cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
FRI0363 Positive remodelling index and low attenuation non-calcified coronary plaques: markers of vulnerable coronary plaques in systemic lupus?

Background Accelerated atherosclerosis leading to premature coronary artery disease remains the major cause of late death in SLE. Coronary plaques with a large necrotic/lipid core and/or a thin fibrous cap are prone to rupture, leading to acute coronary events. In coronary CT angiography, plaque lipid content correlates with lower CT attenuation values when compared with fibrotic tissue. Positive (or outward) vessel remodelling has been postulated to explain the finding of atherosclerosis that does not encroach on the arterial lumen. Positive remodelling index and presence of low attenuation noncalcified plaque ( Objectives We sought to characterise noncalcified plaque lesions in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and to identify high risk lesions. Methods A total of 66 patients who meet the American College of Rheumatology classification criteria for SLE were included in the study. Of these, 30 patients had two studies. All patients underwent coronary CT angiography. Coronary plaque area was measured by manual tracing for the difference between the area within the external elastic membrane and the area of the vessel lumen at the site of maximal luminal narrowing as observed on a cross-sectional coronary CT angiography image. Each noncalcified plaque detected within the vessel wall was evaluated with the minimum CT density and vascular remodelling index (RI). Total low density plaque volume per patient and low density/high density noncalcified plaque ratio were then compared by patient characteristics which included age, sex, ethnicity, BMI, smoking, SLEDAI, PGA, anti-dsDNA, low complement, current prednisone, current hydroxychloroquine, current NSAID use, history of cardiovascular event, hypertension, lupus anticoagulant, anticardiolipin, hypercholesterolemia, and methotrexate use. Results All patients had at least one plaque with a positive remodelling index (>10%), and 83.1%(n=271) of total identified plaques had a positive remodelling index. Low density noncalcified plaque volume was associated with age (p Conclusions Positive remodelling index and low attenuation noncalcified plaques are characteristic vessel changes seen in unstable coronary plaques. They are common in patients with lupus and are significantly more likely to be seen among African American patients, patients with a BMI>30, and the elderly (age over 60). Disclosure of Interest None declared
Proceedings of the 2015 ACM International Workshop on International Workshop on Security and Privacy Analytics

It is our great pleasure to welcome you to the 2015 ACM International Workshop on Security and Privacy Analytics -- IWSPA'15. Increasingly, techniques from data analytics fields such as data mining, machine learning, statistics and natural language processing are being applied to security challenges. Thus, some interesting questions arise: which techniques from these fields are more appropriate for the security domain and which among those are essential knowledge for security practitioners and students. Applications of such techniques also have interesting implications on privacy. Because of these reasons, we have decided to organize the first international workshop on security and privacy analytics. The mission of the workshop is to: create a forum for interaction between data analytics and security experts and to examine the questions mentioned above. The call for papers attracted 13 submissions from Asia, Europe, and the United States. Each paper was assigned to three program committee members for review, a total of 37 reviews were obtained with no paper having fewer than 2 reviews. Four papers were accepted for presentation as full papers (8 page limit) and three were accepted as short papers (6 page limit). We also encourage attendees to attend the two keynotes and the panel presentations. These insightful talks and discussion should provide much food for thought and help in shaping future research and education: Deep Learning of Behaviors for Security, George Cybenko (Dartmouth College) Photo Forensics: There is More to a Picture Than Meets the Eye, Nasir Memon (NYU Poly) Panel: Essential Data Analytics Knowledge for Cyber Security Professionals and Students, Wenyaw Chan (UT Health Science Center), George Cybenko (Dartmouth), Murat Kantarcioglu (UT Dallas), Ernst Leiss (University of Houston, moderator), Thamar Solorio (University of Houston), Bhavani Thuraisingham (UT Dallas) and Rakesh Verma (University of Houston, editor)
A Call to Action for the Kidney Community: Nephrologists’ Perspective on Advancing American Kidney Health

CKD affects 37 million Americans ([1][1]), is the ninth leading cause of death ([2][2]), and is estimated to cost $114 billion annually ([3][3]). To address this public health issue, on July 10th, 2019, President Donald J. Trump announced and signed the Advancing American Kidney Health (AAKH)
An anatomical comparison of fake-news and trusted-news sharing pattern on Twitter

