cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Efficacy and Safety of Bevacizumab in Active Brain Metastases from Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Bevacizumab is effective for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Ongoing trials are exploring the safety of bevacizumab in patients with inactive, previously treated brain metastases. However, bevacizumab safety and efficacy in the treatment of active brain metastases is unknown. Bevacizumab received accelerated FDA approval for progressive glioblastoma, a primary brain tumor, because of high response rates and low incidence of intracranial hemorrhage. We retrospectively identified patients treated with bevacizumab for active (treatment naive or progressive) central nervous system (CNS) metastases from NSCLC. MRI scans performed at least 6 weeks after initiating bevacizumab were assessed for response. There were six patients, four women and two men with a median age of 60 years (range 59-77) at initiation of bevacizumab. Five patients had progressive CNS metastases despite prior treatment including surgery, radiotherapy, and/or chemotherapy; one patient had treatment-naive brain metastases. Two patients had leptomeningeal metastases, isolated or coexistent with parenchymal brain metastases in one patient each. Bevacizumab was administered alone to one patient and in combination with various cytotoxic chemotherapies in the others. Toxicity included an asymptomatic (Grade 1) intra-tumoral hemorrhage which occurred in one of three patients receiving concurrent anticoagulation with bevacizumab. There was no recurrent CNS bleeding in two patients with a prior history of such hemorrhage. Best CNS response (RECIST) was partial in two, stable disease in three, and progression in one. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 7.8 months and median overall survival (OS) was 14.1 months following initiation of bevacizumab. Clinical benefit was also observed in the form of improved symptoms and reduced corticosteroid requirements. Bevacizumab should be used with caution in patients with active CNS metastases pending additional safety data. This series suggests bevacizumab may be safe and effective for progressive brain metastases from NSCLC and deserves further study.
One-point pseudospectral collocation for the one-dimensional Bratu equation

Abstract The one-dimensional planar Bratu problem is u xx + λ exp( u ) = 0 subject to u (±1) = 0. Because there is an analytical solution, this problem has been widely used to test numerical and perturbative schemes. We show that over the entire lower branch, and most of the upper branch, the solution is well approximated by a parabola, u ( x ) ≈ u 0 (1 − x 2 ) where u 0 is determined by collocation at a single point x = ξ . The collocation equation can be solved explicitly in terms of the Lambert W-function as u (0) ≈ − W (− λ (1 − ξ 2 )/2)/(1 − ξ 2 ) where both real-valued branches of the W-function yield good approximations to the two branches of the Bratu function. We carefully analyze the consequences of the choice of ξ . We also analyze the rate of convergence of a series of even Chebyshev polynomials which extends the one-point approximation to arbitrary accuracy. The Bratu function is so smooth that it is actually poor for comparing methods because even a bad, inefficient algorithm is successful. It is, however, a solution so smooth that a numerical scheme (the collocation or pseudospectral method) yields an explicit, analytical approximation. We also fill some gaps in theory of the Bratu equation. We prove that the general solution can be written in terms of a single, parameter-free β ( x ) without knowledge of the explicit solution. The analytical solution can only be evaluated by solving a transcendental eigenrelation whose solution is not known explicitly. We give three overlapping perturbative approximations to the eigenrelation, allowing the analytical solution to be easily evaluated throughout the entire parameter space.
Extrauterine pregnancy resulting from early uterine rupture

Abstract Background: Cesarean scar rupture of a gravid uterus in early gestation is rare. Case: A 38-year-old woman, gravida 4, para 2-0-1-1, presented at 13 weeks’ gestation with cramping and spotting. She had a history of two cesareans. Ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging indicated probable uterine dehiscence and a viable extrauterine pregnancy. After embolization of the uterine arteries with subsequent fetal death, the subject had a hysterectomy. Intraoperatively, she had complete rupture of the lower uterine segment, but the pregnancy was enclosed within scar tissue between the uterus and bladder. Placenta percreta was found by histologic examination. Conclusion: Women with histories of cesareans might be at risk of early uterine rupture.
Time Warp simulation on clumps

Traditionally, parallel discrete-event simulators based on the Time Warp synchronization protocol have been implemented using either the shared memory programming model or the distributed memory, message passing programming model. This was because the preferred hardware platform was either a shared memory multiprocessor workstation or a network of uniprocessor workstations. However, with the advent of "clumps" (cluster of shared memory multiprocessors), a change in this dichotomous view becomes necessary. This paper explores the design and implementation issues involved in exploiting this new platform for Time Warp simulations. Specifically, this paper presents two generic strategies for implementing Time Warp simulators on clumps. In addition, we present our experiences in implementing these strategies on an extant distributed memory, message passing Time Warp simulator (WARPED). Preliminary performance results comparing the modified clump-specific simulation kernel to the unmodified distributed memory, message passing simulation kernel are also presented.
The Modern World of Leo Strauss

