cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Internet-based learning

My involvement in the development of Internet-based learning activities began in April of 1996 when I was asked to prepare a document briefly listing the types of Internet applications I would use in LaGuardia Community College's Topics in Astronomy course. Our College was fortunate to participate in a five-year NASA-MUSPIN (National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA] Minority University-Space Interdisciplinary Network) grant that provided LaGuardia with a 100 Mbps fiber optic backbone connection to the Internet. As a result, we were required to provide examples of how we planned to involve students and faculty in the development and use of Internet applications.
General and acute care surgical procedures in patients with left ventricular assist devices.

Background Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have become common as a bridge to heart transplant as well as destination therapy. Acute care surgical (ACS) problems in this population are prevalent but remain ill-defined. Therefore, we reviewed our experience with ACS interventions in LVAD patients.
Retrospective review of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and falling in older nursing home residents.

We compared the rate of falling in older nursing home residents who had been prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), other classes of antidepressants, and no antidepressants. Data were obtained from pharmacy records, medical records, fall logs, and incidence reports for one nursing home (1995 data). Older adults on SSRIs were more likely to fall than older adults not on antidepressants (p = .003) and were more likely to have an injurious fall (p = .03). The association with falling remained significant even when including potential confounders (p = .007). Older nursing home residents should be treated for depression. However, SSRIs may also carry an increased risk for falling.
What About the Workers? Academic staff opinions about working with non‐UK postgraduate students in higher education

Abstract Substantial research already exists on the nature of the international student experience in UK higher education, but little work has been carried out into how this increase in their numbers is affecting academic faculty in terms of the problems and benefits created by their presence. This article seeks to address this issue by exploring the experience of academic staff in new universities (NUs) and colleges of higher education (CofHEs) when dealing with non‐UK postgraduate students. The internationalisation of UK higher education is discussed, and the findings of a small exploratory survey into staff attitudes at NUs and CofHEs are evaluated. The results point to a more positive staff reaction to non‐UK postgraduates on the part of CofHEs and a number of possible explanations for this finding are put forward.
Modeling arcjet space thrusters

The UTSI arcjet model is used to compare the performance of a hydrogen and an ammonia arcjet in the same configuration and at the same electrical power. The predicted specific impulse is 50 percent higher for the hydrogen propellant. Numerical studies made of the effect of transport properties on the performance of a hydrogen arcjet indicate that diffusive transport is very significant even in the supersonic part of the flow, and that relatively small changes in transport properties can have a significant effect on performance. These studies also show that nonequilibrium recombination chemistry can have a large effect on the transport coefficients. This leads to the conclusion that finite rate chemical calculations are necessary if accurate arcjet performance is to be calculated.
N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminyltransferases related to the synthesis of mucin-type glycoproteins in human ovarian tissue

Abstract The presence of N -acetyl-β- d -glucosaminyltransferases in microsome preparations from human ovarian tissues was investigated with UDP-GlcNAc and several synthetic oligosaccharides as acceptors. The products were identified by paper chromatography and the linkage of the 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-β- d -glucopyranosyl group incorporated into oligosaccharides was determined by exoglycosidase digestions, 1 H-n.m.r. spectroscopy, and methylation analysis. These results showed that ovarian microsome preparations contain both β-(1→3)- and β-(1→6)- N -acetyl- d -glucosaminyltransferase activities which might be involved in the synthesis of mucin-type glycoproteins. Substrate competition tests suggests that both UDP-GlcNAc:-Bn glycoside of β- d -Glc p NAc-(1→6)-α- d -Gal p NAc [GlcNAc to GalNAc] and -Bn glycoside of β- d -Gal p -(1→3)-[β- d -GlcNAc-(1→6)]-α- d -Gal p NAc [GlcNAc to Gal] β-(1→3)- N -acetyl- d -glucosaminyltransferase activities reside in a single enzyme species.
Maintenance staffing management

This paper addresses the maintenance staffing planning process and the role simulation plays in this process. Feedback control notion is utilized in this personnel planning problem. The research investigates the tradeoffs between maintenance personnel staffing levels and the throughput of a production line. The more reactive maintenance (RM) personnel on staff, the lower the probability that a given repair will be delayed waiting for an available personnel. On the other hand, increasing the number of personnel increases labor costs while reducing the utilization of RM labor resources. What makes this tradeoff complicated is that the magnitude of the impact of reactive maintenance delays varies considerably between bottleneck and non-bottleneck stations. The tradeoff is examined, factoring in both labor costs and the cost of lost throughput. An approach is developed for determining RM staffing levels that minimize overall costs.
Can we predict poor outcome at presentation in patients with lobar hemorrhage

Objective: Supratentorial lobar hemorrhage can be devastating. Outcome prediction at presentation is important in triage and management decisions as well as appropriate resource uti
Continuous interscalene block in patients having outpatient rotator cuff repair surgery: a prospective randomized trial.

