cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Genomewide scan for real-word reading subphenotypes of dyslexia: Novel chromosome 13 locus and genetic complexity

Dyslexia is a common learning disability exhibited as a delay in acquiring reading skills despite adequate intelligence and instruction. Reading single real words (real-word reading, RWR) is especially impaired in many dyslexics. We performed a genome scan, using variance components (VC) linkage analysis and Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) joint segregation and linkage analysis, for three quantitative measures of RWR in 108 multigenerational families, with follow up of the strongest signals with parametric LOD score analyses. We used single-word reading efficiency (SWE) to assess speed and accuracy of RWR, and word identification (WID) to assess accuracy alone. Adjusting SWE for WID provided a third measure of RWR efficiency. All three methods of analysis identified a strong linkage signal for SWE on chromosome 13q. Based on multipoint analysis with 13 markers we obtained a MCMC intensity ratio (IR) of 53.2 (chromosome-wide P < 0.004), a VC LOD score of 2.29, and a parametric LOD score of 2.94, based on a quantitative-trait model from MCMC segregation analysis (SA). A weaker signal for SWE on chromosome 2q occurred in the same location as a significant linkage peak seen previously in a scan for phonological decoding. MCMC oligogenic SA identified three models of transmission for WID, which could be assigned to two distinct linkage peaks on chromosomes 12 and 15. Taken together, these results indicate a locus for efficiency and accuracy of RWR on chromosome 13, and a complex model for inheritance of RWR accuracy with loci on chromosomes 12 and 15. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Polysaccharide reserve material in the acetotrophic methanogen, Methanosarcina thermophila strain TM-1: accumulation and mobilization

The ability of Methanosarcina thermophila strain TM-1 to store a reserve polysaccharide was studied using both biochemical methods and thin-section electron microscopy. When grown under conditions of excess carbon and energy (either methanol or acetate) and limiting nitrogen, M. thermophila accumulated a polysaccharide which could be hydrolyzed to glucose by the enzyme amyloglucosidase. This polysaccharide reached levels of 20 mg polysaccharide per g protein in nitrogen-limited cells, while cells limited for carbon, as well as cells in the exponential phase of growth, did not accumulate significant amounts of this polysaccharide. Thin-section electron micrographs of M. thermophila showed glycogen-like inclusion granules in nitrogen-limited cells but not in carbon-limited or exponential-phase cells. These granules were stained by a polysaccharide-specific staining procedure, the PATO stain. The polysaccharide was purified from cell extracts, the iodine-polysaccharide complex gave a maximum absorption at between 500 and 510 nm. The polysaccharide was mobilized within 21 h by cells starved for a carbon/energy source. N-Limited (polysaccharide-containing) acetategrown cells could shift to methanogenesis from methanol more quickly than did C-limited acetate-grown cells lacking polysaccharide, and ATP levels remained higher in N-limited cells. The results are consistant with the hypothesis that this polysaccharide can provide carbon and energy for metabolic shifts but other storage compounds, such as polyphosphate, may also play a similar role.
Damage Reconnaissance and Seismic Response Prediction of an East Coast U.S. Building Subjected to 2011 Virginia Earthquake

During the 2011 Mineral, Virginia Earthquake the Smithsonian Institute Museum Support Center (MSC) sustained considerable structural damage. An in-depth study was conducted to investigate the behavior of MSC during this earthquake and its potential implication on seismic risk of East Coast U.S. structures. The damage sustained by this building is documented and it is observed that the severity of damage is not uniformly distributed in the floor plan. A finite element model is created to perform the seismic response prediction using recorded ground motions in order to explain the cause of structural damage. A field vibration test was conducted to capture the dynamic characteristics of the building which are in turn used to calibrate the finite element model. Results from seismic analysis reveal that the main reason for seismic damage is local soil amplification and combined torsional and translational effects due to an eccentric floor mass distribution relative to the center of rigidity (CR) of the floor plan.
Breast cancer and human immunodeficiency virus: a report of 20 cases.

Abstract Carcinoma of the breast is the most common malignancy in women in the United States. More than 40% of patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection develop cancer during their illness, but breast cancer has seldom been reported. Twenty patients with breast cancer and HIV infection seen at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital between January 1988 and August 2000 were retrospectively analyzed. Seventeen patients had a previous or concurrent diagnosis of HIV at the time of the breast cancer diagnosis. Their CD4 count ranged from 13-1126/μL (median, 309/μL). Most patients were premenopausal (16 of 20), with ages ranging from 31-61 years (median, 44 years). All stages of breast cancer were seen: ductal carcinoma in situ (2 patients), stage I (1 patient), stage II (9 patients), stage III (6 patients), and stage IV (2 patients). Ten tumors had estrogen receptors. Four of the 13 patients who underwent axillary lymph node dissection had abnormal lymph node findings, including 2 with follicular hyperplasia and 2 with caseating granulomas. Seven patients received chemotherapy with very poor tolerance. Estrogen receptor– positive patients were treated with tamoxifen. Of the 18 patients who presented with local disease, 7 have died: 2 of breast cancer, 4 of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, and 1 of cardiac arrest. Nine patients remain free of disease (5 of them > 5 years) and 2 patients are alive with metastatic disease. Breast cancer in the HIV-positive population is similar to that seen in seronegative women. Most of the patients that are long-term survivors were treated with surgery and tamoxifen. The benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy are not clear.
Particle and Vapor Deposition in Coal-Fired Gas Turbines

