cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nd:YAG laser and photodynamic therapy for esophageal and endobronchial tumors under general and local anesthesia. Effects on arterial blood gas levels.

Study Objective Our objective was to determine the respiratory and acid-base metabolism response to endoscopic laser surgery for obstructive tumors, as related to the duration and different types of endoscopy, anesthesia, and laser treatment. Design The design was a case-control, cohort analytic, nonrandomized controlled survey of case series before and after endoscopic procedures. Setting A referral-based surgery and oncology practice at one hospital's laser center. Patients We studied a sequential sample of 82 patients in the age range from 35 to 92 years, with malignant and benign, primary and metastatic, partially and completely obstructing esophageal (15 patients) and endobronchial (67 patients) tumors. Interventions A total of 229 diagnostic, laser treatment, and follow-up endoscopic procedures was performed under general or local anesthesia (46 esophagoscopies and 183 bronchoscopies). The latter group consisted of 29 cases of general and 154 cases of local topical anesthesia. The last group involved 37 diagnostic and toilet bronchoscopies, 86 cases of YAG-laser tumor ablation, and 31 cases of PDT. Measurements and Main Results Direct-reading electrode measurements of arterial blood, sampled before and immediately after the endoscopic procedure, revealed statistically significant (p 2 (200 of 229 cases) and decreases in pH (195 of 229 cases) and PaO 2 (215 of 229 cases). These findings were similar after bronchoscopy and esophagoscopy, general and local anesthesia (only the decrease in pH was less pronounced in the latter case), and explorative endoscopies and different laser treatments and did not correlate with the total duration of the procedure within the wide time range of 7 to 210 minutes. The initial preoperative level of PaCO 2 was considerably higher and the level of PaO 2 was significantly lower in patients with endobronchial tumors, as compared to patients with esophageal cancer. A strong, inverse linear relationship was found between the perioperative changes in PaO 2 and its initial level and between PaCO 2 and pH changes. Conclusions The PDT for esophageal and endobronchial malignancies is no more harmful for acid-base metabolism and respiratory functions than YAG-laser tumor ablation or any other common, nonlaser endoscopic procedure.
Energy onset times for speaker identification

Onset times of resonant energy pulses are measured with the high-resolution Teager operator and used as features in the Reynolds Gaussian-mixture speaker identification algorithm. Feature sets are constructed with primary pitch and secondary pulse locations derived from low and high speech formants. Preliminary testing was performed with a confusable 40-speaker subset from the NTIMIT (telephone channel) database. Speaker identification improved from 55 to 70% correct classification when the full set of new resonant energy-based features were added as an independent stream to conventional mel-cepstra. >
Lamippe concinna sp. n. a copepod parasitic in a West African pennatulid coelenterate.

Copepods belonging to the genus Lamippe live in the gastrovascular cavity of several alcyonarian genera. Eighteen species of these copepods are known (Zulueta, 1911), nineteen if the variety L. rubra decolor Zulueta 1908 is raised to species rank as suggested by Heegaard (1949). Each species is highly preferential in its choice of a host. Only one species is known to parasitize more than a single species of coelenterate, namely L. rubicunda (Olsson, 1869) which lives in two species of Alcyonium .
Learning strategies for dynamic decision problems using artificial neural networks

The architecture of an AI (artificial intelligence) system for learning strategies in complex domains is presented. SMALL (strategy acquisition by meta-level learning) is a system architecture that embodies the principles of modular knowledge-level design and phased training in order to learn strategies in a flexible yet efficient manner. A class of difficult decision problems is identified. It is shown that specific bodies of knowledge can be used to counter the specific aspects or difficulty. The authors' approach is illustrated by a connectionist implementation of the knowledge modules. This approach can be used for learning load-balancing strategies in loosely coupled multiprocessors. >
Hyaluronan-CD44 interaction promotes c-Jun signaling and miRNA21 expression leading to Bcl-2 expression and chemoresistance in breast cancer cells

MicroRNA-21 (miR-21) is associated with the development of solid tumors progression including breast cancer. In this study we investigated matrix hyaluronan (HA)-CD44 (a primary HA receptor) interaction with c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase (JNK)/c-Jun signaling in MDA-MB-468 breast cancer cells [a triple-negative (estrogen receptor-negative/progesterone receptor-negative/HER2-negative) breast cancer cell line]. Our results indicated that HA binding to CD44 promotes c-Jun nuclear translocation and transcriptional activation. Further analyses revealed that miR-21 is regulated by an upstream promoter containing AP1 binding site(s), and chromatin immunoprecipitation (CHIP) assays demonstrated that stimulation of miR-21 expression by HA/CD44 interaction is c-Jun-dependent in these breast cancer cells. This process results in an increase of the anti-apoptosis protein Bcl-2 and upregulation of inhibitors of the apoptosis family of proteins (IAPs) as well as chemoresistance in MDA-MB-468 cells. Treatment with c-Jun specific small interfering RNAs effectively blocks HA-mediated c-Jun signaling and abrogates miR-21 production as well as causes downregulation of survival proteins (Bcl-2 and IAPs) and enhancement of chemosensitivity. In addition, our results demonstrated that anti-miR-21 inhibitor not only downregulates Bcl-2/IAP expression but also increases chemosensitivity in HA-treated breast cancer cells. Together, these findings suggest that the HA/CD44-induced c-Jun signaling plays a pivotal role in miR-21 production leading to survival protein (Bcl-2/IAP) upregulation and chemoresistance in triple negative breast cancer cells such as MDA-MB-468 cell line. This novel HA/CD44-mediated c-Jun signaling pathway and miR-21 production provide a new drug target for the future intervention strategies to treat breast cancer.
PERSONALITY AND IDEOLOGY AS DETERMINANTS OF CANDIDATE PREFERENCES AND "OBAMA CONVERSION" IN THE 2008 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

