cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of AMSA in previously treated patients with acute leukemia: results of therapy in 109 adults

AMSA was evaluated in the treatment of 109 adults with previously treated acute leukemia. Of the 102 evaluable patients, 82 had AML, 17 ALL, and 3 CML in blastic phase. A number of different dose schedules of AMSA were explored, and we conclude that the optimum dose of AMSA for remission induction in acute leukemia is 120 mg/sq m/day for 5 days. Complete remissions were observed in 23 (28%) patients with AML and in 1 patient with ALL. Patients who achieved complete remission were maintained on AMSA using a dose of 30-40 mg/sq m/day for 5 days repeated at 4-wk intervals. The median duration of complete remission was 12 wk (3-59 wk), and the responders survived significantly longer than the failures (27 wk versus 8 wk, p = 0.002). The side effects associated with AMSA therapy included mild nausea and vomiting, stomatitis, diarrhea, phlebitis, alopecia, and myelosuppression-related infections. Our results indicate that AMSA is a useful new antileukemic agent for the treatment of relapsed acute leukemia and appears to have activity comparable to that of the currently available drugs, such as cytarabine and the anthracycline antibiotics.
The Impact of Truth Surrogate Variance on Quality Assessment/Assurance in Wind Tunnel Testing

Minimum data volume requirements for wind tunnel testing are reviewed and shown to depend on error tolerance, response model complexity, random error variance in the measurement environment, and maximum acceptable levels of inference error risk. Distinctions are made between such related concepts as quality assurance and quality assessment in response surface modeling, as well as between precision and accuracy. Earlier research on the scaling of wind tunnel tests is extended to account for variance in the truth surrogates used at confirmation sites in the design space to validate proposed response models. A model adequacy metric is presented that represents the fraction of the design space within which model predictions can be expected to satisfy prescribed quality specifications. The impact of inference error on the assessment of response model residuals is reviewed. The number of sites where reasonably well-fitted response models actually predict inadequately is shown to be considerably less than the number of sites where residuals are out of tolerance. The significance of such inference error effects on common response model assessment strategies is examined.
Infectious Disease Emergencies

Patient visits to the primary care physician are prompted most often by an infectious disease. The clinician must be aware of the common and serious infections present in the community and must institute proper diagnostic and therapeutic measures. Diagnosis and treatment of streptococcal infections, staphylococcal infections, pneumonia and upper respiratory tract infection, bone and joint infections, sinusitis, clostridial infections, and tetanus are discussed.
Erratum for Smith et al., Effective Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Targeting of Persistent HIV-1 during Antiretroviral Therapy Requires Priming of Naive CD8+ T Cells

Volume 7, no. 3, doi:10.1128/mBio.00473-16, 2016. For transparency, the legend to Fig. 7 has been revised to include additional …
“A bad, bold, big-nosed, biblical brother”: refashioning the funny Jew in post-World War Two America

ABSTRACTFilm director Jonathan Kesselman’s 2003 comedy The Hebrew Hammer introduced a new Jewish superhero on cable television: a tough, hip, jive-talking “biblical brother” who battles anti-Semites on the streets of New York under the gaze of adoring children, desirous women, and admiring African-Americans. Although the Hebrew Hammer is a cool Jewish thug who transcends the exilic condition of the proverbially submissive diaspora Jew through his brawn and swagger, he is also funny; he is a gangster who exhibits the neuroses, complaints, and schlemiel-like stereotypes that lie at the heart of modern Jewish humour. The Hebrew Hammer represents the culmination of a trend in American popular culture that began in the 1950s with Lenny Bruce. An unapologetically proud Jew, Bruce deployed his comedy and his cool persona to demolish Gentile propriety. Proclaiming an affinity to other minorities who had also suffered at the hands of Anglo-Saxon Christendom, Bruce and his successors publicly mocked their history o...
ON THE BUCKLING CHARACTERISTICS OF SYMMETRICALLY LAMINATED CROSS-PLY PLATES

The investigations of the problem presented in this article are based on both the classical and the first-order shear-deformable theories of composite plates. The latter theory includes the so-catted curvature effects and, in fact, as one of the objectives of the present work, the buckling characteristics of the composite plates are determined to illustrate quantitatively the individual effects of shear deformation and curvature terms (rotatory moments). The plates are assumed to have two opposite edges simply supported and general boundary conditions on the other two opposite edges. The buckling of the plates is considered under uniaxial as well as biaxial compression. The numerical solution of the governing equations is carried out using the differential quadrature method with a semianalyucal approach.
The Federal Tax Exemption Aspects of Law Schools Running Their Own Law Firms

A current hot topic in legal education is the law-school-sponsored law firm. Bradley T. Borden and Robert J. Rhee introduced the idea in a short article published in the South Carolina Law Review and the concept was soon picked up by articles in the National Law Journal, the ABA Journal and others. The purpose of this essay is to explore the federal tax-exemption and UBIT questions raised by the law-school-sponsored law firm. I conclude that a law firm operated as a single-member LLC with the sponsoring law school as the single member offers the best protection for the law school's underlying exempt status, and also should avoid issues with the UBIT.
A reduced order observer based controller design for H-infinity optimization

