cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract P136: Identifying Opportunities to Further Improve Outcomes for Patients With Coronary Artery Disease and Heart Failure in a Managed Care Organization

Background: We have created and evaluated a decision support tool to identify opportunities to improve outcomes for patients with coronary heart disease and heart failure (CAD/HF). Applying national data, we concluded that improving care for patients with chronic disease would generate the greatest improvement in outcomes. The purpose of this analysis is two-fold: 1) to determine whether the decision support tool can be applied to data available from a “real” medical group, and 2) to determine whether the conclusions generated from analysis of the medical group data are similar to the conclusions generated from U.S. data. Methods: We created the tool to calculate the number of deaths that might be prevented or postponed if care for heart disease prevention and treatment were improved from current levels to optimal care_that is, the elimination of risk factors and the prescription of all effective medications before and between acute events, and the delivery of all effective therapies to individuals during an acute event. In this analysis we focus on calculating the impact of optimizing care for 40-74 year old patients treated for CAD/HF in a HealthPartners Medical Group (HPMG) clinic or at Regions Hospital between August 8, 2007 and July 31, 2008. Results: Conclusions: This study demonstrates that 1) it is feasible to use our decision support tool to identify opportunities to improve outcomes for patients of a medical group, and that 2) as we concluded from the analysis of national data, the greatest opportunities to improve outcomes for patients with CAD/HF treated by this medical group lie with patients who are between acute events.
An Algorithm for Optimal Control of Nonlinear Systems with Model-reality Differences

Abstract An iterative procedure known as Dynamic Integrated System Optimization and Parameter Estimation (DISOPE) is described for solving nonlinear optimal control problems where the model employed to compute the optimal solution is different from reality. An algorithm, implemented in MATLAB on the basis of a linear model and quadratic performance, but where it is not required that the real problem satisfy these restrictions, is presented which achieves the correct real solution in spite of model-reality differences. Convergence aspects are discussed and a simulation example is described which illustrates the performance of the DISOPE algorithm.
The Real Law of Virtual Reality

This is an edited version of a talk one of us (Lemley) gave at the UC Davis symposium on the future of law. We explore legal issues that will arise in virtual reality and augmented reality, particularly those stemming from the fact that VR is a visceral experience that blurs the line between information and the physical. The fact that people experience VR as real even when they know it isn't has implications for tort and criminal law. The ability to design and change the terms of people's interaction in virtual reality has significant implications for the role of law vs. self-help. In VR, code IS law in a very real sense.
Identification of Structural Damage in Civil Engineering

Civil engineering systems such as bridges, buildings, and dams are critical to survival and well-being of our society. Because of my education and background, the emphasis of these lectures is placed on the damage identification of existing structures.
Bilinear and Quadratic Forms

Recall that if R is a commutative ring, then Hom R (M, N) denotes the set of all R-module homomorphisms from M to N. It has the structure of an R-module by means of the operations (f+g)(x)=f(x)+g(x) and (af)(x)= a(f(x)) for all x ∈ M, a ∈ R. Moreover, if M=N then Hom R (M, M)= End R (M) is a ring under the multiplication (fg)(x)=f(g(x)). An R-module A, which is also a ring, is called an R-algebra if it satisfies the extra axiom a(xy)=(ax)y=x(ay) for all x,y ∈ A and a ∈ R. Thus End R(M) is an R-algebra. Recall (Theorem 3.4.11) that if M and N are finitely generated free R-modules (R a commutative ring) of rank m and n respectively, then HomR(M, N) is a free R-module of rank mn.
Problematic Principles in Constructive Mathematics

We examine various philosophies of constructive mathematics, discussing points on which they agree and especially points on which they disagree. Various metamathematical results are used to clarify points in the discussion.
Protease-Activated Receptors in Gastrointestinal Function and Disease

The gastrointestinal tract is the richest source of proteases of any tissue. Proteases are a vital component of digestive secretions from exocrine glands such as the pancreas and glands within the stomach and intestine. The vast numbers of bacteria in the colon produce and secrete large amounts of proteases. Coagulating proteases arise from the circulation, and proteases are produced by immune cells, epithelial tissues and the nervous system. The principal function of some of these enzymes is to degrade dietary proteins in the lumen of the gastrointestinal tract. However, certain proteases can directly regulate cells by cleaving and activating protease-activated receptors (PARs). Some digestive enzymes may also regulate intestinal epithelial cells under physiological circumstances by cleaving PARs. However, many of the enzymes that activate PARs, such as the coagulation factors and proteases from inflammatory cells and epithelial tissues, are generated and secreted during injury and inflammation, and PARs control critically important responses to these insults, namely hemostasis, inflammation, pain and repair. Thus, proteases and PARs are important in the gastrointestinal tract under normal and pathological conditions, and protease inhibitors and PAR antagonists may be useful for the treatment of certain gastrointestinal diseases. Here we briefly summarize the mechanisms of activation, signal transduction and regulation of PARs, to discuss the role of PARs in controlling particular gastrointestinal functions, and to summarize their Departments of Surgery and Physiology, University of California San Francisco, 521 Parnassus
Cytotoxicity of Selenium Immunoconjugates against Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells.