We conducted a longitudinal study involving 734 college students over a three-month period that included the 2008 U.S. presidential election. The study investigated factors such as respondents' personality characteristics and ideological proclivities in predicting perceptions of the major candidates and both stability and change in voting preferences for Barack Obama and John McCain. Previous research on personality and political orientation suggests that Openness to New Experiences is positively associated with liberal political preferences, whereas Conscientiousness is positively associated with conservative preferences; we replicated these results in the context of the current study. Several ideological factors also predicted conversion to Obama's candidacy. These included respondents' degree of self-reported liberalism, perceptions of their parents as liberal (versus conservative), and lower scores on measures of authoritarianism and political system justification (i.e., support for the prevailing system of electoral politics and government). The effects of Openness and Conscientiousness on candidate preferences were statistically mediated by ideological variables, providing further evidence that general predispositions exist that link personality and political orientation, and these are likely to play a significant role in electoral politics. Implications for the integration of “top-down” (institutional) and “bottom-up” (psychological) approaches to the study of political behavior are discussed.
Molecular cloning, nucleotide sequence and fine-structural analysis of the Corynebacterium glutamicum fda gene: structural comparison of C. glutamicum fructose-1,6-biphosphate aldolase to class I and class II aldolases.

Summary The Corynebacterium glutamicum fda gene encoding fructose- 1,6-btphosphate (FBP) aldolase has been isolated by complementation of an Escherichia coli mutant. The nucleotide sequence of a 3371 bp chromosomal fragment containing the C. glutamicum fda gene was determined. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of C. glutamicum FBP aldolase identified the correct initiation site for the fda gene, and a molecular weight of 37092 was predicted for the fda polypeptide. S1 nuclease mapping identified the transcriptional start site, and Northern hybridization analysis indicated that the fda gene encodes a single 1.3 kb transcript. The primary structure of C. glutamicum FBP aldolase shows strong homology to class 11 FBP aldolases. Conservation of primary structure was observed between class I and class II aldolases, but several residues essential for catalytic activity in class I aldolases were absent from class II aldolases.
Substrate-inhibited kinetics with catalyst deactivation in an isothermal CSTR. II. Multiple pseudosteady states and reactor failure

Analytical expressions are derived for the time and magnitude of failure of an isothermal CSTR with substrate-inhibited kinetics, caused by slow catalyst deactivation under three types of parallel and series mechanisms. Reactors operating at high space velocity are found to be most susceptible to early failure and poisoning by product is more dangerous than by reactant. The magnitude of the jump across steady states depends solely on the Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic parameters and a detailed analysis of reactor behavior during the jump itself is given.
Premature breakdown in non-fully depleted SOI/MOSFETs with body-tied-to-source structure

The authors discuss the bipolar-induced breakdown in n-channel SOI (silicon-on-insulator) MOSFETs with BTS (body-tied-to-source) straps in terms of important device parameters of body resistance, bipolar gain, and impact ionization. It is concluded that the breakdown in BTS transistors can be explained by the bipolar effects associated with impact ionization and can be improved by controlling these three parameters, depending on specific need. The breakdown curve shape is found to depend on bipolar current-gain characteristics. >
Secure High-Throughput Multicast Routing in Wireless Mesh Networks

Recent work in multicast routing for wireless mesh networks has focused on metrics that estimate link quality to maximize throughput. Nodes must collaborate in order to compute the path metric and forward data. The assumption that all nodes are honest and behave correctly during metric computation, propagation, and aggregation, as well as during data forwarding, leads to unexpected consequences in adversarial networks where compromised nodes act maliciously. In this work, we identify novel attacks against high-throughput multicast protocols in wireless mesh networks. The attacks exploit the local estimation and global aggregation of the metric to allow attackers to attract a large amount of traffic. We show that these attacks are very effective against multicast protocols based on high-throughput metrics. We conclude that aggressive path selection is a double-edged sword: While it maximizes throughput, it also increases attack effectiveness in the absence of defense mechanisms. Our approach to defend against the identified attacks combines measurement-based detection and accusation-based reaction techniques. The solution accommodates transient network variations and is resilient against attempts to exploit the defense mechanism itself. A detailed security analysis of our defense scheme establishes bounds on the impact of attacks. We demonstrate both the attacks and our defense using ODMRP, a representative multicast protocol for wireless mesh networks, and SPP, an adaptation of the well-known ETX unicast metric to the multicast setting.
A neural basis for social cooperation

