cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Creating Lives through Art – An Introduction to Outsider Art in China with Reflections on Outsider Art: Visionary Worlds and Trauma by Daniel Wojcik

Creative Arts Educ Ther (2018) 4(1):3–9 DOI: 10.15212/CAET/2018/4/2 Creating Lives through Art – An Introduction to Outsider Art in China with Reflections on Outsider Art: Visionary Worlds and Trauma by Daniel Wojcik 艺术创造生活 《中国原生艺术》的引言介绍及对 Daniel Wojcik《原生艺术：幻想世界与创伤》的反思 Abstract A feature presentation of Outsider Art in China coordinated by Guo Haiping together with an exploration of Daniel Wojcik’s Outsider Art: Visionary Worlds and Trauma (2016). The introduction to the special section by Shaun McNiff places the Chinese art within a larger world context and discusses how Wojcik’s book furthers an understanding and appreciation of these artistic expressions. Emphasis is given to how the term “outsider” is misleading since, as Wojcik and Haiping show, each artist creates within a particular social context. The work is viewed positively as persons creating themselves through artistic expression and contributing to their communities – an approach which is also fundamental to the East Asian Taoist, Confucian and Chan Buddhist traditions. Chen Shushan interviews Guo Haiping who gives a history of the development of the Nanjing Outsider Art Studio and the program’s emphasis on cultural ecology and mutual help. Illustrations of the artists’ work are shown. Shaun McNiff interviews Daniel Wojcik – exploring how his involvement with grassroots and vernacular art took shape through folklore studies. The Chinese art shown in this issue is related to the larger international community with illustrations of the work of Sabato Rodia, Tressa Prisbey, Howard Finster and Ionel Talpazan. 摘要 中国艺术家郭海平通过《中国原生艺术》做了特别呈现，我们通过探讨美国教授Daniel Wojcik的《原生艺术：幻想世界与创伤》(2016) 进行了回应。对于 Shaun McNiff特别部分的介绍将中国艺术置于更大的世界背景之下，并讨论Wojcik的著作如何促进对这些艺术表达的理解与欣赏。正如Wojcik和郭海平呈现的，每位艺术家都在特定的社会背景下进行创作，我们强调了“原生”艺术这一术语会如何产生误导。这些作品被看作是积极向上的，因为通过艺术表达和贡献社区人们创造了自己，这也是东亚道教，儒家和禅宗佛教传统的基础。陈书山采访了郭海平，介绍了南京原生艺术工作室的发展历史以及该项目对文化生态和互助的重视。文章展示了原生艺术家作品插图。Shaun McNiff采访了Daniel Wojcik，探讨他如何通过民俗研究参与到基层和白话艺术的。在期刊的这一期显示的中国艺术与更大的国际社区有关，这在Sabato Rodia, Tressa Prisbey, Howard Finster, 以及 Ionel Talpazan的作品插图都有所呈现。 关键词: 原生艺术, 白话艺术, 艺术风格, 原始艺术, 草根艺术, 汉斯•普林茨霍恩, 南京原生艺术工作室, 文化生态, 互助
Torts As Systems

This article offers a new scientific conception of the tort system. Building on the process theory of torts, it integrates the natural, social, and systems sciences to illuminate the law’s structure, substance, and development. It shows that each feature is really driven by dynamic coordination systems and not by either monist or pluralistic epistemologies. At the structural level, torts continuously synchronizes a dispute resolution system, a lawmaking system, and the surrounding social value system. This multilevel super-system resolves tort disputes by reconciling an assortment of substantive norms derived from our biological, neuropsychological, and sociocultural systems. Though these norms all seek social stability, they emerge incrementally over time according to the primal, social, and ratio-moral phases of human development. Tort “law” coordinates these norms through various doctrines and principles, yet these rules do not define torts’ essence. Because torts is a system of discordant impulses, its legality is decentralized, spontaneous, and synergistic. This can be seen horizontally across tort theories, as supposedly key distinctions among intentional torts, negligence, and strict liability progressively erode and transform. It also is evident within each theory’s allegedly indispensable elements, which are constantly adjusted, informed, or blurred by other key concepts. These emergent patterns even extend vertically in the evolution of important fields like pure emotional distress, premises liability, and strict products liability, where system dynamics can take different trajectories and produce unplanned and unpredictable results.
Growing Up With an Undocumented Parent in America: Psychosocial Adversity in Domestically Residing Immigrant Children.

According to Pew Research Center, 6 to 7 million children are residing in the United States with at least one undocumented parent. The vast majority of these children were born in the United States themselves, and a small minority were born outside America. Even more noteworthy is the longitudinal data that 7% to 9% of all children born in the United States between 2003 and 2014 have at least one undocumented parent. Given the numbers, it is highly likely that all child health care providers will encounter this population clinically. In this Clinical Perspectives article, we start by reviewing general and specific vulnerabilities in this population, and then discuss how child and adolescent psychiatrists can effectively help these children and their families. The majority of data presented herein refers to the US-born children of undocumented immigrants, but some may include foreign-born children of undocumented immigrants residing in America.
A 55-Year-Old Man With Cough and Hematochezia.