Mechanistic models have been developed for particle and vapor deposition on the blades of coal-fired gas turbines. The particle deposition models include the simultaneous contribution of Brownian and turbulent diffusion, thermophoresis, eddy impaction, and inertial impingement. The diffusive mechanisms have been validated against experimental data for low-speed cascade flow and particle-laden flow through pipes. The inertial deposition treatment is shown to collapse to the well-known expression for particle capture in a flow turning around a bend. A method is presented for calculating Na/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ and K/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ vapor deposition on cooled blades. Scaling laws are formulated for estimating the contribution of boundary layer homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation mechanism for highly cooled turbine blades.
The short pulse carbon dioxide laser versus the colorado needle tip with electrocautery for upper and lower eyelid blepharoplasty.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Various techniques for blepharoplasty have been described, including those performed with the assistance of the short pulse carbon dioxide laser and those performed with the assistance of the Colorado microdissection needle attached to an electrocautery unit. Although the superiority of the carbon dioxide laser to cold steel has been demonstrated for the performance of eyelid blepharoplasty, no studies have ever compared the carbon dioxide laser to the Colorado needle. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a paired comparison study in which 12 healthy patients underwent bilateral blepharoplasty of their upper and/or lower eyelids by a single surgeon. For each patient, a short pulse carbon dioxide laser was used on one side, and a Colorado needle attached to an electrocautery unit was used on the other. Intraoperative times were recorded. At five post-operative visits patients were evaluated for post-operative healing parameters including edema, erythema, scar width, and bruising. Finally, excised tissue was assessed histologically for thermal damage. RESULTS: Comparing both techniques, no difference in patient or physician-measured parameters of healing were noted up to 1 month post-operatively. However, Colorado needle assisted blepharoplasty resulted in slightly shorter intraoperative times. It also resulted in less thermal damage on a histologic level, although these differences were not clinically significant. CONCLUSIONS: For the performance of blepharoplasty, the Colorado needle tip with electrocautery offers benefits equivalent to those of the short pulsed CO2 laser but has the advantage of shorter intraoperative times and lower cost.
Vitamin Profile of 563 Gravidas during Trimesters of Pregnancy

Objective: Gestation imposes metabolic stress on the mother which heightens as pregnancy progresses. The need for quantifying circulating vitamins is important for identifying pitfalls in metabolic imbalance and nutritional status. For this reason we wanted to analyze blood vitamin concentrations of B12, thiamin, biotin, pantothenate, B6, niacin, riboflavin, folate, vitamins A, C, E and total carotenes to determine if imbalances occur during the trimesters of pregnancy.Methods: We randomly selected 563 gravidas who volunteered for this study from the obstetrical clinic of New Jersey Medical School; 132 were in 1st trimester, 198 were in 2nd trimester, and 233 were in 3rd trimester. All were healthy, taking a good diet and supplemented with vitamins. Blood, from an antecubital vein, was analyzed for thiamin, biotin, B12, B6, pantothenate, riboflavin, nicotinate, folates, vitamins A, E, C and total carotenes. Gravidas were classified as being normovitaminemic, hypervitaminemic or hypovitaminemic compared wi...
Laser photoionization and spectroscopy of gas phase silver clusters

Silver clusters containing up to 40–50 atoms are produced by laser vaporization in a pulsed-nozzle molecular beam source and studied with laser photoionization mass spectroscopy. A variety of Nd:YAG pumped dye laser and UV excimer laser wavelengths are used to achieve ionization. Ionization dynamics are studied by varying the laser wavelength and fluence. Bracketing experiments under single-photon ionization conditions are used to estimate ionization potentials as a function of cluster size. An even-odd ionization potential alternation is observed with odd-numbered clusters (N=3, 5, 7 ...) having lower ionization potentials than adjacent even-numbered species. Shell closings at clusters containing 2, 8 20 and 40 electrons are observed consistent with a one-electron shell model picture of cluster electronic structure. Resonance-enhanced ionization produces a vibrationally resolved spectrum for the trimer, Ag3, yielding an electronic state assignment and excited state vibrational frequencies. Fragmentation in dimer ionization via theE state at 249 nm establishes the dissociation energy of Ag2+ to be <2.1 eV.
LOCALIZATION OF AN EPITOPE OF A CALCIUM-DEPENDENT MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY TO THE N-TERMINAL REGION OF THE GLA DOMAIN OF HUMAN FACTOR VII

The epitope of a calcium-dependent murine monoclonal antibody specific for human factor VII (Thim et.al., Biochemistry (1988) 27, 7785-7793) has been determined. Site-directed mutagenesis of residues 3 through 10 of factor VII eliminates the binding of this antibody but does not disturb the binding of a second antibody which binds nearby.
Reflection coefficient of phonons between 15 and 315 GHz at a crystal—liquid-helium interface