BACKGROUND:We performed this randomized trial to compare the recovery profile of patients receiving single injection (SISB) and continuous interscalene brachial plexus block (CISB) or general anesthesia (GA) for arthroscopic rotator cuff repair surgery through the first postoperative week. Our prima
Compiler optimization for extreme-scale scripting

The data-driven task parallelism execution model can support parallel programming models that are well suited for large-scale distributed-memory parallel computing, for example, simulations and analysis pipelines running on clusters and clouds. We describe a novel compiler intermediate representation and optimizations for this execution model, including adaptions of standard techniques alongside novel techniques. These techniques are applied to Swift/T, a high-level scripting language for flexible data flow composition of functions, which may be serial or use lower-level parallel programming models such as MPI and OpenMP. This paper presents preliminary results, indicating that our compiler optimizations reduce communication overhead by 70% to 93% on distributed-memory systems.
Limited Quadricepsplasty for Contracture during Femoral Lengthening

Extension contracture of the knee is a common complication of femoral lengthening. Knee flexion exercises to stretch the contracture with physical therapy can be effective but take a prolonged amount of time to work and place increased stress across the patellofemoral joint. We developed a minimal-incision limited quadricepsplasty surgical technique to treat knee extension contracture secondary to femoral lengthening and retrospectively reviewed 16 patients treated with this procedure. The mean age of the patients was 23 years. Range of motion of the knee and quadriceps strength were recorded preoperatively, after femur lengthening but before additional surgery, after quadricepsplasty, and at each followup. The mean femoral lengthening performed was 4.4 cm. We compared range of motion and time to regain knee flexion with those of historical controls. The minimum followup after quadricepsplasty was 6 months (mean, 38 months; range, 6–84 months). The mean range of motion was 129° preoperatively, 29° after the distraction phase of femoral lengthening, and 108° after limited quadricepsplasty, and at final followup, the mean knee flexion was 125°. There were no major complications. Limited quadricepsplasty improved knee flexion after a knee extension contracture developed secondary to femoral lengthening. In comparison to historical controls who did not have quadricepsplasty, the patients with limited quadricepsplasty had quicker return of knee flexion, although there was no difference in knee flexion achieved ultimately. Level of Evidence: Level III, therapeutic study. See Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Compiler aided manual speculation for high performance concurrent data structures

Speculation is a well-known means of increasing parallelism among concurrent methods that are usually but not always independent. Traditional nonblocking data structures employ a particularly restrictive form of speculation. Software transactional memory (STM) systems employ a much more general---though typically blocking---form, and there is a wealth of options in between.Using several different concurrent data structures as examples, we show that manual addition of speculation to traditional lock-based code can lead to significant performance improvements. Successful speculation requires careful consideration of profitability, and of how and when to validate consistency. Unfortunately, it also requires substantial modifications to code structure and a deep understanding of the memory model. These latter requirements make it difficult to use in its purely manual form, even for expert programmers. To simplify the process, we present a compiler tool, CSpec, that automatically generates speculative code from baseline lock-based code with user annotations. Compiler-aided manual speculation keeps the original code structure for better readability and maintenance, while providing the flexibility to chose speculation and validation strategies. Experiments on UltraSPARC and x86 platforms demonstrate that with a small number annotations added to lock-based code, CSpec can generate speculative code that matches the performance of best-effort hand-written versions.
Barbiturates and Aortic and Venous Smoooth-muscle Function

Using isolated rat aortic strips (AS) and portal veins (PV), it was found that all of the barbiturates studied (thiopental, secobarbital, pentobarbital, amobarbital, phenobarbital, and barbital): a) inhibit development of spontaneous mechanical activity (vasomotion) in AS and PV in concentrations used to induce surgical anesthesia or concentrations used for anticonvulsive therapy; b) dose-dependently attenuate contractions induced by epinephrine and potassium (K+); c) cause noncompetitive displacement of the dose-response curves of these vasoactive compounds; d) attenuate calcium (Ca++)-induced contractions of K+-depolarized AS and PV; e) rapidly relax drug-induced, as well as Ca++-induced, contractions of AS and PV. In addition, the data indicate that: a) rat portal venous smooth muscle is more sensitive to the inhibitory actions of barbiturates than is rat aortic smooth muscle, and b) thiopental, but none of the other barbiturates, can elicit dose-dependent contractions of AS. Concentrations of barbiturates known to be present during induction of surgical anesthesia can exert depressant effects on at least two types of vascular smooth muscle that may be related to actions on movement and/or translocation of Ca++.
Dorsal-ventral polarity in the Drosophila embryo

Embryonic dorsal-ventral polarity in Drosophila is established through a series of successive steps and requires the functions of both maternal and zygotic genes. The graded distribution of the transcription factor dorsal in blastoderm nuclei represents the transition from the maternal to the zygotic program. This results in the activation of specific zygotic genes that act to create the regional pattern along this axis.
Preemptive transplantation and the transplant first initiative

