cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reducibility: Another Side Issue?

Charles Taylor, in a paper entitled ‘Mind-Body Identity: A Side Issue’?,1 argues that those who oppose mind-body identity can grant to its defendants all the concessions they desire and still maintain the theses they wish to defend: that, in other words, there is no substantive disagreement between the contestants in the case, and so philosophers of mind would do better to ignore this alleged dispute and turn to still open and more interesting questions. A similar situation obtains, I propose to argue, with respect to the much debated question of the reduction of theories, in particular, the question of the reducibility or the irreducibility of biology to physics.
Neurofibromatosis and Albright's Syndrome

For both NF and Albright's syndrome, the pathogenetic relationships between the various elements of the respective syndromes remain a mystery, and the importance of nontumorous endocrine abnormalities in neurofibromatosis has, in my opinion, been overstated. Nonetheless, the parallel between the two disorders is striking, and the consistent occurrence of skin and skeletal dyplasias in both suggests that a search for the fundamental defect in either can be advanced by focusing on what is common to these two types of tissue. For example, how does one reconcile a disturbance of the melanosome with skeletal aberrations? An answer to that question will put us on the right track. One final question must be asked. Are neurofibromatosis and Albright's syndrome alternate manifestations of the same disorder? In a trivial sense, the answer may be yes. That is, in at least some instances, one condition may have been mistaken for the other, and thus a factitious overlap or "sameness" misconstrued. Upon closer scrutiny, however, there are two important points that would cast doubt on a positive response to this question: Neurofibromatosis, or at least neurofibromatosis I, is heritable as an autosomal dominant trait, whereas heritability has not been documented for Albright's syndrome; and I am unaware of reported cases that describe both disorders, diagnosed by criteria beyond cafe au lait spots and bone dysplasia, in one and the same individual, although such a case has been shared with me by S. A. Sorensen, M.D., of the Genetics Institute of Copenhagen, Denmark. The full reporting of such a case would be of great interest.
Cardiovascular images: vascular hamartoma of the mitral valve in a horse

Abstract An 8-month-old Hanoverian gelding was presented with a history of cardiac murmurs that were not apparent as a foal nor reported at the time of castration. Major echocardiographic findings included mitral valvular thickening, functional stenosis, and mitral regurgitation of sufficient severity to cause diastolic and systolic cardiac murmurs, left-sided volume overload, and pulmonary hypertension. Due to the hemodynamic severity of the lesion and poor prognosis for future performance and longevity, euthanasia was elected. On gross postmortem examination, there was focal fibrous epicarditis affecting the heart base, and the left atrium was moderately dilated. The mitral valve surface was irregular and contained several nodules along the atrial face of the cusp. Histologically, this lesion was diagnosed as a vascular hamartoma, which is rarely reported in veterinary species and has not been described in heart valves. This benign proliferative lesion, and concurrent valvular dysfunction, was associated with an unusual manifestation of clinically evident disease and should be differentiated from common incidental valvular lesions such as hematocysts.
Superior detection of faces in male infants at 2 months

Females generally attend more to social information than males; however, little is known about the early development of these sex differences. With eye tracking, 2-month olds' (N = 101; 44 females) social orienting to faces was measured within four-item image arrays. Infants were more likely to detect human faces compared to objects, suggesting a functional face detection system. Unexpectedly, males looked longer at human faces than females, and only males looked faster and longer at human faces compared to objects. Females, in contrast, looked less at human faces relative to animal faces and objects, appearing socially disinterested. Notably, this is the first report of a male face detection advantage at any age. These findings suggest a unique stage in early infant social development.
Multi-Robot Motion Planning With Dynamics via Coordinated Sampling-Based Expansion Guided by Multi-Agent Search

This letter combines sampling-based motion planning with multi-agent search to efficiently solve challenging multi-robot motion-planning problems with dynamics. This idea has shown promise in prior work that developed a centralized approach to expand a motion tree in the composite state space of all the robots along routes obtained by multi-agent search over a discrete abstraction. Still, the centralized expansion imposes a significant bottleneck due to the curse of dimensionality associated with the high-dimensional composite state space. To improve efficiency and scalebility, we propose a coordinated expansion of the motion tree along routes obtained by the multi-agent search. We first develop a single-robot sampling-based approach to closely follow a given route $\sigma _i$ . The salient aspect of the proposed coordinated expansion is to invoke the route follower one robot at a time, ensuring that robot $i$ follows $\sigma _i$ while avoiding not only the obstacles but also robots $1, \ldots, i-1$ . In the next iteration, the motion tree could be expanded from another state along other routes. This enables the approach to progress rapidly and achieve significant speedups over a centralized approach.
The value of high-dose radiotherapy in intracranial ependymoma.

