cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Continuum Diffusion Reaction Rate Calculations of Wild-Type and Mutant Mouse Acetylcholinesterase: Adaptive Finite Element Analysis

As described previously, continuum models, such as the Smoluchowski equation, offer a scalable framework for studying diffusion in biomolecular systems. This work presents new developments in the efficient solution of the continuum diffusion equation. Specifically, we present methods for adaptively refining finite element solutions of the Smoluchowski equation based on a posteriori error estimates. We also describe new, molecular-surface-based models, for diffusional reaction boundary criteria and compare results obtained from these models with the traditional spherical criteria. The new methods are validated by comparison of the calculated reaction rates with experimental values for wild-type and mutant forms of mouse acetylcholinesterase. The results show good agreement with experiment and help to define optimal reactive boundary conditions.
Teaching Reading Strategies: How Methodology Affects Language Course Articulation.

ABSTRACT This study examines whether university-level French students trained during the second semester to use effective reading strategies and skills demonstrate better reading comprehension and, hence, perform better in the third semester than their untrained peers. The experimental reading activities were derived from recent L1 and L2 reading process theory and research; a sample text, exercises, and lesson plan appear together with teacher and student reactions to the experimental reading practice. These self-report data show widely varying responses to the experimental approach to reading and provoke considerable reflection about the impact of both the teacher variable and cognitive styles on language learning. The repeated measures experiment compares the performance of experimental and control groups on a standardized reading test at the end of the second-and third-semester courses. Although it shows that students given special training in reading made somewhat more progress in reading comprehension than did their peers in the traditional course, it does not solve definitively the problem of articulation within language courses. The experiment results, together with the analysis of student and teacher reactions, prompt further questions about how to examine the impact of various language teaching methodologies and about the value of encouraging students to analyze their own learning processes.
Estimation of electrode ionomer oxygen permeability and ionomer-phase oxygen transport resistance in polymer electrolyte fuel cells

The oxygen permeability of perfluorinated and hydrocarbon polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs; Nafion®, SPEEK and SPSU), which are used as electrolytes and electrode ionomers in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs), was estimated using chronoamperometry using a modified fuel cell set-up. A thin, cylindrical microelectrode was embedded into the PEM and used as the working electrode. The PEM was sandwiched between 2 gas diffusion electrodes, one of which was catalyzed and served as the counter and pseudo-reference electrode. Independently, from fuel cell experiments, the oxygen transport resistance arising due to transport through the ionomer film covering the catalyst active sites was estimated at the limiting current and decoupled from the overall mass transport resistance. The in situ oxygen permeability measured at 80 °C and 75% RH of perfluorinated ionomers such as Nafion® (3.85 × 1012 mol cm−1 s−1) was observed to be an order of magnitude higher than that of hydrocarbon-based PEMs such as SPEEK (0.27 × 1012 mol cm−1 s−1) and SPSU (0.15 × 1012 mol cm−1 s−1). The obtained oxygen transport (through ionomer film) resistance values (Nafion® – 1.6 s cm−1, SPEEK – 2.2 s cm−1 and SPSU – 3.0 s cm−1; at 80 °C and 75% RH) correlated well with the measured oxygen permeabilities in these ion-containing polymers.
Optical coherence tomography as a potential readout in clinical trials

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive tool used for measuring tissue at micrometer resolution. It has been extensively applied to ocular pathologies and is now being studied as a biomarker in various neurologic conditions. The retina represents a unique environment for study, with unmyelinated axons that directly synapse into the central nervous system. When trying to quantify axonal degradation in neurologic disease, the currently used imaging modalities are limited in sensitivity and specificity. Early data suggest that several neurologic conditions have pathologic changes in the retinal nerve fiber layer of the eye, creating a potential surrogate marker for neurodegeneration. OCT has the potential to become a noninvasive, reproducible test for axonal degeneration that could become an invaluable tool for measuring the efficacy of potential neuroprotective agents. If the natural history of neurodegeneration, as measured by OCT, can be documented in diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis, then OCT can be used to measure alterations in the rate of degeneration when treatment is applied. Thus, OCT represents a new, promising technology for documenting outcomes in neuroprotection trials.
A survey of obstetric complications and pregnancy outcomes in paediatric and nonpaediatric anaesthesiologists.

