cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Understanding the financial cost of robotic lobectomy: calculating the value of innovation?

Background: The advantages of a minimally-invasive surgical approach compared to conventional open thoracotomy for lung resection have been previously described. While robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (RATS) has shown comparable clinical outcomes for lobectomy as compared with video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), the cost and inherent value associated with the robotic technology remains a main concern. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the literature on the cost of RATS lobectomy using studies published prior to December 2017 on MEDLINE and EMBASE. Results: Six observational studies met our inclusion criteria. Median cost of RATS lobectomy ranged from $15,440 to $22,582. Operating room (OR) cost was a major contributing factor to overall cost. The lowest per-procedure cost was reported by the highest volume center. Cost definitions were highly variable among studies. The total cost of RATS was similar or lower to open lobectomy, and higher than that of VATS, with cost difference ranging from $2,901 to $4,708. Conclusions: Assessment of cost for RATS lobectomy varies significantly. High OR costs may be offset by improved outcomes as compared with open lobectomy, but currently the costs exceed that of VATS lobectomy. Further work is needed to define the cost and actual value parameters for RATS lobectomy.
Anticipatory Governance in Practice? Nanotechnology Policy in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Anticipatory governance has emerged as an important new concept for understanding the governance of science and technology (Guston 2008; Barben et al. 2007). Anticipation, as discussed in this literature, moves away from the idea of “prediction,” and “denotes building the capacity to respond to unpredicted and unpredictable risks” (Guston 2008, 940). The dictionary defines predict (2009) as an ability to know the future, to “foretell on the basis of observation, experience, or scientific reason.” Given the uncertain nature of future technological trajectories and lack of certainty regarding risks related to emerging technologies (such as nanotechnology), however, it is generally impossible to “predict” the future of technologies on any but the shortest of time scales. Instead, anticipatory governance seeks to build society-wide capacities for governing science and technology: to inquire into, assess, and deliberate (1) what new and emerging technologies might mean for society; (2) how they might contribute to enhancing societal outcomes or to creating novel risks; and (3) what kinds of future technological societies people might desire to inhabit. At the same time, anticipatory governance seeks mechanisms to feed insights from these assessments and deliberations back into the process of scientific and technological innovation to help inform the construction of technological futures (Guston and Sarewitz 2002).
Law in a Market Context: An Introduction to Market Concepts in Legal Reasoning

Preface Acknowledgements Notes on citations Table of cases Introduction 1. Understanding the contested meaning of markets 2. The law and market economy framework 3. Market concepts of exchange 4. Additional economic concepts for law and market economy 5. The not-for-profit exchange context 6. Parting thoughts Index.
S-8 : Innate immune sensing and signaling of cytosolic DNA

The inappropriate presence of DNA in the cytosol is a danger signal that alerts the host of potential microbial invasion and triggers innate immune responses including the production of type-I interferons. Under certain pathological conditions, self DNA, which normally reside in the nucleus or mitochondria, could also trigger autoimmune responses from the cytosol, resulting in human diseases such as lupus. Cytosolic DNA induces interferons through a signaling pathway that involves the adaptor protein STING, the kinases IKK and TBK1, and the transcription factors NF-kappaB and IRF3. Through a biochemical approach, we have identified the cytosolic DNA sensor that activates STING and triggers type-I interferon production. This sensor turns out to be a novel enzyme which we name cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS). cGAS is activated by its binding to DNA and upon activation it catalyzes the synthesis of a unique cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) isomer containing both 2′-5′ and 3′-5′ phosphodiester linkages. This cGAMP isomer, termed 2′3′-cGAMP, functions as a second messenger that binds to and activates STING, leading to the induction of interferons and other cytokines. Genetic experiments show that cGAS is essential for innate immune responses triggered by DNA viruses and retroviruses, including HIV. This work uncovers a cyclic dinucleotide signaling pathway that was previously not known to exist in metazoa, reveals a new signaling mechanism in innate immunity, provides cGAS as a new therapeutic target for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, and offers cGAMP as a candidate molecule for the development of new vaccines and immune therapeutics.
Host range, amplification and arboviral disease emergence

Etiologic agents of arboviral diseases are primarily zoonotic pathogens that are maintained in nature in cycles involving arthropod transmission among a variety of susceptible reservoir hosts. In the simplest form of human exposure, spillover occurs from the enzootic cycle when humans enter zoonotic foci and/or enzootic amplification increases circulation near humans. Examples include Eastern (EEEV) and Western equine encephalitis viruses (WEEV), as well as West Nile (WNV), St. Louis encephalitis (SLEV) and Yellow fever viruses. Spillover can involve direct transmission to humans by primary enzootic vectors (e.g. WNV, SLEV and WEEV) and/or bridge vectors with more catholic feeding preferences that include humans (e.g. EEEV). Some viruses, such as Rift Valley fever, Japanese encephalitis and Venezuelan equine encephalitis viruses (VEEV) undergo secondary amplification involving replication in livestock animals, resulting in greater levels of spillover to humans in rural settings. In the case of VEEV, secondary amplification involves equines and requires adaptive mutations in enzootic strains that allow for efficient viremia production. Two of the most important human arboviral pathogens, Yellow fever and dengue viruses (DENV), have gone one step further and adopted humans as their amplification hosts, allowing for urban disease. The ancestral forms of DENV, sylvatic viruses transmitted among nonhuman primate reservoir hosts by arboreal mosquitoes, adapted to efficiently infect the urban mosquito vectors Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus during the past few thousand years as civilizations arose. Comparative studies of the sylvatic and urban forms of DENV may elucidate the evolution of arboviral virulence and the prospects for DENV eradication should effective vaccines be implemented.
Characterization of RING-Between-RING E3 Ubiquitin Transfer Mechanisms

