cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
CRISPR-Cas: New Tools for Genetic Manipulations from Bacterial Immunity Systems

Prokaryotic CRISPR-Cas loci encode proteins that function as an adaptive immune system against infectious viruses and plasmids. Immunity is mediated by Cas nucleases and small RNA guides, which specify a cleavage site within the genome of the invader. In type II CRISPR-Cas systems, the RNA-guided Cas9 nuclease cleaves the DNA. Cas9 can be reprogrammed to create double-strand DNA breaks in the genomes of a variety of organisms, from bacteria to human cells. Repair of Cas9 lesions by homologous recombination or nonhomologous end joining mechanisms can lead to the introduction of specific nucleotide substitutions or indel mutations, respectively. Furthermore, a nuclease-null Cas9 has been developed to regulate endogenous gene expression and to label genomic loci in living cells. Targeted genome editing and gene regulation mediated by Cas9 are easy to program, scale, and multiplex, allowing researchers to decipher the causal link between genetic and phenotypic variation. In this review, we describe the most n...
Circulation of iodinated albumin through aortic and other connective tissues of the rabbit.

A method is presented for the determination of the rates of movement of macromolecules into and out of specific tissues by analysis of the serum and tissue concentrations of the intravenously injected labeled macromolecule. Transfer rates of albumin into and out of rabbit aorta, skin, tendon, sclera, and cornea are given. These rates, and the steady-state ratios of tissue albumin to serum albumin, are interpreted in terms of current theory regarding the diffusion and filtration of albumin at capillary and lymphatic exchange sites in the tissues. Transfer rates for average body tissue, obtained by analysis of the serum concentration of intravenously injected labeled albumin, are compared with the transfer rates for the specific tissues studied.
How You Can Maximize Your Membership

As I was preparing my presidential address for the 22 nd annual conference, I began to think about how much I have benefitted from the organization. There are opportunities for everyone. These opportunities can be large or small, and can require a little amount of time or a longer commitment. I would suggest that you not hesitate to volunteer in some way. Shortly after I joined the organization, I was asked to be a co-chair of the Role Delineation Taskforce and the Core Curriculum. This resulted in completing a role delineation study, which was used for the first pain certification examination. I was able to publish the results in Pain Management Nursing, as well as present the results at the next convention. This involvement led me to the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center (ANCC), where I have contributed to 3 more role delineation studies and 2 forms of the examination, and we are embarking on another revision of the examination this November. Along the way with my collaboration with ANCC, I attended an item writing workshop. This is an academi
Simulation of the Big Elk Fire using coupled atmosphere–fire modeling

Models that simulate wildland fires span a vast range of complexity; the most physically complex present a difficult supercomputing challenge that cannot be solved fast enough to become a forecasting tool. Coupled atmosphere–fire model simulations of the Big Elk Fire, a wildfire that occurred in the Colorado Front Range during 2002, are used to explore whether some factors that make simulations more computationally demanding (such as coupling between the fire and the atmosphere and fine atmospheric model resolution) are needed to capture wildland fire parameters of interest such as fire perimeter growth. In addition to a Control simulation, other simulations remove the feedback to the atmospheric dynamics and use increasingly coarse atmospheric resolution, including some that can be computed in faster than real time on a single processor. These simulations show that, although the feedback between the fire and atmosphere must be included to capture accurately the shape of the fire, the simulations with relatively coarse atmospheric resolution (grid spacing 100–500 m) can qualitatively capture fire growth and behavior such as surface and crown fire spread and smoke transport. A comparison of the computational performance of the model configured at these different spatial resolutions shows that these can be performed faster than real time on a single computer processor. Thus, although this model still requires rigorous testing over a wide range of fire incidents, it is computationally possible to use models that can capture more complex fire behavior (such as rapid changes in intensity, large fire whirls, and interactions between fire, weather, and topography) than those used currently in the field and meet a faster-than-real-time operational constraint.
Optimal Node Visitation in Stochastic Digraphs

The optimal node visitation (ONV) problem addressed in this paper concerns the visitation of a subset of nodes in a stochastic graph a specified number of times, while minimizing the expected visits to another node in this graph. The presented results first provide a formulation of the ONV problem as a stochastic shortest path problem, and subsequently they develop a suboptimal policy that is computationally tractable and asymptotically optimal. In particular, it is established that the ratio of the expected performance of this policy to the expected performance of an optimal policy converges to one, as the underlying visitation requirements are scaled uniformly to infinity. Furthermore, it is shown that under some stronger assumptions, the divergence of the performance of this policy from the performance of the optimal policy remains uniformly bounded by a constant, as the visitation requirements are scaled to infinity. Finally, it is shown that, for certain problem structures, the considered policy admits a closed-form characterization of its performance, which subsequently enables its optimized parameterization and its efficient integration into adaptive control schemes of even higher efficiency.
A Game-Theoretic Approach to Apprenticeship Learning