Summary: Obstetric complications such as spontaneous abortion, preterm labour, preterm delivery, low birth weight and congenital anomalies may be associated with exposure to anaesthetic gases. We hypothesized that female anaesthesiologists practicing primarily paediatric anaesthesia, with increased exposure to trace anaesthetic agents, experience a greater prevalence of obstetric complications than female anaesthesiologists performing primarily adult anaesthesia. Methods: Questionnaires were sent to all female Society for Pediatric Anesthesia (SPA) members and to an equal number of randomly selected female American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) members. Subjects were asked to answer questions regarding their pregnancy outcomes, work history and personal habits. Parametric data were analysed by unpaired t-tests. Nonparametric data were analysed by chi-square, Fisher’s exact test and Mann–Whitney U-test as appropriate. Results: Paediatric anaesthesiologists were defined as those having >75% paediatric practice. Paediatric anaesthesiologists were older and had greater operating room exposure during their pregnancies than nonpaediatric anaesthesiologists. There was a significantly higher prevalence of spontaneous abortion among paediatric anaesthesiologists than nonpaediatric anaesthesiologists. In an exploratory analysis, the following factors were found to be significantly associated with the development of spontaneous abortion: age >35 years, gravida >1, exercise during pregnancy, percentage of inhalational anaesthetics >75% and paediatric anaesthesia practice >75%. Independent risk factors for spontaneous abortion among anaesthesiologists included exercise (>1 time/week) and age. Conclusion: Our results suggest a higher prevalence of spontaneous abortion in anaesthesiologists whose practice is >75% paediatrics.
Ectopic expression of pMADS3 in transgenic petunia phenocopies the petunia blind mutant.

We cloned a MADS-box gene, pMADS3, from Petunia hybrida, which shows high sequence homology to the Arabidopsis AGAMOUS and Antirrhinum PLENA. pMADS3 is expressed exclusively in stamens and carpels of wild-type petunia plants. In the petunia mutant blind, which shows homeotic conversions of corolla limbs into antheroid structures with pollen grains and small parts of sepals into carpelloid tissue, pMADS3 is expressed in all floral organs as well as in leaves. Ectopic expression of pMADS3 in transgenic petunia leads to phenocopies of the blind mutant, i.e., the formation of antheroid structures on limbs and carpelloid tissue on sepals. Transgenic tobacco plants that overexpress pMADS3 exhibit an even more severe phenotype, with the sepals forming a carpel-like structure encasing the interior floral organs. Our results identify BLIND as a negative regulator of pMADS3, which specifies stamens and carpels during petunia flower development.
Evaluation of Hay Feeding Strategies on Feed Sorting Behavior of Dairy Heifers Fed Mock Lactation Diets

Abstract Five different physical methods of incorporating hay into mock lactating dairy cow diets were developed to explore possible differences in nutrient intake and feed sorting behavior. Diets were fed to 80 gravid Holstein heifers (433 ± 39 kg) that were randomly assigned to 10 pens in a 5 x 5 Latin square experimental design. Experimental diets included 1) incorporation of long hay (LH) in a total mixed ration (TMR) mixer; 2) incorporation of bale cut hay (BC) in a TMR mixer; 3) incorporation of chopped hay (CH) in a TMR mixer; 4) top-dressing (TD) LH without TMR incorporation, and 5) TD BC hay without TMR incorporation. Top-dressing LH (P 6.35 mm, indicating that heifers preferred particles of smaller size. When a TMR mixer capable of incorporating LH is available, fully incorporating LH in the diet resulted in greater DMI and less particle sorting by heifers. In situations where a TMR mixer is incapable of incorporating LH, using BC in a TMR produced similar and acceptable results. Trial results indicate that feed intake and feed sorting behaviors are influenced by dietary hay incorporation methods.
A Review of Luminescent Anionic Nano System: d 10 Metallocyanide Excimers and Exciplexes in Alkali Halide Hosts

Dicyanoaurate, dicyanoargentate, and dicyanocuprate ions in solution and doped in different alkali halide hosts exhibit interesting photophysical and photochemical behavior, such as multiple emission bands, exciplex tuning, optical memory, and thermochromism. This is attributed to the formation of different sizes of nanoclusters in solution and in doped hosts. A series of spectroscopic methods (luminescence, UV-reflectance, IR, and Raman) as well as theoretical calculations have confirmed the existence of excimers and exciplexes. This leads to the tunability of these nano systems over a wide wavelength interval. The population of these nanoclusters varies with temperature and external laser irradiation, which explains the thermochromism and optical memory. DFT calculations indicate an MLCT transition for each nanocluster and the emission energy decreases with increasing cluster size. This is in agreement with the relatively long life-time for the emission peaks and the multiple emission peaks dependence upon cluster concentration.
Improving LASSO performance for Grey Leaf Spot disease resistance prediction based on genotypic data by considering all possible two-way SNP interactions