Protein ubiquitination is an essential posttranslational modification that regulates nearly all cellular processes. E3 ligases catalyze the final transfer of ubiquitin (Ub) onto substrates and thus are important temporal regulators of ubiquitin modifications in the cell. E3s are classified by their distinct transfer mechanisms. RING E3s act as scaffolds to facilitate the transfer of Ub from E2-conjugating enzymes directly onto substrates, while HECT E3s form an E3~Ub thioester intermediate prior to Ub transfer. A third class, RING-Between-RING (RBR) E3s, are classified as RING/HECT hybrids based on their ability to engage the E2~Ub conjugate via a RING1 domain while subsequently forming an obligate E3~Ub intermediate prior to substrate modification. RBRs comprise the smallest class of E3s, consisting of only 14 family members in humans, yet their dysfunction has been associated with neurodegenerative diseases, susceptibility to infection, inflammation, and cancer. Additionally, their activity is suppressed by auto-inhibitory domains that block their catalytic activity, suggesting their regulation has important cellular consequences. Here, we identify technical hurdles faced in studying RBR E3s and provide protocols and guidelines to overcome these challenges.
Outcomes of Reduced-Intensity Conditioning Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Performed in the Inpatient versus Outpatient Setting.

Abstract Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) with reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) is commonly performed as an inpatient procedure. The feasibility and outcomes of RIC allo-HCT in the outpatient setting is not known. We performed a single-center retrospective cohort study of patients aged ≥ 18years with hematologic malignancies who underwent RIC allo-HCT either in the inpatient or outpatient setting. Donor types included HLA-matched sibling and well-matched unrelated donors. The objectives were to compare the survival, complications, charges, and incidences of relapse, nonrelapse mortality (NRM), and acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) between the 2 groups. Between 2014 and 2017, 151 eligible patients were included, with 116 undergoing RIC allo-HCT in the inpatient setting and 35 patients undergoing RIC allo-HCT in the outpatient setting. Baseline characteristics were comparable between the 2 groups except for a higher proportion of patients with myeloma in the outpatient cohort (inpatient 15.5% versus outpatient 37.1%). The cumulative incidence of grades II to IV acute GVHD (inpatient 25.2% versus outpatient 25.7%), grades III to IV acute GVHD (inpatient 10.4% versus outpatient 8.5%), chronic GVHD (inpatient 38.3% versus outpatient 51.6%), NRM at 1 year (inpatient 10.8% versus outpatient 3.2%), and relapse (inpatient 24.8% versus outpatient 33.2%) did not significantly differ between the 2 cohorts. One-year progression-free survival (inpatient 64.4% versus outpatient 63.6%, P = .39) and overall survival (inpatient 73.8% versus outpatient 82.8%, P = .93) were also not significantly different between the 2 groups. The proportion of patients who developed neutropenic fever (inpatient 25.8% versus outpatient 8.5%, P = .03) and mucositis (inpatient 50.8% versus outpatient 8.5%, P
Precontractual disclosure duties under the Common European Sales Law

Article 23 of the Common European Sales Law requires sellers to make plain the basic attributes of what they are selling. The seller of goods has a duty to disclose "any information concerning the main characteristics of the goods . . . which [she] has or can be expected to have and which it would be contrary to good faith and fair dealing not to disclose to the other party". The largest effect of the rule may lie not in the value of the information that is communicated, but rather the legal consequences that attach to the information that is disclosed. Article 23 works in conjunction with Articles 69 and 100. These provisions require any description of the goods to serve as a warranty. Thus, the scope of the description that Article 23 requires is coextensive with the warranty that the seller must give with respect to the goods that she is selling. Because legal consequences attach to the description, sellers have reason to say less than they might otherwise. Ironically, CESL might lead to disclosure of less information and less useful information than a regime of caveat emptor.
An Equation of State and Compendium of Thermophysical Properties of Liquid Tin, a Prospective Plasma-Facing Material

