cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The activity of taxanes compared with bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin in the treatment of sex cord-stromal ovarian tumors

Abstract Objective We compared the efficacy and side effects of taxanes, with or without platinum, to bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin (BEP) in treating sex cord-stromal ovarian tumors. Methods We conducted a retrospective review of all patients with sex cord-stromal ovarian tumors seen at our institution from 1985 to 2002. Eligible patients were those who underwent pathologic confirmation, clinical evaluation, and treatment with a taxane or BEP for initial or recurrent disease. Results Of 222 patients identified, 21 received BEP for new ( n = 11) or recurrent disease ( n = 10); 44 received a taxane during 48 treatment episodes (four patients on two occasions each) for new ( n = 11) or recurrent disease ( n = 37). Newly diagnosed patients treated with BEP vs. taxanes had no significant difference in response rate (Fisher's exact test, P = 1), progression-free survival (PFS) (log-rank test, P = 0.213), or overall survival (log-rank test, P = 0.994). Among patients treated for recurrent measurable disease, the response rate was higher for BEP-treated (71%) than for taxane-treated patients (37%), but this was not statistically significant. In all patients treated for recurrent disease, there was no significant difference in failure to progress at chemotherapy completion between BEP- (70%) and taxane-treated patients (62%) or in median PFS (11.2 vs. 7.2 months). The presence of platinum in taxane-containing regimens correlated with response. Taxane-related side effects included neutropenia ( n = 6), anemia ( n = 1), thrombocytopenia ( n = 1), myelodysplasia ( n = 1), and hypersensitivity ( n = 1). BEP-related side effects included pulmonary fibrosis ( n = 3) and neutropenia ( n = 2). Conclusions Taxanes demonstrated activity against sex cord-stromal tumors of the ovary and may be less toxic than BEP. Taxane and platinum combination chemotherapy warrants further investigation in this disease.
Can Prenatal Ultrasound Predict Pulmonary Hypoplasia

Pulmonary hypoplasia is often associated with sonographically detectable conditions: oligohydramnios, prolonged premature rupture of membranes, and, not infrequently, fetal anomalies. In their efforts to improve prenatal sonographic diagnosis of this condition, investigators have used an array of different sonographic biometric measurements and fetal behavioral patterns. Definitions of these measurements and their respective successes in predicting pulmonary hypoplasia are presented. The sonographic parameters that have been of most value in the prediction of pulmonary hypoplasia are chest circumference, direct measurements of the lung, lung length, lung span to hemithorax diameter, and more complex formulas, such as lung area/heart area x 100/chest area. Although fetal measurements may help predict pulmonary hypoplasia, no single sonographic finding consistently leads to a prediction of the presence of pulmonary hypoplasia. Therefore, obstetric management (i.e., nonintervention) cannot currently be alter...
Minimum energy asteroid reconfigurations and catastrophic disruptions

Abstract Dramatic alteration of an asteroid's morphology need not involve high energy impacts between bodies. Simple sunlight shining on an asteroid can, through the YORP effect, cause it to undergo dramatic reconfigurations, fission into a binary asteroid or, in some cases, even undergo a catastrophic disruption with the asteroid losing a large fraction of its initial mass. This paper discusses the system level constraints and conditions for these reconfigurations to occur for a body modeled as a collection of rigid bodies as its spin rate changes.
An Active Mirror Image Stabilizing Instrument System (ISIS) For Use On Mauna Kea

On nights when the seeing is at its best on Mauna Kea, the cores of images produced by the large optical telescopes (UH 2.24-m and CFHT 3.6-m) shrink to sizes < 0.5 arcsec. During these periods, the image cores show translational motion over a patch < 1 arcsec at frequencies < 30 Hz. To remove this translation motion, an Image Stabilizing Instrument System (ISIS) has been built and used on Mauna Kea. The instrument contains a microprocessor-controlled active plane mirror capable of being repositioned every 2 ms, a photon-counting guide probe, and an active shutter to remove moments of excessive image blur. We describe the instrument's design detail, discuss the optimal way to use such an instrument, and show samples of observational data taken with it.© (1984) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Beyond Governance: Bringing Power into Policy Analysis

Abstract This article discusses how power may be fruitfully brought into policy analysis in order to make efforts to support development and poverty alleviation in developing countries. It begins by asking why power has been left out of development policy analysis for such a long time and proceeds by discussing what a power analysis entails. The third section provides a framework for how power can be brought into policy analysis as an independent and dependent variable. It concludes by demonstrating the usefulness of this approach and discussing the implications it has for the kind of data needed for development analysis and the kind of approach to adopt. This approach is shown to transcend the limitations of conventional diplomatic reporting on politics and regular macro-economic analysis, which is based largely on questionable national statistical information.
Sentinel presentation of disseminated Blastomyces dermatitidis infection as hip pain in a young adult: a case report.