Purpose of review Preemptive kidney transplant (PKT) is the focus of a new initiative, ‘Transplant First’. This initiative focuses on increasing patient transition to transplantation prior to the need for dialysis. This review will evaluate the benefits of PKT and means to accomplish this goal. Recent findings Outcomes data show PKT significantly improves long-term survival for the recipient and the allograft. In addition quality of life is improved. This also holds true for children and particularly for adolescents. In 2008, 5.7% of incident patients with end-stage renal disease were placed on the waiting list before beginning dialysis and 0.8% underwent preemptive living donor transplant before wait listing. If patients are evaluated before starting dialysis and are acceptable candidates, up to 40% will receive a preemptive transplant. Recent articles stress that patients want information from their physician; important impediments to PKT remain provider and patient education, insurance coverage and patient reluctance to ask for living donation. Summary Preemptive transplant saves lives. Increased education focused on providers, patients and entire communities is key, as is an increase in living donation. Furthermore, to maximize the impact of transplant first, increased living donor protections and immunosuppression coverage for the life of the allograft are essential.
ADAM17 promotes glioma cell malignant phenotype

A disintegrin and metalloproteinase-17 (ADAM17) is involved in proteolytic ectodomain shedding of several membrane-bound growth factors and cytokines. The expression and activity of ADAM17 increase under some pathological conditions such as stroke and cancer. ADAM17 promotes neural progenitor cell migration and contributes to neurogenesis after stroke and breast cancer growth and invasion. In the present study, we sought to elucidate whether ADAM17 contributes to glioma progression. To this end, we examined the role of ADAM17 in the proliferation, invasion, and tube formation of U87 human glioma cells in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. Stable transfection of the U87 cell line with either a plasmid for over-expression of human ADAM17, or a siRNA to ADAM17 was employed in this study to establish high- or low-ADAM17 expression in glioma cells, respectively. For study of mechanism, the ADAM17 inhibitor TAPI-2 and the PI3K-AKT inhibitor LY294002 were used to counteract high-ADAM17 expression and the activated PI3K-AKT pathway, respectively. Proliferation of glioma cells were tested by thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, bromodeoxyuridine incorporation assay, growth curve, and sulforhodamine B assay. Matrigel invasion assays were used to assess the ability of U87 cells to penetrate the extracellular matrix (ECM). A Matrigel tube formation assay was performed to test capillary tube formation ability. EGFR-PI3K-Akt pathway activation in U87 cells under different ADAM17 expression levels were tested by Western blot. Our data show that ADAM17 promotes the U87 malignant phenotype by increased proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis, and in vivo tumor growth. Tumor growth in nude mice was significantly inhibited by ADAM17 inhibitor and A17-shRNA in vivo transfection. TGF-α, VEGF secretion, and VEGF expression was increased by ADAM17 and counteracted by ADAM17 siRNA, TAPI-2, and LY294002 in U87 cells. ADAM17 activated, whereas ADAM17 siRNA, TAPI-2, and LY294002 deactivated the EGFR-PI3K-AKT signal pathway, which correlated with U87 cell malignant phenotype changes. This study suggests ADAM17 contributes to glioma progression through activation of the EGFR-PI3K-AKT signal pathway.
Disposal of Low-Level Radioactive Waste: Problems and Implications for Physicians

RADIOACTIVE waste is categorized into high-level waste, including spent reactor fuel and waste from defense installations, and low-level waste generated principally by utilities, industry, clinical and research institutions, and government agencies. Low-level radioactive waste contains only small quantities of radioactivity. It includes items such as contaminated gloves and protective clothing; glass and plastic laboratory supplies; machine parts and tools; syringes, filters, and lightly radioactive equipment; and waste products from animal housing, radiopharmaceutical preparation facilities, and reactor coolingwater cleanup systems. It does not include transuranic elements, spent fuel from nuclear power plants, or high-level radioactive waste of any form. The disposal of low-level radioactive waste has been a controversial issue in the United States for more than two decades. Initial efforts to resolve this controversy for waste produced in the civilian sector led to congressional passage of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980,1followed by a major amendment
FlexE: Using Elastic Network Models to Compare Models of Protein Structure

It is often valuable to compare protein structures to determine how similar they are. Structure comparison methods such as RMSD and GDT-TS are based solely on fixed geometry and do not take into account the intrinsic flexibility or energy landscape of the protein. We propose a method, which we call FlexE, that is based on a simple elastic network model and uses the deformation energy as measure of the similarity between two structures. FlexE can distinguish biologically relevant conformational changes from random changes, while existing geometry-based methods cannot. Additionally, FlexE incorporates the concept of thermal energy, which provides a rational way to determine when two models are “the same”. FlexE provides a unique measure of the similarity between protein structures that is complementary to existing methods.
Quantitation of gingival polymorphonuclear leukocyte exudation in dogs.