There are a number of very well-known controversies associated with Leo Strauss. However, although arguable, it seems fair enough to claim that it is his complex and multifront attack on the insufficiencies of modernity that stands as his most influential legacy in America, both inside and outside the academy. This probably has something to do with the unique importance of the ideas of Enlightenment, religious tolerance, and scientific optimism in American political life, when compared to the more homogeneous societies of Western Europe. The very possibility and fate of an American nation state are tied deeply to the possibility and fate of Enlightenment modernity, and so Strauss's reflections were bound to find a distinct (and distinctly contentious) audience in the United States. Moreover, the problem of Strauss's reception has become even more fascinating and confusing in the contemporary American academy. His attacks on the self-satisfaction of post-Enlightenment culture, his doubts about the benefits of technological mastery, about the attempted avoidance of any public reliance on religion, and about the modern confidence in the power of enlightened self-interest in the formation of a polity, all often delivered in a rhetoric sometimes bordering on biblical prophecy, have now suddenly reappeared, more quietly but insistently, on the agendas of neo- Aristotelians, critical theorists, communitarians, and postmodernists.
“WHERE HEAVES THE TURF”: THOMAS HARDY AND THE BOUNDARIES OF THE EARTH

W HAT DO WE EXPECT to learn when we scrutinize the boundaries of, or within, Victorian literary studies at the beginning of the twenty-first century? Because many nineteenth-century scholars had always worked within an interdisciplinary paradigm, the theoretical shifts of the last thirty years or so, which broke down divisions between generically distinct discourses, could be said to have brought continuity, rather than change, to this particular community. Yet it is probably true that a pre-existing predilection for historicist investigation has gained added strength in Victorianist circles in recent times. Certain kinds of journeys have become especially common: intrepid explorers travel beyond the bounds of a literary text to hitherto unimagined contexts, and then return to said text laden with the spoils of their expeditions. The exotic voyage to discover the strangeness of the Victorians, then, has become a familiar event; we have witnessed an expansion of the empire of possible connections. Rarer than these heroic ventures, however, has been the practice of quiet contemplation: we have perhaps been less adept at standing still, and looking carefully at the ground we already hold, the ground we assume we share with our nineteenth-century predecessors. What happens when we eschew the temptation to strike out across new territory, and turn our eyes merely to the earth below? Might we discover boundaries between the Victorians and ourselves in the most mundane, the most fundamental of places?
Energy-Dependent Slater Integrals*

Data are presented from Hartree–Fock calculations and from empirical level fitting showing a linear decrease with energy in the various radial integrals which describe Coulomb repulsion and spin–orbit interaction of atomic electrons.
Identifying rare-variant associations in parent-child trios using a Gaussian support vector machine

As the availability of cost-effective high-throughput sequencing technology increases, genetic research is beginning to focus on identifying the contributions of rare variants (RVs) to complex traits. Using RVs to detect associated genes requires statistical approaches that mitigate the lack of power with the analysis of single RVs. Here we report the development and application of an approach that aggregates and evaluates the transmissions of RVs in parent-child trios. An initial score that incorporates the distortion in transmission of the observed RVs from the parents to their offspring is calculated for each variant. The scores are analyzed using a support vector machine that handles these data by mapping the transmission distortion of the multiple RVs into a one-dimensional score in a nonlinear fashion when parent-child trios with affected and nonaffected children are contrasted. We refer to this approach as Trio-SVM. A total of 275 trios were available in the Genetic Analysis Workshop 18 data for analysis. Because of their nonindependence and the extended linkage disequilibrium (LD) within pedigrees, Trio-SVM was vulnerable to type I errors in detecting association. Using the GAW18 data with simulated trait values, Trio-SVM has an appropriate type I error, but it lacks power with a sample of 267 trios. Larger samples of 500 to 1000 trios, derived from combining the simulated data, provided sufficient power. Two chromosome 3 candidate genes were tested in the real GAW18 data with Trio-SVM, and they showed marginal associations with hypertension.
Measuring dissolved oxygen as an indicator of primary productivity

The estimation of primary productivity using dissolved oxygen data is predicated upon the relationship between oxygen evolution and carbon fixation. Ultimately our conclusions depend on the validity of this conversion. Whatever parameter is measured, it should be cited in conjunction with the other. The results are thus translatable. In the current Barnegat Bay investigation, the change in mg 02/1 was multiplied by 0.375 to obtain a first order approximation of fixation of carbon into organic compounds. Oxygen techniques, contrasted with the somewhat more sensitive 14C method, provide estimates of the disparity between gross and net photosynthesis. The often pronounced or even overriding effects of of a zooplankton as a component in the dynamics of a plankton community however cannot be ignored.
Cell proliferation inhibitory and apoptosis-inducing properties of anacardic acid and lunasin in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells

The combination of two or more chemopreventive agents is currently being used to achieve greater inhibitory effects on breast cancer cells. Anacardic acid and lunasin are two plant-derived compounds that have been associated with anti-carcinogenic properties. These compounds show inhibitory effects on cell proliferation and inducing properties of apoptosis in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cell line. Both lunasin and anacardic acid exert their effects through the modulation of expression of several genes involved in cell cycle, apoptosis and signal transduction. Their combination arrests the cell cycle in S-phase and induces apoptosis at higher levels than that observed when each compound is used individually. This combination also promotes the inhibition of ERBB2, AKT1, JUN and RAF1 signalling gene expression, whose up-regulation has been reported as responsible for breast cancer cells growth and resistance to apoptosis. Our results introduce these two compounds as a promising strategy to prevent/treat breast cancer.
Prey attraction as a possible function of bioluminescence in the larvae of Pyrearinus termitilluminans (Coleoptera: Elateridae)

Elaterid beetle larvae. Pyrearinus termitilluminans (sp.n., Costa, 1982.) live in termite mounds in central Brazil. Each larva produces light in the segment immediately behind its head. Larvae were observed to luminesce only during the first weeks of the rainy season, the same times as the ant and termite alate flights. Alates, apparently attracted to P. termitilluminans larval lights, serve as an important food source for the larvae. The prey-catching and food-storing behavior and the phenomenon of bioluminescence are apparently an evolutionary response by P. termitilluminans larvae to a short, rich pulse of food. Prey attraction as a probable cause for luminescence has been suggested only twice before.
Gastrin release after truncal vagotomy in fistula dogs: Hypersensitivity to bombesin but not bethanechol

Abstract Integrated gastrin response was measured by the serial changes in serum immunoreactive gastrin after various stimuli in three dogs with gastric fistula and highly selective fundic vagotomy, who were then subjected to truncal vagotomy. Truncal vagotomy eliminated the gastrin as well as the gastric acid response to vagal excitation by 2-deoxy-glucose, but did not significantly change the responses to bethanechol (20 or 120 μg/kg/hr by IV infusion). Acid output was the same with bombesin or its nonapeptide in the dogs with fundic vagotomy as it was after subsequent truncal vagotomy, but gastrin release was very much increased by truncal vagotomy. For a 3-hour infusion of bombesin integrated gastrin release was 65 and 143 ng/ml/min and for its nonapeptide 43 and 109 ng/ml/min in the dogs with fundic and truncal vagotomy respectively. The marked hypersensitivity of the gastrin response after truncal vagotomy to bombesin but not to a cholinergic agonist suggests that the antral denervation led to a post-denervation hyper-response to the putative transmitter, bombesin, and that the vagal release of antral gastrin may thus represent a peptidergic neurohormonal mechanism. Also, a long half-life of effect suggests that bombesin binds avidly to its receptors.
Welfare, preference and freedom

Abstract This paper is concerned with the informational foundation of welfare-economic evaluation and the empirical bases of social welfare judgments. More particularly, it is concerned with the empirical implications of basing social evaluation on individual freedom, as opposed to individual welfare. This involves a substantial shift from the informational focus of standard welfare economics, with its dominant tradition of ‘welfarism’. While the claims of individual preferences to be in the informational base of social welfare judgments are frequently seen as parasitic on welfarism, the claims relate more robustly to freedom-based social evaluation. In an axiomatic examination, it is argued that preference and freedom are very deeply interrelated, and that an affirmation of the intrinsic importance of freedom must inter alia assign fundamental importance to preference. This goes against some common presumptions about assesing freedom, and also against some axioms that have been proposed in the literature on ‘measuring freedom’.
Throughput Analysis of Ad Hoc Networks Using Multibeam Antennas with Priority-Based Channel Access Scheduling

Multibeam antennas (MBAs) can be used in ad hoc networks to improve throughput performance as a result of increased spatial reuse and extended coverage. For random access scheduling (RAS) protocol, contention resolution is required to overcome the potential collisions. Multipath propagation increases the contention, particularly when an MBA is implemented using the multiple fixed-beam antenna (MFBA) technique. It is desirable to incorporate priority-based channel access scheduling (CAS) into RAS for contention resolution and service differentiation. In this paper, we introduce two priority-based CAS algorithms for contention resolution respectively in single-path and multipath propagation environments, and analyze the one-hop throughput performance of the CAS schemes in an analytical framework. The impact of both quasi-stationary multipath propagation and the CAS algorithms is rigourously examined.
AN INQUIRY INTO THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF MELANOMA