Online social networks allow users to share a variety of multi-media content on the World Wide Web. The rising popularity of such social networking platforms coupled with limitations in verifying the veracity of shared content has contributed to increase in misinformation on these media. Misinformation content such as fake-news and hoaxes, though often considered innocuous, may have high social cost such as influencing elections decision, and thus should be investigated carefully. Many researchers have studied various aspects of fake-news including automated ways to recognize it. However, a large-scale study comparing the sharing patterns of fake-news and trusted-news is missing. In this research, we take Ukraine, a country where fake news is common, as a case study. Using datasets generated by three different Tweets collection strategies, we present an anatomical comparison of fake-news and trusted-news sharing pattern on Twitter. Such a comparison enables to identify the characteristics of tweets sharing fake-news, and allows to find the users who are more inclined to share misinformation. Besides, we also study possible bot activities in the dataset. The top conclusions derived from this study are (a) Users sharing fake-news stories are more likely to include hashtags, and the hashtags used in Tweets sharing fake-news stories are similar to hashtags used in Tweets sharing trusted news. (b) Users sharing fake-news are also more likely to include mentions, but mentions used in tweets sharing fake-news and trusted-news are often different. (c) Tweets sharing fake-news have more negative sentiment. In contrast, tweets sharing trusted-news have more positive sentiment.
Organic-Flow: an open-source organic standard cell library and process development kit

Organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) are drawing increasing attention due to their unique advantages of mechanical flexibility, low-cost fabrication, and biodegradability, enabling diverse applications that were not achievable using traditional inorganic transistors. With a growing number of complex applications being proposed, the need for expediting the design process and ensuring the yield of large-scale designs with organic technology increases. A complete digital standard cell library plays a crucial role in integrating the emerging organic technology into existing computer-aided-design (CAD) flows. In this paper, we present the design, fabrication, and characterization of a standard cell library based on bottom gate, top contact pentacene OTFTs. We also propose a commercial tool compatible, RTL-to-GDS flow along with a new organic process design kit (PDK) developed based on our process. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first open-source organic standard cell library, enabling the community to explore this emerging technology.
Effectiveness of Three-Dimensionally Printed Models in Anatomy Education for Medical Students and Resident Physicians: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Abstract Introduction Despite a surge in the use of three-dimensional printing (3DP) in medical education, a comprehensive evaluation of randomized trials in its effectiveness is lacking. Radiologic studies play an integral role in affording educators the ability to create customized realistic anatomic models. This systematic review and meta-analysis sought to assess the effect of 3DP versus traditional 2-D methods for anatomy education. Methods PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, ERIC, and IEEE Xplore were queried to identify randomized controlled trials that quantitatively investigated anatomy education via postintervention assessments of medical students or resident physicians who were exposed to 3DP versus traditional methods. Criteria for the meta-analysis required that studies additionally included a pre-intervention assessment. Results A total of 804 articles were reviewed, identifying 8 and 7 studies for systematic reviews of medical students and resident physicians, respectively, of which 4 and 7 were included in the meta-analyses. 3DP models were associated with higher anatomy examination scores for medical students (P Discussion The 3DP models are shown to positively impact medical students especially given their limited fund of knowledge in anatomy. It is postulated that the lack of a statistically significant result for the resident physicians was multifactorial, in part because of the small test group sizes introducing noise and nonrepresentative samples, as well as relative simplicity of the 3DP models used with resident physicians, which were below their level of training. More trials are required to evaluate the usefulness of highly customized 3DP models.
A case of Cheyne-Stokes breathing emerging in a patient with atrial fibrillation and an implanted hypoglossal nerve stimulator.

Treatment emergent central sleep apnea (TECSA) can occur with positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy, mandibular advancement devices, and now recent cases with hypoglossal nerve stimulator (HNS) th...
Investigating intra-tumor microbes, blood microbes, and CEA for development of non-invasive biomarkers in colorectal cancer.

3551Background: The development of non-invasive biomarkers has the potential to revolutionize clinical care for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. The presence of bacteria in CRC tumor biopsies has ...
2-LC triangulated manifolds are exponentially many.

We introduce ``$t$-LC triangulated manifolds'' as those triangulations obtainable from a tree of $d$-simplices by recursively identifying two boundary $(d-1)$-faces whose intersection has dimension at least $d-t-1$. The $t$-LC notion interpolates between the class of LC manifolds introduced by Durhuus-Jonsson (corresponding to the case $t=1$), and the class of all manifolds (case $t=d$). Benedetti--Ziegler proved that there are at most $2^{d^2 \, N}$ triangulated $1$-LC $d$-manifolds with $N$ facets. Here we prove that there are at most $2^{\frac{d^3}{2}N}$ triangulated $2$-LC $d$-manifolds with $N$ facets. This extends to all dimensions an intuition by Mogami for $d=3$.
Making Entrepreneurs? Makerspaces and Entrepreneurial Intent Among High School Students:

Makerspaces have grown over the last two decades and provide a potentially important resource to entrepreneurs. One area where the expansion of makerspaces has been the largest is in educational se...
Research regarding Agriculture sector by Dr.iqbal shaukat.