We study the problem of an apprentice learning to behave in an environment with an unknown reward function by observing the behavior of an expert. We follow on the work of Abbeel and Ng [1] who considered a framework in which the true reward function is assumed to be a linear combination of a set of known and observable features. We give a new algorithm that, like theirs, is guaranteed to learn a policy that is nearly as good as the expert's, given enough examples. However, unlike their algorithm, we show that ours may produce a policy that is substantially better than the expert's. Moreover, our algorithm is computationally faster, is easier to implement, and can be applied even in the absence of an expert. The method is based on a game-theoretic view of the problem, which leads naturally to a direct application of the multiplicative-weights algorithm of Freund and Schapire [2] for playing repeated matrix games. In addition to our formal presentation and analysis of the new algorithm, we sketch how the method can be applied when the transition function itself is unknown, and we provide an experimental demonstration of the algorithm on a toy video-game environment.
Radiation of electromagnetic fields in uniaxially anisotropic media

The angular spectrum of plane-waves representation is obtained for the electromagnetic field radiated by a localized current source in a biaxially anisotropic medium. The linear medium is homogeneous throughout all space. It may be absorbing and temporally dispersive but is not spatially dispersive. The conductivity and the permeability are scalar constants. The time behavior of the current is arbitrary except that its magnitude is always bounded and it is zero prior to a fixed finite time. The representation of monochromatic fields radiated by time-harmonic sources is included also in the results. The radiated field is expressed as a superposition of monochromatic extraordinary plane waves propagating in various directions. The spectral amplitudes of the plane waves are determined explicitly in terms of the source. The guide axis of the representation coincides with one of the principal axes of the medium. The form of the solution is particularly appropriate for the study of diffraction, reflection, and refraction at plane boundaries normal to one of the principal axes of the medium.
Inflow stenosis obscures recognition of outflow stenosis by dialysis venous pressure: analysis by a mathematical model

Background. Recent studies have shown that inflow stenosisofhaemodialysisgraftsismorecommonthanpreviously realized. The influence of inflow stenosis on graft haemodynamics and venous pressure (VP) surveillance has not been previously systematically studied. Methods. We used a well-established mathematical model to determine the relation between inflow stenosis and static VP(adjustedformeanarterialpressure,VP/MAP),outflow stenosis and artery and vein luminal diameters. We applied low, median and high ratios of artery/vein diameters from 94 patients with grafts. The median ratio was 0.77, indicating that the artery was generally narrower than the vein. Results. The model shows that inflow stenosis reduces VP/MAP. More importantly, however, as outflow stenosis progresses, fixed inflow stenosis causes a delayed increase in VP/MAP followed by a rapid increase at critical outflow stenosis. When both stenoses progress together, their relative rates determine whether and how rapidly VP/MAP increases. The increase in VP/MAP is remarkably abrupt when the rate of inflow stenosis approaches that of outflow stenosis. No increase occurs when inflow stenosis progresses as fast or faster than outflow stenosis. Conclusion. Inflow stenosis exerts its most important haemodynamic effect through its interaction with outflow stenosis. As outflow stenosis progresses, inflow stenosis causes a delayed and then rapid increase in VP/MAP at critical outflow stenosis. This increase may not be detected before thrombosis unless measurements are very frequent. Inflow stenosis has an important impact on graft haemodynamics and surveillance because of its location in the relatively narrow inflow tract.
The structural response of trabecular bone to low-level mechanical stimuli

We have previously demonstrated that low-magnitude mechanical stimuli applied at high frequencies (45 Hz) for ten minutes a day for three weeks induce an anabolic response in trabecular bone through elevated bone formation rates. In this study, we examined how a ten-week protocol involving this mechanical stimulus affected the quantity and architecture of trabecular bone. Sixteen-week adult female BALB/cByJ mice (n=8) were subjected to whole-body mechanical vibrations at 45 Hz for ten minutes, 5 days per week. After ten weeks, proximal right tibiae were harvested and scanned using a micro-computed tomography (/spl mu/CT) scanner. Our analysis of bone quantity and quality revealed no significant differences in fractional bone volume, trabecular number, trabecular separation, trabecular thickness, and degree of anisotropy. There was, however, a significant increase (24%) in the structural model index, indicating transformation of the trabeculi into more rod-like structures. These data indicate that, although a structural change occurred in trabecular bone, trabecular bone volume was unaffected, possibly due to a concomitant increase in bone resorption.
A design space exploration framework for reduced bit-width Instruction Set architecture (rISA) design

Code size is a critical concern in many embedded system applications, especially those using RISC cores. One promising approach for reducing code size is to employ a "dual instruction set", where processor architectures support a normal (usually 32 bit) Instruction Set, and a narrow, space-efficient (usually 16 bit) Instruction Set with a limited set of opcodes and access to a limited set of registers. This feature (termed rISA) can potentially reduce the code size by up to 50% with minimal performance degradation. However, contemporary processors incorporate only a simple rISA feature with severe restrictions on register accessibility. We present a compiler-in-the-loop Design Space Exploration framework that is capable of exploring various interesting rISA designs. We also present experimental results using this framework and show rISA designs that improve on the code size reduction obtained by existing rISA architectures.
Development and implementation of a process to ensure safe use of morphine sulfate extended-release liposome injection

