cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A phase Ib trial of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor dinaciclib (dina) in combination with pembrolizumab (P) in patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and response correlation with MYC-overexpression.

1076Background: Increased expression of the MYC transcriptional oncogene is found in about 70% of TNBC and is associated with poor prognosis. In MYC-overexpressing TN xenografts, CDK1 inhibition wi...
Racial disparities in surgical outcomes for benign thyroid disease.

Abstract Introduction Previous studies have shown racial disparities in surgical outcomes in malignant thyroid disease. We hypothesize that minority groups have a higher incidence of postoperative complications following surgery for benign thyroid disease. Methods Using NSQIP (2016–2017), patients (>17 years) undergoing thyroid surgery for benign disease were identified. Outcomes included neck hematoma, recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury, and hypocalcemia. Multivariate analysis was performed controlling for patient factors. Results 6817 patients were identified. Postoperative outcomes were neck hematoma (2.0%), RLN injury (5.2%), and significant hypocalcemia (4.9%). Compared to White patients, Black patients had higher chance of neck hematoma (OR 2.32, 95% CI 1.51–3.55) and RLN injury (OR 1.97, 95% CI 1.53–2.55) while Asian patients had significantly greater odds of RLN injury (OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.15–3.06). Conclusion Minority compared to White patients are more likely to have significant postoperative complications which indicates racial disparities in the surgical treatment for benign thyroid disease.
The Role of Proto-Forms in the Emergence of Historic Movie Theaters in Chicago Communities: 1896-1962

We develop a novel concept of proto-form to understand the “pre- birth” processes of organizational form emergence, which take place between the discovery of a technological or social novelty and t...
A 785nW Multimodal (V/I/R) Sensor Interface IC for Ozone Pollutant Sensing and Correlated Cardiovascular Disease Monitoring

This paper presents a 785nW multimodal sensor interface IC enabling ozone pollutant sensing and correlated cardiovascular disease (CVD) monitoring based on electrocardiography (ECG) and photoplethysmography (PPG). The interface IC consists of a 165nW voltage-mode ECG channel, a 532nW current-mode PPG channel, a 75.6nW resistive ozone channel, and 12.6nW peripheral circuits, all at 0.6V. A 4MΩ-gain regulated cascode transimpedance amplifier (RGC-TIA) with a hybrid DC offset current cancellation (DCOC) loop reduces the PPG readout power by 37×, compared to state-of-the-art PPG sensor interfaces. Fabricated in 65nm CMOS, the proposed IC is tested with a custom digital readout IC. The full system power consumption with an LED is 11.5μW, which is 54× less than prior ozone/CVD joint-monitoring sensor interface systems.
Late Prosthetic Valve Infective Endocarditis by Enterococcus durans

Enterococcus durans is an extremely rare cause of infective endocarditis. We have reported the first case where a 56-year-old female presented with late prosthetic valve infective endocarditis on a mechanical mitral valve. Medical management failed and eventually lead to the demise of the patient.
Impact of Input Feature Selection on Groundwater Level Prediction From a Multi-Layer Perceptron Neural Network

With the growing use of machine learning (ML) techniques in hydrological applications, there is a need to analyze the robustness, performance, and reliability of predictions made with these ML models. In this paper we analyze the accuracy and variability of groundwater level predictions obtained from a Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) model with optimized hyperparameters for different amounts and types of available training data. The MLP model is trained on point observations of features like groundwater levels, temperature, precipitation, and river flow in various combinations, for different periods and temporal resolutions. We analyze the sensitivity of the MLP predictions at three different test locations in California, United States and derive recommendations for training features to obtain accurate predictions. We show that the use of all available features and data for training the MLP does not necessarily ensure the best predictive performance at all locations. More specifically, river flow and precipitation data are important training features for some, but not all locations. However, we find that predictions made with MLPs that are trained solely on temperature and historical groundwater level measurements as features, without additional hydrological information, are unreliable at all locations.
Honey robbing causes coordinated changes in foraging and nest defence in the honey bee, Apis mellifera

