cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Is the Use of Proton Pump Inhibitors a Predisposing Factor for Pyogenic Liver Abscesses

Background Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) increase gastric pH by reducing acid production. The resulting alkaline milieu in the stomach increases the risk of bacterial translocation. This study aimed to investigate if there is a correlation between PPI use and developing pyogenic liver abscesses. Methods In this retrospective case-control analysis, we studied adult patients diagnosed with cryptogenic liver abscess at Northwell hospitals between 2015 and 2019. Adult patients with the diagnosis of liver abscess were included. We excluded patients with history of liver abscess prior to admission, biliary disease, hepatobiliary malignancy, or intra-abdominal infections. A group of randomly selected patients without liver abscess from the same hospitals' database were enrolled as the control group. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to adjust for potential confounding factors. Results We identified 277 patients diagnosed with first episode of pyogenic liver abscess. Cases were compared to 554 controls. Klebsiella pneumonia was the most common pathogen. PPI use was associated with an increased risk of developing a first episode of pyogenic liver abscess in univariate (odds ratio (OR): 2.36, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.70 - 3.27), and multivariate analysis (adjusted OR: 2.27, 95% CI: 1.55 - 3.32). Conclusion This study is the first US population-based analysis to demonstrate that PPI use is associated with increased risk of developing pyogenic liver abscesses. Further prospective studies are needed to shed more light on this association and better evaluate the impact of dose and duration of PPI exposure.
A Hopf physical reservoir computer.

Physical reservoir computing utilizes a physical system as a computational resource. This nontraditional computing technique can be computationally powerful, without the need of costly training. Here, a Hopf oscillator is implemented as a reservoir computer by using a node-based architecture; however, this implementation does not use delayed feedback lines. This reservoir computer is still powerful, but it is considerably simpler and cheaper to implement as a physical Hopf oscillator. A non-periodic stochastic masking procedure is applied for this reservoir computer following the time multiplexing method. Due to the presence of noise, the Euler–Maruyama method is used to simulate the resulting stochastic differential equations that represent this reservoir computer. An analog electrical circuit is built to implement this Hopf oscillator reservoir computer experimentally. The information processing capability was tested numerically and experimentally by performing logical tasks, emulation tasks, and time series prediction tasks. This reservoir computer has several attractive features, including a simple design that is easy to implement, noise robustness, and a high computational ability for many different benchmark tasks. Since limit cycle oscillators model many physical systems, this architecture could be relatively easily applied in many contexts.
A Midsummer Night’s Gene: The familial Neurological Illness of Felix Mendelssohn:

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1805-1847) is widely regarded as one of the musical geniuses of the Romantic period. A prodigy akin to Mozart, Mendelssohn composed piano works, symphonies, and concertos at an early age but died young, at 38. His death has been attributed to neurological disease, but the mystery of his diagnosis is amplified by the fact that his sisters died under similar circumstances, including the renowned composer, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel. Mendelssohn died after years of suffering from headaches, earaches, and mood disturbances. In the final year of his life, his acute decline was marked by stepwise, progressive neurologic deficits: gait disturbance, loss of sensation in the hands, partial paralysis, and, finally, loss of consciousness. The similar pattern of disease within his family suggests an underlying genetic link, though this may be multifactorial in nature. We present a thorough, posthumous differential diagnosis for Mendelssohn's illness, given his medical history, the familial pattern, and hints from within his music. Possible diagnoses include ruptured cerebral aneurysm with resultant subarachnoid hemorrhage, familial cerebral cavernous malformation, and cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL). Continued research into Mendelssohn's life may yield more information about his illness, death, and possibly true diagnosis.
Dissecting tumor cell programs through group biology estimation in clinical single-cell transcriptomics

Given the growing number of clinically integrated cancer single-cell transcriptomic studies, robust differential enrichment methods for gene signatures to dissect tumor cellular states for discovery and translation are critical. Current analysis strategies neither adequately represent the hierarchical structure of clinical single-cell transcriptomic datasets nor account for the variability in the number of recovered cells per sample, leading to results potentially confounded by sample-driven biology instead of accurately representing true differential enrichment of group-level biology (e.g., treatment responders vs. non-responders) and a high number of false positives. This problem is even more severe for single-cell analyses of the tumor compartment due to high intra-patient similarity (as opposed to inter-patient similarity), leading to stricter hierarchical structured data for this compartment. Furthermore, to identify signatures which are truly representative of the entire group, there is a need to quantify the robustness of otherwise statistically significant signatures to sample exclusion. Here, we present a new nonparametric statistical method, BEANIE, to account for these issues, and demonstrate its utility in two cancer cohorts stratified by clinical groups to reduce biological hypotheses and guide translational investigations. Using BEANIE, we show how the consideration of sample-specific versus group biology helps decrease the false positive rate by more than 10 times and identify robust signatures which can also be corroborated across different cell type compartments.
The Ethics of Participatory Processes: Dynamic Flux, Open Questions

