cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Age and autonomic balance.

ConclusionWhen rats of varying age groups (21, 45, 75, 100, and more than 200 days) are exposed to five successive periods of anoxia (each lasting 25 minutes at 280 mm Hg.) the blood sugar curve shows a definite dependence on the age of the animal. Hyperglycemia is greatest and sustained in very young animals (21 and 45 days). In rats of 75 and 100 days the hyperglycemic phase is greatest initially and diminishes gradually as the experiment progresses. Finally, in adult animals the initial hyperglycemic phase is definitely lessened. At the end of the test period the blood sugar is either about normal or definitely hypoglycemic as an indication that the vago-insulin system has come into prominence. This shift in the balance is, however, not due to an alteration in the activity of the vago-insulin system, but is a result of a diminished excitability of the sympathetico-adrenal system as age increases since the hypoglycemic effect of anoxia on the vago-insulin system as shown by experiments on adreno-demedul...
Study of Gas-liquid Two-phase Vortex Street Characteristics of a Square Cylinder and a Circular One

When a gas-liquid two-phase fluid in a vertically ascending tube with a rectangular section transversely scours a horizontally arranged cylinder,under certain conditions,an alternating vortex shedding phenomenon will occur at the back of the cylinder.By adopting a tube-wall pressure-difference method to study the vortex shedding characteristics of the above flow transversely sweeping across a circular cylinder and a square one,the authors have identified the vortex street shedding frequency and the variation of Strouhal number.During the test,the Reynolds number ranges from 0.9×104 to 2.3×104 and the sectional gas content has a variation range of 0 to 0.2.The test results indicate that in a certain range of gas content,the vortex-street shedding frequency and Strouhal numbers of the two types of cylinders will increase with an increase of the sectional gas content.The increment gradient of the square cylinder Strouhal number is independent of the Reynolds number while that of the circular one is susceptible to the influence of the Reynolds number.
The presence and subcellular distribution of sterol carrier protein 2 in embryonic-chick tissues.

Transport of lipids from the yolk to the tissues of the chick embryo is slow during the first 2 weeks of development, but increases abruptly during the last week. Evidence suggests that the lipid traverses the cytoplasm of the yolk-sac membrane before secretion as lipoprotein into the fetal circulation. Little is known about the cytoplasmic transport of lipid in avian systems, but recently the presence of sterol carrier protein 2 (SCP2) was reported in chicken liver. Here we examine the cells of yolk-sac membrane, liver and small intestine for the presence of this protein as a function of the time of embryonic development. The quantity of SCP2 present in the embryonic cells did not appear to correlate with the rate of lipid flux in these tissues. The abrupt appearance of a high-molecular-mass form of SCP2 was detected in small intestine shortly before hatching, but the significance of this protein is not clear. The presence of SCP2 in these tissues was also confirmed by immunocytochemical techniques. Similarly to SCP2 of mammalian cells, avian SCP2 is localized in both peroxisome-like structures and mitochondria. To a lesser extent it is associated with the endoplasmic reticulum. Images
Usefulness of immunofixation electrophoresis in the clinical laboratory

Immunofixation electrophoresis involves immunoprecipitation of antigen immediately after electrophoresis by direct application of antiserum to the electrophoretic lane. The technique is examined in terms of its sensitivity and reliability relative to those of other routine methods used in the characterization of monoclonal immunoglobulins.
A Queer Romance with the Hijra

In contemporary feminist and queer discourses the term hijra has acquired a talismanic quality, signifying specialist knowledge of a particular South Asian phenomenon and an epistemic weapon that destabilizes Western sex/gender norms. Decontextualized invocations of the hijra are quite widespread in the feminist classroom; many introductory texts include at least one reading that references a non-Western gender formation that disrupts dimorphic sex/gender categories.
Graph Extraction and Demand Profiling Applications for Transportation Network Research

Abstract Dynamic transportation algorithms possess applications in disaster planning an emergency response. Two important prerequisites to build and test dynamic transportation network vulnerability assessment algorithms are (i) map extraction tools and (ii) an accurate network demand profile to test algorithms on these maps. This paper describes the tools built to enable dynamic transportation network vulnerability assessment algorithms, including a discussion of the architecture of the software applications developed to extract maps and collect dynamic network demand data using a smartphone app.
Increased natural reproduction and genetic diversity one generation after cessation of a steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) conservation hatchery program.

