perspective. However, research in this area is limited by its methodology and the restricted demographic composition of its study participants. The current study tested 176 men and 224 women of Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, and Asian American descent in a situation that induced a state of self-objectification (e.g., wearing a one-piece Speedo bathing suit) or that served as a control condition (e.g., wearing a sweater). Contrary to previous research, when put in a self-objectifying situation, men and women of every ethnicity experienced negative outcomes (e.g., lower math performance) that parallel those previously found for Caucasian women.
A multi-objective optimization framework for assessing military ground vehicle design for safety

In recent years, the greatest safety threat to military personnel has been from underbody vehicle blast events, but other major threats exist against fuel convoys and due to rollover events. Ground...
Influence of structural variation on nuclear localization of DNA-binding polyamide-fluorophore conjugates

A pivotal step forward in chemical approaches to controlling gene expression is the development of sequence-specific DNA-binding molecules that can enter live cells and traffic to nuclei unaided. DNA-binding polyamides are a class of programmable, sequence-specific small molecules that have been shown to influence a wide variety of protein–DNA interactions. We have synthesized over 100 polyamide-fluorophore conjugates and assayed their nuclear uptake profiles in 13 mammalian cell lines. The compiled dataset, comprising 1300 entries, establishes a benchmark for the nuclear localization of polyamide-dye conjugates. Compounds in this series were chosen to provide systematic variation in several structural variables, including dye composition and placement, molecular weight, charge, ordering of the aromatic and aliphatic amino-acid building blocks and overall shape. Nuclear uptake does not appear to be correlated with polyamide molecular weight or with the number of imidazole residues, although the positions of imidazole residues affect nuclear access properties significantly. Generally negative determinants for nuclear access include the presence of a s-Ala-tail residue and the lack of a cationic alkyl amine moiety, whereas the presence of an acetylated 2,4-diaminobutyric acid-turn is a positive factor for nuclear localization. We discuss implications of these data on the design of polyamide-dye conjugates for use in biological systems.
Pre-image Problem in Manifold Learning and Dimensional Reduction Methods

Manifold learning and dimensional reduction methods provide a low dimensional embedding for a collection of training samples. These methods are based on the eigenvalue decomposition of the kernel matrix formed using the training samples. In [2] the embedding is extended to new test samples using the Nystrom approximation method. This paper addresses the pre-image problem for these methods, which is to find the mapping back from the embedding space to the input space for new test points. The relationship of these learning methods to kernel principal component analysis [6] and the connection of the out-of-sample problem to the pre-image problem [1] is used to provide the pre-image.
Imaging Gene Expression in the Brain In Vivo in a Transgenic Mouse Model of Huntington’s Disease with an Antisense Radiopharmaceutical and Drug-Targeting Technology

Disease-specific genes of unknown function can be imaged in vivo with antisense radiopharmaceuticals, providing the transcellular transport of these molecules is enabled with drug-targeting technology. The current studies describe the production of 16-mer peptide nucleic acid (PNA) that is antisense around the methionine initiation codon of the huntingtin gene of Huntington’s disease (HD). Methods: The PNA is biotinylated, which allows for rapid capture by a conjugate of streptavidin and the rat 8D3 monoclonal antibody (mAb) to the mouse transferrin receptor (TfR), and contains a tyrosine residue, which enables radiolabeling with 125I. The reformulated PNA antisense radiopharmaceutical that is conjugated to the 8D3 mAb is designated 125I-PNA/8D3. This form of the PNA is able to access endogenous transferrin transport pathways at both the blood-brain barrier and the brain cell membrane and undergoes both import from the blood to the brain and export from the brain to the blood through the TfR. Results: The ability of the PNA to hybridize to the target huntingtin RNA, despite conjugation to the mAb, was shown both with cell-free translation assays and with ribonuclease protection assays. The 125I-PNA/8D3 conjugate was administered intravenously to either littermate control mice or to R6/2 transgenic mice, which express the exon 1 of the human HD gene. The mice were sacrificed 6 h later for frozen sectioning of the brain and quantitative autoradiography. The studies showed a 3-fold increase in sequestration of the 125I-PNA/8D3 antisense radiopharmaceutical in the brains of the HD transgenic mice in vivo, consistent with the selective expression of the HD exon-1 messenger RNA in these animals. Conclusion: These results support the hypothesis that gene expression in vivo can be quantitated with antisense radiopharmaceuticals, providing these molecules are reformulated with drug-targeting technology. Drug targeting enables access of the antisense agent to endogenous transport pathways, which permits passage across the cellular barriers that separate blood and intracellular compartments of target tissues.
Unicameral Bone Cysts