Disease resistance prediction using genotypic data has been widely pursued in animal as well as plant research, mostly in cases where genotypic data can be readily available for a large number of subjects. With the evolution of SNP marker genotyping technology and the consequent cost reduction for genotyping thousands of SNP markers, significant research effort is being undertaken in the statistics and machine learning community to perform efficient analysis of these multidimensional datasets. For large plant breeding programs, besides identifying biomarkers associated with disease resistance, developing accurate predictive models of the phenotype based on the genotype alone is one of the most relevant scientific goals, as it allows for efficient selection without having to grow and phenotype every individual. While the importance of interactions for understanding diseases has been shown in many studies, the majority of the existing methods are limited by considering each biomarker as an independent variable, completely ignoring complex interactions among biomarkers. In this study, logistic regression p-value, Pearson correlation and mutual information were calculated for all two-way SNP interactions with respect to the Grey Leaf Spot (GLS) disease resistance phenotype. These interactions were subsequently ranked based on these measures and the performance of the LASSO algorithm for GLS disease resistance prediction was then shown to be maximized by adding the top 10 000 two-way interactions from the logistic regression p-value based rank. The logistic regression p-value based rank also led to an error rate of more than 3 percentual points lower than not adding any interaction and more than 3.5 percentual points lower than adding interactions chosen at random.
Layering Phenomena in Colloidal Suspensions

Aged suspensions of microspheres and two kaolinites exhibit several horizontal layers. Particle concentration is greater at the top of a layer; lower layer tops have increasing particle concen- trations. Lower layers also settle more rapidly than upper layers; however, an increase in original suspension concentration results in a proportional increase in the particle concentration of comparable layers and causes comparable layers to settle at a slower rate. The average equivalent diameter of particles within and between kaolinite layers is identical. The maximum measured diameters are also identical. Microsphere layers show similar uniformity of average and maximum diameters. Ultimate settling of layers in suspension does not result in observable layers in the sediment. Data are inter- preted as indicating that, in a colloidal suspension, particles interact to become observable as definite horizontal layers. A sequence of mechanisms is proposed for layer formation.
The Problem of Trisomy 22 A Case Report and a Discussion of the Variant Forms

A case of trisomy 22 with partial long arm deletion (47, +22 q-) studied by G-banding is presented. The patient, a five-month-old male, showed failure to thrive, delayed psychomotor development, large, low-set ears, mild micrognathia, atrial septal defect, and marked muscular hypotonia. The father's karyotype was normal. The mother's karyotype was 46 XX, but one of the no22 chromosomes showed a deletion of the long arm as seen in the proband's karyotype. A comparison with previously reported cases in the literature indicates a great variability of clinical features of trisomy 22: "classical form," cat eye syndrome, and abortive cases (as this reported case).
Enhanced neurovirulence of Borna disease virus variants associated with nucleotide changes in the glycoprotein and L polymerase genes

Borna disease virus (BDV) infection produces a variety of clinical diseases, from behavioral illnesses to classical fatal encephalitis (i.e., Borna disease [BD]). Since the genomes of most BDV isolates differ by less than 5%, host factors are believed responsible for much of the reported variability in disease expression. The contribution of BDV genomic differences to variation in BD expression is largely unexplored. Here we compared the clinical outcomes of rats infected with one of two related BDV variants, CRP3 or CRNP5. Compared to rats inoculated with CRP3, adult and newborn Lewis rats inoculated with CRNP5 had more severe and rapidly fatal neurological disease, with increased damage to the hippocampal pyramidal neurons and rapid infection of brain stem neurons. To identify possible virus-specific contributions to the observed variability in disease outcome, the genomes of CRP3 and CRNP5 were sequenced. Compared to CRP3, there were four nucleotide changes in the CRNP5 variant, two each in the G protein and in the L polymerase, resulting in four amino acid changes. These results suggest that small numbers of genomic differences between BDV variants in the G protein and/or L polymerase can contribute to the variability in BD outcomes.
Prevention of Nosocomial Infections in Marrow Transplant Patients: A Prospective Randomized Comparison of Systemic Antibiotics Versus Granulocyte Transfusions

One hundred twelve patients with hematologic malignancies underwent marrow transplantation from HLA-matched sibling donors and were randomized to receive either prophylactic granulocyte transfusions (PG, 67 patients) or prophylactic systemic antibiotics (PSA, 45 patients) as prophylaxis against nosocomial infections. Patients were treated in conventional hospital rooms and studied until day 100 post-transplant. For the entire study period, 26 patients (39%) in the PG group developed septicemia compared to 15 patients (33%) in the PSA group. Twenty-eight patients (42%) in the PG group developed local major infections compared to 19 patients (42%) in the PSA group. Ten patients (15%) in the PG group developed viral interstitial pneumonitis compared to 6 patients (13%) in the PSA group. None of these differences were statistically significant. There was no difference in the incidence of bacterial or fungal infections or viral interstitial pneumonitis between the two groups during the granulocytopenic or post-engraftment period. There was no difference in the incidence and severity of graft-versushost-disease (GVHD). Inability to carry out the prophylaxis was frequent in the PG group, with complications necessitating discontinuance of transfusion in
Dehydration of Gels and Glasses in the Systems B2 O3‐SiO2 and ZrO2‐SiO2 Prepared by the Sol‐Gel Process from Metal Alkoxides