In this paper the H-infinity control problem is investigated. It is well-known that for this problem, in general, controllers of the same dynamic order as the given system are needed. However, in the case that the standard assumptions on two direct feedthrough matrices are not satisfied, it is here shown that dynamic compensators of a lower dynamical order can be found. This result can be derived by using the standard reduced order observer based controllers in the case that one or more states are measured without noise.
Related Event Discovery

We consider the problem of discovering local events on the web, where events are entities extracted from webpages. Examples of such local events include small venue concerts, farmers markets, sports activities, etc. Given an event entity, we propose a graph-based framework for retrieving a ranked list of related events that a user is likely to be interested in attending. Due to the difficulty of obtaining ground-truth labels for event entities, which are temporal and are constrained by location, our retrieval framework is unsupervised, and its graph-based formulation addresses (a) the challenge of feature sparseness and noisiness, and (b) the semantic mismatch problem in a self-contained and principled manner. To validate our methods, we collect human annotations and conduct a comprehensive empirical study, analyzing the performance of our methods with regard to relevance, recall, and diversity. This study shows that our graph-based framework is significantly better than any individual feature source, and can be further improved with minimal supervision.
The recently described parasitoid braconid wasp, Napo townsendi (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Euphorinae: Dinocampini), forms leks and deters predators in the Ecuadorian cloud forest

In the Ecuadorian cloud forest, males of the parasitoid braconid wasp Napo townsendi Shaw displayed facultative lekking, appearing both singly and in groups of 2–7 on the leaf tops of various plant species. To attract females, they constantly employed a stereotypical, spread-winged calling behaviour, apparently releasing a sex pheromone combed from the lateral metasomal exocrine glands and applied to the wings and hind legs. Aggregated males used the same posture in conspecific agonistic displays, often leading to physical fighting. While female wasps were attracted to and mated with displaying singletons, they also made a choice among aggregated males. When females approached, males vibrated their wings in a brief courtship and mounted. Details of copulation behaviour, which lasted on an average of 3–4 min, are described. Without apparent physical weaponry, the displaying wasps successfully warded off attacks from an assortment of predatory arthropods, particularly salticid spiders. We present case studies of repeated unsuccessful predation attempts by salticids. Here, we postulate that calling and release of sex pheromone may double as both an intrasexual agonistic display and an aposematic advisory to predators that the wasps employ a chemical defence.
MUC1 inhibition leads to decrease in PD-L1 levels via upregulation of miRNAs

The PD-L1/PD-1 pathway is a critical component of the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but little is known about its regulation. We investigated the role of the MUC1 oncoprotein in modulating PD-L1 expression in AML. Silencing of MUC1 in AML cell lines suppressed PD-L1 expression without a decrease in PD-L1 mRNA levels, suggesting a post-transcriptional mechanism of regulation. We identified the microRNAs miR-200c and miR-34a as key regulators of PD-L1 expression in AML. Silencing of MUC1 in AML cells led to a marked increase in miR-200c and miR-34a levels, without changes in precursor microRNA, suggesting that MUC1 might regulate microRNA-processing. MUC1 signaling decreased the expression of the microRNA-processing protein DICER, via the suppression of c-Jun activity. NanoString (Seattle, WA, USA) array of MUC1-silenced AML cells demonstrated an increase in the majority of probed microRNAs. In an immunocompetent murine AML model, targeting of MUC1 led to a significant increase in leukemia-specific T cells. In concert, targeting MUC1 signaling in human AML cells resulted in enhanced sensitivity to T-cell-mediated lysis. These findings suggest MUC1 is a critical regulator of PD-L1 expression via its effects on microRNA levels and represents a potential therapeutic target to enhance anti-tumor immunity.
Feedback control speed harmonization algorithm: Methodology and preliminary testing

Abstract The capacity drop phenomenon, which reduces the maximum bottleneck discharge rate following the onset of congestion, is a critical restriction in transportation networks that produces additional traffic congestion. Consequently, preventing or reducing the occurrence of the capacity drop not only mitigates traffic congestion, but can also produce environmental and traffic safety benefits. In addressing this problem, the paper develops a novel bang-bang feedback control speed harmonization (SH) or Variable Speed Limit (VSL) algorithm, that attempts to prevent or delay the breakdown of a bottleneck and thus reduce traffic congestion. The novelty of the system lies in the fact that it is both proactive and reactive in responding to the dynamic stochastic nature of traffic. The system is proactive because it uses a calibrated fundamental diagram to initially identify the optimum throughput to maintain within the SH zone. Furthermore, the system is reactive (dynamic) because it monitors the traffic stream directly upstream of the bottleneck to adjustment the metering rate to capture the dynamic and stochastic nature of traffic. The steady-state traffic states in the vicinity of a lane-drop bottleneck before and after applying the SH algorithm is analyzed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm in alleviating the capacity drop. We demonstrate theoretically that the SH algorithm is effective in enhancing the bottleneck discharge rate. A microscopic simulation of the network using the INTEGRATION software further demonstrates the benefits of the algorithm in increasing the bottleneck discharge rate, decreasing vehicle delay, and reducing vehicle fuel consumption and CO 2 emission levels. Specifically, compared with the base case without the SH algorithm, the advisory speed limit increases the bottleneck discharge rate by approximately 7%, reduces the overall system delay by approximately 20%, and reduces the system-wide fuel consumption and CO 2 emission levels by 5%.
Continued monoclonal protein response beyond day 100 after auto-transplantation for multiple myeloma.