Unicameral, or solitary, bone cysts are unusual tumors seen in the ends of long bones in skeletally immature persons. The etiology of these lesions is poorly understood. Various hypotheses have included dysplastic processes, synovial cysts, and abnormalities in the local circulation. Most patients present with a nondisplaced pathologic fracture, but occasionally cysts are found incidentally. Plain radiographs typically show a symmetric lesion with cortical thinning and expansion of the cortical boundaries. Once diagnosed, unicameral bone cysts continue to be a treatment dilemma. Traditional methods, such as prednisolone therapy, usually involve multiple anesthetics and injections and are associated with high recurrence rates. Major surgical procedures, such as wide exposure, curettage, and bone grafting, may be somewhat more effective, but still carry with them significant morbidity and recurrence rates. Newer techniques involving percutaneous grafting with allograft or bone substitutes or a combination of the two are promising in light of their low complication rate and lower reoperation rate.
MR imaging of putamenal iron predicts response to dopaminergic therapy in parkinsonian patients

We have previously demonstrated abnormal signal attenuation in the putamen consistent with increased iron on high field strength (1.5 Tesla) MR scans in patients with Parkinson Plus syndromes. We now describe 31 therapeutically naive parkinsonian patients who underwent MR imaging prior to entering a prospective randomized blinded study comparing bromocriptine to Sinemet as primary treatment. Patients were followed for a mean of 35 months at which time the MR scans were reviewed by a blinded radiologist and compared to the clinical scores recorded by blinded observers. Ten patients were considered to have abnormal scans due to increased signal attenuation in the putamen. Total Parkinson score in these patients deteriorated from baseline by 38.8% while those with normal MR scans improved by 33% (p < 0.0001). 60% of patients with abnormal MR scans had a poor response while 75% of those with normal MR scan had a good response to drug treatment. Eight patients were suspected by the blinded observers of having evolved into a Parkinson Plus syndrome and seven of these had abnormal signal attenuation in the putamen on the initial MR scan. We propose that signal attenuation in the putamen consistent with increased iron reflects striatal damage, predicts a poor response to dopaminergic therapy and can be identified early in the course of the illness.
A General Model for Two-Point Contact Dry-Friction Whip and Whirl: Further Advancements and Experimental Test Results

Numerous papers have investigated the behavior of dry-friction whip and whirl; most of them consider contact between a rotor and stator at a single location. For rotors running on multiple magnetic bearings, air bearings, or bushings, equipment failure may result in rub at more than one location. For these cases, it is important to have an analytical model that characterizes possible regions of two-point contact dry-friction whip and whirl.The current work presents a general model to predict possible whirl regions for multi-contact dry-friction whip and whirl, allowing for an arbitrary phase between contact locations. In theory this method can be applied to more than two contact locations; however, a two-point contact example case is developed and compared to results from an experimental test rig developed to demonstrate multi-contact dry-friction whip and whirl in the current work.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Identification and Resolution of Microdiversity through Metagenomic Sequencing of Parallel Consortia

To gain a predictive understanding of the interspecies interactions within microbial communities that govern community function, the genomic complement of every member population must be determined. Although metagenomic sequencing has enabled the de novo reconstruction of some microbial genomes from environmental communities, microdiversity confounds current genome reconstruction techniques. To overcome this issue, we performed short-read metagenomic sequencing on parallel consortia, defined as consortia cultivated under the same conditions from the same natural community with overlapping species composition. The differences in species abundance between the two consortia allowed reconstruction of near-complete (at an estimated >85% of gene complement) genome sequences for 17 of the 20 detected member species. Two Halomonas spp. indistinguishable by amplicon analysis were found to be present within the community. In addition, comparison of metagenomic reads against the consensus scaffolds revealed within-species variation for one of the Halomonas populations, one of the Rhodobacteraceae populations, and the Rhizobiales population. Genomic comparison of these representative instances of inter- and intraspecies microdiversity suggests differences in functional potential that may result in the expression of distinct roles in the community. In addition, isolation and complete genome sequence determination of six member species allowed an investigation into the sensitivity and specificity of genome reconstruction processes, demonstrating robustness across a wide range of sequence coverage (9× to 2,700×) within the metagenomic data set.
On reliving theWanderjahr: The many voyages of theBeagle