In this paper, we collect and summarize a variety of thermophysical properties of liquid tin, a prospective plasma-facing material in fusion reactors. These include the thermodynamic properties such as density, specific heat, sound speed, and vapor pressure; transport properties such as thermal conductivity, viscosity, and surface tension; and hydrogen isotope solubility and diffusivity. The thermodynamic property data are used to fit an equation of state that accurately reproduces these, which has been implemented in MELCOR for fusion in order to model systems employing liquid tin plasma facing components and coolant loops. Few data on hydrogen solubility could be found, and these differ by some orders of magnitude; diffusivity appears not to have been measured precisely; and, for subsequent analyses, theoretical estimates will have to be relied upon.
Premenstrual symptoms as a marker of ovarian hormone sensitivity in eating disorders

OBJECTIVE Research indicates a link between ovarian hormones and eating pathology, suggesting that some women with an eating disorder may be ovarian hormone sensitive. Using premenstrual symptoms (PMS) as an indirect measure of ovarian hormone sensitivity, we investigated the association between 11 PMS domains and four core eating disorder symptoms: body dissatisfaction, binge eating, purging, and restriction. METHOD Participants were young adult women (N = 455) who completed an online survey. PMS were assessed using the Daily Record of Severity of Problems and eating pathology with the Eating Pathology Symptoms Inventory. Pearson correlations were calculated between PMS domains and eating disorder symptoms followed by a stepwise regression to create a more refined model for each eating disorder symptom, including relevant covariates. RESULTS Significant correlations between a majority of eating disorder symptoms and PMS emerged (r's = .13-.37; p < .01). Backward regression revealed significant PMS domain predictors for each symptom. The final models captured a small-to-moderate amount of variance for each eating disorder symptom (R2 = 0.06-0.25). DISCUSSION Women who experience physical and psychological PMS may be at risk for eating disorder symptoms; PMS could be a marker of ovarian hormone sensitivity in women at risk for an eating disorder. Future studies should address mechanisms underlying this association.
Elastic Executor Provisioning for Iterative Workloads on Apache Spark

In memory data analytic frameworks like Apache Spark are employed by an increasing number of diverse applications–such as machine learning, graph computation, and scientific computing, which benefit from the long-running process (e.g. executor) programming model to avoid system I/O overhead. However, existing resource allocation strategies mainly rely on the peak demand normally specified by users. Since the resource usages of long-running applications like iterative computation vary significantly over time, we find that peak-demand-based resource allocation policies lead to low cloud utilization in production environments. In this paper, we present an elastic utilization aware executor provisioning approach for iterative workloads on Apache Spark (i.e., iSpark). It can identify the causes of resource underutilization due to an inflexible resource policy, and elastically adjusts the allocated executors over time according to the real-time resource usage. In general, iterative applications require more computation resources at the beginning stage and their demands for resources diminish as more iterations are completed. iSpark aims to timely scale up or scale down the number of executors in order to fully utilize the allocated resources while taking the dominant factor into consideration. It further preempts the underutilized executors and preserves the cached intermediate data to ensure the data consistency. Testbed evaluations show that iSpark averagely improves the resource utilization of individual executors by 35.2 % compared to vanilla Spark. At the same time, it increases the cluster utilization from 32.1% to 51.3% and effectively reduces the overall job completion time by 20.8% for a set of representative iterative applications.
Scissurella nesbittae, new species, from the Gries Ranch Formation, Lewis County, Washington State (Gastropoda: Vetigastropoda: Scissurellidae).

Recent and fossil global scissurellids were monographed by Geiger (2012) and additional species were recently described from Brazil (Pimenta & Geiger 2015). Here, we describe an additional fossil species from shallow water strata of the late Eocene Gries Ranch Formation in Lewis County, Washington State, USA.
On the stochastic first-ply failure analysis of laminated composite plates under in-plane tensile loading

Abstract This paper highlights the amount of risk taken when a deterministic approach is used in designing composite structures without consideration of stochastic effects. The study treats all material and geometric parameters of the composite laminated plates under investigation as stochastic. Monte Carlo simulation is employed to investigate the stochastic effects of material properties, ply thickness, and ply orientation on the failure of laminated composite plates under static loads. Classical lamination theory is used to calculate the strength ratios using maximum stress, Tsai-Hill, and Tsai-Wu failure criteria for plates of three different materials in various stacking sequences. Variation in the failure ply distributions are shown to increase with coefficient of variation of the input variables. A positive linear trend between the coefficients of variation of the strength ratio and input variables is found, whose slope increases as randomness is considered for more input variables. Probability of failure and failure ply distributions are shown to be heavily dependent on the combination of laminate stacking sequence, material, and failure probability. In particular, while the empirical failure probability for cross-ply laminates is highest for the ply predicted by a deterministic analysis, this probability decreases rapidly with increasing variation in input parameters. Further, the failure of unexpected plies for cross-ply laminates is shown to be related to the stiffness ratios of the plies. The general significance of considering ply thickness and ultimate strength as random variables is also demonstrated, as well as the significance of randomness in ply orientation for balanced and angle ply laminates.
The Absurdity of Crime-Based Deportation