Morphine sulfate extended- release liposome injection (Depo-Dur, Endo) received marketing approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May 2004. Morphine liposome injection is administered epidurally as a single dose at the lumbar level and provides pain relief for up to 48 hours.
Orthogonal Polynomials Satisfying Fourth Order Differential Equations

Since they are rather important and quite accessible, we repeat the general theoretical facts concerning weights, moments and polynomials pertaining to fourth order differential equations. We then briefly discuss the squares of the differential equations of the second order, giving a number of easily derived examples of fourth order problems. This is followed by three new orthogonal polynomial sets satisfying fourth order differential equations, but which do not satisfy second order differential equations.
Phytoplankton growth and new production in the Weddell Sea marginal ice zone in the austral spring and autumn

Rates of primary production, N03- uptake, and NH,l uptake by phytoplankton were measured in the marginal ice zone of the Weddell Sea in austral spring 1983 and autumn 1986. In spring Chl concentrations averaged 3 pg liter-‘, primary productivity 490 mg C m-2 d-l, and surface phytoplankton growth rates 0.30 doublings d-l. In autumn these rates were all much lower, averaging 0.14 pg liter- l, 126 mg C m-2 d-l, and 0.14 doublings d-l. During both seasons NH,+ was consistently the preferred source of N, but because of the much greater availability of N03- in the euphotic zone (21-28 PM NO,- vs. -0.4 yM NH,+ during both seasons), N03- uptake rates generally equaled or exceeded those of NH, +. Vertically integrated&ratios (the ratio of NO3- uptake to the sum of NO,- plus NH,+ uptake) averaged 0.52 (range from 0.35 to 0.70) in spring and 0.72 (range from 0.60 to 0.84) in autumn. In 1983 we observed sharply elevated relative preference indices for NH,+ whenever the ambient NH,+ concentration was ~0.3 PM, which we interpret as evidence that Antarctic phytoplankton growing at NH.,+ concentrations CO.3 PM have the ability to increase their rate of NH,+ uptake rapidly in response to increased availability. We estimate the new production of the marginal ice zone to be at least 49 g C m-2 yr-1 for the NovemberMarch period. This value supports previous findings that the ice edge is the main site of production in the Southern Ocean and that it is likely to dominate the annual cycle of organic matter flux from the euphotic zone.
Averaging over depth during optical mapping of electroporation

During defibrillation, strong electric shocks applied to the heart can cause electroporation: the formation of large, nonselective pores in the cell membrane. Experiments using optical mapping indicate that electroporation occurs in cardiac tissue when the transmembrane potential, V/sub m/, is significantly less than /spl plusmn/400 mV. Our hypothesis, which we test by numerical simulation, is that V/sub m/ is greater than /spl plusmn/400 mV at the tissue surface, but optical mapping underestimates V/sub m/ because it averages over depth.
Scatter Scheduling for Problems with Unpredictable Structures

An extended scatter scheduling was applied to problems with unpredictable, asynchronous struc- tures. It has been found that with this simple schedul- ing strategy, good load balance can be reached with- out incurring much runtime overhead. This scheduling algorithm has been implemented on hypercube ma- chines, and its performance is compared with other scheduling strategies.
On the variation of Tate-Shafarevich groups of elliptic curves over hyperelliptic curves

Abstract Let E be an elliptic curve over F = F q ( t ) having conductor ( p ) · ∞ , where ( p ) is a prime ideal in F q [ t ] . Let d ∈ F q [ t ] be an irreducible polynomial of odd degree, and let K = F ( d ) . Assume ( p ) remains prime in K. We prove the analogue of the formula of Gross for the special value L ( E ⊗ F K , 1 ) . As a consequence, we obtain a formula for the order of the Tate–Shafarevich group Ш ( E / K ) when L ( E ⊗ F K , 1 ) ≠ 0 .
Nonuniform Heating in Zinc Oxide Varistors Studied by Infrared Imaging and Computer Simulation