This is a study of constancy and change in the development of one adult's system of beliefs and way of thought. It compares two documents, two versions of Charles Darwin's account of the voyage of theBeagle, one written at an early stage in the development of his evolutionary thought, the other much later but still long before he wrote theOrigin of the Species. The second version was produced 7 years after Darwin developed the theory of evolution through natural selection. Although no explicit reference is made to that theory, both versions exhibit a style of thought and a pattern of beliefs that remained very stable throughout. Examination of the documents reveals 13 major themes: relation between food supply and population; struggle; extinction; the superfecundity of nature; the “tangled bank”; selection; variation and divergence; the law of the succession of types; biogeography; strange contrivances, maladaptations, and rudimentary organs; human imperfections and perfectibility; the transformation of creation; and psychology. The study concludes with a discussion of the relation between private thought and public discourse, and the bearing of this relationship on exchanges between Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace.
Infant Botulism: New Guise for an Old Disease

While classic botulism is usually due to preformed toxin in improperly prepared food, the newly recognized infant syndrome occurs when spores or vegetative cells germinate in the gut of the very young and elaborate toxin there. The resulting illness may range from inapparent to fulminant, sometimes causing respiratory arrest and death. Infant botulism may also account for at least some cases of sudden infant death syndrome.
Legal Countermeasures against Loss of State-owned Assets Abroad

The article analyses the reasons and situation of the loss of state-owned assets abroad,and points out corresponding legal countermeasures in the following four aspects:consummating legislation of state-owned assets,setting up a new management system of state-owned assets abroad,and strengthening interior and exterior supervision.
A METHOD FOR THE RAPID SEPARATION OF LEUKOCYTES AND NUCLEATED ERYTHROCYTES FROM BLOOD OR MARROW WITH A PHYTOHEMAGGLUTININ FROM RED BEANS (PHASEOLUS VULGARIS)

A method is described for rapid and efficient separation of leukocytes and nucleated erythrocytes from blood or marrow. It is based on the rediscovery of a nontoxic hemagglutinin, isolated from common red or navy beans, which agglutinates all human erythrocytes and those of the animals which have been tested with it. The time from drawing the blood to complete separation of the cells is less than ten minutes. The cells remain in suspension in their own plasma and are countable. Negligible amounts of foreign material are introduced, a great advantage in chemical studies. The cells so isolated are living and suitable for culture studies. Any volume of blood from less than 1 ml. to over 500 ml. may be processed. In marrow nucleated erythrocytes are separated with the leukocytes and in their original porportions. The volume, motility, morphology and life span of the cells in cultures are not altered by addition of the bean extract.
Comments Regarding Lung Metastasis Surgery for Sarcoma

In this issue of ONCOLOGY, Kon and Martin review the difficult issue of lung metastasis from sarcoma and its management.
Incandescence: Attention and Illumination