Collaboration and participation are widely emphasized in environmental planning and management. This chapter describes a discussion group on the ethics of participatory processes, raises the possibility of translating the non-equilibrium or dynamic flux view of ecological complexity into a view of ethics and social action, and introduces five ideals for a “dynamic flux ethics”—engagement, participation, cultivating collaborators, transversality, and fostering curiosity. These ideals are linked to a schema woven out of the discussion group’s contributions. What sense of stewardship might come from participatory processes informed by this initial exploration of dynamic flux ethics is left as an open question.
Customer Relationship Management Implementation Gaps

Customer relationship management (CRM) implementation initiatives have been marred by failure, which many in the popular and academic literature attribute to limited technology acceptance among end users. This paper presents a conceptual model that depicts how the extent of alignment between the three constituent elements of a firm’s CRM program (employees, processes, and technology) influences end user acceptance of CRM technology. In particular, the model proposes that perceived process–technology, technology–employee, and employee–process gaps within CRM programs generate cognitive dissonance among end users, and that the level of dissonance generated ultimately determines whether individuals will adopt or resist the new technology. Research and managerial implications stemming from the literature are provided.
Managerial life without a wife: Family structure and managerial career success

The model of the successful manager was based on the 1950's family. Thus career demands assumed the presence of a spouse at home to handle family responsibilities. This study seeks to determine whether women and men in alternate family structures will be able to succeed in managerial careers. Data were analyzed from two MBA alumni cohorts: one older cohort with three waves of data collected over a thirteen-year period and a second younger cohort with data collected in the most recent wave. A typology of family structure was utilized to categorize the managers into one of twelve family structures based on marital status, parental status, and spousal employment status. The post-traditional family where both parents are employed was found to be most prevalent for both men and women. A small percent of the MBAs were in the traditional family where the father is employed and the mother is not employed. Family structure in early career appears to be stable over the thirteen-year study period. Analyses reveal that for men, those in traditional families are most rewarded in their careers in terms of income and salary progression. Women had no family structure that achieved career success comparable to traditional family men. Despite increased acknowledgement of the varied family structures of managers and the adoption of family friendly policies by companies, rewards are not distributed equally. This has implications for managers, organizations, and society.
Effects of Louisiana crude oil on the sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus) during a life‐cycle exposure to laboratory oiled sediment

Determining the long-term effects of crude oil exposure is critical for ascertaining population-level ecological risks of spill events. A 19-week complete life-cycle experiment was conducted with the estuarine sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus) exposed to reference (uncontaminated) sediment spiked with laboratory weathered South Louisiana crude (SLC) oil at five concentrations as well as one unspiked sediment control and one seawater (no sediment) control. Newly hatched larvae were exposed to the oiled sediments at measured concentrations of < 1 (sediment control), 50, 103, 193, 347, and 711 mg total polyaromatic hydrocarbons (tPAH)/kg dry sediment. Juveniles were exposed through the reproductively active adult phase at measured concentrations of <1 (sediment control), 52, 109, 199, 358, and 751 mg tPAH/kg sediment. Throughout the exposure, fish were assessed for growth, survival, and reproduction. Resulting F1 embryos were then collected, incubated, and hatched in clean water to determine if parental full life-cycle exposure to oiled sediment produced trans-generational effects. Larvae experienced significantly reduced standard length (5-13% reduction) and wet weight (13-35% reduction) at concentrations at and above 50 and 103 mg tPAH/kg sediment, respectively. At 92 and 132 days post hatch (dph), standard length was reduced (7-13% reduction) at 199 and 109 mg tPAH/kg dry sediment, respectively, and wet weight for both time periods was reduced at concentrations at and above 109 mg tPAH/kg dry sediment (21-38% reduction). A significant reduction (51-65%) in F0 fecundity occurred at the two highest test concentrations, but no difference was observed in F1 embryo survival. This study is the first to report the effects of chronic laboratory exposure to oiled sediment, and will assist the development of population models for evaluating risk to benthic spawning fish species exposed to oiled sediments. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 31: 1627-1639, 2016.
Highly selective binding of nascent polypeptides by an Escherichia coli chaperone protein in vivo.

