cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Antimullerian hormone and inhibin B are hormone measures of ovarian function in late reproductive-aged breast cancer survivors.

BACKGROUND: In late reproductive-aged breast cancer survivors, there is a need for real-time biomarkers of postchemotherapy ovarian function. The objective was to determine whether antimullerian hormone (AMH) and inhibin B are such biomarkers. The authors tested whether AMH and inhibin B were impacted by breast cancer treatment by comparing cancer survivors to age-matched control women and determined the association between these hormones and postchemotherapy menstrual pattern. METHODS: Breast cancer patients (n = 127) with American Joint Committee on Cancer stage I to III disease who were premenopausal at diagnosis were enrolled postchemotherapy and observed. The primary endpoint was chemotherapy-related amenorrhea (CRA) (≥12 months of amenorrhea after chemotherapy). Matched pair analyses compared AMH, inhibin B, and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels between cancer and age-matched control subjects. Associations between hormones, CRA status, and change in CRA status over time were assessed. RESULTS: The median age of the patients at chemotherapy was 43.2 years (range, 26.7-57.8 years). At enrollment, median follow-up since chemotherapy was 2.1 years, and 55% of subjects had CRA. Compared with age-matched controls, cancer subjects had significantly lower AMH (P = .004) and inhibin B (P < .001) and higher FSH (P < .001). AMH (P = .002) and inhibin B (P = .001) were found to be significantly associated with risk of CRA, even after controlling for FSH. AMH was significantly lower (P = .03) and FSH was significantly higher (P = .04) in menstruating subjects who developed subsequent CRA. CONCLUSIONS: AMH and inhibin B are 2 additional measures of postchemotherapy ovarian function in late reproductive-aged breast cancer survivors. With further research and validation, these hormones may supplement limited current tools for assessing and predicting postchemotherapy ovarian function. Cancer 2010. © 2009 American Cancer Society.
The determination of chlorosuccinic acid in aqueous solutions

Abstract Chlorosuccinic acid is determined by dehydrohalogenation and polarographic determination of the fumaric acid formed.
Clinically meaningful changes in health-related quality of life in patients diagnosed with hepatobiliary carcinoma

Background: To test the reliability, sensitivity to change in biomarkers associated with disease progression and response to treatment, and clinical meaningfulness of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Hepatobiliary (FACT-Hep) in patients with hepatobiliary carcinoma. Patients and methods: One hundred and fifty-eight patients diagnosed with hepatobiliary carcinoma were prospectively studied. Health-related quality of life (HRQL) was assessed at baseline (prior to treatment), 3-month follow-up (n = 55) and 6-month follow-up (n = 27). Results: The internal consistency of all the scales of the FACT-Hep were adequate at all time points (>0.75). The FACT-Hep was found to be sensitive to changes in clinical indicators (alkaline phosphate, alpha-fetoprotein, hemoglobin and survival) that reflect disease progression and response to treatment. Combined results from distribution-based and cross-sectional anchor-based analyses provide the following minimally important difference (MID) estimates: FACT-General (FACT-G) subscales = 2–3; FACT-G = 6–7; Hepatobiliary Cancer Subscale = 5–6; FACT-Hep = 8–9; Trial Outcome Index = 7–8; and FACT-Hepatobiliary Symptom Index = 2–3 points. Conclusions: The FACT-Hep is a reliable instrument that is responsive to clinical indicators of disease progression and response to treatment. The MID estimates can aid interpretation of HRQL data and facilitate sample size
Visual receptive field organization and cortico-cortical connections of the lateral intraparietal area (area LIP) in the macaque