Agriculture research is very important for the economist and Agriculturist.Agriculture Sector is the intrgreal part of country economy.
Thermo-photo coupled catalytic CO2 reforming of methane: A review

Abstract CO2 reforming of methane (CRM) is a promising approach to convert CO2 and CH4 into value-added chemicals. The recent development of thermo-photo coupled catalytic CRM not only addresses the low efficiency of photocatalysis but also reduces the high energy input needed for thermal catalysis. Despite the great potential of the novel thermo-photo coupled CRM technology, a comprehensive review in this field is still lacking. Herein, a critical discussion on the progress of thermo-photo coupled catalytic CRM is provided, after addressing the general issues for conventional thermocatalytic and photocatalytic CRM. The novel thermo-photo coupled CRM processes are divided into three categories, depending on the utilization form of solar energy and the involvement degree of the thermal energy. Then, the mechanism understanding and catalysts development for the three kinds of thermo-photo coupled CRM processes are delineated, respectively. Finally, with a firm belief in the great promise of the thermo-photo coupled catalytic CRM technologies, our suggestions to drive the prosperous development of the processes are stated.
Domestic cats (Felis catus) prefer freely available food over food that requires effort.

Contrafreeloading is the willingness of animals to work for food when equivalent food is freely available. This behavior is observed in laboratory, domesticated, and captive animals. However, previous research found that six laboratory cats failed to contrafreeload. We hypothesized that cats would contrafreeload in the home environment when given a choice between a food puzzle and a tray of similar size and shape. We also hypothesized that more active cats would be more likely to contrafreeload. We assessed the behavior of 17 neutered, indoor domestic cats (Felis catus) when presented with both a food puzzle and a tray across ten 30-min trials. Each cat wore an activity tracker, and all sessions were video recorded. Cats ate more food from the free feed tray than the puzzle (t (16) = 6.77, p < 0.001). Cats made more first choices to approach and eat from the tray. There was no relationship between activity and contrafreeloading, and there was no effect of sex, age, or previous food puzzle experience on contrafreeloading. Our results suggest that cats do not show strong tendencies to contrafreeload in the home environment, although some cats (N = 4) ate most food offered in the puzzle or showed weak contrafreeloading tendencies (N = 5). Eight cats did not contrafreeload. Cats who consumed more food from the puzzle, consumed more food in general, suggesting a relationship between hunger and effort. Further research is required to understand why domestic cats, unlike other tested species, do not show a strong preference to work for food.
Older Adults' Daily Activity and Mood Changes Detected During the COVID-19 Pandemic Using Remote Unobtrusive Monitoring Technologies.

Background and Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has limited older adults' access to in-person medical care, including screenings for cognitive and functional decline. Remote, technology-based tools have shown recent promise in assessing changes in older adults' daily activities and mood, which may serve as indicators of underlying health-related changes (e.g., cognitive decline). This study examined changes in older adults' driving, computer use, mood, and travel events prior to and following the COVID-19 emergency declaration using unobtrusive monitoring technologies and remote online surveys. As an exploratory aim, the impact of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) on these changes was assessed. Research Design and Methods: Participants were 59 older adults (41 cognitively intact and 18 MCI) enrolled in a longitudinal aging study. Participants had their driving and computer use behaviors recorded over a 5-month period (75 days pre- and 76 days post-COVID emergency declaration) using unobtrusive technologies. Measures of mood, overnight guests, and frequency of overnight travel were also collected weekly via remote online survey. Results: After adjusting for age, gender, and education, participants showed a significant decrease in daily driving distance, number of driving trips, highway driving, and nighttime driving, post-COVID-19 as compared to pre-COVID-19 (p < .001) based on generalized estimating equation models. Further, participants spent more time on the computer per day post-COVID-19 (p = .03). Participants endorsed increases in blue mood (p < .01) and loneliness (p < .001) and decreases in travel away from home and overnight visitors (p < .001) from pre- to post-COVID-19. Cognitive status did not impact these relationships. Discussion and Implications: From pre- to post-COVID-19 emergency declaration, participants drove and traveled less, used their computer more, had fewer overnight visitors, and reported greater psychological distress. These results highlight the behavioral and psychological effects of stay-at-home orders on older adults who are cognitively intact and those with MCI.
Prevalence and persistency of deficiency citations in Florida assisted living facilities.

BACKGROUND Assisted living facilities (ALFs) are plagued with quality issues but there are limited studies on the quality of ALFs. In Florida, state surveyors conduct inspections of ALFs and cite and/or fine facilities that are in violation of regulations. Yet, we do not know the types of quality problems identified and the extent to which facilities repeat such problems. In this study, we begin to fill this gap in our understanding of ALFs quality by summarizing the deficiency citations in Florida ALFs. METHODS We obtained inspection citation data on 957 large ALFs (bed size ≥ 25) in Florida from 2012 to 2018. Citation data are summarized at the facility-year level and classified into different groups such as resident care, admissions, medication, staffing, and training. We examined the trends in citations over time and stratified citations by profit status, license type, and facility size. We also assessed repeat citations among the ALFs. RESULTS Of the 957 large ALFs operating in Florida, 87% of the facilities were cited one or more times from 2012 to 2018. In 2018, the most common citations were related to medications (26.2%), resident care (25.3%), training (25.3%), admissions (21.1%), and staffing (20.8%). For-profit facilities, facilities with beds over 100, and facilities with limited mental health license tended to be cited more often across most types of deficiencies. Repeat citations are common with over 40% of facilities cited in two or more years for resident care and medication from 2012 to 2018. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that repeat citations are common and ALFs do not improve quality on a long-term basis after citations. If we want to improve ALFs quality, we may need to provide appropriate incentives and resources to ALFs along with stringent enforcement of regulations.
Heidegger on technology and Gelassenheit: wabi-sabi and the art of Verfallenheit

