cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract PD7-04: Contribution of radiation therapy to the overall cost of cancer care for clinical stage IA breast cancer patients

Background: Cost of cancer care continues to rise and there is an increasing interest in episode-of-care and bundled payments. Radiation therapy is a well-established component of clinical Stage IA breast cancer care. However, the contribution of radiation to the cost of breast cancer care is not well understood. We were interested in evaluating the contribution of radiation cost to our overall Cancer Center breast cancer care cost, by using revenue received as a proxy. Methods: Patients with clinical Stage IA breast cancer managed completely at our Cancer Center between 1/1/2014 and 12/31/2014 were identified from cancer registry. An IRB-approved retrospective review of clinical charts and financial data of patients was performed. Individual chart review identified whether and which kind of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy was delivered. Financial review identified actual technical revenue received for 365 days after the date of first contact, and apportioned it accordingly to the various cost centers, including radiation oncology. All patients were included regardless whether they were Commercial, Medicare, Medicaid, self-pay, or free-care. Results: There were 110 patients treated with clinical Stage IA breast cancer. All patients (100%) underwent surgery (lumpectomy 69%; mastectomy 5%, mastectomy with reconstruction 26%). Chemotherapy was delivered in 20% of patients (neoadjuvant 13%; adjuvant 7%). Seventy seven percent saw a radiation oncologist, and 57% received radiation therapy. Radiation technique was 3D in 92% and IMRT in 8%. Fractionation was conventional in 55%, accelerated in 43%, and APBI in 2%. Most common treatment pathways were lumpectomy with radiation (46%), mastectomy with reconstruction alone (18%), and lumpectomy alone (14%). Concordance with national guidelines was ≥90%. Overall cost of care for these patients was $6.3 million. Medicare accounted for 35% of patients. Radiation cost was $1.1 million (17%), compared with $2.1 million (33%) for surgery, $2.4 million (38%) for chemotherapy, and $0.7 million for other costs (imaging, lab, ED visits, etc). Conclusions: Radiation therapy was used in ˜60% of clinical Stage IA patients, but accounted for only ˜20% of the overall cost to the health care system. Given the demonstrated survival benefit of radiation therapy in the care of breast cancer patients, and our high concordance with national guidelines, radiation therapy in our Cancer Center provides high value to our patients, as we move toward value-based episodes of care. Citation Format: Dvorak T, Coltey D, Waters J, Kelly P, Buchholz D. Contribution of radiation therapy to the overall cost of cancer care for clinical stage IA breast cancer patients [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PD7-04.
Taste and Smell, Psychology of

Although taste and smell are separate senses anatomically, in everyday perception they often operate together intimately, and are both triggered by chemical stimuli, sometimes simultaneously. It is informative to compare and contrast taste and smell with each other, and also with a third sense called ‘the common chemical sense,’ mediated by receptors that register sensations of irritation and pungency. There are several categories in which these three senses can be analyzed and compared functionally. They include (a) the extent and nature of quality discriminations, (b) hedonic tone, (c) intensity, (d) absolute sensitivity, (e) differential sensitivity, (f) reaction time, (g) adaptation, (h) stimulus mixtures, including masking and integration, and (i) aging. Along these lines psychophysical studies of the chemical senses have helped to highlight their biological utility and also to guide the quest for their underlying mechanisms.
Alterations in Protein-DNA Interactions in the γ-Globin Gene Promoter in Response to Butyrate Therapy

XTENSIVE INVESTIGATION has demonstrated that the clinical severity of the b-globin disorders can be ameliorated by increased expression of the fetal globin genes. 1,2 Several pharmacologic agents stimulate fetal globin production in patients with b-globin disorders, including chemotherapeutic agents and growth factors. 3-8 Most of these agents appear to act through altering erythroid growth kinetics. The cytotoxic agents that produce a hypoproliferative marrow are thought to induce g-globin by selectively killing actively dividing erythroid precursors, leading to the subsequent recruitment of more primitive erythroid progenitors, which are programmed to produce higher levels of hemoglobin F (HbF). 7,8 Butyrate and other short-chain fatty acids have been shown to stimulate fetal and embryonic globin gene expression in experimental models at the level of transcription. These models include preferential g-globin expression from the b-globin locus transfected into Xenopus oocytes, embryonic r-globin expression in chickens treated with 5-azacytidine and butyrate, increased g-globin expression in human fetuses developing in the presence of elevated levels of a-amino-n-butyric acid and in butyric acid-treated fetal sheep, nonhuman primates, and transgenic mice. 9-13 Reporter gene assays have demonstrated that several fatty acids and an amide derivative, isobutyramide, stimulate g-globin gene expression through a proximal region of the g-globin gene promoter. 14-16 In clinical studies, erythroid cells from patients have demonstrated increased fetal globin expression at the mRNA, protein, or cellular levels in patients treated with low-to-moderate, intermittent doses of arginine butyrate and phenylbutyrate, 17-20 although prolonged high doses that inhibit cell growth are less effective. 21 Neither arginine butyrate nor sodium phenylbutyrate produces the myelosuppression that is associated with administration of chemotherapeutic agents. Identification of the specific mechanisms of action of butyrates may therefore be useful in identifying potential combinations of therapeutic agents that have different and complementary mechanisms of action. To investigate the molecular effects of butyrate on fetal globin expression, nucleated erythroblasts were purified from patients with b-globin disorders before and during butyrate treatment. In erythroid cells from patients in whom g-globin protein was increased by butyrate therapy, increases in g-globin mRNA and alterations in protein-DNA binding to regulatory sequences in the g-globin gene promoter were observed. These changes were not detected in erythroblasts isolated from the single patient studied here who did not respond with an increase in g-globin protein. These results suggest that one of the mechanisms by which butyrate increases g-globin is to induce binding of transcription factors to specific cis-acting elements of the g-globin gene promoter.
Quality Of Care For Acute Respiratory Infections During Direct-To-Consumer Telemedicine Visits For Adults