Spatial and temporal fluctuations in productivity and abundance confound assessments of captive propagation programs aimed at recovery of Threatened and Endangered populations. We conducted a 17 year before-after-control-impact experiment to determine the effects of a captive rearing program for anadromous steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) on a key indicator of natural spawner abundance (naturally produced nests or ‘redds’). The supplemented population exhibited a significant (2.6-fold) increase in redd abundance in the generation following supplementation. Four non-supplemented (control) populations monitored over the same 17 year period exhibited stable or decreasing trends in redd abundance. Expected heterozygosity in the supplemented population increased significantly. Allelic richness increased, but to a lesser (non-significant) degree. Estimates of the effective number of breeders increased from a harmonic mean of 24.4 in the generation before supplementation to 38.9 after supplementation. Several non-conventional aspects of the captive rearing program may have contributed to the positive response in the natural population.
Cell regulation by sphingosine and more complex sphingolipids

Sphingolipids have the potential to regulate cell behavior at essentially all levels of signal transduction. They serve as cell surface receptors for cytoskeletal proteins, immunoglobulins, and some bacteria; as modifiers of the properties of cell receptors for growth factors (and perhaps other agents); and as activators and inhibitors of protein kinases, ion transporters, and other proteins. Furthermore, the biological activity of these compounds resides not only in the more complex species (e.g., sphingomyelin, cerebrosides, gangliosides, and sulfatides), but also in their turnover products, such as the sphingosine backbone which inhibits protein kinase C and activates the EGF-receptor kinase,inter alia. Since sphingolipids change with cell growth, differentiation, and neoplastic transformation, they could be vital participants in the regulation of these processes.
Neuropathology of Alcohol Abuse

The morphologic description of most diseases involving the brain is straightforward. The findings on gross inspection and by light microscopy are readily described and demonstrated using special strains (e.g., Golgi) that make the entire cell and all its processes highly visible. Neurotransmitters and their synthetic and catabolic enzymes can be converted to products that are visible using the light or fluorescence microscope. Radioautography methods enable the investigator to expose tissue sections to chemicals with radioactive markers that concentrate in unique tissues or cells, which can then be visualized as a result of the effect of the radiation on radiosensitive photographic paper. The resolution afforded by the electron microscope also permits visualization of organelles such as mitochondria and the granules containing synaptic transmitters. Using these diverse morphologic techniques, findings can be classified either as specific, unique, and pathognomonic of a particular disease, or as nonspecific and thus shared with other disorders.
Robotic Abdominoperineal Resection

The surgical treatment of rectal cancer has progressed since the original description of the abdominoperineal resection by William Ernest Miles. The current indications include patients in which an R0 resection cannot be accomplished by a low anterior resection with coloanal anastomosis or an intersphincteric resection. The advent of a robotic surgical platform and instruments allows a total mesorectal excision with the benefit of precise and tailored division of the levator muscles from the abdominal approach under direct visualization.
Miriam Lay Brander. Espacio-tiempo en transformación. Las estructuras de narrar y mostrar en Sevilla a comienzos de la Edad Moderna

Miriam Lay Brander Espacio-tiempo en transformacion. Las estructuras de narrar y mostrar en Sevilla a comienzos de la Edad Moderna Traduccion de C. A. Lemke Duque Kassel, Edition Reichenberg, 2017, 252 p. ISBN 978-3-8376-1759-7
Crystal Oscillator Interconnect Architecture with Noise Immunity

A crystal oscillator is widely used in today’s system to generate a stable clock signal for digital integrated circuits and reference clock for Phase Lock Loop. It is one of the most important components in any systems to provide a precise and low jitter reference clock to the integrated clocking systems. However, the oscillator is very sensitive to noise coupling causing jittery system. This issue will become more imminent in future platforms as system performance scales, Bus speeds increase and form factors shrink. This paper describes a novel architecture on crystal oscillator design by introducing a signal conditioning module with passive filtering scheme and new cap placement concept to mitigate noise coupling problems from platforms. Simulation results show that it has a robust wideband noise suppression with more than 40% clock jitter improvements caused by platform noise and more than 80% RFI noise reductions that guarantee system reliability and reduces the risk of product recalls of future systems.
Three Territory Sign: An MRI marker of malignancy-related ischemic stroke (Trousseau syndrome).

Background Multiple acute cerebral territory infarcts of undetermined origin are typically attributed to cardioembolism, most frequently atrial fibrillation. However, the importance of 3-territory involvement in association with malignancy is under-recognized. We sought to highlight the “Three Territory Sign” (TTS) (bilateral anterior and posterior circulation acute ischemic diffusion-weighted imaging [DWI] lesions), as a radiographic marker of stroke due to malignancy. Methods We conducted a single-center retrospective analysis of patients from January 2014 to January 2016, who suffered an acute ischemic stroke with MRI-DWI at our institution, yielding 64 patients with a known malignancy and 167 patients with atrial fibrillation, excluding patients with both to eliminate bias. All DWI images were reviewed for 3-, 2-, and 1-territory lesions. Chi-square test of proportion was used to test significance between the 2 groups. Results We found an association between the groups (malignancy vs atrial fibrillation) and the number of territory infarcts ( p 0.0001). Pairwise comparisons using the Holm p value adjustment showed no difference between 1- and 2-territory patterns ( p = 0.465). However, the TTS was 6 times more likely observed within the malignancy cohort as compared to patients with atrial fibrillation (23.4% [n = 15] vs 3.5% [n = 6]) and was different from both 1-territory ( p p = 0.0032). Conclusion The TTS is a highly specific marker and 6 times more frequently observed in malignancy-related ischemic stroke than atrial fibrillation-related ischemic stroke. Evaluation for underlying malignancy in patients with the TTS is reasonable in patients with undetermined etiology.
Lightning in a Bottle: Using Tax Policy to Solve Renewable Energy's Storage Challenges