Background We sought to evaluate the impact of adjuvant radiotherapy dose on overall survival (OS) after surgical resection for localized intracranial ependymoma. Procedure The National Cancer Database (NCDB) was queried from 2004 to 2015 for patients of all ages with intracranial WHO grade II to III ependymoma treated with surgery and 4500 to 7000 cGy of adjuvant radiotherapy. Pearson χ2 test and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess clinicodemographic factors and patterns of care. After propensity-score matching, OS was assessed with Kaplan-Meier analyses and doubly robust estimation with multivariate Cox proportional hazards modeling. Results Of the 1153 patients meeting criteria, 529 (46%) received ≤ 5400 cGy and 624 (54%) received > 5400 cGy. At a median follow-up of 54.5 months, an OS benefit was observed for > 5400 cGy in pediatric patients aged 2-18 years (hazard ratio [HR] 0.53; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.28-0.99, P = 0.047). No OS difference was found between ≤ 5400 cGy and > 5400 cGy in pediatric patients aged 5400 cGy. Conclusion Adjuvant radiotherapy dose > 5400 cGy was associated with improved OS for children aged 2-18 years with WHO grade II-III intracranial ependymoma. No OS benefit was found with > 5400 cGy in adults or children less than two years of age.
Radiolysis products of antioxidants from gamma-irradiated polyethylene resins

Abstract Radiolysis products from irradiated polyethylene resins were investigated using liquid chromatography coupled to photodiode array (PDA) and mass spectrometry (MS) detection. The resins were gamma-irradiated at applicable doses for food applications. The antioxidants and radiolysis products were extracted using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) prior to analysis. Tris(2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl) phosphite and tris(nonylphenyl) phosphite (TNPP) were oxidized to form phosphate as the major product. Nonylphenol (from TNPP), and 2,4-di-tert-butyl phenol (from tris(2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl) phosphite) were also produced by the irradiation. Octadecyl 3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)propionate formed a dehydrogenated product (loss of two hydrogens). The remaining detectable peaks had low responses suggesting low concentrations. Some of the low concentration products were tentatively identified using information from their fragmentation patterns in the MS/MS spectrum, and high mass accuracy measurements.
Challenges and realizations of first-generation students who navigated through transfer momentum points

This qualitative study investigated the challenges experienced by first-generation community college students as they navigated the process of transferring to a four-year university. Participants w...
The Political Economy of the Bretton Woods Agreements

This essay analyzes the sources of the Bretton Woods Agreements and the system they created. The system grew out of the international economic experiences of the previous century, as understood through the lens of both history and theory. It was profoundly influenced by the domestic politics of the countries that created the system, in particular by the United States and the United Kingdom. It was molded by the conflicts and compromises among the signatories to the agreements, as they bargained their way up to and through the Bretton Woods Conference. The results of those complex domestic and international interactions have shaped the world economy for the past seventy-five years.
Re-thinking the social ladder approach for elucidating the evolution and molecular basis of insect societies

The evolution of large insect societies is a major evolutionary transition that occurred in the long-extinct ancestors of termites, ants, corbiculate bees, and vespid wasps. Researchers have long used 'social ladder thinking': assuming progressive stepwise phenotypic evolution and asserting that extant species with simple societies (e.g. some halictid bees) represent the ancestors of species with complex societies, and thus provide insight into general early steps of eusocial evolution. We discuss how this is inconsistent with data and modern evolutionary 'tree thinking'. Phylogenetic comparative methods with broad sampling provide the best means to make rigorous inferences about ancestral traits and evolutionary transitions that occurred within each lineage, and to determine whether consistent phenotypic and genomic changes occurred across independent lineages.
Summary of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee meeting held to consider evaluation of vaccine candidates for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus disease in RSV-naïve infants

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), is a common cause of serious acute lower respiratory tract illness in infants and young children, causing substantial morbidity and mortality globally. Treatment is mainly supportive and currently there is no licensed preventive vaccine. Clinical trials conducted in the 1960s evaluating a formalin-inactivated RSV vaccine (FI-RSV) in RSV-naive infants resulted in observations of enhanced respiratory disease (ERD) following subsequent natural RSV infection in vaccinees. In these studies, infants immunized with FI-RSV had higher rates of severe RSV disease compared with controls. This outcome redirected focus on identifying the immunologic mechanisms that precipitated ERD as a prerequisite to further vaccine development. Improved understanding of the immunopathogenesis of ERD derived from animal models has stimulated development of new candidate vaccines and engendered discussions among RSV experts about the safety data needed to advance these products into the clinic, and ultimately, into the target population of RSV-naive infants. The recognition that multiple products would soon be ready for testing in infants and children prompted the FDA to hold a Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) meeting to seek perspectives and advice of experts regarding the types and extent of preclinical and clinical data that might be needed to support testing in RSV-naive infants for specific types of candidate RSV vaccines. Committee members agreed that, if certain conditions are met in preclinical and early clinical studies, it would be reasonable to move forward from studies in adults and older children and into clinical trials evaluating vaccine safety and efficacy in RSV-naive infants. Herein, we review and summarize perspectives on the discussion regarding recommendations for RSV vaccine development in this population.
Endodontics and Pulpal Diagnosis