Chaperone proteins bind to newly synthesized polypeptides and assist in various assembly reactions. The Escherichia coli chaperone protein SecB binds precursors of exported proteins and assists in export. In vitro, SecB can bind to many unfolded proteins. In this report, we demonstrate that SecB binding in vivo is highly selective; the major polypeptides that are bound by SecB are nascent precursors of the exported proteins maltose-binding protein (MBP), LamB, OmpF, and OmpA. These results support the hypothesis that the primary physiological function of SecB is to stimulate protein export. By interacting with nascent polypeptides, SecB probably stimulates their cotranslational association with the membrane-bound protein translocation apparatus. Images
Exposing tunable parameters in multi-threaded numerical code

Achieving high performance on today's architectures requires careful orchestration of many optimization parameters. In particular, the presence of shared-caches on multicore architecturesmakes it necessary to consider, in concert, issues related to both parallelism and data locality. This paper presents a systematic and extensive exploration of thecombined search space of transformation parameters that affect both parallelism and data locality inmulti-threaded numerical applications.We characterize the nature of the complex interaction between blocking, problem decomposition and selection of loops for parallelism. We identify key parameters for tuning and provide an automatic mechanism for exposing these parameters to a search tool. A series of experiments on two scientific benchmarks illustrates the non-orthogonality of the transformation search space and reiterates the need for integrated transformation heuristics for achieving high-performance on current multicore architectures.
A feasible method to predict thin package actual warpage based on an FEM model integrated with empirical data

One of the current trends for advanced packages is increasingly thinner packaging for mobile devices. Thin packages increase warpage tremendously making control of package warpage very critical and challenging. Furthermore, a thin package is also much more sensitive to various factors including incoming conditions, processing conditions and nonlinear material behaviors. As a result, current warpage models based purely on the finite element method (FEM) have difficulty accurately predicting the warpage of packages in an actual production environment because the models are not able to capture all the complicated process issues as well as material nonlinearities. On the other hand, current advanced packages are mostly custom built with fast development cycles. Avoiding problems requires a feasible method to predict warpage during the package development stage to guide the design improvement. This paper presents a new feasible method to accurately predict package actual warpage in production based on a finite element model integrated with empirical shadow moire warpage data. The unique aspect of this method uses existing empirical warpage data from a broad range of different package types and design parameters to estimate the actual reference temperature point as well as an initial warpage as inputs into the FEM warpage simulation model. The adjusted actual reference temperature and the initial warpage are used to account for any warpage caused by unknown factors in the assembly processes and materials which cannot be captured by the FEM model. Through the product development cycle, the semi-empirical warpage model is continually updated as more and more new empirical data are available making it more and more accurate for next-cycle predictions. This paper uses a Package-On-Package (POP) and a flip-chip Chip-Scale-Package (fcCSP) as test vehicles to illustrate this unique semi-empirical warpage prediction method.
New ZCS resonant power converter topologies for variable reluctance machine drives

Zero current switching (ZCS) converter topologies for variable reluctance machine drives are described. ZCS makes high frequency operation possible while maintaining low switching loss and reduced levels of electromagnetic interference (EMI). This increase in frequency translates directly into improved current regulation in the machine phases, resulting in a high performance drive. The machine fundamentals are reviewed, converter topologies are introduced, and simulation results of the total drive are presented. >
Non-invasive quantification of absolute cerebral blood volume during functional activation applicable to the whole human brain.

Purpose Cerebral blood volume (CBV) changes in many diverse pathologic conditions, and in response to functional challenges along with changes in blood flow, blood oxygenation, and the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen. The feasibility of a new method for non-invasive quantification of absolute cerebral blood volume that can be applicable to the whole human brain was investigated. Methods Multi-slice data were acquired at 3 T using a novel inversion recovery echo planar imaging (IR-EPI) pulse sequence with varying contrast weightings and an efficient rotating slice acquisition order, at rest and during visual activation. A biophysical model was used to estimate absolute cerebral blood volume at rest and during activation, and oxygenation during activation, on data from 13 normal human subjects. Results Cerebral blood volume increased by 21.7% from 6.6 ± 0.8 mL/100 mL of brain parenchyma at rest to 8.0 ± 1.3 mL/100 mL of brain parenchyma in the occipital cortex during visual activation, with average blood oxygenation of 84 ± 2.1% during activation, comparing well with literature. Conclusion The method is feasible, and could foster improved understanding of the fundamental physiological relationship between neuronal activity, hemodynamic changes, and metabolism underlying brain activation; complement existing methods for estimating compartmental changes; and potentially find utility in evaluating vascular health. Magn Reson Med 71:580–590, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Raising the bar for using GPUs in software packet processing

Numerous recent research efforts have explored the use of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) as accelerators for software-based routing and packet handling applications, typically demonstrating throughput several times higher than using legacy code on the CPU alone. In this paper, we explore a new hypothesis about such designs: For many such applications, the benefits arise less from the GPU hardware itself as from the expression of the problem in a language such as CUDA or OpenCL that facilitates memory latency hiding and vectorization through massive concurrency. We demonstrate that in several cases, after applying a similar style of optimization to algorithm implementations, a CPU-only implementation is, in fact, more resource efficient than the version running on the GPU. To "raise the bar" for future uses of GPUs in packet processing applications, we present and evaluate a preliminary language/compiler-based framework called G-Opt that can accelerate CPU-based packet handling programs by automatically hiding memory access latency.
Studies on aortic histamine synthesis in experimental diabetes.