Cooperation based on reciprocal altruism has evolved in only a small number of species, yet it constitutes the core behavioral principle of human social life. The iterated Prisoner's Dilemma Game has been used to model this form of cooperation. We used fMRI to scan 36 women as they played an iterated Prisoner's Dilemma Game with another woman to investigate the neurobiological basis of cooperative social behavior. Mutual cooperation was associated with consistent activation in brain areas that have been linked with reward processing: nucleus accumbens, the caudate nucleus, ventromedial frontal/orbitofrontal cortex, and rostral anterior cingulate cortex. We propose that activation of this neural network positively reinforces reciprocal altruism, thereby motivating subjects to resist the temptation to selfishly accept but not reciprocate favors.
MIES: a microarchitecture design tool

This paper describes MIES, a design tool for the modeling, visualization, and analysis of VLSI microarchitectures. MIES combines a graphical data path model and symbolic control model and provides a number of user interfaces which allow these models to be created, simulated, and evaluated.
Design of a bioreactor to cyclically strain tissue engineered blood vessel rings

Cyclic mechanical loading improves strength and extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis in tissue engineered blood vessels (TEBV). The goal of this project was to design a device to impart cyclic circumferential stretch on cell-derived TEBV rings cultured on flexible silicone tubing. During static inflation tests, the tubing diameter increased by 10±1.6%. Our device cyclically displaces water (75 µl volume) to inflate tubing at a frequency of 1 Hz. TEBV rings were loaded onto silicone tubing and subjected to mechanical conditioning for 3–7 days. Structural analysis of conditioned TEBV ring samples (compared to statically cultured control rings) is in progress.
Gallbladder duplication: evaluation, treatment, and classification☆☆☆

Duplicate gallbladder is a rare congenital anomaly resulting from abnormalities in embryogenesis during the fifth and sixth weeks of gestation. Approximately 210 cases have been described. Variations include duplicate, triplicate, and septated gallbladder. We encountered a 15-year-old girl with both a duplicated gallbladder and a duplicated cystic duct who underwent successful laparoscopic cholecystectomy. This combination is extremely unusual, and based upon our findings in this case and a review of the literature, we propose the Unified Classification of Multiple Gallbladders.
Pediatric Cardiomyopathy as a Chronic Disease: A Perspective on Comprehensive Care Programs

Substantial numbers of children with cardiomyopathy are now surviving into adulthood, making it essentially a chronic disease. As a chronic condition, it may be best treated through comprehensive, multidisciplinary treatment programs. Such programs have improved health outcomes and reduced costs in managing other pediatric chronic diseases and heart failure in adults, but the treatment and cost implications of programs for managing pediatric cardiomyopathy are unknown. We investigated the treatment and cost implications of establishing such programs by reviewing cost-effectiveness studies of similar programs, estimating the current inpatient costs of this diagnosis, and interviewing experts in the field about the need and desirability of these programs. According to our findings, comprehensive pediatric heart failure programs do exist, but they have not been evaluated or even described in the literature. Consensus among experts in the field is that such programs are highly desirable, and similar programs have reported tremendous cost savings through early and intensive management: the return on investment has been as high as 22 to 1. Another study reported that mean length of stay decreased from 83.9 to 10.6 days, mean annual admissions decreased from 2,796 to 1,622, and median hospital charges decreased from $26.1 million to $14.6 million. In conclusion, limited experience and strong circumstantial evidence suggest that, despite substantial costs, comprehensive multidisciplinary pediatric heart failure programs would be highly cost-effective and beneficial to patients, families, and institutions alike.
The DEAD/DEAH box helicase, DDX11, is essential for the survival of advanced melanomas.

Background Despite continuous efforts to identify genes that are pivotal regulators of advanced melanoma and closely related to it, to determine which of these genes have to be blocked in their function to keep this highly aggressive disease in check, it is far from clear which molecular pathway(s) and specific genes therein, is the Achilles’ heel of primary and metastatic melanoma. In this report, we present data, which document that the DEAD-box helicase DDX11, which is required for sister chromatid cohesion, is a crucial gatekeeper for melanoma cell survival.
Integration of defocus and focus analysis with stereo for 3D shape recovery