Within the subtypes of breast cancer, those identified as triple negative for expression of estrogen receptor α (ESR1), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2), account for 10–20% of breast cancers, yet result in 30% of global breast cancer-associated deaths. Thus, it is critical to develop more targeted and efficacious therapies that also demonstrate less side effects. Selenium, an essential dietary supplement, is incorporated as selenocysteine (Sec) in vivo into human selenoproteins, some of which exist as anti-oxidant enzymes and are of importance to human health. Studies have also shown that selenium compounds hinder cancer cell growth and induce apoptosis in cancer cell culture models. The focus of this study was to investigate whether selenium-antibody conjugates could be effective against triple negative breast cancer cell lines using clinically relevant, antibody therapies targeted for high expressing breast cancers and whether selenium cytotoxicity was attenuated in normal breast epithelial cells. To that end, the humanized monoclonal IgG1 antibodies, Bevacizumab and Trastuzumab were conjugated with redox selenium to form Selenobevacizumab and Selenotrastuzumab and tested against the triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines MDA-MB-468 and MDA-MB-231 as well as a normal, immortalized, human mammary epithelial cell line, HME50-5E. VEGF and HER2 protein expression were assessed by Western. Although expression levels of HER2 were low or absent in all test cells, our results showed that Selenobevacizumab and Selenotrastuzumab produced superoxide (O2•−) anions in the presence of glutathione (GSH) and this was confirmed by a dihydroethidium (DHE) assay. Interestingly, superoxide was not elevated within HME50-5E cells assessed by DHE. The cytotoxicity of selenite and the selenium immunoconjugates towards triple negative cells compared to HME-50E cells was performed in a time and dose-dependent manner as measured by Trypan Blue exclusion, MTT assay and Annexin V assays. Selenobevacizumab and Selenotrastuzumab were shown to arrest the cancer cell growth but not the HME50-5E cells. These results suggest that selenium-induced toxicity may be effective in treating TNBC cells by exploiting different immunotherapeutic approaches potentially reducing the debilitating side effects associated with current TNBC anticancer drugs. Thus, clinically relevant, targeting antibody therapies may be repurposed for TNBC treatment by attachment of redox selenium.
Changing facets of leadership in East Asia: globalization, innovation and performance in Japan, South Korea and China

Few doubt that leaders impact personal and organizational outcomes. But leadership (the collective system of how leaders lead within a system) matters even more. An individual leader is an event, b...
Credit card literacy and financial well-being of college students: A moderated mediation model of self-efficacy and credit card number

By testing a moderated mediation model, the purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of credit card self-efficacy in the relationship between credit card literacy and financial well-being. The authors further examine if credit card number moderates this effect.,Data for the study were collected from 427 college students. The PROCESS macros in IBM SPSS Statistics 23 was used to assess the hypothesized relationships.,Credit card literacy positively influences financial well-being through self-efficacy. However, this effect is stronger when college students own fewer credit cards.,Banks and credit card issuers, policymakers and colleges and universities should place a greater emphasis on credit card literacy programs that enhance students’ general understanding of credit card terms and conditions and confidence in their ability to effectively use and manage their credit cards.,To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the relationship between credit card literacy, self-efficacy and financial well-being.
Fishery-independent observations of Atlantic menhaden abundance in the coastal waters south of New York

Abstract Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) is a migratory forage fish whose geographic range extends from the Gulf of Maine to Florida. Despite the ecological and commercial importance of menhaden, few fishery-independent surveys have been conducted to quantify their distributions of abundance and biomass. Active acoustic surveys of menhaden schools were conducted using 38, 120, and 200 kHz scientific echosounders in two regions on the continental shelf south of Long Island, New York during the summer of 2014 and spring, summer, and fall of 2015. Spatial distributions of menhaden schools were considered to be clustered across all surveys where three or more schools were observed. Estimates of school volume were highly variable, ranging from 30 to 48,000 m3. Menhaden aggregations were absent in the spring (April, May, and June) and present in the summer and fall (July, August, and September) surveys. Target strength measurements at 120 kHz during the summer and fall surveys were consistent with predicted values for adult Atlantic menhaden, suggesting that fish size did not change substantially during this time. Peak menhaden abundance was observed during August 2015 (approximately 157,000 fish km−2 with a wet weight biomass density of 35,000 kg km−2). Multifrequency acoustic surveys can provide an efficient and fishery-independent method for quantifying menhaden abundance and distribution in coastal habitats.
The epithelial cell inclusions of trachoma