The visual receptive field physiology and anatomical connections of the lateral intraparietal area (area LIP), a visuomotor area in the lateral bank of the inferior parietal lobule, were investigated in the cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis). Afferent input and physiological properties of area 5 neurons in the medial bank of the intraparietal sulcus (i.e., area PEa) were also determined. Area LIP is composed of two myeloarchitectonic zones: a ventral zone (LIPv), which is densely myelinated, and a lightly myelinated dorsal zone (LIPd) adjacent to visual area 7a. Previous single-unit recording studies in our laboratory have characterized visuomotor properties of area LIP neurons, including many neurons with powerful saccade-related activity. In the first part of the present study, single-unit recordings were used to map visual receptive fields from neurons in the two myeloarchitectonic zones of LIP. Receptive field size and eccentricity were compared to those in adjacent area 7a. The second part of the study investigated the cortico-cortical connections of area LIP neurons using tritiated amino acid injections and fluorescent retrograde tracers placed directly into different rostrocaudal and dorsoventral parts of area LIP. The approach to area LIP was through somatosensory area 5, which eliminated the possibility of diffusion of tracers into area 7a. Unlike many area 7a receptive fields, which are large and bilateral, area LIP receptive fields were much smaller and exclusively confined to the contralateral visual field. In area LIP, an orderly progression in visual receptive fields was evident as the recording electrode moved tangentially to the cortical surface and through the depths of area LIP. The overall visual receptive field organization, however, yielded only a rough topography with some duplications in receptive field representation within a given rostrocaudal or dorsoventral part of LIP. The central visual field representation was generally located more dorsally and the peripheral visual field more ventrally within the sulcus. The lower visual field was represented more anteriorly and the upper visual field more posteriorly. In LIP, receptive field size increased with eccentricity but with much variability with in the sample. Area LIPv was found to have reciprocal cortico-cortical connections with many extrastriate visual areas, including the parieto-occipital visual area PO; areas V3, V3A, and V4: the middle temporal area (MT); the middle superior temporal area (MST); dorsal prelunate area (DP); and area TEO (the occipital division of the intratemporal cortex). Area LIPv is also connected to area TF in the lateral posterior parahippocampal gyrus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Multiple solutions to the likelihood equations in the Behrens–Fisher problem

Abstract The Behrens–Fisher problem concerns testing the equality of the means of two normal populations with possibly different variances. The null hypothesis in this problem yields a statistical model for which the likelihood function may have more than one local maximum. We show that if the null hypothesis is valid then the probability of multimodality of the likelihood function converges to zero when both sample sizes tend to infinity. Additional results include a finite-sample bound on the probability of multimodality under the null and asymptotics for the probability of multimodality under the alternative.
Gaps in Pediatricians’ Advice to Parents Regarding Early Childhood Aggression

Persistent early childhood aggression is a strong predictor of violence later in life. To determine how well general pediatricians counsel parents regarding aggression management strategies, responses to open-ended questions and endorsements of specific aggression management strategies, among 27 pediatricians were evaluated. Sixteen (59%) screened regularly for aggression and 23 (85%) counseled (rather than referred) if there were parental concerns. Pediatricians were most likely to spontaneously recommend time-outs (85%) and verbal reprimands (78%) and much less likely to recommend other strategies such as redirecting (26%, p < 0.01) and promoting empathy (22%, p < 0.001). Pediatricians did endorse other aggression management strategies, however, when specifically asked about them. Pediatricians appear to take a limited approach to counseling parents of children with hurtful behavior. To increase health care providers' role in violence prevention, more systematic efforts are needed to increase rates of screening for early childhood aggression and to broaden the scope of how pediatricians counsel parents.
Myocardial T2* mapping: influence of noise on accuracy and precision.

Background Pixel-wise, parametric T2* mapping is emerging as a means of automatic measurement of iron content in tissues. It enables quick, intuitive interpretation and provides the potential benefit of spatial context between tissues. However, pixel-wise mapping uses much lower SNR data to estimate T2* when compared to region-based mapping thereby decreasing both its accuracy and precision. In this study, the effects that noise has on the precision and accuracy of pixel-wise T2* mapping were investigated and techniques to mitigate those effects are proposed.
Efficient computational methods for wavelet domain signal restoration problems

We present an efficient, wavelet domain algorithm for computing the error variances associated with a wide class of linear inverse problems posed in a maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation framework. Our method is based on the permutation and subsequent partitioning of the Fisher information matrix into a 2/spl times/2 block structure with the lower-right block well approximated as diagonal and significantly larger than the upper-left block. We prove that under appropriate conditions, this diagonal approximation does, in fact, allow for the accurate recovery of the error variances, and we introduce a greedy-type method based on the optimization of a diagonal dominance criterion for determining the "best" partition. We demonstrate the speed of this technique and its accuracy for a set of inverse problems corresponding to a variety of blurring kernels, problem sizes, and noise conditions.
Tomotherapy improves local control and changes failure patterns in locally advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma

Abstract Purpose The purpose of the study was to determine whether intensity modulated radiation therapy delivered via helical tomotherapy improves local control (LC) after pleurectomy/decortication (P/D) for malignant pleural mesothelioma compared with 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT). Methods and materials Forty-five consecutive patients were treated with adjuvant radiation to 45 Gy in 1.8 Gy fractions after P/D between 2006 and 2014; 23 received 3D-CRT, and 22 received tomotherapy. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to calculate overall survival, time to in-field or local failure (LF), and time to out-of-field failure. The Student t test and Fisher exact test were used to detect between-group differences. Results Median follow-up time was 19.4 months and 12.7 months for the 3D-CRT and tomotherapy groups, respectively. Eighty-two percent of patients had T3/T4 disease, and 64% had positive nodes; 17.4% and 41% of patients in the 3D-CRT and tomotherapy groups had nonepithelioid histology, respectively. Mean planning target volume dose, percentage of planning target volume receiving 100% of the prescription dose, and lung doses were significantly greater with tomotherapy ( P P P = .06). Median time to LF was 19 months with tomotherapy and 10.9 months in 3D-CRT (the latter interval being less than the median follow-up in the tomotherapy group). On univariate analysis, treatment modality was the only significant predictor of LC ( P P P Conclusion Tomotherapy after P/D for malignant pleural mesothelioma is associated with improved target coverage that translates into improved LC compared with 3D-CRT. This is related to a change in failure patterns, with isolated LF being more common in the 3D-CRT group and isolated out-of-field failures predominating in the tomotherapy group.
Analysis of acceleration and deceleration during cyclic exercise

The cyclic exercise protocol is a novel protocol that is designed to create a series of cyclic waves of exercise and recovery. This exercise protocol involves short bursts of exercise lasting for 60 seconds or less followed by a period of complete cardio recovery. This study involves the quantitative analysis of the acceleration and the deceleration regions of the cyclic exercise sessions. The acceleration and deceleration regions of cycles were split into three segments and each segment was fit with mathematical curves and the variation of data from the fit was calculated. The subjects for this study were healthy volunteers. The parameters extracted included the time constants and slopes from the mathematical fits and the mean square errors. The mean square error values obtained were less than 14.8 (/spl plusmn/3.5% error in the variation of the heart rate), showing that the algorithm is creating a proper mathematical fit to the different regions of acceleration and deceleration.
Synergistic Nephrotoxicity of Amphotericin B and Cortisone Acetate in Mice

Striking mortality in mice receiving amphotericin B and cortisone acetate concomitantly prompted studies to characterize the toxic interaction of these two drugs further. Adult female CD-1 mice received daily injections of cortisone acetate (0-50 mg/kg subcutaneously) and/or amphotericin B (0-12.5 mg/kg intraperitoneally) in a checkerboard combination dosage pattern for 30 days. Dosages of amphotericin B and cortisone acetate that produced little or no mortality individually produced significant (P < 0.005) mortality in combination. Light and electron microscopic studies of sections of brain, heart, lung, adrenal gland, liver, and kidney revealed only renal lesions. These appeared within six days, were dose-related in severity, and were not produced by either drug alone. The lesions consisted of focal swelling of proximal, distal, and collecting tubular cells which progressed to necrosis and intraluminal cast formation. These findings may be relevant to the development of nephrotoxicity in patients treated simultaneously with amphotericin B and corticosteroids.
Location awareness for everyday smart computing

Rapid advances in the area of digital systems is an enabler for ubiquitous computing making devices smaller and smarter and paving the way for an interconnected digital world. The most influential digital technology that has changed the lives of so many people and made the interconnected world a possibility is undoubtedly the development of wireless cellular communications. In the early stages of cellular wireless telephony development there was only one idea in mind: communication between people without the need for wires. The hexagonal cellular principles laid out by Ring and Young at AT&T Bell Labs in 1947 were the initial steps towards realizing the goal of ubiquitous communication. Global cellular networks, now serving more than 4 billion people around the world is a true testimony to the visions of many computer pioneers such as Mark Weiser, past CTO of Xerox PARC, who first coined the term, ubiquitous. Thus internetworking of “things” gains particular importance with the wide availability of smart devices capable of performing tasks well beyond voice communication. One key component of ubiquitous computing is “location awareness” and is a field of intensive research for various applications requiring varying levels of accuracy. This paper briefly discusses the basics of common location technologies and focuses on cellular based positioning and its practicality for location awareness for everyday smart gadgets.
Microarchitecture and Design Challenges for Gigascale Integration

VLSI system performance increased by five orders of magnitude in the last three decades, made possible by continued technology scaling, improving transistor performance to increase frequency, increasing integration capacity to realize complex architectures, and reducing energy consumed per logic operation to keep power dissipation within limit. The technology treadmill will continue, providing integration capacity of billions of transistors; however, power, energy consumption, and variations will be the barriers. Performance at any cost will not be an option in the future; VLSI systems will have to emphasize performance delivered in a given power envelope, with complexity limited by energy efficiency and variability. This talk will discuss potential solutions in process technology, circuits, and microarchitectures to exploit future gigascale integration capacity. The system on a chip (SOC) concept will help integrate diverse functional blocks, providing valued performance. The talk will conclude with recommendations to the VLSI system designers and microarchitects on how to exploit these emerging paradigms.
Glucose Intolerance and Aging: Evidence for Tissue Insensitivity to Insulin