The authors conducted a study of 404 melanoma patients and 521 control patients of both sexes at Roswell Park Memorial Institute. As have previous investigators, they found that higher risk attaches to upper socioeconomic status, as measured by occupation and education, lightness of complexion and hair, and amount of blue in the admixture of eye color. The authors also found a higher risk among individuals who reacted to sun exposure by burning, blistering, or freckling rather than by tanning. A particular concern was to measure risk associated with exposure to the sun. As have two other investigators, they found that risk decreased with increasing exposure, suggesting either that individuals continually exposed to the sun have less risk because of tanning, or that susceptibles purposely avoid sun exposure, or both. The fact that melanoma occurs with greater frequency on sites exposed to the sun suggests that sun exposure plays a part. These studies showed a dose-response increase in risk (odds ratios of up to 4 for males and over 6 for females) with increases in number of traits possessed, such as light complexion, and burning or freckling in response to sun exposure. This is consistent with the authors' earlier finding of a strong familial aggregation of melanoma.
Melanoma cancer vaccines and anti‐tumor T cell responses

Melanoma is a disease which has been shown to be responsive to immune intervention. This has been suggested by reports of spontaneous responses of metastatic disease with strong immune infiltrates, and supported by recent data correlating clinical response after IFNalpha treatment with development of generalized autoimmunity. Since the identification of melanoma-associated tumor antigens, many groups have performed clinical trials to take advantage of this discovery with melanoma-specific cancer vaccines. These trials, in which multiple antigen delivery strategies have been tested in hundreds of patients, have demonstrated that these vaccines are safe, immunogenic, and yield a low frequency of objective clinical responses. The ability to perform careful immunological monitoring has allowed important insights into the nature of the anti-tumor immunity generated by these vaccinations. While many trials have found that the absolute frequency of T cells specific for a vaccine-encoded antigen are a marker of immunization, it does not correlate with objective clinical response. Induction of broad immunity to multiple tumor antigens, taking advantage of cross-reactive T cells and activation of persistent T cells may be more important. Harnessing additional modes of amplifying immune responses (lymphodepletion, cytokine support, inhibition of negative immune self-regulation) are now being tested and should improve clinical responses from 5% to 10% complete response seen currently.
Approaches to implementing and teaching human computer interaction

Computer science education is built upon the fundamentals of problem solving. Our students are capable of solving problems and expressing their solutions in a concrete manner using a programming language. These skills are undoubtedly powerful. However, as the expansion of computer science-related contributions to the world continues, we need to incorporate HCI into our curriculum so that students are taught to design user interfaces that fully communicate their accomplishments to end users. Today, there is a gray area in the definition of a good user interface and teaching such material to students may seem daunting. However, this paper discusses how an HCI course can be decomposed into a defined, manageable format similar to introductory programming courses. This paper supports this proposition by emphasizing the importance of students being able to analyze our continually changing world and the benefits of recurrent exercises.
Energy-efficient scheduling of packet transmissions over wireless networks

The paper develops algorithms for minimizing the energy required to transmit packets in a wireless environment. It is motivated by the following observation: In many channel coding schemes it is possible to significantly lower the transmission energy by transmitting packets over a long period of time. Based on this observation, we show that for a variety of scenarios the offline energy-efficient transmission scheduling problem reduces to a convex optimization problem. Unlike for the special case of a single transmitter-receiver pair studied by (see Prabhakar, Uysal-Biyikoglu and El Gamal. Proc. IEEE Infocom 2001), the problem does not, in general, admit a closed-form solution when there are multiple users. By exploiting the special structure of the problem, however, we are able to devise energy-efficient transmission schedules. For the downlink channel, with a single transmitter and multiple receivers, we devise an iterative algorithm, called MoveRight, that yields the optimal offline schedule. The MoveRight algorithm also optimally solves the downlink problem with additional constraints imposed by packet deadlines and finite transmit buffers. For the uplink (or multiaccess) problem MoveRight optimally determines the offline time-sharing schedule. A very efficient online algorithm, called MoveRightExpress, that uses a surprisingly small look-ahead buffer is proposed and is shown to perform competitively with the optimal offline schedule in terms of energy efficiency and delay.
Detection of Her-2/neu oncogene in breast carcinoma by chromogenic in situ hybridization in cytologic specimens.