Abstract The origin and nature of the inclusion body was investigated in film preparations from 230 cases diagnosed as trachoma, as well as in sections of tarsi and of excised follicles. Inclusion bodies were found in forty-five per cent of the cases studied. The various stages of development of the inclusion body are described in detail. The "elementary bodies" of Prowazek and the "initial bodies" of Lindner were produced experimentally in the conjunctiva of guinea pigs, by inoculation of certain gram-negative rod-shaped organisms isolated from the conjunctiva of trachoma patients. The inclusions in the epithelial cells are regarded as originating from rod-shaped microorganisms which tend to occur as diplobacilli, and the development of the inclusion body is attributed to multiplication of the organism within the cytoplasm of the cell and subsequent reaction by the cell.
Geometry dependence of the clogging transition in tilted hoppers

We report the effects of system geometry on the clogging of granular material flowing out of flat-bottomed hoppers with variable aperture size $D$ and with variable angle $\ensuremath{\theta}$ of tilt of the hopper away from horizontal. In general, larger tilt angles make the system more susceptible to clogging. To quantify this effect for a given $\ensuremath{\theta}$, we measure the distribution of mass discharged between clogging events as a function of aperture size and extrapolate to the critical size at which the average mass diverges. By repeating for different angles, we map out a clogging phase diagram as a function of $D$ and $\ensuremath{\theta}$ that demarcates the regimes of free flow (large $D$, small $\ensuremath{\theta}$) and clogging (small $D$, large $\ensuremath{\theta}$). We do this for both circular holes and long rectangular slits. Additionally, we measure four types of grain: smooth spheres (glass beads), compact angular grains (beach sand), disklike grains (lentils), and rodlike grains (rice). For circular apertures, the clogging phase diagram is found to be the same for all grain types. For narrow slit apertures and compact grains, the shape is also the same as for circular holes when expressed in terms of projected area of the aperture against the average flow direction. For lentils and rice discharged from slits, the behavior differs and may be due to alignment between grain and slit axes.
Application of Simulation for Emulating and Visualizing Nanotechnology

Phenomenal interest in new and emerging technologies like nanotechnology has led to an increased demand for graduates who have sound knowledge of fundamental principles underlying the design and operation of complex systems. However, incorporation of such learning processes, including state-of-art technological tools and equipment, requires considerable time and financial resources. Keeping curricula and labs current with the rapid change of technology pose another challenge for academia. Visualization plays an important role in the modern scientific process. In an era where the means of generating data through natural inquiry or simulation have vastly exceeded the power of direct analysis, tools to interpret and explore the data are crucial to the continued pursuit of knowledge (Patterson in Nanoscale visualization: transfer function exploration, 2003, [1]). Visualization of processes can be achieved by using simulation tools. In addition to cost savings, simulation offers a number of other advantages: (a) allowing the user to modify system parameters and observe the outcomes without any harmful side effects (b) eliminating component or equipment faults that affect outcomes (c) supporting users progress at their own pace in discovery and understanding of concepts and issues, and (d) enhancing the presentation of “dry” concepts by integrating theory and practice (Cherner et al. in Use of adaptable simulation-based virtual laboratories for teaching alternative energy and energy conservation in engineering & technology programs, 2011, [2]). Simulation has another major advantage in that a simulation is task- and learner-neutral; it models an object/system construction and operation or learning situation. Within simulation functionality, there are no restrictions on the student’s actions. Realistic simulations visualize processes occurring in the devices and enable students to observe the physical processes at different levels (from macroscopic to subatomic), analyse constraints between physical parameters, compare actual and virtual data, and much more. The manuscript presents a literature review of simulation and visualization, and discusses applications of various online simulation tools, laboratory instruments, and remote access instruments used for visualizing nanotechnology devices and processes.
HDJ-2 is an important target of farnesyltransferase inhibitor, R115777, induced radiosensitization

1655 Farnesylation is an important posttranslational modification of proteins that leads to changes in protein trafficking and protein-protein interactions. Blocking protein farnesylation was thought to inhibit ras and its downstream signal transduction pathways, and several farnesyltransferase inhibitors (FTIs), such as R115777, demonstrate anticancer activity as single agents and in combination with standard chemotherapy or irradiation. However, the critical target of FTIs leading to its anti-tumor activity is still controversial. In this study, we investigated the potential role of a farnesylated protein, HDJ-2, in FTI-induced radiosensitization. HDJ-2 is a cochaperone that can regulate other heat shock proteins. Unfarnesylated HDJ-2 could be detected within 30 min of treatment of two GBM cell lines, U251 and SF763 with 10nM R1155777 rising to 50% by 6 hours. Interestingly, R115777 also radiosensitized these cell lines within 6 hours. The survival fraction at 2Gy, determined by the clonogenic assay, decreased about 15% for both cell lines. Overexpression of geranylgeranylated HDJ-2 increased radioresistance of SF763 cells and neutralized the radiosensitization effect of R115777. In addition, suppression of HDJ-2 expression by RNA inference decreased the radioresistance of SF763 cells. Although radiation did not change expression of HDJ-2 mRNA and protein (by real-time RT-PCR and Western blot), confocal microscopy revealed that HDJ-2 relocalized to peri-nuclear and intra-nuclear regions after irradiation and that cells undergoing mitotic catastrophe had high concentrated HDJ-2 within their micronuclei. Examination of nuclear staining of HDJ-2 by flow cytometer confirmed accumulation of HDJ-2 in nuclei after irradiation in both SF763 and U251 cells. These results suggest that HDJ-2 could be involved in the repair of radiation nuclear damage and play an important role in FTI-induced radiosensitization.
Modeling and characterization of neuronal synapses using stochastic hybrid systems