The relative contributions of impaired insulin secretion and of impaired tissue sensitivity to insulin to the glucose intolerance of aging were examined in 84 healthy volunteers, ranging in age from 21 to 84 yr, employing the hyperglycemie and euglycemic insulin clamp techniques, respectively. HYPERGLYCEMIC CLAMP. The blood glucose concentration was acutely raised and was maintained at 125 mg/dl above basal levels for 2 h. Since the glucose concentration was held constant, the glucose infusion rate was an index of glucose metabolism (M). In young subjects, M averaged 9.48 ± 0.40 mg/kg · min compared with 6.48 ± 0.28 in old subjects ( P < 0.001). When all subjects were considered together, a progressive age-related decline in M was observed ( r = –0.665, P < 0.001). The plasma insulin response (I) was biphasic, with an early burst within the first 6 min, followed by a phase of gradually increasing insulin concentration. No difference in either the early or late phases of insulin secretion was observed between young and old subjects. Consequently, the M/l (×100) ratio, an index of tissue sensitivity to endogenous insulin, decreased from 14.90 ± 1.01 to 10.98 ± 0.81 mg/kg min per μU/ml ( P < 0.005). EUGLYCEMIC INSULIN CLAMP. The plasma insulin concentration was acutely raised and was maintained at about 100 μU/ml above basal levels by a primed continuous infusion of insulin. The blood glucose concentration was held constant at the basal level by a variable glucose infusion. M/I (×100), again, was a measure of tissue sensitivity to insulin (exogenous) and was decreased in old (4.95 ± 0.31 mg/kg · min per μU/ml) versus young (6.95 ± 0.45) subjects ( P < 0.001). Hepatic glucose production was measured with tritiated glucose during the euglycemic clamp study; it declined similarly in young (to 0.13 ± 0.05 mg/kg · min) and old (to 0.09 ± 0.03 mg · min) subjects. In conclusion, under the present experimental conditions, employing intravenous glucose and/or insulin, impaired tissue sensitivity to insulin is the primary factor responsible for the decrease in glucose tolerance observed with advancing age. Since hepatic glucose production is normally suppressed by insulin in old subjects, the site of insulin resistance must reside in peripheral tissues. Beta cell response to glucose, as determined by the hyperglycemie clamp technique, cannot account for the age-related decline in M.
Architecting a software architect

Software architecture is a relatively new software engineering discipline that has emerged as a response to the growing complexity of software systems and the problems these systems attempt to solve. Software is becoming the dominant component of most aerospace systems and it is necessary for the aerospace software development community to develop new practices, principles, and standards to manage this growing complexity. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has developed and implemented a year-long educational program designed to develop expertise in software architectures and to train future software architects. Now in its third year, the software architect program (SWAP) selects senior software engineers and then apprentices them as software architects. The objective of this paper is to describe the structure of the SWAP, the program's background, how the program has evolved, and the lessons learned from the implementation of this educational program.
Cultural practices and social support of pregnant women in a northern New Mexico community.

Purpose: To describe the experience of social support in Hispanic families during pregnancy. Design: Ethnographic investigation, conducted from November 1995 to November 1997 in Rio Arriba County of northern New Mexico. Methods: Seventy-two transcribed verbatim interviews with Hispanic mothers, family members, and health care providers, along with fieldnotes from participant observation, historical data of the region, and area demographics comprised the data for qualitative analysis. Findings: Pregnancy outcomes were positive because of a socialization process that helped pregnant Hispanic women and family members adapt and change to support the pregnancy. This mutual shaping helped reinforce the family structure, integrate cultural beliefs, define roles for both mother and family members, define the nature of mother-child and family-child relationships, and facilitate a positive process through a supportive orientation. Conclusions: Findings showed the dynamics and context of relationships that constituted social support conducive to healthy birth outcomes in Hispanic families of northern New Mexico. The findings were enlightening concerning the pregnancy process, role adaptation, integration of health care beliefs, and provided ideas for intervention models that might benefit pregnant women, infants, family members, community members, and health care professionals.
Informed Consent for Medical Procedures*: Local and National Practices