Determination of Her-2/neu oncogene amplification is important in the current treatment of breast carcinoma. In addition to fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemical stain (HercepTest), chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) has been shown to be a sensitive and specific method to determine the Her-2/neu status of surgical specimens. The effectiveness of CISH in detecting the Her-2/neu oncogene in cytologic specimens has not been well documented. Twenty-five cases of fine needle aspirate smears and touch imprints from infiltrating ductal carcinomas were examined. Both CISH and FISH were performed on each case using a digoxigenin-labeled Her-2 DNA probe for CISH (Zymed) and both Her-2 and chromosome 17 probes for FISH (Vysis). Sixty tumor cells were evaluated in each case. The scoring system and interpretation of CISH were as follows: (1) no amplification ( 10 brown dots/nucleus), and (3) low-level amplification (5-9 brown dots/nucleus). Of the 25 cases analyzed, 23 (3 amplified and 20 nonamplified) showed similar results for both methods. Two cases were discordant. In these cases, low-level amplification was suggested by CISH but nonamplification by FISH. One of the cases can be explained by polysomy for chromosome 17 by FISH. In conclusion, our preliminary data suggest that CISH is a useful technique to determine Her-2/neu oncogene status in cytologic specimens. In a case of low-level amplification, a CISH chromosome 17 probe should be used, or FISH is recommended for confirmation.
Consumer inferences of food safety and quality

Economists frequently use choice experiments (CEs) to evaluate demand for new attributes in food products. Using a split-sample experimental design focused on demand for pork chop attributes, we find consumer inferences regarding food safety and quality to impact estimates of marginal willingness to pay, market participation, policy appropriateness and consumer welfare effects. Our results suggest that interpretation of findings should be noted as conditional on attributes included in original analyses. A split-sample experimental approach involving multiple CE designs is described and suggested to practitioners to better consider consumer inference effects in future studies.
Effect of Segmented Anodes on the Beam Profile of a Hall Thurster

The effect of the addition of shim electrodes on the discharge in a Hall thruster was investigated. A BPT-2000 magnetic circuit was retrofitted with a segmented anode with thermal measurement capabilities. Current was shared between shims and main anode by changing the voltage on the shim. A Faraday probe was used to measure ion current density. The acquired beam profiles were compared to develop a relationship between current sharing and thruster plume divergence.
Adaptive interference suppression for CDMA systems with a worst-case error criterion

This correspondence proposes a novel design strategy for linear multiuser detection in CDMA systems to satisfy a deterministic worst-case error performance measure. Formulations with and without the use of training signals are considered, and a near-far resistant solution for each is presented. Further, computationally efficient adaptive algorithms are derived in this framework that allow for sharing of detectors among different users.
Mueller-Lyer decrement : practice or prolonged inspection?

Noting the similarity between the illusion decrement and selective adaptation paradigms, Long has challenged the view that illusion decrement effects reflect a strategic--as opposed to a structural--underlying mechanism, and has called for further research on this issue. To investigate the confound between prolonged free inspection and repeated trials in the standard decrement procedure, the effects of three inspection conditions (continuous, intermittent, and immediate) on the magnitude of the overestimation Mueller-Lyer illusion have been assessed under two levels of trials (a total of two or six judgments). Significant illusion decline was found only under conditions of repeated trials, with either continuous or intermittent inspection. These findings do not support the predictions of purely structural theories (including neural adaptation and efferent readiness theories), according to which degree of decrement should be determined solely by viewing time. Instead, the data demonstrate that illusion decrement is a product of practice, providing converging evidence for the view of decrement as involving a cognitive 'recalibration' or learning process.
DEX: Digital evidence provenance supporting reproducibility and comparison

The current standard and open formats for forensic data describe whole disk and memory image properties, but do not describe the products of detailed investigations. We propose a simple canonical description of digital evidence provenance that explicitly states the set of tools and transformations that led from acquired raw data to the resulting product. Our format, called Digital Evidence Exchange (DEX) is independent of the forensic tool that discovered the evidence, which has a number of advantages. Using a DEX description and the raw image file, evidence can be reproduced by other tools with the same functionality. Additionally, DEX descriptions can identify differences between two separate investigations of the same raw evidence. Finally, as a standard product of tools, DEX can allow quick fabrication of tool chains either as best-of-breed amalgams or for tool testing. We have implemented DEX as an open-source library.
Improved sib-pair linkage test for disease susceptibility loci

An improved sib-pair test for linkage is introduced which is superior to the previously proposed tests. The test is derived from the standard chi-squared goodness of fit statistic by restricting the alternative hypothesis to the genetically possible. Critical values are given and exact power comparisons are made with the previously proposed tests. The new test is shown to be more powerful for finite samples as well as being asymptotically uniformly most powerful. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
A-train CALIOP and MLS observations of early winter Antarctic polar stratospheric clouds and nitric acid in 2008