Dehydration of gels prepared by the sol-gel process from metal alkoxides in the systems B2O3-SiO2 and ZrO2-SiO2 was determined by measuring the shrinkage of the gel on heating. Dehydration was enhanced with increased ZrO2 content, whereas it decreased with B2O3 content. Diffusion of water was also measured in the nonporous glasses obtained by heating the gels. The diffusion rate was independent of the composition of the glass.
Assessment of the Potential for Cross-contamination of Food Products by Reusable Shopping Bags

The purpose of this study was to assess the potential for cross-contamination of food products by reusable bags used to carry groceries. Reusable bags were collected at random from consumers as they entered grocery stores in California and Arizona. In interviews, it was found that reusable bags are seldom if ever washed and often used for multiple purposes. Large numbers of bacteria were found in almost all bags and coliform bacteria in half. Escherichia coli were identified in 8% of the bags, as well as a wide range of enteric bacteria, including several opportunistic pathogens. When meat juices were added to bags and stored in the trunks of cars for two hours, the number of bacteria increased 10-fold, indicating the potential for bacterial growth in the bags. hand or machine washing was found to reduce the bacteria in bags by > 99.9%. These results indicate that reusable bags, if not properly washed on a regular basis, can play a role in the cross-contamination of foods. It is recommended that the public be educated about the proper care of reusable bags by means of printed instructions on the bags or through public service announcements.
A Network Simulation Model of Large Herringbone and Parallel Milking Parlors

Abstract A network simulation model of herringbone and parallel milking parlors was built. Parlor performance was predicted based on the number of cows milked per hour and the amount of milk harvested per shift. Modeled parlors operated using a task-oriented milking routine. The simulation also modeled milking personnel, milking system vacuum pressure and pulsation ratio, and milk yield per cow per milking. The probability distributions of the model components that were used for validation were fitted from data collected from four dairies with the following parlors: double-16 herringbone, double-20 herringbone, double-35 parallel, and double-40 parallel. All fitted distributions were continuous, non-negative, and skewed to the right. The mean number of cows milked per hour (simulated and observed, respectively) was 1) double-16 herringbone, 164.8 and 164.6; 2 1 double-20 herringbone, 207.6 and 206.6; 3) double-35 parallel, 319.2 and 320.2; and 4) double-40 parallel, 361.6 and 362.5. Mean milk yields harvested per shift were 1) double-16 herringbone, 9020 and 9030 kg; 2) double-20 herringbone, 14,800 and 14,746 kg; 3) double-35 parallel, 20,900 and 20,945 kg; and 4) double-40 parallel, 27,100 and 26,974 kg, for simulated and observed yields, respectively. Differences between simulated and observed means for either variable were not significant.
Macroprogramming Spatio-temporal Event Detection and Data Collection in Wireless Sensor Networks: An Implementation and Evaluation Study

This paper proposes and evaluates a spatio-temporal macroprogramming paradigm for wireless sensor networks (WSNs). The proposed paradigm, called SpaceTime oriented programming (STOP), is designed to reduce the complexity to program event detection and data collection by specifying them from a global viewpoint as a whole rather than a viewpoint of sensor nodes as individuals. STOP treats space and time as first-class citizens and combines them as space- time continuum. A spacetime is a three dimensional object that consists of a two spatial dimensions and a time playing the role of the third dimension. STOP allows application developers to program event detection and data collection to spacetime, and abstracts away the details in WSNs. The notion of spacetime provides an integrated abstraction to seamlessly express event detection and data collection for both the past and future in arbitrary spatio-temporal resolutions. This paper describes the implementation of STOP, and evaluates the performance of applications built with STOP.
Rapid Estimation of Thermodynamic Parameters and Vapor Pressures of Volatile Materials at Nanoscale

Non-isothermal measurements of thermodynamic parameters and vapor pressures of low-volatile materials are favored when time is a crucial factor to be considered, such as in the case of detection of hazardous materials. In this article, we demonstrate that optical absorbance spectroscopy can be used non-isothermally to estimate the thermodynamic properties and vapor pressures of volatile materials with good accuracy. This is the first method to determine such parameters in nanoscale in just minutes. Trinitrotoluene (TNT) is chosen because of its low melting temperature, which makes it impossible to determine its thermodynamic parameter by other rising-temperature techniques, such as thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The well-characterized vapor pressure of benzoic acid is used to calibrate the spectrometer in order to determine the vapor pressure of low-volatile TNT. The estimated thermodynamic properties of both benzoic acid and TNT are in excellent agreement with the literature. The estimated vapor pressure of TNT is one order of magnitude larger than that determined isothermally using the same method. However, the values are still within the range reported in the literature. The data indicate the high potential for use of rising-temperature absorbance spectroscopy in determining vapor pressures of materials at nanometer scale in minutes instead of hours or days.
Congestion management in delay tolerant networks