AbstractAortic histamine synthesis and aortic permeability to plasma-derived bovine serum albumin conjugated to fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITCBSA) have been examined in rats held for 2- and 4-week periods following diagnosis of overt diabetes after subtotal pancreatectomy. Results indicate that aortic histamine synthesis, as measured through determination of aortic histidine decarboxylase (HD) activity in intima-media preparations, was increased by 15% at the end of the 4-week period of uncontrolled diabetes, while aortic albumin permeability increased 36% over corresponding control values. These results are similar to changes in aortic histamine synthesis and albumin permeability observed in a variety of other atherogenic situations, thus suggesting that increased aortic histamine synthesis may be involved in the known increased susceptibility of diabetes to atherosclerotic vascular disease.
Computer conferencing for accounting instruction

Abstract Computer conferencing was used as a pedagogical device in an accounting information systems course. This article explains the nature of computer conferencing in general, illustrates the specific software package used and describes the instructional setting and the actual applications of conferencing in the course. An evaluation is made of the conferencing experience, delineating the effective aspects, explaining how other aspects might be improved and summarizing student reactions. Finally, the future of computer conferencing is considered and recommendations are given for making good use of this technique.
Boosted human-centric hybrid classifier

We present a human-centric framework for pattern classification. We call the framework human-centric because the classifier depends on the judgment and prior experience of a human expert for the interpretation of weak learner scores. In the first step a large number of simple Fuzzy Inference Engines (FIEs) are constructed to perform classification based on linguistic rules for weak learner score interpretation. The linguistic rules are simple if-then-else type conditions imposed on the weak learner scores combined with various membership functions and logical AND-OR-NOT type operators. A large number of FIEs are automatically generated by modifying the type or parameters of each membership function. The AdaBoost algorithm is used to find a reduced set of Fuzzy engines from a pool of FIEs. The detection rate and false positive rate on face detection data have been found to be comparable to other popular face detection algorithms. The processing time for each pattern is constrained only by the time taken by the input weak learner to come-up with a score. The FIEs always takes the same amount of processing time irrespective of the size of the image.
Sierra Nevada Batholith The batholith was generated within a synclinorium

The Sierra Nevada batholith is localized in the axial region of a complex faulted synclinorium that coincides with a downfold in the Mohorovicic discontinuity and in P-wave velocity boundaries within the crust. Observed P-wave velocities are compatible with downward increase in the proportion of diorite, quartz diorite, and calcic granodiorite relative to quartz monzonite and granite in the upper crust, with amphibolite or gabbro-basalt in the lower crust, and with periodotite in the upper mantle. The synclinorium was formed in Paleozoic and Mesozoic strata during early and middle Mesozoic time in a geosyncline marginal to the continent. Granitic magmas are believed to have formed in the lower half of the crust at depths of 25 to 45 kilometers or more, primarily as a result of high radiogenic heat production in the thickened prism of crustal rocks. Magma was generated at different times in different places as the locus of down-folding shifted. It rose into the upper crust because it was less dense than rock of the same composition or residual refractory rocks. Refractory rocks and crystals that were not melted and early crystallized mafic minerals that settled from the rising magma thickened the lower crust. Wall and roof rocks settled around, and perhaps through, the rising magma and provided space for its continued rise. Erosion followed each magmatic episode, and 10 to 12 kilometers of rock may have been eroded away since the Jurassic and 7 to 10 kilometers since the early Late Cretaceous.
Hail Growth Mechanisms in a Colorado Storm. Part I: Dual-Wavelength Radar Observations

Abstract Extensive comparisons of dual-wavelength (10 and 3 cm) radar data with observations at the ground and penetration aircraft (T-28) measurements of hail in a Colorado storm show that positive hail signals (10 cm reflectivity factor exceeds that at 3 cm) are well correlated with the presence of hail ≳ 1 cm diameter. Widespread areas of negative hail signals (3 cm reflectivity factor exceeds that at 10 cm) found above the melting level are correlated with the presence of subcentimeter graupel. It is possible, therefore, to discriminate two sizes of particles based on dual-wavelength radar measurements. This finding is exploited in Part II of this work to investigate the evolution of graupel into hail.
An Evaluation of Methods for Indirectly Measuring the Mean Acoustic Scattering Cross Section of Fish