8587 Background: Patients (pts) undergoing an auto-transplant (ASCT) for multiple myeloma (MM) have disease assessment approximately 100 days later. This result may direct decisions of further ther...
Chronic intermittent ethanol exposure selectively alters the expression of Gα subunit isoforms and RGS subtypes in rat prefrontal cortex

Chronic alcohol exposure induces pronounced changes in GPCR-mediated G-protein signaling. Recent microarray and RNA-seq analyses suggest associations between alcohol abuse and the expression of genes involved in G-protein signaling. The activity of G-proteins (e.g. Gαi/o and Gαq) is negatively modulated by regulator of G-protein signaling (RGS) proteins which are implicated in drugs of abuse including alcohol. The present study used 7days of chronic intermittent ethanol exposure followed by 24h withdrawal (CIE) to investigate changes in mRNA and protein levels of G-protein subunit isoforms and RGS protein subtypes in rat prefrontal cortex, a region associated with cognitive deficit attributed to excessive alcohol drinking. We found that this ethanol paradigm induced differential expression of Gα subunits and RGS subtypes. For example, there were increased mRNA and protein levels of Gαi1/3 subunits and no changes in the expression of Gαs and Gαq subunits in ethanol-treated animals. Moreover, CIE increased the mRNA but not the protein levels of Gαo. Additionally, a modest increase in Gαi2 mRNA level by CIE was accompanied by a pronounced increase in its protein level. Interestingly, we found that CIE increased mRNA and protein levels of RGS2, RGS4, RGS7 and RGS19 but had no effect on the expression of RGS5, RGS6, RGS8, RGS12 or RGS17. Changes in the expression of Gα subunits and RGS subtypes could contribute to the functional alterations of certain GPCRs following chronic ethanol exposure. The present study suggests that RGS proteins may be potential new targets for intervention of alcohol abuse via modification of Gα-mediated GPCR function.
Clinical and Neuroimaging Features of Sarcoid Associated Myelopathy (P02.112)

OBJECTIVE: To report a comprehensive characterization of the clinical and neuroimaging features of patients with sarcoidosis-associated myelopathy. BACKGROUND: Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disorder that frequently presents with pulmonary involvement and lymphadenopathy and occasionally may manifest with neurologic involvement including myelopathy. DESIGN/METHODS: We systematically reviewed the clinical profile, neuroimaging, and CSF characteristics of 49 patients evaluated and followed at the Johns Hopkins Neuroimmunology Clinic and Transverse Myelitis Center between 2000 and 2012. RESULTS: The mean age of symptom onset was 47.8 (+/- 10) years. 26 patients (53.1%) were male while 31 patients (63.3%) were African American. Myelopathy was the first manifestation of systemic sarcoidosis in 37 patients (75.5%). Most of the patients (81.63%) exhibited a chronic progressive profile in which the cervical cord appeared to be the main site of involvement in 34 patients (69.4%) while the thoracic cord was affected in 26 patients (53.1%) with a subset of patients in which there was extensive or multifocal involvement of the cervical and thoracic cord. Sensory symptoms were the first clinical complaint in 61.2% of patients. Interestingly, 24 (49%) patients presented with other associated neurological involvement, 13 with encephalitic (26.6%) and 12 with cranial neuropathic (24.4%) forms. Two myelopathic patterns were found, a tumefactive (35.4%) and a patchy multilevel pattern (32.25%), while the remainder of the patients had discrete monofocal lesions. Thirty patients (97.3%) presented with gadolinium-enhanced cord lesions during the early stage of myelopathy with 19 (62.5%) of those patients exhibiting leptomeningeal enhancement. Only 20.4% of patients were in ASIA A or B. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with chronic evolving tumefactive or multilevel spinal cord lesions need to be evaluated for presence of sarcoidosis and particularly those with associated meningeal or cranial nerve involvement. Supported by: The Bart McLean Fund for Neuroimmunology Research and Johns Hopkins Project Restore. Disclosure: Dr. Jimenez has nothing to disclose. Dr. Reyes-Mantilla has nothing to disclose. Dr. Tapias has nothing to disclose. Dr. Pardo-Villamizar has nothing to disclose.
Benchmarking photon-photon interaction nodes for quantum communication

Achieving photon-photon interactions is one of the main objectives of the quantum information technology community, since these interactions provide the basis for deterministic quantum gates with high fidelity. In the last few years new milestones in creating phase-shifts [1] and quantum gates[2] have been achieved. Researching resource-moderate experimental realizations for the future development of this field provides a scalable framework for devices and opportunities for deployment in quantum communication networks.
The membrane pacemaker hypothesis: novel tests during the ontogeny of endothermy