In young, active patients, the common causes of hip pain are multiple and can include muscle strain, contusion, acetabular labral tear, osteochondral injury, sports hernia, snapping hip, proximal femoral stress fracture, and spinal abnormalities1-3. In most patients, an initial trial of nonoperative management is instituted. If pain persists or is of an unusual presentation, a more extensive diagnostic workup may be used. A thorough clinical evaluation can expedite the diagnosis of uncommon conditions of the musculoskeletal system, and the diagnostic evaluation may include magnetic resonance imaging of the pelvis and hip to evaluate the integrity of the periarticular structures. The case of the patient in the present report illustrates an unusual presentation of disseminated Blastomyces dermatitidis infection causing hip pain that was diagnosed with magnetic resonance imaging and was successfully treated through a multidisciplinary approach. The parents of the patient were informed that data concerning the case would be submitted for publication, and they consented. A seventeen-year-old boy presented to our clinic with a chief complaint of an insidious onset of hip pain of approximately two weeks’ duration that was minimally responsive to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. He had previously worked at a job in construction requiring heavy labor and lived in the Missouri River valley region. The hip pain was limiting his ability to work at his normal level. The pain was primarily localized to the lateral aspect of the hip at the greater trochanteric region and the lateral iliac wing without radiation. He denied any fevers, chills, or other constitutional symptoms …
Can contextual cues control consummatory successive negative contrast

Abstract Rats exposed to incentive downshift show behavioral deterioration. This phenomenon, called successive negative contrast (SNC), occurs in instrumental and consummatory responses (iSNC, cSNC). Whereas iSNC is related to the violation of reward expectancies retrieved in anticipation of the goal (cued-recall), cSNC involves reward rejection and may require only recognition memory retrieved at consumption. The three within-subject experiments reported here suggest that cued-recall memory can also operate in cSNC under some conditions. A small but significant cSNC effect was obtained when animals were exposed to the conditioning context during an average 90-s interval before the introduction of the incentive (either 16% or 2% sucrose solutions), rather than being given immediate access to the sucrose upon entry into the context (Experiment 1). Neither simultaneous contrast (Experiment 2) nor simple sequential effects (Experiment 3) contribute to this within-subject version of cSNC. These results suggest that cSNC can be shifted to a cued-recall mode with appropriate training parameters.
Out-of-hospital airway management in the United States.

Objective: Prior studies describe airway management by single EMS agencies, regions or states. We sought to characterize out-of-hospital airway management interventions, outcomes and complications across the United States. Methods: Using the 2008 National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) PublicRelease Data Set containing data from 16 states, we identified patients receiving advanced airway management, including endotracheal intubation (ETI), alternate airways (Combitube, Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA), King LT, Esophageal-Obturator Airway (EOA)), and cricothyroidotomy (needle and open). We examined airway management success and complications in the full cohort and in key subsets (cardiac arrest, non-arrest medical, non-arrest injury, children <10 and 10–19 years, rapid-sequence intubation (RSI), population setting and US census region). We analyzed the data using descriptive statistics. Results: Among 4,383,768 EMS activations, there were 10,356 ETI, 2246 alternate airways, and 88 cricothyroidotomies. ETI success rates were: overall 6482/8418 (77.0%; 95% CI: 76.1–77.9%), cardiac arrest 3494/4482 (78.0%), non-arrest medical 616/846 (72.8%), non-arrest injury 417/505 (82.6%), children <10 years 295/397 (74.3%), children 10–19 years 228/289 (78.9%), adult 5829/7552 (77.2%), and rapidsequence intubation 289/355 (81.4%). ETI success was success was lowest in the South US census region. Alternate airway success was 1564/1794 (87.2%). Major complications included: bleeding 84 (7.0 per 1000 interventions), vomiting 80 (6.7 per 1000) and esophageal intubation 12 (1.0 per 1000). Conclusions: In this study characterizing out-of-hospital airway management across the United States, we observed low out-of-hospital ETI success rates. These data may guide national efforts to improve the quality of out-of-hospital airway management.
On the psychological reality of story structure

Three experiments investigated people's ability to access knowledge about the structure of traditional stories. Stories that systematically varied in structure were written, and subjects were asked to divide them into parts. The judgments were submitted to hierarchical clustering analyses and compared to the structures produced by the Mandler and Johnson (1977) story grammar. Results of the first experiment showed that people can identify all the terminal units in stories as well as different kinds of episodic structure. Structures in which one episode is embedded inside another were the most difficult. In addition, subjects were not sensitive to intermediate levels of analysis. Experiment 2 showed that when attention was focused on the intermediate units, one such unit, the Goal Path, emerged in the judgments. These data provide evidence for a hierarchical structure to within‐story episodes. Experiment 3 showed that the same judgments about terminal units were made even when the number of sentences per u...
An algorithm for determining consistency and manufacturing of dimensioned drawings

In the one dimensional case (vertical or horizontal dimensioning of a parallel sided object) the question of whether an object is consistently dimensioned may be answered simply in graph theoretical terms. The representation as a graph of a dimensioning scheme has vertices corresponding to the faces of the object and possesses an edge between two vertices if the corresponding pair of faces is dimensioned. A one dimensional scheme is consistent if its graph is a tree. In this paper we extend this concept to 2 dimensions. We give a graph theoretical characterisation of consistency and manufacturability and an algorithm which detects these properties. The algorithm also yields a construction sequence for converting a dimensioned drawing into a Cartesian coordinate representation.
Pneumatic Air Separation for the Sorting of Parasitized and Unparasitized Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) Puparia

