cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Assessing the Impact of Two Residential Programs for Dually Diagnosed Homeless Individuals

Two residential programs for dually diagnosed (severely mentally ill and substance-abusing) homeless individuals in Philadelphia were compared in a quasi-experimental field study. Findings indicate that the experimental model, a hybrid psychosocial and drug rehabilitation program, did significantly better in maintaining clients in care and in successful rehabilitation than did the comparison model, a modified therapeutic community program. However, the overall rate of success in both programs was quite modest. We found Emile Durkheim's concepts of organic and mechanical solidarity to be useful in comparing the structure of the two programs. Because of the small number of clients treated by these programs and the unique characteristics (predominately young, black, and male) of this urban population, findings are not conclusive but clarify direction for further practice and study.
Deletion of integrin-linked kinase from neural crest cells in mice results in aortic aneurysms and embryonic lethality.

SUMMARY Neural crest cells (NCCs) participate in the remodeling of the cardiac outflow tract and pharyngeal arch arteries during cardiovascular development. Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) is a serine/threonine kinase and a major regulator of integrin signaling. It links integrins to the actin cytoskeleton and recruits other adaptor molecules into a large complex to regulate actin dynamics and integrin function. Using the Cre-lox system, we deleted Ilk from NCCs of mice to investigate its role in NCC morphogenesis. The resulting mutants developed a severe aneurysmal arterial trunk that resulted in embryonic lethality during late gestation. Ilk mutants showed normal cardiac NCC migration but reduced differentiation into smooth muscle within the aortic arch arteries and the outflow tract. Within the conotruncal cushions, Ilk-deficient NCCs exhibited disorganization of F-actin stress fibers and a significantly rounder morphology, with shorter cellular projections. Additionally, absence of ILK resulted in reduced in vivo phosphorylation of Smad3 in NCCs, which correlated with reduced αSMA levels. Our findings resemble those seen in Pinch1 and β1 integrin conditional mutant mice, and therefore support that, in neural crest-derived cells, ILK and Pinch1 act as cytoplasmic effectors of β1 integrin in a pathway that protects against aneurysms. In addition, our conditional Ilk mutant mice might prove useful as a model to study aortic aneurysms caused by reduced Smad3 signaling, as occurs in the newly described aneurysms-osteoarthritis syndrome, for example.
Medial Antebrachial Cutaneous Nerve Measurements to Diagnose Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

A reliable objective test is still needed to confirm the diagnosis of neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome (NTOS). Over the past 20 years, it has been suggested that responses to medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve (MAC) and C8 nerve root stimulation could be used for this purpose. Herein, we explore this thesis. A clinical diagnosis of NTOS was established in 41 patients, all of whom underwent surgical decompression. Preoperatively, all patients were studied with MAC sensory neural action potential (SNAP) determinations and C8 nerve root stimulation. Controls were 19 asymptomatic, healthy volunteers. MAC sensory latency on 79 control sides was 1.5-2.4 msec, while latency in 41 symptomatic patients ranged 2.2-2.8 msec. Latency of 2.5 or greater was noted in 30 patients (specificity 99%, sensitivity 73%), confirming a diagnosis of NTOS, while the remaining 11 (27%) fell into the borderline zone of 2.2-2.4 msec. The latency difference between right and left sides in controls was 0-0.2 msec in 17 (89%), while in NTOS patients 31 had a difference of 0.3 msec or more (sensitivity 89%, specificity 63%). Amplitudes of 10 μV or more occurred in 77 of 79 control sides, whereas the amplitude was under 10 μV in 28 patients (specificity 97%, sensitivity 68%). Amplitude ratios between right and left sides in controls were 1.7 or less. Ratios of 2.0 or more were measured in 25 patients (specificity 100%, sensitivity 61%). Using the four diagnostic criteria (latency over 2.4 msec, latency difference between sides of 0.3 or more, amplitude under 10 μV, and amplitude ratios of 2.0 or more), 40 of the 41 patients had at least one of the four diagnostic criteria, 23 patients (56%) had three or four positive criteria, and 12 (29%) had two. C8 nerve root stimulation responses were below normal (56 M/sec) in 54%. MAC measurement is a fairly reliable technique for confirming the diagnosis of NTOS. Latency determination appeared to be a slightly more consistent measurement in this study, but amplitude and C8 nerve root stimulation were also helpful. A combination of these techniques seems to be the most reliable approach.
Current and emerging treatment options for Peyronie's disease