Background No studies have assessed whether clinicians obtain informed consent for invasive medical procedures, and there are no explicit national standards to guide the process. Hypothesis Informed consent practices are inconsistent for commonly performed invasive medical procedures. Methods A simple questionnaire was electronically mailed and/or faxed to training program directors of critical care medicine and internal medicine departments, and to ICU directors in the state of Connecticut. The questionnaire listed common invasive medical procedures and asked the respondents to check those for which practitioners routinely obtain informed consent in their hospital. Results The three samples, national intensivists (88 respondents), Connecticut intensivists (29 respondents), and national internists (56 respondents) demonstrated heterogeneity of consenting practices. The rate of obtaining consent for common vascular access procedures ranged from 20 to 90%. The rates of obtaining consent for Foley catheterization and nasogastric intubation were uniformly 90%. Separate consent (beyond the general consent to treat) was not uniformly obtained for the transfusion of blood products (range, 74 to 93%) and common diagnostic medical procedures (eg, thoracentesis, paracentesis, or lumbar puncture; range, 77 to 96%). Surgical intensivists reported that the obtaining of consent for invasive procedures was less routine compared to medical intensivists. Lower rates of consent were noted by those respondents who used a "blanket" consent form, which was signed at the time of hospital admission, to cover subsequent procedures. Conclusions In this relatively small sample, there was no uniform practice of informed consent for commonly performed invasive medical procedures. Consent was routinely obtained for GI endoscopy, bronchoscopy, and medical research, and was not obtained for Foley catheterization and nasogastric intubation. The obtaining of consent for vascular cannulation and diagnostic procedures was not routine in the ICUs of a substantial number of respondents. Explicit standards that delineate specifically which procedures require consent may be required to assure more uniform practices.
Journey towards recovery following physical trauma.

Journey towards recovery following physical trauma Convalescence and recovery following illness are of central importance to nursing. These themes have been explored increasingly in the literature. The focus, however, has been primarily on the process of integrating chronic illness into one's life. Recovery from physical injury is rarely addressed. A body of work focusing on physical trauma demonstrates that recovery is often not complete after injuries that have not been viewed as disabling. To illuminate understanding of recovery following physical trauma, the purpose of our 1997 study was to describe more thoroughly the nature of recovery. A total of 63 adults, in a convenience sample, who survived serious physical trauma, were interviewed 2.5 years after injury using an open-ended semistructured interview guide. Three themes were identified: event, fallout, and moving-on. These themes provided the organizing structure for exploring the journey to recovery. This journey, as disclosed by the seriously injured, does not necessarily correspond with the views of most trauma clinicians. Traumatic events create a line of demarcation, separating lives into before and after. The event becomes the starting point of a journey to resume one's life. The event itself is more than the trauma; it is the perceptual and contextual experience that needs to be incorporated into a person's essence. Fallout from the injury is multifaceted and includes physical, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions. Moving-on in this journey is nonlinear as survivors recognize their lives are forever different. The survivors' accounts suggest that nurses should carefully consider the question, 'What is successful recovery?'
Integrating Law and Health Policy

This review considers what can be learned from bridging sociolegal scholarship with contemporary research on health policy. Public health scholars have relied on a narrow understanding of the role law can play in health care reform, viewing law as a set of commands from above that direct the behavior of individuals. Incorporating a cultural perspective of law would allow public health scholars to observe law's effects in a much wider range of contexts. Meanwhile, the cultural turn in sociolegal studies toward an emphasis on law's role in the construction of everyday life has resulted in a shift away from the study of state policy altogether. As a consequence, the microlevel analyses that have come to dominate sociolegal scholarship are rarely connected to the macrolevel politics that shape them. Issues relating to health care offer sociolegal researchers an opportunity to reestablish a connection with social policy and extend their understanding of the power and meaning of law.
Electronic cigarettes: Effective nicotine delivery after acute administration.

Introduction: Electronic cigarettes (ECs) are marketed as nicotine delivery devices. Two studies with EC-naive participants suggest that ECs deliver little or no nicotine. In those studies, standard-sized ECs were used, though experienced EC users often use larger devices that house higher voltage and/or longer lasting batteries. Whether user experience and device characteristics influence EC nicotine delivery is uncertain. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of ECs in experienced users who were using their preferred devices. Methods: Eight EC users (3 women) who had been using ECs for at least 3 months, completed one 5-hr session using devices they provided and the flavor/strength nicotine cartridges they selected. Sessions consisted of 4 phases: baseline, 10 puffs (30-s interpuff interval) from the device, 1-hr ad lib puffing period, and a 2-hr rest period (no puffing). Outcome measures in each phase included plasma nicotine concentration, heart rate, and subjective ratings of nicotine/product effects and abstinence symptoms. Results: Relative to baseline, plasma nicotine and heart rate increased significantly within 5 min of the first puff and remained elevated throughout the ad lib puffing period. Increases in ratings of direct effects of nicotine and product were observed as well as decreases in abstinence symptoms. Conclusions: User experience and/or device characteristics likely influence EC nicotine delivery and other effects. System atic manipulation of these and other variables could elucidate conditions that produce intended effects.
Well-Defined Amphiphilic Double-Brush Copolymers and Their Performance as Emulsion Surfactants