A pneumatic air separator was successfully used to separate unparasitized puparia of Bactmcera dorsalis (Hendel), B. cucurbitae (Coquillett), and Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Weidemann), from puparia parasitized by Diachasmirrwrpha longicaudata (Ashmead). Psyttalia fietcheri (Silvestri), and D. tryoni (Cameron), respectively. Separation was done 9-13 d after parasitization with little difference in efficiency of separation among species. Differences in bulk densities (weight to volume) of the unparasitized puparia of the different fly species were all <10% so they could not be separated by this method. Mortality (percentage unemerged) of the flies and parasitoids was not significantly affected by separation procedure. This equipment is adaptable to an automated rearing and handling system for the reduction of labor costs.
Electromechanical Modeling of the Low-Frequency Zigzag Micro-Energy Harvester:

An analytical electromechanical model is proposed to predict the deflection, voltage, and the power output of a proposed low-frequency micro-harvesting structure. The high natural frequencies of th...
Color stability of long-term soft denture liners.

The use of resilient denture liners in complete denture construction has become increasingly popular for providing comfort for denture wearers. The primary disadvantage of these materials is that the physical and mechanical properties change rapidly with time in a service environment. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the color stability of five commercially available soft denture liners as a function of accelerated aging. Color measurements were made before aging with a colorimeter and data processor. The samples were then weathered for 100 hours in an accelerated aging chamber in the presence of a xenon ultraviolet visible-light source, an intermittent water spray at 110 degrees F, and 90% humidity. After aging, color measurements were made again and color differences (delta E) were calculated. Results were statistically tested with analysis of variance and Scheffe intervals were calculated at 0.96. It was concluded that accelerated aging can be used to evaluate color stability of soft denture liners.
Oxidation of AlAs films under ultrahigh vacuum conditions: interaction of H2O and O2 with the AlAs(001) surface

Abstract The initial stages of oxidation of AlAs(001) (using H2O and O2 as the oxidants) have been investigated using Auger electron spectroscopy, temperature-programmed desorption and high-resolution electron energy-loss spectroscopy. We have found that O2 has a low probability of dissociative chemisorption on AlAs(001), rendering it ineffective as an oxidant of AlAs under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. In contrast, water, by virtue of overlapping desorption and dissociation temperatures, is able to dissociate readily on the AlAs(001) surface. Water dissociation within the subsurface is observed, indicative of Al oxide/hydroxide formation. Arsenic is found to be depleted within the oxide film by arsine desorption, a process which is shown to enhance the oxide growth. By identifying the various reaction steps which occur (with annealing) after the low-temperature adsorption of water on AlAs(001), we are able to propose a mechanism for the initial stages of wet AlAs oxidation. Briefly, the initial H2O adsorption occurs molecularly at 100 K. Upon annealing to 160 K, both desorption and dissociation from the molecularly adsorbed state occurs. Both AlO and AlOH, as well as AsH, are produced by the dissociation of H2O (via partial and total dehydrogenation, respectively). The AlOH species disproportionate and/or rehydrogenate between 400 and 650 K resulting in H2O desorption. The remaining AlOH dehydrogenate above 550 K to produce AlO and desorbing hydrogen. The AsH species desorb as AsH3 in a broad peak at 500–550 K with an additional low-temperature desorption peak appearing below 200 K after higher H2O exposures.
A phase 2 consortium (P2C) trial of 3-aminopyridine-2-carboxaldehyde thiosemicarbazone (3-AP) for advanced adenocarcinoma of the pancreas

3-Aminopyridine-2-carboxaldehyde thiosemicarbazone (3-AP, Triapine®) is a novel small molecule inhibitor of ribonucleotide reductase (RR) with clinical signs of activity in pancreatic cancer. Therefore, the Phase 2 Consortium (P2C) initiated a trial (two single stage studies with planned interim analysis) of 3-AP at 96 mg/m2 intravenously days 1–4 and 15–18 of a 28-day cycle in both chemotherapy-naive and gemcitabine-refractory (GR) patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. The primary endpoint was survival at six months (chemotherapy-naive) and four months (GR). Secondary endpoints were toxicity, response, overall survival, time to progression and mechanistic studies. Fifteen patients were enrolled including one chemotherapy-naive and 14 GR. The chemotherapy-naive patient progressed during cycle 1 with grade 3 and 4 toxicities. Of 14 GR patients, seven received two cycles, six received one cycle and one received eight cycles. Progression precluded further treatment in 11 GR patients. Additionally, one died of an ileus in cycle 1 considered related to treatment and two stopped treatment due to toxicity. Five GR patients had grade 4 toxicities possibly related to 3-AP and six GR patients had grade 3 fatigue. Toxicities and lack of meaningful clinical benefit prompted early study closure. Four-month survival in GR patients was 21% (95% CI: 8–58%). Correlative studies confirmed that 3-AP increased the percentage of S-phase buccal mucosal cells, the presence of multidrug resistance gene polymorphisms appeared to predict leukopenia, and baseline pancreatic tumor RR M2 expression was low relative to other tumors treated with 3-AP. In conclusion, this regimen appears inactive against predominantly GR pancreatic cancer. RR M2 protein may not have a critical role in the malignant potential of pancreatic cancer.
Method for the quantitative analysis of volatile free and total branched-chain fatty acids in cheese and milk fat