A method to harvest polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) from a defined gingival area in dogs was developed. The method consists of repeated washings of the gingiva with a small acrylic tray and counting cells in the rinses. The method was tested and it appears that the PMN counts relate to the number of cells that emanate from the gingival tissue during a given period of time. Although cell counts from individual rinses vary, it is possible to register differences in PMN exudation rates such as occur when gingiva becomes inflamed.
Sorting of B lymphoblasts based upon cell diameter provides cell populations enriched in different stages of cell cycle

Here we report analysis and correlation of changes in cell size and cycle state resulting from exposure of murine B lymphocytes to the mitogens lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and dextran sulfate (DxSO4). Cell cycle changes are assessed by flow cytofluorometric analysis of acridine orange stained cells. Cell diameters are determined by flow cytometric analysis of the pulse-width (time of flight) of the axial light extinction signal. Results indicate that within 12 h of exposure of B cell populations to these mitogens, cells displaying increased diameter and containing increased RNA can be detected. Under these conditions, increased RNA content is considered indicative of G0 to G1 transition or entry into cell cycle (Darzynkiewicz et al., 1976). Progressive increases in cell size and transition through G1, S, G2, and M occur in parallel during 48 h of culture with mitogens. Sorting of cells based upon size followed by cell cycle analysis reveals a direct correlation between cell size and cycle phase. Specifically, cells 4.5-5.5 microns in diameter are in primarily G0. Cells 5.5-7.0 microns in diameter are in early G1. Populations of cells 7.0-10 microns in diameter are comprised of late G1 and S phase cells. Populations of cells 10-12 microns in diameter consist of S, G2, and M phase cells. The importance of this correlation is discussed in view of needs to more rigorously define B cell populations for investigations of biochemical events of and accessory cell requirements for activation of B lymphocytes.
Rule based constraints for the construction of genetic devices

The construction of composite genetic devices from primitive parts is a key activity in synthetic biology. Currently there does not exist a formal method to specify constraints on the construction of these devices. These constraints would help enable an automated design flow from device specification to physical assembly. This paper examines the laboratory creation of variations of a particular genetic device called a phagemid. We illustrate how lessons learned empirically from the non-functional designs can be captured formally as constraints in a newly created domain specific language called “Eugene”. These constraints will prevent many faulty constructions automatically in the future saving time and money while increasing design abstraction and productivity.
Peptidyl transferase substrate activity and inhibition of protein biosynthesis by a hydrophilic-aminoacyl analogue of puromycin.

Abstract A puromycin analogue possessing a hydrophilic amino acid, 3′-N-[S-(6-hydroxyhexyl)- L -cysteinyl]puromycin aminonucleoside, has been prepared and examined as a substrate for ribosomal peptidyl transferase. Kinetic studies indicate that this non-aromatic aminoacyl analogue is 95.6% as efficient as the parent antibiotic in the transpeptidation reaction. In addition, the analogue is an effective inhibitor of poly (U) and poly (U,C) directed protein synthesis in an Escherichia coli cell free system.
Rapid and effective correction of RF inhomogeneity for high field magnetic resonance imaging

The well-known variability in the distribution of high frequency electromagnetic fields in the human body causes problems in the analysis of structural information in high field magnetic resonance images. We describe a method of compensating for the purely intensity-based effects. In our simple and rapid correction algorithm, we first use statistical means to determine the background image noise level and the edges of the image features. We next populate all "noise" pixels with the mean signal intensity of the image features. These data are then smoothed by convolution with a gaussian filter using Fourier methods. Finally, the original data that are above the noise level are normalized to the smoothed images, thereby eliminating the lowest spatial frequencies in the final, corrected data. Processing of a 124 slice, 256 x 256 volume dataset requires under 70 sec on a laptop personal computer. Overall, the method is less prone to artifacts from edges or from sensitivity to absolute head position than are other correction techniques. Following intensity correction, the images demonstrated obvious qualitative improvement and, when subjected to automated segmentation tools, the accuracy of segmentation improved, in one example, from 35.3% to 84.7% correct, as compared to a manually-constructed gold standard.
Monograph Evaluation for Acquisitions in a Large Research Library.