In direct-to-consumer telemedicine, physicians treat patients through real-time audiovisual conferencing for common conditions such as acute respiratory infections. Early studies had mixed findings...
Construction of J2-Invariant Periodic Relative Motion in Highly Elliptical Orbits

Two satellites with mean orbital elements which differ only in terms of right ascension of the ascending node, argument of perigee, and mean anomaly are notable for having the same mean orbital element secular drift rates due to the J2 perturbation. The relative orbits which result from this configuration are discounted in the literature for not providing sufficiently many degrees of freedom with which to design relative orbit geometries suitable for real world missions. However, this paper will explore a variety of useful geometries which result from this limited design space, and provide analytical formulas for the differences between chief and deputy mean orbital elements as a function of the desired orbit geometry and inertial chief orbit. These include in-track-centered, quadrant-time-centered, offset-circular, rectilinear, boomerang-shaped, and cross-track only geometries.
Association of polymorphisms of CYP11B2 gene -344C/T and ACE gene I/D with antihypertensive response to angiotensin receptor blockers in Chinese with hypertension.

The aim of this study was to determine whether the polymorphism of aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2) –344C/T and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion (I/D) were associated with the response of blood pressure (BP) to telmisartan treatment. After a two-week single-blind placebo run-in period, 148 patients with mild-to-moderate primary hypertension received monotherapy of telmisartan with 80 mg/day and then were followed up for eight weeks. Polymorphisms of CYP11B2 –344C/T and ACE I/D gene were determined through polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment polymorphism analysis. The relationship between these polymorphisms and changes in BP was monitored and evaluated after eight weeks of treatment. With respect to the polymorphism of CYP11B2 –344C/T, the reduction in diastolic BP was significantly greater in patients carrying the C allele (CC+CT) compared with those carrying the TT genotype. There was no significant differences between ACE I/D polymorphism and BP reduction after treatment. We concluded that the aldosterone synthase –344C/T polymorphism was related to the antihypertensive treatment with telmisartan in hypertensive patients.
A Simple Paradigm for Augmenting the Euclidean Index to Reflect Journal Impact and Visibility

This article offers an adjustment to the recently developed Euclidean Index (Perry and Reny, 2016). The proposed companion metric reflects the impact of the journal in which an article appears; the rationale for incorporating this information is to reflect higher costs of production and higher review standards, and to mitigate the heavily truncated citation counts that often arise in promotion, renewal, and tenure deliberations. Additionally, focusing jointly on citations and journal impact diversifies the assessment process, and can thereby help avoid misjudging scholars with modest citation counts in high‐level journals. A combination of both metrics is also proposed, which nests each as a special case. The approach is demonstrated using a generic journal ranking metric, but can be adapted to most any stated or revealed preference measure of journal impact.
Virtual Surgical Planning in Craniofacial Surgery.

BACKGROUND Virtual surgical planning (VSP) is increasingly described in craniofacial surgery literature. However, the quality of the literature that has been published is unknown. The objective of this systematic review was to determine the level of evidence of published articles on VSP. METHODS In this systematic review, PubMed, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect databases were queried for key terms in craniofacial VSP. Inclusion and exclusion criteria concentrated on patient-specific surgical outcomes in studies that could be rated for level of evidence. The articles were ranked according to their level of evidence, with level I being the highest level of evidence (randomized-controlled trials) and level V being the lowest (eg, case reports). RESULTS The initial keyword search yielded 1524 articles, 273 of which were ranked and included in the systematic review. The average level of evidence for an article published was 4.1 (between level IV and level V). Level IV was the most common level of evidence (65.6%), followed by level V (24.9%), level III (7.3%), level II (2.2%), respectively. There were not any level I articles. The most common study type was case series, accounting for 68.1% of the studies, followed by case reports (23.0%), case-control studies (4.7%), cohort studies (3.3%), and randomized controlled trials (1.1%), respectively. CONCLUSION Although the quantity of craniofacial VSP studies has proliferated, the quality of the studies has not. In order for VSP literature to feature a higher level of evidence, future studies would require more sophisticated study design, such as prospective cohort or prospective randomized control trials.
A Trusted Bluetooth Performance Evaluation Model for Brain Computer Interfaces