Abstract Volatile free fatty acids ( 12 ) in Parmesan cheese and milk fat were extracted with diethyl ether:hexane, adsorbed on neutral alumina, eluted from alumina with formic acid in diisopropyl ether, and separated from long-chain fatty acids by simultaneous distillation-extraction. Volatile branched-chain fatty acids in total lipid extracts were isolated similarly after alkaline hydrolysis. Butyl esters of isolated fatty acids were prepared, extracted into pentane, washed with methanol:water, and analyzed on a bonded polyethylene glycol (Supelcowax10) capillary column. Esters of fatty acids were identified by gas chromatographymass spectroscopy and were quantified by gas chromatography using 2-ethylnonanoic acid as an internal standard. In addition to the usual even carbon-numbered FFA, 2-methylbutanoic, 3-methylbutanoic, 2ethylbutanoic, pentanoic, 3-methylpentanoic, 4methylpentanoic. 2-ethylhexanoic, 4-methylhexanoic, heptanoic, a methylheptanoic, an ethylheptenoic, 4-ethylheptanoic (or 3-methyloctanoic), 4-methyloctanoic, a methyloctanoic, nonanoic, 4-methylnonanoic, 8-methylnonanoic, 2-ethyldecanoic, and 9-decenoic acids were identified and quantified. Substantial reservoirs of volatile branched-chain. odd carbon-numbered, and unsaturated fatty acids occur in cow's milk fat.
978-122 Ultra Exercise Induces Right Ventricular Dysfunction

There is concern that very extensive ″ultra exercise″ might lead to left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and cardiac damage. Accordingly, we studied 23 runners participating in a 100 mile race (Hardrock 100, Silverton, Colorado) at high altitude (9318 feet). Subjects had baseline echocardiograms, finger tip oximeter readings and bloods for cardiac troponin I (cTnl) and MB creatine kinase (CK). In the 14 subjects (mean age = 43 ± 8 years) who finished the race, an immediate (20–30 min after finishing) post race echocardiogram, oximeter reading and blood sample for cTnl and MBCK were obtained. Studies were repeated 24 hours later. At baseline, all oximeter readings, echocardiograms, cTnl and MBCK values were normal. Post race and at 24 hours, oximeter readings were unchanged and all cTnl values were normal except for one subject with a minor elevation. MBCK was elevated in all finishers (mean 52 ± 28 ng/ml post race) and was not related to echocardiographic abnormalities. In 5 patients with bronchospasm post race, right ventricular (RV) dilation, depressed function of the RV free wall and paradoxical septal motion was observed (a pattern of ″RV pressure and volume overload″). In these subjects, systolic pulmonary artery pressure estimated from the tricuspid regurgitant jet had increased from 28 ± 2 to 55 ± 10 mmHg, p l 0.005. The subject with the elevated value of cTnl had severe RV dysfunction and the highest pulmonary artery pressure, 65 mmHg. No new LV wall motion abnormalities were observed. RV dysfunction resolved completely in all subjects by 24 hours post race. Subjects with bronchospasm indicated that it had occurred previously during long races. These data do not support studies that contend that ultra exercise damages the left ventricle. They do suggest that in susceptible subjects, ultra exercise can induce pulmonary hypertension that is severe enough to cause reversible RV dysfunction.
A new bitumen recovery technology and its potential application to remediation of oil spills

Abstract A new process of bitumen recovery from tar sand has been developed which utilizes the saponification reaction between the long-chain acids in the raw bitumen and the fresh alkaline solution with the aid of ultrasound. The bitumen recovered was found to be upgraded as evidenced by its extremely low contents of asphaltene and pre-asphaltene. The time required for separation can be greatly reduced if the spent alkaline solution (which contained a substantial amount of surfactants and still had high alkalinity) from the first phase of this work was re-used in subsequent experiments. Furthermore, a high efficiency of bitumen recovery can be achieved within minutes if a trace amount of a free radical reagent (such as H2O2) was added to the spent alkaline solution. The feasibility of applying this innovative technology to the separation of hydrocarbons from beach sands and soils contaminated by oil spills was also demonstrated in this work. The mechanism for such efficient recovery (or separation) and upgrading of hydrocarbons is discussed from the viewpoints of membrane mimetic chemistry and sonochemistry.
Fuel chemistry and cetane effects on diesel homogeneous charge compression ignition performance, combustion, and emissions