In delay tolerant networks, custody transfer can provide certain degree of reliability as a custodian node cannot discard a message unless its life time expires or the custody is transferred to another node after a commitment. This creates a challenging decision making problem at a node in determining whether to accept a custody transfer: on one hand, it is beneficial to accept a large number of messages as it can potentially advance the messages toward their ultimate destinations and network utilization can be maximized; on the other hand, if the receiving node over-commits itself by accepting too many messages, it may find itself setting aside an excessive amount of storage and thereby preventing itself from receiving further potentially important, high yield (in terms of network utilization) messages. To solve this problem, in this paper, we apply the concept of revenue management, and employ dynamic programming to develop a congestion management strategy for delay tolerant networks. For a class of network utility functions, we show that the optimal solution is completely distributed in nature where only the local information such as available storage space of a node is required. This is particularly important given the nature of delay tolerant networks where global information is often not available and the network is inherently dynamic. Our simulation results show that the proposed congestion management scheme is effective in avoiding congestion and balancing network load among the nodes.
Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Mass Spectrometry

ABSTRACT Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry is a technique that has attracted widespread interest since its introduction in 1988. It is primarily implemented using time-of-flight or trapped ion mass analyzers and greatly facilitates determination of molecular weights for biomolecules, polymers, and natural products. Numerous publications on these and related applications have appeared during the past ten years. The present brief MALDI review is intended to provide selected coverage of recent literature, with special emphasis on applications to proteomics, whole cells and tissues, polymers, organic and inorganic molecules. In view of the intense current interest, the choice of topics emphasizes biochemically-related applications.
Late Cretaceous protolith age and provenance of the Pelona and Orocopia Schists, southern California: Implications for evolution of the Cordilleran margin

The Pelona and Orocopia Schists are southern members of a eugeoclinal terrane that structurally underlies a large part of southwestern North America. Ion-microprobe U-Pb ages of >100 detrital zircons from three widely spaced samples of these two units indicate that deposition occurred after 70--80 Ma. Moreover, the distribution of zircon ages, including a significant peak centered ca. 1.7 Ga, implies a major contribution f detritus from the Mojave Desert and Transverse Ranges of southern California. Recrystallization of the schists at depths of 20--35 km occurred within 10--15 m.y. of deposition, which requires underthrusting at minimum rates of {approximately}4--12 mm/yr for reasonable thrust dips. Considering that similar processes formed the more northern Rand Schist at somewhat earlier times, results indicate a southward progression in timing of deformation for the schists' protoliths. This result is at odds with northward migration of deformation implied by the Baja British Columbia hypothesis. The age and provenance of the schist's protoliths are consistent with models that derive the schists from either the Franciscan Complex or Great Valley Group.
The ecohydrologic significance of hydraulic redistribution in a semiarid savanna

[1] Recent studies have illuminated the process of hydraulic redistribution, defined as the translocation of soil moisture via plant root systems, but the long-term ecohydrologic significance of this process is poorly understood. We investigated hydraulic redistribution (HR) by Prosopis velutina Woot. (velvet mesquite) in an upland savanna ecosystem over a two-year period. Our goal was to quantify patterns of HR by mesquite roots and assess how this affects tree water use and productivity. We used the heat ratio method to monitor bi-directional sap flow, an analog of HR, in both lateral and tap roots. Additionally, we monitored soil water content and used the eddy covariance technique to quantify ecosystem carbon dioxide and water exchange. Mesquite roots redistributed large amounts of water throughout the year, even during periods of canopy dormancy. Dormant season precipitation (November–March) was often taken up by shallow lateral roots and transferred downward in the soil profile by deeper lateral and tap roots. Such a transfer was also apparent when the trees were active and moisture from summer rainfall was plant available in the upper soil layers. As the upper soil layers dried, sap flow moving toward the canopy in the lateral roots diminished and water use from deeper soils increased via the taproots. The relationship between root sap flow and above-canopy fluxes suggested that deeper “stored” water from HR allowed the trees to transpire more in the spring that followed a winter with significant downward redistribution. Patterns of lateral and tap root sap flow also implied that redistribution may extend the growing season of the trees after summer rains have ended and surface soils are dry, thus allowing the trees to photosynthesize through periods of seasonal drought. The large hydrologic magnitude and the ecological effects of HR we studied, along with mounting evidence of this process occurring in many other ecosystems, indicates that HR should be accounted for in many ecohydrologic modeling efforts.
Gamma system: continuous evolution of software after deployment

In this paper, we present the GAMMA system, which facilitates remote monitoring of deployed software using a new approach that exploits the opportunities presented by a software product being used by many users connected through a network. GAMMA splits monitoring tasks across different instances of the software, so that partial information can be collected from different users by means of light-weight instrumentation, and integrated to gather the overall monitoring information. This system enables software producers (1) to perform continuous, minimally intrusive analyses of their software's behavior, and (2) to use the information thus gathered to improve and evolve their software.
Onyx extrusion through the scalp after embolization of dural arteriovenous fistula