Action potential-triggered release of neurotransmitters at chemical synapses forms the key basis of communication between two neurons. To quantify the stochastic dynamics of the number of neurotransmitters released, we investigate a model where neurotransmitter-filled vesicles attach to a finite number of docking sites in the axon terminal, and are subsequently released when the action potential arrives. We formulate the model as a Stochastic Hybrid System (SHS) that combines three key noise mechanisms: random arrival of action potentials, stochastic refilling of docking sites, and probabilistic release of docked vesicles. This SHS representation is used to derive exact analytical formulas for the mean and noise (as quantified by Fano factor) in the number of vesicles released per action potential. Interestingly, results show that in relevant parameter regimes, noise in the number of vesicles released is sub-Poissonian at low frequencies, super-Poissonian at intermediate frequencies, and approaches a Poisson limit at high frequencies. In contrast, noise in the number of neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft is always super-Poissonian, but is lowest at intermediate frequencies. We further investigate changes in these noise properties for non-Poissonian arrival of action potentials, and when the probability of release is frequency dependent. In summary, these results provide the first glimpse into synaptic parameters not only determining the mean synaptic strength, but also shaping its stochastic dynamics that is critical for information transfer between neurons.
Interactive Exploration of Longitudinal Cancer Patient Histories Extracted From Clinical Text.

PURPOSERetrospective cancer research requires identification of patients matching both categorical and temporal inclusion criteria, often on the basis of factors exclusively available in clinical n...
Functional pathways in respiratory tract microbiome separate COVID-19 from community-acquired pneumonia patients

In response to the global pandemic of the last four months, some progress has been made in understanding the molecular-level host interactions of the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 responsible for COVID-19. However, when the virus enters the body it interacts not only with the host but also with the micro-organisms already inhabiting the host. Understanding the virus-host-microbiome interactions can yield additional insights into the biological processes perturbed by the viral invasion. We carry out a comparative functional analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of eight COVID-19, twenty-five community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients and twenty healthy controls. The resulting functional profiles clearly separate the cohorts, even more sharply than just their corresponding taxonomic profiles. We also detect distinct pathway signatures in the respiratory tract microbiome that consistently distinguish COVID-19 patients from both the CAP and healthy cohorts. These include increased vitamin, drug, nucleotide, and energy metabolism during SARS-CoV-2 infection, contrasted with decreased amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism. This comparative analysis indicates consistent differences in COVID-19 respiratory tract metatranscriptomes compared to CAP and healthy samples.
Thermotolerance of tax-2 Is Uncoupled From Life Span Extension and Influenced by Temperature During Development in C. elegans

Thermotolerance of an organism is a complex trait that is influenced by a multitude of genetic and environmental factors. Many factors controlling thermotolerance in Caenorhabditis elegans are known to extend life. To understand the regulation of thermotolerance, we performed a genetic screen for mutants with better survival at warm temperature. Here we identified by dauer survival a tax-2 mutation and several mutations disrupting an insulin signaling pathway including the daf-2 gene. While the tax-2 mutant has improved thermotolerance and long life span, the newly identified daf-2 and other insulin signaling mutants, unlike the canonical daf-2(e1370), do not show improved thermotolerance despite being long-lived. Examination of tax-2 mutations and their mutant phenotypes suggest that the control of thermotolerance is not coupled with the control of life span or dauer survival. With genetic interaction studies, we concluded that tax-2 has complex roles in life span and dauer survival and that tax-2 is a negative regulator of thermotolerance independent of other known thermotolerance genes including those in the insulin signaling pathway. Moreover, cold growth temperature during development weakens the improved thermotolerance associated with tax-2 and other thermotolerance-inducing mutations. Together, this study reveals previously unknown genetic and environmental factors controlling thermotolerance and their complex relationship with life span regulation.
Are Physicians Paid Appropriately? Examining the Determinants and Selection into the Medical Field