The effects of cetane number (CN) on homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) performance and emissions were investigated in a single-cylinder engine with port fuel injection, using intake air temperature for control. Commercial fuels and blends of the diesel secondary reference fuels were evaluated, covering a CN range from 19 to 76. Sweeps of intake air temperature showed that low-CN fuels needed higher intake temperatures than high-CN fuels to achieve ignition. As a function of intake air temperature, each fuel passed through a point of maximum indicated mean effective pressure (i.m.e.p.). High-CN fuels required a combustion phasing approximately 10 crank angle degrees (CAD) earlier than the lowest CN fuels in order to prevent misfire. The high-CN fuels exhibited a strong low-temperature heat release (LTHR) event, while no LTHR was detected for fuels with CN < 34. All of the fuels yielded comparable NO2 emissions (< 6 ppm at 3.5 bar i.m.e.p.) at their respective maximum i.m.e.p. timeing. Low-CN fuels were prone to excessive pressure rise rates and NO2 emissions at advanced phasing, while high-CN fuels were prone to excessive CO emissions at retarded phasing. These results suggest that the products of LTHR, which are high in CO, are more sensitive to the quenching effects of cylinder expansion. Engine speed was found to suppress LTHR since higher engine speed reduces the time allowed for the LTHR reactions. In addition to measurements of standard gaseous emissions, additional sampling and analysis techniques were used to identify and measure the individual exhaust HC species including an array of oxygenated compounds. In addition to high concentrations of formaldehyde and other low molecular weight carbonyls, results showed an abundance of organic acids, ranging from formic to nonanoic acid. Concentrations of high molecular weight partially oxidized species were highest for the high-CN fuels at retarded phasing, and are believed to be a direct product of LTHR. (A)
Implications of spatial and physical structures for ICT as a tool of urban management and development in Cameroon

Abstract Information and communication technologies (ICTs) hold enormous promise for development efforts in developing countries. However, the potential of ICTs remains untapped for reasons that are largely unknown in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This region has the lowest level of ICT penetration in the world. The need to understand impediments to ICT performance are therefore most urgent in this region. This paper seeks to address this need by identifying factors that inhibit the functionality of ICT as a tool for improving urban management. It analyzes two cities in the region, namely Douala and Yaounde, respectively Cameroon’s economic/cultural and politico-administrative capitals. The following three factors are shown to impede the functioning of ICT devices, hence urban management in these cities: colonial racial segregation policies, the colonial legacy of land use compartmentalization and the lack of unambiguous physical addresses for structures in the built environment. It is suggested that concerned authorities institute the following measures. 1] Establish an unambiguous addressing system reposed on the municipal governance structure and the country’s vehicle matriculation taxonomy. 2] Actively promote ICT as an element of national development. Finally, it presents some examples of efforts to improve ICT penetration and functionality from Senegal and South Africa.
Characteristics and clinical impact of stimulation-evoked seizures during extraoperative cortical mapping.

Abstract Extraoperative electrocortical stimulation mapping (ESM) is used to identify functional cortex prior to epilepsy surgery, with the goal of preserving function postoperatively. Although attempts are made to avoid stimulation-evoked seizure activity, the clinical impact of these events with regard to safety, clinical utility, functional outcome, and even disruption to the procedure itself is unknown. We conducted a retrospective review of 57 patients with pharmacoresistant focal epilepsy who underwent intracranial electrode implantation and ESM. Stimulation-evoked seizures (afterdischarges associated with clinical signs or symptoms) occurred in 19 patients (33%). Mapping sessions were disrupted for 11 of these patients (i.e., 19% of the full sample and 58% of the subgroup of patients with stimulation-evoked seizures). Patients who had ESM disruption were no less likely than patients without ESM disruption to be seizure-free at one year (p = 0.63) and two years (p = 0.57) postoperatively. Among 23 patients who underwent language assessment pre- and postoperatively, 4 (17%) had evoked seizures that disrupted language mapping; these patients were no more likely to show postoperative language declines relative to those who had no ESM disruption (p = 0.26). Results suggest that evoked seizures occur frequently during ESM and can disrupt the procedure; however, these events do not appear to adversely affect postoperative outcomes. Nevertheless, attempts should be made to limit stimulation-evoked seizures in order to reduce patient discomfort, increase efficiency, and maximize the utility of ESM.
Disruption of blastomeric F-actin: a potential early biomarker of developmental toxicity in zebrafish

The expression of at least some biomarkers of toxicity is generally thought to precede the appearance of frank pathology. In the context of developmental toxicity, certain early indicators may be predictive of later drastic outcome. The search for predictive biomarkers of toxicity in the cells (blastomeres) of an early embryo can benefit from the fact that for normal development to proceed, the maintenance of blastomere cellular integrity during the process of transition from an embryo to a fully functional organism is paramount. Actin microfilaments are integral parts of blastomeres in the developing zebrafish embryo and contribute toward the proper progression of early development (cleavage and epiboly). In early embryos, the filamentous actin (F-actin) is present and helps to define the boundary of each blastomere as they remain adhered to each other. In our studies, we observed that when blastomeric F-actin is depolymerized by agents like gelsolin, the blastomeres lose cellular integrity, which results in abnormal larvae later in development. There are a variety of toxicants that depolymerize F-actin in early mammalian embryos, the later consequences of which are, at present, not known. We propose that very early zebrafish embryos (~5-h old) exposed to such toxicants will also respond in a like manner. In this review, we discuss the potential use of F-actin disruption as a predictive biomarker of developmental toxicity in zebrafish.
Histological Examination of Solitary Contralateral Descended Testis in Congenital Absence of Testis