Image defocus analysis (IDA), image focus analysis (IFA), and stereo image analysis (SIA), are integrated for recovering the three-dimensional (3D) shape of objects. Integrating IDA, IFA, and SIA, has important advantages because IDA and IFA are less accurate than stereo but they do not suffer from the correspondence problem associated with stereo. Therefore, a rough 3D shape is first obtained using IDA and IFA without encountering the correspondence problem. The amount of computation and accuracy at this stage is optimized by using IDA first and then the IFA. Accuracy is further improved by projecting a high contrast pattern on to the object of interest. The rough shape thus obtained is used in a stereo matching algorithm to solve the correspondence problem efficiently. The amount of computation in matching is reduced since the search for correspondence is done in a narrow image region determined by the approximate shape. Also, the knowledge of approximate shape improves the matching accuracy by minimizing false matches due to occlusion. The method for integrating IDA, IFA, and SIA is presented in detail. The method has been implemented on a vision system named SVIS. Experimental results of the method are presented.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
A SEMIEMPIRICAL MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICAL MODEL OF THE SOLAR WIND

We present a new MHD model for simulating the large-scale structure of the solar corona and solar wind under "steady state" conditions stemming from the Wang-Sheeley-Arge empirical model. The processes of turbulent heating in the solar wind are parameterized using a phenomenological, thermodynamical model with a varied polytropic index. We employ the Bernoulli integral to bridge the asymptotic solar wind speed with the assumed distribution of the polytropic index on the solar surface. We successfully reproduce the mass flux from Sun to Earth, the temperature structure, and the large-scale structure of the magnetic field. We reproduce the solar wind speed bimodal structure in the inner heliosphere. However, the solar wind speed is in a quantitative agreement with observations at 1 AU for solar maximum conditions only. The magnetic field comparison demonstrates that the input magnetogram needs to be multiplied by a scaling factor in order to obtain the correct magnitude at 1 AU.
Distribution of Blood Flow to the Layers of the Small Bowel in Experimental Cholera

Rate, distribution, and volume of blood flow to the layers of the small bowel were determined by analysis of multiexponential clearance curves recorded after intraarterial instillation of 133xenon in saline into secondary ileal arcades in 12 dogs. Each clearance curve was factored into four components: (1) countercurrent flow, (2) mucosal-submucosal flow, (3) muscular layer flow, and (4) mesenteric fat layer flow. In each animal, the same segment of ileum was studied empty, while producing choleraic effluent (cholera enterotoxin—Wyeth lot 001), and while producing effluent with mean arterial blood pressure reduced 50% by phlebotomy. Under normotensive conditions, no significant difference in blood flow rate or volume was found when empty ileum was compared with choleraic ileum. With shock, effluent production continued at the same rate. Although marked changes in the volume and distribution of blood flow to the bowel wall occurred, these changes were no greater than those reported for shock alone. These findings indicate that the role of the microcirculation in experimental cholera is of secondary importance.
Androgen receptor splice variant, AR-V7, and resistance to enzalutamide and abiraterone in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

5001 Background: Androgen receptor splice variant-7 (AR-V7) is a truncated form of the androgen receptor that lacks the ligand-binding domain, the target of enzalutamide and abiraterone, but remain...
Pagan Pantheon of Old Kartli And its Defeat by Christianity According to Life of Saint Nino

According to the oldest Georgian writings and other sources of material culture, it is evident, that Christianity appears in Georgia with the background of historically existing religion imaginations. These imaginations arent alike: this is Georgian paganism, idolworship or luminary-worship, which is confluence with fire-worship, Mazdaism. Supposedly, Mazdaism was the official religion of the Royal Court in Kartli, when Christianity appeared there. The evidence of this fact is the existence of pantheon of Georgian pagan gods in Life of St. Nino. Gods, which are presented in this work (Armaz, Zaden, Gaz, Gaim, Ainina, Danina, Itrujan), have some resemblance with Zoroastrian deities and their worship in Georgian reality was confirmed since earlier time. It is obvious, that Christianity, from the moment of appearance in Georgia, at the same time opposed with these two sorts of Paganism: Georgian Paganism and Persian Mazdaism. That is why the elements of polemics toward these two religions seemed to appear together and by the same way. According to Life of St. Nino, after rising up a Christian cross in Kartli by St.Nino, pagan idols were destroyed by wind and thunder. It is remarkable, that the defeat of paganism in Georgia occurred according to the Christian thinking of the Middle Ages.
Association between elevated blood pressure and clinical response in patients treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy in phase I clinical trials.

e13506 Background: Relationship between elevated blood pressure and clinical response in patients with advanced cancers treated with anti-VEGF treatment was evaluated. Methods: We performed an analysis of 438 consecutive patients from 19 clinical trials treated with therapy that included an anti-VEGF agent starting January, 2006. Clinical response was determined by RECIST 1.0. Blood pressures (BP) were scored as shown in Table. BP scores were calculated from an average mean BP of all BP readings for each patient, taken at each visit, and then divided into time points: baseline, 4, 8 and 12 months. Other factor included number of medication. Scores at each time point were compared to baseline value and divided into: increasing, decreasing and stable. Chi-square was used to correlate increased BP scores with clinical response. Additional analysis was also done by using CTCAE v4.02 for grading of BP. Results: The median age was 57 years (13 to 88) and 54% were male; 10% of patients received more than one ant...
A Reality Check on Suicides in India