Bluetooth enables excellent mobility in Brain Computer Interface (BCI) research and other use cases including ambulatory care, telemedicine, fitness tracking and mindfulness training. Although significant research exists for an all-encompassing BCI performance rating, almost all the literature addresses performance in terms of brain state or brain function classification accuracy. For the few published experiments that address BCI hardware performance, they too, focused on improving classification accuracy. This paper explores some of the more recent studies and proposes a trusted performance rating for BCI applications based on the enhanced privacy, yet reduced bandwidth needs of mobile EEG-based BCI applications. This paper proposes a set of Bluetooth operating parameters required to meet the performance, usability and privacy requirements of reliable and secure mobile neuro-feedback applications. It presents a rating model, "Trusted Mobile BCI", based on those operating parameters, and validated the model with studies that leveraged mobile BCI technology.
Stimulation of Innovation in the Fermentation Industries

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of the stimulation of innovation in the fermentation industries. Critical review of the fermentation industries evolution during the period 1850–1975 shows that it is almost impossible to predict the combination of circumstances that will lead to the successful introduction of new technology. There seems to be three major sources for the stimulation of innovation: (1) the occurrence of crises and their resolution, (2) the availability of new technology directly or indirectly designed for the fermentation industries, and (3) interference in the normal pattern by outside influences. In many instances, innovation in the fermentation industries has been markedly stimulated by competition from or within the chemical industries. Product surveys of the industry show that a number of companies have found it more profitable to concentrate on the production of a few products that yield them a comfortable profit margin than to develop to manufacturing stage processes where the margin is quite questionable. This pattern is now being challenged in the USA as mergers of fermentation companies into conglomerates results in the blurring of the identification of the fermentation operation with only a few products. These mergers frequently bring new technology into operation and modification of the traditional practice results.
The impact of race and socioeconomic status on the presentation, management and outcomes for gastric cancer patients: Analysis from a metropolitan area in the southeast United States.

BACKGROUND Socioeconomic disparities in gastric cancer have been associated with differences in care and inferior outcomes. We evaluated the presentation, treatment, and survival for patients with gastric cancer (GC) in a metropolitan setting with a large African American population. METHODS Retrospective cohort analysis of patients with GC (2003-2018) across a multi-hospital system was performed. Associations between socioeconomic and clinicopathologic data with the presentation, treatment, and survival were examined. RESULTS Of 359 patients, 255 (71%) were African American and 104 (29%) Caucasian. African Americans were more likely to present at a younger age (64.0 vs 72.5, P < .001), have state-sponsored or no insurance (19.7% vs 6.9%, P = .02), reside within the lowest 2 quintiles for median income (67.4% vs 32.7%, P < .001), and have higher rates of Helicobacter pylori (14.9% vs 4.8%, P = .02). Receipt of multi-modality therapy was not impacted by race or insurance status. On multivariable analysis, only AJCC T class (HR 1.68) and node positivity (HR 2.43) remained significant predictors of disease-specific survival. CONCLUSION Despite socioeconomic disparities, African Americans, and Caucasians with GC had similar treatment and outcomes. African Americans presented at a younger age with higher rates of H. pylori positivity, warranting further investigation into differences in risk factors and tumor biology.
Hierarchy and levels: analysing networks to study mechanisms in molecular biology

Network representations are flat while mechanisms are organized into a hierarchy of levels, suggesting that the two are fundamentally opposed. I challenge this opposition by focusing on two aspects of the ways in which large-scale networks constructed from high-throughput data are analysed in systems biology: identifying clusters of nodes that operate as modules or mechanisms and using bio-ontologies such as gene ontology (GO) to annotate nodes with information about where entities appear in cells and the biological functions in which they participate. Of particular importance, GO organizes biological knowledge about cell components and functions hierarchically. I illustrate how this supports mechanistic interpretation of networks with two examples of network studies, one using epistatic interactions among genes to identify mechanisms and their parts and the other using deep learning to predict phenotypes. As illustrated in these examples, when network research draws upon hierarchical information such as provided by GO, the results not only can be interpreted mechanistically but provide new mechanistic knowledge. This article is part of the theme issue 'Unifying the essential concepts of biological networks: biological insights and philosophical foundations'.
“There’s a Part of Me That Must Remain Truthful to the Story”: An Interview with Juana Valdes 1

Juana Valdes speaks to Allison Harris about immigrating from Cuba, growing up Black and Cuban in Miami, and how it has shaped her art practice.
2003 Chicago Murders: 140 Death Eligible Murders in Cook County, Illinois in 2003