Case Presentation A 55-year-old man presented to the ED with a 3-week history of worsening cough and shortness of breath. He had blood-tinged sputum, fever, night sweats, and a 2.7 kg weight loss within the same period. For the past few days, he had taken amoxicillin-clavulanate for presumed sinusitis. Despite this, his symptoms persisted, prompting him to seek further evaluation. His medical history was significant for ulcerative colitis and he had some bloody diarrhea for the past few weeks. Medications included aspirin, mesalamine, multivitamins, folic acid, and herbal supplements including gingko biloba, ginseng, and turmeric-ginger. He never smoked and drank alcohol occasionally. Family history was notable for stroke and myocardial infarction.
Extending Delivery Coverage to Include Prenatal Care for Low-Income, Immigrant Women Is a Cost-Effective Strategy

Abstract Objective To compare the outcomes and cost effectiveness of two alternate policy strategies for prenatal care among low-income, immigrant women: coverage for delivery only (the federal standard) and prenatal care with delivery coverage (state option under the Children's Health Insurance Program). Methods A decision-analytic model was developed to determine the cost effectiveness of two alternate policies for pregnancy coverage. All states currently provide coverage for delivery, and 19 states also provide coverage for prenatal care. An estimated 84,000 unauthorized immigrant women have pregnancies where no prenatal care is covered. Our outcomes were costs, quality-adjusted life-years, and cases of cerebral palsy and infant death before age 1. Model inputs were obtained from a database of Oregon Medicaid claims and the literature. Univariate and bivariate sensitivity analyses, as well as a Monte Carlo simulation, were performed. Results Extending prenatal coverage is a cost-effective strategy. Providing prenatal care for the 84,000 women annually who are currently uninsured could prevent 117 infant deaths and 34 cases of cerebral palsy. Prenatal care coverage costs $380 more per woman than covering the delivery only. For every 865 additional women receiving prenatal care, one infant death would be averted, at an average cost of $328,700. Cost-effectiveness acceptability curve analyses suggest a 99% probability that providing prenatal care is more cost effective at a willingness-to-pay threshold of $100,000 per quality-adjusted life-year. Conclusions Extending prenatal care to low-income, immigrant women, regardless of citizenship status, is a cost-effective strategy.
A solid-state, open-system, differential calorimeter.

This article details the design, modeling, construction, and evaluation of an open system calorimeter that operates in a normal room environment to measure endothermic or exothermic events in a system subjected to a steady heat flux. The calorimeter is unique because it allows the measurement of energy and power from an “open” system, where a heat flux enters and leaves the calorimetric boundary in a well-controlled manner. It is also novel because it utilizes a solid state heating and cooling assembly that acts as an electronic heat reservoir. The system is capable of measuring power levels from a few milliwatts to several watts, and it has been designed and optimized to be nearly immune to variations at ambient temperature and room airflow. The calorimeter was modeled using lumped parameter electrical–thermal equivalent circuits in SPICE software. This modeling in the electrical domain led to the use of a mathematical correction factor that mitigates mismatches in thermal conduction paths between an active and a passive cell as well as correcting differences in the sensitivities of the flux sensors employed for heat flow measurement. After obtaining a viable design, a prototype was constructed and validated with precise input power delivered via electric joule heating of a resistive element.
INTERNATIONAL AIRFARES IN THE AGE OF ALLIANCES: THE EFFECTS OF CODESHARING AND ANTITRUST IMMUNITY

This paper provides empirical evidence showing the effect of airline cooperation on the interline fares paid by international passengers. The analysis focuses on two measures of cooperation, codesharing and antitrust immunity, and the results show that their partial effects are both negative. The presence of codesharing on an international interline itinerary reduces the fare by 8%–17%, with the exact number depending on the sample used and the estimation method. Moreover, the presence of antitrust immunity reduces the fare by 13%–21%. Codesharing and immunity are substitutes, however, in the sense that their combined effect is smaller than the sum of their partial effects. Taking account of this difference, which is captured by an interaction variable in the regressions, the combined effect ranges between 17% and 30%. These results provide strong evidence that airline cooperation in the fare-setting process generates substantial benefits for interline passengers.
Solving Inverse Problems for Process-Structure Linkages Using Asynchronous Parallel Bayesian Optimization

Process-structure linkage is one of the most important topics in materials science due to the fact that virtually all information related to the materials, including manufacturing processes, lies in the microstructure itself. Therefore, to learn more about the process, one must start by thoroughly examining the microstructure. This gives rise to inverse problems in the context of process-structure linkages, which attempt to identify the processes that were used to manufacturing the given microstructure. In this work, we present an inverse problem for structure-process linkages which we solve using asynchronous parallel Bayesian optimization which exploits parallel computing resources. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the method using kinetic Monte Carlo model for grain growth simulation.
Ambient air pollution and ovarian cancer survival in California