We study suicides in India by analyzing National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data over two decades and make some interesting and less known discoveries. (1) Health (mental and physical) concerns are the leading causes of suicides in India, accounting for over 20% of all suicides (2) Bankruptcy and indebtedness account for less than 5% of all suicides; (3) Housewives comprise the largest share of suicides (18%), while farmers comprise 11% (4) Suicides among most demographics are declining over time and farmer suicides are declining the fastest.
Schneiderman, Perkins, and the early labor movement

Purpose – This paper aims to depict the pivotal role played by Rose Schneiderman and Frances Perkins in early twentieth-century labor and safety reform in the USA. The paper also examines the contributions made by these notable women through the lens of stakeholder theory and the feminist ethic of care. Design/methodology/approach – The review process commenced with a comprehensive search for women in history who advocated labor and safety reform and campaigned for safer organizational practices in the workplace. History books, academic journals and newspaper articles, including writings from Schneiderman and Perkins, were the main sources used for this research endeavor. Findings – Schneiderman and Perkins were both instrumental in playing a major role in fighting for labor and safety reform in the early twentieth century, albeit in different ways. Through their work, there was a heightened understanding of organizations’ duties and obligations to their stakeholders and, in particular, to their employees...
Wave-current interaction effect on sediment dispersal in a shallow semi-enclosed basin

ABSTRACT Sclavo, M., Benetazzo, A., Carniel, S., Bergamasco, A., Falcieri, F.M., and Bonaldo, D., 2013. Wave-current interaction effect on sediment dispersal in a shallow semi-enclosed basin The shallow northern Adriatic Sea (namely Gulf of Venice) serves as a model for exploring the interaction of surface gravity waves and oceanic currents and how they influence bottom sediment dispersal and bathymetry evolution. This wave-current interaction effect is investigated using the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere–Wave–Sediment Transport (COAWST) modeling system. COAWST relies on the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS), the Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) model, and the CSTMS (Community Sediment Transport Modeling System) models and routines. The 2-way data transfer between wave and ocean circulation models is synchronous via MCT (Model Coupling Toolkit), with ROMS providing to SWAN the 2-D current field, free surface elevation, and bathymetry. COAWST modeling system is implemented on two computational grids at dif...
The Sexual History Provisions in the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 — A Violation of the Right to a Fair Trial?:

In response to the Home Office recommendations contained in Speaking Up for Justice (1998) the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act (YJCEA) 1999 introduced a new regime for the conduct of sexual offence trials. Section 41 of the Act, which came into force on 4 December 2000, brings about dramatic changes to the rules on the admissibility of evidence of complainants' sexual behaviour, severely restricting the discretion of trial judges to introduce such evidence or to allow questioning concerning it. This represents a radical new departure that will fundamentally affect an accused's position at trial. Responses to section 41 have predictably been divided given the extremely sensitive nature of this area of the law of evidence and the complex set of social and political issues which are at stake. Many have greeted it as a long overdue reform of a system premised upon outmoded and sexist beliefs concerning women's sexual behaviour which has routinely functioned to admit prejudicial and irrelevant evidence. Others, predominantly within the legal profession, have expressed serious concerns over whether the new law is workable and the extent to which, by potentially excluding critically relevant evidence, it may infringe upon a defendant's right to a fair trial. The quality of the legislation is soon to be tested. On 26 and 27 March 2001 the House of Lords heard an interlocutory appeal in the case of R v. A and were asked to decide if the new provisions, by excluding previous sexual history evidence between the complainant and the defendant, contravened Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights. Their Lordships are, at the time of writing, yet to give judgment and the fate of the defendant in question, and several others whose trials have been postponed pending their decision, hangs in the balance. This article seeks to show that the new Act, despite being well-intentioned, does not adopt a coherent or sustainable approach to the relevance of previous sexual history evidence and the restrictive nature of its provisions are such that genuinely relevant material will be rendered inadmissible. This creates the risk of disembodying the case before the jury and raises the significant possibility that miscarriages of justice will occur. As a consequence, unless the legislation can be read down in such a way as to reintroduce a measure of judicial discretion to admit such evidence, a declaration of incompatibility may be called for.
Mechanistic Insight into the Protective Action of Bis(oxalato)borate and Difluoro(oxalate)borate Anions in Li-Ion Batteries.