State-of-the-art infrared (IR) thermal imaging was used to monitor the heating of ZnO varistors by electrical transients. On a macroscopic scale (e.g., 10 mm), heating in large varistor blocks (i.e., diameter of 42 mm) was found to be the greatest near the block edges and to be approximately radially symmetric in blocks fabricated at a low aspect ratio. In blocks fabricated at a higher aspect ratio, the heating was less symmetric, presumably because uniform properties are more difficult to achieve. Nonuniform heating in large blocks can be attributed to processing-induced variations in the electrical properties of the blocks. On an intermediate size scale (e.g., 1 mm), the heating in small varistor disks (e.g., diameter of 10 mm) was observed to be most intense along localized electrical paths. The high electrical conductivity of these paths originates from the statistical fluctuations in properties that inevitably occur in polycrystalline materials. On a microscopic scale (e.g., 10 μm), the heating in thin varistor slices (e.g., thickness of 100 μm) was observed to be localized in strings of tiny hot spots. The hot spots occur at the grain boundaries in a conducting path, where the potential is decreased across Schottky-type barriers and the heat is generated. The experimentally observed heating is interpreted by applying transport theory and using computer simulations. It is shown that, on the scale of the grain size, the heat transfer is too fast to permit temperature differences that could cause a varistor failure. Current localization and nonuniform heating on an intermediate size scale can have a microstructural origin (e.g., statistical fluctuations of grain sizes and grain-boundary properties). However, these are shown to be significant only in small varistors, whereas destructive failures (puncture and cracking) of large varistor blocks can be caused only by nonuniform heating on a macroscopic scale.
Formulation and application of relativistic constitutive equations for deformable electromagnetic materials

An invariant constitutive theory for interactions of deforming ponderable matter with, electromagnetic field based on general relativity is developed. Restrictions imposed by the group of isotropy of the material are incorporated in the constitutive forms. Special forms of constitutive functionals for dispersive materials are derived. As an application of the constitutive theory we present various versions of the Sagnac effect for holohedral rigid dielectrics.
Military Sexual Assault Prevention and Male Rape Myth Acceptance

Discussion of military sexual assault has largely focused on women, but men comprise a large percentage of survivors. Men are also less likely to report or seek care, partly because of rape myths. Rape myth acceptance (RMA) regarding female victims declines following interventions; however, the impact when victims are male is unclear. This cross-sectional study of U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen examines the relationship between an intervention and both types of RMA. One group completed the survey after a mandated sexual assault prevention training, while the other completed it before. More training was associated with lower RMA for both myth types.
Abstract 73: Nanoformulated Copper/Zinc Superoxide Dismutase: Alternative Therapeutic Strategy for Angiotensin II-dependent Neurogenic Hypertension

Excessive production of superoxide (O2•-) in the central nervous system has been widely implicated in the pathogenesis of angiotensin II (AngII)-dependent neurogenic hypertension (HTN). Our group has tried to overcome the failed therapeutic potential of currently available antioxidants by utilizing nanoformulated copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1), so-called SOD1 nanozymes, that specifically scavenges intracellular O2•-. These nanozymes consist of SOD1 protein wrapped with cationic block copolymers followed by covalent cross-linking of the polycation template (cl-nano). We hypothesize that cl-nano delivers active SOD1 protein to neurons and can effectively decrease blood pressure in a mouse model of AngII-dependent neurogenic HTN. As determined by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, cl-nano retains SOD1 activity and scavenges O2•- to levels comparable with native SOD1 protein in a cell-free environment (EPR arbitrary units: vehicle 1.12e6 ± 1.79e5; native SOD1 protein 4.45e4 ± 3.00e3; cl-nano 6.78e4 ± 1.74e3, p
Accurate diagnosis and long term management is problem in epilepsy, not cost of drugs

Spence is right that epilepsy is not managed well.1 Rather than focusing on the cost and use of drugs perhaps the problem is with diagnosis and management in general. The recent national audit of seizure management in hospital identified considerable variability.2 The few sites that performed well showed that good care is possible, but, overall, assessment on arrival was …
Effects of Tooth Width on Gas Labyrinth and Windback Seals Operating at Low Pressure Ratios

The difference in leakage rates for labyrinth and windback seals is studied. It is determined that the leakage under the teeth of a windback seal is within ± 3% of a labyrinth seal with the same cavity/tooth design. The windback leaks an additional amount due to fluid passing through the long conduit composed of the continuous screw thread like channel. At low pressures and low differential pressures across the seal, the effect of tooth width upon the leakage in labyrinth and windback seals is opposite to the normal accepted standard of thinner teeth leak less.© 2007 ASME
Demonstrating Practical Inertial Navigation: The Beginnings and Beyond

The demonstration of practical GN&C using inertial navigation will be explored by example in this paper. In the early to mid 20th century, the quest for navigating a vehicle over extended periods with a GN&C system relying on inertial navigation only came to fruition in the 1950s. One important achievement was the first US transcontinental aviation flight. This is discussed as an example of state of the art in the early 1950s. In the mid to latter part of the 20th century there was a tremendous growth in applications (especially military applications such as fighter jets, long range bombers, strategic missiles, and nuclear submarines) demanding accurate inertial navigation capabilities. The chronology of navigating these applications is briefly discussed in relation to advances in inertial navigation sensor technology, such as strapdown systems, the ring laser gyro and fiber optic gyro. Towards the end of the 20th century, the MEMS inertial revolution led to numerous applications utilizing low cost, small GN&C systems. The integration of GPS satellite navigation and its impact on the use of all types of inertial navigation systems is also discussed. Two MEMS/GPS applications, guided munitions and personal navigation, are presented as examples. Finally, ongoing inertial sensor development critical for future GN&C, e.g., cold atom technology, is discussed.
Efficiency enhancement in apertured quantum dot microcavity light emitting diodes