Individuals and social groups balance foraging activities with other energetically demanding behaviours. In honey bee colonies, foraging and nest defence behaviours are performed by similar-aged bees, and so hives must adjust their workforce investment to fulfil both tasks. We investigate this balance in the context of honey robbing, a tactic in which foragers invade a victim hive, kill worker bees and steal honey stores. Robbing is highly beneficial because stored honey is a plentiful, concentrated food resource. However, robbing requires a large workforce to overwhelm the defences of the victim hive; it is unknown how robbing hives adjust other behaviours to accommodate this demand. We developed a method to provoke a hive to engage in simulated robbing and measured rapid changes in foraging activity and nest defence. Surprisingly, robbing hives increased both behaviours. Guards, the individuals responsible for nest defence, specifically increased defensiveness towards their own nestmates as they returned from a robbing trip. We found that increased foraging activity and changes in forager odour profiles from prolonged exposure to victim hive honeycomb were insufficient to explain robbing-induced changes in guard defensiveness. However, brain gene expression profiles of robbing foragers suggest these bees are unusually aggressive, and thus more likely to provoke aggression from nestmate guards. Increased forager aggression occurred even in the absence of direct competition with victim bees. Thus, although increased guard defensiveness may be costly in terms of increased nestmate mortality, because the ecological conditions that promote robbing simultaneously increase the likelihood a hive will become a robbing target, guards may use cues from returning nestmates to determine invasion risk and adjust their defensiveness accordingly. These results suggest that colonies use social information to dynamically optimize both foraging and defensiveness in order to maximize the benefits and minimize the costs of this high-risk tactic.
Interactive Session for Residents and Medical Students on Dermatologic Care for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Patients.

Introduction Despite increasing emphasis on LGBTQ health in medical education, evidence-based training on LGBTQ patient care in dermatology is lacking. We designed an interactive online didactic se...
Analyzing the Effects of Reasoning Types on Cross-Lingual Transfer Performance

Multilingual language models achieve impressive zero-shot accuracies in many languages in complex tasks such as Natural Language Inference (NLI). Examples in NLI (and equivalent complex tasks) often pertain to various types of sub-tasks, requiring different kinds of reasoning. Certain types of reasoning have proven to be more difficult to learn in a monolingual context, and in the crosslingual context, similar observations may shed light on zero-shot transfer efficiency and few-shot sample selection. Hence, to investigate the effects of types of reasoning on transfer performance, we propose a category-annotated multilingual NLI dataset and discuss the challenges to scale monolingual annotations to multiple languages. We statistically observe interesting effects that the confluence of reasoning types and language similarities have on transfer performance.
Deployment and reallocation in mobile survivability-heterogeneous wireless sensor networks for barrier coverage

Barrier coverage is a widely adopted coverage model for intruder surveillance application in wireless sensor networks. However, when sensor nodes are deployed outdoors, they are subject to environmental detriments and will be failed while operating in the rain. Thus, one barrier is not robust to provide barrier coverage under both sunny and rainy weather. In this paper, we study the barrier coverage problem in a mobile survivability-heterogeneous wireless sensor network, which is composed of sensor nodes with environmental survivabilities to make them robust to environmental conditions and with motion capabilities to repair the barrier when sensors are dead. Our goal is to keep field to be monitored continuously under both sunny and rainy weather and to prolong the network lifetime as much as possible. We propose a novel greedy barrier construction algorithm to solve the problem. The algorithm adopts weather forecast to direct the barrier construction under sunny and rainy weather, and the energy consumption of construction is minimized. Simulation results show that our algorithm efficiently solves the problem and outperforms other alternatives.
Pruning Interference and Ready Dependence for Slicing Concurrent Java Programs

In this paper, we show how previous work on escape analysis can be adapted and extended to yield a static analysis that is efficient yet effective for reducing the number of interference dependence edges considered while slicing concurrent Java programs. The key idea is to statically detect situations where run-time heap objects are reachable from a single thread and use it to prune spurious interference dependence edges. We also show how this analysis can be extended to reduce the number of ready dependence edges – dependences that capture indefinite delay due to Java synchronization constructs.
The electron distribution and SXT images of a coronal soft X-ray source

We have observed impulsive soft X-ray emission from partially occulted flares. The gradual soft X-ray component is not present, thus its source must be below the occultation heights, 25,000 km for the Oct. 5, 1978 flare and 160,000 km for the Feb. 16, 1984 flare.
Model Selection for Model based Controllers

Model based controllers (e.g. Inferential, Internal Model, Self-Tuning Regulators, Dynamic Matrix, etc.) are designed and implemented using a process model. The controller is generally designed to either explicitly or implicitly invert the process model. When the model is identically equal to the process, controller design is straightforward. If the model structure is known exactly, intuition suggests that the best approach is to try to identify all the unknown parameters. For many real systems the estimated parameters will be in error to some degree. Under these circumstances, simulation and experimental work suggests that simpler and/or lower order models can result in control performance comparable to models of the "correct" form (e.g. the z transform of the continuous process) when the controller is properly designed.
Kinetic Studies of Ligand Binding to Hemoglobin and Its Isolated Subunits by the Temperature Jump Relaxation Method