Government support for renewable energy has increased the generation of electricity from intermittent renewable sources such as wind and solar. The United States delivered almost $14 billion in renewable energy tax incentives in 2011. More renewables in the electricity mix means lower carbon emissions. Intermittent energy sources can reliably provide up to 20 percent of the electricity mix. However, increasing renewable generation above 20 percent requires better weather forecasting, improved coordination, increased grid capacity or more storage capacity. Batteries and electrical energy storage technologies straddle two major energy sectors: transportation and the grid. Unfortunately, compared to other types of technology, battery technology has not made much progress since Allesandro Volta created the first battery in 1800. Storage capacity for batteries has increased by only about 5 percent per year, in contrast to “Moore’s Law” in semiconductors, in which the number of transistors on each chip has doubled every 18 months over a period of decades. Today's electrical energy storage approaches suffer from limited energy and power capacities, lower-than-desired rates of charge and discharge, cycle life limitations, low abuse tolerance, high cost, and poor performance at high or low temperatures.Intermittent renewable energy sources require balancing to smooth out high levels of generation during peak wind and solar exposure and to provide power when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun shining. This balancing is currently done with gas turbine generation or coal power, both of which result in carbon emissions. Energy storage technology requires capital investment. The market will not support capital investment in storage technology unless fossil energy costs become and are likely to remain higher than renewable energy costs. This paper will explore the potential for environmental taxation to encourage research and innovation into improvements in battery technology. First, the paper will assess current governmental support in the United States for battery research and development. Fossil energy sources do not require the same type of storage capacity, so this is primarily a renewable energy issue. Generally, the United States has preferred using incentives to encourage renewable energy rather than implementing policies discouraging fossil energy use, although either method would provide the necessary market signal. Next, the paper will review the current status of battery technology development and prospects for innovation. Finally, the paper will make some recommendations for encouraging more rapid development and deployment of improved energy storage technology through environmental taxation.
Rat Organic Anion Transport Protein 1A1 Interacts Directly With Organic Anion Transport Protein 1A4 Facilitating Its Maturation and Trafficking to the Hepatocyte Plasma Membrane

Organic anion transport proteins (OATPs) on the basolateral surface of hepatocytes mediate uptake of a number of drugs and endogenous compounds. Previous studies showed that rat OATP1A1 (rOATP1A1) has a postsynaptic density protein, drosophila disc large tumor suppressor, zonula occludens-1 protein (PDZ) consensus binding motif at its C-terminus and binds to PDZ domain containing 1 (PDZK1), which is required for its cell-surface localization. PDZK1 associates with rOATP1A1-containing endocytic vesicles within cells, mediating recruitment of motor proteins required for microtubule-based trafficking to the plasma membrane. rOATP1A4 also traffics to the plasma membrane, although it lacks a PDZ binding consensus sequence. The current study was designed to test the hypothesis that trafficking of rOATP1A4 to the plasma membrane requires its direct interaction with rOATP1A1 resulting in a complex that traffics through the cell in common subcellular vesicles in which the cytosolic tail of rOATP1A1 is bound to PDZK1. We found that 74% of rOATP1A4-containing rat liver endocytic vesicles (n = 12,044) also contained rOATP1A1. Studies in transfected HEK293 cells showed surface localization of rOATP1A1 only when coexpressed with PDZK1 whereas rOATP1A4 required coexpression with rOATP1A1 and PDZK1. Studies in stably transfected HeLa cells that constitutively expressed PDZK1 showed that coexpression of rOATP1A4 with rOATP1A1 resulted in more rapid appearance of rOATP1A4 on the plasma membrane and faster maturation to its fully glycosylated form. Similar results were observed on immunofluorescence analysis of single cells. Immunoprecipitation of rat liver or transfected HeLa cell lysates with rOATP1A1 antibody specifically co-immunoprecipitated rOATP1A4 as determined by western blotting. Conclusion: These studies indicate that optimal rOATP1A4 trafficking to the cell surface is dependent upon coexpression and interaction with rOATP1A1. As rOATP1A1 binds to the chaperone protein, PDZK1, rOATP1A4 functionally hitchhikes through the cell with this complex.
The Courts of the Deccan Sultanates: Living Well in the Persian Cosmopolis