Peyronie’s disease (PD) is a condition of the penis, characterized by the presence of localized fibrotic plaque in the tunica albuginea. PD is not an uncommon disorder, with recent epidemiologic studies documenting a prevalence of 3–9% of adult men affected. The actual prevalence of PD may be even higher. It is often associated with penile pain, anatomical deformities in the erect penis, and difficulty with intromission. As the definitive pathophysiology of PD has not been completely elucidated, further basic research is required to make progress in the understanding of this enigmatic condition. Similarly, research on effective therapies is limited. Currently, nonsurgical treatments are used for those men who are in the acute stage of PD, whereas surgical options are reserved for men with established PD who cannot successfully penetrate. Intralesional treatments are growing in clinical popularity as a minimally invasive approach in the initial treatment of PD. A surgical approach should be considered when men with PD do not respond to conservative, medical, or minimally invasive therapies for approximately 1 year and cannot have satisfactory sexual intercourse. As scientific breakthroughs in the understanding of the mechanisms of this disease process evolve, novel treatments for the many men suffering with PD are anticipated.
A simple method for measuring cardiac area from the orthodiagram

Abstract A simple method for measuring the area of the orthodiagraphic tracing is described. It requires no instruments which are not already available in the average hospital. The error of the method is quite small, and well within normal variations in the size of the heart and errors in orthodiagraphic projection and tracing.
Reaction Time and Rapid Serial Processing Measures of Information Processing Speed in Multiple Sclerosis: Complexity, Compounding, and Augmentation

Information processing speed is frequently cited as the primary cognitive domain impacted by multiple sclerosis (MS) and is usually evaluated with reaction time (RT) or rapid serial processing (RSP) measures. The present study compared the efficacy of RT and RSP measures to distinguish between patients with MS (N = 42) and healthy controls (N = 40). The RT measure was patterned after the Computerized Tests of Information Processing and included measures of simple, choice, and semantic RT. The RSP measures consisted of the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) and the Stroop Test. Substantial differences in information processing speed between patients and controls were found on all tests, with slightly larger effect sizes for RSP measures than RT measures and for the SDMT than the Stroop Test. Binary logistic regression analyses showed RSP measures performed better than RT measures at distinguishing patients from controls, and likewise, the SDMT score performed better than the scores derived from the Stroop Test. Results are discussed in the context of three effects associated with common measures of processing speed: complexity, compounding, and augmentation.
Mutations in the Borrelia burgdorferi Flagellar Type III Secretion System Genes fliH and fliI Profoundly Affect Spirochete Flagellar Assembly, Morphology, Motility, Structure, and Cell Division

The Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi migrates to distant sites in the tick vectors and mammalian hosts through robust motility and chemotaxis activities. FliH and FliI are two cytoplasmic proteins that play important roles in the type III secretion system (T3SS)-mediated export and assembly offlagellar structural proteins. However, detailed analyses of the roles of FliH and FliI in B. burgdorferi have not been reported. In this study, fliH and fliI transposon mutants were utilized to dissect the mechanism of the Borreliatype III secretion system. The fliHandfliImutants exhibited rod-shaped or string-like morphology, greatly reduced motility, division defects (resulting in elongated organisms with incomplete division points), and noninfectivity in mice by needle inoculation. Mutants in fliHandfliIwere incapable of translational motion in 1% methylcellu- lose or soft agar. Inactivation of either fliHorfliIresulted in the loss of the FliH-FliI complex from otherwise intactflagellar mo- tors, as determined by cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET). Flagellar assemblies were still present in the mutant cells, albeit in lower numbers than in wild-type cells and with truncatedflagella. Genetic complementation of fliHandfliImutants intransre- stored their wild-type morphology, motility, andflagellar motor structure; however, full-lengthflagella and infectivity were not recovered in these complemented mutants. Based on these results, disruption of either fliH or fliI in B. burgdorferi results in a severe defect inflagellar structure and function and cell division but does not completely block the export and assembly offlagel- lar hook andfilament proteins. IMPORTANCE Many bacteria are able to rapidly transport themselves through their surroundings using specialized organelles calledflagella. In spiral-shaped organisms called spirochetes,flagella act like inboard motors and give the bacteria the ability to bore their way through dense materials (such as human tissue) in a corkscrew manner. In this article, we studied how two pro- teins, called FliH and FliI, are important for the production of full-length flagella in the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burg- dorferi. Mutants with defective production of FliH and FliI have reducedflagellar length and motility; this deficiency in turn af- fects many aspects of B. burgdorferi's biology, including the ability to undergo cell division and cause disease in mammals. Using a microscopic computed tomography (CT) scan approach called cryo-electron tomography, the structure that contains FliH and FliI was defined in the context of theflagellar motor, providing clues regarding how this amazing nanomachine is assembled and functions.
An Accounting Scheme for Designing Science Impact Indicators The Knowledge System Perspective

The social system of knowledge—or knowledge system, for short—is an accounting scheme that helps organize the search for social impact of science (SIS) indicators. The accounting scheme specifies six related knowledge functions (production, structuring, storage, distribution, utilization, and mandating) that are performed in different domains (industry, agriculture, education, and so forth) by many institutions and organizations that vary in size, autonomy, specialization, and complexity. By mediating relations between science and society, these institutions and organizations facilitate and retard the impact of science on the larger society. The knowledge systems accounting scheme also helps identify aspects of science impacts on society (e.g., scientific evidence), aspects of society on which science impacts (e.g., the economy, polity, and culture), and structures by which social impacts of science are mediated (e.g., technical communities). The knowledge system provides a conceptual base for the future ...
Is there a misplaced focus on AmED? Associations between caffeine mixers and bar patron intoxication