A computerized method of assisting monograph collection development by correlating circulation with inventory statistics is presented. This technique requires obtaining the library's circulation and inventory on each subject as defined by a call number. A circulation/inventory/time or circulation/inventory ratio is used to identify high- and low-use subject areas directly. These ratios, together with inventory data, may be obtained both for recent periods (up to one year), which will indicate changes in current information needs, and for more stable, long-term periods (1976 to date). High and low values are then defined by the library for inventory, circulation, and a circulation/inventory ratio according to budget and manpower restrictions. Data are used to identify subject areas in which (1) the collection is strong but more books should be purchased; (2) more books on similar subjects should be purchased; (3) the collection is adequate; (4) purchases should be minimized for some time period—perhaps a year; (5) the collection is large but weak. These data can also be used to obtain computer recommendations for the total number of monographs to be purchased as well as their subject distribution.
The Effects of a Family Math Night on Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions of Parental Involvement:

This study examined the impact of a Family Math Night on preservice teachers’ perceptions of low-income parents and their engagement in their children’s education. Participants were enrolled in an ...
Alcohol abusers' and social drinkers' responses to alcohol-relevant and general situations

Responses of alcohol abusers and social drinkers were compared on general and alcohol-specific problem situations using role-play methodology. Multiple responses were assessed including behavioral observational ratings, self-reports and psychophysiologic measures. There were few differences between groups in responses to the general situations. Alcohol abusers had higher urges to drink than did the social drinkers in both the general and the alcohol-specific situations. However, in response to the alcohol-specific situations, the alcohol abusers, compared to the social drinkers, were rated by judges as significantly less skillful, and they displayed more self-reported anxiety, had a higher frequency of occurrence of problem situations in the natural environment and reported greater perceived realism of the alcohol-specific situations. Psychophysiologic measures did not differentiate between the groups. Results are discussed with respect to the importance of situation specificity in understanding the preci...
Flight control system design for a small unmanned aircraft

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has designed, fabricated and successfully tested a small electrically-powered autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The UAV, which is intended to be a missile decoy, is designed to be deployed with wings and tail surfaces folded from a standard shipboard chaff round launcher. This paper describes the design and development of a microcontroller based automatic flight control system for the UAV. The flight control system hardware, software, control laws, and the methods used to synthesize the control laws are described. Flight test results are discussed.
Process characterization of Cu & Pd coated Cu wire bonding on overhang die: Challenges and solution

Wire bonding continues to be the predominant interconnect method in IC packaging. Though copper (Cu) wire bonding has been evaluated for more than a decade in replacing gold (Au) wire bonding, it is still a challenging process to adopt on several application fronts. Cost motivation is driving factor, the Cu wire bonding are replacing the Au wires in the assembly packaging production floors. Recent emergence of palladium (Pd) coated Cu wire has created great interest with the expectation to achieve enhanced bond ability and reliability over Cu wire. Cu wire bonding is being evaluated for various packaging configurations and packages. For this paper, Cu wire and Pd coated Cu wire bonding was evaluated on overhang die. Thin overhang die wire bonding imposes many challenges on the bonding process since the die could bend and twist during the wire bond process. Cu wire being harder than Au wire requires higher energy which shall further amplify the bending and twisting during wire bonding. Process characterization was completed with good bonding results for various overhang configurations using special bonding features. The process was developed with consistent ball shape, Al remnant below the bonded ball and looping across the overhang area. With Pd coated Cu wire, higher second bond stitch pull value was achieved. The results also reveal, the wire bonder capability is the key to succeed in thin overhang dice wire bonding using Cu and Pd coated Cu wire. In this article, we briefly review the Cu wire and Pd coated Cu wire performance on overhang dice and discuss key challenges such as 1.first bond formation 2.second bondability, stitch pull strength 3) looping optimization.
The role of Pityophthorus spp. as vectors of pitch canker affecting Pinus radiata

The fungus Fusarium circinatum Nirenberg and O'Donnell (Hypocreaceae) causes pitch canker, a disease affecting pines worldwide. In California, many native insect species have been implicated in transmission of F. circinatum. This study showed that two twig beetle species, Pityophthorus setosus Blackman and Pityophthorus carmeli Swaine (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Corthylini), can make wounds on healthy Monterey pine (Pinus radiata D. Don (Pinaceae)) branches that are suitable for infection by the pitch canker pathogen. Because these two species are not known to engage in maturation feeding and the observed wounds were not associated with tunneling, we hypothesize that the wounds reflect “exploratory tasting” to assess the suitability of the substrate for colonization. This behavior would help to explain how twig beetles can serve as wounding agents on healthy host branches, which are not amenable to colonization by these insects. We tested two specific hypotheses: (1) two native species of Pityophthorus ca...
Human Synovial Fluid: Detection of a New Component

A new component has been detected in synovial fluid by the agar double-diffusion technique. This component is closely related immunologically to the proteinpolysaccharides of cartilage, and is the first probable degradation product of the cartilage matrix to be consistently identified in human synovial fluid.
Limitations of low-end disruptive innovation strategies