Background: This study uses labor economic theories to determine whether physicians are paid appropriately. Ideally in a competitive market for human capital inputs to the medical field, each physician hired (entrants) is expected to be paid the same salary as entrants in the next best alternative profession where the competition is for their traits and skills. Literature on physician earnings has largely been descriptive or empirical. This study models the determinants of physician compensation and how earnings are influenced by selection into the medical field versus the next best alternative. Data: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth of 1979 is a nationally representative sample of 12,686 men and women recruited in 1979. Participants were annually interviewed until 1994 and then biennially until present, which allows for the collection of lifetime earnings (dependent variable). The dataset has two proxy measures of ability that are key independent variables: 1) IQ score and 2) scores from the Armed Forces Qualification Test of the Armed Services Vocationally Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). The dataset includes control variables such as income, debt, satisfaction, lifestyle, and demographic. Methods: Individuals in the 90th percentile or higher for IQ or ASVAB are assumed to have similar career choices based on ability alone. Conditioned on ability, the study uses a Heckman selection model to estimate the probability that an individual pursues a medical degree versus “other” career. The two-stage Heckman selection model is used to control for possible selection bias in lifetime earnings arising from choice to attend medical school. Maximizing for utility, lifetime earnings are estimated using a basic human capital model that is a function of rate of return to schooling, years in school, years of experience and demographics. The study looks at three variations: 1) without the costs of schooling, 2) with direct costs of schooling, and 3) with direct cost of schooling and additional compensating variables (i.e., positive or negative aspects of the job). In order to determine whether physicians are paid appropriately, the rate of returns for individuals with similar ability that entered the medical field versus another field is compared. Results and Conclusions: Preliminary results without the costs of schooling show that an individual with a medical degree has approximately 50% greater total lifetime earnings than a person without a medical degree among individuals in the 90th percentile IQ level (p<0.001). The impact of the debt and compensating variables and the use of ASVAB in lieu of IQ remain to be analyzed, but is expected to be complete by mid-March. The expectation is that the 50% gap will significantly decreases after accounting for schooling costs.
On the Economic Interpretation and Measurement of Optimal Capacity Utilization with Anticipatory Expectations

This study builds on recent research giving the notion of capacity utilization clearer economic foundations. In this research optimal output Ye is defined as the minimum point on the firm's short-run average total cost curve, and capacity utilization is then computed as CU = Y/ Y*, where Y is actual output. Here I extend these concepts to include adjustment costs due to changes in the stock of capital, and nonstatic expectations of future output demand and input prices. The more general notion of CU is shown to depend on the shadow values of the firm's quasi-fixed inputs, and is decomposed to isolate the effects of anticipatory expectations. An empirical comparison is then made between traditional indices and alternative economic CU measures, using annual U.S. manufacturing data 1954-1980. The calculated indices exhibit plausible patterns, which can be interpreted as the effects of nonstatic expectations and adjustment costs.
Responsibility for Regime Change

What obligations does a state have after it forcibly overthrows the regime of another state or territory? The Hague Regulations and the Fourth Geneva Convention provide some answers, but their prohibition on interfering with the governing structure of the targeted territory is outmoded. Based on a careful examination of subsequent practice of the parties to the conventions, this Article asserts a new interpretation of these treaties and argues that regime changers are now under positive obligations in the postwar period and beyond. Through their conduct and evaluation of modern regime-change missions, states, both individually and acting collectively through international organizations, have manifested revised understandings of obligations in the postconflict phase of military operations. Accordingly, this Article argues that regime-changing states now not only have Geneva-based direct obligations to establish security in the territory, promote representative local government, protect the human rights of the local population, assist with postconflict reconstruction, and safeguard minority groups while exercising control over the territory, but also that such states must ensure that the successor regime — whose installation their initial military intervention facilitated — is one that respects international human rights law.
Mexican Repatriation and the Possibility for a Federal Cause of Action: A Comparative Analysis on Reparations

From 1929 to 1944, the United States government, with the cooperation of state and local governments, engaged in a system of mass deportations targeting Latino immigrants, primarily those of Mexican descent, marking another dark and forgotten event in American history known as the Mexican Repatriation. Scholars have estimated that between 500,000 and 2 million Mexicans, mostly U.S. citizens or legal residents, were either forcefully deported or forcefully persuaded to leave the United States for Mexico.1 The policy, authorized by President Herbert Hoover, was instituted as a means to free up jobs for Americans suffering financially during the Great Depression. Hoover's policy of mass deportations was also fueled by a nationwide anti-immigrant hysteria.
Theory of Particle Motion in Straight and Distorted Crystals

In this paper we discuss three aspects of particle channeling, (1) the validity of the continuum model in a bent crystal, (2) a first principles approach to thermal vibration effects and (3) the relation between phase space diffusion and transverse energy diffusion in the context of electron multiple scattering. The discussions in (2) and (3) are done for straight crystals but presumably apply with minor modification to the bent crystal case.
Chapter 17 Methods for Selective Extraction of Chromosomal Nonhistone Proteins