Acoustic techniques are being used throughout the world for assessment of fish stocks. The most common acoustic assessment technique is to process the output of an echo sounder using a procedure called echo integration. The echo integration technique is based on the fact that the integrated intensity of the acoustic signal scattered off a fish population is proportional to the product of the mean acoustic scattering cross section of the individual fish in the population and the number of fish acoustically illuminated. The mean acoustic scattering cross section must be known to obtain an absolute estimate of stock size using this technique. A great deal of effort has been expended on the development of methods for measuring this parameter. This paper discusses two methods for indirectly extracting the mean scattering cross section from the empirical distribution of single fish echo amplitudes. The first method discussed obtains the estimate of mean scattering cross section by first estimating the single fish target strength probability density function. The second method assumes that the square root of the scattering cross section is Rayleigh distributed. With this assumption, the estimation problem becomes one of determining the single parameter in the Rayleigh distribution. The performance of the two estimation techniques is evaluated using a Monte Carlo simulation.
SPICATICRIBRA KINGSTONII, GEN. NOV. ET SP. NOV. (THALASSIOSIRALES, BACILLARIOPHYTA) FROM GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK, U.S.A.

A new genus and species in the Thalassiosiraceae, Thalassiosirales is described from Fontana Lake, a reservoir in the Tennessee River drainage, North Carolina, which makes up much of the southern boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The newly described taxon, Spicaticribra kingstonii, most closely resembles Thalassiosira, but differs in several key aspects. The newly proposed genus is based upon the presence of spicate cribra that do not match up to the external openings of the areolae and the absence of fultoportulae on the valve face. The internal cribra of Spicaticribra are superficially similar to the cribral patterns of T. pseudonana and T. guillardii, but these species are lightly silicified forms that do not have round or hexagonal areolae visible in external views. Additionally, Spicaticribra lacks external extensions on the marginal fultoportulae, a condition which is unusual for Thalassiosira.
Characterization of Structural Dynamics With Uncertainty by Using Gaussian Processes

An efficient way to capture the dynamic characteristics of structural systems with uncertainties has been an important and challenging subject. While such characterization is valuable for structural response predictions, it could be impractical in many application situations where a sufficiently large sample is expensive or unavailable. In this paper, Gaussian process regression models are employed to capture structural dynamical responses, especially responses with uncertainties. When Gaussian processes are used to make predictions for responses with uncertainties, the sampling costs can be significantly reduced because only a relatively small set of data points is needed. With no loss of generality, applications of Gaussian process regression models are introduced in conjunction with Monte Carlo sampling. This approach can be easily generalized to situations where data points are obtained by other sampling techniques.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Serotonergic properties of β-phenethylamine in rats

Current research interest in β-phenethylamine (PEA) derives, in part, from a possible role for this endogenous compound in paranoid schizophrenia. Systemic administration of PEA caused a behavioral syndrome in rats (simultaneous forepaw padding, side-to-side headweaving or head tremor and splayed hindlimbs) which reflects activation of serotonin (5-HT) receptors in the central nervous system. This syndrome in rats was also produced by large doses of amphetamine, a drug structurally related to PEA, which can induce a behavioral state in man similar to paranoid schizophrenia. Reduction of endogenous 5-HT concentrations by p-chlorophenylalanine or 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine prevented the 5-HT behavioral syndrome caused by amphetamine, but not by PEA. The presumed 5-HT receptor antagonists, methysergide and mianserine, blocked these behavioral responses to both amphetamine and PEA. Therefore, it seems most likely that PEA, in addition to its catecholaminergic actions, produces serotonergic effects in rats by a direct 5-HT agonist action. This is in contrast to amphetamine which apparently causes the same serotonergic behavioral effects by releasing endogenous 5-HT.
Hyperextension cervical spine injuries and traumatic central cord syndrome

Traumatic central cord syndrome (TCCS), regardless of its biomechanics, is the most frequently encountered incomplete spinal cord injury. Patients with TCCS present with disproportionate weakness of the upper extremities, and variable sensory loss and bladder dysfunction. Fractures and/or subluxations, forced hyperextension, and herniated nucleus pulposus are the main pathogenetic mechanisms of TCCS. Nearly 50% of patients with TCCS suffer from congenital or degenerative spinal stenosis and sustained their injuries during hyperextension as originally described by Schneider in 1954. Immunohistochemical and imaging studies indicate mild to moderate insult to axons and their ensheathing myelin in the lateral funiculi culminating in cytoskeletal injury and impaired conduction. More than one-half of these patients enjoy spontaneous recovery of motor weakness; however, as time goes on, lack of manual dexterity, neuropathic pain, spasticity, bladder dysfunction, and imbalance of gait render their activities of daily living nearly impossible. Based on the current level of evidence, there is no clear indication of the timing of decompression for relief of sustained spinal cord compression in hyperextension injuries. Future research, taking advantage of validated digital imaging data such as maximum canal compromise, maximum spinal cord compression, and lesion length on the CT and MR images, as well as more sensitive measures of bladder and hand function, spasticity, and neuropathic pain may help tailor surgery for a specific group of these patients.
Characterizations of Tauberian and Related Operators on Banach Spaces

Abstract If E and F and Banach spaces, a bounded linear operator T : E ⇒ F is called Tauberian if whenever G ∈ E ** and T **( G ) ∈ F , then G ∈ E . Internal characterizations of Tauberian operators and operators having Property N in terms of their behavior on basic sequences are given. From these, other properties of Tauberian operators are derived.
Poxviral vectors for cancer immunotherapy.