Abstract The temperature jump pulse relaxation method has been used to study the kinetics of oxygen binding to sperm whale myoglobin, to the α and β chains of human hemoglobin, and to native human and sheep hemoglobins. In addition we also investigated the kinetics of binding of ethyl isocyanide to human hemoglobin by the same method. The kinetics of the reaction has been followed through changes in absorbance. The results show that binding of oxygen to the isolated α and β subunits, as well as to sperm whale myoglobin, is kinetically a simple process, in that the reaction follows bimolecular kinetics. The relaxation kinetics of ligand binding to hemoglobin is complex, and the analysis given in this paper is still preliminary. Under a variety of experimental conditions, the relaxation spectrum can be described by two relaxation times (τf and τs). The concentration dependence of the slower relaxation time (τs) follows the behavior expected for a bimolecular process; this suggests that the final process by which equilibrium is re-established is not followed by any first order process, such as a slow intramolecular change in structure. The similarity of the relaxation spectrum at different ionic strengths (from 0.2 to 2.2 m) suggests that the relaxation behavior of hemoglobin is consistent with a model in which the (αβ) dimer is functionally important.
The Conformational Connection Between the Microstructures of Polymers and Their NMR Spectra

The connections between the NMR spectra and microstructures of polymers are examined from the point of view of the microstructurally-sensitive local conformations of polymer chains. This approach is rendered fruitful by application of the conformationally-sensitive y-gauche effect method of predicting chemical shifts. Through knowledge of the conformational characteristics of polymers and their sensitivity to polymer microstructure, we may more readily assign their NMR spectra to their underlying microstructures. By means of several examples, we illustrate the types of detailed structural and conformational information that can be obtained for polymer samples from their high-resolution NMR spectra when analysed in terms of their local chain conformations.
Incidence of Haemophilus vaginalis

Abstract Satisfactory vaginal cultures were done on 475 patients. The over-all incidence of Haemophilus vaginalis was 28.8 per cent. The incidence was higher in women under 40 than over 40 (34.4 per cent versus 24.2 per cent). The incidence was 25.7 per cent in white women and 36.7 per cent in Negro women. The incidence in women with previous hysterectomy was 24.3 per cent. H. vaginalis was isolated from women exhibiting no evidence of estrogen effect.
Pushing the envelope—nonmyeloablative and reduced intensity preparative regimens for allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) was originally developed to allow delivery of myeloablative doses of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. With better understanding of disease pathophysiology, the graft vs malignancy (GVM) effect of allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation and toxicities associated with myeloablative conditioning (MAC) regimens, the focus shifted to developing less toxic conditioning regimens to reduce treatment-related morbidity without compromising survival. Although HCT with MAC is preferred to reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) for most patients ⩽60 years with AML/myelodysplastic syndrome and ALL, RIC and nonmyeloablative (NMA) regimens allow HCT for many otherwise ineligible patients. Reduced intensity preparative regimens have produced high rates of PFS for diagnoses, which are highly sensitive to GVM. Relapse of the malignancy is the major cause of treatment failure with RIC/NMA HCT. Incorporation of novel agents like bortezomib or lenalidomide, addition of cellular immunotherapy and use of targeted radiation therapies could further improve outcome. In this review, we discuss commonly used RIC/NMA regimens and promising novel regimens.
Development of an arc furnace model for power quality studies

Arc furnaces are known to cause voltage flicker and to inject harmonics into the power system. Utilities and customers are concerned about these effects and try to take precautions to minimize them. Simulation is a powerful means of testing and verifying proposed solutions to this end. Developing an arc furnace model that can duplicate its erratic operation has been a challenging task for several researchers in the past. Two classes of approaches have been proposed for the modeling problem: stochastic and chaotic. Both methods have their advantages and shortfalls as shown in related publications. In this paper, the authors present the results of a study, where an arc furnace is modeled using both chaotic and deterministic elements. The flicker effect, which is the manifestation of voltage fluctuations, is captured using the well studied Chua's chaotic circuit, whereas a dynamic model in the form of a differential equation is used for the electric arc. The resulting model produces both effects and the resulting harmonic spectrum of the simulated arc furnace voltage is used as an illustration.
Development of a Sustainable Community-Based Dental Education Program

Increasing the use of community-based programs is an important trend in improving dental education to meet the needs of students and the public. To support this trend, understanding the history of programs that have established successful models for community-based education is valuable for the creation and development of new programs. The community-based education model of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry (UMSOD) offers a useful guide for understanding the essential steps and challenges involved in developing a successful program. Initial steps in program development were as follows: raising funds, selecting an outreach clinical model, and recruiting clinics to become partners. As the program developed, the challenges of creating a sustainable financial model with the highest educational value required the inclusion of new clinical settings and the creation of a unique revenue-sharing model. Since the beginning of the community-based program at UMSOD in 2000, the number of community partners has increased to twenty-seven clinics, and students have treated thousands of patients in need. Fourth-year students now spend a minimum of ten weeks in community-based clinical education. The community-based program at UMSOD demonstrates the value of service-based education and offers a sustainable model for the development of future programs.
Genetic Analysis of Downy Brome ( Bromus tectorum ) and Medusahead ( Taeniatherum caput-medusae ): Management Implications