In the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, courtliness was crucial to the political and cultural life of the Deccan. Divided between six states competing for territory, resources and skills, the medieval and early modern Deccan was a region of striking ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity. People used multifaceted trans-regional networks - mercantile, kinship, friendship and intellectual - to move across the Persian-speaking world and to find employment at the Deccan courts. This movement, Emma J. Flatt argues, was facilitated by the existence of a shared courtly disposition. Engagement in courtly skills such as letter-writing, perfume-making, astrological divination, performing magic, sword-fighting and wrestling thus became a route to both worldly success and ethical refinement. Using a diverse range of treatises, chronicles, poetry and letters, Flatt unpicks the ways this challenged networks of acceptable behaviour and knowledge in the Indo-Islamicate courtly world - and challenges the idea of perpetual hostility between Islam and Hinduism in Indian history.
XAI-CBIR: Explainable AI System for Content based Retrieval of Video Frames from Minimally Invasive Surgery Videos

In this paper, we present a human-in-the-loop explainable AI (XAI) system for content based image retrieval (CBIR) of video frames similar to a query image from minimally invasive surgery (MIS) videos for surgical education. It extracts semantic descriptors from MIS video frames using a self-supervised deep learning model. It then employs an iterative query refinement strategy where in a binary classifier trained online based on relevance feedback from the user is used to iteratively refine the search results. Lastly, it uses an XAI technique to generate a saliency map that provides a visual explanation of why the system considers a retrieved image to be similar to the query image. We evaluated the proposed XAI-CBIR system on the public Cholec80 dataset containing 80 videos of minimally invasive cholecystectomy surgeries with encouraging results.
A Constructionist Conversation with Positioning Theory

One might characterize the conception of “social science” as in a continuous state of evolution. Possibly resulting from the pervasive spirit of revolution in the 1960s, the speed of evolution was markedly intensified. Although a seasoned experimental social psychologist, I began as well to reflect on assumptions central to my discipline. In 1973 I published a highly critical and controversial critique that thrust me to the margins of my discipline. It was thus with great interest that I discovered Harre and Secord’s volume, The explanation of social behaviour. They too were challenging mainstream assumptions of social psychology. And in certain respects, their account of social behavior—as rooted in cultural and historical circumstances—was similar to my own. Such an account flew in the face of the experimental tradition, and its assumption of behavior as determined by fundamental laws of psychological functioning. My delight in Harre’s writing later blossomed into a relationship—both personal and intellectual. It is a relationship of over 40 years duration, one that I have both enjoyed and cherished. And, while there have been significant theoretical tensions over the decades, Rom Harre has served as one of the most significant intellectual inspirations and catalysts of my career. The present offering serves as but a token of my appreciation.
Endometriosis in the postmenopausal female: clinical presentation, imaging features, and management

Postmenopausal endometriosis is an important clinical entity which is likely under-recognized and in which the Radiologist can play a valuable role. In this review, we describe the clinical presentation and management of postmenopausal endometriosis, appraising the literature and providing case examples. Persons with postmenopausal endometriosis may present with symptoms including pelvic pain or dyschezia, but endometriosis may also be an asymptomatic, incidental finding. Women may or may not have a prior history of endometriosis or a history of symptoms consistent with it. Therapies and conditions which increase exogenous or endogenous estrogen, respectively, increase the risk. Endometriosis can be found in different locations throughout the body, and the possibility of malignancy should be assessed, especially in the postmenopausal population, where age increases cancer risk. Treatment may involve surgery or medical interventions. Guidelines describing appropriate imaging surveillance in these patients are lacking. In the postmenopausal population, Radiologists need to consider endometriosis as a diagnosis, recommend appropriate exams such as MRI and US, and suggest endometriosis-associated malignancies when appropriate, based on classic morphologic features.
Mid-Cretaceous amber inclusions reveal morphogenesis of extinct rachis-dominated feathers.

We describe three-dimensionally preserved feathers in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber that share macro-morphological similarities (e.g., proportionally wide rachis with a “medial stripe”) with lithic, two-dimensionally preserved rachis-dominated feathers, first recognized in the Jehol Biota. These feathers in amber reveal a unique ventrally concave and dorsoventrally thin rachis, and a dorsal groove (sometimes pigmented) that we identify as the “medial stripe” visible in many rachis-dominated rectrices of Mesozoic birds. The distally pennaceous portion of these feathers shows differentiated proximal and distal barbules, the latter with hooklets forming interlocking barbs. Micro-CT scans and transverse sections demonstrate the absence of histodifferentiated cortex and medullary pith of the rachis and barb rami. The highly differentiated barbules combined with the lack of obvious histodifferentiation of the barb rami or rachis suggests that these feathers could have been formed without the full suite and developmental interplay of intermediate filament alpha keratins and corneous beta-proteins that is employed in the cornification process of modern feathers. This study thus highlights how the development of these feathers might have differed from that of their modern counterparts, namely in the morphogenesis of the ventral components of the rachis and barb rami. We suggest that the concave ventral surface of the rachis of these Cretaceous feathers is not homologous with the ventral groove of modern rachises. Our study of these Burmese feathers also confirms previous claims, based on two-dimensional fossils, that they correspond to an extinct morphotype and it cautions about the common practice of extrapolating developmental aspects (and mechanical attributes) of modern feathers to those of stem birds (and their dinosaurian outgroups) because the latter need not to have developed through identical pathways.
Galileo’s Library at the Intersection of Digital Humanities and Italian Studies