Abstract Background Previous research on alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AmED) suffers from measurement problems. Missing from the research literature are studies that assess caffeine–alcohol co-ingestion in natural drinking environments. Methods This field study collected data in a U.S. college bar district from 328 randomly selected patrons. Anonymous data were obtained from face-to-face interviews and self-administered surveys, and from breath tests. Results Cola-caffeinated alcoholic beverage consumers left bars in a more highly intoxicated state than those who consumed alcohol only. There was no significant difference between the intoxication level of the AmED group and the cola-caffeinated alcoholic beverage group. Results from a multivariate regression model indicated that quantity of caffeinated alcoholic beverage consumption had a significant, positive association with bar patron intoxication after adjusting for potential confounders. Conclusions Findings indicate that caffeine may have a dose-dependent relationship with alcohol intoxication in the bar/nightclub setting. In addition, results revealed that cola-caffeinated alcoholic drinks may pose similar levels of risk to bar patrons as those associated with AmED beverage consumption. Product labeling requirements about alcohol risks may need to be extended not only to energy drinks, but to caffeinated soft drinks as well.
A Kinase-Independent Role for Unoccupied Insulin and IGF-1 Receptors in the Control of Apoptosis

Insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) act as antiapoptotic hormones. We found that, unexpectedly, double-knockout (DKO) cells that lacked both insulin and IGF-1 receptors (IR and IGF1R, respectively) were resistant to apoptosis induced through either the intrinsic or the extrinsic pathway. This resistance to apoptosis was associated with decreased abundance of the proapoptotic protein Bax and increases in abundance of the antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, XIAP, and Flip. These changes in protein abundance involved primarily posttranscriptional mechanisms. Restoration of IR or IGF1R to DKO cells also restored their sensitivity to apoptosis. Notably, expression of a catalytically inactive mutant form of the IR also restored susceptibility to apoptosis. Thus, IR and IGF1R have bidirectional roles in the control of cell survival and can be viewed as dependence receptors. Insulin and IGF-1 binding stimulates receptor tyrosine kinase activity and blocks apoptosis, whereas unliganded IR and IGF1R, acting through a mechanism independent of their catalytic activity, exert a permissive effect on cell death.
Multiple Functional Motifs Are Required for the Tumor Suppressor Activity of a Constitutively-Active ErbB4 Mutant

ErbB4 (HER4) is a member of the ErbB family of receptor tyrosine kinases, which includes the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR/ErbB1), ErbB2 (HER2/Neu), and ErbB3 (HER3). Mounting evidence indicates that ErbB4, unlike EGFR or ErbB2, functions as a tumor suppressor in many human malignancies. Previous analyses of the constitutively-dimerized and -active ErbB4 Q646C mutant indicate that ErbB4 kinase activity and phosphorylation of ErbB4 Tyr1056 are both required for the tumor suppressor activity of this mutant in human breast, prostate, and pancreatic cancer cell lines. However, the cytoplasmic region of ErbB4 possesses additional putative functional motifs, and the contributions of these functional motifs to ErbB4 tumor suppressor activity have been largely underexplored. Here we demonstrate that ErbB4 BH3 and LXXLL motifs, which are thought to mediate interactions with Bcl family proteins and steroid hormone receptors, respectively, are required for the tumor suppressor activity of the ErbB4 Q646C mutant. Furthermore, abrogation of the site of ErbB4 cleavage by gamma-secretase also disrupts the tumor suppressor activity of the ErbB4 Q646C mutant. This last result suggests that ErbB4 cleavage and subcellular trafficking of the ErbB4 cytoplasmic domain may be required for the tumor suppressor activity of the ErbB4 Q646C mutant. Indeed, here we demonstrate that mutants that disrupt ErbB4 kinase activity, ErbB4 phosphorylation at Tyr1056, or ErbB4 cleavage by gamma-secretase also disrupt ErbB4 trafficking away from the plasma membrane and to the cytoplasm. This supports a model for ErbB4 function in which ErbB4 tumor suppressor activity is dependent on ErbB4 trafficking away from the plasma membrane and to the cytoplasm, mitochondria, and/or the nucleus.
Differential effects of ethanol in adolescent and adult rats.