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the methods for selective extraction of chromosomal nonhistone proteins (NP). During rapid cell proliferation, chromosome puffing, and chromosomal stimulation, there is an increase in the content, synthesis, and metabolic activity of chromosomal nonhistone proteins. Presently, there are no methods available for a complete separation of all biologically active proteins by a single standard procedure. Techniques taking advantage of particular biological properties of chromosomal nonhistone proteins, such as enzymic activity, transcriptional regulations, and immunological specificity, are most useful. The chapter describes the fractionation scheme, which is based on solubility of the three protein groups in salt and urea at various pH values. Although fraction NP binds selectively to homologous DNA, its separation from histones in sodium succinate buffer is facilitated by its insolubility at relatively low pH. The NP fraction is heterogeneous. Isolated chromatin can be fractionated by a variety of techniques into transcriptionally active and inactive fractions. If the fractionation of chromatin is accomplished by shearing and subsequent sucrose density gradient centrifugation or divalent cation precipitation, the immunologically tissue-specific proteins are selectively accumulated in the extended, transcriptionally active chromatin.
Nedocromil Sodium in Children

Nedocromil sodium is a new, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug for treating asthma. It both differs from and resembles the earlier representative of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, namely cromolyn sodium. Chemically, nedocromil sodium is the disodium salt of a pyranoquinoline-dicarboxylic acid, and cromolyn sodium is a bis-chromone.
The Man with the Arm

1. Retrospect a: We spent time surrounded by our peers, post collegiate in a college town, coffee, beer, teashops, cinemas, but we pointed and gaped. Look at those silly men with baseball caps, look how they walk around, hear their excuses for conversation and so on. I lived in a zoo, wandering along the proposed path and avoiding what was not on display, and though I was also caged, there I lived with my furry mate, and we might gaze into the cage next door, but we could always turn to one another, have babies, and impress a great keeper, the ignorant organizer, the sloppy maker of categories upon a whole earth who had placed us there. b: He kept looking for his arm. c: Walking down the street was not a thing of affirmation in the sense that looking into a mirror and recognizing ourselves could be one; there you are but in another place. It affirmed in the same way looking in the mirror can be profoundly displacing, as if you, because of the fact of your image, were of the mirror more than looking into it, and so you think of yourself as a mirror facing a mirror, you've seen that, your face infinitely repeated and you believe, therefore dense. In that way, it may well have been frighten ing, except for our ability to face one another and poke our ribs about it. It's only a mirror, and we'd wanted to believe. Ah, love and the mutual. We could look about in fear of being confused with our peers by a grand evaluating stranger, someone who ought to confirm our difference with a plaque and a key to our dream city, make us famous for rising above. But we had only join the hands we possessed in order to feel righteous and without the guilt of arrogance which might have ensued for lack of substantiation had we not been together. d: When I was in school, people were always telling me I was getting my education, and when I was done with school they said, now you have an education.
Communication in Automation, Including Networking and Wireless

An introduction to the fundamental issues and limitations of communication and networking in automation is given. Digital communication fundamentals are reviewed and networked control systems together with teleoperation are discussed. Issues in both wired and wireless networks are presented.
Theory of Martingales

In this article, we discuss some advanced results in the theory of martingales and their application in operations research and management science. These results include (i) martingale inequalities, (ii) martingale limit theorem, and (iii) the optional stopping theorem. We also present a brief discussion on martingales with continuous parameter. This is a continuation of the articles Discrete-Time Martingales and Continuous-Time Martingales. Keywords: martingale; martingale inequalities; martingale convergence theorem; optional stopping; Brownian motion
A model for selective line-driven acceleration of ions in the solar winds of OB-type stars occurring via the nonlinear process of stimulated Rayleigh scattering

A conceptually novel model - one in which stimulated (i.e. induced) resonance Rayleigh scattering causes ions of select species to become accelerated to very high terminal velocities in the solar winds of OB-type stars - is proposed to explain the general appearance of so-called P Cygni profiles that often dominate the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) spectra of such stars. The high rate of stimulated scattering enables ions of the resonant species in the solar wind to become accelerated to terminal velocities as high as 1000 km/sec. Since stimulated scattering processes are characterized by pump power thresholds, the model readily explains why only select species are accelerated to very high velocities in a given star's solar wind, and also why a dramatic P Cygni profile for a given ion species can often discontinuously be present or absent when spectra of stars varying only slightly in spectral type are compared.
Measuring Maximizing Judges: Empirical Legal Studies, Public Choice Theory and Judicial Behavior