This article describes an online laboratory for computational text analysis of Galileo’s correspondence, published works, and materials in his library. This Digital Humanities project incorporates ...
African American Professional and Managerial Women’s Journeys Through Caregiving for Elderly Parents

This study explored caregiving among African American women baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, who are caring for older parents and who are working in professional and managerial positions. The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experience of these caregivers including their perceptions of caregiving, the impact of caregiving on their professional lives, the accommodations they make to balance professional roles and responsibilities, and the supports that are available to them. Utilizing a phenomenological research design approach, this research study explores and describes the intricacies of the lived experience of a purposefully selected sample of 20 African American professional women caring for older parents. The knowledge generated from this research study will provide new insights into caregiving among African American professional women to inform social work practice and to influence the development of culturally appropriate workplace policies to support caregivers. This research study explicates the meaning, structure, and essence of caregiving for African American professional women caring for older family members. The study emerges from the intersection of the life course perspective, stress process perspective, and role theory to create a conceptual framework describing the caregiving experiences of African American professional women baby boomers. The study generates a caregiving perspective for professional African American women and adds to the strength-based and empowerment perspectives of culturally relevant caregiving research.
Effect of Boron Concentration on Dynamic Recrystallization Behavior of Low-Carbon Steel

The dynamic recrystallization behavior of low-carbon steel containing three different amounts of boron (0.002, 0.004, and 0.006 wt%) was systematically investigated under various experimental conditions. Low-carbon steel was exposed to temperatures ranging from 900 to 1100 °C, strain rates from 0.1 to 10 s−1, and inspection of the initial austenite grain size at 1150 °C. The resulting stress–strain curves are observed to possess two classifications of behavior, dynamic recovery and dynamic recrystallization, while the initial austenite grain size increases directly proportional to boron concentration. Additionally, the characteristic points of the flow curves were analyzed by regression method in which the peak and critical stresses decreased in response to an increase in boron composition, indicating that a softening effect appears with the addition of boron. On the contrary, peak and critical strains increased as boron content increased, indicating that boron has the ability to delay the onset of dynamic recrystallization. Lastly, the kinetics model of dynamic recrystallization for three boron-treated steels was established.
Breast-conserving Surgery Without Radiation Therapy for Invasive Cancer.

Abstract Radiotherapy (RT) after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) halves the risk of local recurrence, and it is considered the standard of care for the vast majority of patients with early invasive breast cancer. However, the majority of patients treated with BCS will not recur locally, even in the absence of RT. Over the past several decades, the improved and widespread use of systemic therapy has significantly decreased the rate of local recurrence. This has stimulated interest in identifying favorable patient subsets not requiring RT. Randomized controlled trials have shown in women aged ≥ 70 years with stage I estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) tumors, RT can be safely omitted. To better identify patients with favorable prognosis, ongoing trials have incorporated biological markers and genomic assays. Despite great research efforts to de-escalate locoregional treatment, real-world data indicate that omission of RT in low-risk patients is inconsistent. Better decision-making is warranted to reduce overtreatment and financial toxicity.
Contextualizing the Association Between School Climate and Student Well-Being: The Moderating Role of Rurality.

Background In rural communities, understanding and improving school climate may benefit youth facing unique contextual challenges to well-being. As education research rarely focuses on rural schools, we aimed to examine school climate and student well-being with a particular focus on rural schools, compared to suburban schools. Methods Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 62,265 students in 22 rural and 78 suburban Maryland middle and high schools. Student self-report data were collected on school climate (safety, engagement, and environment) as well as internalizing problems, behavior problems, stress, substance abuse, and future orientation. Multiple-group, multilevel models were fit to compare between rural and suburban schools. Results On average, rural students reported significantly lower perceptions of safety and engagement than suburban students. Safety and engagement were generally associated with higher youth well-being. A number of moderated effects were observed, which generally suggested stronger associations between school-level climate-particularly engagement-and more positive outcomes for rural compared to suburban students. Conclusions Students' perceptions of safety and engagement were associated with student well-being, in some cases with stronger associations for rural students. These findings suggest that efforts to improve school climate may be particularly impactful for rural students.
Surgery provides improved overall survival in surgically fit octogenarians with esophageal cancer after chemoradiation therapy.