Amphiphilic double-brush copolymers (DBCs) with each graft site quantitatively carrying both a hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) graft and a hydrophobic polylactide (PLA) graft were synthesized, characterized, and further utilized as surfactants for the stabilization of miniemulsions. Well-defined PEO-b-PLA-based diblock macromonomers (MMs) with exo-norbornene (NB)-functionalized diblock junction were prepared by the synthesis of a PEO-based NB-functionalized alcohol via polymeric reaction, followed by ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of lactide (LA) initiated by the alcohol. Ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of the MMs yielded DBCs. The well-controlled structures of the MMs and the DBCs were verified through rigorous instrumental characterizations. As compared with the MMs, the corresponding DBCs had lower crystallinities and melting temperatures (Tms) for both PEO and PLA phases and showed a negligible tendency for intermolecular self-assembly in solutions. With nanoscopic dimensions a...
Abstract B230: Targeting mitochondria for metastatic lung adenocarcinoma specific lethality.

Introduction: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Its ability to leave the primary tumor and establish inoperable metastasis impairs successful therapy and is a major contributor to its lethality. A genetically engineered mouse model recapitulates the human disease very well, incorporating conditional alleles of the Kras oncogene and p53 tumor suppressor. Recently, cell lines generated from non-metastatic primary lung tumors (TnonMet) and metastases (Met) in this model were shown to maintain their metastatic state and exhibit dramatic differences in gene expression programs. This unique set of cell lines from early stage non-metastatic tumors and late-stage metastases provides an opportunity to understand whether cancer progression also creates unique vulnerabilities. Experimental design: A pooled lentiviral-shRNA library screen which targeted ∼20,000 genes with >92,000 shRNA in two TnonMet and two Met cell lines was used to systematically uncover genes that are specifically required to sustain metastasis survival or growth. High-throughput sequencing of the shRNA in the cancer cell populations before and after 20 population doublings in culture identified shRNAs that disadvantaged each cell line. Gene-set enrichment algorithm was utilized to analyse the data. qRT-PCR, cell competition assays and mitochondria-specific dyes were used to verify the results and unravel the underlying mechanism. Results and Conclusion: The analysis of our pooled shRNA screen revealed mitochondrial ribosomal protein (Mrp) complexes as the top two gene-sets; in fact individual shRNA targeting more than 15 Mrp genes selectively disadvantaging Met cells with minimal impact on TnonMet cells. These results were individually verified with qRT-PCR. Interestingly, Met cells showed increased expression of mitochondria encoded genes, pointing to a strong imbalance in mitochondrial homeostasis. Furthermore, mitochondria-targeted therapy blocking mitochondrial translation or replication significantly inhibited Met cell growth more than TnonMet cell growth. Taken together, these results point to mitochondria as a metastasis-specific therapeutic target in lung adenocarcinoma and need to be further investigated. Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):B230. Citation Format: Barbara M. Gruener, Chen-Hua Chuang, Ian Linde, Shin-Heng Chiou, Ben Readhead, Joel Dudley, John Doench, David Root, Monte M. Winslow. Targeting mitochondria for metastatic lung adenocarcinoma specific lethality. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2013 Oct 19-23; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B230.
Abstract C70: Rapid viscosity‐based diagnostic for hyperviscosity in leukemia patients

The rapid viscosity‐based diagnostic test is designed to determine a method by which whole blood viscosity can be clinically tested, in a manner that is both time and cost effective. Leukemia, as well as other blood cell diseases such as Waldenstrom9s macroglobulinemia, is associated with hyperviscosity, due to an increase in particular components of blood. Our goal is to use high speed video imaging to characterize the rheological properties of a whole blood sample in order to qualitatively determine the viscosity of the sample. Previous reports used rapid video imaging to describe the mechanics of fluid flow upon impact by a solid sphere (C. Duez et al, Nature Physics 2007, 3, 180–183). The primary method of characterization relies upon the determination of a threshold impact velocity at which the resulting splash profile transitions from a blob to a jet. We performed preliminary tests using a series of glycerol dilutions to mimic potential differences in blood viscosity. Glass beads (2mm diameter) were dropped with a variety of impact velocities into the glycerol solutions. The impact and the resulting splash were recorded using a high‐speed camera (Olympus iSPEED 2) at 8000 frames per second. These tests indicated that different viscosities result in different threshold velocities at which the jet splash profile becomes apparent. We are reporting different methods of enrichment of whole blood in order to induce controlled changes in the viscosity of the samples that mimic physiological processes. We have adapted existing methods for enrichment of red blood cell membranes with cholesterol to create a condition known as “spur” red cells which is known to cause a decrease in red cell deformability, altering the visco‐elastic properties of the cell (M. Shinitzky, FEBS Letters, 85, 317–320). The splash diagnostic test will be applied to these samples to determine the changes in viscosity resulting from the enrichment. Ultimately, we will test blood samples from leukemia patients at different stages of treatment to further improve the ability of the splash test to be used in a clinical environment. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(23 Suppl):C70.
What Can Be Done About Teaching the Applications of Mathematics in Colleges and Universities