Introduction: Poxviral vaccines have been given to over 1 billion people in the successful global eradication of smallpox. Recombinant poxviruses have been investigated extensively as a novel immunotherapy for cancer, undergoing several iterations to optimize their immunogenicity and efficacy. The current platform expressing multiple costimulatory molecules plus a tumor-associated antigen such as PSA, that is, PSA-TRICOM (PROSTVAC-V/F), is promising and is currently in a Phase III randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Areas covered: This review discusses the clinical development of poxviral-based cancer vaccines, with a particular focus on the rationale for combining vaccines with other treatment modalities, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, other immune-based therapies and molecularly targeted therapy. We also discuss the importance of appropriate patient selection in clinical trial design. Expert opinion: Preclinical and e...
A MODEL RELATING LOW CYCLE FATIGUE PROPERTIES AND MICROSTRUCTURE TO FATIGUE CRACK PROPAGATION RATES

— The fatigue crack propagation rate is related to the cyclic flow stress and the cyclic ductility of materials by means of a ductility exhaustion mechanism. The da/dN vs. ΔK relationship is derived from the assumption that an elemental crack extension occurs when the sum of the fractional fatigue life of an element at various cycles equals unity. A comparison of predicted crack growth curves with those obtained experimentally for representative alloys shows good agreement. The threshold ΔK behavior has been explained in terms of the existence of a threshold plastic strain amplitude.
DRIFTS of Probe Molecules Adsorbed on Magnesia, Zirconia, and Hydroxyapatite Catalysts

Acid sites, base sites, and acid–base site pairs on zirconia, magnesia, and hydroxyapatite were investigated using diffuse reflectance FT-IR spectroscopy (DRIFTS) to evaluate the interaction of various adsorbed probe molecules with their surfaces. The DRIFTS spectra were recorded under continuous flow conditions at atmospheric total pressure during a temperature-programmed thermal ramp. Lewis acidity was assessed by observing the various pyridine ring mode conformations and the peak shift associated with adsorption of CO. Basicity was probed by the adsorption of CO2 to form carbonates and bicarbonates on the samples. The acid–base bifunctional nature of the oxides was explored by adsorption of acetylene and glycine. As expected, zirconia exposed the strongest Lewis acid sites of the three samples, whereas magnesia exhibited the strongest basic sites. In contrast, hydroxyapatite had a poor affinity for all probe molecules used in this study based on temperature-programmed desorption experiments, indicating...
Integrated design-to-control approach for holonic manufacturing systems

Abstract Next generation manufacturing systems will be integrated networks of distributed resources simultaneously capable of combined knowledge and material processing. These manufacturing systems will be required to be agile, flexible, and fault-tolerant. The objective of this research is to define a generic open architecture for such kind of distributed manufacturing systems, especially for holonic manufacturing systems (HMS). This paper will address issues associated with HMS, and propose a reference architecture based on a design-to-control concept. The primary focus will be given to the collaborative and integrated design-to-control approach based on machining feature, agent technology, and function block standards. Emphasis is also extended and given to metamorphic process planning and control of HMS using multi-agent negotiation and cooperation. The proposed approach, together with the open architecture, shows much promise for improving the entire manufacturing system performance under the ever-changing real-time and distributed shop floor environments.
Solution photochemistry of o-hydroxybenzophenone at low temperatures☆

Abstract The decay of triplet o-hydroxybenzophenone takes place with a lifetime of 24 ns in methanol at 175 K and is proposed to involve the interconversion of the intermolecularly hydrogen bonded (anti) conformer into a short-lived syn species.
Insects vs. Poliomelytis: Negative Evidence

Early in 1928 a light epidemic of Poliomelytis on the Stanford Campus afforded an opportunity to make a study of the possible relation of insects to the spread of this disease. As a result of these studies it was concluded that insects were probably not concerned with the spread of this epidemic.
Modeling internal tides over Fieberling Guyot: resolution, parameterization, performance