Background Multiple randomized controlled trials have shown that multimodal therapy provides the best overall survival for patients who had locally advanced esophageal cancer. However, it is unknown if multimodal therapy offers the best overall survival in octogenarians. Methods We performed retrospective cohort study using data obtained from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) for octogenarians who had locally advanced esophageal cancer from 2004 to 2015. We evaluated the 5-year overall survival for patients among different therapies. We compared the 5-year overall survival between patients receiving chemoradiation therapy followed by surgery and a propensity-matched group of patients who underwent chemoradiation only. Results There were 21,710 octogenarians (15%) with esophageal cancer in the NCDB database. Among octogenarians, there were 6,960 patients (32%) who had clinical stage II-III esophageal cancer. Among 6,922 patients whose treatment data were available, the most common therapy was chemoradiation (n=3,360, 49%). Two of the most common therapies that included surgical resection were surgery only (n=314, 5%) and chemoradiation therapy followed by surgery (n=172, 2%). Among different treatments, the best 5-year overall survival was achieved in patients receiving chemoradiation therapy followed by surgery (P<0.001). In the propensity score-matched cohort between chemoradiation therapy followed by surgery (n=83) to chemoradiation therapy only (n=83), there was an association with improved 5-year overall survival in the patients who had chemoradiation therapy followed by surgery (17.9%) compared to the patients who underwent chemoradiation only (5.7%, P=0.003). Conclusions Most octogenarians with locally advanced esophageal cancer underwent definitive chemoradiation therapy. Very few patients underwent chemoradiation followed by surgery; however, the multimodality treatment provided increased overall survival. Surgically fit octogenarians should be considered for chemoradiation therapy followed by surgery.
Reinforcement learning as a rehearsal for swarm foraging

Foraging in a swarm of robots has been investigated by many researchers, where the prevalent techniques have been hand-designed algorithms with parameters often tuned via machine learning. Our departure point is one such algorithm, where we replace a hand-coded decision procedure with reinforcement learning (RL), resulting in significantly superior performance. We situate our approach within the reinforcement learning as a rehearsal (RLaR) framework, that we have recently introduced. We instantiate RLaR for the foraging problem and experimentally show that a key component of RLaR—a conditional probability distribution function—can be modeled as a uni-modal distribution (with a lower memory footprint) despite evidence that it is multi-modal. Our experiments also show that the learned behavior has some degree of scalability in terms of variations in the swarm size or the environment.
Differential migration, LPS-induced cytokine, chemokine and NO expression in immortalized BV-2 and HAPI cell lines and primary microglial cultures

Microglial cells are hematopoietically derived monocytes of the CNS and serve important neuromodulatory, neurotrophic, and neuroimmune roles. Following insult to the CNS, microglia develop a reactive phenotype, migrate to the site of injury, proliferate, and release a range of proinflammatory, anti-inflammatory, and neurotrophic factors. Isolation of primary microglial cell cultures has been an integral step in elucidating the many roles of these cells. In addition to primary microglial cells, several immortalized cell lines have been created to model primary microglia in vitro, including murine-derived BV-2 cells and rat derived highly aggressive proliferating immortalized (HAPI) cells. Here, we compare rat primary microglial, BV-2, and HAPI cells in experiments assessing migration, expression of activation markers, and production and release of nitric oxide, cytokines, and chemokines. BV-2 and HAPI cells responded similarly to primary microglia in experiments assessing migration, ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 expression, and nitric oxide release. However, BV-2 and HAPI cells did not model primary microglia in experiments assessing tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta, interleukin-6, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 expression and release and phospho-extracellular signal-regulated kinase 44/42 expression following lipopolysaccharide treatment. These results indicate that BV-2 and HAPI cell cultures only partially model primary microglia and that their use should therefore be carefully considered.
Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with a zero-profile integrated plate and spacer device: a clinical and radiological study: Clinical article.

Object Anterior cervical plating decreases the risk of pseudarthrosis following anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). Dysphagia is a common complication of ACDF, with the anterior plate implicated as a potential contributor. A zero-profile, stand-alone polyetheretherketone (PEEK) interbody spacer has been postulated to minimize soft-tissue irritation and postoperative dysphagia, but studies are limited. The object of the present study was to determine the clinical and radiological outcomes for patients who underwent ACDF using a zero-profile integrated plate and spacer device, with a focus on the course of postoperative prevertebral soft-tissue thickness and the incidence of dysphagia. Methods Using a surgical database, the authors conducted a retrospective analysis of all patients who had undergone ACDF between August 2008 and October 2011. All patients received a Zero-P implant (DePuy Synthes Spine). The Neck Disability Index (NDI) and visual analog scale (VAS) scores for arm and neck pain wer...
Chiral-Odd Parton Distributions and Polarized Drell-Yan