Using qualitative data, we build a case study of differentiation and cost containment based on personal interviews from top management team members, secondary data, and media reports from AirTran Airways and analyze these data from both strategic management and human resource perspectives. From a strategic perspective, AirTran Airways offers service attributes for which customers, at least so far, have been unwilling to pay a large price premium. Nevertheless, AirTran Airways' efficiency has positioned it near the top of the industry in terms of profitability. From a human resource perspective, AirTran Airways blends flexibility and control in an effort to increase labor productivity. This builds on the disruptive innovation literature by suggesting boundary conditions especially when such conditions are swayed by legacy labor practices. Still, given the intensely competitive structure of the airline industry, AirTran has managed to sustain a competitive advantage. However, AirTran Airways illustrates the...
Targeting tyrosine-kinases and estrogen receptor abrogates resistance to endocrine therapy in breast cancer

Despite numerous therapies that effectively inhibit estrogen signaling in breast cancer, a significant proportion of patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive malignancy will succumb to their disease. Herein we demonstrate that long-term estrogen deprivation (LTED) therapy among ER-positive breast cancer cells results in the adaptive increase in ER expression and subsequent activation of multiple tyrosine kinases. Combination therapy with the ER down-regulator fulvestrant and dasatinib, a broad kinase inhibitor, exhibits synergistic activity against LTED cells, by reduction of cell proliferation, cell survival, cell invasion and mammary acinar formation. Screening kinase phosphorylation using protein arrays and functional proteomic analysis demonstrates that the combination of fulvestrant and dasatinib inhibits multiple tyrosine kinases and cancer-related pathways that are constitutively activated in LTED cells. Because LTED cells display increased insulin receptor (InsR)/insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) signaling, we added an ant-IGF-1 antibody to the combination with fulvestrant and dasatinib in an effort to further increase the inhibition. However, adding MK0646 only modestly increased the inhibition of cell growth in monolayer culture, but neither suppressed acinar formation nor inhibited cell migration in vitro and invasion in vivo. Therefore, combinations of fulvestrant and dasatinib, but not MK0646, may benefit patients with tyrosine-kinase-activated, endocrine therapy-resistant breast cancer.
Evolutionary Psychology, Meet Developmental Neurobiology: Against Promiscuous Modularity

Evolutionary psychologists claim that the mind contains “hundreds or thousands” of “genetically specified” modules, which are evolutionary adaptations for their cognitive functions. We argue that, while the adult human mind/brain typically contains a degree of modularization, its “modules” are neither genetically specified nor evolutionary adaptations. Rather, they result from the brain's developmental plasticity, which allows environmental task demands a large role in shaping the brain's information-processing structures. The brain's developmental plasticity is our fundamental psychological adaptation, and the “modules” that result from it are adaptive responses to local conditions, not past evolutionary environments. If different individuals share common environments, however, they may develop similar “modules,” and this process can mimic the development of genetically specified modules in the evolutionary psychologist's sense.
Prenatal and postnatal hypothyroidism abolishes lesion-induced noradrenergic sprouting in the adult rat

The effects of altered thyroid states on regeneration in the central nervous system are equivocal. This work was undertaken to examine the influence of propylthiouracil-induced (PTU-induced) pre- and postnatal hypothyroidism on collateral sprouting of noradrenergic (NA) axons in the habenula (Hb), following lesions in the stria medullaris (SM) of the adult rat. Ten pregnant dams were divided into control and PTU-treated groups. Control rats had free access to food and water and the hypothyroid group received, in addition, 0.05% (w/v) of PTU in their drinking water, beginning on day 12 of gestation and continuing post partum through lactation until the offspring were weaned at age 22 days. The pregnant dams received, in addition, daily injections of thyroxine (25 micrograms/kg, ip) and only male pups were used in the study. At weaning the pups were removed from the dams and placed in cages with free access to food and water. The hypothyroid offspring received 0.05% (w/v) PTU in the drinking water until sacrificed at 10 weeks of age. At 6 weeks, some rats in each group received bilateral lesions in the SM and the remainder were sham-operated. All rats were sacrificed 4 weeks after operation. Thus, four groups were formed: 1) control/sham, 2) control/lesion, 3) PTU/sham, 4) PTU/lesion. Sprouting of NA fibers in discrete regions of the Hb was identified by norepinephrine (NE) levels and by fluorescence histochemistry. Blood levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were determined. The results show that pre- and postnatal induced chronic hypothyroidism abolished NA sprouting in the partially deafferented Hb. Furthermore, lesions of the SM resulted in a marked decrease in serum TSH levels.
Synthetic aperture characterization of radar satellite constellations