A man in his sixties referred with symptoms of episodic left lip numbness and left arm weakness was diagnosed with a Borden type 3 dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) on DSA. Successful Onyx embolization of the DAVF was performed via the distal left occipital artery using an ev3 Apollo detachable tip microcatheter. He underwent surgical obliteration for the residual DAVF 3 days later. Three months later during a routine postoperative clinic visit, the patient produced a plastic bag containing multiple small pieces of Onyx cast and the detached tip of the Apollo microcatheter that had extruded out from his scalp through small spontaneous holes about 5 weeks after the embolization procedure. This spontaneous extrusion of Onyx can be alarming to the patient not expecting it; however, prior knowledge and discussion can lessen the anxiety of both the treating physician and the patient dealing with such a situation.
Morphologic findings in the histiocytic syndromes.

Carboplatin is one of the most active agents in untreated small cell lung cancer (SCLC) (14% complete response [CR] and 61% CR + partial response [PR]). The combination carboplatin/etoposide/vincristine (CEV) (phase II trial) led to an overall remission rate of 84% in patients with limited disease, with 52% CR. The median survival time with this combination was 13 months in patients with limited disease and 9.5 months in those with extensive disease. The 30-month survival rates are 30% in limited disease and 10% in extensive disease with a plateau of the survival curve. This regimen is highly effective and exhibits low toxicity in SCLC. To evaluate the role of carboplatin in combination chemotherapy in patients with extensive SCLC, a phase III trial was performed. In this ongoing trial comparing CEV and etoposide/vincristine in SCLC patients with extensive disease, CR and overall response rates to date are higher in the CEV arm (CR 30% v 10%, CR + PR 90% v 75%), but as yet the differences are not statistically significant. In summary, chemotherapy regimens containing platinum compounds are among the most active in the treatment of SCLC. The use of the new compound carboplatin instead of cisplatin has led to similar or increased remission rates and is preferable because it has fewer side effects. Preliminary results from this ongoing, prospective, randomized phase III trial will be presented.
A Multiobjective Model For Managing Faculty Resources

During the past 20 years, many state institutions of higher education have faced stringent financial constraints. As a result of these constraints, administrators, legislators and the general public are looking for more critical approaches in evaluating the operational efficiency of higher education institutions. It has become a necessity for higher education institutions to develop planning models for efficient resource allocation for their own survival. The purpose of this article is to present a model for faculty resource allocation at higher education institutions.
When Rules are Rules: The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Institutions in Legal Interpretation

Like any legal text, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require interpretation. Given their day-to-day importance in the federal courts, the question of how to do so has received surprisingly little attention. Courts vacillate wildly in the methods they use when they interpret rules, and academic commentary on the question is scant. In this article, I propose a method for rule interpretation. I argue that courts should defer to rulemaker intent and purpose as they apply rules in particular cases. To do so, courts should draw upon a wide variety of sources, including rulemaking history, and reject the sort of interpretive strictures that a textualist method imposes for statutory interpretation. I illustrate how this method works with a critique of the Supreme Court’s recent decisions raising the pleading threshold a plaintiff’s complaint must meet. I show how the interpretation of Rule 8 that the Court rendered conflicts with the best reading of its text, and that the interpretation lacks any plausible basis in rulemaker intent or purpose.I use an approach that focuses on the various governmental institutions involved in procedural rule promulgation and interpretation to assemble my methodology. In doing so, I argue that a method for the interpretation of a legal text must reflect the institutional setting from which that text emerges, and I show how an institutional approach can explain why interpretive methodologies differ from legal text to legal text. My article thus provides an example of how courts and commentators might craft interpretive methods for any number of legal texts that have thus far eluded the attention of interpretive theory.
A Review of “Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife”

The Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife, edited by Jonathan Lee (San Francisco State University) and Kathleen Nadeau (California State University, San Bernardino), contains over 60...
Glucagon-like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) Analogs: Recent Advances, New Possibilities, and Therapeutic Implications

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is an incretin that plays important physiological roles in glucose homeostasis. Produced from intestine upon food intake, it stimulates insulin secretion and keeps pancreatic β-cells healthy and proliferating. Because of these beneficial effects, it has attracted a great deal of attention in the past decade, and an entirely new line of diabetic therapeutics has emerged based on the peptide. In addition to the therapeutic applications, GLP-1 analogs have demonstrated a potential in molecular imaging of pancreatic β-cells; this may be useful in early detection of the disease and evaluation of therapeutic interventions, including islet transplantation. In this Perspective, we focus on GLP-1 analogs for their studies on improvement of biological activities, enhancement of metabolic stability, investigation of receptor interaction, and visualization of the pancreatic islets.
A Highly Reversible Room-Temperature Sodium Metal Anode.