Alcohol use in children and adolescents is widespread. However, very little is known about the effects of alcohol exposure during this period of postnatal development. The goal of the present study was to compare the relative sensitivity to the sedative effects of alcohol in periadolescent and adult rats. After treatment with either 4 or 5 glkg ethanol, both 20- and 30-day-old rats regained their righting reflex significantly earlier than 80-day old rats. In 30-day-old rats, serum ethanol concentrations (SECs) were significantly greater at the time of the recovety of the righting reflex than 80-day-old rats. Developmental differences in the effects of ethanol on locomotor activity were also observed. In 60-day-old rats, 2.5 glkg ethanol generally decreased locomotor activity. Ethanol did not significantly alter locomotor activity in 20- and 30-day-old rats. Finally, there were sig nificant developmental differences in the pharmacokinetics of ethanol with a significant delay in the time to peak SECs in 80-day-old rats relative to 20- and 30-day-old rats. These findings indicate that periadolescent rats are less sensitive to the sedative effects of ethanol as they recovered their righting reflex earlier and at significantly higher SECs than adult rats.
Program-Specific Cost-Effectiveness Analysis: Breast Cancer Screening Policies for a Safety-Net Program

Abstract Background Every Woman Counts (EWC), a California breast cancer screening program, faced challenging budget cutbacks and policy choices. Methods A microsimulation model evaluated costs, outcomes, and cost-effectiveness of EWC program mammography policy options on coverage for digital mammography (which has a higher cost than film mammography but recent legislation allowed reimbursement at the lower film rate); screening eligibility age; and screening frequency. Model inputs were based on analyses of program claims data linked to California Cancer Registry data, Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data, and the Medi-Cal literature. Outcomes included number of procedures, cancers, cancer deaths, costs, and incremental cost per life-year. Results Projected model outcomes matched program data closely. With restrictions on the number of clients screened, strategies starting screening at age 40 years were dominated (not cost-effective). This finding was highly robust in sensitivity analyses. Compared with no screening, biennial film mammography for women aged 50 to 64 years was projected to reduce 15-year breast cancer mortality by nearly 7.8% at $18,999 per additional life-year, annual film mammography was $106,428 per additional life-year, and digital mammography $180,333 per additional life-year. This more effective, more expensive strategy was projected to reduce breast cancer mortality by 8.6%. Under equal mammography reimbursement, biennial digital mammography beginning at age 50 years was projected to decrease 15-year breast cancer mortality by 8.6% at an incremental cost per additional life-year of $17,050. Conclusions For the EWC program, biennial screening mammography starting at age 50 years was the most cost-effective strategy. The impact of digital mammography on life expectancy was small. Program-specific cost-effectiveness analysis can be completed in a policy-relevant time frame to assist policymakers faced with difficult program choices.
New thoughts about estrogen therapy from the Women's Health Initiative.

Since the introduction of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in 1942, the availability of scientific information regarding the physiologic action of estrogen alone and in combination with progesterone has grown substantially. The specific physiology of changes in endogenous estrogen as a causal factor in bone loss that occurs as the result of menopause is now better understood. Accumulating evidence regarding the benefit of estrogen in protecting against bone loss at the time of menopause made it the first choice for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, until the findings of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) were announced in 2002. Fortunately, the availability of multiple alternative agents for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in menopausal women has provided clinicians with other options. There remain a small number of patients who cannot tolerate or afford these alternative therapies. Recent publications resulting from the WHI should be understood by practicing physicians who are faced with this dilemma and may need to consider HRT in treating patients with osteoporosis.
Design considerations for computer‐based surgical simulators

Computers will allow the creation of novel training environments in ways that can only be imagined at the present time. The design of computer-based simulators for training of surgical procedures is a highly complex and ever-more sophisticated process. A thorough understanding of human learning principles as well as the capabilities and limitations of simulation training is required. Only development teams with expertise in medicine and surgery, computer science, hardware engineering, and simulation training will be able to create the useful surgical simulators of tomorrow.
Cute, Creepy, or Crispy—How Values, Attitudes, and Norms Shape Human Behavior Toward Bats

Bat populations around the world are declining as a consequence of human activities. Bat conservation thus hinges on changing human behavior, but to do so, we must understand the origins and drivers of the behavior. As natural scientists, most bat biologists lack the knowledge and training to implement rigorous studies of the human dimensions of bat conservation, yet such studies are needed to guide successful intervention. As we travel through the Anthropocene, it is critical that bat conservation biologists adopt an interdisciplinary approach and work with researchers from the social sciences who hold these skills and knowledge. To facilitate conversation and collaboration with conservation social scientists, I review the key theoretical and empirical perspectives on human behavior toward wildlife and report on studies of bats in these contexts wherever possible. I also recommend ways in which bat biologists can use some of this knowledge to enhance less structured or opportunistic outreach efforts encountered during our research activities.
Safety: Productivity and Job Pressures

Research findings showed that field supervisors have a large impact on safety performance through their management practices. Data were collected through personal interviews with construction superintendents. The superintendents were asked primarily about their “management practices” and their job safety policies. Comparisons were then made between different superintendents on the basis of the frequency of injuries on their jobs. Results showed that the safest superintendents were those who were considered by their superiors to excel in meeting their job costs and their time schedules, i.e., safety and productivity are compatible. It was shown further that the management practices, not the job safety policies, had the greatest impact on job safety. For instance, it was shown that the superintendents with better safety records managed to keep excess pressures from their foremen and workers.
Single photon source characterization with a superconducting single photon detector