Abstract The frequency dependence of the reflection coefficient was measured for transverse phonons scattered at a SrF2 cleaved surface covered by bulk liquid He4 using a tuneable phonon spectrometer. The reflection coefficient changes monotonically from a value which is greater than 98% at 20 GHz to less than 50% around 120 GHz and is frequency independent between 120 and 315 GHz. The data were essentially temperature independent between 1.4 and 2 K.
Effect of combined treatment with methylprednisolone and soluble Nogo‐66 receptor after rat spinal cord injury

Methylprednisolone (MP) is a synthetic glucocorticoid used for the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI). Soluble Nogo-66 receptor (NgR) ectodomain is a novel experimental therapy for SCI that promotes axonal regeneration by blocking the growth inhibitory effects of myelin constituents in the adult central nervous system. To evaluate the potential complementarity of these mechanistically distinct pharmacological reagents we compared their effects alone and in combination after thoracic (T7) dorsal hemisection in the rat. Treatment with an ecto-domain of the rat NgR (27–310) fused to a rat IgG [NgR(310)ecto-Fc] (50 μM intrathecal, 0.25 μL/h for 28 days) or MP alone (30 mg/kg i.v., 0, 4 and 8 h postinjury) improved the rate and extent of functional recovery measured using Basso, Beattie, Bresnahan (BBB) scoring and footprint analysis. The effect of MP treatment on BBB score was apparent the day after SCI whereas the effect of NgR(310)ecto-Fc was not apparent until 2 weeks after SCI. NgR(310)ecto-Fc or MP treatment resulted in increased axonal sprouting and/or regeneration, quantified by counting biotin dextran amine-labeled corticospinal tract axons, and increased the number of axons contacting motor neurons in the ventral horn gray matter caudal to the lesion. Combined treatment with NgR(310)ecto-Fc and MP had a more pronounced effect on recovery of function and axonal growth compared with either treatment alone. The data demonstrate that NgR(310)ecto-Fc and MP act in a temporally and mechanistically distinct manner and suggest that they may have complementary effects.
Distress tolerance and obsessions: an integrative analysis†

Background: Recent research implicates a potential relationship between poor distress tolerance (DT) and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and obsessions in particular, though this evidence has been largely indirect. We sought to examine the incremental and specific associations between DT and obsessions using multiple methodologies. Methods: We conducted three separate studies using independent nonclinical samples (total N=558) that involved cross-sectional (Study 1) and prospective self-report designs (Study 2), as well as the use of an in vivo neutralization task (Study 3). Results: Poor DT was specifically associated with obsessing but not other OCD symptoms, even when covarying for several theoretically relevant constructs. Further, poor DT was predictive of residual change in obsessing symptoms 1-month later. Poor DT was also associated with neutralization in response to an OCD-like intrusion and postneutralization period anxiety. Conclusions: These consistent findings provide support for an important relationship between DT and obsessions and suggest that interventions targeting DT may have special benefit for the treatment of obsessions. Depression and Anxiety, 2011. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The therapeutic alliance in cognitive-behavioral treatment of children referred for oppositional, aggressive, and antisocial behavior

The authors examined the therapeutic alliance in evidence-based treatment for children (N = 185, 47 girls, 138 boys; ages 3-14 years) referred clinically for oppositional, aggressive, and antisocial behavior. Different alliances (child-therapist, parent-therapist) were assessed from each participant's perspective at 2 points over the course of treatment. As predicted, both child-therapist and parent-therapist alliances related to therapeutic change, family experience of barriers to participation in treatment, and treatment acceptability. Greater alliance was associated with greater therapeutic change, fewer perceived barriers, and greater treatment acceptability. The findings could not be attributed to the influence of socioeconomic disadvantage, parent psychopathology and stress, and child dysfunction or to rater effects (common rater variance in the predictors and criteria).
Subsurface Geology of Iowa (Lower Mississippian) Series in Illinois

The Iowa, or lower Mississippian, series consists of the formations belonging to the Kinderhook, Osage, and Meramec groups. The Kinderhook group is made up almost entirely of shales with one or two thin limestones near the top. The Osage group is composed dominantly of silty shale and siltstone throughout the Illinois basin except in the extreme western and northwestern parts where the group can be separated into the typical Fern Glen, Burlington, Keokuk, and Warsaw formations. The Meramec group, consisting of the Salem, St. Louis, and Ste. Genevieve formations, is composed almost entirely of limestone and dolomite which lend themselves readily to separation by means of insoluble residues. The Iowa series reaches a maximum thickness of 2,000 feet in Gallatin County. This s probably due to thickening of the individual formations. Local variations in the thickness of the series and beveling of upper Iowa strata in Bond and Clark counties indicate some pre-Chester folding.
The validation of the GEWEX SRB surface shortwave flux data products using BSRN measurements: A systematic quality control, production and application approach