Abstract Genetic analyses of invasive plants can provide information concerning the introduction dynamics of invasive species, the parameters associated with range expansion, the mechanisms of dispersal in the new range, and the identification of source populations. This information can give managers insights into the range of genotypes (and associated phenotypes) introduced, whether these genotypes may have experienced intermixing during range expansion, and the most efficacious locations in the native range to seek biological control agents. The invasive grasses downy brome and medusahead are now the predominant vascular plant species of degraded rangelands throughout arid and semiarid portions of western North America. In this article, I provide background information on the biology and history of introduction of downy brome and medusahead, summarize results of the allozyme analysis of populations of both species, and indicate the importance of these data to the management of invasive plant species. In...
Actual financial comparison of four strategies to evaluate patients with potential acute coronary syndromes.

Objectives: Small studies have shown that a negative computed tomography coronary angiogram (CTA) in low-risk chest pain patients predicts a low rate of 30-day adverse events. The authors hypothesized that an immediate CTA strategy would be as effective but less costly than alternative strategies for evaluation of patients with potential acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods: The authors retrospectively compared four strategies for evaluation of patients after initial physician determination that the patient required admission and testing to rule out ACS. Patients were frequency-matched by age, race, gender, thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) score, and initial electrocardiogram (ECG). The four groups were immediate CTA in the emergency department (ED) without serial markers (n = 98); clinical decision unit/observation unit (CDU) with biomarkers and CTA (n = 102); CDU evaluation with serial cardiac biomarkers and stress testing (n = 154); and usual care, defined as admission with serial biomarkers and hospitalist-directed evaluation (n = 289). The main outcomes were actual cost of care (facility direct and indirect fixed, facility variable direct labor and supply costs), length of stay (LOS), diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD), and safety (30-day death or myocardial infarction [MI]). Results: Patients in each group were of similar age (mean ± standard deviation [SD] 46 ± 9 years), race (62% African American), and gender (57% female) and had similar TIMI scores (100% between 0–2). Comparing immediate CTA versus CDU CTA versus CDU stress versus usual care, median costs were less ($1,240 vs. 2,318 vs. 4,024 vs. 2,913; p < 0.01), and LOS was shorter (8.1 hr vs. 20.9 hr vs. 26.2 hr vs. 30.2 hr; p < 0.01). Diagnosis of CAD was similar (5.1% vs. 5.9% vs. 5.8% vs. 6.6%; p = 0.95), but fewer patients had 30-day death/MI (0% vs. 0% vs. 0.7% vs. 3.1%; p = 0.04) or 30-day readmission (0% vs. 3.2% vs. 2.3% vs. 12.2%; p < 0.01). Conclusions: Compared to the other strategies, immediate CTA was as safe, identified as many patients with CAD, had the lowest cost, had the shortest LOS, and allowed discharge for the majority of patients. Larger prospective studies should confirm safety before immediate CTA replaces other strategies to rule out possible ACS. ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2008; 15:649–655 © 2008 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Minimum steady-state variance control

This paper discusses the design of the digital controller, which minimizes the steady-state variance of the output when a known external disturbance is applied to a control system. The first-order control object is considered as an example, and the cases of colored external noise and the sinusoidal disturbance are discussed. It is shown through discussions that the steady-state variance of the output can be represented in the form of the Lyapunov equation. It is pointed out that if the controller coefficient is found to minimize the function, the steady-state variance can be minimized. Using the proposed method, the order of the controller can be determined independently of the order of the controlled object as long as the system can be stabilized. For the motor control system containing an analog band-elimination filter, for example, it is possible to determine the coefficient of the digital PID controller to minimize the positioning error.
Social phobia: Clinical syndrome, diagnosis, and comorbidity.

Abstract Social phobia is a newly defined disorder about which relatively little is currently known. This review is directed at examining the clinical syndrome, diagnostic issues and comorbidity with other disorders. In addition, issues of etiology, epidemiology, variations in clinical presentation, and the need for further research are highlighted.
Relationship Between Activation State of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex and Rate of Pyruvate Oxidation in Isolated Cerebro-Cortical Mitochondria: Effects of Potassium Ions and Adenine Nucleotides