Abstract Objective To examine whether exposure to ambient ozone, particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and distance to major roadways (DTR) impact ovarian cancer-specific survival, while considering differences by stage, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Methods Women diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer from 1996 to 2014 were identified through the California Cancer Registry and followed through 2016. Women's geocoded addresses were linked to pollutant exposure data and averaged over the follow-up period. Pollutants were considered independently and in multi-pollutant models. Cox proportional hazards models assessed hazards of disease-specific death due to environmental exposures, controlling for important covariates, with additional models stratified by stage at diagnosis, race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Results PM2.5 and NO2, but not ozone or DTR, were significantly associated with survival in univariate models. In a multi-pollutant model for PM2.5, ozone, and DTR, an interquartile range increase in PM2.5 (Hazard Ratio [HR], 1.45; 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 1.41–1.49) was associated with worse prognosis. Similarly, in the multi-pollutant model with NO2, ozone, and DTR, women with higher NO2 exposures (HR for 20.0–30.0 ppb, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.25–1.36 and HR for >30.0 ppb, 2.48; 95% CI, 2.32–2.66) had greater mortality compared to the lowest exposed ( Conclusions Our analyses suggest that greater exposure to NO2 and PM2.5 may adversely impact ovarian cancer-specific survival, independent of sociodemographic and treatment factors. These findings warrant further study.
Won’t You be My Neighbor? – Corporate Discourse, Formations of Community, and Fracking Above the Marcellus Shale

This article examines Earth Justice’s short documentary film ‘Dryden – The Small Town that Changed the Fracking Game’ in order to analyze the ways in which residents deployed the figure of the neighbor as part of their successful effort to prevent natural gas drilling in their community. This figure, a common trope used by the gas industry to insinuate itself into the areas it aims to exploit, is taken up by activists for the purpose of promoting a collective sense of responsibility and fostering feelings of solidarity. Though much of the discourse around fracking currently seems stuck in irresolvable debates that reduce the issue to merely scientific or economic terms, ‘Dryden’ foregrounds the social dimensions of this particular crisis. In reconsidering fracking as a crisis of community, Earth Justice’s documentary and the activists in Dryden not only establish a groundbreaking legal precedent for imposing de facto bans on fracking, but also explore ways of breaking out of the discursive gridlock. The deployment of the figure of the neighbor sheds light on new potentialities, compelling new understandings of extrafamilial relationships and collective responsibility that provide new modes of thinking otherwise in the face of what has become a stultifying debate.
Surface glycans regulate Salmonella infection-dependent directional switch in macrophage galvanotaxis via a dispensable role of NanH.

Salmonella invades and disrupts gut epithelium integrity, creating an infection-generated electric field that can drive directional migration of macrophages, a process called galvanotaxis. Phagocytosis of bacteria reverses the direction of macrophage galvanotaxis, implicating a bioelectrical mechanism to initiate life-threatening disseminations. The force that drives direction reversal of macrophage galvanotaxis is not understood. One hypothesis is that Salmonella can alter the electrical properties of the macrophages by modifying host cell surface glycan composition, which is supported by the fact that cleavage of surface-exposed sialic acids with a bacterial neuraminidase severely impairs macrophage galvanotaxis, as well as phagocytosis. Here, we utilize N-glycan profiling by nanoLC-chip QTOF mass cytometry to characterize the bacterial neuraminidase-associated compositional shift of the macrophage glycocalyx, which revealed a decrease in sialylated and an increase in fucosylated and high mannose structures. The Salmonella nanH gene, encoding a putative neuraminidase, is required for invasion and internalization in a human colonic epithelial cell infection model. To determine whether NanH is required for the Salmonella infection-dependent direction reversal, we constructed and characterized a nanH deletion mutant and found that NanH is partially required for Salmonella infection in primary murine macrophages. However, compared to wild type Salmonella, infection with the nanH mutant only marginally reduced the cathode-oriented macrophage galvonotaxis, without canceling direction reversal. Together, these findings strongly suggest that while neuraminidase-mediated N-glycan modification impaired both macrophage phagocytosis and galvanotaxis, yet to be defined mechanisms other than NanH may play a more important role in bioelectrical control of macrophage trafficking, which potentially triggers dissemination.
Xenon-based nonlinear Fabry-Perot interferometer for quantum information applications

We describe a nonlinear Fabry-Perot interferometer useful for optical quantum information applications. We observe self-phase modulation and other nonlinear effects with ultra-low input powers using metastable xenon in a high-finesse cavity.
A review of 'Great expectations: imagination and anticipation in tourism'

Tourism is all about expectations and anticipation, as the title of this slim volume reveals, but it is also about the role of various actors, including the state, the media, and travel/tourism ind...
Autolysis in Staphylococcus aureus: Preferential Release of Old Cell Walls