The belief that immigrants are crossing the border, in the stealth of night, with nefarious desires to bring violence, crime, and drugs to the United States has long been part of the public imagination. Studies and statistics overwhelmingly establish the falsehood of this rhetoric. The facts are that non-citizens commit fewer crimes and reoffend less often than citizens. But facts do not stop the myth. Even supporters of immigration reform often will point out that they will help deserving immigrants but will deport those with criminal convictions, or at least those who committed violent crimes. My Article counters that there will be — and should be — an end to crime-based deportation. It is already happening quickly and quietly in federal courts. Beginning in 2013, the Supreme Court decided United States v. Descamps, and in 2016, Mathis v. United States. These cases are highly technical decisions relating to the federal Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”) and immigration law’s Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act (“IIRIRA”). This Article draws upon empirical data to show that, as predicted by the Justices, a faithful adherence to Descamps and Mathis will be eliminating numerous offenses from having ACCA and IIRIRA consequences on a case-by-case, statute-by-statute basis. As a normative matter, I contend that this result is the proper one. Prosecutors, judges, and policy makers are embracing this reality in the ACCA context, in part because the federal court can tailor the sentence to the type of conduct underlying the offense without regard to prior crimes. The same result should be embraced in the immigration context. IIRIRA’s reliance on crimes to serve as immigration grounds is too arbitrary, too unjust, and simply out of proportion to how the criminal courts considered the seriousness (or lack thereof) of the crime. For example, a man who had been in the United States with a green card for 40 years was deported over stealing a $2 can of beer. Although a federal court reversed the deportation, the case illustrates that figuring out who is dangerous and who is not based on a criminal record is not an efficient or effective method of immigration enforcement.
Fast En/Decoding of Reed-Solomon Codes for Failure Recovery

Reed-Solomon (RS) codes are used in many storage systems for failure recovery. In popular software implementations, RS codes are defined by using a parity check matrix that is either a Cauchy matrix padded with an identity or a Vandermonde matrix. The encoding complexity can be reduced by searching for a Cauchy matrix that has a smaller number of 1s in its bit matrices or exploiting Reed-Muller (RM) transform in the Vandermonde matrix multiplication. This paper proposes two new approaches. In our first approach, different constructions of finite fields are explored to further reduce the number of ‘1’s in the bit matrices of the Cauchy matrix and a new searching method is developed to find the minimum number of ‘1’s. Our second approach defines RS codes using parity check matrices in the format of a Vandermonde matrix concatenated with an identity matrix so that the RS en/decoding can be simplified. A modified scheme is developed to enable the application of the RM transform such that the number of multiplications can be reduced.
Disciplinary Confinement and Misconduct Patterns: An Examination of Gendered Effects:

Reducing misconduct is a critical mechanism to maintaining prison safety. Disciplinary confinement constitutes one tool used by the corrections system to achieve this goal. Only a handful of studie...
Dual trigger protocol is an effective in vitro fertilization strategy in both normal and high responders without compromising pregnancy outcomes in fresh cycles

Objective To study the birth rates of normal vs. high responders after dual trigger of final oocyte maturation with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist and human chorionic gonadotropin in fresh in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles in which ovarian stimulation was achieved by a flexible GnRH antagonist protocol. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting University hospital. Patients In women <35 years of age, 290 fresh IVF cycles using the dual trigger protocol with day 5 embryo transfers from January 2013 to July 2018 were included. Cycles excluded were those with preimplantation genetic testing, gestational carriers, donor oocytes, and fertility preservation. Interventions IVF with dual trigger. Main Outcome Measures Clinical pregnancy rate, live birth rate. Results Comparing normal responders, defined as <30 oocytes retrieved, and high responders, defined as ≥30 oocytes retrieved, the clinical pregnancy rates (67.0% vs. 69.3%, respectively) and live birth rates (60.5% vs. 60.0%, respectively) were not significantly different. No cases of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome were reported in either group. Conclusions Ovarian stimulation by a flexible GnRH antagonist protocol followed by dual trigger yields comparable outcomes between normal and high responders in fresh IVF cycles.
Individual arcuate nucleus proopiomelanocortin neurons project to select target sites.

Proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARH) are a diverse group of neurons that project widely to different brain regions. It is unknown how this small population of neurons organizes its afferent projections. In this study, we hypothesized that individual ARH POMC neurons exclusively innervate select target regions. To investigate this hypothesis, we first verified that only a fraction of ARH POMC neurons innervate the lateral hypothalamus (LH), the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN), the periaqueductal gray (PAG), or the ventral tegmental area (VTA) using the retrograde tracer cholera toxin B (CTB). Next, two versions of CTB conjugated to distinct fluorophores were injected bilaterally into two of the regions such that PVN and VTA, PAG and VTA, or LH and PVN received tracers simultaneously. These pairs of target sites were chosen based on function and location. Few individual ARH POMC neurons projected to two brain regions at once, suggesting that there are ARH POMC neuron subpopulations organized by their afferent projections. We also investigated whether increasing the activity of POMC neurons could increase the number of ARH POMC neurons labeled with CTB, implying an increase in new synaptic connections to downstream regions. However, chemogenetic enhancement of POMC neuron activity did not increase retrograde tracing of CTB back to ARH POMC neurons from either the LH, PVN, or VTA. Overall, subpopulations of ARH POMC neurons with distinct afferent projections may serve as a way for the POMC population to organize its many functions.
[Supplementary Material] Induction of antimicrobial peptides in infected tissues of larval Heliothis virescens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Effective biological control of destructive heliothine larvae via application of microbial entomopathogens or parasitoids is limited by a robust immune response against infection and parasitization. To better understand the immune response of budworms against microbial entomopathogens, several orthologs of antibacterial response proteins were identified and extracted from a tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (F.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), expressed sequence tag database for study of their upregulation by bacterial infection. Transcript sequences corresponding to precursors of 3 antimicrobial peptides from H. virescens hemolymph (virescein, heliomicin and heliocin) have been identified and their induction by bacterial elicitation analyzed. Further, a gloverin-like antibacterial and an H. virescens ortholog of the Lepidopteran hemocytespecific antibacterial Spod-X-Tox have been identified. Induction of these selected antibacterial protein transcripts by bacterial infection were quantitated using quantitative RT-PCR in hemocytes and fat bodies. Transcript levels of all were elevated by bacterial elicitation in both tissues as early as 3 hours post-treatment. El control biologico eficaz de larvas destructivas de la subfamilia Heliothinae por medio de la aplicacion de microbios entomopatogenos o parasitoides esta limitada por una robusta respuesta inmune contra la infeccion y parasitismo. Para entender mejor la respuesta inmune del gusano bellotero contra microbios entomopatogenos, varios ortologos de proteinas de respuesta antibacterianos fueron identificados y extraidos del gusano bellotero del tabaco, Heliothis virescens (F.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) que expresa secuencias etiquetadas de base de datos para el estudio de su regulacion positiva por la infeccion bacteriana. Las secuencias de transcripcion correspondientes a los precursores de 3 peptidos antimicrobianos de la hemolinfa, virescein, heliomicin y heliocin de H. virescens fueron identificados y su induccion por elicitacion bacteriana fue analizada. Ademas, un antibacteriano parecido de gloverin y un ortologo de H. virescens antibacteriano Spod-X-Tox especifico de los hemocitos de lepidoptero fueron identificados. Se cuantificaron la induccion de estas transcripciones de proteinas antibacterianas seleccionadas por la infeccion bacteriana por medio de RT-PCR cuantitativa en los hemocitos y cuerpos grasos. Todos los niveles de transcripcion fueron elevados por elicitacion bacteriana en ambos tejidos tan rapido como 3 horas despues del tratamiento.
The Fremont Complex: A Behavioral Perspective

The Fremont complex is composed of farmers and foragers who occupied the Colorado Plateau and Great Basin region of western North America from about 2100 to 500 years ago. These people included both immigrants and indigenes who shared some material culture and symbolic attributes, but also varied in ways not captured by definitions of the Fremont as a shared cultural tradition. The complex reflects a mosaic of behaviors including full-time farmers, full-time foragers, part-time farmer/foragers who seasonally switched modes of production, farmers who switched to full-time foraging, and foragers who switched to full-time farming. Farming defines the Fremont, but only in the sense that it altered the matrix in which both farmers and foragers lived, a matrix which provided a variety of behavioral options to people pursuing an array of adaptive strategies. The mix of symbiotic and competitive relationships among farmers and between farmers and foragers presents challenges to detection in the archaeological record. Greater clarity results from use of a behavioral model which recognizes differing contexts of selection favoring one adaptive strategy over another. The Fremont is a case where the transition from foraging to farming is followed by a millennium of adaptive diversity and terminates with the abandonment of farming. As such, it serves as a potential comparison to other cases in the world during the early phases of the food producing transition.
The Effects of Social Change on Clinical Practice

The sisue of social change and clinical practice is more complicated than the title of this chapter would appear to indicate. The issues involved in conceptualizing social change reflect the essential role of sociology in the process of establishing clinical intervein human behavior at the individual, organizational, and societal levels.
Cytochromes of Aquatic Fungi

The cytochrome systems of two classes of aquatic fungi, the Oomycetes and Chytridiomycetes, were studied by means of reduced-minus-oxidized difference spectra at room and at low temperature. At room temperature, all of these fungi have a c-type cytochrome with an absorption maximum at 551 mmu and a b-type cytochrome at 564 mmu. The Oomycetes have a-type cytochromes at 605 mmu, and the Chytridiomycetes have a-type cytochromes at 606 mmu (Blastocladiales) or at 609 mmu (Monoblepharidales). Additional b-type cytochromes are found at 557 mmu in the Oomycetes and at approximately 560 mmu in the Chytridiomycetes. The data obtained from spectra at low temperature are consistent with these conclusions. Thus, the difference spectra reveal variation between the cytochrome systems of these two classes of aquatic fungi.
Biosynthesis During Recovery of Heat-Injured Salmonella typhimurium