The NASA/GEWEX Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) project has produced a 24.5-year continuous record of global shortwave and longwave radiation fluxes at TOA and the Earth's surface from satellite measurements. The time span of the data is from July 1983 to December 2007, and the spatial resolution is 11 latitude11 longitude. The inputs of the latest version (Release 3.0) include the GEOS Version 4.0.3 meteorological information and cloud properties derived from ISCCP DX data. The SRB products are available on 3-hourly, 3-hourly-monthly, daily and monthly time scales. To assess the quality of the product, we extensively validated the SRB data against 5969 site-months of groundbased measurements from 52 Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) stations. This paper describes first the characteristics of the BSRN data and the GEWEX SRB data, the methodology for quality control and processing of the shortwave BSRN data, and then the systematic SRB-BSRN comparisons. It is found that, except for occasional extreme outliers as seen in scatter plots, the satellite-based surface radiation data generally agree very well with BSRN measurements. Specifically, the bias/RMS for the daily and monthly mean shortwave fluxes are, respectively, -3.6/35.5 and -5.2/23.3W1 m2 under all-sky conditions.
Self–other similarity judgment asymmetries reverse for people to whom you want to be similar

Abstract People typically judge themselves to be less similar to others than others are to themselves. The selective accessibility model [Mussweiler, T. (2003). Comparison process in social judgement: mechanical consequences. Psychological Review, 110, 472–489.] suggests that the direction of this self–other similarity asymmetry could reverse for comparison others to whom people want to be more similar. Motivation to be more similar is thought to prompt a focal hypothesis of similarity as opposed to dissimilarity, which influences the amount and kind of information accessed when making the judgment. A study found a typical asymmetry for comparison others to whom participants did not wish to be more similar, and a reversed asymmetry for comparison others to whom participants did wish to be more similar. The direction of the asymmetry was not dependent on whether participants knew a lot or a little about the comparison other.
Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) using Drosophila tissue.

Epigenetics remains a rapidly developing field that studies how the chromatin state contributes to differential gene expression in distinct cell types at different developmental stages. Epigenetic regulation contributes to a broad spectrum of biological processes, including cellular differentiation during embryonic development and homeostasis in adulthood. A critical strategy in epigenetic studies is to examine how various histone modifications and chromatin factors regulate gene expression. To address this, Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is used widely to obtain a snapshot of the association of particular factors with DNA in the cells of interest. ChIP technique commonly uses cultured cells as starting material, which can be obtained in abundance and homogeneity to generate reproducible data. However, there are several caveats: First, the environment to grow cells in Petri dish is different from that in vivo, thus may not reflect the endogenous chromatin state of cells in a living organism. Second, not all types of cells can be cultured ex vivo. There are only a limited number of cell lines, from which people can obtain enough material for ChIP assay. Here we describe a method to do ChIP experiment using Drosophila tissues. The starting material is dissected tissue from a living animal, thus can accurately reflect the endogenous chromatin state. The adaptability of this method with many different types of tissue will allow researchers to address a lot more biologically relevant questions regarding epigenetic regulation in vivo1, 2. Combining this method with high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) will further allow researchers to obtain an epigenomic landscape.
Cytoskeletons by the sea.

The ESF-EMBO meeting, 'Emergent Properties of the Cytoskeleton: Molecules to Cells', took place in October 2010 in San Feliu dex Guixols on the eastern coast of Spain. It brought together a diverse group of international cytoskeletal researchers who gave presentations on topics from structural biology and biophysical analyses of the cytoskeleton and its motors, to studies of the role of cytoskeletal proteins in multicellular development.
A Comparison of Chlorogenic Acid and Catechol as Substrates for the Polyphenol Oxidase from Tobacco and Mushroom.

It is reported that chlorogenic acid is widely distributed in plants (7) and is the principle poly phenol in tobacco leaves (8). When the tissues of the tobacco plant are injured, the polyphenols are oxidized and then polymerize, forming a brown pigment. This oxidation is reported to be catalyzed by polyphenol oxidase. Polyphenol oxidase has been identified in many species of plants and the enzyme from potato (3) and mushroom (2) has been investigated in some detail. In most cases the activity of the enzyme has been assayed by determination of the rate of oxidation of catechol using direct or indirect methods. Dawson et al (1) have presented curves indicating that rates of oxygen uptake in the presence of tobacco leaf extracts were greater when chlorogenic acid was used as a substrate than when either catechol or caffeic acid were utilized. These workers, however, did not indicate the concentrations of catechol or caffeic acid used. During the course of this investigation, it was found that the rate of oxidation of chlorogenic acid in the presence of a crude tobacco root extract was about 5-fold greater than the rate of oxidation of catechol. Conversely, the rate of oxidation of catechol catalyzed by a crude mushroom extract was about 6.5-fold greater than that with chlorogenic acid. The enzymes from both sources have been partially purified to determine whether or not more than one polyphenol oxidase was present in each of the extracts.
Conditioned inhibition of conditioned suppression

Conditioned inhibition of conditioned suppression was obtained. A food-reinforced response became suppressed during preshock CS, but not during the CS when paired with another stimulus (the conditioned inhibitor), with shock omitted. The conditioned inhibitor was shown to be a conditioned reinforcer.
The Fox1 ferroxidase of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: a new multicopper oxidase structural paradigm.