The kinetics of release of old versus new cell wall in two strains of Staphylococcus aureus were studied during autolysis. In both strains the autolytic enzyme is an amidase. Cells were double labeled with (3)H and (14)C, and the distribution of radioactivity in the cell walls was monitored during autolysis. In all cases the rate of release of steady-state lable from peptidoglycan was significantly higher than that of pulse label. Identical results were obtained with whole cells or isolated cell walls. The results suggest that in S. aureus the old cell wall is preferentially released during autolysis.
Novae Detected in the IRAS Point Source Catalog

Five classical novae are found to have counterparts in the IRAS Point Source Catalog. Two are recent events measured during the first year; the others are old novae detected by IRAS more than 10 years after optical maximum. The IRAS measurements confirm the trend that slow novae have larger amounts of dust than fast novae and support the picture that dust grains condense in expanding nova shells.
Measurement of protein turnover in rat liver with (14C)carbonate. Protein turnover during liver regeneration.

Abstract Several isotopic methods for the measurement of liver protein turnover were compared in a study of plasma albumin and the mixed hepatic proteins during liver regeneration. In albumin after the administration of [14C]carbonate, the rate of decay of the radioactivity of the intact protein was similar to that of arginine isolated therefrom, whereas after the administration of [guanidino-14C]arginine, the decay rate was 30% slower than that obtained with [14C]carbonate. When [guanidino-14C]arginine is given, the extrahepatic tissues, such as muscle and the plasma globulins, are labeled more heavily than the liver proteins. It is likely that the reutilization of this extrahepatic arginine by the liver accounts for the slower disappearance of radioactivity from albumin. Similar results were obtained with the mixed, indigenous hepatic proteins. In animals that had been partially hepatectomized, the decay in radioactivity in arginine after [14C]carbonate administration showed that the rate of protein breakdown was reduced by 30 % during the first 5 days of liver regeneration. There was no decay in radioactivity in similar animals given [guanidino-14C]arginine, suggesting a massive transfer of labeled extrahepatic protein arginine into the liver during regeneration.
A Review of “Teacher Assessment and the Quest for Teacher Quality: A Handbook”

Teacher Assessment and the Quest for Teacher Quality, first edition text, edited by Mary M. Kennedy, explores assessment from the initial preparation of teacher education at the collegiate level th...
Analyzing geographic representation error in capacitated location-allocation modeling

Although there has been much research on the effects of aggregation on location-allocation modeling, there has been little research on the disaggregation effects of capacitated location-allocation models. In a capacitated system, an areal unit representing demand may be allocated to more than one destination site due to the capacity constraints. In this case, such an areal unit is disaggregated by the model. The cost values of the actual allocations then differ from the estimated costs used in the model resulting in a geographic representation error. Areal interpolation is used to disaggregate the original units into ones congruent to the size of each split allocation to estimate the magnitude of this source error and to estimate other forms of representation error for areal units for which no finer resolution information is available.
Degradation in the fatigue strength of dentin by diamond bur preparations: Importance of cutting direction

Department of Restorative Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WashingtonReceived 15 July 2014; revised 16 November 2014; accepted 2 December 2014Published online 00 Month 2014 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/jbm.b.33348Abstract: The objectives of this investigation were to evaluatethe degradation in fatigue strength of dentin by diamond burpreparations and to identify the importance of cutting direc-tion. Three groups of coronal dentin specimens were pre-pared from unrestored third molars, including a flaw free“control,” and two groups that received a diamond bur cut-ting treatment performed parallel or perpendicular to thespecimen length. The specimens were subjected to static orcyclic flexural loading to failure and the results were com-pared with data for carbide bur cutting. Under static loadingdiamond bur cutting resulted in significantly lower flexurestrength (p 0.05) than the control for both cutting directions(from 154 to 124 MPa). However, there was no significantdifference in the strength between the control and carbidebur treated specimens. Similarly, the fatigue strength of thediamond bur treated specimens was significantly lower(p 0.0001) than that of the control for both cutting direc-tions. Cutting in the perpendicular direction resulted in nearly60% reduction to the endurance limit (from 44 to 19 MPa).Based on the results, diamond bur cutting of cavity prepara-tions causes a reduction in the fatigue strength of dentin,regardless of the cutting direction. To maintain the durabilityof dentin, cavity preparations introduced using diamond bursmust be performed with appropriate cutting direction and fol-lowed by a finishing pass.
TL-DAE: thread-level decoupled access/execution for OpenMP on the cyclops-64 many-core processor