Salmonella typhimurium 7136 incorporated label from glucose-U-14C into nucleic acids, lipids, and pool material during recovery from heat injury. There was very little incorporation of label into protein during recovery.
Temperature-sensitive mutants of reovirus: II. Anomalous electrophoretic migration of certain hybrid RNA molecules composed of mutant plus strands and wild-type minus strands

Abstract Certain species of double-strainded RNA hybrid molecules composed of plus RNA strands of reovirus temperature-sensitive mutants ts 320 (group E) and ts 357 (group D) and minus RNA strands of wild-type reovirus migrate more slowly when electrophoresed in polyacrylamide gels than reciprocal hybrid and homologous hybrid molecules, which migrate like authentic DS RNA molecules. The molecular species concerned are L2 and S3 for ts 320, and L1 and M2 for ts 357. These results indicate that ts 320 and ts 357, both induced with nitrous acid, may be double mutants (although not both mutations need be temperature sensitive). They support other evidence concerning the location of the mutations in these mutants. A model is proposed to explain the molecular basis for the anomalous electrophoretic migration of only one of a pair of reciprocal hybrid RNA molecules.
Intracranial Tuberculomas in a Child: Computed Tomographic Scan Diagnosis and Nonsurgical Management

Despite great strides in screening and detection of tuberculosis, urban areas still harbor many children with this disease. The case of a child with probable intracranial tuberculomas who was medically treated with antituberculous therapy and followed with frequent computed tomographic (CT) scans is reported. Despite older textbooks that espouse surgery as the treatment for intracranial tuberculomas, it is suggested that in the era of CT scanning, they should be treated the same as other focal CNS infections. Surgery should be reserved for medical failure or deteriorating conditions.
Elimination of the Early Inhibition of Protein Synthesis in Escherichia coli C3000 Infected with Purified R17 Bacteriophage

Infection of Escherichia coli with an R17 bacteriophage suspension has been reported to result in early and late phases of inhibition of host protein synthesis (Yamazaki, 1969; Watanabe and Watanabe, 1968). However, early inhibition was observed when cultures were inoculated with only tryptone broth, which is often used to suspend R17 bacteriophage. Since early inhibition was not observed when E. coli cultures were inoculated with R17 bacteriophage suspended in phosphate buffer, early inhibition is not an intrinsic feature of R17 phage infection.
The Giant Resin Bee, Megachile sculpturalis Smith: New Distributional Records for the Mid- and Gulf-south USA.

BACKGROUND Megachile (Callomegachile) sculpturalis Smith, the giant resin bee, is an adventive species in the United States. First established in the United States during the early 1990s, records currently exist from most states east of the Mississippi River along with Iowa and Kansas. NEW INFORMATION New distributional records are presented for Megachile (Callomegachile) sculpturalis Smith, an introduced bee. Additional records presented here expand the known distribution southwest through Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas. An updated host plant list containing new records is also presented, expanding the number of known floral associations.
Subcutaneous abscess due to Trichophyton mentagrophytes.

: A 24-year-old woman developed multiple subcutaneous nodules and an abscess on the thigh. Cultures of aspirate from the abscess grew Trichophyton mentagrophytes rather than the expected bacteria. Although dermatophyte infections usually are limited to the stratum corneum, they can rarely involve the dermis and subcutaneous fat. Fungi will usually grow on media used for bacterial cultures, such as blood agar, but the cultures are slow to appear and may be missed if the cultures are discarded too rapidly.
Probing Akt-Inhibitor Interaction by Chemical Cross-Linking and Mass Spectrometry

The serine/threonine kinase Akt is a critical enzyme that regulates cell survival. As high Akt activity has been shown to contribute to the pathogenesis of various human malignancies, inhibition of Akt activation is a promising therapeutic strategy for cancers. We have previously demonstrated that changes in Akt interdomain arrangements from a closed to open conformation occur upon Akt-membrane interaction, which in turn allows Akt phosphorylation/activation. In the present study, we demonstrate a novel strategy to discern mechanisms for Akt inhibition based on Akt conformational changes using chemical cross-linking and 18O labeling mass spectrometry. By quantitative comparison of two interdomain cross-linked peptides, which represent the proximity of the domains involved, we found that the binding of Akt to an inhibitor (PI analog) caused the open interdomain conformation where the PH and regulatory domains moved away from the kinase domain, even before interacting with membranes, subsequently preventing translocation of Akt to the plasma membrane. In contrast, the interdomain conformation remained unchanged after incubating with another type of inhibitor (peptide TCL1). Subsequent interaction with unilamellar vesicles suggested that TCL1 impaired particularly the opening of the PH domain for exposing T308 for phosphorylation at the plasma membrane. This novel approach based on the conformation-based molecular interaction mechanism should be potentially useful for drug discovery efforts for specific Akt inhibitors or anti-tumor agents.
Neoadjuvant radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy followed by extrafascial hysterectomy for locally advanced endometrial cancer clinically extending to the cervix or parametria