This is a snapshot of a bureaucracy. The website is a compendium of numbers, system identifiers, dates and other information regarding 140 death eligible murders in Cook County, all cases where an indictment for murder, a true bill, was returned during the period January 1, 2003 to June 30, 2003.
Auditors' Use of Inconsistent Evidence

Analytical procedures are an important audit tool worldwide (ISA 520, SAS 56). Auditors use analytical procedures to develop explanations for unexpected changes in accounts, and evaluate those explanations on the basis of further audit evidence. Research has found that people have difficulty using evidence inconsistent with proposed explanations, and thus may accept explanations that are false. The purpose of this paper is to study how auditors treat evidence inconsistent with analytical procedures explanations. Practising auditors at three levels of experience completed a two-stage task, generating explanations for an initial set of financial information and then revising their explanation list after receiving an expanded information set. Decision processes were captured through verbal protocols. Process analysis showed that the ability to evaluate evidence varied by experience level. Managers and seniors were better than assistants at recognizing inconsistent evidence, while managers outperformed other experience levels in integrating inconsistent evidence. Further, managers generated more and better explanations than other ranks after encountering new information. The implications for auditing research and practice are discussed.
The Gastrointestinal Microbiota of the Common Marmoset (Callithrix jacchus)

The microbiota is heavily involved in both health and disease pathogenesis, but defining a normal, healthy microbiota in the common marmoset has been challenging. The aim of this review was to systematically review recent literature involving the gastrointestinal microbiome of common marmosets in health and disease. Twelve sources were included in this review. The gut microbiome composition was reviewed across institutions worldwide, and taxonomic shifts between healthy individuals were described. Unlike the human gut microbiome, which is dominated by Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, the marmoset gut microbiome shows great plasticity across institutions, with 5 different phyla described as dominant in different healthy cohorts. Genera shared across institutions include Anaerobiospirillum, Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, Collinsella, Fusobacterium, Megamonas, Megasphaera, Phascolarctobacterium, and Prevotella. Shifts in the abundance of Prevotella or Bifidobacterium or invasion by pathogens like Clostridium perfringens may be associated with disease. Changes in microbial composition have been described in healthy and diseased marmosets, but factors influencing the severe changes in microbial composition have not been established. Multi-institutional, prospective, and longitudinal studies that utilize multiple testing methodologies are required to determine sources of variability in the reporting of marmoset microbiomes. Furthermore, methods of microbial manipulation, whether by diet, enrichment, fecal microbiome transplantation, etc, need to be established to modulate and maintain robust and resilient microbiome communities in marmoset colonies and reduce the incidence of idiopathic gastrointestinal disease.
Conceptualizing and measuring the implicit personality: The state of the science

Abstract In this chapter, we discuss the state of the science regarding the measurement of implicit personality (i.e., the elements of personality that are not accessible via conscious introspection). Optimal measurement of implicit personality necessitates a strong underlying psychological theory combined with indirect measurement that is resilient to dishonest responding; with such a foundation, researchers may evaluate the psychometric properties of their measures, including the independent predictive validity that indirect measures of implicit personality have over above direct measures of explicit personality. We review three prototypic classes of indirect measurement that lend themselves to assessing aspects of implicit personality: projective measures, response latency measures, and conditional reasoning measures. We discuss the history and theory behind each of these classes of measurement systems and introduce specific modalities of indirect assessment as exemplar cases. We conclude by summarizing the needs of future research and advances in the indirect measurement of implicit motives.
Efficiency enhancement of organic thin-film phototransistors due to photoassisted charge injection

Understanding the underlying physics of charge transport in organic semiconductors under illumination is important for the development of novel optoelectronic applications. We study the effects of monochromatic light in the visible spectrum on the channel of an organic thin-film transistor based on 2,8-difluoro-5,11-bis(triethylsilylethynyl) anthradithiophene. When the channel of the transistor was illuminated with red, green, or blue light, more charge carriers were measured than what exciton generation from photon absorption alone could provide, leading to a photon-to-charge-carrier conversion efficiency much larger than 100%. We explain this phenomenon using a model incorporating space-charge limited photocharges and enhanced hole injection from the source electrode due to lowering of the potential barrier by photogenerated electrons.
Silicon Carbide High Temperature MEMS Capacitive Strain Sensor