In this brief Article, the author explore the growing empirical evidence in support of the public choice model of judicial decision making. Although legal scholars have traditionally been reluctant to engage in a critical inquiry into the role of judicial self-interest on judicial behavior, recent empirical studies confirm many of the predictions of the model. As a result, the public choice model has gained broad acceptance across a range of disciplines, courts, and even the U.S. public. Rezumat: In acest scurt articol, autoarea exploreaza motivele empirice crescânde de la baza modelului de abordare publica a procesului de luare a hotarârilor judecatoreoti. Deoi oamenii de otiinþa au fost in mod tradiþional reticenþi sa se angajeze intr-o ancheta critica asupra rolului interesului individual in comportamentul judiciar, studii empirice recente confirma multe dintre predicþiile modelului. Ca rezultat, abordarea publica a câotigat o acceptare larga intr-un mare numar de discipline, instanþe oi chiar in rândurile publicului din Statele Unite.
Fertility and Coercion

This essay is based on lectures given at the University of Chicago Law School and Kings College in Cambridge England in 1995. The author offers a discourse on the rights and consequences within norms and laws of reproduction and general issues panic-based reasoning the consequences of population expansion the social development of women and the justification for or lack thereof of coercive birth control. It is argued that public policies that promote social development gender equity and individual responsibility of the family are appropriate population solutions. A theory of justice should value personal liberty and basic autonomy including the exercise of reproductive rights. Impoverished people value well-being and economic security even if they do not value in fact freedom or reproductive freedom in particular. The denial of reproductive freedom in favor of coercive restrictions can be justified if at all only by strong positive consequences such as well-being and economic security. There is little evidence of such a trade-off. There is some evidence that coercion works faster than what can be achieved by social change and development. Coercive family planning has serious consequences for reproductive freedom infant mortality and female infanticide. There is no contrary argument against reproductive rights which as a Jeremy Bentham term hinge on acceptable consequences. Libertarians such as Robert Nozick assign rights as a force of their own. The author strikes a balance and presents arguments for a consequential system incorporating the fulfillment of rights among other goals.
On the development of natural fiber composites of high-temperature thermoplastic polymers

A new method is presented for the development of natural fiber composites of high-performance thermoplastic polymers considering poly(phenylene ether) (PPE) and wood flour as an example system. The large gap between the high processing temperature of PPE, typically between 280 and 320°C, and the low decomposition temperature of wood flour, about 200°C, was reduced by using a reactive solvent, a low molecular weight epoxy. The epoxy formed miscible blends with PPE, which offered much lower viscosity compared to PPE and processing temperatures well below the decomposition temperature of wood flour. In addition, the epoxy component accumulated around the polar wood flour particles upon polymerization during the fabrication step. The composite materials consisted of a thermoplastic continuous phase and two dispersed phases, one of polymerized epoxy and the other of wood flour particles coated with polymerized epoxy. These composites offered a significant reduction in density and better mechanical and physical properties when compared to commercially available grades of engineering polymer blends filled with short glass fibers. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 2159–2167, 2002
A simple method for the synthesis of nicotinic acid mononucleotide.

Abstract A rapid and efficient method for the preparation of nicotinic acid mononucleotide from nicotinamide mononucleotide is described. Deamidation is effected by the use of nitrosyl chloride at room temperature. The starting material is quantitatively converted to the corresponding acid. During the deamidation some hydrolysis of the ribosyl bond occurs. Yields of 75 to 85% are regularly obtained.
Pao-Lu Hsu 1909-1970

Pao-Lu Hsu was bom in Peking in 1909 and obtained his B.Sc. degree from Tsing Hua University in 1933. He spent the years 1936-1940 at University College, London where he received a Ph.D. in 1938 and an D.Sc. in 1940. From London he returned to China to accept a professorship in the Department of Mathematics at Peking University.
glp-1 Is required in the germ line for regulation of the decision between mitosis and meiosis in C. elegans

In the wild-type C. elegans germ line there are both mitotic and meiotic germ cells. Mutations in glp-1 cause germ cells that would normally divide mitotically to enter meiosis. This mutant phenotype mimics the effect of killing the distal tip cell, a somatic cell that interacts with the germ line to regulate the mitotic/meiotic decision. In addition, wild-type glp-1 product is required maternally for embryogenesis. Temperature-shift experiments indicate that the temporal requirement for glp-1 activity in the germ line is the same as that for distal tip cell regulation. Mosaic analyses suggest that glp-1 is produced in the germ line. We propose that glp-1 acts as part of the receiving mechanism in the interaction between the distal tip cell and germ line.
An automated landmark-based elastic registration technique for large deformation recovery from 4-D CT lung images