The work I will present was carried out in collaboration with Xiangdong Ji. A compressed version will be published in Physical Review Letters.1
Gender, Fashion Consumer Groups, and Shopping Orientation

This study examined how individual’s demographic and psychographic differences influence consumers’ shopping orientations. The purpose of this study was to compare shopping orientations for clothing between fashion consumer groups and gender. A convenience sample of 276 American college students was recruited. A 2 × 2 between-subjects multivariate analysis of variance followed by analysis of variance was used to test hypotheses. Findings of this study revealed that women and men differ in convenience, recreational, and fashion-conscious shopping orientations, but do not differ in impulsive, quality, brand, or price shopping orientations. Fashion change agents tended to be higher than fashion followers in all seven shopping orientations. There was a significant interaction between gender and fashion consumer group on six shopping orientations, but no interaction on brand shopping orientation existed. Findings of the study extend the understanding of today’s young male consumers in clothing shopping showing that they are convenience oriented, impulsive, searching for bargains, and they care about brand names and product quality. Results further indicate that male fashion change agents have higher motivational attitudes in impulsive, quality, convenience, and price shopping orientations than other groups. Findings suggest practical implications for segmenting fashion consumers using their shopping orientations.
Selective tidal stream transport of spot (Leistomus xanthurus Lacepede) and pinfish [Lagodon rhomboides (Linnaeus)] larvae:: Contribution of circatidal rhythms in activity

Spot (Leistomus xanthusus Lacepede) and pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides Linnaeus) spawn offshore and their larvae are then transported shoreward where they migrate into estuaries for continued development. The present study determined (1) whether larvae of these species use selective tidal stream transport for up-estuary movement, and, (2) whether an endogenous rhythm in activity contributes to this movement. Field studies determined the abundance of spot and pinfish larvae over time at two locations in a tidal estuary as related to tidal phase and the light–dark cycle. At one location, both species were statistically most abundant in the water column during flood tide at night, which indicates the presence of selective tidal stream transport. Since results were inconsistent at the other location, the effectiveness of selective tidal stream transport for up-estuary movement varies with location in an estuary. Endogenous rhythms in activity of estuarine caught larvae were measured under constant conditions in the laboratory. Both species had circatidal rhythms with period lengths close to a tidal cycle and two activity peaks over a lunar day. In most cases maximum activity corresponded to the times of ebb tide in the field. During selective tidal stream transport, increased activity could represent the behavior needed to remain low in the water column or move laterally in order to reduce horizontal movements during ebb tides. During flood tides larvae could move passively with up-estuary directed currents.
Capital productivity-challenge and opportunity

Summary form only given. Controlling the rapidly increasing costs of semiconductor wafer fabricators presents a serious challenge to the semiconductor industry. SEMATECH, in cooperation with its members and SEMI/SEMATECH suppliers has developed a methodology to maintain the historic price per function decline rate for semiconductor products. A series of 0.25 micron generation fab cost models were developed at SEMATECH. The models incorporated advanced logic and DRAM processes, operational and financial inputs and equipment cost and performance goals. Wafer processing costs from the model were compared to affordable costs developed by the SEMATECH Competitive Analysis Group. The result of this process has been a set of mutually agreed upon cost and performance targets for the 0.25 micron generation of equipment. Equipment meeting those targets will be more cost effective than that currently available. High operating efficiency as measured by overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) is essential to achieving improved capital productivity goals.
Acetate-Activating Enzymes of Bradyrhizobium japonicum Bacteroids

Acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) synthetase and acetate kinase were localized within the soluble portion of Bradyrhizobium japonicum bacteroids, and no appreciable activity was found elsewhere in the nodule. The presence of each acetate-activating enzyme was confirmed by separation of the two enzyme activities on a hydroxylapatite column, by substrate dependence of each enzyme in both the forward and reverse directions, by substrate specificity, by inhibition patterns, and also by identification of the reaction products by C18 reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography. Phosphotransacetylase activity, found in the soluble portion of the bacteroid, was dependent on the presence of potassium and was inhibited by added sodium. The greatest acetyl-CoA hydrolase activity was found in the root nodule cytosol, although appreciable activity also was found within the bacteroids. The combined specific activities of acetyl-CoA synthetase and acetate kinase-phosphotransacetylase were approximate to that of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, thus providing B. japonicum with sufficient capacity to generate acetyl-CoA.
Ventricular arrhythmias after cardiac resynchronization therapy: Does reverse remodelling reverse risk?