Strain sensing at high temperatures, greater than 700°F, is often difficult. Traditional strain sensing uses the piezoresistive effect, which is temperature dependent. To reduce the temperature dependence of the strain sensor one could be built from a robust material such as silicon carbide, SiC. Making measurements using capacitive effects eliminates the effects of temperature within the sensing element. Using the more traditional MEMS material silicon is only an option at lower temperatures. Silicon has good reliability as a mechanical structure to around 900°F, and good electrical properties to 300°F. Having good properties above 700°F, silicon carbide is a robust material that has the ability to be used in high temperature MEMS applications. Using the capacitive effect for measuring strain was the original way to perform this task until the piezoresistive effect was harnessed. MEMS based capacitive strain sensors that have been built previously are known as resonant strain sensors, or the double ended tuning fork resonator. One step further from the double ended tuning fork is a novel capacitive strain sensor device. An examination of the novel approach to measure strain is performed. Modeling and simulation is presented using L-Edit and Coventorware. This asserts the device’s characteristics and gives the novel design merit to be used as a strain sensor.
Atrazine and/or Triazine Herbicides Exposure and Cancer

ABSTRACT An objective review of the literature was undertaken concerning atrazine and/or triazine herbicides exposure and human cancer(s). The time period covered was from 1966 through 1994. Out of ten case/control studies published, six dealing with atrazine, none indicated any statistically significant association between atrazine and cancer. Two studies indicated marginally significant associations between triazines and cancer (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.0-2.6 and OR = 2.7, 90% CI = 1.0-6.9). A number of studies concerned non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, with odds ratios for atrazine or triazine exposure ranging from 1.1 to 2.2. Although positive, these were not statistically significant. At this point in time, causal criteria are not satisfied for atrazine and/or triazine(s) exposure and this malignancy. The methodologies of the published studies are critiqued; herbicide exposure assessment is frequently the weakest link. Several epide-miologic studies concerning atrazine or triazines exposure and cancer are current...
Bayesian Multimodality Non-rigid Image Registration via Conditional Density Estimation

We present a Bayesian multimodality non-rigid image registration method. Since the likelihood is unknown in the general multimodality setting, we use a density estimator as a drop in replacement to the true likelihood. The prior is a standard small deformation penalty on the displacement field. Since mutual information-based methods are in widespread use for multimodality registration, we attempt to relate the Bayesian approach to mutual information-based approaches. To this end, we derive a new criterion which when satisfied, guarantees that the displacement field which minimizes the Bayesian maximum a posteriori (MAP) objective also maximizes the true mutual information (with a small deformation penalty) as the number of pixels tends to infinity. The criterion imposes an upper bound on the number of configurations of the displacement field. Finally, we compare the results of the Bayesian approach with mutual information, joint entropy and joint probability approaches on synthetic data and simulated T1 and T2 2D MR images.
Continuous Time Bayesian Networks for Host Level Network Intrusion Detection

We consider the problem of detecting host-level attacks in network traffic using unsupervised learning. We model the normal behavior of a host's traffic from its signature logs, and flag suspicious traces differing from this norm. In particular, we use continuous time Bayesian networks learned from historic non-attack data and flag future event sequences whose likelihood under this normal model is below a threshold. Our method differs from previous approaches in explicitly modeling temporal dependencies in the network traffic. Our model is therefore more sensitive to subtle variations in the sequences of network events. We present two simple extensions that allow for instantaneous events that do not result in state changes, and simultaneous transitions of two variables. Our approach does not require expensive labeling or prior exposure to the attack type. We illustrate the power of our method in detecting attacks with comparisons to other methods on real network traces.
Monitoring Potential Transport of Radioactive Contaminants in Shallow Ephemeral Channels: FY 2012

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Nevada Site Office (NSO), Environmental Restoration Soils Activity has authorized the Desert Research Institute (DRI) to conduct field assessments of potential sediment transport of contaminated soil from Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 550, Area 8 Smoky Contamination Area (CA), during precipitation runoff events. CAU 550 includes Corrective Action Sites (CASs) 08-23-03, 08-23-04, 08-23-06, and 08-23-07; these CASs are associated with tests designated Ceres, Smoky, Oberon, and Titania, respectively.
Galley, Leibovich, and Rothstein Reply

The authors of [1] use the results of Nodvik [2] to argue that a term was missed in the worldline action that yields an order R correction to the Abraham-Lorentz-Dirac formula.
Control issues in parallel rule-firing production systems

When rules are executed in a parallel production system, the goal of control is to ensure both that a high-quality solution is achieved and that processing resources are used effectively. We argue that the conventional conflict resolution algorithm is not suitable as a control mechanism for parallel rule-firing systems. The necessity for examining all eligible rules within a system imposes a synchronization delay which limits processor utilization. Rather than perform conflict resolution, we propose that rules should be executed asynchronously as soon as they become enabled, however, this approach leaves the problem of controlling the computation unsolved. We have identified three distinct types of control, program sequencing, heuristic control, and dynamic scheduling, which are required for efficient and correct parallel execution of rules. We discuss the issues involved in implementing each type of control without undue overhead within the context of our system, a parallel rule-firing system with an augmented agenda manager.
Eosinophil infiltration and degranulation in Helicobacter pylori-associated chronic gastritis.