Purpose: Congenital absence of the testis is believed to be secondary to prenatal torsion, differing from the isolated undescended testis. We determined whether congenital absence of the testis is associated with abnormal histology in the solitary contralateral descended testis.Materials and Methods: A total of 239 boys with a primary diagnosis of unilateral absent testis underwent orchiectomy and testis biopsy. Germ cell counts were compared between solitary contralateral descended testes and contralateral descended testes in a randomly selected, age matched cohort of patients with unilateral undescended testes. Subanalyses evaluating hypertrophic testes and hypertrophic prepubertal testes between the study groups were performed.Results: The solitary contralateral descended testis group exhibited a significantly greater volume (p <0.001) and a significantly greater germ cell count (p = 0.001). In the hypertrophied testes there was a greater gonocyte count (p = 0.02), greater percentage of gonocytes (p = ...
A Metric for Judicious Relaxation of Timing Constraints in Soft Real-Time Systems

For soft real-time systems, timing constraints are not as stringent as those in hard real-time systems: some constraint violations are permitted as long as the amount of violation is within a given limit. The allowed flexibility for soft real-time systems can be utilized to improve system's other quality-of-service (QoS) properties, such as energy consumption. One way to enforce constraint violation limit is to allow an expansion of timing constraint feasible region, but restrict the expansion in such a way that the relaxed constraint feasible region sufficiently resembles the original one. In this paper, we first introduce a new metric, constraint set similarity, to quantify the resemblance between two different timing constraint sets. Because directly calculating the exact value of the metric involves calculating the size of a polytope which is a #P-hard problem, we instead introduce an efficient method for estimating its bound. We further discuss how this metric can be exploited for evaluating trade-offs between timing constraint compromises and system's other QoS property gains. We use energy consumption reduction as an example to show the application of the proposed metric.
The role of prevalence in the diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Background: The worldwide incidence of prostate cancer has been rising rapidly, likely due to intensified effort in early detection and screening. Intense effort is also directed at novel schemas of chemoprevention and therapy. Incidence data are insufficient to identify the true magnitude of prostate cancer in a given population. The true prevalence of prostate cancer must be identified. Methods: We reviewed the latest worldwide epidemiologic data and clinical studies on prostate cancer studying the true prevalence of this disease. Results: The incidence of prostate cancer is increasing worldwide, with strong variation among regions. Prevalence studies based on autopsy data have confirmed a high frequency of latent prostate cancer in men of all ages. More aggressive screening measures using a lower prostate-specific antigen (PSA) threshold, together with an increasing number of biopsies, have escalated the detection of these latent cancers. Conclusions: Recent improvements in prostate cancer detection narrow the gap between the incidence and true prevalence of prostate cancer. This, however, raises concerns about the risk of over detection of latent cancers and thus identifying a need for improvement in screening strategies to better identify clinically significant disease. More effective measures to determine the actual prevalence of prostate cancer will better define the biological variability of the disease and will optimize prostate cancer management.
Interview with Janet Woodcock.

Dr Janet Woodcock is the Director of the US FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Dr Woodcock has held various positions within the FDA’s Office of the Commissioner from October 2003 until 1 April 2008, as Deputy Commissioner and Chief Medical Officer, Deputy Commissioner for Operations and Chief Operating Officer and Director of the Critical Path Programs. She oversaw scientific and medical regulatory operations for the FDA. Dr Woodcock served as Director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the FDA from 1994 to 2005. She previously served in other positions at the FDA, including Director of the Office of Therapeutics Research and Review and Acting Deputy Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. Dr Woodcock received her MD from Northwestern Medical School (IL, USA), and completed further training and held teaching appointments at the Pennsylvania State University (PA, USA) and the University of California in San Francisco (CA, USA). She joined the FDA in 1986. B...
Possible Immunological Effects of Psychotropic Medication

Psychoactive drugs provide an essential intervention in the care of organ transplant recipients, yet little is known of their effect on immunological function. Human and animal data on immunological effects of neuroleptic (e.g., haloperidol, phenothiazines) and antidepressant agents (e.g., tricyclic antidepressants, fluoxetine) lead to conflicting hypotheses. Lithium carbonate acts through the phosphoinositide system and has a bipolar effect on neuronal activity. Lithium is known to have immuneenhancing properties and is difficult to administer in the peritransplant period but nonetheless deserves study for possible beneficial effects on allograft function.
Possible Amlodipine-Induced Hepatotoxicity After Stem Cell Transplant