Owing to its low cost and high natural abundance, sodium metal is among the most promising anode materials for energy storage technologies beyond lithium ion batteries. However, room-temperature sodium metal anodes suffer from poor reversibility during long-term plating and stripping, mainly due to formation of nonuniform solid electrolyte interphase as well as dendritic growth of sodium metal. Herein we report for the first time that a simple liquid electrolyte, sodium hexafluorophosphate in glymes (mono-, di-, and tetraglyme), can enable highly reversible and nondendritic plating–stripping of sodium metal anodes at room temperature. High average Coulombic efficiencies of 99.9% were achieved over 300 plating–stripping cycles at 0.5 mA cm–2. The long-term reversibility was found to arise from the formation of a uniform, inorganic solid electrolyte interphase made of sodium oxide and sodium fluoride, which is highly impermeable to electrolyte solvent and conducive to nondendritic growth. As a proof of conc...
Comparison of traditional and nontraditional weight loss methods: an analysis of the national health and nutrition examination survey.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the real-world use of various weight loss techniques and to compare the effectiveness of nontraditional methods with diet and exercise in helping nongeriatric adults lose weight. METHODS A cross-sectional analysis of the 2005-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was performed. Adult, nonpregnant participants aged 20 to 65 years with a body mass index of ≥ 18.5 who tried to lose weight in the previous year were analyzed (weighted n = 53,570,979). Outcome measures included the proportion of patients who used nontraditional weight loss methods and a comparison of weight loss between those who used diet and exercise and those who used nontraditional methods. RESULTS During the previous year, 56.9% (95% confidence interval 54.5-59.4) of participants used nontraditional methods (nonexclusive of diet and exercise) as their attempted weight loss methods. Overall, individuals gained a mean (standard error) of 4.9 (0.3) lb in the 12 months preceding the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey questionnaire. Only 19.6% (95% confidence interval 18.0-21.2) of the sample lost weight within the previous 12 months. Those who used nontraditional methods gained more weight during the previous year than those who used diet and exercise only (for body mass index ≥ 18.5, 5.5 vs 3.5 lb; P < 0.01) in the overall sample, but there was no difference in the obese subgroup. CONCLUSIONS Physicians need to reaffirm that diet and exercise are better methods for weight loss, and they need to advise their patients to avoid other methods when attempting to lose weight because they do not enhance weight loss attempts.
Thin layer chromatographic determination of aflatoxin B1 in eggs: collaborative study.

The thin layer chromatographic method of Trucksess et al. for aflatoxin B1 in eggs was collaboratively studied. Each collaborator analyzed 3 known practice samples and 9 unknown samples containing added aflatoxin B1 at 0, 0.05, 0.10, and 0.30 ng/g. For 9 collaborators, recoveries for the 3 positive levels were: 0--0.13 ng/g (average 98%, coefficient of variation (C.V.) 83%), 0.05--0.18 ng/g (average 102%, C.V. 36%, and 0.11--0.42 ng/g (average 93%, C.V. 31%), respectively. The method has been adopted as official first action.
Pathophysiology of vascular smooth muscle in renin promoter-T-antigen transgenic mice

The pathophysiological consequence of targeted production of SV-40 T-antigen to renin-expressing cells in the kidney of transgenic mice is reported. A histopathologic analysis of the kidney from adult transgenic mice (12–16 wk old) revealed the presence of severe vascular lesions manifested by marked atypical hyperplasia of vascular smooth muscle. The levels of plasma renin, kidney renin, and kidney renin mRNA were examined in 6- and 9-wk-old transgenic mice and were found to be significantly lower than their age-matched non-transgenic littermates and were nonresponsive to captopril treatment. However, there was no significant difference in conscious mean arterial pressure between transgenic and non-transgenic mice. The levels of renal renin mRNA in transgenics and nontransgenic littermates were compared throughout ontogeny and were found to be equal in newborns, elevated 3- to 5-fold in 1-wk-old transgenics, and yet decreased 10-fold by 6 wk of age in transgenic mice. Expression of the transgene in the k...
Clinical Utility of Echocardiography in Neurologic Disorders

There is great overlap between disorders of the heart and the brain. This is particularly important in stroke, as 15% to 20% of all strokes are cardioembolic. Echocardiography allows the safe, accurate, and complete evaluation of the heart, and transesophageal echocardiography has become the standard for identification of potential cardiac sources of embolism. Echocardiography also can help identify cardiac manifestations of other neurologic disorders, can be used intraoperatively, and can aid in identifying silent coronary disease. Echocardiography has become an integral part of the diagnostic assessment of many neurologic disorders.
Accurate, time-domain, electromagnetic simulation of embedded dielectric interfaces in Neptune