Abstract. A-train Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) and Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) observations are used to investigate the development of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) and the gas-phase nitric acid distribution in the early 2008 Antarctic winter. Observational evidence of gravity-wave activity is provided by Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) radiances and infrared spectroscopic detection of nitric acid trihydrate (NAT) in PSCs is obtained from the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS). Goddard Earth Observing System Data Assimilation System (GEOS-5 DAS) analyses are used to derive Lagrangian trajectories and to determine temperature-time histories of air parcels. We use CALIOP backscatter and depolarization measurements to classify PSCs and the MLS measurements to determine the corresponding gas-phase HNO3 as a function of temperature. For liquid PSCs the uptake of HNO3 follows the theoretical equilibrium curve for supercooled ternary solutions (STS), but at temperatures about 1 K lower as determined from GEOS-5. In the presence of solid phase PSCs, above the ice frost-point, the HNO3 depletion occurs over a wider range of temperatures (+2 to −7 K) distributed about the NAT equilibrium curve. Rapid gas-phase HNO3 depletion is first seen by MLS from from 23–25 May 2008, consisting of a decrease in the volume mixing ratio from 14 ppbv (parts per billion by volume) to 7 ppbv on the 46–32 hPa (hectopascal) pressure levels and accompanied by a 2–3 ppbv increase by renitrification at the 68 hPa pressure level. The observed region of depleted HNO3 is substantially smaller than the region bounded by the NAT existence temperature threshold. Temperature-time histories of air parcels demonstrate that the depletion is more clearly correlated with prior exposure to temperatures a few kelvin above the frost-point. From the combined data we infer the presence of large-size NAT particles with effective radii >5–7 μm and low NAT number densities 0.2 cm−3. This NAT outbreak is similar to an event previously reported from MIPAS observations in mid-June 2003.
Aldosterone, dietary salt, and renal disease.

Increased urinary albumin excretion (UAE) is an early indicator of glomerular damage and of increased cardiovascular risk. Systemic endothelial dysfunction, for which albuminuria is presumed to be a sensitive biomarker, likely underlies, at least in part, these combined cardiorenal effects.1 A large body of experimental data implicates the independent roles of aldosterone and high dietary salt ingestion in contributing to the development of kidney disease separate from the effects of high blood pressure.2,3 Less well documented is the degree to which aldosterone and dietary salt contribute to renal disease in humans and, in particular, how these factors interact to effect renal function. In this issue of Hypertension , Rossi et al4 report that patients with newly diagnosed hypertension who were confirmed to have primary aldosteronism had greater UAE than newly diagnosed hypertensive patients without primary aldosteronism. In all of the patients, urinary sodium excretion independently predicted UAE. These results both compare and contrast with recent results from Framingham investigators who found that in a cohort of normotensive and hypertensive subjects, UAE was positively associated in a continuous fashion with urinary sodium excretion.5 No such association was seen with serum aldosterone, although UAE was higher in subjects in the highest quintile of serum aldosterone levels. These 2 studies emphasize the importance of the combined roles of aldosterone and dietary salt ingestion in the progression of kidney disease while also generating important research questions to further explore the clinical ramifications of this interaction. A large number of animal studies have confirmed the inflammatory, fibrotic, and thrombotic effects of hyperaldosteronism on target organs, including the heart, brain, and kidney. …
Radiologist Point-of-Care Clinical Decision Support and Adherence to Guidelines for Incidental Lung Nodules.

Abstract Purpose To evaluate the effect of a workstation-integrated, point-of-care, clinical decision support (CDS) tool on radiologist adherence to radiology department guidelines for follow-up of incidental pulmonary nodules detected on abdominal CT. Methods The CDS tool was developed to facilitate adherence to department guidelines for managing pulmonary nodules seen on abdominal CT. In October 2012, the tool was deployed within the radiology department of an academic medical center and could be used for a given abdominal CT at the discretion of the interpreting radiologist. We retrospectively identified consecutive patients who underwent abdominal CT (in the period from January 2012 to April 2013), had no comparison CT scans available, and were reported to have a solid, noncalcified, pulmonary nodule. Concordance between radiologist follow-up recommendation and department guidelines was compared among three groups: patients scanned before implementation of the CDS tool; and patients scanned after implementation, with versus without use of the tool. Results A total of 409 patients were identified, including 268 for the control group. Overall, guideline concordance was higher after CDS tool implementation (92 of 141 [65%] versus 133 of 268 [50%], P = .003). This finding was driven by the subset of post-CDS implementation cases in which the CDS tool was used (57 of 141 [40%]). In these cases, guideline concordance was significantly higher (54 of 57 [95%]), compared with post-implementation cases in which CDS was not used (38 of 84 [45%], P P Conclusions A point-of-care CDS tool was associated with improved adherence to guidelines for follow-up of incidental pulmonary nodules.
Perspectives on Stress, Parenting, and Children’s Obesity-Related Behaviors in Black Families:

Objective In an effort to develop targets for childhood obesity interventions in non-Hispanic-Black (Black) families, this study examined parental perceptions of stress and identified potential links among parental stress and children's eating patterns, physical activity, and screen-time. Method Thirty-three self-identified Black parents or grandparents of a child aged 3 to 7 years were recruited from a large, urban Black church to participate in semistructured interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Parents/grandparents described a pathway between how stress affected them personally and their child's eating, structured (sports/dance) and unstructured (free-play) physical activity, and screen-time usage, as well as strategies to prevent this association. Five themes emerged: stress affects parent behaviors related to food and physical activity variably; try to be healthy even with stress; parent/grandparent stress eating and parenting; stress influences family cooking, food choices, and child free-play; and screen-time use to decrease parent stress. Negative parent/grandparent response to their personal stress adversely influenced food purchases and parenting related to child eating, free-play, and screen-time. Children of parents/grandparents who ate high-fat/high-sugar foods when stressed requested these foods. In addition to structured physical activity, cooking ahead and keeping food in the house were perceived to guard against the effects of stress except during parent cravings. Parent/child screen-time helped decrease parent stress. Conclusion Parents/grandparents responded variably to stress which affected the child eating environment, free-play, and screen-time. Family-based interventions to decrease obesity in Black children should consider how stress influences parents. Targeting parent cravings and coping strategies that utilize structure in eating and physical activity may be useful intervention strategies.
Violent Conflicts and Threatened Lives : Nicaraguan Experiences of Wartime Displacement and Postwar Distress*

This article utilises an ethnographic case study from Nicaragua to analyse people's everyday experiences of wartime violence and postwar privation. A great deal of literature dealing with political instability in war-torn countries has ap- proached this issue by examining the societal manifestations of violence, while relatively less attention has been paid to people's everyday experiences of conflict and pain. This study focuses on the several waves of violence, displacement, and distress Nicaraguan people have suffered in recent years, beginning with their trau- matic experiences of the civil war in the 1980s to the current postwar era charac- terised by political instability and socio-economic insecurity.
PCB Effects on On-chip Capacitor Requirements and an Efficient Resonance-Prevention ASIC Methodology

A method for determining adequate quantities and locations of on-chip capacitors to maintain supply voltages at all locations on a chip within pre-specified limits given the switching activity of on-chip circuits was presented in [3]. In this paper, we extend the method to include current flow from the package and PCB. The effects of on-chip capacitance and other system parasitics on the time it takes for additional supply current to flow into a chip are discussed. The relationship between switching current, capacitance, system parasitic inductances, and on-chip noise is presented. These concepts are then applied to the subject of power delivery network (PDN) resonance. A 1-dimensional model for simulating PDN resonance is presented. The model includes chip, package, and PCB components, along with explicit networks for each chip power supply and their interactions. The topology of the model and the contributions of each model component are described. A design methodology for avoiding PDN resonance, presen...
The Effect of Carbon on the Precipitation of Oxygen in Czochralski Silicon

Researchers in both the U. S. and Japan have reported that carbon impurities can significantly alter the precipitation of oxygen in CZ silicon. We have employed FTIR, x-ray topography and TEM to study this phenomenon in silicon containing 16 C cm −3 or 1.3 × 10 17 C cm −3 . A single step anneal of 16 hours at 1000°C will cause oxygen precipitation to occur in the high carbon material, while a 32 hour pre-anneal at 600°C is necessary for precipitation in the low carbon material. If a single anneal of 120 hours at 750°C is used, light precipitation occurs in both types of material. A pre-anneal of 15 minutes at 1000°C followed by 120 hours at 750°C reduces precipitation in the high carbon material only slightly, but completely eliminates precipitation in the low carbon material. It can be concluded that carbon causes heterogeneous nucleation of oxygen precipitation in CZ silicon and it is proposed that it does so by lowering the interfacial energy of the precipitates.
Verification and Expansion of the Hensel Blockage Correction in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex 80- by 120-foot Wind Tunnel

The National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex has been working since 2008 to develop a robust and reliable method for performing wall interference corrections on wind tunnel data obtained in both the 40by 80-ft Wind Tunnel and the 80by 120-ft Wind Tunnel. The recently-completed NASA/JPL Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator test series offered a unique verification opportunity. Using data obtained in these tests, NFAC was able to prove that the previously developed Hensel correction for blockage is applicable to large decelerators and dynamic test articles with large dynamic motions. Verification of the correction magnitude was also obtained through comparison to local tunnel dynamic pressure measurements.
Investigation and Analysis of Neisseria meningitides Infection Status of Residents in Hefei District

Objective To understand Neisseria meningitides infection status of residents in Hefei district.Methods Throat swab specimens were collected from residents before epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis periods in December 2005 and cultured on EPV media. Results 32 strains including group A, B, C, H, E of N. meningitides were isolated from 1047 specimens. The positive rate of N. meningitides was 3.01%. Group B, C accounted for 68.7%. Carrier rate of high school students was 6.67%, ranked the first. There was significant difference between high school students and students in elementary school and kindergarten. The carrier rate of male and female was 3.9% and 2.1% respectively. The rate of students in urban and rural area was 2.17% and 4.24% respectively. There were no significant difference between two sexes and two regions.Conclusion The data suggested that carrier rate of N. meningitides was low in Hefei district. Carrier rate was higher in high school students. We should pay more attention to B and C groups.
Simple Kinetic Theory of Brownian Diffusion in Vapors and Aerosols