Objective: To report the occurrence of hepatotoxicity in a patient initiated on amlodipine. A review of other reports of amlodipine hepatotoxicity is also provided. Case Summary: A 34-year-old patient was admitted for worsening gastrointestinal graft versus host disease 100 days after an allogeneic stem cell transplant and treated with high-dose systemic steroids. Amlodipine was started for steroid-induced hypertension; 11 days after its initiation, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase peaked at 630 and 421 IU/L, respectively. Total bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase remained normal. A liver biopsy interpreted the liver injury as being possibly drug induced. Amlodipine, the most recently added medication, was discontinued, and transaminases trended down to normal within 2 weeks. Discussion: Allogeneic stem cell transplant patients are often prescribed many medications that carry the risk of hepatotoxicity. Amlodipine, ondansetron, and tacrolimus all have literature support for hepatotox...
A new look at central city-suburban differences

Abstract Despite considerable empirical literature demonstrating a variety of socioeconomic relationships between central cities and suburbs, it is still widely believed that suburbs are uniformly more affluent than their respective central cities. Leo Schnore, using 1960 census data, found that this suburban advantage in affluence decreased among the smaller and newer urbanized areas. This article uses 1970 census data to retest the hypotheses of a suburban advantage in affluence. The study introduces a degree of noncomparability with Schnore's earlier work because it uses SMSA age and site measures, while Schnore used urbanized areas. Three major findings resulted from this retest. First, the retest confirmed Schnore's findings that the suburban advantage decreased among the smaller and newer areas. Second, the retest found some leveling tendencies to have occurred between 1960 and 1970. Third, the retest also suggested a new set of variables for explaining the mitigating effect which the metropoli's ag...
Thermodynamic comparison of organic Rankine cycles employing liquid-flooded expansion or a solution circuit

Abstract Two modifications to a conventional Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) are investigated: an Organic Rankine Cycle with Liquid-Flooded Expansion (ORCLFE), and an Organic Rankine Cycle with Solution Circuit (ORCSC). The ORCLFE involves “flooding” the expansion device with a liquid that is in thermal equilibrium with the primary working fluid, while simultaneously expanding the primary working fluid through the same device. The ORCSC employs a zeotropic mixture consisting of two components with a large boiling point difference. The more volatile component in the vapor phase is separated from the absorbent in the liquid phase; the vapor then flows through the expansion device, whereas the liquid absorbent gives rise to a regenerative solution circuit. A thermodynamic model is used to compare these modified ORCs with conventional ORC technology for a range of working fluids including ammonia, water, CO2, acetone, pentane, R134a and R245fa. The working fluid pairs considered for the ORCSC are ammonia–water and CO2–acetone. Based purely on thermodynamic considerations, the conventional ORC using water as the working fluid is found to be more efficient than ORCs that use other working fluids. It yields almost 65% of the Carnot efficiency for a source and sink temperature of 200 °C and 20 °C, respectively. However, the use of water requires low expander exhaust quality, large pressure ratios, and a large expander due to its low density at the expander exhaust. Thus, the practical challenges of using water as a working fluid at typical ORC input temperatures may make its use prohibitive. The ORCLFE always leads to improved cycle efficiency when compared to an ORC for a given working fluid, but it requires the use of a positive displacement expander. The ORCSC shows the lowest efficiencies for the working fluid pairs studied. There are significant practical advantages intrinsic to both the ORCLFE and the ORCSC. For example, the more isothermal expansion of the ORCLFE eliminates the concern of low expander exhaust quality for wet working fluids. The ORCSC provides the ability to use the two-phase temperature glide to match source and sink temperature profiles, facilitates intrinsic capacity control, and can have significantly lower working pressures than an ORC. Ultimately, the overall best choice of cycle and working fluid is highly application-specific and should balance the tradeoffs between efficiency and practical concerns. The thermodynamic analysis presented in this work represents a step toward identifying an optimal ORC solution for an application where the temperature glides of the source and sink fluids are sufficiently small to approximate a thermal energy reservoir.
Glade cascades: indirect legacy effects of pastoralism enhance the abundance and spatial structuring of arboreal fauna

Studies in community ecology are typically conducted over the span of a few years, and results are often interpreted as the product of contemporary processes and interactions. All landscapes have histories, however, and observed patterns of distribution and abundance frequently reflect enduring legacies of past ecological events, the existence and influence of which may not be obvious to investigators. In East Africa, most wildlife occurs outside national reserves and often coexists there with livestock, which are traditionally corralled at night in temporary thorn fence enclosures, or bomas. After being abandoned, bomas develop into nutrient-rich, treeless glades that can persist for more than a century. These hotspots of primary productivity attract both native and domestic large herbivores, but the extent to which their effects cascade to other consumers is unknown. Here, we document positive edge effects of glades on the mean size and growth rates of Acacia trees and show that the density and biomass of arboreal geckos (Lygodactylus keniensis) are elevated near glades and decrease with distance from glades. The edge response of geckos is an indirect effect arising from the positive influence of glades on arboreal arthropod biomass (a trophic effect) and average tree size (a non-trophic effect). By clearing plots of trees to simulate glades, we experimentally demonstrate that these legacy effects arise from the elevated nutrient content of glades as opposed to their distinctive structural features. Finally, we investigated interactions among glade edges, showing that legacy effects are dampened (rather than enhanced) by the presence of other glades nearby. Collectively, our results show that legacy effects of traditional pastoral practices cascade into the treetops, imparting spatial structure across multiple trophic levels in an otherwise homogeneous Kenyan savanna ecosystem.
Selection for Body Weight at Eight Weeks of Age 8. Growth and Metabolism in Two Light Environments