Multicopper oxidases (MCO) contain at least four copper atoms arrayed in three distinct ligand fields supported by two canonical structural features: (1) multiples of the cupredoxin fold and (2) four unique sequence elements that include the ten histidine and one cysteine ligands to the four copper atoms. Ferroxidases are a subfamily of MCO proteins that contain residues supporting a specific reactivity towards ferrous iron; these MCOs play a vital role in iron metabolism in bacteria, algae, fungi, and mammals. In contrast to the fungal ferroxidases, e.g., Fet3p from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the mammalian ceruloplasmin (Cp) is twice as large (six vs. three cupredoxin domains) and contains three type 1, or “blue,” copper sites. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii expresses a putative ferroxidase, Fox1, which has sequence similarity to human Cp (hCp). Eschewing the standard sequence-based modeling paradigm, we have constructed a function-based model of the Fox1 protein which replicates hCp’s six copper-site ligand arrays with an overall root mean square deviation of 1.4 A. Analysis of this model has led also to assignment of motifs in Fox1 that are unique to ferroxidases, the strongest evidence to date that the well-characterized fungal high-affinity iron uptake system is essential to iron homeostasis in green algae. The model of Fox1 also establishes a subfamily of MCO proteins with a noncanonical copper-ligand organization. These diverse structures suggest alternative mechanisms for intramolecular electron transfer and require a new trajectory for the evolution of the MCO superfamily.
MedSMan: a streaming data management system over live multimedia

Querying live media streams is a challenging problem that is becoming an essential requirement in a growing number of applications. Research in multimedia information systems has addressed and made good progress in dealing with archived data. Meanwhile, research in stream databases has received significant attention for querying alphanumeric symbolic streams. The lack of a unifying data model capable of representing multimedia data and providing reasonable abstractions for querying live multimedia streams poses the challenge of how to make the best use of data in video and other sensor networks for various applications including video surveillance, live conferencing and Eventweb. This paper presents a system that enables direct capture of media streams from sensors and automatically generates meaningful feature streams that can be queried by a data stream processor. The system provides an effective combination of extensible digital processing techniques and general data stream management research.
Correlation study Of spatial ESC temperature profile and optical CD/CD SEM measurements to investigate silicon recess and gate CD after etch

The gate module comprises arguably some of the most critical process steps in 28nm semiconductor device manufacturing. One key step involved is the final gates etch. Typically all chip manufacturers dedicate a large part of their metrology capacity to the control of related device-limiting process steps. Most importantly the gate length at the bottom of the polysilicon line needs to be controlled very tightly. But given the challenging requirements in carrier density engineering more and more attention is paid to the area located next to the actual gate line. The etch process if not very well monitored and controlled can cause loss of active silicon very often denominated as a recess into the silicon. A loss of material even in the Angstrom range will affect device performance. Should this step be out of specification, it will adversely affect saturation drive current (I D SAT ) by reducing the charge carrier density in source and drain regions, leading to degraded device performance [1]. Finding a root cause for silicon recess problems, especially in the preceding etch step, has previously proved difficult due to the numerous influences involved during the etch process. However one major influence, electrostatic chuck (ESC) temperature, is now possible to measure using KLA-Tencor's SensArray product. The ESC temperature is shown as a temperature profile across the 300mm SensArray wafer. The 65 temperature sensors allow for high resolution intra sensor interpolation. This paper discusses a silicon recess/gate critical dimension (CD) problems after gate etch, which were detected using a KLATencor optical CD metrology tool with latest generation spectroscopic critical dimension (SCD) software, an Applied Materials' CD SEM tool, and overlaying the measurement profiles against a SensArray temperature profile, from the same etch chamber. The results revealed a strong correlation to temperature gradients. Increasing ESC monitoring in critical etch chambers using the SensArray wafer could potentially reduce the Si recess and gate CD problem, leading to a greater number of high performing gates.
Data mining of cancer vaccine trials: a bird's-eye view

Background: A wealth of information on clinical trials has been provided by publicly accessible online registries. Information technology and data exchange standards enable rapid extraction, summarization, and visualization of information and derived knowledge from these data sets. Clinical trials data was extracted in the XML format from the National Library of Medicine ClinicalTrials.gov site. This data includes categories such as \'Summary of Purpose\', \'Trial Sponsor\', \'Phase of the Trial\', \'Recruiting Status\', and \'Location\'. We focused on 645 clinical trials related to cancer vaccines. Additional facts on cancer types, including incidence and survival rates, were retrieved from the National Cancer Institute Surveillance data. Results: This application enables rapid extraction of information about institutions, diseases, clinical approaches, clinical trials dates, predominant cancer types in the trials, clinical opportunities and pharmaceutical market coverage. Presentation of results is facilitated by visualization tools that summarize the landscape of ongoing and completed cancer vaccine trials. Our summaries show the number of clinical vaccine trials per cancer type, over time, by phase, by lead sponsors, as well as trial activity relative to cancer type and survival data. We also have identified cancers that are neglected in the cancer vaccine field: bladder, liver, pancreatic, stomach, esophageal, and all of the low-incidence cancers. Conclusion: We have developed a data mining approach that enables rapid extraction of complex data from the major clinical trial repository. Summarization and visualization of these data represents a cost-effective means of making informed decisions about future cancer vaccine clinical trials.
Pharmacological Evaluation of a Series of 3,6-Substituted Pyridazine Derivatives