The question of the contemporary relevance of Heidegger's reflections on technology to today's advanced technology is here explored with reference to the notion of "entanglement" towards a review of Heidegger's understanding of technology and media, including the entertainment industry and modern digital life. Heidegger's reflections on Gelassenheit have been connected with the aesthetics of the tea ceremony, disputing the material aesthetics of porcelain versus plastic. Here by approaching the art of wabi-sabi as the art of Verfallenheit, I argue that Gelassenheit may be understood in these terms.
The Origins of the Shi‘a: Confronting the Source Barrier

Every study of early Shī‘ism is fundamentally hampered by a lack of contemporaneous historical sources. Very few chronicles can verifiably be dated to the start of the 2nd/8th century, leaving scholars with a myriad of sources from subsequent centuries, which claim an unverifiable reliance on earlier written materials. The degree to which these have been manipulated or altered to fit polemical agendas remains an open question. In the case of heresiographies, for example, it is likely that historical materials were recrafted to fit a particular theological worldview in which one sect was saved and seventy-one (or seventy-two, or seventy-three) were destined for Hell. Faced with such a dilemma, many historians have concluded that substantive research into early Islam is not possible without the discovery of new sources or developments in fields such as archeology or numismatics. This chapter argues for the dating of an entire category of (albeit nonhistorical) sources to the early 2nd/8th century and offers an avenue for utilizing these texts to derive historical information. The first section summarizes important recent scholarship that places ritual law traditions in as early as the late 1st/7th century. The second section lays out the methodology employed in Chapters 3 through 5. The search for early sources In the second volume of his seminal 1889 work, Muhammedanishe Studien , Ignaz Goldziher expressed severe skepticism about the entirety of the ḥadīth literature. He argued that political and polemical factors led to a proliferation of fabrication, which made it virtually impossible to derive any factual information from the multitude of seemingly historical traditions preserved in the major collections. In the decades that followed, scholars explored the implications of Goldziher’s work for a variety of fields, from early Islamic historiography to the origins and development of Islamic law. They generally adhered to one of two positions with respect to the sources. The first was grounded in a thoroughgoing skepticism that rejected the entirety of the Muslim tradition as the product of a back projection of expectations onto the life of the Prophet. The second affirmed the general utility of the traditions as historical sources while attempting to sift out those reports that appeared to reflect later bias or polemical debates. The two sides have followed parallel tracks through the last century, with little progress toward a resolution of this fundamental epistemological disagreement. Skeptics consider traditions as fabrications unless proven otherwise, whereas their opponents assume veracity in the absence of proof of forgery.
In Search of Safe Harbor: Suggestions for the New Rule 506(C)

I devote most of this essay to exploring how, exactly, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) should go about providing guidelines to implement the statutory requirement that issuers have a reasonable belief that a purchaser is accredited. The SEC has proposed rules, but these rules merely restate what Congress has already required, thus sidestepping Congress’s direction that the agency itself articulate some verification methods. Taking the SEC’s decidedly amorphous proposal to task, I recommend that the SEC offer two nonexclusive safe harbors for issuers to guide them in determining whether a natural person is an accredited investor. The paragraphs below will discuss the whys and wherefores of these safe harbors.I focus on the natural persons category because my hunch is that it is the most politically salient and controversial. Here is why: even if the SEC heeds my suggestion and identifies safe harbors, it will ignore the elephant in the room. The problem is that the JOBS Act gave companies a newfound ability to trumpet their investments to the world but simultaneously limited actual purchases to accredited investors. Hopeful investors like our hypothetical Jim will now hear about tantalizing investments they cannot make. As I have argued elsewhere, this difficulty may be grave enough to trigger a rethinking of the public/private distinction that currently underpins our securities laws.
An intelligent automation system of yeast fermentation industry

Traditional yeast fermentation process is becoming a big bottleneck recently in Chinese liquor industry, because of the low efficiency and high cost of human labor with little automation. An intelligent automatic yeast fermentation system based on novel designed structure, specialized robot system and wireless multi-sensor data acquisition system, has been introduced in this paper. Standardized parts are used in the mechanical system to achieve low cost and convenient production. An intelligent control system is designed for decision-makers to monitor factory status and command the movement of robot system. Multi-sensor online detection enhances the intelligence of control system. This automatic system is proved to be successful and promising for relieving human labor and increasing productivity.
Availability of emergency contraception in rural and urban pharmacies in Kansas.