When a patient presents to a healthcare provider, it is often with the expectation that the practitioner will “fix what ails” the patient. The practitioner must evaluate the patient’s condition, establish an accurate diagnosis, and offer treatment recommendations. Most often, the goal of treatment is to eliminate the disease process and provide a cure. In some cases, treatment may be palliative in nature or geared toward the management off a chronic condition which aims to provide a discrete level of health. In any case, an accurate diagnosis is essential; without it, any proposed treatment may result in an adverse outcome for the patient. In this chapter the various non-ionizing methods used to render the necessary information to establish an appropriate diagnosis will be discussed. Included are the various traditional procedures such as thermal and mechanical tests most frequently used in the dental setting. In addition, new tests that may provide a more accurate and direct indication of plural health, such as the pulse oximeter, optical coherence tomography, and ultrasound imaging will also be discussed.
Recent Advances in Human iPSC-derived Models of the Blood-Brain Barrier

The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is a critical component of the central nervous system that protects neurons and other cells of the brain parenchyma from potentially harmful substances found in peripheral circulation. Gaining a thorough understanding of the development and function of the human BBB has been hindered by a lack of relevant models given significant species differences and limited access to in vivo tissue. However, advances in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) and organ-chip technologies now allow us to improve our knowledge of the human BBB in both health and disease. This review focuses on the recent progress in modeling the BBB in vitro using human iPSCs.
An integrated solar cell with built-in energy storage capability

Abstract Due to inherent intermittency nature of light, solar energy must be stored within external batteries in photovoltaic systems, resulting in systems that are fragile and expensive. Internal storage integration can offer highly robust systems at substantially low cost if external batteries are replaced by internal ones. Despite excellent photovoltaic power conversion efficiencies of dye-sensitized solar cells, they are short of storage capability. In this work, we demonstrate an integrated solar storage cell that can potentially deliver solar power even in darkness owing to its integrated energy storage capability. The cell was built upon the dye-sensitized solar cell platform using a photochromic WO3 electrode and had the ability to simultaneously generate and store charges during the day and discharge the stored charges during night. Specifically, three different batches of WO3 nanoparticles, each of unique particle size, were investigated in terms of their compatibility with the solar storage cell and built-in storage capacity. Our results revealed that the solar storage cell with the largest WO3 particle size (∼100 nm) exhibited the best transient voltage-current characteristics. On the other hand, intermediate WO3 particle size (60–95 nm) displayed the best storage capacity when undergoing a prolonged photocharging. These comparative investigations shed light on the morphological difference in electrode, active surface area, porosity-dependent electron transport, and redox diffusion coefficient that have a significant impact on the photo/electrochemical properties of the electrodes.
Information: a missing component in understanding and mitigating social epidemics

Social epidemics or behaviorally based non-communicable diseases are becoming an increasingly important problem in developed countries including the United States. It is the aim of our paper to propose a previously understudied aspect of the spread of social epidemics, the role of information in both causing and mitigating social epidemics. In this paper, we ask, can information be harmful, contagious, and a causal factor in social epidemics? In the spread of biological epidemics, the causal agents are biological pathogens such as bacteria or viruses. We propose that in the spread of social epidemics, one of the causal agents is harmful information, which is increasing exponentially in the age of the internet. We ground our idea in the concept of the meme and define the concept of an infopathogen as harmful information that can spread or intensify a social epidemic. Second, we ask, what are the best tools to understand the role of information in the spread of social epidemics? The epidemiological triad that includes a host, agents (and vectors), and the environment is extended into a quad by including information agents. The quad includes the role of information technologies as vectors and the impact of the social environment. The “life cycles” of pathogens in biological epidemics and infopathogens in social epidemics are compared, along with mitigations suggested by the epidemiological quad. Challenges to the theory of infopathogens, including the complexities associated with the spread of memes and the role of behavior in the spread of epidemics are discussed. Implications of the theory including the classification of harmfulness, the freedom of speech, and the treatment of infected individuals are also considered. We believe the application of the epidemiological quad provides insights into social epidemics and potential mitigations. Finally, we stress that infopathogens are only part of social epidemic development; susceptible hosts, a favorable environment, and availability of physical agents are all also required.
Effect of incubator tray location on broiler chicken growth performance, carcass part yields, and the meat quality defects wooden breast and white striping