Cyclops-64 is a many-core processor with software managed memory hierarchy. For OpenMP programs running on this processor, a frequently used computing paradigm is: (i) copy data into on-chip memory; (ii) perform computations on the chip; (iii) copy results back to off-chip memory. Obviously, hiding memory copy latency is very crucial to the performance of this computing paradigm. The traditional solution is to use the asynchronous DMA transfer. However, DMA is not supported in the Cyclops-64 processor. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a software solution, called Thread-Level Decoupled Access/Execution (TL-DAE for short). It is a data-driven execution model for OpenMP programs running on the Cyclops-64 processor. The TL-DAE execution model is inspired by the canonical decoupled architecture. In our design, data movements and computations are decoupled implicitly by OpenMP compiler. At runtime, two different groups of threads are spawned: the computation threads and the percolation threads. Computation threads execute computation code while percolation threads execute data movement code. The execution of computation thread and percolation thread can slip with respect to each other, so percolation thread can run further ahead than computation thread and fetch data for it. In this paper, we will not only develop the runtime techniques used to implement the TL-DAE execution model, but also propose the required TL-DAE programming interface that is used by OpenMP compiler to generate the decoupled code. We have evaluated the TL-DAE execution model by using two OpenMP task benchmarks. Experimental results show significant performance enhancement.
Finite Group Schemes over Bases with Low Ramification

Let A′ be a complete characteristic (0,p) discrete valuation ring with absolute ramification degree e and a perfect residue field. We are interested in studying the category FFA' of finite flat commutative group schemes over A′ withp-power order. When e= 1, Fontaine formulated the purely ‘linear algebra’ notion of a finite Honda system over A′ and constructed an anti-equivalence of categories betweenineFFA'> and the category of finite Honda systems over A′ when p> 2. We generalize this theory to the case e≤ − 1.
A Hypothetical Case: Value Capture/Joint Development Techniques to Reduce the Public Costs of Public Improvements

This article illustrates the use of value capture/joint development techniques by applying them to the hypothetical case of a city of 1,500,000 which must together with certain affected suburban areas and the state, set about devising a method of raising the $120,000,000 local share of the costs for a proposed fifteen-mile fixed-guideway rapid transit system. Among the considerations addressed are: the choice of government agency to run the system and the legal problems associated with acquiring land for transit stations and leasing to the private sector that portion of the land not needed for current operations.
Application and transferability of Great Lakes coastal wetland indices of biotic integrity to high quality inland lakes of Beaver Island in northern Lake Michigan

Biological indicators or indices of biotic integrity (IBI) have been developed for land management and regulatory agencies to categorize the condition of a given ecosystem. IBIs are more widely used in lotic systems and those that can be used over wide geographic regions or multiple systems are deemed most valuable. Lacustrine wetlands have intrinsic complexity and multidimensionality making them very difficult to classify. This, in turn, greatly affects the transferability of indices created for explicit regions and wetland types. Similarly, due to scarcity, relatively pristine reference conditions are seldom included in IBI calibration and represent a critical end of the disturbance continuum. The robustness and transferability of macroinvertebrate and fish IBIs created for fringing lacustrine and drowned river mouth wetlands of the Great Lakes for use in wetlands occurring in inland-lakes on islands within the Great Lakes were tested. Islands within the Laurentian Great Lakes contain unique and critica...
Complications of Elbow Trauma

The elbow is a highly congruent trochoginglymoid joint allowing motion in both flexion-extension and pronosupination across 3 articulations. Therefore, treatment of fractures of the elbow can be technically challenging to manage, even after initial surgery. The posttraumatic elbow is prone to complications such as stiffness associated with heterotopic ossification, instability or subluxation (posterolateral rotatory instability and varus posteromedial instability patterns), and wound complications. This article discusses the pathoanatomy, prevention, and treatment of these complications.
Microwave transport system for the MTX

The design and construction, as well as the initial operation, of the Microwave Transmission System is presented. The system consists of containment vessels, mirror boxes, mirrors, an alignment system, two turbomolecular pump vacuum stations, and a microwave source. Pulses of 50-ns-length and of 6-MeV electrons pass through a free electron laser (FEL) wiggler. A 300-W, 140-GHz extended interaction oscillator (EIO) supplies the seed signal for amplification in the wiggler. The electron beam is dumped and the microwave beam is quasi-optically transmitted 90 ft by six aluminum mirrors through an evacuated tube. Three of the mirrors are elliptical paraboloids and the others are flat. A seventh mirror is rotated into the microwave beam to divert it into a load tank. The transport vacuum vessel is a 20-in-diameter stainless steel tube with bellows and mirror boxes at each mirror. Two vacuums systems at each end of the transport tube allow a base pressure of 10/sup -7/ torr to be attained by 7000 L/s of turbomolecular pumping. At each mirror, at the MTX vessel, and at the two ends of the wiggler waveguide are He-Ne laser detectors used for vacuum alignment. The major components, their requirements, system requirements, and the initial operation of the system and its performance are described. >
Treating AIDS Dementia

I read with interest the elegant report by Ashley T. Haase's group (W. Cavert et al ., Reports, [9 May, p. 960][1]) and the accompanying News article by Jon Cohen ([9 May, p. 898][2]) concerning the vulnerability of reservoirs of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) stubborn to new treatments. The
The Effect of Moderate Protein Malnutrition on Murine T Cell Cytokine Production