A series of 3,6-substituted pyridazine derivatives were tested for central pharmacologic activity. On the basis of their effects on gross behavior, spontaneous, and forced motor activity of albino mice, the alkoxy-pyridazine derivatives were characterized as CNS depressants, while the alkoxy-2-dimethylaminoethoxy-pyridazine derivatives produced initial stimulation followed by a depression of spontaneous activity. The latter compounds also shortened hexobarbital sleeping time in mice and induced a low-voltage fast-wave activity in the electrocorticogram of the cat. None of the compounds produced any alteration of avoidance escape responding in mice or rats or caused a significant inhibition of convulsions produced by chemo- or electrostimulation in rats. A substudy indicated that there was little or no species difference in the learning ability or the response to chlorpromazine of mice and rats in the conditioned avoidance response test (pole climbing).
Alterations in the Cellular Population of the Alveolar Wall in an Animal Model of Fibrosis: A Morphometric Study

Four specific pathogen-free (SPF) male Fischer 344 rats (Charles River Breeding Laboratories), approximately 300 g, were instilled intratracheally with bleomycin sulfate (1.2 mg/ml/rat) in saline as described previously.7 Four other rats were instilled with an equal volume of saline (0.9%) and served as controls. At 28 days postbleomycin treatment, lungs were airway perfusion-fixed in situ with 2% glutaraldehyde in 0.2M sodium cacodylate buffer, pH 7.4, at 350 mOsm, instilled at a pressure of 20 cm H 20 and a flow rate of 110-120 ml/minute. After fixation for 30 minutes, the heart and lungs were removed in toto, the trachea clamped immediately with a hemostat, and the free organs immersed in 2% cacodylate-buffered gluteraldehyde at 20°C for 72 hrs. Lung volumes were determined by water displacement. The right middle lobe was used for calculation of the alveolar fraction of total lung volume. The entire left lung was processed for ultrastructural morphometric analysis using a modification of Weibel's stratified random sampling technique.910 The following cell types were classified: fibroblast, CIC (myo­ fibroblast), smooth muscle, type I and II epithelium, endothelium, macrophage, lymphocyte, mast cell, and "indeterminate cell." CICs were identified by the presence of prominent bundles of cytoplasmic microfilaments. A lack of cytoplasmic filament bundles distin
Collision Matrices for the Compound Nucleus

The collision matrix found by Newton to satisfy at all excitation energies the requirement that it describe an excited nucleus whose decay is independent of the mode of formation is shown to imply the vanishing of the absorption cross sections at high energies where the levels overlap and therefore does not describe a compound nucleus in the usual sense. The essential characteristic of this matrix is the high degree of the correlations of the signs of the square roots ${\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{\ensuremath{\lambda}c}$ of the reduced level widths for the various levels $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ and channels $c$. On the other hand, a collision matrix, which is similar to one first considered by Bethe and involves ${\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{\ensuremath{\lambda}c}$ whose signs are uncorrelated, implies energy average decays that are independent of the formation mode and absorption cross sections that are of the order of magnitude of the nuclear area at high energies. These matrices are derived and discussed by using the $R$-matrix theory of Wigner, Eisenbud, and Teichmann. It is shown that the Bethe form of the collision matrix, which is valid only if all of the partial level widths are much less than the spacings, may be modified by means of the Teichmann-Wigner channel elimination procedure so that it is also valid in situations where some of the partial widths exceed the spacings. The form of the compound-nucleus collision matrix thus obtained is similar to one deduced by Weisskopf by considerations involving the compound-nucleus hypothesis and the reciprocity theorem. The pole strength functions ${s}_{c}$, which are the averages of the ratios of reduced widths ${{\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{\ensuremath{\lambda}c}}^{2}$ to level spacings, and their Stieltjes energy transforms are decisive in the determination of the behavior of these collision matrices and their associated cross sections. The $s$ functions and their transforms are presented and discussed in the cases of the strong-coupling and complex square well potential representations of the particle-nuclei interactions. The latter representation with an additional surface absorption is also considered. The present theory indicates that the imaginary part of the complex square well potential should increase with the absorption width, and it suggests a "giant resonance" interpretation of the average cross-section behaviors. The effect of the compound-nucleus on non-compound-nucleus processes such as stripping and pickup is also mentioned.
In Vivo Antibacterial Efficacy of Ultrasound after Hand and Rotary Instrumentation in Human Mandibular Molars