Lithium bis(oxalato)borate (LiBOB) and lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate (LiDFOB) are uniquely efficient as electrolyte additives in carbonate-based Li-ion batteries. Electrochemical redox reactions of these anions facilitate the formation of robust solid-electrolyte interphases (SEIs) at the graphite and oxide electrodes. We used electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy to demonstrate that oxidation of these anions causes the elimination of a carbon dioxide molecule and the formation of a stable acyl radical, whereas the reduction of these anions results in the loss of oxalate (for BOB) or fluoride anions (for DFOB) and the concurrent formation of oxalatoboryl adducts. The latter species enters a previously identified radical cycle implicated in SEI formation. Recombination of the acyl radicals at the oxide–electrolyte interface yields difluoroborane dimers that (being strong Lewis acids) form strong B–O bonds with oxygens at the surface, thereby passivating the electrode and preventing oxidation...
Effect of 2,4-Dinitrophenol on Replication of Poliovirus in HeLa Cells.∗:

SummaryPolio virus was found to replicate in HeLa cells treated with critical concentrations of 2,4-dinitrophenol which markedly stimulated oxygen uptake and glucose utilization under aerobic conditions. The time required before a change in rate of respiration of infected cells became apparent was similar in absence or presence of DNP, indicating that this substance did not alter the latent period of virus synthesis. Apparently the uncoupling effect on aerobic phosphorylating systems is compensated for by increased glycolysis and the concomitant fixation of phosphorous by systems not effected by DNP.
Perinatal midline astrocyte development is impaired in fibroblast growth factor 8 hypomorphic mice

Our previous studies showed that Fgf8 mutations can cause Kallmann syndrome (KS), a form of congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, in which patients do not undergo puberty and are infertile. Interestingly, some KS patients also have agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC) suggesting that KS pathology is not limited to reproductive function. Here, we asked whether FGF8 dysfunction is the underlying cause of ACC in some KS patients. Indeed, early studies in transgenic mice with Fgf8 mutations reported the presence of failed or incomplete corpus callosum formation. Additional studies in transgenic mice showed that FGF8 function most likely prevents the prenatal elimination of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-immunoreactive (IR) glial cells in the indusium griseum (IG) and midline zipper (MZ), two anterior-dorsal midline regions required for corpus callosum formation (i.e., between embryonic days (E) 15.5-18.5). Here, we tested the hypothesis that FGF8 function is critical for the survival of the GFAP-IR midline glial cells. First, we measured the incidence of apoptosis in the anterior-dorsal midline region in Fgf8 hypomorphic mice during embryonic corpus callosum formation. Second, we quantified the GFAP expression in the anterior-dorsal midbrain region during pre- and postnatal development, in order to study: 1) how Fgf8 hypomorphy disrupts prenatal GFAP-IR midline glial cell development, and 2) whether Fgf8 hypomorphy continues to disrupt postnatal GFAP-IR midline glial cell development. Our results indicate that perinatal FGF8 signaling is important for the timing of the onset of anterior-dorsal Gfap expression in midline glial cells suggesting that FGF8 function regulates midline GFAP-IR glial cell development, which when disrupted by Fgf8 deficiency prevents the formation of the corpus callosum. These studies provide an experimentally-based mechanistic explanation as to why corpus callosum formation may fail in KS patients with deficits in FGF signaling.
An Algorithmic Anatomical Subunit Approach to Pelvic Wound Reconstruction.

BACKGROUND Prior radiation therapy, pelvic dead space, and a dependent location contribute to perineal dehiscence rates as high as 66 percent after primary closure of pelvic wounds. Various regional flaps have been described to reconstruct pelvic defects, but an algorithmic pairing of individual flaps to specific anatomical regions has not been described. METHODS A retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database was performed to identify consecutive pelvic reconstructions from 2010 to 2013 with at least 6 months' follow-up. Pelvic defects and resulting flaps were described by anatomical subunits involved: anterolateral thigh flap for mons, gracilis flap for labia majora and introitus, vertical rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap for vagina and/or perineal raphe, and gluteus musculocutaneous flap for isolated perianal defects. RESULTS Twenty-seven women and three men underwent consecutive pelvic reconstruction with a mean age of 60 years (range, 26 to 83 years) and a mean body mass index of 28 kg/m(2) (range, 17 to 40 kg/m(2)). Twenty-one patients (70 percent) had prior radiation therapy. In total, 45 flaps were performed according to the subunit principle. Three patients had a minor dehiscence (<5 cm), one patient had a major dehiscence, and one required reoperation for abscess. There were two partial flap losses necessitating debridement and readvancement of the flap. Twenty-five percent of female patients were sexually active after vaginal reconstruction. CONCLUSIONS The pelvic subunit principle provides an effective algorithm for choosing the ideal pedicled flap for each region involved in acquired pelvic defects. This algorithm is based on individual attributes that make each flap most appropriate for each subunit. Complications were minimal and patient satisfaction with appearance and function was excellent.
Effects of gastrin-releasing peptide and analogues on guinea pig nasal mucosal secretion