Abstract T cell responses and cytokine production requires recognition of antigenic peptides/MHC by the TCR/CD3 complex and reception of APC costimulatory signals through the CD28 counter-receptors. Protein malnutrition (PM) alters T cell immune responses and decreases resistance to infection. To determine the effect of PM on T cell cytokine production, interferon-γ (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-2 and IL-4 production by splenic T cells from mice fed either a moderately protein deficient diet (4% casein) or a diet sufficient in protein (20% casein) in response to ConA or anti-CD3 was measured. The production of IL-4 was significantly decreased while production of IL-2 was increased from T cells of PM mice during co-culture with native APC. To determine the effect of PM on costimulatory and counter-receptor signals, T cells were stimulated with Concanavalin A (ConA) and costimulated with native APC, with APC from the reciprocal dietary group, or with antibody to CD28. APC from PM mice co-cultured with T cells of control mice retained a normal ability to costimulate control T cell cytokine production. However purified T cells from PM mice produced significantly less cytokines when co-cultured with control APC. In the absence of APC but in the presence of artificial costimulation by anti-CD28, the production of IL-2 and IL-4 from enriched T cells of PM mice was significantly decreased compared with T cells from control mice. Thus, the T cell counter-receptor pathway is significantly impaired, while APC costimulatory function remains normal, during PM. Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Inc.
The Ribonucleoside Analog, 8-Chloro-Adenosine, Inhibits the mTOR Pathway and Induces Autophagy.

In contrast to deoxyribose or arabinose containing nucleoside analogs that are currently established for cancer therapeutics, 8-chloro-adenosine (8-Cl-Ado) possesses a ribose sugar. This unique nucleoside analog is RNA directed and is in a phase I clinical trial for hematological malignancies. Preclinically, it has been also found to be cytotoxic to a number of epithelial and neuronal cell lines. Previously, we demonstrated that in the breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and BT-474, 8-Cl-Ado accumulates as a triphosphate reaching its plateau by 6 h of treatment with 10 μM 8-Cl-Ado. This accumulation was coupled with a parallel decrease in the level of the endogenous ATP pool by 60 and 40%. These changes in nucleoside levels then lead to ∼50% inhibition of RNA synthesis. The net effect of these metabolic changes results in a growth inhibition of ∼90% after 5 d treatment with 10 μM 8-Cl-Ado as measured by MTS assay. This growth inhibition was not due to a cell cycle arrest. Additionally, flow cytometry analysis of annexin V staining showed only a modest induction of apoptosis first detected within 24 h of treatment and reached ∼30% by 5 d. Because the low level of apoptosis can not account for high percent of growth inhibition suggests alternative mechanism(s) for the cytotoxic activity of 8-Cl-Ado. Depletion of the cellular ATP pool is often associated with the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) through its phosphorylation on Thr172. Correspondingly, we demonstrated that 8-Cl-Ado treatment of MCF-7 and BT-474 cells induced AMPK Thr172 phosphorylation within 7 h. Once activated, AMPK alters various energy regulating signaling cascades which includes the mTOR pathway. Inhibition of mTOR leads to a decrease of energy depletion by reducing protein translation and promotes nutrient restoration through the induction of autophagy. 8-Cl-Ado treatment of MCF-7 and BT-474 cells was associated with a decrease in the phosphorylation of the mTOR translation targets, 4E-BP1 and p70S6K within 8 h of treatment. Likewise, there was an increase in the conversion of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3B (LC3B)-I to its lipidated form, LC3B-II, which is an autophagosome marker. Consistent with the immunoblot analysis, fluorescence microscopic analysis of 8-Cl-Ado-treated MCF-7 cells and BT-474 cells expressing a GFP-LC3 construct also demonstrated an increase in the formation of autophagosomes. Finally, acridine orange staining of 8-Cl-Ado treated MCF-7 and BT-474 cells demonstrated the formation autophagolysosomes. This was further confirmed in MCF-7 cells by monodansylcadaverine staining. In conclusion, our data indicates that 8-Cl-Ado treatment induces autophagy in breast cancer cells which in part elicits its growth inhibitory effects on these cells. Based on this biological activity, we are planning to test 8-Cl-Ado in the clinic for patients with breast cancer. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 6116.
Statistical properties of estimators for continuous time Markov branching processes with varying and random environments

Abstract Asymptotic properties are established for estimators of time dependent intensities in Markov branching processes with varying and random environments. For the varying environment model, the estimators are shown to be uniformly strongly consistent on bounded intervals as the initial population size X 0 → ∞, and, when considered as empirical stochastic processes, to converge weakly to Gaussian processes with independent increments. For random environments, the estimators are shown to be asymptotically normal as t → ∞, where t is the time parameter.
A model for markers and latent health status

Summary. We extend the bivariate Wiener process considered by Whitmore and co-workers and model the joint process of a marker and health status. The health status process is assumed to be latent or unobservable. The time to reach the primary end point or failure (death, onset of disease, etc.) is the time when the latent health status process first crosses a failure threshold level. Inferences for the model are based on two kinds of data: censored survival data and marker measurements. Covariates, such as treatment variables, risk factors and base-line conditions, are related to the model parameters through generalized linear regression functions. The model offers a much richer potential for the study of treatment efficacy than do conventional models. Treatment effects can be assessed in terms of their influence on both the failure threshold and the health status process parameters. We derive an explicit formula for the prediction of residual failure times given the current marker level. Also we discuss model validation. This model does not require the proportional hazards assumption and hence can be widely used. To demonstrate the usefulness of the model, we apply the methods in analysing data from protocol 116a of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group.
An Examination of Sources of Peer-Review Bias:

Peer-review ratings of 1,983 posters submitted for three annual conferences of a professional society were examined for evidence of bias. Hypotheses derived from the literature on the better-than-average effect were tested by analyzing 7,383 sets of ratings. Reviewers who authored posters gave lower average ratings than reviewers who did not author posters. Posters having authorship that included at least one reviewer received higher ratings than those having only nonreviewing authors. Reviewers' experience and professional role were also explored as biasing factors. The ratings were converted into z scores, and differences in reliability and acceptance decisions were examined. Implications for current peer-review practices are discussed.
Isomerization Couples Chemistry in the ATP Sulfurylase-GTPase System†

ATP sulfurylase catalyzes and couples the free energies of two reactions: GTP hydrolysis and the synthesis of activated sulfate, or APS. The GTPase active site undergoes changes during its catalytic cycle that are driven by events that occur at the APS-forming active site, which is located in a separate subunit. GTP responds to its changing environment by moving along its reaction path. The response, which may change the affinity or reactivity of GTP, can, in turn, produce alterations at the APS active site that drive APS synthesis. The resulting stepwise progression of the two reactions couples their free energies. The mechanism of ATP sulfurylase involves an enzyme isomerization that precedes and rate limits cleavage of the β,γ-bond of GTP. These fluorescence studies demonstrate that the isomerization is controlled by the binding of activators that drive ATP sulfurylase into forms that mimic different stages of the APS reaction. Only certain activators elicit the isomerization, suggesting that the APS ...
What is the cost associated with the implementation and maintenance of an ACS/APDS-based surgical skills curriculum?

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cost associated with the American College of Surgery (ACS)/Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS)-based surgical skills curriculum (SSC) within a general surgery residency program. Methods The Penn Surgical Simulation Center (PSSC) of the University of Pennsylvania was established by the Department of Surgery during the 2006-2007 academic year and became a Level-I ACS Accredited Education Institute in 2008. Each academic year, 38 junior residents are assigned to a 4-week dedicated simulation rotation based on the ACS/APDS-based SSC. In conjunction with voluntary participation by faculty, a salaried educational fellow is responsible for maintaining the schedule and administering the surgical skills training modules. The costs associated with the ACS/APDS-based SSC were divided in initial implementation capital expenses and annual operational maintenance expenses. Results The overall capital expenditures associated with the implementation of the curriculum were $4.204 million. These costs included the purchase of low and high-fidelity simulation equipment and initial construction costs to renovate a previous operating room (OR) and recovery suite into the Penn Medicine Clinical Simulation Center (PMCSC) which has housed the PSSC since 2008. The annual operational expenses are $476,000 and include the salary for the educational fellow, disposables, and other supplies, and the PMCSC average student fees. The annual cost per resident for the 4-week dedicated simulation rotation is $12,516. This figure does not include the average cost for teaching efforts including the simulation teaching per participating faculty member which is $30,000 in Relative Teaching Value Units per year. Conclusions The expenditures associated with the implementation and maintenance of the ACS/APDS-based surgical skills curriculum in a surgical residency program are significant. This center's experience might be useful to programs deciding on more cost-effective means of implementing the ACS/APDS-SSC into their training.
New biarsenical ligands and tetracysteine motifs for protein labeling in vitro and in vivo: synthesis and biological applications.

We recently introduced a method (Griffin, B. A.; Adams, S. R.; Tsien, R. Y. Science 1998, 281, 269−272 and Griffin, B. A.; Adams, S. R.; Jones, J.; Tsien, R. Y. Methods Enzymol. 2000, 327, 565−578) for site-specific fluorescent labeling of recombinant proteins in living cells. The sequence Cys-Cys-Xaa-Xaa-Cys-Cys, where Xaa is an noncysteine amino acid, is genetically fused to or inserted within the protein, where it can be specifically recognized by a membrane-permeant fluorescein derivative with two As(III) substituents, FlAsH, which fluoresces only after the arsenics bind to the cysteine thiols. We now report kinetics and dissociation constants (∼10-11 M) for FlAsH binding to model tetracysteine peptides. Affinities in vitro and detection limits in living cells are optimized with Xaa-Xaa = Pro-Gly, suggesting that the preferred peptide conformation is a hairpin rather than the previously proposed α-helix. Many analogues of FlAsH have been synthesized, including ReAsH, a resorufin derivative excitable a...
Reduction in liver iron in hemodialysis patients with transfusional iron overload by deferoxamine mesylate.