Experimental data are presented showing efficiency enhancements at room temperature due to size reductions in apertured quantum dot microcavity light emitting diodes. The aperture sizes are photolithographically controlled in selectively oxidized microcavities.
Global/local structural wing design using response surface techniques

A new methodology for performing global/local design optimization of large wing structures is described. A simple but flexible interface between the global and local design optimization codes is constructed using response surface techniques. This interface is structured so as to minimize the changes required in either the existing global design code or the existing local design code(s). Proper coupling between the global and local levels is maintained through the transfer of global stiffness information from the global design code to the local design code. Using a finite number of local analysis/design cycles, the optimal panel weight obtained from the local design code is approximated by a response surface model over appropriate ranges of the loading and stiffness parameters. During the global/local design iterations, the resulting response surface model replaces the local design code via a "weight constraint". Results obtained using the proposed technique are presented for a simple global wing model. 'Graduate Research Assistant, Member AIAA * Professor, Associate Fellow AIAA * Professor, Fellow AIAA ' Senior Member, AIAA Introduction This paper describes a new methodology that may be used to perform global/local design optimization of large wing structures. Typically, when global/local design optimization is performed, the interface between the local design code and the global design code must be carefully constructed in order to take into account the specific requirements of each code. In addition, the operation of the local design code is often de-coupled from the global design code because the local code is not usually provided with information about how its actions may affect global level constraints. The global/local interface proposed in the present work, which is based on response surface techniques, is designed to avoid these difficulties. Once this interface has been implemented at the local level, any number of local design codes may be utilized in the design process without requiring additional changes in either the local or global design codes. The local design code(s) may potentially incorporate a variety of local "failure" constraints, such as buckling, strength, damage tolerance, and manufacturing constraints while taking into account a variety of local structural details. Because global stiffness information is made available at the local level, proper coupling is Copyright © 1997 by S.A. Ragon. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. with permission.
Pathogenicity Mechanism of Yang Mei Shuang Disease on Tremella fuciformis and Inhibition Spectrum of the Pathogenic Bacterium

Taking Tremella fuciformis artificial bed-log which was infected with Yang mei shuang disease as materials,plate cultivation and molecular biology methods were used to study the biological characteristics and antibacterial spectrum of pathogenic bacterium.The results showed that the colonies characteristics and cultural characteristics of the three pathogen strains Js-1T,Js-2and Js-3were the same as PDA culture.And the 16 SrDNA of three strains had the same bands after digestion.,so these strains were repeated strains.Strain Js-1T was confirmed to be the pathogen of this disease through Koch's rules.Strain Js-1Thad strong inhibition on xiang hui and tremella gemma,which could be the cause of the disease.16 SrDNA squence analysis showed that strain Js-1Thad the highest similarity with Streptomyces hebeiensis strain NBRC 101006 T,reaching 97.62%.The results of cultural characteristics and molecular biological analysis showed that strain Js-1Tbelonged to Streptomyces.What's more,the antibacterial activity of strain Js-1T was determined.The results showed that strain Js-1T had strong inhibition against these tested strains.The diameters of Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis were 2.76 cm and 1.26 cm,respectively.The diameters of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum,Mycogone perniciosa,Pyricularia grisea,Trichoderma viride,Rhizopus stolonir were 4.29,4.07,3.85,3.37 and 2.90 cm,respectively.In addition,strain Js-1T had antibacterial activity to Fusariumspp and Banana vasicular wilt.
Distinguishing Between Truth and Falsehood on Chinese Historical Phonology

This paper discusses with professor Mai Yun(麦耘) on his paper Some issues on Chinese Historical Phonology (汉语历史音韵研究中若干问题之我见). The present paper contains the following opinions: (1)The criticism on Prof. Wang Li's(王力) researches of AC initials with homonymic materials Xiesheng Zi(谐声字) is made without reasonable basis. (2)Mai's evaluation on Chinese Historical Phonology (汉语历史音韵学) and his criticism on relevant remarks on this book are lopsided. (3)Tradition and innovation cannot be separated from each other. Innovation cannot avoid of criticism.
Localized urethral tumors in women: indications for conservative versus exenterative therapies.