Dielectric materials play an important role in many classes of electromagnetic device, but present unique challenges to simulate accurately using time-domain Electromagnetic Particle-in-Cell (EM-PIC) codes. Results for previously published embedded boundary (or ‘cut-cell’) algorithms typically do not exhibit true 2nd-order convergence with respect to grid cell size when curved interfaces must be resolved, particularly when the ratio of dielectric constants across an interface is large. We demonstrate here a new algorithm for time-domain simulation of structures that successfully addresses this challenge and provides accurate results in a broad range of geometries.
Complex dynamics within the vertical Bridgman crystal growth process

Abstract This paper addresses the modeling and dynamical analysis of the vertical Bridgman process for the growth of single crystals. Specifically, a distributed parameter model comprising of balance equations for energy, mass, and momentum transport is developed. The Galerkin finite element method is employed for the numerical solution of the model equations. Numerical simulations of the system reveal that as the crystal is grown, the melt evolves from time-periodic behavior to a laminar regime. The key process variable is the Rayleigh number, a dimensionless measure of flow intensity that bears a fourth order dependence on melt height. The discovery of these rich dynamics in the vertical Bridgman model presents exciting new challenges with respect to materials processing, nonlinear dynamics, and control.
From pixel to voxel in the clinical diagnosis

Three-dimensional (3D) medical imaging techniques, including X-ray computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) play a principal role in the diagnosis of multiple diseases. However, the raw information provided by this equipment typically needs specialized software to render different tissues, obtain vital anatomical and functional information, and allow clinicians to interact with the virtual patient. Here, we highlight advances in basic 3D rendering techniques available in free, open-source software such as FIJI (ImageJ), capable of running on minimal hardware. We provide simple examples how to view different tissues (bone and lung parenchyma) by modifying visualization settings and using publically-available human anatomical CT scan images from a lung cancer phantom. This demonstration intends to illustrate how low-cost resources, without dedicated imaging workstations, can benefit clinical diagnosis for more accurate image analysis by the physicians that can translate in an improvement to the patient's health.
Comparing Remote and Co-located Interaction in Free and Open Source Software Engineering Projects

By working on open source software projects, software engineering students can benefit from working on more realistic products than traditional, educational programming assignments. However, careers in software engineering demand learning how to work within a professional environment and how to follow software development processes. We studied the impact of students' interactions with external collaborators on open source projects and found many similar outcomes between those who communicated remotely and those who communicated face-to-face. However, we also discovered that face-to-face interactions with local software professionals following the Localized Free and Open Source (LFOSS) model had particular advantages in teaching Agile methods, holding students accountable, and introducing professional networking opportunities.
Psychosocial aspects of diabetes management: dilemma of diabetes distress

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a debilitating chronic illness with complex pathophysiological, psychological, and quality of life (QoL) implications creating a constant state of turbulence. Some of these interconnections are apparent to healthcare providers and are easily addressed in a routine diabetic clinical care. However, a large number of these hidden factors that interplay with each other and impact on the physical outcomes of DM goes unnoticed by health care providers. This is a frustrating and lonely predicament for DM patients making it very difficult for them to manage their illness well. At times these patients are mislabeled as "difficult patients". In other cases they are considered to have and unnecessarily treated for psychiatric illness like depression, other mood or anxiety spectrum disorders which they may not need. In recent years clinical researcher are making strides in understanding the emotional distress a DM patient may feel and the factors contributing or perpetuating diabetes distress. This article focuses on understanding the diabetes distress and how it impacts our patients, how to screen, assess, treat and eventually prevent it from happening. The paper also attempt to bring out the major differences between diabetes distress and common psychiatric comorbidities of DM including but not limiting to major depressive disorder and other depression spectrum disorders.
How do slums change the relationship between urbanization and the carbon intensity of well-being?

This study examines how the relationship between urbanization (measured as the percentage of total population living in urban areas) and the carbon intensity of well-being (CIWB) (measured as a ratio of carbon dioxide emissions and life expectancy) in most nations from 1960–2013 varies based on the economic context and whereabouts of a substantial portion of a nation’s urban population. To accomplish this, we use the United Nations’ (UN) definition of slum households to identify developing countries that have substantial slum populations, and estimate a Prais-Winsten regression model with panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE), allowing for disturbances that are heteroskedastic and contemporaneously correlated across panels. Our findings indicate that the rate of increase in CIWB for countries without substantial slum populations begins to slow down at higher levels of urbanization, however, the association between urbanization and CIWB is much smaller in countries with substantial slum populations. Overall, while urbanization is associated with increases in CIWB, the relationship between urban development and CIWB is vastly different in developed nations without slums than in under-developed nations with slums.
Establishing Journalistic Standards for the Publication of Negative Results

We argue in this article that there are conditions in which publication of negative results can make a useful contribution. Three small-scale examinations of journal publication criteria for publis...