PURPOSE: Determine availability of emergency contraception (EC) at rural and urban pharmacies in Kansas. METHODS: A sample of 201 Kansas pharmacies was selected using a random integer generator. We measured ability to dispense EC within 24 hours and whether it was in stock at the time of the survey call. We examined EC availability based on geographic differences and pharmacy type. FINDINGS: Of the sample 186 pharmacists agreed to be interviewed. Of these 19% (n = 36) were unable to provide EC within 24 hours. There were essentially no differences in availability of EC between rural (75% could dispense in 24 hours) and urban pharmacies (85% could dispense in 24 hours) (P= .105). Corporate pharmacies were more likely to be able to provide EC within 24 hours compared to independent pharmacies (OR = 3.79 CI 1.71-8.43). Thirty-one percent (n = 57) of pharmacists did not carry EC at the time of the survey call. With this sample urban pharmacies were more than twice as likely to report carrying EC compared to rural pharmacies (OR = 2.47 CI 1.31-4.68) and corporate pharmacies were also more likely to report carrying EC compared to independent pharmacies (OR = 7.77 CI 3.72-16.21). CONCLUSIONS: In a sample of Kansas pharmacies there were no differences between rural and urban pharmacies in 24-hour EC availability; however there were differences in those who stocked EC at the time of the survey call. Corporate pharmacies were more likely to dispense EC within 24 hours and have it in stock compared to independent pharmacies suggesting differences in availability of EC. (c) 2012 National Rural Health Association.
Status of the NASA Stirling Radioisotope Project

Free-piston Stirling power conversion has been considered a candidate for radioisotope power systems for space for more than a decade. Prior to the free-piston Stirling architecture, systems were designed with kinematic Stirling engines that used linkages and rotary alternators to convert heat to electricity. These systems were able to achieve long life by lightly loading the linkages; however, the live was nonetheless limited. When the free-piston configuration was initially proposed, it was thought to be attractive due to the relatively high conversion efficiency, acceptable mass, and the potential for long life and high reliability based on wear-free operation. These features have consistently been recognized by teams that have studied technology options for radioisotope space power systems. Since free-piston Stirling power conversion was first considered for space power applications, there have been major advances in three general areas of development: hardware that has demonstrated long-life and reliability, the success achieved by Stirling cryocoolers in space, and the overall developmental maturity of the technology for both space and terrestrial applications. Based on these advances, free-piston Stirling convertors are currently being developed for space power, and for a number of terrestrial applications. They commonly operate with the power, efficiency, life, and reliability as intended, and much of the development now centers on system integration. This paper will summarize the accomplishments of free-piston Stirling power conversion technology over the past decade, review the status of development with regard to space power, and discuss the challenges that remain.
Liver "autoantibodies" in a case of drug-induced jaundice.

Summary A case of drug-induced jaundice (paraaminosalicylic acid and possibly isonicotinic acid hydrazide) was investigated with immunochemical and immunocytochemical studies. The serum of the patient had complement fixing type autoantibodies against normal liver tissue. The autoantibodies appeared in 2 groups: one type moved in α 1 -globulins and reacted with the cytoplasm of the parenchymal cells; the other type was found in the γ-globulins and reacted with the cytoplasm of the bile duct cells.
Predicting Floodplain Hypoxia in the Atchafalaya River, Louisiana, USA, a Large, Regulated Southern Floodplain River System

The Atchafalaya River Basin Floodway (ARBF), a regulated river/floodplain distributary of the Mississippi River, experiences an annual flood pulse that strongly influences floodplain physicochemistry. We developed several metrics to investigate the relationship between the timing and magnitude of the flood pulse and floodplain hypoxia, which in most years is a spatially extensive and temporally prolonged problem in the lower ARBF. Principal components analysis of flood metrics from 2001 to 2009 revealed contrasting flood types (early cool and late warm), but component-based general linear models were unable to predict the magnitude of hypoxia in ARBF water management areas (WMAs). Further analyses based on temperature and geographic information system-determined WMA inundation with generalized additive models (GAMs) revealed WMA-specific patterns of hypoxia, but the likelihood of hypoxia consistently increased when temperatures approached 20°C and inundation rose above 20–30%. Validation with held-out data based on logistic regression indicated that the models constructed with the 2001–2009 temperature and inundation data were able to accurately predict the probabilities of hypoxia in two WMAs based on data collected from 2010 to 2013. The GAMs were an effective tool for visualizing and predicting the probability of hypoxia based on two easily generated parameters. Our analyses indicate that modification of the Atchafalaya River flood pulse could reduce the magnitude of hypoxia within the lower ARBF, subject to engineering (control structure operation) and economic (commercial fisheries production) constraints, by minimizing floodplain inundation after water temperatures reach 20°C. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Progression from ductal carcinoma in situ to invasive breast cancer: Revisited