AbstractThe objectives of this retrospective review were to evaluate patient and tumor characteristics, survival, patterns of failure and sequelae of therapy for women with urethral carcinoma. Primary urethral carcinoma was diagnosed in 33 women referred to the Washington University Medical Center and the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Radiation Oncology Center from November 1959 through June 1988. Treatment consisted of surgery alone in 6 patients, surgery and irradiation in 7, and irradiation alone in 20. Median followup was 4.7 years. The 5-year overall and progression-free survivals for all patients were 41% and 36%, respectively. Tumor location, size and T stage were predictive for survival. No patient with a lesion of greater than 4cm. survived at 5 years if treated with irradiation alone, surgery alone or irradiation and nonexenterative surgery. Exenterative surgery plus irradiation was curative in 1 of 4 patients. Pelvic failures occurred in approximately 50% of all patients. Severe complica...
Altered fractionated radiation therapy for head and neck carcinomas--A Massachusetts General Hospital experience

This paper discusses the various forms of altered fractionated radiation therapy programmes which were used in the past and at present. Treatment programmes employing large fraction sizes and prolonged treatment course result in severe late complication of the normal tissues and inferior local tumour control respectively, and are no longer advised. The current radiobiologic concepts of altered fractionationated treatment are briefly discussed. The experiences of using accelerated hyperfractionated radiation therapy programme for the treatment of oropharyngeal and laryngeal carcinomas at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) from 1979 through 1994 are presented. The programme consists of 1.6 Gy/f twice-daily (BID) for approximately 67.2-70.4 Gy in 6 weeks with a short 'break' after the initial 38.4 Gy. The local control and disease specific survival rates after BID are reported related to the various stages of the lesions and compared with historical control of once-daily (QD) radiation therapy at the MGH. The data thus far indicated higher local control and disease specific survival after BID radiation therapy for advanced carcinomas (T2-3 lesions). The therapeutic gains, however, did not occur significantly for early lesions (T1 disease). The importance of the effects of the total doses and total treatment time, related to the treatment outcome, is discussed.
Recent Applications and Potentials of Surfactant Aggregates in Non-Polar Solvents

Recent applications of surfactant aggregates in apolar solvents - reversed micelles, swollen reversed micelles and microemulsions are critically surveyed. The roles of these systems in reactivity control, formation of catalytically efficient colloid particles, tertiary oil recovery, lubrication, corrosion inhibition, artificial photosynthesis, enzyme mediated synthesis, cryoenzymology, macromolecular conformation, membrane fusion and drug encapsulation are summarized. Emphasis is placed on results obtained in our own laboratories. Unresolved problems and future prospects are highlighted.
High Incidence of Thromboembolic Complications and PF4 Positivity in Patients with Ventricular Assist Devices.

Patients with ventricular assist devices (VAD) are at high risk for thromboembolic complications (TEC) probably due to platelet activation and excessive thrombin generation once the device is implanted. This warrants prophylactic use of full dose anticoagulation, usually with unfractionated heparin (UFH), which increases the risk for development of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). We retrospectively evaluated the incidence of TEC and PF4 positivity in 50 sequential patients who underwent VAD placement for severe ventricular dysfunction between November 2002 and April 2005. Median age at VAD placement was 52 years (range 18–72), 68% were men, and all patients were on full dose UFH post-VAD insertion. TEC were observed in 22/50 patients (44%), with 8 patients experiencing >1 event. CNS embolic phenomena occurred in 11/22 (50% of TEC), with watershed/non-embolic CNS infarcts being identified in 2 additional patients. Splenic infarcts were identified in 6/22 (27%). Two patients had lower extremity deep vein thromboses (DVT), and two patients had pulmonary emboli. One patient died from complications of multiple infarcts involving his spleen and gut that were attributed to HIT. All patients became thrombocytopenic (<150K) at some point during VAD/UFH use. 44 patients (88%) dropped the platelet count below 100K with an average nadir of 56K. Antibodies to the PF4/heparin complex were checked using a standard enzyme immunoassay (EIA) in 38 (76%) patients, and found to be positive in 17 (44.7%). PF4 antibodies were detected using the EIA in 50% of patients with TEC and in 25% of patients with no documented TEC. A functional antibody assay was checked in a total of 17 patients, the serotonin release assay (SRA) in 13 and heparin-induced agglutination (HIA) in 4 cases. The SRA was only positive in 2/13 cases, and concordant with the PF4 result both times. The HIA was positive once, and concordant with the PF4 result. These results highlight the high incidence of TEC in patients with a VAD, despite anticoagulation therapy. There is a particularly high rate of embolic stroke in this patient population, and better ways of preventing this complication need to be explored. Thrombocytopenia is also extremely common post-VAD placement, prompting evaluation of HIT in over ¾ of the patients, often necessitating use of direct thrombin inhibitors. The frequent detection of PF4 antibodies in this patient group and lack of correlation with functional assays illustrates the need for more specific laboratory means to quickly confirm those patients with HIT.
Sulfate formation catalyzed by coal fly ash, mineral dust and iron(III) oxide: variable influence of temperature and light