Lily Briscoe achieves her “vision” at the end of To the Lighthouse , but her vision is not a property of the painting that she sardonically imagines hanging obscurely in some future attic. Rather, the vision that Lily achieves is a habit of mind, a way of seeing the world with what philosopher Iris Murdoch calls “careful and just attention .” This way of seeing is connected to a concept Woolf introduces in A Room of One's Own – “incandescence.” She uses the term to describe a “mind” that is “disinterested” – or, at the very least, not self-interested. This is a challenging concept to grapple with, as “disinterestedness” risks being mistaken for “objectivity,” implying that one can transcend one's embodied existence and develop a perspective on the world that appears to come from “nowhere” rather than from a living, breathing, human being subject to material, psychological, cultural, and cognitive factors that inform that view. Philosopher Thomas Nagel describes the “view from nowhere” in his theory of the development of objectivity, arguing that objectivity is achieved through transcendence of one's limited perspective. While such transcendence is upheld as an ideal for scientific reasoning, it is ultimately an impossible ideal, for we are embodied, socially situated creatures who can only attempt to reason as if we were located “nowhere,” rather than coming from somewhere and some body in particular. To be clear, incandescence is not this type of “transcendence.” Perry Meisel describes the Paterian resonances of “incandescence,” suggesting that Shakespeare, for Woolf, “is the perfect Paterian artist because the implicit flame of his genius has fired out all kinetic residue … and made his work perfectly expressive of his already luminous temperament.” Given that all writers, including Shakespeare, are situated in particular sociocultural contexts that shape their ways of experiencing the world, they can't help but betray interests, dislikes, or preferences (a preference for Tudors over Plantagenets, for example, or negative perceptions of Jews, Moors, and Frenchmen, or belief in the divine right of kings) in their work. In an interaction akin to the dynamic system that, according to Barbara Herrnstein Smith, determines literary value, a writer's interests and preferences will be seen simply as “truths” or observations about “human nature” if the writer's interests align neatly enough with dominant cultural perspectives.
MODELS OF VERTICALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES WITH SEQUENTIAL-CONTINUOUS DYNAMICS

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the models of vertically transmitted diseases with sequential-continuous dynamics. It presents the analysis of certain models of vertically transmitted diseases propagated by invertebrate vectors with discrete generations. There are a number of such diseases that are economically and sociologically important. The chapter discusses the example of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The organism that causes this disease is Rickettsia rickettsi , which is transmitted to humans and other large mammals via contact with infected adult ticks. The models discussed in the chapter rely on the population dynamics of the tick vectors. The chapter presents a schematic description of these seasonal dynamics for one of these arthropod vectors, Dermacentor variabilis (American dog tick). The chapter presents a model to assess the influence of the two modes of transmission of the disease. The model collects a few salient parameters that affect the progress of this disease in the ticks and gives quantitative estimates of their relative influence and importance.
MEK inhibition is a promising therapeutic strategy for MLL-rearranged infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients carrying RAS mutations

// Mark Kerstjens 1, * , Emma M.C. Driessen 1, * , Merel Willekes 1 , Sandra S. Pinhancos 1 , Pauline Schneider 1 , Rob Pieters 1, 2 , Ronald W. Stam 1 1 Department of Pediatric Oncology/Hematology, Erasmus MC-Sophia Children’s Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands 2 Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, The Netherlands * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Ronald W. Stam, email: r.stam@erasmusmc.nl Keywords: MLL-rearrangements, RAS-pathway, leukemia, MEK inhibitors Received: May 31, 2016 Accepted: August 13, 2016 Published: August 31, 2016 ABSTRACT Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in infants is an aggressive malignancy with a poor clinical outcome, and is characterized by translocations of the Mixed Lineage Leukemia (MLL) gene. Previously, we identified RAS mutations in 14-24% of infant ALL patients, and showed that the presence of a RAS mutation decreased the survival chances even further. We hypothesized that targeting the RAS signaling pathway could be a therapeutic strategy for RAS -mutant infant ALL patients. Here we show that the MEK inhibitors Trametinib, Selumetinib and MEK162 severely impair primary RAS -mutant MLL -rearranged infant ALL cells in vitro . While all RAS -mutant samples were sensitive to MEK inhibitors, we found both sensitive and resistant samples among RAS -wildtype cases. We confirmed enhanced RAS pathway signaling in RAS -mutant samples, but found no apparent downstream over-activation in the wildtype samples. However, we did confirm that MEK inhibitors reduced p-ERK levels, and induced apoptosis in the RAS -mutant MLL -rearranged ALL cells. Finally, we show that MEK inhibition synergistically enhances prednisolone sensitivity, both in RAS -mutant and RAS -wildtype cells. In conclusion, MEK inhibition represents a promising therapeutic strategy for MLL -rearranged ALL patients harboring RAS mutations, while patients without RAS mutations may benefit through prednisolone sensitization.