Eosinophil granules contain cationic proteins, including the major basic protein, which are toxic to mammalian tissue. While eosinophils have been observed to comprise part of the inflammatory reaction in acuteHelicobacter pylori gastritis, the role of the eosinophil in the pathogenesis of chronic gastritis is unknown. We evaluated whether eosinophil infiltration and degranulation are associated with chronic gastritis andH. pylori infection. We studied eight patients with chronicH. pylori antral gastritis, three with chronic antral gastritis in the absence ofH. pylori, 11 healthy age-matched volunteers without antral gastritis, and eight patients withH. pylori-negative chronic specific gastritis (three Crohn's antral gastritis and five Menetrier's disease). Serial sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, with Giemsa, and by a specific indirect immunofluorescence technique for eosinophil granule major basic protein. Specimens were graded independently by three observers and scores of 0–3 were given for eosinophil infiltration and degranulation (0=none to 3=confluent infiltration and/or degranulation). InH. pylori antral gastritis, significantly greater eosinophil infiltration and degranulation were found compared to the normal group, Menetrier's disease, and chronicH. pylori-negative gastritis. There was no significant difference between gastric Crohn's disease andH. pylori gastritis. The severity of chronic gastritis was significantly correlated with the eosinophil score. Eosinophil degranulation did not appear to be greater at or near sites of bacterial colonization in theH. pylori gastritis specimens. The results suggest that eosinophil infiltration and degranulation may be associated withH. pylori gastritis. We postulate that the release of toxic cationic proteins from eosinophils contributes to the inflammatory changes present inH. pylori gastritis.
Visual motion event related potentials distinguish aging and Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND Aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) disrupt visuospatial processing and visual motion evoked potentials in a manner linked to navigational deficits. OBJECTIVE Our goal is to determine if aging and AD have distinct effects on visual cortical motion processing for navigation. METHODS We recorded visual motion event related potentials (ERPs) in young (YNC) and older normal controls (ONC), and early AD patients (EADs) who viewed rapidly changing optic flow stimuli that simulate naturalistic changes in heading direction, like those that occur when following a path of self-movement through the environment. After a random series of optic flow stimuli, a vertical motion stimulus was presented to verify sustained visual attention by demanding a rapid push-button response. RESULTS Optic flow evokes robust ERPs that are delayed in aging and diminished in AD. The interspersed vertical motion stimuli yielded shorter N200 latencies in EADs, matching those in ONCs, but the EADs' N200 amplitudes remained small. CONCLUSIONS Aging and AD have distinct effects on visual sensory processing: aging delays evoked response, whereas AD diminishes responsiveness.
Signaling between Transforming Growth Factor β (TGF-β) and Transcription Factor SNAI2 Represses Expression of MicroRNA miR-203 to Promote Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Tumor Metastasis

TGF-β promotes tumor invasion and metastasis by inducing an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Understanding the molecular and epigenetic mechanisms by which TGF-β induces EMT may facilitate the development of new therapeutic strategies for metastasis. Here, we report that TGF-β induced SNAI2 to promote EMT by repressing miR-203. Although miR-203 targeted SNAI2, SNAI2 induced by TGF-β could directly bind to the miR-203 promoter to inhibit its transcription. SNAI2 and miR-203 formed a double negative feedback loop to inhibit each other's expression, thereby controlling EMT. Moreover, we found that miR-203 was significantly down-regulated in highly metastatic breast cancer cells. The restoration of miR-203 in highly metastatic breast cancer cells inhibited tumor cell invasion in vitro and lung metastatic colonization in vivo by repressing SNAI2. Taken together, our results suggest that the SNAI2 and miR-203 regulatory loop plays important roles in EMT and tumor metastasis.
Amniocentesis and intrauterine fetal transfusion in erythroblastosis

Abstract Sixty-one Rh-sensitized pregnancies from whom a total of 95 samples of amniotic fluid were analyzed are presented. The 450 mμ peak of the absorption curve plotted on a logarithmic scale was found to be a useful adjunct in the management of Rh-sensitized mothers. The amniotic fluid absorption curve at 450 mμ has been more helpful when the values are very low (below 0.05 OD) and when they are very high (above 0.15 OD). The range between these values (0.05 to 0.15 OD) is a difficult area for making predictions of the extent of hemolysis or anemia by examination of amniotic fluid alone. This is especially true of single samples. Determinations of the 450 mμ peak repeated at intervals from 28 to 37 weeks' gestation have proved more informative than single observations. Seven patients who were managed with a total of 12 intrauterine fetal transfusions are reported. Three infants survived, 2 infants died of erythroblastosis and 2 infants died as a result of the procedure. Intrauterine fetal transfusions should be regarded as being in an investigational stage and are not recommended as a routine.
Augmentation area index: a novel approach to disease severity and outcome in patients with WHO group I and group III pulmonary hypertension (1089.2)

Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) has a poor outcome overwhelmingly related to right ventricular (RV) failure. Augmentation area index (AI) could capture hemodynamic effects of vessel stiffen...
Nanocrystalline Aggregation of Serine Detected by Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry: Origin of the Stable Homochiral Gas-Phase Serine Octamer

Electrospray ionization sampling of 0.01 M solutions of serine reveals an unusually abundant protonated serine octamer, which demonstrates a strong preference for homochirality. Ion mobility spectra yield an experimental cross section that is consistent with a single “cubic” structure. Density functional theory calculations support experimental observations which suggest that the structure of the serine octamer is closely related to and formed from a small subsection of the crystal structure of anhydrous serine. The formation, bonding, and experimental constraints placed on the serine octamer are discussed in light of the proposed nanocrystalline structure. The mass spectra of the analogous molecules threonine and homoserine exhibit several similar features with that of serine and the likely structures for the octameric species are compared with that of the serine octamer. Finally, implications for the spontaneous symmetry breaking of a racemic mixture and the origin of life are addressed.
Regulatory options for solar incentives offered by public utilities

Abstract Utilities are being called upon to accelerate the adoption of residential solar energy systems by providing financial incentives. The form such incentives may take and their cost vary widely. The principal alternative mechanisms are reviewed: 1. (1) bill credits or cash payments, 2. (2) interest subsidies and favorable loan terms, and 3. (3) direct utility investment programs. The relative costs of these mechanisms to the rate payer and the consumer are compared. There are tests of appropriate cost to be applied by the regulators evaluating utility solar incentives. These tests will be reviewed and their application discussed. All solar incentive cost tests require estimates of the marginal cost of energy that utilities can avoid if customers adopt solar energy or reduce consumption. Noneconomic factors influencing the choice of utility solar incentive program are discussed. The principal issues are consumer protection/quality assurance, competitive impact on the solar vendors, and income distribution effects.
Oxidation Characteristics of Nickel Based Superalloys in Steam

An improvement in the efficiency of land based gas turbines is sought by replacing air with steam for the internal cooling of hot gas path components. However, the degradation behavior and mechanisms associated with the interaction of superalloys with steam at high temperatures are unknown. This information is very crucial for the reliability as well as for useful life prediction of the gas turbine components. In this work, oxidation in steam has been studied for three nickel based superalloys commonly used in the gas turbines. These are IN 738, Inconel 617, and CMSX-4. The study was carried out at four different test temperatures in the range of 800° C to 950° C for times up to 1400 hours. The results indicated significantly different oxidation behavior in steam compared to air for all the alloys tested.Copyright © 1998 by ASME
Women and poverty: Beyond earnings and welfare

Abstract Women’s poverty rates are higher than men’s, with single mothers having extremely high poverty rates. This article first briefly examines poverty measures and U.S. poverty rates among men and women. The author then describes and evaluates three categories of economic research on poverty: the lack or inadequacy of employment and earnings; family structure and welfare; and earnings capacities, care-giving responsibilities and employment. Finally the author assesses the policies to alleviate women’s poverty derived from these explanations.
Mannose‐containing polysaccharides of yeasts

The known species of yeasts produce at lest 180 different polysaccharides having mannose as a major constituent. The type of mannan formed is characteristic of the yeast species, and can be used as an aid in identification and classification. The immunological characteristics of yeasts depend largely upon the nature of the mannans. Some of the yeast mannans can be produced in relatively high yields, and have been suggested as replacements for plant and bacterial gums as thickeners, dispersing agents, and similar applications. However, more significant uses, based on the finer differences in their chemical structures and the specific reactions they undergo, may result from a closer study of these polymers.
Channel access: A software bus for the LAACS

Abstract The host processor for a code running within a distributed process control system is often predetermined by constraints built into the software architecture of the control system. Input/output (I/O) channels directly connected to the host processors are usually easier to access in software than channels on remote processors. It is often difficult to modernize selective parts of a control system's software while leaving the other parts unchanged. Likewise, software developed at one laboratory is often difficult to integrate into a control system developed at another laboratory. Software that runs in one machine or operating-system architecture is often unable to communicate with control-system software running on a different platform. For the Los Alamos Accelerator Control System (LAACS) we have attempted to address the above difficulties with a software communication facility which we call Channel Access. Channel Access provides a “software bus” that allows programs to be connected through a network to I/O channels on real-time processors in a manner similar to the way in which hardware modules are integrated within a standardized hardware bus such as CAMAC or VME. We have already placed an operator interface on Channel Access and we are currently designing alarm, archiving and sequencing tools as well. Numerous application-specific programs use Channel Access. This paper describes the unique feature of this approach and its performance as an integral part of the Los Alamos Accelerator Control System.
The Effect of Foot Spacing on the Starting Time and Speed in Sprinting and the Relation of Physical Measurements to Foot Spacing