The effects of gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP), bombesin, GRP-(1–16) and GRP-(21–27) on guinea pig nasal mucosal secretion were studied in vivo. GRP, bombesin, and GRP-(21–27) induced significant secretion of total protein, albumin, and alkaline phosphatase. GRP induced significant secretion at lower concentrations (10(-11) and 10(-10) M) than were required for bombesin and GRP-(21–27) (10(-7) M). GRP-(1–16) did not stimulate secretion, indicating that the COOH-terminal region of GRP contained the secretagogic principle. Capsaicin, a stimulant of nociceptive sensory nerves, stimulated GRP release into nasal secretions. These data suggest that GRP is present in guinea pig nasal mucosa and that the COOH-terminal region of GRP may regulate mucosal macromolecule secretion.
Soft Markov Chain Relations For Modeling Safety Management

This paper addresses the safety effects of organizational and operational factors, showing that they can be quantitatively measured. The work grew out of a preponderance of evidence that the safety “culture” (attitude of employees and management toward safety) was frequently one of the major root causes behind accidents or safety-relevant failures. The approach is called “Markov latent effects” analysis, and is based on a “Markov chain relations” structure that evolves from “Reason” (James Reason) models and Markov (A. A. Markov) probabilistic chained transitions. Since safety also depends on a multitude of factors that are best measured through well known risk analysis methods (e.g., fault trees, event trees, FMECA, physical response modeling, etc.), the Markov latent effects approach supplements and can be combined with conventional safety assessment methods.
Effect of substrate smoothness on the microstructure of YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7–x /Y 2 O 3 /YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7–x trilayers

Transmission electron microscopy was used to analyze the microstructure of YBa2Cu3O7−x/Y2O3/YBa2Cu3O7−x trilayer structures deposited by off-axis sputtering on MgO substrates with varying degrees of roughness. Substrate surface hillocks with a peak-to-valley height of about 4.5 nm were found to contribute to strain that extended through the film and disrupted the smoothness of the Y2O3 layer. In some cases, these hillocks served as nucleation sites for yttria precipitates. Such defects may seriously jeopardize the realization of weak-link Josephson junctions.
Natural Rights and the Right to Choose: On the Things the Founders Knew – and How Our Judges Came to Forget Them

The city of Cincinnati can be an engaging place, but federal judge Arthur Spiegel also found, in the mid 1990s, that it could be quite a vexing place. The city council of Cincinnati passed what was called the Human Rights Ordinance of 1992, which barred virtually all species of discrimination – including discrimination on the basis of “Appalachian origin.” But the bill also encompassed a bar on discriminations based on “sexual orientation.” That kind of bill, in other places, had been turned into a club to be used against evangelical Christians, who might refuse, on moral grounds, to rent space in their homes to gay or lesbian couples. And so a movement arose in Cincinnati, modeled on a similar movement in Colorado, to override the ordinance passed by the council: This would not be a referendum merely to repeal the law, but a move to amend the charter of the municipal government and remove, from the hands of the local legislature, the authority to pass bills of this kind. In effect, it was a move to override an ordinary statute by changing the constitution of the local government. The amendment did not seek to make homosexual acts the grounds for criminal prosecutions. It sought rather to bar any attempt to make gay and lesbian orientation the ground for special advantages or quotas or the standing of a preferred “minority.” The framers objected to the tendency to treat gays and lesbians on the same plane as those groups that suffered discriminations based on race, religion, or gender.
Processes, Distributions, and Independence

Random elements and processes, finite-dimensional distributions, expectation and covariance, moments and tails, Jensen’s inequality, independence, pairwise independence and grouping, product measures and convolution, iterated expectation, Kolmogorov and Hewitt–Savage 0−1 laws, Borel–Cantelli lemma, replication and Bernoulli sequences, kernel representation, Holder continuity, multi-variate distributions
An economic comparison of a number of systems proposed for EHV underground power transmission

We recently presented a comparison of the economics of paper-oil insulated pipe-type cables with those of a conceptual polymer-fluid cable of similar design for use in the EHV range from 345 to 700 kV.1 In the present work we have extended our calculations to cover a number of other systems currently under consideration for obtaining larger blocks of power at lower cost. These include pressurized SF 6 rigid pipe, direct buried (or self-contained) paper-oil, and polymer-fluid and integral cooling of both paper and polymer using flowing water. It is the object of this paper to compare the economics of all these systems under as nearly as possible a consistent set of cost assumptions.
Determining Barriers to Use of Edible School Gardens in Illinois.