The concept of radar satellite constellations, or clusters, for SAR and other radar modes has been proposed and is currently under research. These systems are composed of multiple, formation-flying satellites with each satellite having its own, coherent receiver. Increased swathwidth compared to that of traditional SAR is attainable by processing the spatial data obtained from multiple satellites. The multi-channel system can also be scanned both forward and backward. The size and orientation of a such a system's resolution cell can change dramatically, however, depending on the number of satellites in the constellation, the size of the constellation, the look geometry, and the subset of data that is coherently processed. In addition, any of these parameters can be varied on demand according to mission requirements. The constellation itself forms an array that is sparsely populated and irregularly spaced. Furthermore, if the constellation is of extremely wide extent, then the width of its array pattern determines resolution rather than system bandwidth and coherent integration length. The problem of predicting system resolution is further exacerbated by forward- and backward-looking scenarios. In order to aid in the design, analysis, and signal processing of radar satellite constellations, we present a method of characterizing the resolution of such systems. We derive two eigensensors that can be interpreted as the dimensions of a two-dimensional synthetic aperture. Then, the synthetic aperture expression is used to derive resolution; simulations are presented to verify the theory.
Photosynthesis and Respiration in Cyanobacteria

Cyanobacteria are among the very few groups that can perform oxygenic photosynthesis and respiration simultaneously in the same compartment, and some cyanobacterial species are able to fix nitrogen. This combination of metabolic pathways is unusual and this metabolic flexibility may be responsible for the evolutionary hardiness of the cyanobacteria and their ability to thrive under a wide range of conditions. Keywords: cytochrome b6f complex; soluble electron carriers; oxidases; electron transfer; succinate dehydrogenase
Finite element estimation of the residual stresses in roller-straightened rail

The purpose of this paper is to develop models to accurately predict the residual stresses due to the roller straightening of railroad rails. Several aspects of residual stress creation in rail due to roller straightening are addressed. The effect of the characteristics of the loads applied by the roller-straightener on the stress profile is examined. In addition, the analysis attempts to discern the relative influence of bending and contact on the residual stresses. The last goal is to determine how the heat treatment of rail alters the predicted roller-straightening residual stress field. The loads for the simulation are estimated from available data. To identify the most credible values, a baseline loading case is defined and modeled. These straightening loads are parameterized by considering alternative loading scenarios. Residual stresses and deformations are calculated using these loads. To separate the effects of bending and contact on the residual stress induced by the roller loads, each credible load case is analyzed with two models. One is a 2-dimensional generalized plane strain (GPS) model that accounts only for the flexural stresses. The other is a fully 3-dimensional analysis that includes roll-on-rail contact to make estimates of the true residual stress field. Comparison of the residual stress results from both models reveals the relative influence of local roll-rail contact and bending on the final profile. Comparison of the 2- and 3-dimensional residual stress results reveals that the magnitude of the contact loads is a decisive influence on the stress field, even in portions of the rail web located far from the contact interface. Therefore, it is critical to obtain accurate estimates of the straightening loads to make accurate roller straightening residual stress estimates. Heat treatment of the rail prior to roller straightening primarily affects the longitudinal residual stress in the web, causing a positive shift in the stress values.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Unsupervised real-time constrained linear discriminant analysis to hyperspectral image classification

We have proposed a constrained linear discriminant analysis (CLDA) approach for classifying the remotely sensed hyperspectral images. Its basic idea is to design an optimal linear transformation operator which can maximize the ratio of inter-class to intra-class distance while satisfying the constraint that the different class centers after transformation are aligned along different directions. Its major advantage over the traditional Fisher's linear discriminant analysis is that the classification can be achieved simultaneously with the transformation. The CLDA is a supervised approach, i.e., the class spectral signatures need to be known a priori. But, in practice, these informations may be difficult or even impossible to obtain. So in this paper we will extend the CLDA algorithm into an unsupervised version, where the class spectral signatures are to be directly generated from an unknown image scene. Computer simulation is used to evaluate how well the algorithm performs in terms of finding the pure signatures. We will also discuss how to implement the unsupervised CLDA algorithm in real-time for resolving the critical situations when the immediate data analysis results are required.
Features of Effective Medical Knowledge Resources to Support Point of Care Learning: A Focus Group Study

Objective Health care professionals access various information sources to quickly answer questions that arise in clinical practice. The features that favorably influence the selection and use of knowledge resources remain unclear. We sought to better understand how clinicians select among the various knowledge resources available to them, and from this to derive a model for an effective knowledge resource. Methods We conducted 11 focus groups at an academic medical center and outlying community sites. We included a purposive sample of 50 primary care and subspecialist internal medicine and family medicine physicians. We transcribed focus group discussions and analyzed these using a constant comparative approach to inductively identify features that influence the selection of knowledge resources. Results We identified nine features that influence users' selection of knowledge resources, namely efficiency (with sub-features of comprehensiveness, searchability, and brevity), integration with clinical workflow, credibility, user familiarity, capacity to identify a human expert, reflection of local care processes, optimization for the clinical question (e.g., diagnosis, treatment options, drug side effect), currency, and ability to support patient education. No single existing resource exemplifies all of these features. Conclusion The influential features identified in this study will inform the development of knowledge resources, and could serve as a framework for future research in this field.
Towards standard for experiments in program comprehension