Recent atmospheric field and modeling studies have highlighted a lack of understanding of the processes responsible for high levels of sulfate aerosol in the atmosphere, ultimately arising from a dearth of experimental data on such processes. Here we investigated the effect of temperature and simulated solar radiation on the catalytic oxidation of S(IV) to S(VI) (i.e., sulfite to sulfate) in aqueous suspensions of several metal-containing, atmospherically relevant particles including coal fly ash (FA), Arizona test dust (ATD) and an iron oxide (γ-Fe2O3). The effect of temperature and light on S(IV) oxidation was found to be very different for these three samples. For example, in the presence of FA and γ-Fe2O3 the temporal evolution of dissolved Fe(II) (formed via reductive particle dissolution) correlated with S(IV) oxidation. Accordingly, we propose that S(IV) oxidation in most of these systems initially occurs primarily at the particle surface (i.e., a heterogeneous reaction pathway), although a solution-phase (i.e., homogeneous) catalytic pathway also contributes over later timescales due to the formation and accumulation of dissolved Fe(III) (generated via oxidation of dissolved Fe(II) by O2). It is likely that the homogeneous reaction pathway is operative at initial times in the presence of γ-Fe2O3 at 25 °C. In contrast, S(IV) oxidation in the presence of ATD appears to proceed entirely via a heterogeneous reaction, which notably does not lead to any iron dissolution. In fact, the greater overall rate of S(IV) loss in the presence of ATD compared to FA and γ-Fe2O3 suggests that other factors, including greater adsorption of sulfite, transition metal ion (TMI) catalysis by other metal ions (e.g., Ti), or different species of iron in ATD, play a role. Overall these studies suggest that the rate, extent and products of atmospheric S(IV) oxidation can be highly variable and dependent upon the nature of aerosol sources and ambient conditions (e.g., temperature and irradiance). Ultimately, such complexity precludes simple, broadly generalized schemes for this reaction when modeling atmospheric processes involving diverse components of different mineral dust aerosol as well as other metal-containing aerosol.
Combining patient preferences with expected treatment outcomes to inform decision-making

Patient-centered care involves patients in decision-making about their medical care. Effective shared decision-making requires relevant evidence on the expected health outcomes of treatment, assessment of patient preferences for possible health outcomes, and a method to synthesize this information. Few tools exist to help clinicians and patients synthesize clinical evidence and personal preferences. We develop a statistical framework that combines multiple data sources on expected treatment outcomes with individual preferences to produce a personalized preference-weighted outcome score (PWOS). The PWOS can be calculated for multiple treatments and compared to determine which will provide the best balance of risks and benefits given a patient’s preferences. We demonstrate our method by evaluating adjuvant chemotherapy regimens for colorectal cancer. We begin by identifying heterogeneity in patient preferences for health outcomes associated with colorectal cancer disease and treatment, finding classes of patients who value efficacy and side effects differently. Then we fit a hierarchical Bayesian model to randomized clinical trials and produce posterior distributions of expected outcomes under three chemotherapy regimens. We use the PWOS to combine distinct sets of patient preferences with these expected outcomes. Our method preserves estimation uncertainty and accounts for correlation among outcomes. In a simulation study of applying PWOS to make decisions at the population level, we find that our methods are most useful when there are large differences in individual preferences and small distinctions in treatment efficacy (i.e., preference-sensitive settings).
A distributed and privatized framework for drug-target interaction prediction

Drug-Target interaction prediction has significantly sped up the process of drug discovery. However, existing studies focused on a centralized analytic framework, which may have many limitations when applying on the modern distributed data environments. In this paper, we present a distributed and privatized framework for drug-target interaction prediction, which assumes distributed repositories are stored on and analyzed by local computers which could exchange privatized information for improving their own prediction performance. Under this framework, we propose a ‘conquer-and-divide’ style prediction approach based on the recently introduced matrix factorization technique, and demonstrated its effectiveness on real-world cheminformatics data sets.
Fully robust one-sided cross-validation for regression functions

Fully robust OSCV is a modification of the OSCV method that produces consistent bandwidths in the cases of smooth and nonsmooth regression functions. We propose the practical implementation of the method based on the robust cross-validation kernel $$H_I$$ in the case when the Gaussian kernel $$\phi $$ is used in computing the resulting regression estimate. The kernel $$H_I$$ produces practically unbiased bandwidths in the smooth and nonsmooth cases and performs adequately in the data examples. Negative tails of $$H_I$$ occasionally result in unacceptably wiggly OSCV curves in the neighborhood of zero. This problem can be resolved by selecting the bandwidth from the largest local minimum of the curve. Further search for the robust kernels with desired properties brought us to consider the quartic kernel for the cross-validation purposes. The quartic kernel is almost robust in the sense that in the nonsmooth case it substantially reduces the asymptotic relative bandwidth bias compared to $$\phi $$ . However, the quartic kernel is found to produce more variable bandwidths compared to $$\phi $$ . Nevertheless, the quartic kernel has an advantage of producing smoother OSCV curves compared to $$H_I$$ . A simplified scale-free version of the OSCV method based on a rescaled one-sided kernel is proposed.
Cigar Box Arthroscopy: A Randomized Controlled Trial Validates Nonanatomic Simulation Training of Novice Arthroscopy Skills