ABSTRACTObjective: The objective of this study was to gather data regarding the awareness, perceived benefits, interest in, and barriers to establishment of edible school gardens in Illinois public schools.Method: Setting/Design: This study used an online survey design. Participants: Participants included Illinois public elementary school principals and superintendents. Variables measured: Region and community population, current edible garden use, perception (Likert scale) of garden benefits, interest in establishment of a school edible garden, and barriers to establishment of a school edible garden were the variables of interest.Analyses: Logit regression and Kruskal-Wallis with follow-up where p < 0.05 were performed.Results: Elementary school principals and superintendents are aware of gardens and their potential benefits to students, but many barriers exist that make their use challenging. Funding, staff and volunteer support, and class time were identified as the major barriers. Region affected like...
Vibration-based identification of interphase properties in long fiber reinforced composites

Abstract The interphase properties of fiber-reinforced composite materials affect significantly the dynamic behavior of the material, and hence they have to be accounted for accurately. However, the small thickness of the interphase makes it hard to measure precisely its properties directly. In this paper, a new approach is proposed to determine the properties of the interphase by using the vibratory response of coupons made of the composite material. A model obtained from first principles combining Euler-Bernoulli beam theory and the strain energy method is used to identify interphase properties from experimental data. The model of a vibrating cantilevered beam is parameterized to obtain effective properties of the material, which include the interphase properties. The identified interphase properties are verified using composites with different fiber volume fractions. It is found that the predicted vibration response matches very well the experimental measurements; hence, the proposed approach is feasible to characterize the interphase properties.
Bile cast syndrome: Diagnosis and management, a case series.

Background and study aims Bile cast syndrome (BCS) is a complication of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). It occurs in 4 % to 18 % of OLT recipients and can present as cholangitis and graft damage or loss. Twenty-two percent of patients with BCS require repeat OLT. The diagnosis and management of BCS can be challenging. Our aim is to share our experience with BCS and to briefly review the diagnosis and management of the condition.
Improving antibiotic prophylaxis in gastrointestinal surgery patients: A quality improvement project

Background A surgical site infection (SSI) is a frequent complication following gastrointestinal surgery, but the careful selection and administration of prophylactic antibiotics can reduce the risk. The aim of this study was to develop a package of interventions that could be used to improve surgical antibiotic prophylaxis (SAP) at our institution.
A phase I clinical trial of binimetinib in combination with FOLFOX in patients with advanced metastatic colorectal cancer who failed prior standard therapy.

// May Cho 1, * , Jun Gong 1, * , Paul Frankel 2 , Timothy W. Synold 3 , Dean Lim 1 , Vincent Chung 1 , Joseph Chao 1 , Daneng Li 1 , Yuan Chen 4 , Stephen Sentovich 5 , Kurt Melstrom 5 , Gagandeep Singh 5 , Eloise Luevanos 1 and Marwan Fakih 1 1 Department of Medical Oncology, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA 2 Department of Statistics, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA 3 Department of Cancer Biology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA, USA 4 Department of Molecular Medicine, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA, USA 5 Department of Surgical Oncology, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, USA * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Marwan Fakih, email: mfakih@coh.org Keywords: binimetinib, MEK inhibitor, FOLFOX, metastatic colorectal cancer, refractory disease Received: May 12, 2017 Accepted: June 30, 2017 Published: July 18, 2017 ABSTRACT Background: This was a first in-human, open-label, dose-escalation phase I study conducted to evaluate the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), safety, and efficacy of the combination of oral binimetinib and FOLFOX. Materials and Methods: Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) who progressed on prior standard therapies received twice daily binimetinib continuously or intermittently with FOLFOX. Dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) were assessed in the first 2 cycles of study treatment. Pharmacokinetic (PK) analysis of 5-FU and oxaliplatin was performed at the MTD in an expanded 6 patient cohort. Results: Twenty-six patients were enrolled and assessed for safety. In the dose-escalation phase, no DLTs were noted in all binimetinib dosing schedules and the MTD of binimetinib in with FOLFOX was 45 mg orally twice daily. There were no significant differences in the PKs of 5-FU or oxaliplatin with or without binimetinib. Continuous dosing of binimetinib produced SD at 2 months in 9 of 13 evaluable patients and a median PFS of 3.5 months. Nine of 10 patients had PD at 2 months on the intermittent arm. Conclusions: Oral binimetinib and FOLFOX has a manageable toxicity profile and showed some evidence of antitumor activity in heavily pretreated mCRC patients.
Applications of Signal Detection Theory in Monitoring Performance and Medical Diagnosis

Signal detection theory (SDT) provides a means for distinguishing between accuracy and decision strategies in evaluating observer performance in decision-making tasks. This is useful in determining...
Recent advances and comparisons between harmonic balance and Volterra-based nonlinear frequency response analysis methods

Harmonic balance and Volterra-based analysis methods are well known, but the capabilities of these methods have been limited by significant issues of complexity which either constrain their application to relatively simple cases, or limit the accuracy of analysis in more complex cases. This study briefly summarizes recent results which effectively extend the capabilities of both harmonic balance and Volterra-based analysis by making complex analyses much more feasible. The new capabilities and performance of the two approaches are then evaluated and compared using benchmark case studies of a Duffing oscillator and a nonlinear automotive damper. The results offer new insights and lead to different conclusions on the relative merits of harmonic balance versus Volterra-based analysis relative to prior studies and similar benchmark analyses.