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the theory of some of the basic processes that depend on the transport and deposition of vapors and particles by Brownian diffusion. A net diffusion of vapor molecules generally accompanies a concentration gradient because the thermal motions of molecules in the direction from higher to lower concentration are not balanced by the thermal molecule motions in the opposite direction. For uniform concentration and temperature, the equilibrium velocity distribution of Maxwell requires the one-way diffusional flux of vapor molecules, that is, the one-way flux of molecules because of their thermal motions. The continuum diffusion law is not valid within a distance of the order of the mean-free-path of a surface. Particles suspended in a fluid medium undergo thermal or Brownian motions because of fluctuations in their bombardment by surrounding fluid molecules. As the motion of the fluid molecules is random, the frequency, magnitudes, and directions of the Brownian impulses experienced by a particle are also random.
Elucidating challenges of reactions with correlated reactant and product binding energies on an example of oxygen reduction reaction

Using density functional theory (DFT), Pt-based sandwich catalysts have been studied to identify a strategy for improving the energetically unfavorable O hydration catalytic reaction (O + H_2O → 2OH) in fuel cells. The challenge for this type of reaction is that the reactant, O, and product, OH, have correlated binding energies, making the improvement of the overall energetics of the reaction problematic. We screened 28 different transition metals as the Pt-M-Pt sandwich middle layer and developed a new index that specifically describes the difficulty of the reaction which involves adsorbed atomic O as the reactant and adsorbed OH as the product. This index is found to predict well the barrier of the O hydration. In order to understand how the index can be optimized, we further studied the electronic density of states (DOS) to elucidate the DOS changes for the different Pt-M-Pt sandwiches. This gives insight on strategies that might be applied to improve the catalytic reactions where the reactant and product have correlated binding energies, which is in fact a common challenge in heterogeneous catalysis.
Identification of Some Enteric Bacteria Which Convert Oleic Acid to Hydroxystearic Acid in Vitro

Hydroxy fatty acids are common constituents of purgative oils. They are also found in the fecal fat of patients with steatorrhea and may contribute to the diarrhea associated with fat malabsorption. The hydration of unabsorbed, dietary, unsaturated fatty acids to hydroxy fatty acids is thought to be catalyzed by intestinal bacteria. Twenty-six pure cultures of bacteria were tested for their ability to hydrate oleic acid in vitro. Seven of the 22 anaerobic species (principally of the genus Clostridium) and one of the four aerobic species (Streptococcus faecalis) rapidly converted oleic acid to hydroxystearic acid.
Great Basin summer range forage quality: do plants nutrients meet elk requirements?

Understanding the relative ability of forages to meet the needs of prime-age females, the productive component of elk ( Cervus elaphus ) populations, is necessary to decipher reasons for declines and potential for population growth. Information on forage nutrient dynamics for elk on Great Basin summer-fall ranges is lacking. Our primary objectives were to estimate nutrient levels in common elk forage species in northeastern Nevada at 3 time periods and evaluate whether nutrient levels met good requirements for lactating cow elk at time periods across summers. We compared crude protein, digestible energy, and macromineral levels in 2 forbs, 6 grasses, and 4 woody browse forage species to requirements for lactating cow elk in early summer, midsummer, and early fall 1999 and 2000. Spurred lupine ( Lupinus caudatus ) and snowbrush ceanothus ( Ceanothus velutinus ) were the most proteinaceous plants, exceeding requirements across all seasons. By midsummer, protein levels in all grasses were below elk requirements (12%). Digestible energy was the most limiting nutrient with woody browse meeting lactating cow elk requirements only in early fall (2750 kcal · kg -1 ). Sodium levels never exceeded about 10% of the required 600 µg · g -1 . The potential for maintaining a relatively high density of elk at forage-quality levels that fulfill requirements declines as summers progress on Great Basin summer ranges. Maintaining highly productive elk herds in the Great Basin requires that managers maintain plant communities with a diversity of forbs, grasses, and browse to provide for nutritional needs of lactating cows and their growing calves.
A new spectral clustering algorithm for large training sets

A new algorithm for spectral clustering is depicted. This algorithm can cluster a large number of samples (in the order of 50000 samples) that would be impossible to cluster with current approaches. It is characterized by a complexity that is significantly lower than the cubic complexity that characterizes the calculation of the eigenvectors of a matrix. It's based on a "clustering of clusters" technique, that combines the use of k-means and spectral clustering. Additionally, this method includes the use of expectation maximization (EM) clustering with axis smoothing that is shown to improve the separation in the spectral domain for high values of the scaling parameter /spl sigma//sup 2/.