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is an intraductal neoplastic proliferation of epithelial cells that is separated from the breast stroma by an intact layer of basement membrane and myoepithelial cells. DCIS is a non-obligate precursor of invasive breast cancer, and up to 40% of these lesions progress to invasive disease if untreated. Currently, it is not possible to predict accurately which DCIS would be more likely to progress to invasive breast cancer as neither the significant drivers of the invasive transition have been identified, nor has the clinical utility of tests predicting the likelihood of progression been demonstrated. Although molecular studies have shown that qualitatively, synchronous DCIS and invasive breast cancers are remarkably similar, there is burgeoning evidence to demonstrate that intra-tumor genetic heterogeneity is observed in a subset of DCIS, and that the process of progression to invasive disease may constitute an 'evolutionary bottleneck', resulting in the selection of subsets of tumor cells with specific genetic and/or epigenetic aberrations. Here we review the clinical challenge posed by DCIS, the contribution of the microenvironment and genetic aberrations to the progression from in situ to invasive breast cancer, the emerging evidence of the impact of intra-tumor genetic heterogeneity on this process, and strategies to combat this heterogeneity.
The need for flexibility in freshwater treaty regimes

Shrinking freshwater supplies pose particular threats in international drainage basins, which serve some 40% of the global population and account for around 60% of the world’s river flows. The use and management of these basins are increasingly governed by treaties between the riparian states. While the rules of international law, properly understood, are sufficiently flexible to permit adaptation to changing conditions such as development, population growth and climate change, treaties are essentially rigid instruments that are modifiable only under certain limited conditions. Countries should take this fact into account in designing the regimes to govern their shared freshwater resources, including joint management institutions.
A NEOPRAGMATIST PERSPECTIVE ON RELIGION AND SCIENCE

. Pragmatists, most notably John Dewey and Richard Rorty, propose overcoming the modern split between science and values with a new image of ourselves as language users. In this new self-understanding, both our scientific and evaluative vocabularies are integral parts of self-reliant human problem solving and coping with the larger natural environment. Our language is not the medium of any higher power from which it derives its legitimacy. On this view, the principal matter at issue between pragmatists and realists so far as interaction between religion and science is concerned is the moral one of human self-reliance.
Attenuated Postmodernism: Pynchon's Vineland

(1990). Attenuated Postmodernism: Pynchon's Vineland. Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction: Vol. 32, Vineland, pp. 67-76.
Novel Molecular Determinants in the Pore Region of Sodium Channels Regulate Local Anesthetic Binding

The pore of the Na+ channel is lined by asymmetric loops formed by the linkers between the fifth and sixth transmembrane segments (S5-S6). We investigated the role of the N-terminal portion (SS1) of the S5-S6 linkers in channel gating and local anesthetic (LA) block using site-directed cysteine mutagenesis of the rat skeletal muscle (NaV1.4) channel. The mutants examined have variable effects on voltage dependence and kinetics of fast inactivation. Of the cysteine mutants immediately N-terminal to the putative DEKA selectivity filter in four domains, only Q399C in domain I and F1236C in domain III exhibit reduced use-dependent block. These two mutations also markedly accelerated the recovery from use-dependent block. Moreover, F1236C and Q399C significantly decreased the affinity of QX-314 for binding to its channel receptor by 8.5- and 3.3-fold, respectively. Oddly enough, F1236C enhanced stabilization of slow inactivation by both hastening entry into and delaying recovery from slow inactivation states. It is noteworthy that symmetric applications of QX-314 on both external and internal sides of F1236C mutant channels reduced recovery from use-dependent block, indicating an allosteric effect of external QX-314 binding on the recovery of availability of F1236C. These observations suggest that cysteine mutation in the SS1 region, particularly immediate adjacent to the DEKA ring, may lead to a structural rearrangement that alters binding of permanently charged QX-314 to its receptor. The results lend further support for a role for the selectivity filter region as a structural determinant for local anesthetic block.
A Federal Deficit Reduction Simulation: Learning Politics and Policy in a Budgetary Context

I must first confess that I was long a skeptic about the use of simulations in the classroom. I had, after all, gotten along quite fine without them. My courses were full, my teaching evaluations good. Then, one year while I was teaching a graduate Public Administration class, I came across a city fiscal simulation and tried it. It worked rather well, and my curiosity was piqued. I spent some time researching the design and effectiveness of these exercises (see, for example, Wassermann 1994), and then designed my own federal deficit reduction simulation. I have now been regularly using and revising it for over 10 years. Students routinely rate it as the best learning experience in the course, and I concur. I use a very detailed version of the simulation in my upper-division class on the Politics of Budgeting and Taxation and in a graduate seminar on Public Budgeting, and an abbreviated version in my introductory American Government class. The simulation would also fit very well in a course on Congress. In-class simulations have been found to
Dispersion transformer for fiber-optic systems

A significant amount of research is being performed to increase the information-carrying capacity of fiber-optic systems. One major limitation in achieving this goal has been the upper limit set by the chromatic dispersion induced by a combination of the source spectral width and the fiber dispersion.
Limits to the reproductive success of two insect parasitoid species in the field