: The relation between the activation (phosphorylation) state of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC;EC 1.2.4.1, EC 2.3.1.12, and EC 1.6.4.3) and the rate of pyruvate oxidation has been examined in isolated, metabolically active, and tightly coupled mitochondria from rat cerebral cortex. With pyruvate and malate as the substrates, the activation state of PDHC decreased on addition of ADP, while the rates of oxygen uptake and 14CO2 formation from [I-14C]pyruvate increased. The lack of correlation between the activation state of PDHC and rate of pyruvate oxidation was seen in media containing 5, 30, or 100 mM KCl. Both the activation state of PDHC and pyruvate oxidation increased, however, when KCl was increased from 5 to 100 mM. Although the PDHC is inactivated by an ATP-dependent kinase (EC 2.7.1.99), direct measurement of ATP and ADP failed to show a consistent relationship between the activation state of PDHC and either ATP levels or ATP/ADP ratios. Comparison of the activation state of PDHC in uncoupled or oligomycin-treated mitochondria also failed to correlate PDHC activation state to adenine nucleotides. In brain mitochondria, unlike those from other tissues, the activation state of PDHC does not seem to be related clearly to the rate of pyruvate oxidation, or to the mitochondrial adenylate energy charge.
Weak refractive scattering: a model system

A model system for studying the effects of weak refractive scattering such as is observed in atmospheric turbulence is discussed. The system is a random distribution of monodisperse, nonabsorbing spheres. The spatial spectrum of the index-of-refraction variation is determined and, for the weak scattering case, is used to find the log-amplitude covariance, the wave structure function, and the mutual coherence function of the radiation field.
The range of electrolocation: A comparison of electroreceptor responses and the responses of cerebellar neurons in a gymnotid fish

1. Metal and plastic objects moved near to the animal's (Apteronotus albifrons) body (5 mm lateral) evoke changes in receptor activity consisting primarily of increases in the case of metal and decreases due to plastic. No receptors showed similar responses to both types of objects (Fig. 1). 2. Objects moved parallel to the long axis of the fish at sequentially greater distances evoked responses which decayed as a power function of distance. The exponents describing this response fall-off ranged from −1.1 to −2.5 and are in good agreement with calculated changes in trans-epidermal voltage due to the presence of objects at increasing distances from the fish. 3. Increasing or decreasing object size did not markedly alter the rate of response decay but shifted the response-distance relationship so that larger or smaller responses occurred at a given distance. 4. Responses of cerebellar cells to moving objects were more complex than those of the single receptors, they usually consisted of both increases and decreases in spike frequency as objects passed through a cell's receptive field. Although a given cell usually gave different responses to plastic and metal objects no predictable response (i.e. increase or decrease in spike frequency) was associated with object quality. Most cerebellar cells showed responses dependent on the direction of object movement (Fig. 6). 5. Responses of some cerebellar cells decayed in a fashion similar to responses of single receptors as objects moved at sequentially greater distances. Others showed constant response amplitude out to a distance of about 25mm. The responses of this later cell type were also independent of object size (Fig. 8). 6. The population of cerebellar cells studied could not be divided into discreet categories according to the characteristics of response fall-off. Instead they seem to be distributed along a continuum, varying degrees of constant response at increasing distance being present in different cells (Fig. 9B).
HMGB1 takes a “Toll” in sickle cell disease

In this issue of Blood, Xu et al elegantly demonstrate that high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) contributes to the endogenous armamentarium to activate Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in sickle cell disease (SCD).1
Structure-specific abnormalities associated with mutations in a DNA replication accessory factor in Drosophila.

We have phenotypically and molecularly analyzed the cutlet locus in Drosophila. Homozygous cutlet flies exhibit abnormal development of a subset of adult tissues, including the eye, wing, and ovary. We show that abnormal development of these tissues is due to a defect in normal cell growth. Surprisingly, cell growth is affected in all developing precursor tissues in cutlet mutant animals, including those that give rise to phenotypically wild-type adult structures. The cutlet gene encodes a Drosophila homologue of yeast CHL12 and has similarity to mammalian replication factor C. In addition, cutlet genetically interacts with multiple subunits of Drosophila replication factor C. Our results suggest that the cutlet gene product acts as an accessory factor for DNA replication and has different requirements for the formation of various adult structures during Drosophila development.
On the simultaneous modeling of array mutual coupling and array–platform interactions

The active element patterns of antenna arrays are strongly affected by the interaction between the elements and the mounting platform. In this article a combined model is proposed to model the array response, including both mutual coupling and the platform effect. The mutual coupling is described by a coupling matrix, and the platform scattering is represented with the use of the point-scatterer model. An algorithm based on the matching pursuit concept is proposed to determine the model coefficients. Numerical results show that the active element patterns are well described by the model. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 33: 167–171, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.10266
A gated trapping strategy with a two-time constant and a delay for catching in-field generated ions that range over three decades in mass-to-charge and two decades in velocity in fourier-transform mass spectrometry