We present the first use of a superconducting single photon detector in characterizing a single photon source. This detector offers excellent timing resolution (65 ps FWHM jitter) and operation into the infrared (1550 nm).
The Major Life Activity of Belonging

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects individuals with a "disability," which the Act defines as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a "major life activity." This Article argues that "belonging" is a major life activity. Belonging has two aspects: personal relationships, including bonds of love, friendship and shared purpose; and social acceptance, or the regard of others that fosters integration into the mainstream of society. Belonging is central to most people's lives. It also is at the heart of the ADA, with its emphasis on the freedom to enjoy life among family, friends, coworkers and fellow citizens and its promise of the inclusion, integration, and participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of modern American life. Belonging also occupies an important role in accounts of the "good life" articulated by philosophers, sociologists, psychologists and prominent thinkers in other fields. This striking consensus among public, political, and scholarly understandings of the importance of belonging provides compelling support for judicial recognition of belonging as a major life activity.
Rabbits, Ducks, and Henry V

HE GREATER PLAYS LEAVE US KNOWING we should be perplexed. No explication satisfies us that Macbeth or King Lear, Hamlet or Othello or The Winter's Tale has been safely reduced to a formula that answers all our questions. Such plays tell us that mystery is their mode; the questions aroused by them seem unanswerable, because each play in its own way creates an image of a world that is unfathomable where we most need to understand it. Henry V is no such play. Rather, it repeatedly elicits simple and wholehearted responses from its critics, interpretations that seem solidly based on total readings of a consistent whole. This is not to say, however, that the critics agree with each other. As a matter of fact, they could hardly disagree more radically. "For some" of them, a recent writer remarks, "the play presents the story of an ideal monarch and glorifies his achievements; for them, the tone approaches that of an epic lauding the military virtues. For others, the protagonist is a Machiavellian militarist who professes Christianity but whose deeds reveal both hypocrisy and ruthlessness; for them, the tone is predominantly one of mordant satire."1 One way to deal with a play that provokes such conflicting responses is to try to find the truth somewhere between them. Another is to suggest that the author couldn't make up his mind which side he wanted to come down on and left us a mess. A third is to interpret all the signals indicating one polar reading as intentional, and to interpret all the other signals as irrepressible evidence that Shakespeare didn't believe what he was trying to say. All of these strategies have been mounted against Henry V; and all of them are just as wrong as most critics now recognize similar attempts to domesticate the greater plays to be. I am going to argue that in Henry V Shakespeare creates a work whose ultimate power is precisely the fact that it points in two opposite directions, virtually daring us to choose one of the two opposed interpretations it requires of us. In this deceptively simple play Shakespeare experiments, perhaps more shockingly than elsewhere, with a structure like the gestaltist's familiar draw-
Probing the Magic Numbers of Aluminum–Magnesium Cluster Anions and Their Reactivity toward Oxygen

We report a joint experimental and theoretical investigation into the geometry, stability, and reactivity with oxygen of alloy metal clusters AlnMgm– (4 ≤ n+m ≤ 15; 0 ≤ m ≤ 3). Considering that Al and Mg possess three and two valence electrons, respectively, clusters with all possible valence electron counts from 11 to 46 are studied to probe the magic numbers predicted by the spherical jellium model, and to determine whether enhanced stability and reduced reactivity may be found for some AlnMgm– at non-magic numbers. Al5Mg2– and Al11Mg3– exhibit enhanced stability corresponding to the expected magic numbers of 20 and 40 electrons, respectively; while Al7Mg3–, Al11Mg–, and Al11Mg2– turn out to be unexpectedly stable at electron counts of 28, 36, and 38, respectively. The enhanced stability at non-magic numbers is explained through a crystal-field-like splitting of degenerate shells by the geometrical distortions of the clusters. AlnMgm– clusters appear to display higher oxidation than pure Aln– clusters, ...
IT-15DELTA-24-RGDOX: TARGETING CO-STIMULATORY IMMUNE CHECKPOINT PROTEINS WITH ONCOLYTIC ADENOVIRUSES

OX40 ligand (OX40L), the ligand for OX40 on activated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, has adjuvant properties for establishing effective T-cell immunity against cancer. The hypothesis of this study is that oncolytic viruses expressing OX40L will stimulate tumor-specific T cells by the OX40L-OX40 engagement. We will also test whether Delta-24-RGD induces DAMPs, and systemic immunity against the tumor. To test the hypothesis we modified Delta-24-RGD to express the OX40 ligand during replication, the new virus was called Delta-24-RGDOX. Flow-cytometry analyses of human glioma U-87MG and mouse glioma GL261 cells infected with Delta-24-RGDOX detected the expression of OX40L by 48h after infection. Importantly, infection of glioma cells with Delta-24-RGDOX resulted in the production of DAMPs (The damage-associated molecular pattern high-mobility group box 1, calreticulin, HSP70 and HSP90 proteins) as assessed by western blot and ELISA analyses, indicating immunogenic cell death. In addition, using a syngeneic animal model, we showed that intratumoral injection of Delta-24-RGDOX caused infiltration of innate and adaptive immune cells, instigating a Th1 immunity at the tumor site which resulted in specific anti-glioma immunity, shrunken tumor and prolonged animal survival. Importantly, Delta-24-RGDOX treatment showed superior efficacy that the treatment with Delta-24-RGD (28.5 vs. 17 days; P 0.01). These results support the concept that the immune-mediated anti-gliomas effects of Delta-24-RGD can be greatly enhanced by Delta-24-RGD-OX40L and warrant the clinical testing of the new immune-targeted adenovirus in patients with malignant gliomas.
A limiting strategy for the back and forth error compensation and correction method for solving advection equations