Large variations in hatching egg incubation temperatures have been previously shown to negatively impact posthatch growth in broiler chickens. The objective was to determine whether small incubation temperature variations owing to incubator tray location (LOC) could alter posthatch female and male broiler growth performance and carcass characteristics. Broiler hatching eggs were obtained from a 40-week-old commercial broiler breeder flock and incubated in trays placed in the bottom (BOT), middle (MID), and top (TOP) thirds of the racks (n = 4 racks per incubator tray LOC) in a single-stage incubator in a commercial hatchery. Chicks hatched from the 3 LOC (n = 720 per LOC) were vent sexed, vaccinated, and separate-sex reared with 12 birds per pen in a floor-pen facility and fed a common corn and soybean meal-based diet for 41 d. At day 41, all birds (n = 720) were processed to determine carcass and carcass part yields and incidence and severity of the meat quality defects wooden breast (WB) and white striping (WS). No LOC × Sex interactions were observed (P > 0.05). Growth performance and incidence and severity of WB and WS were similar among LOC (P > 0.05). However, broilers from BOT trays had heavier tender and breast weights than broilers from warmer MID trays (P < 0.05). Broilers from the BOT trays had higher breast meat yield as a proportion of carcass weight (25.00%) than warmer MID (24.54%) broilers (P < 0.05). However, broilers from warmer MID trays had greater carcass yield than those from cooler TOP trays (P < 0.05). As expected, male broilers had heavier carcass, breast, tender, wings, drumsticks and thighs weights and were more severely affected by WB than females (P < 0.05). Overall, these data indicate that the inherent differences in environmental factors among incubation LOC can impact broiler carcass and breast meat yields.
Sense organ control in moths to moles is a gamble on information

Sensory organs--be they independently movable like eyes or requiring whole body movement as in the case of electroreceptors--are actively manipulated throughout stimulus-driven behaviors. While multiple theories for these movements exist, such as infotaxis, in those cases where they are sufficiently detailed to predict sensory organ trajectories, they show poor fit to measured trajectories. Here we present evidence that during tracking, these trajectories are predicted by energy-constrained proportional betting, where the probability of moving a sense organ to a location is proportional to an estimate of how informative that location will be combined with its energetic cost. Energy-constrained proportional betting trajectories show good agreement with measured trajectories of four species engaged in visual, olfactory, and electrosensory tracking tasks. Our approach combines information-theoretic approaches in sensory neuroscience with analyses of the energetics of movement. It can predict sense organ movements in animals and prescribe them in robotic tracking devices.
A High Reliability Organization (HRO)-based Retrospective Analysis of Boeing 737 Max Crashes

The two crashes of Boeing 737 Max aircrafts within the small span of half a year resulted in tremendous loss of life, money, and public trust in the regulatory systems responsible for ensuring pass...
Distributed ADMM Using Private Blockchain for Power Flow Optimization in Distribution Network With Coupled and Mixed-Integer Constraints

The optimization problem for scheduling distributed energy resources (DERs) and battery energy storage systems (BESS) integrated with the power grid is important to minimize energy consumption from conventional sources in response to demand. Conventionally this optimization problem is solved in a centralized manner, limiting the size of the problem that can be solved and creating a high communication overhead because all the data is transferred to the central controller. These limitations are addressed by the proposed distributed consensus-based alternating direction method of multiplier (DC-ADMM) optimization algorithm, which decomposes the optimization problem into subproblems with private cost function and constraints. The distribution feeder is partitioned into low coupling subnetworks/regions, which solves the private subproblem locally and exchanges information with the neighboring regions to reach consensus. The relaxation strategy is employed for mixed-integer and coupled constraints introduced in the optimal power flow (OPF) problem by stationary and transportable BESS because DC-ADMM convergence is only guaranteed for strict convex problems. The information exchange and synchronization between subnetworks/regions are vital for distributed optimization. In this work, both of these aspects are addressed by the blockchain. The smart contract deployed on the blockchain network acts as a mediator for secure data exchange and synchronization in distributed computation. The blockchain-based distributed optimization problem’s effectiveness is tested for a 0.5-MW laboratory microgrid for one hour ahead and day-ahead for the IEEE 123-bus and EPRI J1 test feeders, and results are compared with a centralized solution.
Operational factors associated with emergency department patient satisfaction: Analysis of the Academy of Administrators of Emergency Medicine/Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine national survey.