The purpose of this prospective, randomized, single-blind study was to compare the in vivo antibacterial efficacy of a hand/rotary technique versus a hand/rotary/ultrasound technique in mesial root canals of necrotic mandibular molars. The hand/rotary group consisted of 16 mesial roots prepared with a hand/rotary technique. The hand/rotary/ultrasound group consisted of 15 mesial roots prepared similarly, followed by 1 minute of ultrasonic irrigation per canal with an ultrasonic needle in a MiniEndo unit and 15 mL/canal of 6.0% sodium hypochlorite. Canals were sampled before and after instrumentation and after 1 minute of ultrasonic irrigation. Samples were incubated anaerobically on reduced blood agar for 7 days at 37 degrees C, and colony-forming units (CFUs) were counted. The addition of 1 minute of ultrasonic irrigation resulted in significant (p = .0006) reduction in CFU count and positive cultures (p = .0047). Logistic regression analysis indicated the addition of ultrasonic irrigation was 7 times more likely to yield a negative culture.
Neurosurgical manpower needs—Achieving a balance

T he impact of managed cost systems on specialty reimbursement, including neurosurgery, has led to the broad feeling among practicing neurosurgeons that too many neurosurgeons are in practice [19]. This feeling has led to concern that the dilution of neurosurgical surgical practice would lead to less adept surgeons or even to excessive operations on a smaller pool of patients per physician [3]. These concerns renewed the call for limitations on the production of neurosurgeonseither voluntarily or through legislation. Manpower issues have been discussed in neurosurgery since the inception of the specialty. Initial debates involved whether more than one neurosurgeon per region or state was necessary! Predictions of the collapse of neurosurgical practice and need for neurosurgeons also have been issues. The Bergland article [ 21, “Neurosurgical Dinosaurs” in the New England Journal of Medicine was published in 1973. The feeling that this article mirrored in the academic community may have led to a decision to voluntarily limit the number of neurosurgery residencies over the next decade. This decision still engenders debate as to its good or bad effects. Have too many neurosurgeons been trained or have opportunities been lost due to a lack of neurosurgeons to expand into the fields of peripheral nerve, vascular, and spinal surgery? In spite of many efforts, thus far attempts at manpower projections and predictions, particularly in highly technical specialties such as neurosurgery, have been off the mark, sometimes considerably [ 71. The Clinton proposal [20] for a single payor national medical system with limitations on specialty training caused the Joint Council of Neurological
REVIEW: OXIDATIVE STRESS AND DISEASE

This communication briefly reviews aspects of oxidative stress and disease, particularly maturity onset cataract. The review considers a number of issues such as why lens and cataract research is important, what is oxidative stress, its relationship to disease and how does a tissue defend itself against such stress. Three diseases (chronic lung disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease) in which oxidative stress has differing roles are briefly discussed. The impact of oxidative stress upon the development of maturity onset cataract is considered and approaches are delineated which will establish the importance of such stress.
Bleeding Babies in Badakhshan

The bleeding of infants via the skin (pile) and the roof of the mouth (qum) is practiced in Badakhshan, the easternmost province of Tajikistan. Like folk practices elsewhere, pile and qum exist at the interstices of modern society and reflect a complex religious, historical, and social response to poverty, marginality, and the global processes associated with the collapse of the Soviet Union. In this article, I attempt to move beyond an ethnomedical analysis by examining these bloodletting practices in the context of their contemporary meaning, as a moral response to suffering and to the social changes that have taken place in the post-Soviet period.
Analysis of spatial-temporal regularization methods for linear inverse problems from a common statistical framework

In some medical imaging problems, the quantity to image is time-varying but related to the measurements by spatial dynamics only. Traditional methods solve the associated inverse problem separately at each time instant. Several recent reports take advantage of prior knowledge and/or measurement temporal behavior to solve jointly in space and time. In this paper we discuss three such approaches, which have been introduced in distinct mathematical contexts, from a common statistical regularization framework, and illuminate their relationships, advantages and disadvantages.
The placenta at high altitude.

The influence of oxygen pressure on placental and villous vascular development is reviewed and considered relative to the natural experiment afforded by residence at high altitude. Data obtained from normal high altitude pregnancies are compared with those from IUGR and preeclampsia, conditions believed to be caused by placental hypoxia. High altitude placentas are characterized by increased villous vascularization, thinning of the villous membranes, proliferation of the villous cytotrophoblast, and reduced perisyncytial fibrin deposition relative to low altitude placentas. The significance of reduced fibrin deposition is unknown; it could be explained by less apoptosis along the barrier membrane, less syncytiotrophoblast turnover, or altered ratios of local proversus anticoagulant production. Increased villous capillary density and thinning of the villous membranes increases oxygen diffusion capacity and is generally considered a beneficial adaptation. Nonetheless, there is evidence that hypoxia and/or reduced blood flow reduce placental nutrient transporter densities, and this may act in additive or synergistic fashion to reduce birth weight at high altitude. The available literature on high altitude placentas derives from less than 100 pregnancies from three different continents and six different ethnic groups, and were acquired in pregnancies ranging from 2500 to 4300 m in altitude. Thus differences between studies are likely to be due to variation in altitude and/or to ethnic variation, which in turn may be due to differences in population history of residence at high altitude (e.g., Andeans vs. Europeans). Nonetheless, systematic examination of human placental development under conditions of lowered maternal arterial oxygen pressure (high altitude > 2700 m) may provide useful insights into the etiology of pathological conditions believed to be associated with placental hypoxia.
Borg5 is required for angiogenesis by regulating persistent directional migration of the cardiac microvascular endothelial cells