Terrain-following ocean models are being used to simulate baroclinic tides and provide estimates of the tidal fields for circulation and mixing studies. These models have successfully reproduced elevations with most of the remaining inaccuracies attributed to topographic errors; however, the replication of barotropic and baroclinic velocity fields has not been as robust. Part of the problem is the lack of an adequate observational dataset in the simulated regions to compare the models. This problem was addressed using a dataset collected during the Flow over Abrupt Topography initiative at Fieberling Guyot. To evaluate the capability of the Regional Ocean Model System (ROMS) to simulate baroclinic tidal velocities, the combined tides for four constituents, M2, S2, K1, and O1, were modeled over Fieberling Guyot. Model inputs, numerical schemes, and parameterizations were varied to improve agreement with observations. These included hydrography, horizontal resolution, and the vertical mixing parameterization. Other factors were evaluated but are not included in this paper. With the best case, semidiurnal baroclinic tides were well replicated with RMS differences between the model estimates and the observations of 1.85 and 0.60 cm s−1 for the major axes of the tidal ellipses for M2 and S2, respectively. However, diurnal K1 baroclinic tides were poorly simulated with RMS differences of 4.49 cm s−1. In the simulations, the K1 baroclinic tides remained bottom-trapped unlike the observed fields, which had free waves due to the contribution of the mean velocity to the potential vorticity. The model did not adequately simulate the mean velocity, and the K1 tides remained trapped. A resolution of 1 km most accurately reproduced the major axes and mean velocities; however, a 4-km resolution was sufficient for a qualitative estimate of where baroclinic tidal generation occurred. Nine vertical mixing parameterizations were compared. The vertical mixing parameterization was found to have minor effects on the velocity fields, with most effects occurring over the crown of guyot and in the lower water column; however, it had dramatic effects on the estimation of vertical diffusivity of temperature. Although there was no definitive best performer for the vertical mixing parameterization, several parameterizations could be eliminated based on comparison of the vertical diffusivity estimates with observations. The best performers were Mellor–Yamada and three generic length scale schemes.
Analysis and Control of a Flywheel Energy Storage System With a Hybrid Magnetic Bearing

This article presents the design, dynamic analysis, and control of flywheel energy storage system. At the heart of the system is a hybrid magnetic bearing. The bearing consists of ring and disk shaped permanent magnets, and a synthetic ruby sphere on a sapphire plate. The bearing is shown to be stable without active control. Equations of motion for the flywheel are derived in a sensor based coordinate system. The resulting equations are non-singular around the nominal operating condition and are feedback linearizable without the need for a coordinate transformation. A method of modeling rotor imbalance as a set of sinusoidal disturbances of magnitudes that do not depend on rotational speed is also presented. To reject large external disturbances active control is applied to the flywheel. Two nonlinear control laws are applied and are shown to improve the initial condition response of the inherently stable system.
Photo-imprint Super-resolution Photoacoustic Microscopy

Combining the absorption-based photoacoustic effect and intensity-dependent photobleaching effect, we demonstrate a simple method for super-resolution photoacoustic imaging of both fluorescent and non-fluorescent samples. Our method is based on a double-excitation process, where the first excitation pulse partially and inhomogeneously bleaches the molecules in the diffraction-limited excitation volume, thus biasing the signal contributions from a second excitation pulse striking the same region. By scanning the excitation beam, we performed three-dimensional sub-diffraction imaging of varied fluorescent and non-fluorescent species. A lateral resolution of 80 nm and an axial resolution of 370 nm have been demonstrated. This technique has the potential to enable label-free super-resolution imaging, and can be transferred to other optical imaging modalities or combined with other super-resolution methods.
Differential expression of lumican and fatty acid binding protein‐1: New insights into the histologic spectrum of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

The basis of hepatocellular injury and progressive fibrosis in a subset of patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is poorly understood. We sought to identify hepatic proteins that are differentially abundant across the histologic spectrum of NAFLD. Hepatic protein abundance was measured in liver samples from four groups (n = 10 each) of obese (body mass index >30 kg/m2) patients: (1) obese normal group (normal liver histology), (2) simple steatosis (SS), (3) nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-mild (steatohepatitis with fibrosis stage 0-1), and (4) NASH-progressive (steatohepatitis with fibrosis stage 2-4). Hepatic peptides were analyzed on an API Qstar XL quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer using Analyst QS software. Linear trends tests were performed and used to screen for differential abundance. Nine known proteins were expressed with differential abundance between study groups. For seven proteins differential abundance is likely to have been on the basis increased hepatic lipid content and/or inflammation. Lumican, a 40-kDa keratin sulfate proteoglycan that regulates collagen fibril assembly and activates transforming growth factor-beta and smooth muscle actin, was expressed similarly in obese normal and SS but was overexpressed in a progressive manner in NASH-mild versus SS (124%, P < 0.001), NASH-progressive versus NASH-mild (156%, P < 0.001) and NASH-progressive versus obese normal (178%, P < 0.001). Fatty acid binding protein-1 (FABP-1), which is protective against the detergent effects of excess free fatty acids, facilitates intracellular free fatty acid transport and is an important ligand for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor–mediated transcription, was overexpressed in SS when compared to the obese normal group (128%, P < 0.001), but was paradoxically underexpressed in NASH-mild versus SS (73%, P < 0.001), NASH-progressive versus NASH-mild (81%, P < 0.001), and NASH-progressive versus obese normal (59%, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Histologically progressive NAFLD is associated with overexpression of lumican, an important mediator of fibrosis in nonhepatic tissues, whereas FABP-1 is paradoxically underexpressed in NASH, suggesting a new potential mechanism of lipotoxicity in NAFLD. Further studies are needed to determine the biologic basis of lumican and/or FABP-1 dysregulation in NAFLD. (HEPATOLOGY 2009;49:1375–1384.)
Molecular characterization of the qa-4 gene of Neurospora crassa