(1934). The Effect of Foot Spacing on the Starting Time and Speed in Sprinting and the Relation of Physical Measurements to Foot Spacing. Research Quarterly. American Physical Education Association: Vol. 5, No. sup1, pp. 12-19.
Tea polyphenols for health promotion

People have been consuming brewed tea from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant for almost 50 centuries. Although health benefits have been attributed to tea, especially green tea consumption since the beginning of its history, scientific investigations of this beverage and its constituents have been underway for less than three decades. Currently, tea, in the form of green or black tea, next to water, is the most widely consumed beverage in the world. In vitro and animal studies provide strong evidence that polyphenols derived from tea may possess the bioactivity to affect the pathogenesis of several chronic diseases. Among all tea polyphenols, epigallocatechin-3-gallate has been shown to be responsible for much of the health promoting ability of green tea. Tea and tea preparations have been shown to inhibit tumorigenesis in a variety of animal models of carcinogenesis. However, with increasing interest in the health promoting properties of tea and a significant rise in scientific investigation, this review covers recent findings on the medicinal properties and health benefits of tea with special reference to cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
Single-crystal diffraction and Raman spectroscopy of hedenbergite up to 33 GPa

Pyroxenes are important minerals in Earth’s upper mantle and subducting plate. Here, we report results of high-pressure single-crystal X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy experiments conducted on natural Ca, Fe pyroxene hedenbergite up to ~33 GPa in diamond anvil cell. Unit cell parameters a, b, c, β and V, as well as bond lengths of hedenbergite are reported within the studied pressure range. Cell parameters exhibit continuous decrease on compression. Axial compressibilities of a, b and c are calculated to be 1.7(2), 4.9(5) and 2.13(9) × 10−3 GPa−1, respectively. Bulk modulus and its pressure derivative are determined to be 131(4) GPa and 3.8(3) by fitting third-order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state. Compression mechanism is dominated by polyhedral and bond compression trends typical of clinopyroxenes. In general, shorter bonds show lower compressibility, and SiO4, the smallest polyhedron, shows the lowest compressibility. Angle and elongation distortions are reported for the three types of polyhedra at high pressure. Thirteen vibrational modes are observed with Raman spectroscopy up to ~33 GPa. All observed mode frequencies increase as pressure increases.
Photoresist development by plasma

Over the past several years the semiconductor industry has placed major efforts into replacing wet processes with dry processes in fabricating electronic devices. Plasma photoresist stripping, plasma cleaning, and other dry etching techniques have replaced wet methods in many product lines. One area that has received little mention but which is vital toward achieving a totally dry manufacturing process is the dry development of photoresist. One production applicable plasma developable photoresist (PDF) process, using a proprietary resist formulation, is reported. Plasma process characterization, such as end point detection, development latitude, and mechanism are discussed. Included also are development temperature, batch film uniformity, and resolution currently obtainable with the PDF process.
The structure of dilation groups of generalized affine planes

The concept of a generalized affine plane was introduced in [2]. To each such generalized affine plane there is a group of (bijective) dilations and a subgroup of translations. The subgroup of translations gives a nearring of trace preserving quasi-endomorphisms and there is a subgroup fo the translations, called the semi-identities, that give an ideal in this near-ring. The quotient nearring is a skew field.
Genetic analysis of p53 nuclear importation

A key step in activation of the p53 tumor suppressor is its transport into the nucleus; however, despite intensive study of p53, the regulation of its subcellular localization is still poorly understood. Here we examined the p53 nuclear importation using a series of mutant cell lines that were resistant to the growth inhibitory effects of temperature-sensitive murine p53 (tsp53). Examination of the p53 subcellular localization in these cell lines showed that the protein was cytoplasmic in most of them. Using a digitonin-permeabilized cell in vitro nuclear import system, we show that cytosols from these cell lines do not support nuclear translocation of a p53 nuclear localization signal (NLS)-containing substrate protein, but promote nuclear localization of a SV40TAgNLS-containing substrate. Complementation assays and use of the mutant cells themselves in the in vitro assays demonstrate that both soluble and insoluble protein components are involved in p53 nuclear import. Collectively, our results suggest that there is a p53 NLS-selective nuclear import pathway and that both soluble and insoluble proteins are involved in its function.
Clear teaching: what is it?

Summary and conclusions The attempt to answer the question: What is teacher clarity? has resulted in three studies. In the first students were asked to describe what teachers did that made learning clear. The result was a list of no low‐inference statements of clear teacher behaviors which were subjectively placed in one of twelve intermediate‐inference categories. In the second study students were given the no low‐inference statements and asked which of them were descriptive of their most clear or unclear teachers. The results of the study were a list of behaviors which discriminated between clear and unclear teachers, eight intermediate‐inference categories into which the behaviors could be grouped and the discovery that two of the intermediate‐inference categories ‐‐ explaining by using verbal or written examples and explains the work to be done and how to do it ‐‐ seemed most important because they contained the largest number of low‐inference discriminating behaviors. In the third study students were...