(1965). What Can Be Done About Teaching the Applications of Mathematics in Colleges and Universities. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 72, No. 2, pp. 113-117.
Agenda Constrained Legislator Ideal Points and the Spatial Voting Model

Existing preference estimation procedures do not incorporate the full structure of the spatial model of voting, as they fail to use the sequential nature of the agenda. In the maximum likelihood framework, the consequences of this omission may be far-reaching. First, information useful for the identification of the model is neglected. Specifically, information that identifies the proposal locations is ignored. Second, the dimensionality of the policy space may be incorrectly estimated. Third, preference and proposal location estimates are incorrect and difficult to interpret in terms of the spatial model. We also show that the Bayesian simulation approach to ideal point estimation (Clinton et al. 2000; Jackman 2000) may be improved through the use of information about the legislative agenda. This point is illustrated by comparing several preference estimators of the first U.S. House (1789–1791).
Quantum Information Processing on Photonic Chips

We describe a technique to deterministically couple a single, pre-selected nitrogen vacancy (NV) center to a high-quality factor photonic crystal nanocavity in a Gallium Phosphide membrane. Article not available.
Elements in Whole Blood of Northwestern Crows (Corvus caurinus) in Alaska, USA: No Evidence for an Association with Beak Deformities

Abstract A recent outbreak of beak deformities among resident birds in Alaska, US, has raised concern about environmental contamination as a possible underlying factor. We measured whole blood concentrations of 30 essential and nonessential elements to determine whether any were associated with beak deformities in Northwestern Crows (Corvus caurinus). We tested for differences between 1) adults with versus those without beak deformities and 2) unaffected adults versus juveniles. Crows with beak deformities had slightly higher levels of barium, molybdenum, and vanadium (all P<0.05), but concentrations were generally low and within the range of values reported from other apparently healthy wild birds. Concentrations of several elements, including selenium, were higher in birds without versus birds with beak deformities (all P<0.05), a difference that may be explained in part by compromised foraging ability associated with the deformities. Adult crows had higher concentrations of cadmium, silicon, and zinc t...
Generation of digoxigenin-incorporated probes to enhance DNA detection sensitivity

Telomere length in humans has been correlated with cancer and age-related diseases. The standard method to measure telomere length relies on Southern blot analysis with radioactively or non-radioactively labeled probes containing several telomeric DNA repeats. However, this approach requires relatively large amounts of genomic DNA, making it difficult to measure telomere length when a limited amount of sample is available. Here, we describe a non-radioactive labeling method that uses 3' fill-in combined with lambda exonuclease digestion to incorporate one or more digoxigenin (DIG) molecules into bridged nucleic acid (BNA)-containing oligonucleotides (ONTs). Using our method, we were able to generate probes to detect both C- and G-rich telomeric DNA strands. Compared with commercially available DIG-labeled telomere probes, probes generated using this new approach significantly enhance the sensitivity of telomere length measurements.
On the declining relationship between tree growth and climate in the Midwest United States: the fading drought signal

Tree rings are widely considered to be a reliable proxy record of variations in climate and soil moisture. Here, using data from the Midwest United States (US), we provide documentation of a deteriorating relationship between radial tree growth and drought that is consistent across multiple species and locations. We find that traditional methods for drought reconstructions produce models that have rapidly declining validation statistics in recent decades. Split-sample calibration-verification that uses the first and second halves of the record can be problematic, as those two samples may not represent a sufficiently wide range of soil moisture conditions. To investigate this problem, we develop a randomized validation procedure that generates an empirical distribution of calibration and validation statistics. We place validation statistics derived from traditional methods in the generated distribution and compare them to a stratified approach that ensures each calibration model is composed of a sample that includes both dry and wet years. We find that the deteriorating relationship between tree growth and soil moisture is an artifact of the absence of drought over an extended period of time. A model that forces each calibration period to contain extreme drought years is statistically validated.. Nonetheless, if the current pluvial continues in the Midwest US, the linear relationship between tree rings and soil moisture will likely continue to deteriorate to the point where tree rings in the region will have a reduced ability to estimate past drought conditions.
Symphony of the Arts