Four hemodialysis patients with transfusional iron overload were treated with three times weekly intravenous (IV) deferoxamine mesylate during the dialysis treatment. Using a γ ray scattering technique, significant reductions in liver iron content were documented, with a mean follow-up of 20 months. Three of the four patients showed significant improvements in liver enzymes. This decrease in liver iron content could not be predicted by clinical parameters or serum ferritin. Therapy proved to be safe and effective, but follow-up requires monitoring of tissue iron by means other than standard laboratory tests.
Radiation growth and swelling analysis of solid fuel rods during a complete reactor period

Abstract The strain rates, strains, and stresses resulting from thermal-cycling growth, irradiation growth and irradiation swelling accompanied by high plasticity and internal pressure of fission product gases in long fuel rods during a complete reactor period are determined analytically. From the simple diffusion equation for a nonequilibrium reactor system, an exact solution of neutron flux distribution is expressed by products of Bessel function and exponential time function. From the heat conduction equation with an internal heat source in unsteady state, exact solutions of temperature variation in the fuel rods during positive and negative reactor periods are found. On the basis of some basic assumptions in regard to the properties and yield criterion of the fuel and cladding materials, a physico-mechanical analysis for the fuel rod is carried out. Based on the equations derived and the results calculated from a numerical example of a fast reactor, the components of strain rate, strain and stress produced in the fuel rod during the complete reactor period are shown in the figures. The effect of combined thermal stresses, pressure stresses and thermal fatigue may cause breach of the cladding and failure of the fuel rod.
SLAM Family Markers Resolve Functionally Distinct Subpopulations of Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Multipotent Progenitors

Summary Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and multipotent hematopoietic progenitors (MPPs) are routinely isolated using various markers but remain heterogeneous. Here we show that four SLAM family markers, CD150, CD48, CD229, and CD244, can distinguish HSCs and MPPs from restricted progenitors and subdivide them into a hierarchy of functionally distinct subpopulations with stepwise changes in cell-cycle status, self-renewal, and reconstituting potential. CD229 expression largely distinguished lymphoid-biased HSCs from rarely dividing myeloid-biased HSCs, enabling prospective enrichment of these HSC subsets. Differences in CD229 and CD244 expression resolved CD150 − CD48 −/low Lineage −/low Sca-1 + c-Kit + cells into a hierarchy of highly purified MPPs that retained erythroid and platelet potential but exhibited progressive changes in mitotic activity and reconstituting potential. Use of these markers, and reconstitution assays, showed that conditional deletion of Scf from endothelial cells and perivascular stromal cells eliminated the vast majority of bone marrow HSCs, including nearly all CD229 −/low HSCs, demonstrating that quiescent HSCs are maintained by a perivascular niche.
A real-time, flat-panel, amorphous silicon, digital x-ray imager.

As part of the development necessary for implementing a fully digital radiology department, the authors have investigated thin-film photodiodes and transistors for use in new photoelectronic imaging devices. One such device, a large-area, flat-panel, amorphous silicon imaging array, has been developed and is currently being tested. The array has a format of 512 x 560 pixels, a pixel-to-pixel pitch of 450 microns, and an area of 230 x 252 mm2, making it the largest self-scanning, solid-state imaging array developed to date. The array is used in conjunction with an overlying x-ray converter. Although specifically designed for megavoltage imaging, the device can produce high-quality, low spatial resolution, diagnostic x-ray images. Qualitative comparisons of array images of anthropomorphic head, chest, and pelvic phantoms and a spatial resolution pattern suggest that much of the information content of the film images at low spatial resolution is present in the corresponding array images. Current trends in th...
Comparison of characteristics from White- and Black-Americans with venous thromboembolism: A cross sectional study

When compared with Whites, Black-Americans may have a 40% higher incidence venous thromboembolism (VTE) incidence. However, whether other VTE characteristics and risk factors vary by race is uncertain. To compare demographic and baseline characteristics among White- and Black-Americans with VTE, we used data prospectively collected from consecutive consenting adults enrolled in seven Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Thrombosis and Hemostasis Centers from August 2003 to March 2009. These characteristics were compared among Whites (n = 2002) and Blacks (n = 395) with objectively diagnosed VTE, both overall, and by age and gender. When compared with Whites, Blacks had a significantly higher proportion with pulmonary embolism (PE), including idiopathic PE among Black women, and a significantly higher proportion of Blacks were women. Blacks had a significantly higher mean BMI and a significantly lower proportion with recent surgery, trauma or infection, family history of VTE, and documented thrombophilia (solely from reduced factor V Leiden and prothrombin G20210A prevalence). Conversely, Blacks had a significantly higher proportion with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic renal disease and dialysis, HIV, and sickle cell disease. When compared with White women, Black women had a significantly lower proportion with recent oral contraceptive use or hormone therapy. We conclude that Whites and Blacks differ significantly regarding demographic and baseline characteristics that may be risk factors for VTE. The prevalence of transient VTE risk factors and idiopathic VTE among Blacks appears to be lower and higher, respectively, suggesting that heritability may be important in the etiology of VTE among Black-Americans.