ABSTRACT The ‘membrane pacemaker’ hypothesis proposes a biochemical explanation for among-species variation in resting metabolism, based on the positive correlation between membrane docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and metabolic rate. We tested this hypothesis using a novel model, altricial red-winged blackbird nestlings, predicting that the proportion of DHA in muscle and liver membranes should increase with the increasing metabolic rate of the nestling as it develops endothermy. We also used a dietary manipulation, supplementing the natural diet with fish oil (high DHA) or sunflower oil (high linoleic acid) to alter membrane composition and then assessed metabolic rate. In support of the membrane pacemaker hypothesis, DHA proportions increased in membranes from pectoralis muscle, muscle mitochondria and liver during post-hatch development. By contrast, elevated dietary DHA had no effect on resting metabolic rate, despite causing significant changes to membrane lipid composition. During cold challenges, higher metabolic rates were achieved by birds that had lower DHA and higher linoleic acid in membrane phospholipids. Given the mixed support for this hypothesis, we conclude that correlations between membrane DHA and metabolic rate are likely spurious, and should be attributed to a still-unidentified confounding variable.
Outcomes and Prognostic Factors in Men Receiving Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Prostate Cancer Recurrence after Radical Prostatectomy

Purpose: We sought to determine clinicopathological factors associated with early progression in men on androgen deprivation therapy as well as cancer specific and overall survival. We also assessed whether certain prostate specific antigen thresholds at androgen deprivation therapy initiation are associated with poorer outcomes.Materials and Methods: We identified 2,418 men with rising prostate specific antigen after undergoing radical prostatectomy at a single institution between 1987 and 2007 in a prospectively maintained registry. Early progression was defined as clinical progression within 2 years of initiating androgen deprivation therapy. The primary study outcome was cancer specific and overall survival.Results: The risk of early progression while on androgen deprivation therapy was lower for prostate specific antigen doubling time 3 to less than 9 months (OR 0.19) and less than 9 months or longer (OR 0.10, each p <0.001) prior to androgen deprivation therapy. Independent predictors of cancer spec...
Magnetic resonance conditional paramagnetic choke for suppression of imaging artifacts during magnetic resonance imaging.

Higher risk patient populations require continuous physiological monitoring and, in some cases, connected life-support systems, during magnetic resonance imaging examinations. While recently there ...
Improvement of Lipid Absorption in Young Pigs as a Model for Preterm Infants

Preterm infants and neonatal suckling piglets have a limited bile acid pool that may hinder absorption of dietary lipids such as fatty acids, triacylglycerols (TAGs), and other lipid-soluble nutrients. Because dietary lipids are a valuable source of energy for growth, it is important that they are efficiently absorbed. The hypothesis of this study is that oral administration of 0.2 g/kg body weight daily of cholylsarcosine, an artificial bile acid, would decrease fecal excretion of dietary fatty acids and TAGs in suckling piglets. Twelve 7-d-old piglets were housed individually and fed a commercial milk replacer with or without oral cholylsarcosine until 21 d of age. Cholylsarcosine treatment decreased fecal excretion of stearic acid (18:0) and palmitic acid (16:0) (P ≤ 0.02). Cholylsarcosine supplementation had no effect on absorption of unsaturated fatty acids of 16 or 18 carbons (P > 0.05). Cholylsarcosine increased fecal excretion of deoxycholic acid (P = 0.03). Apparent absorption of dietary TAGs was increased from 77% in piglets not fed cholylsarcosine to 83% in the piglets that received oral cholylsarcosine. These results support the hypothesis that cholylsarcosine increases absorption of dietary TAGs.
Do we know how best to disinfect child care sites in the United States? A review of available disinfectant efficacy data and health risks of the major disinfectant classes

Background Children in child care settings have a high infectious burden. They are frequently exposed to sanitizing and disinfecting agents, whose toxicities have not been studied in these settings. Current guidance on the preferred disinfection agents for child care is vague. Methods This article combines 2 different sources of information: the Environmental Protection Agency registration data on the efficacy of hospital-grade disinfectants and a review of the research on the toxicities of the most common of these disinfectants to summarize information that could be used for more evidence-based early care and education disinfection regulations and guidelines. Results Coverage of these organisms varied both between disinfectant classes (defined by active ingredient), as well as within classes. The 3 most common active ingredients in the database—quaternary ammonias, bleaches, and hydrogen peroxides—had 251, 63, and 31 products, respectively. Quaternary ammonias and bleaches are both known asthmagens, with the potential for toxic gas release when mixed. Quaternary ammonias may also cause reproductive toxicity. Disinfectant-grade peroxides have relatively low inhalational toxicity. Conclusions A clear rationale is needed to establish policies for determining preferable disinfection products for use in child care settings, based on efficacy against relevant pathogens, toxicity, ease of use, and cost. When other factors are equal, the use of peroxide-based disinfectant products is recommended to minimize inhalational toxicity.
Reliability Generalization of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire Subscales.

Meaning in life is a psychological construct linked to several subjective well-being indicators. One commonly used meaning in life measure is the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), a 10-item self...
Second-Hit, Postzygotic PMVK and MVD Mutations in Linear Porokeratosis.