The Brooklyn Philharmonic Society (1857) and Brooklyn Academy of Music (1861) were brainchild of Luther Wyman and his wealthy, liberal, and civic-minded collaborators in Brooklyn Heights. The financial crisis of 1857 did not impede Brooklyn’s elite from founding a dozen signature cultural associations that characterized the city’s renaissance effort, including the Brooklyn Institute, Athenaeum, Mercantile Library, Horticultural Society, Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute, Packer Institute, and Prospect Park. The Brooklyn Academy of Music, designed by Leopold Eidlitz, became centerpiece of Brooklyn’s renaissance. The Brooklyn Eagle heralded the private patronage and assiduous fund raising that enabled these institutions and downplayed the uncertainties, social tensions, political divisions, and financial struggles accompanying them at the outbreak of the Civil War. However, well-intentioned attempts at egalitarian seating and ticket pricing sparked controversy.
The effects of guilt on preschoolers’ cognitive flexibility and inhibition

Abstract The current study examined the effects of guilt on two aspects of children’s cognitive functioning: cognitive inhibition and flexibility. Three- to 5-year olds were induced into a guilt state or a neutral state and then completed the Shape School task and the Dimensional Change Card Sort. Results indicated that 3- to 4.5-year-olds in the guilt condition had worse inhibitory control scores than those in the neutral condition; however, the two groups’ flexibility scores did not differ significantly. Further, the effect of guilt on cognitive inhibition was only evident for the younger children; no significant effects emerged for 4.5- to 5.9-year-olds. We discuss the implications of the current findings for developmental models of emotion and cognition.
Cultivating Supply Chain Agility: Managerial Actions Derived from Established Antecedents

Today’s marketplace is characterized by intense competitive pressures as well as high levels of turbulence and uncertainty. Organizations require agility in their supply chains to provide superior value and also manage disruption risks and ensure uninterrupted service to customers. The cultivation of agility can be approached as a risk management initiative that enables a firm to anticipate as well as respond rapidly to marketplace changes and disruptions in the supply chain. Agility is thus of value for both risk mitigation and response. This chapter provides an updated perspective of an emerging body of literature devoted to supply chain agility. Next, based on our own research stream on this topic, we propose a set of supply chain initiatives as antecedents for cultivation of agility. These include internal integration measures, external integration with suppliers and customers, cultivation of external flexibility, and lean practices. We also provide more fundamental, cultural drivers for cultivating agility, which include market orientation, learning orientation and organizational culture types that are conducive for agility. These antecedents were established through empirical research, and we translate them into a set of managerial practices to address the cultivation of agility for both mitigation and response.
Refractive outcomes after multifocal intraocular lens exchange.

Purpose To evaluate the refractive outcomes after multifocal intraocular lens (IOL) exchange. Setting Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA. Design Retrospective case series. Methods Patients had multifocal IOL explantation followed by IOL implantation. Outcome measures included type of IOL, surgical indication, corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), and refractive prediction error. Results The study comprised 29 patients (35 eyes). The types of IOLs implanted after multifocal IOL explantation included in-the-bag IOLs (74%), iris-sutured IOLs (6%), sulcus-fixated IOLs with optic capture (9%), sulcus-fixated IOLs without optic capture (9%), and anterior chamber IOLs (3%). The surgical indication for exchange included blurred vision (60%), photic phenomena (57%), photophobia (9%), loss of contrast sensitivity (3%), and multiple complaints (29%). The CDVA was 20/40 or better in 94% of eyes before the exchange and 100% of eyes after the exchange (P = .12). The mean refractive prediction error significantly decreased from 0.22 ± 0.81 diopter (D) before the exchange to −0.09 ± 0.53 D after the exchange (P Conclusions Multifocal IOL exchange can be performed safely with good visual outcomes using different types of IOLs. A lower refractive prediction error and a higher likelihood of 20/40 or better vision can be achieved with the implantation of the second IOL compared with the original multifocal IOL, regardless of the final IOL position.
Evaluation of Suspected Immunodeficiency

The clinical utility and capacity to evaluate immunologic function has evolved significantly over the past few decades. This chapter summarizes screening methods and more sophisticated approaches to assess the immune system when there is a suspicion of an immune deficiency.
The economic and environmental performance of biomass as an “intermediate” resource for power production

Abstract Electricity powered by biomass is expanding. We examine four recent biopower plants and global benchmarks to assess their overall performance, confirming the characterization of biomass as an “intermediate” resource for power production. Electricity from biomass is more expensive than energy efficiency, natural gas, wind, or solar but substantially less expensive than new coal or nuclear plants. Compared to coal and natural gas per MWh produced, the NOx and SO2 emissions of biopower are also intermediate. We confirm that current investments in biopower can be attributed to an array of stakeholder value propositions extending beyond basic economic and environmental metrics.