BACKGROUND Patient satisfaction is a focus for emergency department (ED) and hospital administrators. ED patient satisfaction studies have tended to be single site and focused on patient and clinician factors. Inclusion of satisfaction scores in a large, national operations database provided an opportunity to conduct an investigation that included diverse operational factors. METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis of the 2019 Academy of Administrators in Academic Emergency Medicine/Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine (AAAEM/AACEM) benchmarking survey to identify associations between operational factors and patient satisfaction. We identified 59 database variables as potential predictors of Press Ganey likelihood-to-recommend and physician overall scores. Using random forest modeling, we identified the top eight predictors in the models and described their associations. RESULTS Forty-three (57.3%) academic departments responding to the AAAEM/AACEM survey reported patient satisfaction scores for 78 EDs. Likelihood to recommend ranged from 30.0 to 93.0 (median = 74.8) and was associated with ED length of stay, boarding, use of hallway spaces, hospital annual admissions, faculty base clinical hours, proportion of patients leaving before treatment complete (LBTC), and provider in triage hours per day. Physician overall score ranged from 53.3 to 93.4 (median = 81.9) and was associated with faculty base clinical hours, x-ray utilization, annual ED arrivals, LBTC, use of hallway spaces, arrivals per attending hour, and CT utilization. CONCLUSIONS ED patient satisfaction was associated with intrinsic and extrinsic factors, some being potentially manageable within the ED but others being relatively fixed or outside the control of ED operations. For likelihood to recommend, patient flow was dominant, with erosion of satisfaction observed with increased boarding and longer LOS. Factors associated with physician overall score were more varied. The use of hallway spaces and base clinical hours greater than 1,500 per year were associated with both lower likelihood-to-recommend and lower physician overall scores.
Laryngeal Endoscopic Imaging: Fundamentals and Key Concepts for Rating Selected Parameters

Purpose The aims of this study were to describe the laryngeal endoscopic imaging techniques of videoendoscopy and videostroboscopy and to provide information regarding their use and limitations in ...
Chemical Evolution on Titan: Comparisons to the Prebiotic Earth

Models for the origin of Titan’s atmosphere, the processing of the atmosphere and surface and its exobiological role are reviewed. Titan has gained widespread acceptance in the origin of life field as a model for the types of evolutionary processes that could have occurred on prebiotic Earth. Both Titan and Earth possess significant atmospheres (≥1 atm) composed mainly of molecular nitrogen with smaller amounts of more reactive species. Both of these atmospheres are processed primarily by solar ultraviolet light with high energy particles interactions contributing to a lesser extent. The products of these reactions condense or are dissolved in other atmospheric species (aerosols/clouds) and fall to the surface. There these products may have been further processed on Titan and the primitive Earth by impacting comets and meteorites. While the low temperatures on Titan (~72–180 K) preclude the presence of permanent liquid water on the surface, it has been suggested that tectonic activity or impacts by meteors and comets could produce liquid water pools on the surface for thousands of years. Hydrolysis and oligomerization reactions in these pools might form chemicals of prebiological significance. Other direct comparisons between the conditions on present day Titan and those proposed for prebiotic Earth are also presented.
Genetic and Immunological Studies of Bacteriophage T4 Thymidylate Synthetase

Abstract Thymidylate synthetase, which appears after infection of Escherichia coli with bacteriophage T4, has been partially purified. The phage enzyme is immunologically distinct from the host enzyme and has a molecular weight of 50,000 in comparison to 68,000 for the host enzyme. A system has been developed to characterize T4 td mutants previously known to have impaired expression of phage thymidylate synthetase. For this system, an E. coli host lacking thymidylate synthetase was isolated. Known genetic suppressors were transduced into this host. The resulting isogenic hosts were infected with phage T4 td mutants. The specific activities and amounts of cross-reacting material induced by several different types of phage mutants under conditions of suppression or non-suppression have been examined. The results show that the phage carries the structural gene specifying the thymidylate synthetase which appears after phage infection, and that the combination of plaque morphology, enzyme activity assays, and an assay for immunologically cross-reacting material provides a means for identifying true amber mutants of the phage gene.
Children injured by violence in the United States: emergency department utilization, 2000-2008.

Objectives: Children victimized by violence are often treated in the emergency department (ED). However, our understanding of the magnitude and financial costs of this patient population is inadequate. The authors examined the scope, risk factors for, and financial cost of ED visits for intentional injury in children in the United States over time. Methods: Using data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) from 2000 through 2008, the records of children aged 0 to 17 years evaluated in an ED for intentional injuries were examined. Nationally representative rates of ED visits for intentional injuries, the proportion of ED visits accounted for by children with intentional injuries, and risk factors for intentional injury visits were calculated. The Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) Cost of Injury Reports was used to generate the medical costs accrued by intentional injuries in children. Results: Almost 340,000 children were treated in U.S. EDs each year from 2000 through 2008 for intentional injuries, comprising 1.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.1% to 1.4%) of all U.S. pediatric ED visits. The rate of ED visits for violent injuries has not changed over time. In 2008, 49 children per 10,000 (95% CI = 36 to 61) were treated in the ED for a violent injury. In a multivariate model, increasing age, residing in a metropolitan area, African American race, and the lack of private insurance were independent predictors of intentional injury visits among children. In 2005, the aggregate medical cost of intentionally inflicted injuries in children in the United States was $765 million. Conclusions: ED visits among children for violent injury still represent an important clinical, public health, and economic challenge. The ED could be considered as a potential venue for prevention and intervention efforts. Language: en
Abstract 17132: Risk Factors for Anthracycline And/or Herceptin-induced Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction

Introduction: Anthracyclines (ANT) and Herceptin (HER) are known to cause left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction and congestive heart failure (CHF). We aimed to identify the clinical risk factors associated with reduced LV function caused by one or both agents. Methods: We retrospectively examined our electronic records for patients that received ANT and/or HER from 2000-2013 and identified 3253 patients. 2704 were excluded for lack of a follow-up EF assessment (2699) or development of CAD (5) after the start of chemotherapy. Of the remaining 216 patients, 27 (12.5%) had a drop in EF after chemotherapy of >10% to below 50% and 185 (86.6%) did not. Kruskal Wallis test and Fisher exact test were utilized to estimate the difference between groups, and logistic regression model was used to predict a fall in EF. Results: More patients with a fall in EF had hypertension (HTN), hyperlipidemia (HL) and CAD (Table). A higher % of patients with a fall in EF received both HER and ANT as compared to ANT alone (36% vs 9.5% p=0.001). Higher use of liposomal doxorubicin was seen in the group with no reduction in EF. The median (IQR) time difference (days) between start of chemotherapy and reduced EF was 213 (76-761) and the doxorubicin dose in this group was 240 (128.5-254) mg/m2. On multivariate analysis hypertension and use of Herceptin remained independent predictors of EF fall. Conclusion: HTN, HL, CAD and concomitant HER use were univariate predictors of EF decline, while only HTN and HER were independent multivariate predictors. Given the prevalence of reduced EF at follow-up, late assessment of EF is indicated to avoid missing chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity.
The Biosynthesis of Hyaluronic Acid

Publisher Summary The hyaluronic acid is the only heteroglycan whose biosynthesis has been examined in detail. Because aminodeoxy sugar units are present, the polysaccharide is an aminodeoxypolysaccharide or, as it is more commonly termed, a “mucopolysaccharide.” Hyaluronic acid is a copolymer of two sugar units, which alternate in a linear chain, and hence it may also be classified as a diheteroglycan. Biosynthetic investigations show that the hyaluronate chain is assembled by the alternate incorporation of preformed N -acetyl-D-ghcosamine and D-glucuronate units. In descriptive scientific nomenclature, the units are 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-β-D-glucopyranosaynld β -D-glucopyranosyluronate, respectively. The presence of carboxyl groups on alternate units has given rise to the suffix “-uronic acid.” In establishing the mechanism of the biosynthesis of hyaluronate, consideration must be given to the manner of forming the β-D-glucosiduronic acid linkage. D-Glucosiduronate conjugation takes place primarily in the liver and can occur in liver slices or homogenates. Boiled, liver extract induces conjugation of o -aminophenol with D-glucuronic acid in a suspension of broken, mouse-liver cells. The proportion of D-glucosiduronate formed is proportional to the proportion of liver extract added.
Video Telescope Operating Microscopy

Exotic pet veterinarians frequently have to operate on small animals, and magnification is commonly used. Existing endoscopy equipment can be used with a mechanical arm and telescope to enable video telescope operating microscopy. The additional equipment items and their specifics are described, and several case examples are provided.
Analysts’ Momentum Recommendations

We document that the likelihood of analyst recommendations following past stock returns decreased abruptly in 2003, coinciding with the Global Settlement and other regulatory changes designed to restrain analysts’ conflicts of interest. We also document that the likelihood of recommendations following past stock returns is abnormally high for recommendations issued after negative stock returns (but not for those issued after positive stock returns), among inexperienced and inaccurate analysts, among large brokerage houses, and for companies with high share turnover. Moreover, the recommendations that are more likely to follow past stock returns are accompanied by earnings forecast revisions that are larger in magnitude and less accurate ex post. Overall, our findings suggest that analysts with conflicts of interest and limited ability are more likely to base their recommendations on past stock returns. Finally, we document that the recommendations that are more likely to follow past stock returns (especially those that were issued before 2003 and those that are issued after negative stock returns) contribute to existing price momentum by generating incrementally stronger short-term and long-term stock returns.
Contour approximation of data: A duality theory