Importance Linear porokeratosis features linear and whorled configurations of keratotic papules and plaques, with coronoid lamellae present on histologic examination. Because linear porokeratosis manifests in the lines of Blaschko representing the dorsoventral migration patterns of keratinocyte precursors, it has been suggested that postzygotic somatic mutation underlies the disease. However, no genetic evidence has supported this hypothesis to date. Objective To identify genetic mutations associated with linear porokeratosis. Design, Setting, and Participants Paired whole-exome sequencing of affected skin and blood/saliva samples from 3 participants from 3 academic medical centers with clinical and histologic diagnoses of linear porokeratosis. Interventions or Exposures Whole-exome sequencing of paired blood/saliva and affected tissue samples isolated from linear porokeratosis lesions. Main Outcomes and Measures Germline and somatic genomic characteristics of participants with linear porokeratosis. Results Of the 3 participants, 2 were male. Participant ages ranged from 5 to 20 years old. We found a combination of a novel germline mutation and a novel somatic mutation within affected tissue in all cases. One participant had a germline heterozygousPMVKc.329G>A mutation and a somatic copy-neutral loss of heterozygosity confined to the lesional skin, while a second had a germline heterozygousPMVKc.79G>T mutation and an additionalPMVKc.379C>T mutation in the lesional skin. In a third participant, there was a germline splice-site mutation inMVD(c.70 + 5G>A) and a somatic deletion inMVDcausing frameshift and premature codon termination within the lesional skin (c.811_815del, p.F271Afs*33 frameshift). Conclusions and Relevance Our findings suggest that linear porokeratosis is associated with the presence of second-hit postzygotic mutations in the genes that encode enzymes within the mevalonate biosynthesis pathway, and provide further evidence that the mevalonate pathway may be a potential target for therapeutic intervention in porokeratosis.
A locally-constrained YOLO framework for detecting small and densely-distributed building footprints

Building footprints are among the most predominant features in urban areas, and provide valuable information for urban planning, solar energy suitability analysis, etc. We aim to automatically and ...
Loss and re-emergence of plastic ancestral behavioural traits: influences on phenotypic and evolutionary pattern

Behavioural phenotypes are notable for their plasticity, in that individual behaviour patterns can be expressed ephemerally in response to an appropriate stimulus and then disappear. In the absence of an appropriate stimulus, behavioural phenotypes can remain unexpressed over many generations, yet the capacity to perform the behaviour can be retained. Here we discuss potential evolutionary influences of unexpressed behavioural phenotypes using two examples, one from the post-glacial adaptive radiation of the threespine stickleback fish, Gasterosteus aculeatus, and one from a far more ancient radiation, that of Pheidole ants. These radiations demonstrate that unexpressed phenotypes can persist for thousands or more generations in a condition that permits re-expression when an appropriate stimulus appears in the environment. We describe possible explanations for persistence of unexpressed phenotypes and demonstrate that in the absence of an appropriate phylogeny, re-expressed traits could be interpreted as true novelties in the group. We then discuss the way in which loss of expression can lead to parallelism in adaptive radiations — a mechanism that is rarely considered. We conclude by examining the way in which reappearance of unexpressed ancestral traits has the potential to facilitate population persistence if ancestral environments reappear and discuss the reasons that the evolutionary implications of behavioural plasticity are not better studied.
An extension of the Kunz-Souillard approach to localization in one dimension and applications to almost-periodic Schrodinger operators

Abstract We generalize the approach to localization in one dimension introduced by Kunz–Souillard, and refined by Delyon–Kunz–Souillard and Simon, in the early 1980's in such a way that certain correlations are allowed. Several applications of this generalized Kunz–Souillard method to almost periodic Schrodinger operators are presented. On the one hand, we show that the Schrodinger operators on l 2 ( Z ) with limit-periodic potential that have pure point spectrum form a dense subset in the space of all limit-periodic Schrodinger operators on l 2 ( Z ) . More generally, for any bounded potential, one can find an arbitrarily small limit-periodic perturbation so that the resulting operator has pure point spectrum. Our result complements the known denseness of absolutely continuous spectrum and the known genericity of singular continuous spectrum in the space of all limit-periodic Schrodinger operators on l 2 ( Z ) . On the other hand, we show that Schrodinger operators on l 2 ( Z ) with arbitrarily small one-frequency quasi-periodic potential may have pure point spectrum for some phases. This was previously known only for one-frequency quasi-periodic potentials with ‖ ⋅ ‖ ∞ norm exceeding 2, namely the super-critical almost Mathieu operator with a typical frequency and phase. Moreover, this phenomenon can occur for any frequency, whereas no previous quasi-periodic potential with Liouville frequency was known that may admit eigenvalues for any phase.
WC1.2 - Strongly Injection-Locked Whistle-Geometry Microring Lasers for Optical Communications at 100 GHz and Beyond (Invited)

Large-signal analog modulation of strongly injection-locked single and cascaded whistle-geometry semiconductor ring lasers is analyzed. Advantages of strong injection locking for high-fidelity large-signal modulation are confirmed through numerical modeling.
Simulation in Orthotopic Liver Transplantation