The microvasculature is important for vertebrate organ development and homeostasis. However, the molecular mechanism of microvascular angiogenesis remains incompletely understood. Through studying Borg5 (Binder of the Rho GTPase 5), which belongs to a family of poorly understood effector proteins of the Cdc42 GTPase, we uncover a role for Borg5 in microvascular angiogenesis. Deletion of Borg5 in mice results in defects in retinal and cardiac microvasculature as well as heart development. Borg5 promotes angiogenesis by regulating persistent directional migration of the endothelial cells (ECs). In primary mouse cardiac ECs (MCECs), Borg5 associates with septins in the perinuclear region and colocalizes with actomyosin fibers. Both Borg5 deletion and septin 7 knockdown lead to a disruption of the perinuclear actomyosin and persistent directional migration. Our findings suggest that Borg5 and septin cytoskeleton spatially control actomyosin activity to ensure persistent directional migration of MCECs and efficient microvascular angiogenesis. Our studies reported here should offer a new avenue to further investigate the functions of Borg5, septin, and actomyosin in the microvasculature in the context of development and disease.
Fast variational static IR-drop analysis on the graphical processing unit

Due to large power grid sizes, IR-drop analysis is a computationally challenging design flow step that is commonly used in integrated circuit design. Variability in silicon and circuit operating conditions makes IR-drop analysis even more challenging. We introduce a flow to take benefit of a graphical processing unit (GPU). We introduce variability for the power grid elements through Monte Carlo runs. We provide a fair speed comparison with respect to CPU implementation. We observe speed savings up to 5.7× using the GPU implementation without architecture-specific programming effort.
Genome Evolution in Maize: From Genomes Back to Genes

Maize occupies dual roles as both (a) one of the big-three grain species (along with rice and wheat) responsible for providing more than half of the calories consumed around the world, and (b) a model system for plant genetics and cytogenetics dating back to the origin of the field of genetics in the early twentieth century. The long history of genetic investigation in this species combined with modern genomic and quantitative genetic data has provided particular insight into the characteristics of genes linked to phenotypes and how these genes differ from many other sequences in plant genomes that are not easily distinguishable based on molecular data alone. These recent results suggest that the number of genes in plants that make significant contributions to phenotype may be lower than the number of genes defined by current molecular criteria, and also indicate that syntenic conservation has been underemphasized as a marker for gene function.
Efficacy of teat dips containing a hypochlorous acid germicide against experimental challenge with Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalactiae

Two teat dip formulations containing sodium dichloroisocyanurate, which released hypochlorous acid (2800 ppm) as the active ingredient, were tested for efficacy against new Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalactiae IMI using an experimental challenge model. Product 1 reduced the number of new Staph. aureus IMI by 73.6% and reduced the number of new Strep. agalactiae IMI by 65.1%. Product 2 reduced the number of new Staph. aureus IMI by 69.0% and reduced the number of new Strep. agalactiae IMI by 63.5%. No adverse effects on teat skin condition were observed over the course of the studies.
FACULTATIVE PARASITISM OF SPIROGYRA SP. (CHLOROPHYTA) BY SAPROLEGNIA ASTEROPHORA AND PYTHIUM GRACILE (EUMYCOTA, OOMYCETES)1

Spirogyra sp. Link was found to be parasitized by filamentous fungi tentatively identified as Saprolegnia asterophora de Bary and Pythium gracile Schenk, in field samples and when maintained in unaltered pond water in an 18 h fluorescent light–6 h dark regime at 18 ± 2°C. Collections were made periodically between March 1978, and November 1979, from a pond in Mill Seek Sanctuary near Oyster Bay, Nassau Co., Long Island, New York. Initially, less than 1% of the total field population of Spirogyra sp. was infected by either fungal parasite with Saprolegnia asterophora being the dominant parasite present generally alone in most samples or present in 80–95% of the total number of infected algal filaments when occurring concurrently with P. gracile. However, in the laboratory, approximately 100% of the Spirogyra sp. filaments in any given sample became infected by Saprolegnia asterophora and/or P. gracile within a 1—2 wk and 3–4 wk period, respectively, with vegetative hyphae involved in the spread of infection to neighboring algal filaments. Infection of algal filaments occurred at random points with cell to cell hyphal extension within the filament causing disruption of host cells. Development of S. asterophora, and possibly P. gracile, sexual reproductive structures was common in relation with the host with asexual sporangial production not observed. Saprolegnia asterophora and P. gracile were cultured on glucose, yeast extract, malt extract (GYM) medium from infected Spirogyra sp. filaments, with infection of healthy algal filaments using these cultures by Saprolegnia asterophora, but not by P. gracile, induced in the laboratory. Growth responses and tropic responses of the fungi to the algal host could not be demonstrated.