Debates on the relative importance of different factors in limiting the realized fitness of insect parasitoids and herbivores have continued for decades. One major reason for the duration of these debates is the paucity of empirical evidence regarding the reproductive success of minute insects under field conditions. We used a novel technique to estimate lifetime reproductive success in two Anagrus spp. parasitoids, whose hosts are eggs of leafhoppers that feed on grape leaves. Females were collected soon after they died naturally, and the number of eggs in their ovaries was counted. We used these data to estimate the lifetime oviposition success of individual females. We found that more than 10% of females from the field exhausted their entire supply of eggs before they died. The lifetime reproductive success of females was positively related to their body size and was higher at field sites with more abundant hosts, although we could not rule out a causal role for other site-specific factors. In addition, we found that females from habitats rich with hosts emerged with more eggs, suggesting that they might be adapted to local conditions. The results are consistent with theoretical predictions from models considering the risk of egg limitation.
Effect of the Nature of the Counterion on the Properties of Anionic Surfactants. 2. Aggregation Number-Based Micelle Ionization Degrees for Micelles of Tetraalkylammonium Dodecylsulfates

Tetramethyl-, tetraethyl-, tetrapropyl-, and tetrabutylammonium dodecylsulfate micelles in aqueous solution grow as either the surfactant or added electrolyte concentrations are increased. The variation in the aggregation number, N, of the first three surfactants is described as follows: N = N0(Caq/cmc0)γ where N0 is the aggregation number at the critical micelle concentration in the absence of added electrolyte, cmc0, Caq is the concentration of counterions in the aqueous phase, and γ is a constant. The values of N0 are rather small, in the range 54 to 64 at 25°; 61 to 74 at 10°; and 51 to 56 at 40 °C. The values of γ are insensitive to temperature and are rather small; 0.05 to 0.1. In contrast, tetrabutylammonium dodecylsulfate grows nearly linearly with Caq. The ionization degrees (α) of these micelles are studied by applying the hypothesis recently introduced (J. Phys. Chem. B 2001, 105, 6798) that the aggregation number at a given temperature is determined solely by Caq, whether these counterions ar...
Neural network processing of microbial fuel cell signals for the identification of chemicals present in water

Biosensing is emerging as an important element of water quality monitoring. This research demonstrated that microbial fuel cell (MFC)-based biosensing can be integrated with artificial neural networks (ANNs) to identify specific chemicals present in water samples. The non-fermentable substrates, acetate and butyrate, induced peak areas (PA) and peak heights (PH) that were generally larger than those caused by the injection of fermentable substrates, glucose and corn starch. The ANN successfully identified peaks associated with these four chemicals under a variety of experimental conditions and for two MFCs that had different levels of sensitivity. ANNs that employ the hyperbolic tangent sigmoid transfer function performed better than those using non-continuous transfer functions. ANNs should be integrated into water quality monitoring efforts for smart biosensing.
Surface Chemistry of ZnO Nanowires for Nanosensor Applications

In this work, surface modification of ZnO nanowires (NWs) with oleic acid is reported. ZnO NWs were synthesized in a customized chemical vapor deposition furnace and were characterized with scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. Raman and infrared spectroscopies were used to determine that oleic acid modifies the ZnO NW surface with the carboxylate group attached to the surface. The study of the surface chemistry of ZnO NWs provides information about the class of compounds that modify ZnO NWs. This information will assist in tailoring the interface of NWs with appropriate compounds for fabricating nanosensors with high selectivity.
Alcoved Polytopes, I

The aim of this paper is to study alcoved polytopes, which are polytopes arising from affine Coxeter arrangements. This class of convex polytopes includes many classical polytopes, for example, the hypersimplices. We compare two constructions of triangulations of hypersimplices due to Stanley and Sturmfels and explain them in terms of alcoved polytopes. We study triangulations of alcoved polytopes, the adjacency graphs of these triangulations, and give a combinatorial formula for volumes of these polytopes. In particular, we study a class of matroid polytopes, which we call the multi-hypersimplices.
Experimental evidence for a phase transition in magnesium oxide at exoplanet pressures

Little is known about the structure of possible mantle materials of extra-solar super-Earths with interior pressures of up to 1,000 GPa. Dynamic X-ray diffraction measurements of ramp-compressed magnesium oxide, an important component of Earth’s mantle, show a solid–solid state transition at about 600 GPa, with a high-pressure structure that is stable up to 900 GPa.
Polymer grafted recyclable magnetic nanoparticles