The treatment plan evaluation for lung cancer patients involves pre-treatment and post-treatment volume CT imaging of the lung. However, treatment of the tumor volume lung results in structural changes to the lung during the course of treatment. In order to register the pre-treatment volume to post-treatment volume, there is a need to find robust and homologous features which are not affected by the radiation treatment along with a smooth deformation field. Since airways are well-distributed in the entire lung, in this paper, we propose use of airway tree bifurcations for registration of the pre-treatment volume to the post-treatment volume. A dedicated and automated algorithm has been developed that finds corresponding airway bifurcations in both images. To derive the 3-D deformation field, a B-spline transformation model guided by mutual information similarity metric was used to guarantee the smoothness of the transformation while combining global information from bifurcation points. Therefore, the approach combines both global statistical intensity information with local image feature information. Since during normal breathing, the lung undergoes large nonlinear deformations, it is expected that the proposed method would also be applicable to large deformation registration between maximum inhale and maximum exhale images in the same subject. The method has been evaluated by registering 3-D CT volumes at maximum exhale data to all the other temporal volumes in the POPI-model data.
Mechanisms of antitumor and immune-enhancing activities of MUC1/sec, a secreted form of mucin-1

Mucin 1 (MUC1) is a polymorphic type 1 transmembrane protein found on the apical surface of normal cells lining the lumen of ducts and glands. Mucins are thought to provide mucosal protection from environmental exposures and carcinogens. An altered form of the MUC1 glycoprotein, which is hypoglycosylated, is expressed in several types of human cancers. In our laboratory, we have found that transfection of a murine mammary tumor cell line with a human secreted isoform of MUC1 rendered these DA-3 cells (DA-3/sec) incapable of growing in intact BALB/c mice. In contrast, implantation of DA-3 cells transfected with the human transmembrane isoform of MUC1 (DA-3/TM), resulted in tumor formation and ultimately death of the animals, similar to the DA-3 parental line. Importantly, inoculation of the DA-3/sec cells in immunodeficient nude mice resulted in tumor formation, indicating that the MUC1/sec molecule's antitumor activity is immunologically controlled. In this review, we summarize the studies we have performed to elucidate possible mechanisms for the immune-mediated antitumor effect of MUC1/sec and/or a unique peptide present in this mucin. Understanding these mechanisms may provide new immunotherapeutic approaches that could be used to target different types of cancer.
Designing spectral sensitivity curves for use with Artificial Color

Artificial Color uses data from two or more spectrally overlapping sensitivity curves to assign class membership to pixels and ultimately to images. The usefulness of Artificial Color for various scene segmentation tasks has been shown in several recent papers, but those demonstrations all used sensitivity curves not optimized for the particular task, i.e. the R, G, B filters of commercial color cameras. This paper explores means to evolve suitable spectral sensitivity curves suited to any specialized task and illustrates that method with synthetic data chosen to be very hard to discriminate spectrally. Two special cases are illustrated. In one, a single Gaussian curve is used for a dichroic beamsplitter, so that the curve and its complement are used for discrimination. In the other case, two essentially orthogonal curves are utilized for the same task. The single Gaussian curve leads to poorer discrimination but better light efficiency relative to the two curves. Both do quite well on the difficult target problem.
The prognostic significance of bone marrow levels of neurofibromatosis-1 protein and ras oncogene mutations in patients with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome.

BACKGROUND It has been reported that point mutations of the ras gene occur frequently in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). However, the prognostic significance of ras gene mutations in patients with these disorders has been a controversial issue. Although abnormalities in the neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) gene, which is a gene involved in the ras pathway, have been observed frequently in patients with juvenile chronic myelogenous leukemia, the role of these abnormalities in adult patients with AML or MDS is not clear. METHODS In this study, bone marrow specimens that were obtained from previously untreated patients with AML and MDS were examined for ras mutations, and the levels of NF1 protein expression were measured. RESULTS Ras point mutations were detected in 16 of 83 patients with AML (19%) and in 21 of 90 patients with MDS (23%). Fourteen of 28 patients with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (50%) had ras gene mutations. Decreased bone marrow levels of NF1 protein (< 70% of the median level detected in control bone marrow specimens) were observed in 20 of 66 patients with AML (30.3%) and in 8 of 29 patients with MDS (27.6%); none of the patients with ras gene mutations had decreased bone marrow levels of NF1 protein. The presence of a mutant ras gene was associated with a shorter complete remission duration (CRD) in patients with MDS (P = 0.05) but had no effect on survival in patients with AML or MDS. Patients with AML who had decreased NF1 protein levels had a slightly longer CRD compared with patients who had normal NF1 levels (P = 0.07). However, the NF1 level had no significant impact on survival among patients with AML or MDS. When patients with low NF1 levels were grouped with patients who had ras mutations, the patients who had AML had a significantly longer CRD compared with the patients who had MDS (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS The current results suggest that a reduction in NF1 protein expression and the presence of ras point mutations may complement each other and that they both play a complex role in the biology of AML and MDS. Cancer 2003;97:441–9. © 2003 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.11036
Moment-tensor solutions estimated using optimal filter theory: global seismicity, 1992

Abstract Moment-tensor solutions, estimated using optimal filter theory, are listed for 133 moderate-to-large earthquakes occurring during 1992.