Abstract Purpose For locally-advanced uterine cancer clinically extending to the cervix, two treatment paradigms exist: surgical staging radical hysterectomy with tailored adjuvant therapy or neoadjuvant therapy followed by a less extensive simple hysterectomy. Currently, insufficient data exists to guide consensus guidelines and practical application of preoperative radiotherapy. Materials and methods Retrospective IRB approved cohort study from 1999 to 2014 of 36 endometrial cancer patients with clinical involvement of cervix±parametria treated with neoadjuvant external beam radiotherapy (45–50.4Gy in 25–28 fractions) and image-based HDR brachytherapy (5–5.5Gy times 3–4 fractions)±chemotherapy followed by extrafascial hysterectomy performed at a median of 6weeks after radiotherapy. Results All patients had clinical cervical extension, 50% also had parametria extension, and 31% had nodal involvement. At the time of surgery 91% had no clinical cervical involvement, 58% had no pathologic cervical involvement, and all had margin negative resection. The pathologic complete response rate was 24%. Median follow-up from the time of surgery was 20months (range: 0–153). The 3-year local control, regional control, distant control, disease free survival and overall survival rates were 96%, 89%, 84%, 73%, and 100%. The 3-year rate of grade 3 complications was 11%, with no grade 4+ toxicity. Conclusions Neoadjuvant radiation therapy±chemotherapy followed by extrafascial hysterectomy appears to be a viable option for patients with endometrial cancer clinically extending to the cervix and parametria. The HDR brachytherapy schema of 5–5.5Gy times 3–4 fractions, for a cumulative EQD 2 of 60–70Gy, is well tolerated with high rates of clinical and pathological response.
Observation of vortex-lattice melting by NMR spin-lattice relaxation in the mixed state

For anisotropic layered superconductors a NMR technique is proposed to study the structure of the moving vortex state in the presence of transport current flowing in the layers. The internal field in an anisotropic superconductor will have a component perpendicular to an applied field which is tilted away from the {ital c} axis. The moving ordered vortex lattice produces an alternating magnetic field which causes nutation of nuclear spins and contributes to the decay of the spin-echo amplitude. This decay rate will display an array of peaks as a function of frequency. In the liquid phase this alternating field contributes to the longitudinal relaxation rate {ital W}{sub 1} which has a single peak.
Isotrinervi-2 β-ol. Structural isomers in the defense secretions of allopatric populations of the termite Trinervitermes gratiosus

The defense secretions of 3 allopatric populations of the nasute termiteTrinervitermes gratiosus were analyzed. One population afforded a new trinervitene, isotrinervi-2β-ol, a missing link in the hypothetical biosynthesis of the trinervitenes. Populations could be readily distinguished on the basis of the chromatographic profiles of their major and minor soldier frontal gland secretions.
Metal–insulator transition in layered cuprates (SDW model)

Abstract The metal–insulator transition in layered cuprates is analyzed on the basis of the assumption that it is due to formation of a spin-density wave ( Section 2 ). The phase diagram in the plane of temperature and doping is calculated ( Section 3 ); doping is described by the chemical potential. The phase transition from the insulating antiferromagnetic phase to a metallic paramagnetic phase proves to be a second order transition at small dopings and a first order transition at larger ones. The connection between the chemical potential and measurable physical properties is analyzed ( Section 4 ). In the metallic phase it defines the volume, enclosed in the Fermi surface, which is always large. In the insulating phase it defines the energy gap. Next, the role of disorder is studied ( Section 5 ). It is shown that disorder reduces the antiferromagnetic region at the phase diagram but qualitatively does not change the nature of the transitions, namely second order at smaller dopings and first order at larger ones.
Chessboard Distributions and Random Vectors with Specified Marginals and Covariance Matrix

There is a growing need for the ability to specify and generate correlated random variables as primitive inputs to stochastic models.Moti vated by this need, several authors have explored the generation of random vectors with specified marginals, together with a specified covariance matrix, through the use of a transformation of a multivariate normal random vector (the NORTA method).A covariance matrix is said to be feasible for a given set of marginal distributions if a random vector exists with these characteristics. We develop a computational approach for establishing whether a given covariance matrix is feasible for a given set of marginals. The approach is used to rigorously establish that there are sets of marginals with feasible covariance matrix that the NORTA method cannot match. In such cases, we show how to modify the initialization phase of NORTA so that it will exactly match the marginals, and approximately match the desired covariance matrix.An important feature of our analysis is that we show that for almost any covariance matrix (in a certain precise sense), our computational procedure either explicitly provides a construction of a random vector with the required properties, or establishes that no such random vector exists.
The weapons acquisition process: An economic analysis