In-field, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) may provide a means to keep part of the original promise of Fourier-transform mass spectrometry (FTMS) to give high performance and versatile mass spectrometry from a mechanically simple instrument. Gated trapping has been employed as a means of catching MALDI-produced ions in the FTMS trap. This approach is important for both in-field and externally produced ions. Even with improvements, gated trapping has not yet been able to catch ions over wide ranges of mass-to-charge and velocity. A design of a “two-time constant with a delay” gated trapping strategy using “idealized” potentials in a normalized system is given as an example to establish that in principle gated trapping strategies can capture ions that range over three decades of m/z and two decades in velocity. A procedure for calculating a physical system from the normalized system is given. The design is tolerant of variations in the physical parameters used to define the physical system from the normalized system.
Transformational Learning Through Prior Learning Assessment

Upon graduation from University Without Walls (UWW), Robin said, “During first semester you told us that if we allowed it to, this experience [writing a prior learning portfolio] would change us. I was so angry with you for saying that because I liked who I was and didn’t want to change. But you were right. And I’m glad.” For the past 39 years the centerpiece of UWW, the adult education program at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, has been a prior experiential learning process. This process involves students’ writing and critically reflecting on past professional and, in some instances, personal experiences and awards them academic credit for this learning. The outcomes can be transformative for the learner, facilitating the development of a new sense of confidence and ability to make new meanings of experience. This, in turn, spurs the learner to make changes inside as well as outside the self.
Association of Osteocalcin and Abdominal Aortic Calcification in Older Women: The Study of Osteoporotic Fractures

Osteocalcin (OC) is produced by osteoblasts and vascular smooth muscle cells. In animal models, serum OC levels are strongly correlated with vascular calcium content, however, the association of OC with vascular calcification in humans is uncertain. The Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF) enrolled community-living women, age ≥65 years. The present study included a subsample of 363 randomly selected SOF participants. Serum total OC was measured by ELISA, and abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) was evaluated on lateral lumbar radiographs. We examined the cross-sectional association between serum OC and AAC. The mean serum OC level was 24 ± 11 ng/ml and AAC was present in 188 subjects (52%). We observed no association of OC and AAC in either unadjusted or adjusted analyses. For example, each standard deviation higher OC level was associated with an odds ratio (OR) for AAC prevalence (AAC score >0) near unity (OR = 1.06; 95% CI, 0.82–1.36) in models adjusted for CVD risk factors. Further adjustment for intact parathyroid hormone, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and hip and spine bone mineral density did not materially change the results (OR = 1.22; 95% CI, 0.86–1.75). Similarly, higher OC levels were not associated with severity of AAC (P = 0.87). In conclusion, among community-living older women, serum OC is not associated with AAC. These findings suggest that serum OC levels may more closely reflect bone formation than vascular calcification in humans.
On the assessment of human error rates using operational experience

Abstract The distributions of dynamic human error rates in nuclear plant risk assessments are assessed by comparing the errors with a reference error, namely, that ‘the operators fail to stabilize high-pressure injection’. The comparison is achieved by considering as principal performance shaping factors the difficulty in diagnosis and the stress level on the operators. The distribution of the rate of the reference event is derived using operational experience and Bayesian methods.
Binding of DNA to cellulose nitrate filters under denaturing conditions.

Abstract Conditions are described for the immobilization of DNA in alkali to cellulose nitrate filters.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Library

Serials Review visits the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Library in Cooperstown, NY, which opened in 1939 with two shelves of donated books. The museum is now home to the largest collection of baseball information in the world.
Comments on Solid−Liquid Phase Equilibrium and Phase Diagram for the Ternary o-Nitrobenzoic Acid + m-Nitrobenzoic Acid + Ethanol System

A polemic is given in response to the recently published paper of Zhao and co-workers [J. Chem. Eng. Data 2008, 53, 1367−1370].
Gould et D'Arcy Thompson

Resume Cet article evalue l'importance de l'œuvre de D'Arcy Thompson (1860–1948), Forme et croissance , pour l'elaboration de la pensee de Stephen Jay Gould, et la maniere dont ce dernier a utilise les concepts et les approches morphologiques originales elaborees par D'Arcy pour forger ses propres conceptions macroevolutionnistes. Si la reference a D'Arcy est presente a chaque etape de l'œuvre et de la carriere de Gould, elle devient plus critique a partir des annees 1980 : bien qu'il conserve l'idee de « contraintes de construction », Gould tend alors a recuser le determinisme mecanise inspire de D'Arcy au profit d'une approche historique du « bricolage evolutif » et des contingences de l'histoire evolutive. Au-dela de son œuvre, c'est sans doute aussi l'image meme du savant incarne par D'Arcy qui a fascine Gould et constitue pour lui un modele. Pour citer cet article : C. Cohen, C. R. Palevol 3 (2004).
Acutely measured metabolic rate-temperature curves in the cricket frog, Acris crepitans