Anesthetic management of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is one of the more complex clinical challenges an anesthesiologist can face. Given the variable distribution of liver transplants performed at different centers, trainees in anesthesiology gain uneven OLT exposure and, potentially, expertise. Simulation can serve to bridge this gap through the use of part-task trainers, high-fidelity simulation, and serious gaming. Liver transplantation cases can involve the management of critical events uncommon in the course of standard anesthetics such as hyperkalemia, massive hemorrhage, and cardiopulmonary arrest. Simulation-based scenarios designed to contain specific events seen during liver transplantation can serve as a means of assessing a learner’s ability to perform effective crisis resource management. Liver transplantation is a highly coordinated affair involving collaboration among multiple surgical and medical professionals and support staff. Multidisciplinary team training in the simulated environment can serve to prepare providers for the care of patients undergoing liver transplantation through a focus on improving communication and crisis resource management. Current curricular development for liver transplant anesthesiology education is limited due to the lack of clinical volume at many centers and a lack of requirements for exposure to this surgical procedure by governing bodies such as the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), and Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). While high-fidelity simulation may be the most effective simulation-based tool, its application can be limited due to its resource-intensive nature. Serious gaming, while lower in fidelity, may provide a lower-resource alternative and accessibility to a wider audience.
Physical Harm Reduction in Domestic Violence: Does Marijuana Make Assaults Safer?:

Studies on the effect of marijuana on domestic violence often suffer from endogeneity issues. To examine the effect of marijuana decriminalization and medical marijuana legalization on serious dome...
Development of an o-pthalaldehyde (OPA) assay to measure protein content in Ricin Vaccine E. coli (RVEc™).

Abstract A recombinant ricin vaccine from E. coli (RVEc™), was developed at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) and assessed in an FDA sponsored Phase 1a clinical trial. At the maximum dosage, two of the study participants developed physiological responses that were elevated to the level of severe adverse reactions. To stay within safe dosing guidelines, the FDA recommended that an assay be developed to accurately quantify the recombinant protein content in the vaccine. The RVEc™ vaccine Final Drug Product (FDP) contains the adjuvant Alhydrogel®, which by its colloidal nature interferes with most conventional protein assay methods. We decided to develop an assay measuring RVEc™ FDP using o-pthalaldehyde (OPA) reagent. The OPA reagent reacts to the primary amines and lysine side chains of proteins in the presence of a thiol under alkaline conditions with a quantifiable fluorescent signature, but does not react with Alhydrogel®. Protein content in the RVEc™ FDP can be determined by comparing the fluorescence of the test sample to the fluorescence of a standard curve of defined concentration. Each phase of the assay was tested to optimize and simplify the assay procedure. The accuracy, specificity, reproducibility, and stability of the assay were evaluated. Results indicated that the optimized and modified OPA assay was simple and able to quantify antigen concentration from a standard curve in the 25 µg/mL–600 µg/mL range. The assay accuracy and coefficient of variation (CV) was 95% and less than 8%, respectively, when determining the ricin protein content in the 200 µg/mL vialed RVEc™ FDP. The assay was simple to perform and used conventional laboratory equipment. This assay could be adapted to measure the protein content in the FDP of other vaccines, but with the proviso that each step of the assay would need to be optimized for each antigen.
Time-Separable Preferences and Intertemporal-Substitution Models of Business Cycles

Time-separability of utility means that past work and consumption do not influence current and future tastes. This form of preferences does not restrict the size of intertemporal-substitution effects, but does place constraints on the relative responses of leisure and consumption to changes in relative prices and in permanent income. These constraints are important for evaluating the impact of shifts in expectations about the future, which play a key role in equilibrium models of the business cycle. Further, if consumption and effort are to be positively correlated over the cycle, then equilibrium theories with time-separable preferences predict a procyclical behavior for the real wage rate.
Hydrogen and its detection in fusion and fission nuclear materials – a review

Abstract Fusion and fission reactions are profoundly dependent on hydrogen for sustained reactions. Fusion is fueled by the isotopes of hydrogen, and predominantly hydrogen-based moderators slow fission neutrons to propagate chain reactions. Intentional tritium production in fusion and concomitant tritium production in fission reactors introduce challenges. The technology to efficiently extract, harvest, and quantify tritium in and from advanced fission molten salt coolants and fusion molten tritium breeder materials will require more pronounced research and development. Measuring and quantifying hydrogen is necessary in all areas of nuclear materials. Although many characterization techniques cannot directly detect hydrogen, numerous techniques provide the necessary information to understand the behavior of hydrogen in nuclear materials.
The impact of a vaginal brachytherapy boost to pelvic radiation in stage III endometrial cancer.

Purpose We investigate the use and impact of a vaginal brachytherapy boost (VBB) after pelvic radiotherapy for stage III endometrial adenocarcinoma on vaginal and pelvic control.
Teaching-ba- and -pa-to deaf children using real-time spectral displays.