Abstract Given a dataset D partitioned in clusters, the joint distance function (JDF) J ( x ) at any point x is the harmonic mean of the distances between x and the cluster centers. The JDF is a continuous function, capturing the data points in its lower level sets (a property called contour approximation), and is a useful concept in probabilistic clustering and data analysis. In particular, contour approximation allows a compact representation of the data: for a dataset in R n with N points organized in K clusters, the JDF requires K centers and covariances (if Mahalanobis distances are used), for a total of Kn ( n + 3 ) / 2 parameters, and a considerable reduction of storage if N ≫ K , n . The JDF of the whole dataset, J ( D ) ≔ ∑ { J ( x ) : x ∈ D } , is a measure of the classifiability of the data, and can be used to determine the “right” number of clusters for D . A duality theory for the JDF J ( D ) is given, in analogy with Kuhn’s geometric duality theory for the Fermat–Weber location problem. The JDF J ( D ) is the optimal value of a primal problem (P), for which a dual problem (D) is given, with a sharp lower bound on J ( D ) .
Transport in nanoporous carbon membranes: Experiments and analysis

Single-component permeances of six gases were measured on three different supported nanoporous carbon membranes prepared by spray coating and pyrolysis of poly(furfuryl alcohol) on porous stainless-steel disks. Global activation energies were regressed from data collected as a function of temperature. Permeances and global activation energies were correlated to molecular size, assuming that entropic affects dominated the transport. The permeance was best correlated to the minimum projected area of the molecule computed from first principles. The free-energy barriers to transport within the membranes were derived from the temperature dependence of the permeance data, after accounting for porosity differences between the membranes and differences in molecular adsorption. Using transition-state theory and an entropic model derived, the free energy, enthalpy, and entropic barriers to transport within the membrane were examined as a function of molecular size. Computed on the basis of size, the entropic component of this barrier did not account for the large differences in the transition-state free energies. However, when these entropic barrier values were used to compute the enthalpic portion of the barrier free energies, the minimum projected area of each molecule correlated strongly. Furthermore, these enthalpic components of the barriers were fitted nicely by the Everett-Powl mean field potential, using only the pore size as the adjustable parameter. These results shed light on the underlying mechanism by which shape-selective transport takes place in the NPC membranes and small molecules are separated.
Corrosion Behavior of Zirconium Alloy Nuclear Fuel Cladding

Zircaloy-2 and -4 are used as nuclear fuel cladding. Both alloys are more than ninety-eight percent zirconium and are corrosion resistant to various media. Electrochemical measurements using polarization techniques have been made on these alloys in aqueous media with a pH of 8.5 and varying ionic concentration (1X and 10X) at temperatures of 22°C and 95°C. Results showed that under the test conditions of the study these alloys passivated and had negligible corrosion rates, but there were some variations in passivation due to surface preparation and some crevice corrosion was observed. Data are presented and discussed in terms of passivity, breakdown potential and susceptibility to localized corrosion.
Computing combinatorial decompositions of rings

Using Buchberger's Grobner basis theory, we obtain explicit algorithms for computing Stanley decompositions, Rees decompositions and Hironaka decompositions of commutative Noetherian rings. These decompositions are of considerable importance in combinatorics, in particular in the theory of Cohen-Macaulay complexes. We discuss several applications of our methods, including a new algorithm for finding primary and secondary invariants of finite group actions on polynomial rings.
Frequency selectivity in the auditory periphery: Similarities between damaged and developing ears

Abstract Single fiber tuning curves (stimulus frequency versus neural threshold curves) were obtained from 198 auditory nerve fibers in 24 kittens between birth and the 16th postnatal day and from 74 auditory nerve fibers in adult cats. Three developmental stages during which adult-like frequency-resolving capacity was acquired were identified. During the early stage of postnatal development, all auditory nerve fibers were essentially untuned and responded to a narrow range of low to middle frequency tone bursts presented at intensities exceeding 110 dB sound pressure level (SPL) re 20 μPa. In the intermediate stage, which occurred during the second postnatal week, auditory nerve fibers tuned to low- and mid-range frequencies acquired adult-like frequency-resolving capacity. Fibers tuned to high frequencies, which were recorded later in development than those tuned to lower frequencies, were as sharply tuned as their adult counterparts, but exhibited a low contrast between thresholds at characteristic frequency (tip) and lower (tail) frequencies (ie, low tip-to-tail ratios). Adult-like tuning curves were observed during the third stage, primarily as a consequence of the acquisition of adult-like tip-to-tail ratios. Our understanding of the cochlear mechanism(s) by which frequency selectivity is produced in adult animals has recently been enhanced by a combined anatomy and physiology investigation conducted by Liberman and Dodds, 1 in which clear anatomic foci of cochlear damage were identified in cats with functionally characterized hearing loss. Similarly, descriptions of anatomic differentiation in the feline auditory end-organ 2 correlate with functional measures of peripheral auditory system development. In this report, anatomic and physiologic similarities between developing and damaged ears are considered in an attempt to better characterize the process whereby normal frequency selectivities and thresholds are developed. Our findings support the notion that anatomic changes in the cochlea during development, primarily the development of adult-like anatomic relations between the tectorial membrane and sensory cells, underlie the acquisition of adult-like auditory nerve fiber tuning.
14. Effects of gonadal steroids on the HPA axis response to stress