We further study the properties of the back and forth error compensation and correction (BFECC) method for advection equations such as those related to the level set method and for solving Hamilton-Jacobi equations on unstructured meshes. In particular, we develop a new limiting strategy which requires another backward advection in time so that overshoots/undershoots on the new time level get exposed when they are transformed back to compare with the solution on the old time level. This new technique is very simple to implement even for unstructured meshes and is able to eliminate artifacts induced by jump discontinuities in derivatives of the solution as well as by jump discontinuities in the solution itself (even if the solution has large gradients in the vicinities of a jump). Typically, a formal second order method for solving a time dependent Hamilton-Jacobi equation requires quadratic interpolation in space. A BFECC method on the other hand only requires linear interpolation in each step, thus is local and easy to implement even for unstructured meshes.
Diel Periodicity and Effect of Age and Mating on Female Sex Pheromone Titer in Heliothis zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Ovipositors of the female corn earworm, Heliothis zea (Boddie), contained large amounts of extractable sex pheromone only during scotophase. Quantitative gas chromatographic analysis of ovipositor extracts for (Z)-11-hexadecenal, the species' major pheromonal component, indicated that female sex pheromone titer was maximal on the third night after adult emergence. Females in their third night began calling within 1 h after onset of scotophase, and peak calling activity coincided with maximal pheromone titer. Compared to that of virgin females of similar age, mating on the third night caused a 93% reduction in pheromone titer. Titer in mated females increased during subsequent nights, and 3 days later it was similar to that of virgin females of the same age.
Epidemiological Characteristics of Mumps in Shuangta District,2006-2010

Objective To analyze the epidemiologyical characteristics of mumps in Shuangta district from 2006 to 2010.Method Descriptive epidemiologyical analysis was conducted on the incidence data of mumps in Shuangta during the period of 2006-2010.Results From 2006 to 2010,a total of 665 mumps cases were reported without death,the average annual incidence rate was 34.43/105,the incidence occurred all the year around and peaked during May-July and November-next January,accounting for 70.97% of all.The cases of children aged 5-14 years accounted for 81.80%;students,kindergarten children and scattered children accounted for 98.32% of all cases.Conclusion It is necessary to strengthen the prevention and control of mumps,and promote the conduction of the vaccination for proper age children.
Unwrapping Curves from Cylinders and Cones

Now imagine the elliptical cross section replaced by any curve lying on the surface of a right circular cylinder. What happens to this curve when the cylinder is unwrapped? Consider also the inverse problem, which you can experiment with by yourself: Start with a plane curve (line, circle, parabola, sine curve, etc.) drawn with a felt pen on a rectangular sheet of transparent plastic, and roll the sheet into cylinders of different radii. What shapes does the curve take on these cylinders? How do they appear when viewed from different directions? A few trials reveal an enormous number of possibilities, even for the simple case of a circle. This paper formulates these somewhat vague questions more precisely, in terms of equations, and shows that they can be answered with surprisingly simple twodimensional geometric transformations, even when the cylinder is not circular. For a circular cylinder, a sinusoidal influence is always present, as exhibited in Figures
Bacillus Calmette-Guerin Immunotherapy for Bladder Cancer

Bacillus Calmette-Guerin immunotherapy has been found by a number of investigators to be effective in the treatment and prevention of superficial bladder cancer. While the optimal protocol for bacillus Calmette-Guerin remains to be determined, experience with 92 randomized and 30 nonrandomized (high risk) patients followed for up to 5 years provides information that may improve future protocols. Side effects of bacillus Calmette-Guerin are observed to increase with increasing frequency and duration of treatment. The protection from tumor recurrence has persisted: only 6 of 30 patients (20 per cent) treated with bacillus Calmette-Guerin have had recurrent tumor compared to 14 of 27 controls (52 per cent, p equals 0.008, chi-square test), and mean time to recurrence increased from 24 to 48 months (p less than 0.005, Savage). Skin test reactivity to purified protein derivative is particularly useful in predicting response to bacillus Calmette-Guerin immunotherapy. Currently, 60 patients have been randomized to receive bacillus Calmette-Guerin immunotherapy and only 1 of 22 patients (4.5 per cent) in whom the purified protein derivative skin test results converted from negative to positive has had recurrent tumor, compared to 12 recurrences (32 per cent) in patients whose skin tests were positive before treatment or failed to convert following treatment (p equals 0.014, chi-square). Seven recurrences (33 per cent) developed in 21 patients whose skin tests remained negative (p equals 0.015) and 5 recurrences (29 per cent) developed in 17 patients whose tests previously were positive (p equals 0.068, Fisher's test, not significant). The benefit of percutaneous bacillus Calmette-Guerin is suggested by the observations that the recurrence rate in patients treated with intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin alone is 40 per cent, and all 7 patients whose purified protein derivative skin tests were negative continued to have negative results when percutaneous bacillus Calmette-Guerin was omitted (p equals 0.003). Among high risk patients a marked decrease in or complete prevention of recurrent tumor was observed in 82 per cent of 22 patients treated previously with chemotherapy and 11 of 14 (78 per cent) with carcinoma in situ have had a complete response.
Thalidomide promotes transplanted cell engraftment in the rat liver by modulating inflammation and endothelial integrity