This editorial refers to ‘Reduced appropriate implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy after cardiac synchronization therapy-induced left ventricular function recovery: a meta-analysis and systematic review’, by N. Chatterjee et al ., doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehv373. The term ‘remodelling’ was first used >30 years ago to describe pathological left ventricular (LV) structural and functional changes occurring after myocardial infarction.1 LV remodelling was subsequently adopted to describe the complex interplay of molecular, myocyte, fibroblast, and interstitial mechanisms influenced by haemodynamic load, neurohormonal activation, and inflammatory signalling. Clinically, LV remodelling is assessed by measuring increases in LV volumes and reductions in ejection fraction (EF).2 Reverse remodelling may then be defined as the process by which an injured left ventricle may return towards normal. Reverse remodelling may occur spontaneously, such as in acute non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy,3 or in response to a therapeutic intervention. Therapy associated with reverse remodelling may be pharmacological, such as renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system inhibition and beta-adrenergic receptor blockade, or device-based, such as cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and mechanical circulatory support. The effects of CRT on LV reverse remodelling have been of particular interest because the precise mechanisms remain unclear, CRT response has been variable, and associated risks of ventricular arrhythmias have been uncertain. In this issue, Chatterjee et al . report an interesting meta-analysis focused on patients with LV reverse remodelling after CRT-defibrillator (CRT-D) therapy.4 Their objective …
Yates and McIntyre: Lottery Managers*

The economic significance of the lottery business is a subject which historians have generally neglected. This is unfortunate, for both in Europe and the United States the lottery was at one time a capitalmobilizing device of major importance. It appears worth while, therefore, to explore in some detail the operations of a lottery firm that seems to exemplify some of the features of the system in its most mature form. This is the firm of Yates and McIntyre, lottery managers in New York State and elsewhere between 1821 and 1834.
Extraabdominal serum protein synthesis in the rhesus monkey.

Summary Serum proteins of the Rhesus monkey were separated by preparative acrylamide gel-electrophoresis. After hepatectomy, the animals still incorporated significant amounts of radioactivity into a heterogeneous group of alpha and beta globulins. This was not altered by enterectomy or nephrectomy. After fractionation of the serum by precipitation with 50% saturated ammonium sulfate solution, radioactive alpha and beta globulins were found in both the precipitate and the supernate.
Nonlinear evolution of the ion acoustic instability in artificially created dusty space plasmas

[1] A two-dimensional model is used to investigate the ion acoustic instability driven by streaming charged dust to understand the generation and the nonlinear evolution of electrostatic waves during active space experiments in which artificial aerosol clouds are created in the ionosphere. In the model, the plasma background ions and charged dust are treated as discrete particles while electrons are dealt with as a Boltzmann fluid. A Monte Carlo Collision (MCC) model is adopted to deal with the ion and neutral collisions. The simulation results show that the ion acoustic waves initially grow and propagate obliquely to the streaming direction with the maximum growth. Nonlinear evolution shows saturation by acceleration of dust particles, background ion heating, and development of an ion bulk drift in the dust streaming direction. Spiky bipolar electric field structures are also observed that are characteristic of ion acoustic-type waves observed during other space experiments. Important parameters of the dust cloud that impact the evolution of the waves are discussed.
Issues in Using Survey Methods For Measuring Organizational Change

Investigators have questioned the utility of survey methodology for assessing organizational change. A theory of change types is examined and its operationalization clarified. Psychometric principles and a contrived data set are used to explore these issues. Evidence is presented to demonstrate that the theory's implications have been substantially overstated.
Thin films of low temperature phase mercuric iodide

Abstract Thin films of the red tetragonal phase of mercuric iodide (HgI2) were evaporated onto glass substrates at various substrate temperatures and chamber pressures. Films evaporated onto substrates below 240 K and at pressures above 40 × 10-3 Torr were of the desired polycrystalline form. A temperature-pressure growth diagram for HgI2 was determined.
Acute Hemodynamic Effects of Dopamine in Patients with Shock

The hemodynamic effects of dopamine were studied in 62 patients with clinical shock. In 36 patients with infection dopamine increased mean arterial pressure (MAP) 30%, and cardiac output (CO) 37%. Urine flow (UF) increased from 0.5 ml/min to 1.6 ml/min. Norepinephrine (NE) in 26 patients resulted in a higher MAP, lower CO, and similar UF. Isoproterenol (Isp) in 19 patients resulted in a lower MAP, higher CO, and a significantly lower UF. In 13 patients with cardiogenic shock dopamine increased MAP 6%, and CO 40%. UF increased from 0.6 ml/min to 1.1 ml/min. NE in eight patients resulted in a lower CO than during dopamine infusion, and Isp in five patients resulted in a higher CO. Dopamine improves MAP pressure, CO, and UF when shock is due to infection and is superior to Isp which does not increase perfusion pressure to adequate levels and does not improve UF. In patients with cardiogenic shock who have reduced CO and increased systemic vascular resistance, perfusion pressure tended to be adequate, and imp...