This volume is the first publication resulting from a three-year research project at the Harvard Business School on the development of advanced weapons. It is based upon comprehensive historical case studies of twelve weapon system programs and seven commercial product developments, and upon more limited investigations of several specific research questions.
After the ‘War on Terror’—how to maintain long-range terrorist deterrence

The American withdrawal from Afghanistan scheduled for 2014 signals an end to the first phase of the global ‘War on Terror’. Once the War on Terror enters a less intensive phase, a revised approach to terrorist deterrence would be necessary. The future global War on Terror is indicated to be focused on intelligence operations, surgical strikes to attack terrorist groups, increased surveillance and interception of terrorist activity and finally deterrence. Traditional deterrence requires a mutual understanding of a common rationality and a mutual interest of survival between the parties. These conditions do not exist in deterring terrorists. This paper is focused on how to establish and maintain long-range terrorist deterrence after the War on Terror. If traditional deterrence is applied on terrorism, it tends to end up in a tit-for-tat game, strike when struck and countervalue targeting. Traditional deterrence does not work against groups that operate under a different rationale. Instead, deterrence could...
Delayed breast cellulitis: An evolving complication of breast conservation

Purpose: Delayed breast cellulitis (DBC) is characterized by the late onset of breast erythema, edema, tenderness, and warmth. This retrospective study analyzes the risk factors and clinical course of DBC. Methods and Materials: From 1985 through 2004, 580 sequential women with 601 stage T0–2N0–1 breast cancers underwent breast conserving therapy. Cases of DBC were identified according to accepted clinical criteria: diffuse breast erythema, edema, tenderness, and warmth occurring >3 months after definitive surgery and >3 weeks after radiotherapy. Potential risk factors analyzed included patient comorbidity, operative technique, acute complications, and details of adjunctive therapy. Response to treatment and long-term outcome were analyzed to characterize the natural course of this syndrome. Results: Of the 601 cases, 16%, 52%, and 32% were Stage 0, I, and II, respectively. The overall incidence of DBC was 8% (50/601). Obesity, ecchymoses, T stage, the presence and aspiration of a breast hematoma/seroma, removal of >5 axillary lymph nodes, and arm lymphedema were significantly associated with DBC. The median time to onset of DBC from the date of definitive surgery was 226 days. Ninety-two percent of DBC patients were empirically treated with antibiotics. Fourteen percent required more invasive intervention. Twenty-two percent had recurrent episodes of DBC. Ultimately, 2 patients (4%) underwent mastectomy for intractable breast pain related to DBC. Conclusion: Although multifactorial, we believe DBC is primarily related to a bacterial infection in the setting of impaired lymphatic drainage and may appear months after completion of radiotherapy. Invasive testing before a trial of antibiotics is generally not recommended.
“You’re not in Kansas anymore”: Interactions among semiotic modes in multimodal texts

Abstract Research and teaching continue to treat word and image separately and even see image succeeding word in a culture increasingly immersed in digital documents. However, concepts such as Kress’ “semiotics of synaesthesia” stress the relationship between word and image, a critical relationship in teaching students to develop genuinely multimodal texts.
Analysis of a revenue-sharing contract in supply chain management

Abstract We consider a supply chain involving one supplier and one retailer in which a revenue-sharing contract is adopted. Under this contract, the retailer can obtain the product from the supplier at a discounted price. As a compensation, the retailer must share his revenue with the supplier at a certain revenue-sharing rate, say r (0≤r≤1), where r represents the portion of the revenue to be kept by the retailer. Our ultimate objective is to help the whole supply chain be more profitable while upholding the individual components' incentives. We use a two-stage (Stackelberg) game to model the problem, where one player is the game's leader and the other the game's follower. Our analysis reveals that for the supply chain to be more profitable, the party that keeps more than half the revenue should serve as the leader of the Stackelberg game.
Humans as factors of production: an evolutionary analysis

This paper is an application of Darwinian analysis to the study of humans as inputs to the production process. Biologists believe that the only factor capable of explaining the extraordinary level of human intelligence is selection pressure from competition with other proto-humans. This selection pressure would have been from two sources. First, there would have been pressure within human groups to become more successful and leave more offspring. Second, there would have been selection pressure between groups, as through warfare and other forms of group competition. This second type of pressure would have provided evolutionary incentives for individuals to be able to cooperate in groups with others, which in turn depends on the ability to avoid cheating, or defection in a prisoner's dilemma setting. There would also have been feedback effects: increasing intelligence would have increased the value of cooperation, and increasing cooperation would have in turn increased the value of intelligence. This selection pressure can explain human abilities to form large extra-familial and extra-ethnic groups for productive activity. In other words, Becker's ‘discrimination coefficients’ are remarkably small for humans. We provide an evolutionary game theoretic model of cooperation. We argue that humans may be selected for flexibility across generations, so that more honest societies will induce parents to train children to avoid defection, thus leading to a further increase in the proportion of honest persons in the society. We conclude that had humans had different ‘tastes’ for cooperation, then firms might be radically different than they are. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.