Background & Aims For liver-directed cell therapy, efficient engraftment of transplanted cells is critical. This study delineated whether anti-inflammatory and endothelial disrupting properties of thalidomide could promote transplanted cell engraftment and proliferation in liver. Methods We used dipeptidyl peptidase IV-deficient rats for cell transplantation studies, including gene expression analysis, morphological tissue analysis, serological assays, cell culture assays, and assays of transplanted cell engraftment and proliferation. Results Thalidomide-pretreatment increased engraftment and proliferation of transplanted hepatocytes due to decreased inflammation. Moreover, thalidomide exacerbated cell transplantation-induced endothelial injury. This combined anti-inflammatory and endothelial injury effect of thalidomide was superior to the anti-inflammatory effect alone of repertaxin or etanercept, which block cytokines/chemokines/receptor-dependent inflammation. In thalidomide-pretreated animals, liver repopulation accelerated, including when cells were primed with bosentan to block endothelin-1 receptors. Conclusions Thalidomide improved transplanted cell engraftment and liver repopulation. Therefore, this class of drugs will advance applications of liver cell therapy in people. Lay summary This work aimed to develop effective drug treatments for improving engraftment of transplanted cells because that constitutes a critical step in rebuilding liver with healthy cells. Studies in animal models of cell transplantation led to identification of an old drug, thalidomide, which blocked inflammation and altered the liver microenvironment to yield superior engraftment and proliferation of transplanted cells. This will be appropriate for liver cell therapy in people.
Representation of signals

Source detection, localization, and identification begin with the realization that the sources are by their nature probabilistic. The source, the coupling of source to medium, the medium itself, and the noise processes are each variable to some degree. Indeed, it is this very randomness that presents the fundamental barrier to rapid and accurate estimation of signals. Consequently, applied probability is essential to the study of communications and other detection and estimation problems. This chapter is concerned with the description of signals as random processes, how signals are transformed from continuous (real-world) signals into discrete representations, and the fundamental limits on the loss of information that result from such transformations. Three broad topics will be touched upon: basic probability theory, representation of stochastic processes, and information theory. Probability Discrete random variables A discrete random variable (RV) X takes on values in a finite set X = { x 1 , x 2 , … x m }. The probability of any instance x being x i , written P ( x = x i ), is p i . Any probability distribution must satisfy the following axioms: P ( x i ) ≥ 0. The probability of an event which is certain is 1. If x i and x j are mutually exclusive events, then P ( x i + x j ) = P ( x i ) + P ( x j ). That is, probabilities are always positive, the maximum probability is 1, and probabilities are additive if one event excludes the occurrence of another. Throughout the book, a random variable is denoted by a capital letter, while any given sample of the distribution is denoted by a lower-case letter.
Performance – Range Analysis

The chapter presents the fundamental theory of range analysis, as well as information required to complete such analysis. It is shown that classic range analysis methods can be used for at least three disparate cruise profiles for aircraft powered by fossil fuels, and one for aircraft that use electric power. These profiles are referred to as a constant airspeed/altitude, constant attitude/altitude, constant airspeed/attitude, and constant weight profiles, respectively. Range sensitivity is also introduced. Then, the concept of specific range is discussed. This is followed by the presentation of some classic endurance analysis methods in a manner similar to that for range analysis. Then methods that are useful to the analysis of aircraft mission profiles are introduced, but these are needed to determine realistic fuel requirements for the new aircraft. The chapter also introduces two important and common mission profiles to which many GA aircraft are designed; the standard IFR cruise mission and NBAA cruise mission. Finally, an introduction to payload-range analysis is provided.
Scalable gate architecture for a one-dimensional array of semiconductor spin qubits

Long coherence times render electron spins in quantum dots promising for scaled-up quantum computation, but large arrays of semiconductor spin qubits have yet to be realized. The authors take the next steps in scaling by demonstrating an array of $n\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}i\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}n\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}e$ quantum dots with low electron occupancy, reproducible single-dot characteristics, and full charge-state readout. Beyond quantum information science, this also represents a major advance for the quantum-dot community, where double and triple quantum dots have been the standard for over a decade.
Association between activity limitations and pain in patients scheduled for total knee arthroplasty