The qa-4 gene of Neurospora crassa encodes 3-dehydroshikimate dehydratase, which catalyzes the third step of the quinic acid (qa) catabolic pathway. The enzyme has previously been purified and characterized as a monomer of approx. 37 kDal. The nucleotide sequence of the qa-4 gene is presented here and the amino acid composition and tentative NH2-terminal sequence confirm the identification of the coding region within the qa-4 DNA sequence. There are no introns in the qa-4 coding region. By S1 nuclease mapping and primer extension analysis three distinct regions of transcription initiation were identified. Heterogeneity was also observed in the 3' ends of qa-4 mRNA. 5' and 3' untranslated regions of the qa-4 gene were compared with the corresponding regions in other Neurospora genes. Genomic blot analysis of twenty previously isolated qa-4 mutants revealed that two mutants, MC150 and MC191, have restriction patterns altered from wild type. In each strain the alteration occurs in the 3' half of the qa-4 coding region.
PUBLIC HEALTH PRINCIPLES IN THE REGENERATION OF MEDICAL EDUCATION

Summary Models are being tested in seven of the United States whereby grassroots community organizations become coalition partners with professional health schools and local health agencies. The goal of the project is to improve community health through empowerment concepts rather than by an expanded service model. Medical faculties need to develop practice by which their students can learn issues of human development within underserved communities.
A new tube for preparing the buffy coat for electron microscopy

Anderson (1965) has described a simple method for preparing relatively pure fields of leukocytes from peripheral blood for electron microscopy using an angular spatula to detach and remove the buffy coat from the wall of a standard conical centrifuge tube. the buffy coat is, however, fragile, especially after gentle centrifugation (1500 × g for 7-9 min) and brief (5-10 min) fixation. the spatula often breaks the buffy coat and mixes it with the red cells below. the conical centrifuge tube is also disadvantageous. Its large cross-section and capacity require relatively large amounts of blood and it gives a buffy coat which, for normal blood, is too thin to permit adequate representation in individual transverse sections of those leukocytes which occur in low percentages. the use of special tubes to circumvent these problems (Wright and Douglas 1902, Endres 1927, Bessis 1940, Butler and Cushmann 1941, Chevillard and Hamon 1943, Ottesen 1954, Bessis 1956) has been very useful for cell separation but the desi...
The Nature of the 1600 cm−1 Band of Carbons

Abstract Since what appears to be the first infrared (IR) observation of a char by Kmetko in 1951,1 IR spectra of coals, chars and various carbon materials have been invariably shown to have a more or less intense band near 1600 cm−1. A variety of suggestions has been made concerning the cause of the band but the assignments have been in dispute and remained controversial for thirty years.
EAF Steel Slag Filters for Phosphorus Removal from Milk Parlor Effluent: The Effects of Solids Loading, Alternate Feeding Regimes and In-Series Design

Electric arc furnace (EAF) steel slag filters were investigated for their efficiency at reducing the concentration of phosphorus (P) from dairy farm wastewater in Vermont. The primary objective for this study was to examine the use of in series design on filters’ performance in P removal from dairy farm wastewater at subzero temperatures. Other research objectives were to investigate operational parameters such as the effects of total suspended solids (TSS) daily mass loading rates and of alternating feeding and resting periods on EAF steel slag filters’ TSS, dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) and total phosphorus (TP) removal efficiencies and filter system life-span. The utilization of in series filter design increased filter DRP removal efficiency by 35%. In series design also allows for alternating feeding and resting periods, which resulted in a 16%, 57% and 74% increase in TSS, DRP and TP removal efficiencies, respectively, by the first filter in series over a single period. Additionally, the system life span was extended 3.25 fold (from 52 to 169 day). Based on this research, we recommend alternate feeding and resting cycles and in series design to be integrated in the design of EAF steel slag filter systems for highly concentrated agricultural effluents in cold climates.