Abstract 1. 1. Measurements of oxygen consumption were made at 5°C intervals between 5 and 35°C on frogs acclimated in the dark at temperatures of 5, 15 and 25°C. 2. 2. Inverse compensation is the rule at determination temperatures below 30°C. Between 15 and 25°C the frogs acclimated at 25°C respond metabolically as warm-acclimated animals and the 5 and 15°C frogs respond as cold-acclimated animals. At 5°C the frogs acclimated at 15°C respond as warm-acclimated animals. 3. 3. At determination temperatures of 30 and 35°C metabolic rates are not influenced by previous acclimation temperatures (routine rates) or partial compensation occurs (standard rates). 4. 4. The acclimated rate-temperature curves show no indication of temperature compensation.
Influence of dietary calcium selenium and methylmercury on eggshell thickness in Japanese quail.

A high Ca, semi-purified diet promoted greater egg production with thicker shells in Japanese quail hens. 7 ppm of dietary Se depressed egg weights with no effect on eggshell thickness. The addition of 20 ppm of MHg to either a low or high Ca diet containing Se depressed both egg production and eggshell thickness. Se residues of liver, kidney, and brain in Se-MHg fed quail were significantly higher than in Se treated quail, probably reflecting the ability of Se to bind with Hg. CA, an enzyme required for the formation of the carbonate radical of Ca carbonate in egg-shells, was not reduced in the Se-MHg treated Japanese quail hens′ blood or oviducts.
Product state distributions of CN(X) produced in the photodissociation of C4N2 at 160 nm

Abstract The photolysis of dicyanoacetylene (C 4 N 2 ) at 160 nm produces CN(X 2 Σ + ) radicals which are rotationally and vibrationally excited. Laser-induced fluorescence of the CN(X) shows that the radicals are formed primarily in the ν = 0 and ν = I vibrational levels with a relative population ratio of N 0 : N 1 : N 2 = 0.76:0.17:0.07. The rotational line intensities are fitted by Boltzmann distributions with temperatures of ≈ 1400 K and ≈ 1200 K for the ν = 0 and ν = 1 levels, respectively. The form of these rotational distributions are qualitatively explained by a statistical predissociation of C 4 N 2 .
Extracranial nasopharyngeal craniopharyngioma: case report.

OBJECTIVE: Craniopharyngiomas (CPs) are benign tumors that almost always occur in a suprasellar location, making complete resection difficult and often necessitating radiotherapy. A case of CP presenting in an unusual location in an 8-year-old boy highlights the goals of CP treatment. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: An 8-year-old boy sought treatment for symptoms of nasal obstruction and snoring. He also had a history of mild developmental delay, and his father had a thyroglossal duct cyst resected in his own youth. After tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy failed to improve the patient's symptoms, nasal endoscopy and biopsy revealed an intranasal CP. After this treatment, he experienced chronic thin brown nasal discharge. Magnetic resonance imaging further revealed tumor invading the sphenoid body and the clivus and that the tumor had no intracranial extension. INTERVENTION:The child underwent surgical resection via a Le Fort I osteotomy approach. Complete resection was accomplished based on intraoperative frozen section pathological examination and postoperative magnetic resonance imaging results. CONCLUSION: CP with no intracranial extension is a very rare but benign tumor. We recommend vigorous attempts to resect such tumors completely to minimize the chance of recurrence and the possible need for radiotherapy. Although radiotherapy controls CP growth quite well, it has its own risks that should be avoided if possible. Cranial base techniques may facilitate total resection.
Modelling non-verbal sounds for speech recognition

When speech understanding systems are used in real applications, they encounter incidental noise generated by the speaker and the environment. Such noises can cause serious problems for speech recognizers not designed to cope with them. We attempt to model these noises by training HMM "noise words" to match classes of noises. The noise words were incorporated into the Sphinx system and performance compared to the system without noise words. Initial results suggest that the technique does increase system performance significantly.
Beta 1 integrins signal lipid second messengers required during cell adhesion.