A study was made of the ability of deaf children to profit from visually displayed spectral information in learning to produce /ba/and /pa/. In a school for the deaf eight subjects were taught these syllables by means of visual displays of speech, and eight subjects by means of conventional training techniques. Ability to produce these sounds was tested before, immediately after, and six to eight weeks after training. Performance was assessed by means of listener judgments, and by means of measurements of the time of onset of voicing for /ba/ and for /pa/. Most of the deaf children were better able to say /ba/ than /pa/ before training. Skill in the production of /pa/ improved with training, but skill in the production of /ba/ did not. The group taught by means of visual displays showed more improvement than the conventionally trained group. This improvement was maintained through the six to eight week period following training.
Isolation and Structural Studies of Sulfated Glycoproteins of Hog Gastric Mucosa

Abstract Sulfated glycoproteins were purified from tryptic digests of hog stomach mucosa. The sulfated glycoprotein fractions were isolated by ethanol and cetylpyridinium chloride precipitation followed by free-flow electrophoresis. The separation of the sulfated glycoproteins was performed by elution from DEAE-Sephadex A-50 with NaCl. After gel filtration of the major fractions on Bio-Gel A-50m, final separation was achieved by rechromatography on DEAE-Sephadex. The homogeneity of the purified fractions was confirmed by electrophoresis on cellulose acetate strips at pH 1.76 and 9.0. All of the purified sulfated glycoprotein fractions exhibited strong (A + H) blood-group activity. The extent of activity depended on the sulfate content and decreased slightly as a sulfate content increased. Two groups of similar but distinct carbohydrate chains were separated, one containing 18 and the other 14 glycosyl units. The carbohydrate composition of the studied fractions was found to be (in residues per 2 residues of N-acetylgalactosamine): fucose, 1.9 to 4.1; galactose, 5.9 to 7.9; and N-acetylglucosamine, 3.7 to 4.0. The sulfate was present in each fraction with a molar ratio of hexosamine to sulfate ranging from 2.4 to 5.4. N-acetylglucosamine 6-sulfate was the only sulfated sugar found in the studied fractions. The carbohydrate chains of the sulfated glycoproteins from hog stomach mucosa are linked to the protein through O-glycosidic bonds involving N-acetylgalactosamine and serine and threonine. Sequential Smith degradation, partial acid hydrolysis of the native and partially degraded glycoproteins, enzymatic digestion, and immunological assays established the carbohydrate sequence and some of the linkages between the sugars.
Guaranteed Access to Safe and Legal Abortions: The True Revolution of Mexico City's Legal Reforms Regarding Abortion

This Article examines the revolutionary changes made to the criminal and health codes regulating abortion in Mexico City in 2007, which made it legal for a woman to obtain an abortion anytime before the twelfth week of pregnancy for any reason. These changes dramatically expanded the previous law, which had only allowed legal abortions in four limited circumstances. Additionally, this move made Mexico City the only state in Mexico to allow abortions under any circumstance for a proscribed period of time. This Article argues that the true revolution of the 2007 reforms can be found in the amended health code, which guaranteed women access to safe, legal abortions at public hospitals. Historically, even in instances where abortion was legal, it was rarely possible to access, making the right effectively meaningless. By embracing emerging trends in human rights that focus on a woman's right to health and reproductive liberty while performing a careful balancing act between the rights of women seeking abortions and doctors who conscientiously object to performing them, the Mexico City legislature lays out a model for reform for the rest of Mexico and beyond.
The natural oscillations of an ice-covered channel

Les modes d'oscillations naturelles d'un chenal infiniment long recouvert de glace sont envisages en utilisant l'approximation hydrostatique et en supposant que la glace ait un comportement elastique. La relation de dispersion, le mode de forme et les forces associees sur les bords du chenal sont obtenus pour les trois modes inferieurs. Une attention particuliere est portee aux limitations dues aux approximations hydrostatiques et elastiques
Reforestation Trials in the Khabarovsk Territory, Russia

Enormous areas of primary forest in Russia have been and continue to be destroyed by fire and harvesting. Almost all of these areas have been left to reforest naturally. Little reforestation by planting has been attempted and these efforts have met with limited success. Consequently vast areas are without forest cover and are unlikely to have a positive carbon balance. Weyerhaeuser Company initiated co-operative forest planting trials in the Khabarovsk Territory in 1989. Native seeds from this area were brought to the U.S. and used to produce high quality containerised seedlings. These seedlings were then used in research trials and small operational plantings in 1991 and 1992 near Vanino and Khabarovsk. In both 1993 and 1994, seedlings were provided for large-scale operational plantings in the Khabarovsk Territory. Seedling survival has generally been greater than 90% and growth has been excellent over a wide range of site conditions. The operational planting results demonstrate that contrary to local opinion, reforestation practices proven elsewhere can be used to successfully reforest sites that have been burned or harvested in this region. Key to the operational planting success were high quality seedlings, good logistical support and a well trained, organised and positively motivated work force.
Evaluation of Cavernous Transformation Of the Portal Vein by Magnetic Resonance Imaging