Purpose The goal of this study was to validate the cigar box arthroscopy trainer (CBAT) as a training tool and then compare its effectiveness to didactic training and to another previously validated low-fidelity but anatomic model, the anatomic knee arthroscopy trainer (AKAT). Methods A nonanatomic knee arthroscopy training module was developed at our institution. Twenty-four medical students with no prior arthroscopic or laparoscopic experience were enrolled as subjects. Eight subjects served as controls. The remaining 16 subjects were randomized to participate in 4 hours of either the CBAT or a previously validated AKAT. Subjects' skills were assessed by 1 of 2 faculty members through repeated attempts at performing a diagnostic knee arthroscopy on a cadaveric specimen. Objective scores were given using a minimally adapted version of the Basic Arthroscopic Knee Skill Scoring System. Total cost differences were calculated. Results Seventy-five percent of subjects in the CBAT and AKAT groups succeeded in reaching minimum proficiency in the allotted time compared with 25% in the control group ( P Conclusions This pilot study suggests the CBAT is an effective knee arthroscopy trainer that may decrease the learning curve of residents without significant cost to a residency program. This study demonstrates the need for an agreed-upon objective scoring system to properly evaluate residents and compare the effectiveness of different training tools.
System Identification Methods for Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

Abstract The introduction of new in situ sensing creates the possibility of directly controlling critical process variables in plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition systems (PECVD). The complexity of this process makes it necessary to develop empirical models of the system dynamics. This paper describes the experimental and numerical procedures for identifying both transfer function and recurrent neural net multi-input multi-output models of PECVD dynamics. The models are compared in terms of the resulting mean-squared-prediction-error for verification data sets. The neural net models are shown to be mildly superior in cases where the input signals vary widely, stimulating the nonlinear response of the system.
Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Stroke

One of the most potentially devastating complications in the period following ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation is the incidence of stroke or major thromboembolic events. Patients on mechanical circulatory support, as with the general population, may be afflicted by either embolic or hemorrhagic strokes. In the postimplantation period, different circumstances may make the individual patient more susceptible to either form of stroke. The inherent thrombogenicity of the mechanical support device surfaces; patient comorbidities, such as diabetes, prior history of stroke, and hypertension; and secondary complications that may develop in relation to implantation and the need for and use of anticoagulation in the postsurgical period all have the potential to increase an individual’s proclivity toward suffering an adverse neurological event.
Retirement-Related Economic Damages Calculations and the Fair Calculations in Civil Damages Act of 2016

How would the Fair Calculations in Civil Damages Act of 2016 (the “Act”) impact economic damages calculations related to the retirement process? The Act covers discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or actual or perceived sexual orientation. This paper focuses on gender discrimination and explores how imposing gender-neutral worklife and earnings tables, per the Act, would impact earnings and pension calculations in cases involving economic damages. We compare damages calculations under three scenarios: 1) a gender-specific approach, 2) a gender-neutral approach (per the Act), and 3) a gender-specific approach that takes into account the unexplained portion of the male-female earnings gap. The latter approach serves as a “free of bias” benchmark under the assumption that the unexplained portion of the gender wage gap is due entirely to discrimination. Generally speaking, we find that the Act’s broad-brush attempt to correct for possible gender discrimination would introduce more distortions than it would resolve, and likely exacerbate the degree of discrimination in economic damages calculations. A more effective approach to address the possibility of gender discrimination is to allow forensic economists to take gender into account (or not) on a case-by-case basis.
Modal analysis via compressive optical interferometry

We propose a compressive approach to optical mode analysis of a light beam in an arbitrary basis from a small set of interferogram samples. This yields significant reduction in acquisition time and reconstruction complexity without modifying the native optical interferometer or introducing additional hardware components.
SALT TRANSPORT MECHANISMS IN BRANCHIAL EPITHELIA

ABSTRACT Freshwater fish and Crustacea, marine fish and a few marine Crustacea maintain the osmotic and ionic concentrations of their body fluids distinctly different from those of their environments and thereby face net movements of water and salts across their branchial gas exchangers. The primary mechanisms for ion regulation by both groups reside in the branchial epithelium and display striking convergence. Na and Cl uptake by freshwater fish and Crustacea is apparently via parallel, uncoupled ionic exchange systems which combine Na and Cl influx with acid, ammonia and bicarbonate extrusion, respectively. Thus, ion regulation is coupled with acid/base regulation and nitrogen excretion. Recent evidence indicates that, at least in marine fish, these extrusion mechanisms via ionic exchange persist despite the ionic load presented to the hyporegulating fish. Marine fish and those few Crustacea which maintain their blood hypo-ionic to the sea water extrude Na and Cl via mechanisms which are still relatively unclear. Evidence exists for both Na and Cl being actively extruded by some species, via Na/K and CI/HCO 3 ionic exchange mechanisms. However, histochemical and recent in vitro studies of isolated epithelial sheets from three species of marine teleost fish support the conclusion that only Cl is actively extruded, while Na is maintained in electrochemical equilibrium. Studies of hyporegulating marine Crustacea are rare, but a single study indicates that Na/K exchange may be the pathway for active Na extrusion.