Abstract Clustering of integrin receptors during cell adhesion stimulates signal transduction across the cell membrane. Second messengers are generated, activating cytosolic proteins and causing cytoskeletal assembly and rearrangement. HeLa cell adhesion to a collagen substrate has been shown to initiate an arachidonic acid-mediated signaling pathway, leading to the activation of protein kinase C (PKC) and cell spreading. To determine the role of integrin receptors in triggering this signaling pathway, monoclonal antibodies to beta 1 integrins were used to either cluster integrins on the cell surface or to provide an integrin-dependent substrate for cell adhesion. Using this approach, we have defined a pathway required for cell spreading that can be initiated by the ligation of integrins and leads to the activation of PKC. Specifically, our results indicate that clustering beta 1 integrins results in the activation of phospholipase A2 leading to the production of arachidonic acid and the activation of PKC.
Tilt from releveling: An overview of the U.S. data base

Abstract Because of existing uncertainties as to the influence of errors and non-tectonic movements on releveling estimates of vertical crustal movement, we have taken an empirical approach to investigate some characteristics of the U.S. releveling data base as a whole. Our primary purpose is to establish typical magnitudes of apparent tilt which can serve as a basis for defining anomalous apparent tilts (the term “apparent” is used since differences between levelings can result from errors as well as surface movement). Our analysis is sensitive to apparent tilts with characteristic lengths (i.e. lengths over which tilt is coherent) of 10 to about 70 km, a range which is relevant to many tectonic processes. The apparent tilts developed over a given characteristic length tend to decline as the characteristic length increases. That is the “apparent tilt spectrum” has most “energy” at small spatial wavelengths. For the entire data base the typical magnitudes of apparent tilt for characteristic lengths between 20 and 30 km and between 60 and 70 km are 2.0 and 0.7 μrad respectively. These values are approximately three times larger than the magnitude of apparent tilt expected from random errors. The typical magnitude of apparent tilt averaged over all lengths in the western U.S. (∼- 2.6 μrad) is about 1 μrad higher than that in the east (∼- 1.6 μrad). The largest observed apparent tilts for the entire data base occur along approximately flat routes. For the most part, these large apparent tilts result from real surface movement and are directly associated with sediment compaction due to water withdrawal in flat lying sedimentary areas. While a number of tectonically active areas are characterized by high average apparent tilts, the average magnitude of apparent tilt in releveling data defining the southern California uplift, a feature of much current debate, is not significantly different from that for the entire western U.S. This analysis emphasizes that real surface movements (tectonic and nontectonic) are a significant factor contributing to the high magnitude of apparent tilt relative to random error estimates.
A formal protection model of security in centralized, parallel, and distributed systems

One way to show that a system is not secure is to demonstrate that a malicious or mistake-prone user or program can break security by causing the system to reach a nonsecure state. A fundamental aspect of a security model is a proof that validates that every state reachable from a secure initial state is secure. A sequential security model assumes that every command that acts as a state transition executes sequentially, while a concurrent security model assumes that multiple commands execute concurrently. This paper presents a security model called the Centralized-Parallel-Distributed model (CPD model) that defines security for logically, or physically centralized, parallel, and distributed systems. The purpose of the CPD model is to define concurrency conditions that guarentee that a concurrent system cannot reach a state in which privileges are configured in a nonsecure manner. As an example, the conditions are used to construct a representation of a distributed system.
Transrectal ultrasound-guided intraprostatic injection of absolute ethanol with and without carmustine: a feasibility study in the canine model.

Abstract Objectives. To develop a reliable intraprostatic injection technique and to define the local and systemic toxicity of intraprostatic injection of dehydrated ethanol with and without carmustine. Methods. Twenty-three random-source male canines were divided into a control group (n = 3), a dehydrated ethanol-alone group (group 1, n = 10), and a dehydrated ethanol-plus-carmustine group (group 2, n = 10). A reliable intraprostatic injection technique was developed with the control animals. The optimal volume of dehydrated ethanol for intraprostatic injection and the local tissue effects of dehydrated ethanol injection were defined with group 1. The local tissue effects of escalating doses of carmustine were defined with group 2. All animals were injected under general anesthesia using transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) guidance. Fourteen days after injection, a repeated TRUS of the prostate was done, the animals were killed, and the bladder, prostate, and periprostatic tissues were excised for pathologic examination. Results. Sonographic changes in the prostate 2 weeks after injection were present in all group 1 and 2 animals. All prostates had varying amounts of hemorrhagic and coagulative necrosis, which correlated with the TRUS findings. There were no differentiating pathologic features between group 1 and group 2 specimens. The relative amount of necrosis varied with the doses of dehydrated ethanol and carmustine injected, but was not predictable on the basis of the doses administered. Subclinical prostatic microabscesses were identified in 6 of 10 group 1 animals and 4 of 10 group 2 animals. Only group 2 animals had alterations in their blood chemistry results, all of which were self-limited. Two had white blood cell nadirs of less than 2000 5 days after injection. No animals developed incontinence, and there were no rectal injuries. Conclusions. Intraprostatic dehydrated ethanol and carmustine injections were readily controllable under TRUS guidance and resulted in hemorrhagic and coagulative necrosis of prostatic tissue with minimal associated morbidity and no incontinence in the dog model. Hematologic changes observed in the animals that received carmustine were self-limiting.