This work reports on a new combination of recyclable magnetic nanoparticles, polymers and antibiotics that show increased effectiveness in combating bacterial infections. The direct-coprecipitation of iron salts strategy was used to generate superparamagnetic nanoparticles with a saturation magnetization of 59.5 emu g−1. A silica coating was applied and used to stabilize the magnetic nanoparticles and create a convenient platform for further functionalization. A variety of PMAA brushes with different lengths and densities were prepared on the magnetic nanoparticles with an average diameter size as small as 10 nm via surface-initiated reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization of methacrylic acid. The polymer grafted magnetic nanoparticles were removed from water solutions after antimicrobial testing using a magnet, thereby avoiding nano-based pollution of the environment. The bioactivity of an antibiotic (penicillin-G) over bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli) was significantly enhanced when physically bound to the PMAA grafted magnetic nanoparticles. The inhibition activity of the penicillin-nanoparticle complex was retained using recycled magnetic nanoparticles that had been reloaded with penicillin-G.
Local photodynamic therapy delays recurrence of equine periocular squamous cell carcinoma compared to cryotherapy

Objective (i) To report the successful treatment of 10 cases of equine periocular squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) with surgical excision and photodynamic therapy (PDT) using verteporfin. (ii) To evaluate time to first tumor recurrence between PDT-treated horses and horses treated with surgical excision and cryotherapy. Methods A total of 24 equine PSCC cases were included: group 1 (n = 14) had excision and cryotherapy (1993–2003), group 2 (n = 10), excision and local PDT (2006–2010). Evaluated data: signalment, treatment method, tumor location, size, and time to first recurrence. Groups were compared via chi-square test for categorical variables and Wilcoxon rank-sum test for numeric variables. Time to tumor recurrence was examined using Kaplan–Meier product-limit survival analysis. Results Of 24 cases, nine breeds were affected. Mean age at treatment in years: 14 (range 5–24) in group 1; 11 (range 8–18) in group 2. Median tumor size: 163 mm2 (range 20–625 mm2) in group 1; 195 mm2 (range 45–775 mm2) in group 2. Signalment, tumor laterality, and size were not significantly different between groups. Time to recurrence was significantly different between groups (Logrank test, P = 0.0006). In group 1, 11/14 horses had tumor regrowth with median time to recurrence in months: 10 (range 1–44). In group 2 (minimum follow-up of 25 months; range 25–50), no horse demonstrated tumor recurrence after one treatment with excision and PDT. Conclusions This represents the first report of local PDT using verteporfin for treatment of equine PSCC. Following surgery, the likelihood of tumor recurrence was significantly reduced with local PDT compared with cryotherapy.
A class of parameter estimation techniques for fluid flow in porous media

Abstract In this paper, we consider how some parameter estimation inverse problems of fluid flow in porous media can be solved without iteratively solving the related forward problems many times. For spatially-dependent parameters, hyperbolic perturbation is used to enforce stability. The temporally-dependent parameters are computed via a nonclassical partial differential equation. The methods presented are considerably less time consuming that the iterative methods. Several numerical experiments are carried out to show the stability, the convergence and the dependence of the solution upon the error in the data.
Inscribed in the Book of the Living: Gospel of Truth and Jewish Christology

In this study, I shall argue that the Gospel of Truth preserves an archaic Jewish/Christian theologoumenon that provides an alternative account of the incarnation to the version in the prologue to the Gospel of John. It is reasonable to presume a common matrix—most likely related to Jewish Wisdom speculation—for the two accounts. Careful analysis of the text, moreover, sheds light on the spot where the tributaries of Jewish and Christian esotericism converged and diverged. By heeding this site we may contribute in a modest way to the question regarding the intricate relationship between Judaism, Christianity, and Gnosticism in Late Antiquity.
REGIONALIZATION AND PRICE ZONATION IN SOVIET AGRICULTURAL PLANNING1

ABSTRACT In the Soviet system, the determination of what is to be produced where and in what quantity cannot be left to chance. Yet it is equally clear that complex activities such as agriculture cannot be planned in detail and supervised directly by the central authorities. Confronted with this dilemma, Soviet agricultural planners have attempted, through the process of regionalization, to develop a balanced framework for planning. But under the pressure of over-ambitious goals, not to mention production which lagged, agricultural planning became increasingly rigid. The application of regionalization to planning, therefore, was strictly limited, and efforts to regionalize the country became largely academic. Recently, however, the framework of Soviet agricultural planning has been modified. Efforts have been made not only to reduce centralization but also to replace direct command with the more subtle control of economic levers. This in turn has required a more sophisticated knowledge of the country's la...
Retransplantation of murine skin allografts: Assessment of treatment effects on the allograft in the absence of effects on the host

In transplantation techniques previously described it was impossible to separate the effects of immunosuppressive treatments on the host from the effects directed at the allograft itself. The skin allograft retransplantation technique described here allows one to assess changes in the immunogenicity of the allograft generated in the primary recipient but assessed on a second untreated host. The skin allograft is parked on a primary recipient and then retransplanted with a thin margin of recipient tissue to a second host. Data obtained from this model shows that passenger leukocytes do not influence skin allograft survival times. Enhancing alloantisera used in the primary host was shown to cause prolonged graft survival in the untreated second recipient. Using this model the effects of immunosuppressive or immunostimulatory treatments directed at the graft itself can be assessed.