Historically, persons scheduled for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) have reported severe pain with low demand activities such as walking, but recent data suggests that TKA recipients may have less preoperative pain. Little is known about people who elect TKA with low levels of preoperative pain. To better understand current TKA utilization, we evaluated the association between preoperative pain and difficulty performing high demand activities, such as kneeling and squatting, among TKA recipients. We used baseline data from a randomized control trial designed to improve physical activity following TKA. Prior to TKA, participants were categorized according to Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) Pain scores: Low (0–25), Medium (26–40), and High (41–100). Within each group, limitations in both low demand and high demand activities were assessed. The sample consisted of 202 persons with a mean age of 65 (SD 8) years; 21 %, 34 %, and 45 % were categorized in the Low, Medium, and High Pain groups, respectively. Of the Low Pain group, 60 % reported at least one of the following functional limitations: limited flexion, limp, limited walking distance, and limitations in work or housework. While only 12 % of the Low Pain group reported at least moderate pain with walking on a flat surface, nearly all endorsed at least moderate difficulty with squatting and kneeling. A substantial number of persons scheduled for TKA report Low WOMAC Pain (≤25) prior to surgery. Persons with Low WOMAC Pain scheduled for TKA frequently report substantial difficulty with high demand activities such as kneeling and squatting. Studies of TKA appropriateness and effectiveness for patients with low WOMAC Pain should include measures of these activities. Identifier NCT01970631 ; Registered 23 October 2013.
Aspartame, Behavior, and Cognition in ADD

The effects of aspartame (34 mg/kg/day for 2 weeks) on the cognition, behavior, and monoamine metabolism of 15 children with a history of ADD were evaluated at the Yale University School of Medicine, using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study design.
Education delayed but not denied: The Chinese Cultural Revolution cohort returning to school

Abstract Schooling decisions made in later life tend to be overlooked in conventional studies of educational attainment. Even when they are examined, too often focus is placed on individual biographies, while the roles of historical timing and the state are neglected. This paper adds to the literature by investigating to what extent cohort membership is directly associated with returning to school and intersects with social origins, gender, and political credentials to shape one’s returning-to-school decision. I compare three Chinese cohorts who turned age 19 in different historical periods. Coming of age during the turbulent decade of the Culture Revolution (1966–76, CR), members of the CR cohort lost the chance to receive a higher education “on time” and were subject to a state intervention that deliberately demolished early-life advantages conferred by families, whereas adjacent cohorts (pre-CR and post-CR cohort) were largely able to climb the educational ladder “on time.” Drawing on detailed life history data from the 2003 Chinese General Social Survey , Cox proportional hazards models show that members of the CR cohort are more likely to return to school from their mid-20s on compared with adjacent cohorts, thereby narrowing but not closing their educational gap. Cohort membership is also a contingency factor. Parental education does not predict college reentry rates for members of the pre- and post-CR cohorts, but does for members of the Cultural Revolution cohort, reflecting their early-life discrimination during the Cultural Revolution and their regained resources following it. Women are less likely to return compared with men, and the gender gap is particularly large for the CR cohort at the associate college level. Party members are more apt to return, suggesting party-sponsored patronage, and their advantages are most pronounced among members of the CR and post-CR cohorts. Taken together, this study highlights the roles of the state and historical timing in the shaping of decisions around returning to school.
Checking identifiability of covariance parameters in linear mixed effects models

ABSTRACTTo build a linear mixed effects model, one needs to specify the random effects and often the associated parametrized covariance matrix structure. Inappropriate specification of the structures can result in the covariance parameters of the model not identifiable. Non-identifiability can result in extraordinary wide confidence intervals, and unreliable parameter inference. Sometimes software produces implication of model non-identifiability, but not always. In the simulation of fitting non-identifiable models we tried, about half of the times the software output did not look abnormal. We derive necessary and sufficient conditions of covariance parameters identifiability which does not require any prior model fitting. The results are easy to implement and are applicable to commonly used covariance matrix structures.
Role of oxygen reactive species in Schistosoma mansoni egg-induced granulomatous inflammation.

Abstract The role of oxygen reactive species in granulomatous hypersensitivity was explored using a model of pulmonary granulomas induced by intravenous injection of eggs from the parasite Schistosoma mansoni . Macrophages from sychronously developing lesions spontaneously released significant quantities of superoxide anion (26 nmoles/106/2h) by 8 days of development. In contrast, the non-T cell foreign body (Sephadex bead) granuloma macrophages produced only (2 nmoles/106/2h) small quantities. Daily administration of the oxygen scavenger, α-tocopherol, by either oral or parenteral routes caused up to 60% suppression of granuloma size. Moreover, parenteral administration of specific inactivators of O2− and H2O2, superoxide dismutase and catalase respectively, resulted in a 30 to 40% reduction in granuloma size. These data suggest that oxygen reactive species take part in the generation of hypersensitivity granulomas.