Program comprehension can make a unique contribution to the field of software engineering because it is feasible to validate its claims with inexpensive experiments. To fully realize this unique position, program comprehension researchers need to develop standards that will guide them in designing experiments and allow them to judge the strength of an experiment in supporting a claim. To begin the discussion leading to such standards, we propose that program comprehension experiments always measure and interpret the following dependent variables: accuracy, accurate response time, and inaccurate response time.
Newforms of squarefree level and theta series

We show that the cuspidal part of the span of the theta series associated to maximal integral lattices on a definite quaternion algebra \({\mathfrak {A}}\) over \({\mathbb {Q}}\) is precisely the space of newforms. Furthermore, using the Eichler commutation relation and an idea coming out of the Yoshida lifting, we show how to express each newform as an explicit linear combination of such theta series. The coefficients of these linear combinations come from cuspidal eigenvectors of Brandt matrices.
Photobleaching of Reduced Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide and the Development of Highly Fluorescent Lesions in Rat Basophilic Leukemia Cells During Multiphoton Microscopy

Endogenous reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) fluorescence provides an intrinsic indicator of the cellular metabolic state, but prolonged monitoring is limited by photobleaching and/or phototoxicity. Multiphoton excitation of NADH by ultrashort, 740-nm laser pulses provides a significant improvement over UV excitation by eliminating peripheral photobleaching; however, molecules within the subfemtoliter excitation volume remain susceptible. We have investigated the photophysical mechanisms responsible for multiphoton photobleaching of NADH in living cells to permit the imaging technique to be optimized. The loss of fluorescence because of multiphoton photobleaching was measured by repetitively imaging individual planes within rat basophilic leukemia cells. The photobleaching rate was proportional to the fourth power of the laser intensity. Based on these measurements, we propose a double-biphotonic, four-photon photobleaching mechanism and estimate the quantum yield of photobleaching of intracellular NADH to be 0.0073 ± 0.0002 by this mechanism. In addition to photobleaching, the development of bright, punctate fluorescent lesions can also be observed. The frequency of lesion formation also increased approximately as the fourth power of the laser intensity after an intensity-dependent threshold number of images had been exceeded. The consequences for two-photon metabolic imaging are discussed.
Active Learning, Cooperative Active Learning, and Passive Learning Methods in an Accounting Information Systems Course

ABSTRACT We report the results of a study to examine the effectiveness of active versus passive learning methods in the accounting information systems area. Two groups of students completed an assi...
Predictors of Monomicrobial Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections

Abstract Background: Broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy is critical in the management of necrotizing soft tissue infections (NSTI) in the emergency setting. Clindamycin often is included empirically to cover monomicrobial gram-positive pathogens but probably is of little value for polymicrobial infections and is associated with significant side effects, including the induction of Clostridium difficile colitis. However, there have been no studies predicting monomicrobial infections prior to obtaining cultures. The purpose of this study was to identify independent predictors of monomicrobial NSTI where the use of clindamycin would be most beneficial. We hypothesized that monomicrobial infections are characterized by involvement of the upper extremities and fewer co-morbid diseases. Methods: We reviewed all cases of potential NSTI occurring between 1996 and 2013 in a single tertiary-care center. The infection was diagnosed by the finding of rapidly progressing necrotic fascia during debridement with positive ...
The Likely Effect of CEO Hiring Source on Total Cash Flow

We examine the financial performance that firms realize by the decision to hire a new CEO from within the firm versus externally. Using a structural self-selection modeling approach, we find, for boards that hire externally, less total cash flow on average than would have been obtained from the passed over internal candidate (a marginal loss). A marginal gain is found for boards that promote internally. The marginal loss we find when hiring externally is not likely explained by theories based on maximizing firm value. Our results are consistent with behavioral theories involving overconfidence or with agency explanations.
An optimization method for crashworthiness design

Presentation d'une methode d'optimisation pour l'etude de la resistance mecanique au choc accidentel d'une carrosserie automobile
Effects of Ru vacancies and oxygen synthesis pressures on the formation of nanodomain structures in SrRuO 3 thin films

SrRuO3 (SRO) thin films were grown on SrTiO3 (100) substrates using the pulsed laser deposition method. The films’ growth properties widely changed in response to different working oxygen partial pressures. An island growth mode was dominant for low pressures up to 10 mTorr followed by a step flow growth mode at 60 mTorr and step flow plus 2 D growth at 200 mTorr then reverting back to island growth at 300 mTorr. Significant out-of-plane strains of SRO films were observed for low growth pressures (up to 10 mTorr) but became notably reduced at 60 mTorr and continued to decrease gradually with further pressure increases. Formation of Ru vacancies occurs regardless of the working pressure values and appears to be minimized at 60 mTorr. Highest TC’s were obtained in films exhibiting the step flow growth mode. The role of Ru deficiencies in relation to strain, growth mode, and magnetic properties is discussed.