We evaluated the effects of hypogonadism and gonadal steroid replacement on measures of CNS physiology and behavior in women with perimenopause-related depression and in three groups of subjects with GnRH agonist (GnRH-A)-induced hypogonadism. Women with perimenopause-related depression participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of the antidepressant efficacy of estradiol (E2). GnRH-A induced hypogonadism was compared with testosterone (T) replacement in asymptomatic men and progesterone (P4) and E2 replacement in both asymptomatic (AS) women and those with menstrual-related mood disorder (MRMD). Compared to hypogonadism, gonadal steroid replacement was associated with the following: 1) Re-emergence of symptoms in MRMD but not AS controls (E2 or P4, but not placebo); 2) Remission of depressive symptoms in depressed perimenopausal women (E2); 3) Restoration of normal sexual function in men (T) but not women (E2, P4); 4) No effects on neuropsychological test scores in younger women (E2, P4), but decreased visual spatial performance in men (T) and improvement in verbal memory in depressed perimenopausal women (E2); 5) Normalization of cognition activated regional cerebral blood flow in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in younger women (E2, P4) and men (T); and 7) Increased m-CPP stimulated prolactin secretion and basal core temperature (P4 only). Our observations demonstrate that sex steroids regulate several measures of CNS function. However, the direction and patterns of effects vary with context including age and gender.
Normal fault growth in layered rocks at Split Mountain, Utah: influence of mechanical stratigraphy on dip linkage, fault restriction and fault scaling

We analyze displacement profiles measured from a population of normal faults that cut across layered clastic rocks, in order to investigate the controls of mechanical layering on fault growth. Abundant fault tips and displacement minima are found at lithologic contacts, and in some cases are associated with relay structures, suggesting that lithology is responsible for controlling the location of vertical, along-dip segment linkage. Based on the locations and distributions of displacement minima and maxima within the stratigraphic section, as well as the distribution of small faults, we conclude that: (1) most faults initiate within shale beds, and (2) lithologic contacts restrict fault growth at a variety of scales. One consequence of fault restriction is the development of high displacement gradients at fault tips. Because fault tips are only temporarily pinned at bed boundaries, the degree of restriction will fluctuate as faults propagate through the section. In general, maximum displacement (Dmax) across the faults correlates with cross-sectional trace length (L). The Dmax/L ratio decreases as a function of percent shale offset by a fault, and increases as a function of near-tip displacement gradient. An empirically-derived equation relates Dmax/L to rock composition and fault tip displacement gradients, thereby providing a mechanism to predict fault dimensions in the subsurface from limited data.
Examination of kinetic effects in the high-performance liquid affinity chromatography of glycoproteins by stopped-flow and pulsed elution methods

Abstract Using a concanavalin A high-performance liquid affinity chromatography system, the effect of slow solute desorption from the silica-bound ligand on protein recovery and peak shape has been investigated. The desorption of glycoproteins from the immobilized concanavalin A was found to be many times slower than the desorption of monovalent carbohydrates. To overcome the kinetic limitations of this chromatographic system, a novel method of protein elution, stopped-flow elution, was developed and used to ovalbumin and to examine the kinetic “sluggishness” of the desorption process. The stopped-flow elution method allows the quantitative recovery of purified glycoprotein in a volume of approximately 0.5 ml.
Peripheral projections of nervus terminalis LHRH-containing neurons in the tiger salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum.

The peripheral projections of the nervus terminalis (NT) have been difficult to examine due to the weak immunoreactivity of the processes to various antibodies. We performed two experimental manipulations in the tiger salamander in an attempt to increase the luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone-immunoreactive (LHRH-ir) labelling in the peripheral processes of the NT: 1) the NT was sectioned centrally, or 2) a 100 mg melatonin pellet was embedded subcutaneously for 3 days prior to sacriffice. Following these manipulations, animals were sacrifficed and tissue was processed with standard immunocytochemical techniques for the analysis of the distribution of LHRH-ir processes. In the nasal cavity, LHRH-ir fibers were observed projecting 1) into the rostral olfactory epithelium, 2) to Bowman's glands in the lamina propria of the rostromedial olfactory mucosa and ventrolateral mucosa between the main nasal cavity and Jacobson's organ, 3) into the naris constrictor muscle, and 4) along the palatine nerves and ganglia. These lesion and hormone manipulations have enabled the detection of peripheral projections of the NT not observed previously with immunocytochemical procedures alone. The wide distribution of LHRH-ir NT processes in the nasal cavity and cranium suggests that this nerve may influence many different cranial structures during appropriate pheromonal or neuroendocrine events.