We describe two children who underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as part of the evaluation of isolated splenomegaly after Doppler ultrasound was unable to identify the portal vein. The diagnosis of cavernous transformation of the portal vein and the normalcy of the biliary tract and hepatic architecture were confirmed by MRI. Because of the risks associated with computed tomography (CT) and angiographic evaluation of such patients, the use of MRI, a noninvasive modality, in the evaluation of pediatric patients requires further consideration.
Joseph Leidy: The Last Man Who Knew Everything

This is the first published biography of the remarkable Joseph Leidy (1823-91), a scientist of astonishing achievement and breadth of interests. A man who seemed to know everything, Leidy was-among many other things-the foremost human anatomist of his time, the first truly productive microscopist, the father of American protozoology and parasitology, and the founder of American invertebrate paleontology.
ENDOTHELIUM: A DISTRIBUTED ORGAN OF DIVERSE CAPABILITIES

A historical survey of the growth of ideas about the circulation of the blood and about the endothelium is provided as a background to the specialized papers that follow. Over the years, in the course of clarifying its structure and function, the status of the endothelium has gradually evolved from that of an inert semipermeable barrier that determines the exchange of substances between blood vessels and tissue spaces to that of a specialized organ that is unusual in its dispersion throughout the body as the lining of blood vessels. This unique arrangement has enabled it to play different roles in different parts of the vascular tree and in different organs and to manifest distinctive responses to injury according to its structure and location. As a corollary, because its responsiveness is strongly influenced by its ambience and neighboring tissues, it seems inevitable that extrapolations from function in vitro to function in vivo require considerable prudence.
A secure and efficient voter-controlled anonymous election scheme

We propose an electronic voting (e-voting) scheme that combines user-centric mix networks with voter-verifiable receipts. Unlike traditional mixnet-based e-voting schemes, our scheme empowers voters; the voters themselves decide the degree of anonymity required. Voters requiring a greater degree of anonymity obtain it by performing several protocol iterations. The proposed scheme utilizes incoercible, voter-verifiable receipts. It is robust as no reasonable-sized coalition can interfere with the correct operation. Finally, it is efficient as the number of transmitted messages increases linearly with the number of voters.
Reference standards for flow cytometry and application in comparative studies of nuclear DNA content

Nuclear DNA mass in cells from a reference species can be used to obtain high-resolution estimates of DNA mass from a target species. In our study of DNA mass in cells from 45 selected species, representing each of the major vertebrate classes, we have obtained values of from 1.5 to 110.0 pg of DNA. Because values in or near this range would be expected in the study of nuclear DNA mass in vertebrates and other organisms, the species in this report can provide a useful catalogue of references for comparative studies of DNA.
Copper and nitric oxide meet in the plasma.

Nitrite is an inorganic anion essential in cell signaling and vascular biology. A new study shows that the multicopper oxidase ceruloplasmin is critical for maintaining plasma nitrite, revealing a new link between copper and nitric oxide homeostasis.
Fermentation of Maize Bran, Oat Bran, and Wheat Bran by Bacteroides ovatus V975

Bacteroides ovatus is a Gram-negative obligate anaerobe that was isolated from the human colon and is capable of utilizing xylan. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of B. ovatus V975 to digest maize bran, oat bran, and wheat bran as well as the isolated cell walls from each bran source. Strain V975 was incubated in basal medium that contained either 0.1 or 0.3 g of each bran or each bran cell wall for 0, 24, 48, and 72 h. Acetate and succinate were the main products detected from each fermentation; however, less of each end product was produced from the isolated cell walls than from each bran. More of the oat bran was digested (in vitro dry matter disappearance = 74.8%) during the 72 h incubation than any other bran source. While each bran contained arabinose and xylose, more glucose, galactose, and mannose were utilized by strain V975 during the 72-h incubation than either pentose sugar. Compared with each bran, the bran cell walls had lower concentrations of most sugars, and more glucose than any other sugar was utilized by strain V975. These results suggest that strain V975 preferentially utilizes glucose, galactose, and mannose in each bran, while glucose is the main sugar fermented in bran cell walls.
A simultaneous determination of the parameters of the core-particle model in 197Au

Abstract The parameters of the core-particle model of Lawson and Uretsky were determined for 197Au by fitting simultaneously all the available experimental data and also a part of the data. Those quantities that are known with some precision (energy levels and static moments) were found to be very well described by the model whereas the more difficult to measure transition rates were not so satisfactorily fitted. The values found for the parameters were compared where possible to those found in other investigations.
Photocapacitance Decay Technique for Interface Trap Characterization Near Inversion Band in Wide Bandgap MOS Capacitors

A technique to characterize interface traps near the minority carrier band for wide bandgap metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors at room temperature is presented. The method uses photogeneration of minority carriers and transient analysis of the subsequent photocapacitance decay to evaluate trap response times. The technique is demonstrated using n-type substrate 6H- SiC/SiO2 MOS capacitors to extract interface trap density (Dit) ranging in energy from 0.2 to 0.8 eV above the valence band edge (Ev) and trap cross sections from 0.4 to 0.7 eV above Ev. For the given material system, traps near Ev exhibit significant differences between n-and p-type substrate MOS capacitors.