Abstract BIDIRECTIONAL mass selection for body weight at 8 weeks of age has resulted in 2 lines of chickens that are extremely diverse. Not only are they different for body weight, but they also differ in other traits, such as feed efficiency (Siegel and Wisman, 1966), utilization of energy (Siegel and Wisman, 1962), and utilization of specific amino acids by embryos (Lepore et al., 1963). Chicks from the high weight line have greater concentrations of somatic RNA (Lepore et al., 1965), and of hemal reduced glutathione than those of the low weight line (Owens et al., 1970) The purpose of this experiment was to compare the metabolic rates of chickens from these selected lines and to determine the influence of environment on their metabolic rates and growth. The experiment was conducted in 3 trials with 3 different generations of the selected lines. METHODS AND MATERIALS Stocks The chicks used in the…
Yet Another Paper on the Supervenience Argument against Coincident Entities

Statues and lumps of clay are said by some to coincide—to be numerically distinct despite being made up of the same parts. They are said to be numerically distinct because they differ modally. Coincident objects would be non-modally indiscernible, and thus appear to violate the supervenience of modal properties on nonmodal properties. But coincidence and supervenience are in fact consistent if the most fundamental modal features are not properties, but are rather relations that are symmetric as between coincident entities, relations such as “opposite-possibly surviving being squashed”. 1. Coincident entities and modal supervenience Statues and lumps of clay (to take one example) are said by some to coincide—to be numerically distinct despite being made up of the same parts. In order to screen off certain issues about time, let’s consider Alan Gibbard’s (1975) example of Lumpl and Goliath. Lumpl is a lump of clay that is synthesized in statue form, and is later destroyed instantaneously while still in statue form. Goliath is the statue created in this process. According to the friends of coincidence, Goliath and Lumpl have different modal properties: only Lumpl might have survived being squashed. Thus, by Leibniz’s Law, Lumpl is not identical to Goliath. Since Lumpl and Goliath are clearly made up of the same parts, they coincide. Lumpl and Goliath seem to be nonmodally indiscernible: they seem to share all their nonmodal features, both intrinsic and relational. 1 It is this that the inuential
After the Interview

The interview is over; you have survived another one. That is one major hurtle out of the way, but the job is not over yet. Several essential things must still happen. You have to collect your thoughts, wrap up loose ends, and begin to think about what you saw. These elements are just as important, though less pressing, than what has gone before.
Biotransfer and bioaccumulation of dioxins and furans from soil: chickens as a model for foraging animals

Chickens were used as a model for foraging animals to examine the bioavailability of all 2,3,7,8-substituted polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDFs) from soil. Three groups of chickens were exposed through their diet to soil contaminated with PCDD/PCDFs at less than 0.5 pg/g I-TEQ (control group), 42 pg/g I-TEQ (low exposure group), and 460 pg/g I-TEQs (high exposure group). Eggs, tissues, feces and feed were analysed throughout the exposure and depuration period. Daily intake was estimated at 2.5 ng/kg-day for the high and 0.3 ng/kg-day for the low exposure groups. Bioavailability was chlorination-dependent ranging from 80% for tetrachlorinated to less than 10% for octachlorinated congeners. During exposure, tissue distribution was congener-dependent with 5-30% of the intake excreted in the eggs, 7-54% deposited in the adipose and less than 1% present in the liver. On a fat weight basis, the highest concentrations were observed in the liver, implying that mechanisms other than lipid solubility operate in that tissue. Bioconcentration factors and elimination half-lives were also congener- and tissue-dependent. Results from this study indicate that animals foraging on soil contaminated at low ppt PCDD/PCDF levels may bioaccumulate these compounds to unacceptable levels.
Fast impulsive noise removal

A generic n-dimensional filter with the primary purpose of eliminating impulsive-like noise is presented. This recursive nonlinear filter is composed of two conditional rules, which are applied independently, in any order, one after the other. It identifies noisy items by inspection of their surrounding neighborhood, and afterwards it replaces their values with the most "conservative" ones out of their neighbors' values. In this way, no new values are introduced and the histogram distribution range is conserved. This n-dimensional filter can be decomposed recursively to a lower dimensional space, each time generating two sets of n(n-1)-dimensional filters. This study, which focuses on the case of two-dimensional signals (gray scale images), explores one possible implementation of this new filter and orients the evaluation of its performance toward the median filter, as this filter is the basis of many more sophisticated filters for impulsive noise reduction. Tests were carried out using both real and artificial images. We found this new filter to be much faster than the median filter while performing comparably in terms of both image information conservation and noise reduction, which suggests that it could replace the median filter for the preliminary processing included in state-of-the-art noise removal filters. This new filter should either eliminate or attenuate most noisy pixels in synthetic and natural images not excessively contaminated. It has a slight smoothing effect on nonnoisy image regions. In addition, it is scalable, easily implemented, and adaptable to specific applications.